Food Chemistry: Introduction, Explanation, Points to Remember, Sample Questions

We all as human beings have the requirements to survive. One of the important requirements for our survival is the availability of food. This gives food equal importance to our well-being and growth. 

Food, as is known, can be derived from the plant as well as the animal kingdom. It depends on the feeding habits of an organism. Food derived from the plant Kingdom include fruits root crops, pulses, vegetables, cereals, and oilseeds. This food is usually preferred by herbivores. The food they write from the animal kingdom includes fish, poultry, meat, etc. This food is usually preferred by carnivores for consumption. 

We come to a very good question, what are the constituents of food? After briefly understanding the food type, one is sure to be curious about the constituents of food. To understand the importance of the food we need to understand various components and their importance. 

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What should we know about Food Chemistry?

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Food chemistry like any other science tackles uncovering the secrets within science. Here are a few important and specific points about food chemistry:

• Food chemistry is responsible for handling a very major department within a food Science. It includes dealing with the composition and various properties exhibited by food.
• It is known to deal with the chemical changes experienced by food during the process like Handling, Processing, and Storage.
• Deals with how drastic changes are dealt with by the food and its Composition.
• Food chemistry fishes out the suitable and best conditions for the sustainability of residual life processes. This helps maintain fresh vegetables and fruits (when marketing).
• Food preparation, for commercial or home scale, is done by various processing techniques brought upfront by the food chemistry.
• It deals with interactions between both the biological as well as non-biological food components.

Food Chemistry

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Various components of food

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A body has a high demand for nutrients. The nutrients that our body requires are divided into two categories: micronutrients and macronutrients.

Micronutrients, the former category comprises the nutrients that are already produced in our body. The name micronutrients suggest that they are not required from the external environment.

Macronutrients, the latter category comprises the nutrients that are not produced in our body. The name macronutrients suggest that they are nutrients that our body requires and extracts from the external environment.

These nutrients are extracted in the form of food consumed. This accounts for the food consisting of constituents that are rich in nutrients. Various types of nutrients accumulate together to form food. On average the major or macronutrients found in food are:

Proteins:

This is one of the most popular of the macronutrients that are required by our body. Some of the very important points about protein are mentioned below:

• Protein is very essential while you are focusing on building body mass.
• Protein is also responsible for providing the body with energy and calories to go through the day.
• Almost about 15% of the total weight of the human body comprises a protein.
• The chemical composition of protein finds its origin with amino acids. Amino acids are compounds of nitrogen Oxygen sulphur carbon and hydrogen. Protein builds muscle mass as amino acid builds protein.
• Every gram of protein is equivalent to four calories.
• Protein is the main component in food made out of poultry, seafood peas, eggs, and meat. Other foods that also have protein are seeds, Soy products, and nuts.
• Protein is preferred by bodybuilders or people who love exercising.

Protein

Read More: Nutrients

Carbohydrates:

Carbohydrates are another one of the macronutrients which are essential for survival. Here are a few points to note about carbohydrates:

• Carbohydrates are termed the highest source of energy for your body.
• It is advised that one should consume food rich in constituent carbohydrates.
• Carbohydrates can be found in both healthy as well as unhealthy foods.
• Some of the foods that have carbohydrates as a constituent are, potatoes, milk, beans, soft drinks, cherry pie, bread, etc.
• The most commonly and abundantly found types of carbohydrates are, starches, sugars, and fibres.
• Healthy food that contains carbohydrates includes vegetables, beans, fruits, etc.
• The unhealthy food that holds carbohydrates as a constituent are, sodas, bread, pastries, etc.

Carbohydrates

Read Difference between: Food Chain & Food Web

Fats:

Fats stand as another one of all the important constituents of food. Here are a few points to note about Fats:

• Fatty acids are commonly known as fats and even lipids.
• Our body comprises Fats composed of three conjoined molecules. The molecule has been given the name, triglyceride.
• There is a large portion of fat that is made available by our bodies. The required fat is what we gain from our diet. This is where the fat from food (essential fat) comes into use. Essential fats include:
  • Fat found in flax seeds and fishes (Omega -3).
  • Fat found in nuts, corn oil, and seeds (Omega -6).
• Fats are known to be of 3 types:
  • Saturated Fats (cakes, sausages, biscuits, bacon, etc.)
  • Unsaturated Fats (almonds, avocado, salmon, olive oil, peanut butter, etc.)
  • Trans Fats (Potato Chips, Pies (sweet), Frosting (canned), etc.)

Fats

Read More: Grazing Food Chain

Vitamins:

Vitamins are undoubtedly one of the necessary food constituents a human cannot live without. The few points explaining vitamins are below:

• Vitamins are organic substances that are very necessarily present in minute amounts in various foods.
• Lack of vitamins can lead to a lot of health diseases.
• A major constituent of vitamins is carbon.
• One of the very important nutrients that our body requires is vitamins themselves.
• At present, we know about 13 vitamins.
• Vitamins are of two broad categories: fat-soluble and water-soluble.
• Fat-Soluble Vitamins comprise the vitamins like A, D, E, and K. These are stored in fatty tissues like the liver. They are stored and reserved for days within the body.
• Water-Soluble Vitamins usually are the exact deposits of fat-soluble vitamins. They do not get stored and reserved for days within the body. Examples of water-soluble vitamins are Vitamin C and Vitamin B.

Vitamins

Minerals:

Minerals from food are very important for humans to be healthy. The following points will define minerals in the best way possible:

• The minerals in your body help keep your body parts like the heart, bones, muscles as well as brain working properly.
• The manufacturing of enzymes and hormones is also facilitated with minerals.
• There can be two types of minerals that are required by our body.
• Some minerals are required in macro quantities like Calcium, Sodium, Phosphorus, Magnesium, Potassium, Sulphur, and chloride.
• Some minerals are required in micro quantities like Iron, Copper, Iodine, Manganese, Zinc, Chloride, Selenium, and Cobalt.
• Minerals can be acquired by the body through food products or the mineral supplements available on the market.
• Foods that are rich in minerals are Nuts, seeds, Shellfish, Cruciferous vegetables, Organ meats, Eggs, Beans, Cocoa, Avocados, and green leafy vegetables.

Minerals

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Points to Remember

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Things you should take away from the article are:

• Food is essential for surviving in this world with a sound mind and body.
• The nutrients that are essential for survival are provided by food. These nutrients can be of two broad categories, macronutrients (the majority is made available by food consumption) and micronutrients.
• There are 5 major constituents of food. They are:
• Proteins
• Fats
• Vitamins
• Carbohydrates
• Minerals

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