What Composition of Nutrients Does the Human Body Need to Function?

In order for the human body to properly function, it requires nutrients that are taken in from the environment. A nutrient is defined as a part of food that carries out a specific physiological function somewhere in the body. Nutrients come from the food that humans eat, so if a person does not have a proper diet and does not receive all the needed nutrients, then the person's body will likely not function properly. There is a wide variety of deficiency disorders that are caused by not eating enough of the required nutrients. For example, if a person does not get enough vitamin C, then that person's collagen will be weak, which can potentially lead to easily bruising or bleeding gums.

There are a wide variety of different types of nutrients, some of which are carbohydrates, proteins and lipids. Carbohydrates are very important for people, as they help provide the energy that is needed for daily life. Proteins are responsible for creating amino acids that are used by cells all throughout the body. Lipids are a type of fat that the body is able to store and use for energy at a later date. There are other types of nutrients that the human body requires, so it is imperative that you have a proper diet that allows you to live a healthy life by absorbing everything that allows your body to work.

All of these nutrients come from eating different foods and they are all essential for a person to have the proper nutrients. Just about every type of food has a mix of different nutrients inside of it, rather than providing exclusively one type of nutrient. There is not any type of natural food that contains enough essential nutrients in order for a person to survive on that food alone. All food contains some sort of nutrients, including so called junk food. While these types of foods do offer some kind of nutritional value, they typically contain a lot of other things like fats and sugars that make them unhealthy. Usually, these types of foods are referred to as being empty calorie foods.

Source:

Benitz, Bill. Lecture: Human Biology. December 4, 2009