Nutrition

Nutrition is the study of nutrients, which are substances consumed by organisms that are necessary for survival. Nutrients are subclassed into:

1. Proteins.
2. Carbohydrates.
3. Fats.
4. Vitamins.
5. Minerals & electrolytes.
6. Water.
7. Fibre (although whether this is a nutrient is not clear).

Topics:

• Insulin
• Antioxidants
• Fats TODO
• Fatty Acids TODO
• Cholesterol TODO
• Carbohydrates TODO
• Proteins
• Vitamins
• Minerals
• Oil

“Guilty until proven innocent” is a generally the right approach to ensuring certain foods, supplements or products are both safe and good for you. For example, although sweetener appears to be mostly innocuous, most are still relatively new as additives and the research is far from conclusive, so the conservative choice is to stay away. Similar to seed oils.

Proteins

Carbohydrates

Carbohydrates are subdivided into:

1. Monosaccharides
   1. Glucose
   2. Fructose
   3. Galactose
2. Disaccharides
   1. Sucrose
   2. Lactose
   3. Maltose
3. Polysaccharides
   1. Starch
   2. Fibre

All carbohydrates must be reduced to monosaccharides first before they can be absorbed.

Polysaccharides are broken down and absorbed a slower rate than disaccharides.

Fats

• Avoid trans fat, animal fat and hydrogenated oils.
• Omega-3 in fish is incredible.

  “One study showed that people who eat fish once a week slow the yearly rate of cognitive decline by 10%.” — John Ratey in Spark