Food and Lifestyle in Health and Disease

Chuong Pham-Huy, Bruno Pham Huy

• Publisher: CRC Press
• Year: 2022
• Print ISBN: 9781032116303
• eBook ISBN: 9781000563597
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Medicine
• Subtopic: Nutrition, Dietics & Bariatrics

Food and Lifestyle in Health and Disease gathers information on various food types providing an explanation of their nutrient composition, sources, roles, and mechanisms in health and diseases. To obtain good health practices and prevent diseases, it is necessary to understand links in the relationship of food, lifestyle, environment, and health. This book is a vital source for research topics related to these issues, including the following:

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• Analysis of various types of food and lifestyles for the prevention and treatment of diseases and disorders, including cardiovascular disorders, cancers, neurodegenerative diseases, diabetes, hypertension, and obesity.

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• The influences of environmental pollution, synergistic effects of different foods, and synergy of foods with physical activity or medicine.

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• The roles of animal, fungal, and plant source foods in human health and disease.

This book is appropriate for health-conscious users, health care providers and practitioners, teachers, and researchers.

1Macronutrients

DOI: 10.1201/9781003220817-1

1 Introduction

All foods contain nutrients with different composition and concentration. Nutrients are organic or mineral compounds required by the body to survive and grow. Nutrients must be obtained from diet, since the human body does not synthesize them (1–6). Nutrients are used to produce energy, to move, to respire, to grow, to reproduce, to excrete wastes, and so on. In other words, without the supply of nutrients from foods, the human body does not function normally, and this can lead to disease and even death.

2 Classification of Nutrients

There are six classes of nutrients required for the body to function and maintain overall health. These are carbohydrates (sugars), lipids (fats), proteins, water, vitamins, and minerals (1–6). They are called essential nutrients because the human body cannot create them and must consume them through foods. Their absence in the diet causes illness and even death to humans.

Nutrients are also divided into two main groups: macronutrients and micronutrients (1–6). Those that are needed in large amounts are called macronutrients. The others in little quantity are named micronutrients. Macronutrients are carbohydrates, proteins, lipids, and are used to produce energy for cellular activity (1–6). Water is also a macronutrient because the body requires a large amount of it, but unlike the other macronutrients it does not yield energy – calories. When necessary, or as a result of disease, proteins can be broken down to generate energy, but carbohydrates and fats are used preferentially for energy (1–6).

Micronutrients are nutrients required by the body in lesser amounts but are still essential for performing bodily functions. Micronutrients include all the essential micro-minerals and vitamins. There are 16 essential minerals and 13 vitamins required to build and maintain all body cells and tissues (1–6). Although classified among the micronutrients, minerals are also divided into two groups: macro-minerals and micro-minerals, depending on the quantity required by the body. A mineral needed in large amounts (i.e., greater than 200 mg per day) is called a macro-mineral, whereas a micro-mineral is required in a quantity lesser than 200 mg per day (2). In contrast to macronutrients, micronutrients are not directly used for making energy, but they help the enzymes in their activities and assist in the process as being part of enzymes. They are called coenzymes (1). These essential macro and micronutrients undergo different complex processes in the body, such as digestion and metabolism, then work together or separately in the body in order to release energy for cell and tissue rebuilding and to maintain the overall health of the individual. Besides, there are non-essential nutrients and semi-essential nutrients. Non-essential nutrients are nutrients that are formed by the human body itself. Their absence in the diet cannot cause problems for the human health, contrary to essential nutrients (1–6). Other nutrients are considered partially essential or semi-essential. Indeed, these nutrients can be furnished by the body, but in certain situation such as age and illness, their production in the body become insufficient; therefore, the supply of these nutrients from food or dietary supplement is necessary for the good functioning of the body. Vitamin D and coenzyme Q10 are some examples of semi-essential nutrients. Another example is amino acids, which are divided into 3 groups: essential, non-essential and conditionally essential or semi-essential nutrients.

Foods also contain other beneficial compounds such as antioxidants, phytochemicals, coenzymes, cofactors, and nucleotides. They are called bioactive compounds or non-nutrients. These non-nutrients or bioactive compounds are not essential for life in ways that macro- or micronutrients are, but nonetheless have putative health benefits, whether acting directly or indirectly. Diets rich in these compounds significantly reduce our risk of chronic disease, including cancer and cardiovascular disease (2). A lack of non-nutrients or bioactive compounds cited above, or an excess of these, can cause disease.

