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4 1.1 Nutritional Requirements
food. All the essential amino acids needed are intestine for absorption into the blood. They
found in the protein in animal foods, such as milk, remain in the small intestines and pass right
eggs, meat and fish. Proteins in plant-based foods through to the large intestine and most are also
contain some but not all of the essential amino excreted in the faeces. They help the digestive
acids. However, the combination of a starchy food, system to work properly, preventing constipation
such as bread, pasta, potatoes or rice, together with and diarrhoea.
pulses or nuts will provide all the essential amino
acids together. Examples of this combination are Prebiotics
baked beans on toast, rice and peas or a hummus Prebiotics are the types of fibre that encourage
(made from chickpeas) or peanut butter sandwich. the growth of beneficial bacteria in the
intestine. Prebiotic fibre is found in fruits and
Carbohydrate vegetables, such as onions and leeks, garlic and
bananas.
Carbohydrates provide energy and fibre. The
energy comes from the starches and sugars. All Fat
carbohydrates are metabolised into glucose which is
used by the cells for energy. The brain uses glucose There are many different types of fat, all of which
for energy. Other cells can use glucose or fat. provide energy. Fat can be:
Starch ●● saturated
Starches are long chains of sugar molecules that do
not have a sweet taste. ●● monounsaturated
Sugars ●● polyunsaturated
Sugars in food are either monosaccharides, e.g.
●● complex, such as cholesterol.
●● glucose
The fat in foods is a mixture of all the types of fat
●● fructose – the main sugar in fruit but certain foods have more of one type than the
others. Complex fats such as cholesterol account
or disaccharides, e.g for a very small proportion of the fat in foods.
●● lactose – the sugar found in milk composed of Saturated fat
glucose and galactose About 60–70 per cent of the fat in meat, butter,
cream, milk, cheese and palm oil is saturated fat.
●● sucrose – white table sugar made from sugar cane About 90 per cent of the fat in coconut oil is
or root vegetables composed of glucose and fructose saturated. Processed commercial foods such as
biscuits, cakes, pastries and ready meals also
●● maltose – the main sugar formed when starch contain a lot of saturated fat in the form of
breaks down composed of two glucose units. hydrogenated fat. This is because hydrogenating
unsaturated fats to change them into saturated fat
Non-milk extrinsic sugars are the most harmful to extends the shelf-life of the foods; saturated fat is
teeth and include sucrose, fructose from processed less likely go ‘off’ than unsaturated fats.
fruit such as fruit juices and glucose and fructose in
syrups. Trans fats
Trans fats are found naturally in milk and milk
Intrinsic sugars that are less harmful to teeth products and are not harmful, whereas the trans
include lactose and fructose, when it is contained in fats found in processed food are now known to
raw unprocessed fruit as the cells of the fruit remain raise cholesterol in the same way that an excess of
intact and the fructose is contained within each cell. saturated fat does.
Fibre
Fibre is a term used for the particular types of
carbohydrates that are not digested in the small
