Nutrition Overview 🍏

Nutrition is the process by which living organisms obtain food for survival. 🌱

Modes of Nutrition 🌍

• Autotrophic Nutrition 🌿: Organisms (autotrophs) make their own food.
• Photoautotrophs ☀️: Use sunlight for energy (e.g., green plants).
• Chemoautotrophs ⚗️: Use energy from chemical reactions (e.g., nitrifying bacteria).
• Heterotrophic Nutrition 🍽️: Organisms (heterotrophs) consume food from other organisms.
• Parasitic Nutrition 🦠: A parasite feeds on a host, causing potential harm.
• Exoparasites 🐜: Live on the host's surface (e.g., lice).
• Endoparasites 🦠: Live inside the host (e.g., tapeworms).
• Saprophytic Nutrition 🍂: Saprophytes, like mould fungi, feed on dead matter by secreting enzymes.
• Holozoic Nutrition 🐾: Common in animals, involves ingestion, digestion, absorption, assimilation, and egestion.
• Symbiosis (Mutualism) 🤝: Two species benefit each other, such as ruminants and gut microbes, and legumes with nitrogen-fixing bacteria.

Nutrients provide energy, growth materials, disease protection, and aid body function. There are seven classes:

• Carbohydrates 🍞: Provide energy; deficiency can cause marasmus. ⚠️
• Monosaccharides (e.g., glucose, fructose). 🍬
• Disaccharides (e.g., lactose, maltose). 🥛
• Polysaccharides (e.g., starch, glycogen). 🍚
• Lipids 🥑: For waterproofing, insulation, and energy storage.
• Proteins 🍗: Essential for growth and repair, contain amino acids.
• Water 💧: Vital for body functions. Deficiency causes dehydration. 🚰
• Mineral Salts 🧂: Needed in small amounts (e.g., Calcium for bones, Iron for hemoglobin). 🦴
• Vitamins 🍊: Essential in small quantities (e.g., Vitamin C for connective tissues, Vitamin D for calcium absorption). ☀️
• Roughage 🌾: Indigestible fibers that prevent constipation.

• Iodine Test for Starch 🟡: Blue-black color indicates starch presence.
• Benedict’s Test for Reducing Sugars 🍭: Color change from green to brick-red shows presence of reducing sugars.
• Benedict’s Test for Non-reducing Sugars 🍬: After hydrolysis, a green to red color indicates non-reducing sugars.
• Biuret Test for Proteins 🟣: Purple/violet color indicates proteins.
• Lipid Tests 🥥: Emulsion Test gives a cloudy solution, and Grease Spot Test shows a translucent spot.

Each nutrient serves specific functions:

• Carbohydrates 🍚: Quick energy source.
• Lipids 🥑: Long-term energy, waterproofing, and insulation.
• Proteins 🍗: For tissues, enzymes, hormones, and antibodies.
• Vitamins and Minerals 💊: Support immune health, bone strength, and body processes.