Malnutrition can be caused by overnutrition (excess nutrient intake) or undernutrition (deficient nutrient intake) (5). It is a major tragedy that millions of people currently live with hunger, and fear starvation (6). In 2010, there were about 925 million undernourished people in the world due to poverty or lack of foods in the market (2). In addition, about 3.5–5 billion people are iron deficient, 2.2 billion iodine deficient, and 140–250 million vitamin A deficient (6). In contrast, overnutrition is observed in developed countries such as the USA (5). Overeating causes excess energy that can lead to overweight, obesity and other diseases.

Antinutrients are natural or synthetic compounds that interfere with the absorption of nutrients (2). For example, oxalates which are present in many plants, particularly star fruit and certain spinach, bind calcium, thereby inhibiting its absorption. Phytic acid in the hull of nuts, seeds, grains, has strong binding affinity for calcium, magnesium, iron, copper, and zinc, thereby reducing their digestive absorption (2).

3 Macronutrients

Macronutrients are nutrients that the body needs in large amounts for the production of energy for body activity. There are three classes of macronutrients: carbohydrates (sugars), proteins and lipids (fats). They can be metabolically processed into cellular energy. Water is also an essential nutrient required in a large amount, but unlike the other macronutrients, it does not yield energy. The energy from macronutrients comes from their chemical bonds (1). This chemical energy is converted into cellular energy that is then utilized to perform work, allowing our bodies to conduct their basic functions such as movement, respiration, excretion, growth and reproduction (1). A unit of measurement of food energy is the calorie. Both carbohydrates and proteins provide 4 kcal/gram, and lipids provide 9 kcal/gram for humans (3).

Foods are also divided into two kinds: those rich in calories and those poor in calories. The energetic value of a food depends on the amounts of essential macronutrients (i.e., carbohydrates, proteins and fat) present in this food. For example, vegetables like lettuce, celery, and tomato provide few calories because they are poor in macronutrients, but rich in micronutrients like vitamins, antioxidants, minerals; in contrast, sugar, milk, butter, ice cream, tonic drinks, and so on, provide many calories, and are called energetic foods.

3.1 Carbohydrates

Among the three main macronutrients rich in calories, carbohydrates are the most consumed in the world and also the most abundant in nature, in particular in plants. A carbohydrate is an organic molecule composed of carbon (C), hydrogen (H) and oxygen (O) to form the empirical formula: C_n(H₂O)_n, which means hydrate of carbon (1–10).

Carbohydrates are produced during the process of photosynthesis in plants. For example, glucose, a carbohydrate, is formed between carbon dioxide (CO₂) and water (H₂O), under the action of sunlight, inside the chloroplast, to produce glucose (C₆H₁₂O₆) and, oxygen (O₂) (7–10).

$6{\text{CO}}_{\text{2}}+{\text{H}}_2\text{O}\stackrel{\text{sunlight}}{\to }{\text{C}}_{\text{6}}{\text{H}}_{\text{12}}{\text{O}}_6+{\text{O}}_2$

Glucose (sugar) obtained from photosynthesis can be used immediately to provide energy for plant metabolism or growth, or converted to starch as stock for use later.

Figure 1.1 Chemical structures of 3 monosaccharides: D-Glucose, D-Galactose, and D-Fructose.

Carbohydrates are widely distributed both in animal and plant tissues, where they furnish energy to their host and also exert other functions depending on the type of carbohydrates. After metabolism by the digestive tract, carbohydrates are transformed into glucose, a basic compound for cell activity in our body and provide the major source of energy for people all over the world (5).

