Search results
Results from the WOW.Com Content Network
The main purpose of the gastrointestinal tract is to digest and absorb nutrients (fat, carbohydrate, protein, micronutrients (vitamins and trace minerals), water, and electrolytes. Digestion involves both mechanical and enzymatic breakdown of food. Mechanical processes include chewing, gastric churning, and the to-and-fro mixing in the small ...
Malnutrition occurs when an organism gets too few or too many nutrients, resulting in health problems. [11] [12] Specifically, it is a deficiency, excess, or imbalance of energy, protein and other nutrients which adversely affects the body's tissues and form.
Micronutrient deficiencies are considered a public health problem worldwide. For over 30 years it has been estimated that more than two billion people of all ages are affected by this burden, [1] while a recently published study based on individual-level biomarker data estimated that there are 372 million children aged 5 years and younger, and 1.2 billion non-pregnant women of reproductive age ...
The seven major classes of nutrients are carbohydrates, fats, fiber, minerals, proteins, vitamins, and water. [7] Nutrients can be grouped as either macronutrients or micronutrients (needed in small quantities). Carbohydrates, fats, and proteins are macronutrients, and provide energy. [7] Water and fiber are macronutrients, but do not provide ...
[2] [5] The accumulation of fat in the walls of the gut and other organs in leads to serious digestive problems including malabsorption, a condition in which the gut fails to absorb nutrients and calories from food, persistent and often forceful vomiting, frequent diarrhea, foul-smelling and fatty stools (steatorrhea), and failure to grow. [2]
Mineral deficiency is a lack of the dietary minerals, the micronutrients that are needed for an organism's proper health. [1] The cause may be a poor diet, impaired uptake of the minerals that are consumed, or a dysfunction in the organism's use of the mineral after it is absorbed.
Catabolysis is a biological process in which the body breaks down fat and muscle tissue in order to stay alive. Catabolysis occurs only when there is no longer any source of protein, carbohydrate, or vitamin nourishment feeding all body systems; it is the most severe type of malnutrition.
Glucose-galactose malabsorption generally becomes apparent in the first few weeks of a baby's life. Affected infants experience severe diarrhea resulting in life-threatening dehydration, increased acidity of the blood and tissues (), and weight loss when fed breast milk or regular infant formulas.