Nutrition

Question

This piglix contains articles or sub-piglix about Nutrition

Answer 1

Food First Information and Action Network

Introduction

FIAN - formerly, FoodFirst Information and Action Network - FIAN International is now the official name of the organization.

FIAN is an international human rights organization that has advocated for the realization of the right to food for more than 25 years. FIAN consists of national sections and individual members in over 50 countries around the world. FIAN is a not-for-profit organization without any religious or political affiliation and has consultative status to the United Nations.

FIAN’s mission is to expose violations of people's right to food wherever they may occur. The organization stands up against unjust and oppressive practices that prevent people from feeding themselves. The struggle against gender discrimination and other forms of exclusion is integral part of its mission. It strives to secure people's access to the resources that they need in order to feed themselves, now and in the future.

FIAN analyzes and documents concrete cases of violations of the right to food. The organization raises awareness on the right to food among social movements, non-governmental organisations and governmental bodies and responds to requests from victim groups whose right to food is threatened or has been violated and mobilise support. With protest letter campaigns, advocacy and recourse to the law, FIAN exerts public pressure in order to hold governments accountable for violations of the right to food. FIAN follows up on cases until the victims get appropriate redress. Within the United Nations system and other legal regimes, the organization advocates respect of human rights in order to strengthen and improve the international human rights protection.

FIAN’s vision is a world free from hunger, in which every woman, man and child can fully enjoy their human rights in dignity, particularly the right to adequate food, as laid down in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and other international human rights instruments.

Organizational Structure

FIAN is an international membership based organisation. FIAN's institutional members are its national sections which are legal entities in their own right and have their own membership and elected decision-making bodies.

Current sections of FIAN can be found in some 20 countries, for updates look at Worldwide.

The overall mission, vision and the strategy of FIAN is defined and revised by the International Council (IC), and represented by delegates of the sections who meet once in two years. The IC elects the International Executive Committee (IEC), which is headed by the president, and supervises the implementation of FIAN’s strategic plans. The IEC meets bi-annually to review and strategize FIAN programs, methods and budgets. The operative working unit being in charge of the execution of FIAN’s programs is its International Secretariat (IS) located in Heidelberg (Germany) and Geneva (Switzerland), and coordinated by the Secretary General.

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Answer 2

Food group

A food group is a collection of foods that share similar nutritional properties or biological classifications. Nutrition guides typically divide foods into food groups and recommend daily servings of each group for a healthy diet. In the United States for instance, USDA has described food as being in from 4 to 11 different groups.

The number of "common" food groups varies depending on who is defining them. Canada's Food Guide, which has been in continual publication since 1942 and is the second most requested government document (after the income tax form) in Canada, recognizes only four official food groups, listing the remainder of foods as "another." Some of these "others" include:

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Answer 3

Free sugar

Free sugar is defined by the World Health Organization and the UN Food and Agriculture Organization in multiple reports as "all monosaccharides and disaccharides added to foods by the manufacturer, cook, or consumer, plus sugars naturally present in honey, syrups, and fruit juices". It is used to distinguish between the sugars that are naturally present in fully unrefined carbohydrates such as brown rice, wholewheat pasta, fruit, etc. and those sugars (or carbohydrates) that have been, to some extent, refined (normally by humans but sometimes by animals, such as the free sugars present in honey). They are referred to as "sugars" since they cover multiple chemical forms, including sucrose, glucose, fructose, dextrose, etc.

The principal definition of free sugars was to split the term "carbohydrate" into elements that relate more directly to the impact on health rather than a chemical definition, and followed on from meta-studies relating to chronic disease, obesity, and dental decay. It also led to the WHO and FAO to publish a revised food pyramid that splits up the classic food groups into more health-directed groups, which appears, as yet, to have had little impact on the food pyramids in use around the world.

The inclusion of such a definition caused issues for the WHO with sugar companies, who attempted to get the US government to remove funding from the WHO for suggesting that consumption of free sugars within the food pyramid should only amount to a maximum of 10% of the total energy intake, and that there should be no minimum (i.e. there is no requirement for any free sugars in the human diet) on the basis that the report did not take into account the evidence supplied by the sugar industry. The report in question specifically includes references to the evidence, but was unable to use it for a health basis, as the studies did not offer effective evidence of an impact on health, and referred to such studies as "limited".

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Answer 4

Fructose

D-Fructose

Fructose, or fruit sugar, is a simple ketonic monosaccharide found in many plants, where it is often bonded to glucose to form the disaccharide sucrose. It is one of the three dietary monosaccharides, along with glucose and galactose, that are absorbed directly into the bloodstream during digestion. Fructose was discovered by French chemist Augustin-Pierre Dubrunfaut in 1847. The name "fructose" was coined in 1857 by the English chemist William Miller. Pure, dry fructose is a very sweet, white, odorless, crystalline solid and is the most water-soluble of all the sugars. Fructose is found in honey, tree and vine fruits, flowers, berries, and most root vegetables.

