NUTRITION BASICS IN PUBLIC HEALTH FOR MOTHERs AND BABIES

CONTENTS
 Definitions (food, diet, nutrition)
 Nutrition- Historical background & Changing concepts
 Food groups
 Nutrients

 The kinds of food that a person, animal, or community
habitually eats.

FOOD AND NUTRITION: CHANGING CONCEPTS
 The word nutrition first appeared in 1551 and comes from the
Latin word nutrire, meaning “to nourish.”
 Nutrition is the science of food and its relationship to health –
how the human body uses food and processes the nutrients it
contains to enable the body to perform functions.

 The science of nutrition include:
1. The physiological and biochemical processes involved in
nourishment—how substances in food provide energy or are
converted into body tissues,
2. The diseases that result from insufficiency or excess of
essential nutrients (malnutrition).
3. Nutrition is also about why people choose to eat the foods they
do, even if they have been advised that doing so may be
unhealthy.

 Food has been recognized important for human beings, in
health and disease.
 It was early in 19th
century, that fats, proteins, carbohydrate had
been recognized as energy yielding food.
 By the end of the 19th
century the essential amino acids in
proteins had been mainly identified.
 The period 1890–1940 saw the discovery of 13 vitamins,
organic compounds essential in small amounts.

DISCOVERY OF VITAMINS AND THEIR SOURCES
Year of discovery Vitamin Source
1909 Vitamin A (Retinol) Cod liver oil
1912 Vitamin B1
(Thiamin) Rice bran
1912 Vitamin C (Ascorbic acid) Lemons
1918 Vitamin D (Calciferol) Cod liver oil
1920 Vitamin B2
(Riboflavin) Eggs
1922 Vitamin E (Tocopherol) Wheat germ oil, Cosmetic and Liver
1926 Vitamin B12
(Cyanocobalamin) Liver
1929 Vitamin K (Phylloquinone) Alfalfa
1931 Vitamin B5
(Pantothenic acid) Liver
1931 Vitamin B7
(Biotin) Liver
1934 Vitamin B6
(Pyridoxine) Rice bran
1936 Vitamin B3
(Niacin) Liver
1941 Vitamin B9
(Folic acid) Liver

 Great advancement have been made in the knowledge of
nutrition and in the practical application of that knowledge.
 Specific nutritional diseases were identified and technologies
developed to control them.

 The science of nutrition has linked itself to epidemiology,
broadly known as Nutritional Epidemiology.
 This include assessment of community nutritional status,
nutritional surveillance, dietary surveys, growth monitoring,
nutritional interventions and rehabilitation.

 Another concept that has emerged in recent years is that
nutrition problem is not just medical problem, but are
“multi-factorial”.
 Problems have their roots in many other sectors of
development such as agriculture, education, rural
development.
 This lead to the concept of “inter-sectoral and integrated
approach” toward solving these problems.

FOOD GROUPS
1. Cereal & Grains
2. Vegetables & Legumes
3. Fruits
4. Milk & dairy products
5. Meat, Poultry, Fish, Eggs,
Nuts
6. Fats, Oils & Sweets

CEREALS & GRAINS
 Cereals, the ‘seeds of
civilization’ - food eaten by
humans for thousands of years
and provide more food energy
worldwide than any other type
of crop; they are therefore
“Staple Crops”.
 Cereals are grasses cultivated
for the edible components of
their grain composed of the
endosperm, germ, and bran.

GRAINS & CEREALS
 There are two types of
grains:
 Whole grains refer to grains
that have all of the parts of
the grain seed, (bran,
endosperm & germ).
 Examples: Brown bread &
rice, maize, oat, barley,
millet
 Refined grains are
processed grain when some
of the dietary fiber and other
important nutrients are
removed.
 Examples: white bread &
rice, pasta, noodles

TYPES OF GRAINS
 Whole grain cereals contain more fiber, vitamins, minerals
and antioxidants than refined cereal, because many of the
important nutrients occur in the outer layer of the grain which
is lost during processing.
 When refined by the removal of the bran and germ, the
remaining endosperm is mostly carbohydrate and lacks the
majority of the other nutrients.
 Fortified grains” are enriched grain foods having extra
nutrients added to it.

VEGETABLES
 Vegetables come from many different parts of the plant,
including the leaves, roots, tubers, flowers, stems, seeds and
shoots. They include;
i. Roots and tubers (potatoes, turnips, carrots)
ii. Bulbs s(onions)
iii. Stems (Celery)
iv. Leaves (Lettuce and cabbage)
v. Flowers (broccoli and cauliflower)
vi. Peas and beans are legumes but when immature and green are
treated as vegetables.

FRUITS
 Fruit forms from the flower
(ovary) of the plant and
contains the seeds of the
plant.
 It provides carbohydrates, in
particular natural sugars
(fructose and/or glucose
and/or sucrose) that makes
them sweet and provides
energy.
 Some vegetables like
tomatoes and pumpkin are
the fruit of the plant, but
they are used as vegetables.

HEALTH BENEFITS OF FRUITS &
VEGETABLES
 Fruits and vegetables, are nutrient dense, low in calories, and
are a good source of minerals and vitamins (such as
magnesium, vitamin C and folate), dietary fibre and a range of
phytochemicals including carotenoids.

HEALTH BENEFITS OF FRUITS &
VEGETABLES
 A diet rich in vegetables and fruits can:
 lower blood pressure,
 reduce the risk of heart disease and stroke,
 prevent some types of cancer,
 lower risk of eye and digestive problems, and
 have a positive effect upon blood sugar, which can help keep
appetite in check.
 Eating non-starchy vegetables and fruits like apples, pears, and
green leafy vegetables may even promote weight loss.
 Their low glycemic loads prevent blood sugar spikes that can
increase hunger.

MILK & MILK PRODUCTS
 Milk, yoghurt and firm cheeses are the three important foods
in this group.
 The foods in this group are an excellent source of calcium and
are also a good source of protein.
 Lactose is the principal sugar in milk, and milk is the only
source of lactose in nature.
 The lactose enhances the absorption of calcium and
phosphorus from the intestine.

MEAT, FISH, POULTRY, EGGS, NUTS & LEGUMES
 The foods from this food group are considered ‘protein rich’.
 This food group also provides a wide variety of other nutrients
such as: iodine, iron, zinc, vitamins, especially B12, and
essential fatty acids.

LEGUMES
 Legumes provide many of the same nutrients as lean meats,
poultry, fish and eggs and because of this they have been
placed in this food group as well as the vegetable food group.
 Legumes provide many of the same nutrients as lean meats,
poultry, fish and eggs and because of this they have been
placed in this food group as well as the vegetable food group.

NUTS
 Nuts are valued for their oils as well as for their high content
of energy, protein, vitamins, and minerals makes them a very
nutritious food.
 In fact, nuts and seeds may help reduce the risk of heart
disease and are not associated with weight gain if total energy
intake (kilojoules) is controlled.

FATS, OILS AND SWEETS
 Fats, oils and sweets give us
calories, add flavor and
variety to our diets.
 Most of these foods do not
contain many vitamins or
minerals.
 So they are called "empty
calorie" foods.

NUTRITION BASICS IN PUBLIC HEALTH FOR MOTHERs AND BABIES

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NUTRITION BASICS IN PUBLIC HEALTH FOR MOTHERs AND BABIES