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Nutrition is the science that interprets the nutrients and other substances in food in relation to maintenance, growth, reproduction, health and disease of an organism. It includes food intake, absorption, assimilation, biosynthesis, catabolism and excretion.
The diet of an organism is what it eats, which is largely determined by the availability and palatability of foods. For humans, a healthy diet includes Food preparation and storage methods that preserve nutrients from oxidation, heat or leaching, and that reduces risk of foodborne illnesses. The seven major classes of human nutrients are carbohydrates, , dietary fiber, dietary minerals, , , and water. Nutrients can be grouped as either macronutrients or micronutrients (needed in small quantities).
In humans, an unhealthy diet can cause deficiency-related diseases such as blindness, anemia, scurvy, preterm birth, stillbirth and cretinism, (2020). 9781133587521, Wadsworth, Cengage Learning. ISBN 9781133587521 or nutrient excess health-threatening conditions such as obesity Obesity, Weight Linked to Prostate Cancer Deaths – National Cancer Institute . Cancer.gov. Retrieved on 2011-10-17. Obesity and Overweight for Professionals: Causes | DNPAO | CDC . Cdc.gov (16 May 2011). Retrieved on 2011-10-17. and metabolic syndrome; Metabolic syndrome – PubMed Health. Ncbi.nlm.nih.gov. Retrieved on 2011-10-17. and such common chronic systemic diseases as cardiovascular disease, Omega-3 fatty acids. Umm.edu (5 October 2011). Retrieved on 2011-10-17. diabetes, What I need to know about Eating and Diabetes – National Diabetes Information Clearinghouse. Diabetes.niddk.nih.gov. Retrieved on 2011-10-17. Diabetes Diet and Food Tips: Eating to Prevent and Control Diabetes . Helpguide.org. Retrieved on 2011-10-17. and osteoporosis. Osteoporosis & Vitamin D: Deficiency, How Much, Benefits, and More. Webmd.com (7 July 2005). Retrieved on 2011-10-17. Dietary Supplement Fact Sheet: Vitamin D. Ods.od.nih.gov. Retrieved on 2011-10-17. Undernutrition can lead to wasting in acute cases, and the stunted growth of marasmus in chronic cases of malnutrition.
Animal intestines contain a large population of gut flora, the populations of which can have a substantial effect on absorption of nutrients.
A nutrient that is able to limit plant growth according to Liebig's law of the minimum is considered an essential plant nutrient if the plant cannot complete its full life cycle without it. There are 16 essential plant soil nutrients, besides the three major elemental nutrients carbon and oxygen that are obtained by photosynthetic plants from carbon dioxide in air, and hydrogen, which is obtained from water.
Plants uptake essential elements from the soil through their and from the air (consisting of mainly nitrogen and oxygen) through their Leaf. Green plants obtain their carbohydrate supply from the carbon dioxide in the air by the process of photosynthesis. Carbon and oxygen are absorbed from the air, while other nutrients are absorbed from the soil. Nutrient uptake in the soil is achieved by cation exchange, wherein pump (H+) into the soil through . These hydrogen ions displace attached to negatively charged soil particles so that the cations are available for uptake by the root. In the leaves, stomata open to take in carbon dioxide and expel oxygen. The carbon dioxide molecules are used as the carbon source in photosynthesis.
Although nitrogen is plentiful in the Earth's atmosphere, very few plants can use this directly. Most plants, therefore, require nitrogen compounds to be present in the soil in which they grow. This is made possible by the fact that largely inert atmospheric nitrogen is changed in a nitrogen fixation process to biologically usable forms in the soil by bacteria.Lindemann, W.C. and Glover C.R. (2003) Nitrogen Fixation by Legumes. New Mexico State University/
Plant nutrition is a difficult subject to understand completely, partially because of the variation between different plants and even between different species or individuals of a given cloning. Elements present at low levels may cause deficiency symptoms, and toxicity is possible at levels that are too high. Furthermore, deficiency of one element may present as symptoms of toxicity from another element, and vice versa.
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