Nutrients are very important; without proper nutrients, we would not function properly.
The common nutrients are:
Carbohydrates, Lipids and Proteins.
Vitamins and Mineral ions.
Fibres and Water.
Nutrients are gathered from the foods that we eat, let's start off with the most common ones carbohydrates, lipids and proteins, these come from our pasta, potatoes and breads, these carbohydrates are often very starchy, these carbohydrates give us energy which is used for us to move around and conduct chemical reactions in our bodies.
Next are Lipids, which are the other name for 'fats', found in fatty foods and oils. These fats are commonly found in seeds, dairy products, and types of oily fish. The difference between these liquids and oils is that oils are liquid at room temperature, but fats are solid.
They also provide energy to our bodies, but compared to carbohydrates, this energy source is more long-term since fat can be stored for longer compared to carbohydrates. Fats are also inside our bodies, with it being a layer of fat to keep us warm under our skin, and they also keep our organs safe.
Proteins are commonly found in seeds, fish and meats, and legumes like beans and lentils. These proteins are needed for growth and repairing damaged tissues, but the amount of energy that they can provide is much less compared to lipids or carbohydrates. If we don't have enough of either, the proteins can suffice.
Vitamins and Minerals are different as vitamins are from living organisms like while minerals are from inorganic sources, like iron, which is needed much less compared to vitamins.
Vitamin A are gathered from eating leafy vegetables and livers, other vitamins like vitamin C from oranges or other citrus fruits are meant to stop you from getting scurvy, which happens when you don't have enough vitamin C and can cause your gums to bleed.
Vitamin D is gathered from standing in the sun, as, strangely enough, the body makes vitamin D from sunlight, which is the best way to get it.
Other sources, via eggs and oily fish, the purpose of vitamin D is that it helps your body absorb Calcium.
This is a good segue to what Calcium is, which is a mineral, and is commonly found in milk and leafy veggies. If you don't have enough Calcium, then your bones will deform from a disease named Rickets.
Last is iron. If you have done the experiment where you crush up cereal, you will find small magnetic chunks of iron in the cereal, which our bodies need for helping red blood cells transport oxygen throughout the body.
If you don't have enough iron, then you might get Anemia, which is when the body can't transport enough oxygen to your tissues, and is a vital part of haemoglobin. This is found in foods like red meats, beans and spinach.
Lastly is Fibre and Water are also nutrients with their own purposes. Fibre is considered to be a type of carbohydrate, but the key difference is that we don't absorb it into the body, its purpose is to help food move through our intestines, which helps us not get Diarrhea or be constipated.
Water is important since 70% of our bodies are made of water, and is found in all drinks. certain fruits also supply us with water, like strawberries and watermelons. We need it for chemical reactions in our bodies, along with making urine, which is waste and sweat, to keep our bodies cool.
In order to keep a balanced diet, we need all of the nutrients. If we take too little, then we might contract certain diseases, or if we eat too much, then we might have too much excess fat, so that we would become obese.
Instead of using Joules for energy, we instead write the energy that food gives us with calories, so the more calories the more energy, as stated above the amount you need varies to what your doing, if your doing sports then you might need more food or energy to gain back the lost energy when doing activities, or if your growing as children need lots of energy to grow, while the elderly take less since they don't have to grow, and if your pregnant than you need to eat more since your body is forming an infant.