Chapter 3: Calories and Nutritional Composition of Foods

What are nutrients and calories?

Food is composed of nutrients - the organic and inorganic substances that build and
repair tissues, supply heat and energy, and regulate body processes. - Therefore refers
to all substances that nourish the body. - Materials ingested that do not contribute to the
bodys nourishment are not considered food.
Calorie or kilocalorie or Kcalorie (Kcal) is the unit of energy commonly used in human
nutrition.
---Primary sources of calorie are foods rich in carbohydrates, fats and protein.

What are the food sources of calories and nutrients?

Nutrients the chemical compounds needed by the body to provide energy, build and
repair body tissues and regulate life processes, are present in an adequate diet having
a variety of foods in the right amounts.
No single food can provide all the nutrients in amounts needed for good nutrition.
Some foods are good sources of certain nutrients but are poor of others.
-cereal, cereal products, tubers and root crops are good sources of carbohydrates and
are cheap sources of energy, while fats and oils are the most concentrated source of
energy.
-meat, fish, poultry, eggs and legumes are excellent sources of protein, B vitamins and
iron.
-milk, cheese and other dairy products except butter are excellent sources of protein,
calcium and riboflavin.
-vegetables and fruits provide vitamins and minerals.
Several factors influencing the nutrient content of a particular food.
1st is variety.
2nd is environment.
3rd is the breed of animal, maturity and age at the time of slaughter. For plant foods,
season or climate, maturity and handling.
Therefore, it is important that proper practices are observed not only in the handling,
transport and packaging of foods, but also in their preparation to conserve the
nutrients.

How is the nutritional composition of foods assessed?

One can establish which foods are better and poorer sources of specific nutrients based
on either concentration or contribution in the diet.
1. Concentration in the food is the relative content or strength of the food
components which, in this regard, are the calories or nutrients. It is, however,
necessary to have equal weights when comparing different foods to determine
which, is the more concentrated source of calories or nutrients.
2. Contribution in the diet refers to how much of a given nutrient or calorie is
supplied by a certain food in relation to another. In this case, the basis for
comparison cannot be equal weights, because weight per se has little influence
on intake, while intake generally influences contribution.
The common bases for comparing foods according to their contribution are:
Per serving portion
Per amount eaten in a day
Per equal calorie contribution

How are the energy values of food determined?

The energy (calorie) value of food is the amount of energy produced in the body as a
result of food metabolism.
The energy value of food may be determined through:
Calorimetry, direct or indirect
and the use of food composition tables.