Commercially, fructose is frequently derived from sugar cane, sugar beets, and corn. Crystalline fructose is the monosaccharide, dried, ground, and of high purity. High fructose corn syrup (HFCS) is a mixture of glucose and fructose as monosaccharides. Sucrose is a compound with one molecule of glucose covalently linked to one molecule of fructose. All forms of fructose, including fruits and juices, are commonly added to foods and drinks for palatability and taste enhancement, and for browning of some foods, such as baked goods.

About 240,000 tonnes of crystalline fructose are produced annually.

There is research indicating that excessive fructose consumption is a cause of insulin resistance, obesity, elevated LDL cholesterol and triglycerides, leading to metabolic syndrome,type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease. However, the European Food Safety Authority stated that fructose may be preferred over sucrose and glucose in sugar-sweetened foods and beverages because of its lower effect on postprandial blood sugar levels, but also noted that "high intakes of fructose may lead to metabolic complications such as dyslipidaemia, insulin resistance and increased visceral adiposity". Further, the UK's Scientific Advisory Committee on Nutrition in 2015 disputed the claims of fructose causing metabolic disorders, stating that "there is insufficient evidence to demonstrate that fructose intake ... leads to adverse health outcomes independent of any effects related to its presence as a component of total and free sugars."

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Answer 5

Functional beverage

A functional beverage is a non-alcoholic drink. Some include ingredients like herbs, vitamins, minerals, amino acids, or additional raw fruit or vegetables.

Examples of functional beverages include sports and performance drinks, energy drinks, ready to drink (RTD) teas, enhanced fruit drinks, soy beverages, and enhanced water.

Functional beverages have become popular among people who want specific health benefits from their foods and beverages. Both convenience and health have been identified as important factors in consumers' decision-making about food and beverage purchases. Functional drinks are advertised as having various health benefits. For example, some claim to improve heart health, immunity, digestion, and joint health, while others promote themselves as satiating and energy-boosting.

The functional beverage industry is a subsector of the functional food and non-alcoholic beverage industry. It is the fastest-growing sector of the industry, partially due to the maturity of the carbonated soft drink sector and heavy investments by major food and beverage companies. Another reason for the industry's growth may be the consumer-oriented market scheme whereby innovative ideas come from consumers. By 2008, in the U.S., the market share of functional beverages accounted for 48.9% of the non-alcoholic industry, which is worth $118.3 billion.

In 2006, functional beverage consumption per capita rose to 66.4 gallons, while the carbonated soft drink sector saw a decline in per-capita consumption to 50.4 gallons (decreased from an average per-capita consumption of 192.5 gallons in 2006).

Functional beverage industry players are generally categorized into four types:

The functional beverage industry encompasses a wide range of varieties targeting different health-related concerns. One trend has been toward hybrid drinks, which are marketed as having benefits like thirst-quenching ability, with daily dosages of vitamins or other nutrients. Another trend is the rise of probiotics, exemplified by Activia yogurt, marketed for intestinal and immune health. Other beverages, like Function BRAINIAC, a carambola punch energy drink in the Function Drinks line, advertise improved memory and mental sharpness. Functional drinks marketed to children have also been developed, and received attention with Nestlé's Boost.

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Answer 6

Functional food

A functional food is a food given an additional (often one related to health-promotion or disease prevention) by adding new ingredients or more of existing ingredients. The term may also apply to traits purposely bred into existing edible plants, such as purple or gold potatoes having enriched anthocyanin or carotenoid contents, respectively. Functional foods may be "designed to have physiological benefits and/or reduce the risk of chronic disease beyond basic nutritional functions, and may be similar in appearance to conventional food and consumed as part of a regular diet".

The term was first used in Japan in the 1980s where there is a government approval process for functional foods called Foods for Specified Health Use (FOSHU).

The functional food industry, consisting of food, beverage and supplement sectors, is one of the several areas of the food industry that is experiencing fast growth in recent years. It is estimated that the global market of functional food industry will reach 176.7 billion in 2013 with a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 7.4%. Specifically, the functional food sector will experience 6.9% CAGR, the supplement sector will rise by 3.8% and the functional beverage sector will be the fastest growing segment with 10.8% CAGR. This kind of growth is fueled not only by industrial innovation and development of new products that satisfy the demand of health conscious consumers but also by health claims covering a wide range of health issues. Yet, consumer skepticism persists mainly because benefits associated with consuming the products may be difficult to be detected. Strict examination of some of the functional food claims may discourage some companies from launching their products.

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Answer 7

Galactose

D-Galactose

Galactose ( + , "milk sugar"), sometimes abbreviated Gal, is a monosaccharide sugar that is less sweet than glucose and fructose. It is a C-4 epimer of glucose.

