Nutrient for Life
A balanced diet should contain the type and amount of food that the body requires, depending on your age, sex, activity, etc..
A nutrient is a chemical inside the cell needs to perform its vital functions. They are taken into cells and converted into cellular constituents through a process called anabolism biosynthesis.
The nutrient is any element or compound necessary for the metabolism of a living being. From the standpoint of botany and ecology, basic nutrients are oxygen, water and minerals necessary for plant life, which through photosynthesis incorporate living matter, thus forming the basis of the chain Food, once these plants will be fed to animals.
Living things are not photosynthetic capacity, such as animals, fungi and many protoctists, feed on plants and animals either dead or decaying. For these beings, nutrients are organic compounds of these foods.
Nutrient Types
If classified according to the importance of these nutrients, there are two types:
* Essential Nutrients: they are vital to the body.
* Non-Essential Nutrients: are those who are not vital to the body.
If classified according to the required amount of this nutrient is classified as:
* Macronutrients provide energy and are required daily in large amounts, including protein, carbohydrate and fat. They are the basis of any diet
* Micronutrients are vitamins and minerals found in food in small quantities and are crucial in the normal functioning of the organism and digestion
If classified according to their function, are classified as:
* Energetic: provide energy for the body to carry out necessary functions.
* Plastics: form the structure of the body. It also allows growth.
* Regulators: are responsible for the metabolism to function properly. They have no energy properties