Carbohydrates are classified into four main groups: monosaccharides, disaccharides, oligosaccharides, and polysaccharides. The monosaccharides frequently present in food are glucose, fructose and galactose (Fig. 1). The principal disaccharides are sucrose, lactose and maltose (7–10). Both mono- and disaccharides are water-soluble and popularly called sugars. They are rapidly assimilated in the digestive tract and easily broken down with immediate release of energy. Oligosaccharides include α-glucans or malto-oligosaccharides, principally occurring from the hydrolysis of starch and non-α-glucan such as raffinose and stachyose, fructo- and galacto-oligosaccharides and other oligosaccharides (6–10). Polysaccharides may be divided into starch and non-starch polysaccharides (NSPs). NSPs are the major components of the plant cell wall such as cellulose, hemicellulose and pectin, but also include plant gum, mucilage and hydrocolloids (6–12). Dietary fibers consist of intrinsic plant cell wall polysaccharides. They are classified into two groups according to their water-solubility: insoluble dietary fibers like cellulose, hemicellulose, non-starch polysaccharide, and lignin; and soluble dietary fibers such as beta-glucan, pentosan, pectin, gum and mucilage. Some carbohydrates, like inulin, do not fit neatly into this scheme because they exist in nature in multiple molecular forms. Inulin from plants may have from 2 to 200 fructose units; as such, crossing the boundary between oligosaccharides and polysaccharides (8).

In nature, carbohydrate sources include cereal grains, tubers, cane and beet sugars, fruits, vegetables, milk, honey, and so on. From a nutrition point of view, carbohydrates in foods may be divided into three main groups: starch, sugars and dietary fibers.

3.1.1 Starch

Starch, the principal carbohydrate in most diets, consists only of a water insoluble polymer of glucose joined by α-glucosidic bonds and is designated α-glucosan or α-glucan (7, 9). In other words, digestible starch is made up of long chains of glucose and comprises two polymers of glucose: amylose and amylopectin (7–9). Most cereal starches contain about 15 to 30% amylose and 70 to 85% amylopectin by weight (9). Some starches, from maize, rice, and sorghum to barley, contain largely amylopectin and are known as ‘waxy’ (7). Starch occurs in the form of granules deposited in plant organs. It is relatively dense, insoluble in cold water, and ranges from 1 to 100 µm in size depending on the plant species (7, 9). Starch furnishes energy to the body after digestion into glucose. In the digestive tract, insoluble starch is broken down into soluble glucose by different enzymes (amylases, dextrinase, glucoamylase, maltase, etc.) present in the mouth saliva, small intestine and pancreas secretion. To facilitate this digestion, starch must be cooked before eating. Recent studies suggest that slowly digested starch and enzyme resistant starch have significant implications for human health (7, 9). Starch plays a major part in supplying the metabolic energy that enables the body to perform different functions. It is the basic source of energy for the majority of the world’s population.

Among a number of natural foods containing starch, cereal grains like wheat, rice, corn, oats, barley, millet, and rye are the most consumed in the world, and some of them are used as staple food for population of certain areas in this planet. Wheat flour is used to prepare bread and other foods in Western and Middle Eastern countries, while rice is a staple food for more than half of the world’s population, especially in Asia. Corn is consumed by people in South American and some African countries. Tubers rich in starch like potato, sweet potato, cassava and yam are also staple food for people in South America, Oceania and tropical areas. Some fruits and vegetables high in starch are banana, plantain, acorn squash, butternut squash, winter squash, water chestnuts and pumpkins. Besides some main starchy foods cited above, dry beans and peas are also vegetable grains rich in resistant starch as well as in fibers and proteins. However, beans and peas are still not considered staple food for people in this planet. The relatively low bean intakes of North Americans and Northern Europeans can be attributed to a negative culinary image as well as to intestinal discomfort attributable to the oligosaccharide content of beans (13).

The chemical composition of cereal grains is characterized by the high content of carbohydrates mainly in the form of starch deposited in the endosperm, amounting to 56–74%, and fiber, mainly located in the bran, to 2–13% (12). The second important group of cereal constituents is the proteins which fall wit...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Half Title
• Title
• Copyright
• Contents
• Biography
• Preface
• Disclaimer
• Abbreviation List
• Chapter 1 Macronutrients
• Chapter 2 Micronutrients
• Chapter 3 Free Radicals and Antioxidants
• Chapter 4 Food Types, Dietary Supplements, and Roles
• Chapter 5 Plant Source Foods
• Chapter 6 Animal Source Foods
• Chapter 7 Fungi and Water
• Chapter 8 Lifestyle and Diet
• Chapter 9 Food Interactions, Sirtuins, Genes, Homeostasis, and General Discussion
• Index