Galactan is a polymeric form of galactose found in hemicellulose. Galactan can be converted to galactose by hydrolysis.

Galactose exists in both open-chain and cyclic form. The open-chain form has a carbonyl at the end of the chain.

Four isomers are cyclic, two of them with a pyranose (six-membered) ring, two with a furanose (five-membered) ring. Galactofuranose occurs in bacteria, fungi and protozoa , and is recognized by a putative chordate immune lectin intelectin through its exocyclic 1,2-diol. In the cyclic form there are two anomers, named alpha and beta, since the transition from the open-chain form to the cyclic form involves the creation of a new stereocenter at the site of the open-chain carbonyl. In the beta form, the alcohol group is in the equatorial position, whereas in the alpha form, the alcohol group is in the axial position.

Galactose is a monosaccharide. When combined with glucose (monosaccharide), through a condensation reaction, the result is the disaccharide lactose. The hydrolysis of lactose to glucose and galactose is catalyzed by the enzymes lactase and β-galactosidase. The latter is produced by the lac operon in Escherichia coli.

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Answer 8

Gluconasturtiin

Gluconasturtiin

Gluconasturtiin (phenethylglucosinolate) is one of the most widely distributed glucosinolates in the cruciferous vegetables, mainly in the roots, and is probably one of the plant compounds responsible for the natural pest-inhibiting properties of growing crucifers, such as cabbage, mustard or rape, in rotation with other crops. This effect of gluconasturtiin is most likely due to its degradation by the plant enzyme myrosinase into phenethyl isothiocyanate, which is toxic to many organisms.

Gluconasturtiin is named from its occurrence in watercress (Nasturtium officinale). Among the vegetables, it is also found in horseradish (Armoracia rusticana) along with sinigrin. Both compounds elicit a pungent taste.

In one investigation of horseradish roots, sinigrin concentration represented 83% and gluconasturtiin 11% of the extracted glucosinolates.

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Answer 9

Glucose

D-Glucose

Glucose is a simple sugar with the molecular formula C₆H₁₂O₆. Glucose circulates in the blood of animals as blood sugar. It is made during photosynthesis from water and carbon dioxide, using energy from sunlight. The reverse of the photosynthesis reaction, which releases this energy, is an important source of power for cellular respiration. Glucose is stored as a polymer, in plants as starch and in animals as glycogen, for times when the organism will need it.

With 6 carbon atoms, it is classed as a hexose, a sub-category of the monosaccharides. D-glucose is one of the 16 aldohexose stereoisomers. The D-isomer, D-glucose, also known as dextrose, occurs widely in nature, but the L-isomer, L-glucose, does not. Glucose can be obtained by hydrolysis of carbohydrates such as milk sugar, cane sugar, maltose, cellulose, glycogen etc. It is commonly commercially manufactured from cornstarch by hydrolysis via pressurized steaming at controlled pH in a jet followed by further enzymatic depolymerization.

In 1747, Andreas Marggraf was the first to isolate glucose. Glucose is on the World Health Organization's List of Essential Medicines, the most important medications needed in a basic health system. The name glucose derives through the French from the Greek γλυκός, which means "sweet," in reference to must, the sweet, first press of grapes in the making of wine. The suffix "-ose" is a chemical classifier, denoting a carbohydrate.

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Answer 10

Glucosinolate

The glucosinolates are natural components of many pungent plants such as mustard, cabbage, and horseradish. The pungency of those plants is due to mustard oils produced from glucosinolates when the plant material is chewed, cut, or otherwise damaged. These natural chemicals most likely contribute to plant defence against pests and diseases, but are also enjoyed in small amounts by humans and are believed to contribute to the health promoting properties of cruciferous vegetables.

Glucosinolates constitute a natural class of organic compounds that contain sulfur and nitrogen and are derived from glucose and an amino acid. They are water-soluble anions and can be leached into the water during cooking. Glucosinolates belong to the glucosides. Every glucosinolate contains a central carbon atom, which is bound via a sulfur atom to the thioglucose group and via a nitrogen atom to a sulfate group (making a sulfated aldoxime). In addition, the central carbon is bound to a side group; different glucosinolates have different side groups, and it is variation in the side group that is responsible for the variation in the biological activities of these plant compounds. Some glucosinolates:

Glucosinolates occur as secondary metabolites of almost all plants of the order Brassicales (e.g. families Brassicaceae = Cruciferae, Capparidaceae, and Caricaceae), but also in the genus Drypetes (family Euphorbiaceae). For example, glucosinolates occur in cabbages (white cabbage, Chinese cabbage, broccoli), watercress, horseradish, capers and radishes. They are typically in parts consumed, with the pungent taste of these vegetables due to breakdown products (isothiocyanates or mustard oils) of glucosinolates. The glucosinolates are also found in the seeds of these plants.

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