Nutrition is the process which includes consumption and digestion of foods, absorption of nutrients and finally utilisation of absorbed nutrients for growth, development, and maintenance of a healthy life.
Food provides nourishment to the body and enables it to stay fit and healthy. The food that we eat undergoes many processes, like, first the food is digested, and then it is absorbed into blood and transported to various parts of the body where it is utilised. The waste products and undigested food are excreted from the body.
NUTRITION = Eating- Digestion -Absorption-Transportation-Utilisation.
Foods contain different types of chemical substances; some of which are not important but others are critical to the body. Nutrients are chemical substances present in food that are needed for the cells of the body for growth, maintenance, and repair. The six groups of nutrients found in food are:
- Carbohydrates
- Lipids (fats and oils)
- Proteins
- Vitamins
- Minerals
- water
Optimum nutrition or Adequate nutrition
When all the essential nutrients are present in the right proportion and in sufficient amounts as required by our body, it is called optimum nutrition or adequate nutrition. Optimum nutrition is required to maintain good health. When almost all essential nutrients are present in the body below the required level, the condition is known as under-nourished. An under-nourished person manifests symptoms of deficiency diseases and feels unwell.