glossary

=__**Glossary**__=

**Nutrition:** Is what the body needs to get energy in order to live, grow, make repairs. Nutrition includes some processes and systems.

**Nutritional Systems:** They are the processes involved in nutrition. They are Digestion, Respiration, Excretion and Circulation.

**Digestion:** The process in the alimentary canal by which food is broken up physically by the action of the teeth and converted into a substance suitable for absorption and assimilation into the body. This occurs in the digestive system. F ood is chewed in the mouth and mixed with saliva, then it is called bolus, it passes through the esophagus to the stomach where the food breaks up. Then it goes to the small intestine, where food can spend as long as four hours, that absorbs all the vitamins, minerals, proteins, carbohydrates and fats; and will become a very thin, watery mixture. After that it passes through the large intestine, the last stop on the digestive process before going to the rectum.



**Respiration:** This is the process of acquiring the oxygen we need to live. It occurs in the respiratory system. We inhale oxygen-rich air and exhale air filled with carbon dioxide. First you breathe air in through your nose and mouth. Then the air travels through your voice box, down your windpipe, and through the bronchial tubes into your lungs. The air goes through your bronchi in your lungs to blood vessels that connect to veins and arteries. When you exhale, the carbon dioxide goes out the same way.



**Excretion:** Helping to eliminate waste products produced in our body is carried out by the excretory system.

**Circulation:** Transporting nutrients, oxygen, and waste products around the body, occurs in the circulatory system.



**Nutrients:** Substances that compose food. They can be classified in five groups: Carbohydrates, Fats, Proteins, Water, Vitamins and Minerals.

**Carbohydrates**: Are organic compounds made up of carbon, hydrogen and oxygen and provide energy tom our body. We can divide carbohydrates into simple or complex. Inside the simple carbohydrates we can find: sugar, cakes... And inside the complex ones, we can find: vegetables, pasta, fruit and legumes.



**Fats:** Fats are good to provide energy to our body. Examples: Hamburgers, pizza, butter and milk.

**Proteins:** is a long chain-like molecule that is made up of small units known as amino acids, joined together by peptide bonds that build up materials necessary to grow. Examples: eggs, milk, meat and cheese.


 * Water: ** is what hydrates your body, necessary to live. Examples: apple, watermelon, pineapple, etc.

**Vitamins and minerals:** Vitamins and minerals make people's bodies work properly. Although you get vitamins and minerals from the foods you eat every day, some foods have more vitamins and minerals than others. Examples: Vitamin A, Vitamin B12, Calcium, Zinc. It is crucial for our body to stay healthy.



**Digestive System:** the system by which ingested food is acted up on by physical and chemical means to provide the body with absorbable nutrients and to excrete waste products; in mammals the system includes the alimentary canal extending from the mouth to the anus, and the hormones and enzymes assisting in digestion.



**Healthy Diet:** Good food is a source of health. Diet is the collection of foods that a person usually eats. A good reference to acquire a healthy diet is the food pyramid, which consists of different levels of food depending on how necessary and healthy they are for us.
 * A diet is complete when it includes all of the types of nutrients.
 * A diet is balanced when it has the correct quantity of each nutrient.



**Absorption:** the process of absorbing nutrients into the body after digestion

**Elimination of waste:** The act of discharching or excreting waste products from the body.

**Respiratory System:** Consists of the air passageways and the lungs. When we inhale, the air enters through the nostrils, then to the pharynx, goes down to the larynx and the trachea. This is divided into two bronchi that take the air to each lung.



**Gas exchange:** One of the major jobs of the lungs is to filter the air and pull out the oxygen. The oxygen is then passed to your blood. Your blood delivers the oxygen to all the tissues in your body, which use the oxygen to perform important functions. Your tissues then dump waste gases back into the blood. The blood carries the waste gases back to the lungs, which then help to expel these waste gases, mainly carbon dioxide. This ongoing process is known as gas exchange.

**Cellular respiration:** Nutrients and oxygen enter the cell and combine to produce the energy the cell needs. Waste products such as carbon dioxide are also produced and expelled from the cell.