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Human nutrition deals with the provision of essential nutrients in food that are necessary to support human life and good health. [1] Poor nutrition is a chronic problem often linked to poverty, food security , or a poor understanding of nutritional requirements. [ 2 ]
The nutrients considered essential for humans comprise nine amino acids, two fatty acids, thirteen vitamins, fifteen minerals and choline. [13] In addition, there are several molecules that are considered conditionally essential nutrients since they are indispensable in certain developmental and pathological states. [13] [14] [15]
Organisms are able to detect nutrients through taste or other forms of nutrient sensing, allowing them to regulate nutrient intake. [16] Optimal foraging theory is a model that explains foraging behavior as a cost–benefit analysis in which an animal must maximize the gain of nutrients while minimizing the amount of time and energy spent foraging.
Selenium, which is an essential element for animals and prokaryotes and is a beneficial element for many plants, is the least-common of all the elements essential to life. [ 3 ] [ 63 ] Selenium acts as the catalytic center of several antioxidant enzymes, such as glutathione peroxidase , [ 11 ] and plays a wide variety of other biological roles .
The root, especially the root hair, a unique cell, is the essential organ for the uptake of nutrients. The structure and architecture of the root can alter the rate of nutrient uptake. Nutrient ions are transported to the center of the root, the stele, in order for the nutrients to reach the conducting tissues, xylem and phloem. [6]
The most known chemical elements whose covalent combinations make up most biological molecules on Earth. [2] All of these elements are nonmetals.. In animals in general, the four elements—C, H, N, and O—compose about 96% of the weight, and major minerals (macrominerals) and minor minerals (also called trace elements) compose the remainder.
The study of genetic copper metabolism diseases and their associated proteins are enabling scientists to understand how human bodies use copper and why it is important as an essential micronutrient. [citation needed] The diseases arise from defects in two similar copper pumps, the Menkes and the Wilson Cu-ATPases. [18]
A general name for this class of material is biological materials. Biomolecules are an important element of living organisms. Biomolecules are an important element of living organisms. They are often endogenous , [ 2 ] i.e. produced within the organism, [ 3 ] but organisms usually also need exogenous biomolecules, for example certain nutrients ...