Topic D.1: Human Nutrition

Essential Idea:   A balanced diet is essential to human health.
At SHS, Topic D.1 is taught in the following class unit(s):

Statements & Objectives:

D.1.U1  Essential nutrients cannot be synthesized by the body; therefore they have to be included in the diet.
  • Define “essential” as related to dietary nutrients.
  • Define “non-essential” as related to dietary nutrients.
D.1.U2  Dietary minerals are essential chemical elements.
  • State the difference between a vitamin and a mineral.
  • List two example essential minerals.
D.1.U3  Vitamins are chemically diverse carbon compounds that cannot be synthesized by the body.
  • Define vitamin.
  • Given a molecular diagram of a vitamin, determine if t is hydrophobic or hydrophilic.
  • Compare the properties of water soluble and fat soluble vitamins.
  • List two example water soluble vitamins and two example fat soluble vitamins.
D.1.U4  Some fatty acids and some amino acids are essential.
  • Outline the concept of “conditionally essential” using amino acid examples.
D.1.U5  Lack of essential amino acids affects the production of proteins.
  • Outline the effect of protein deficiency malnutrition on children and adults.
D.1.U6  Malnutrition may be caused by a deficiency, imbalance or excess of nutrients in the diet.
  • Outline two causes of malnutrition.
D.1.U7  Appetite is controlled by a centre in the hypothalamus.
  • Describe how hormones and the appetite control center regulate a desire to eat.
D.1.U8  Overweight individuals are more likely to suffer hypertension and type II diabetes.
  • Define hypertension.
  • Outline the reasons for the relationship between weight gain and hypertension.
  • Outline the causes of the two type of diabetes mellitus.
  • List risk factors associated with type II diabetes.
  • State symptoms of type II diabetes.
  • List cardiovascular effects of type II diabetes.
D.1.U9  Starvation can lead to breakdown of body tissue.
  • State the cause of starvation.
  • Explain loss of muscle mass during starvation.
D.1.A1  Production of ascorbic acid by some mammals, but not others that need a dietary supply.​
  • State the function of ascorbic acid, Vitamin C.
  • Analyze a cladogram based on the mutations in the GLO gene, used in Vitamin C synthesis.
  • Outline the cause, symptoms and treatment of scurvy.
D.1.A2  Cause and treatment of phenylketonuria (PKU).
  • Outline the genetic cause of phenylketonuria.
  • List consequences of phenylketonuria if untreated.
  • State how phenylketonuria is treated.
D.1.A3  Lack of Vitamin D or calcium can affect bone mineralization and cause rickets or osteomalacia.
  • Explain the relationship between vitamin D, calcium, osteomalacia and skin cancer.
D.1.A4  Breakdown of heart muscle due to anorexia.
  • List symptoms associated with anorexia nervosa.
  • Outline the effect of anorexia nervosa on heart muscle tissue.
D.1.A5  Cholesterol in blood as an indicator of the risk of coronary heart disease.
  • Outline factors that indicate that dietary cholesterol may not be the exclusive cause of the correlation between blood plasma cholesterol levels and risk of coronary heart disease.
D.1.S1  Determination of the energy content of food by combustion.
  • Explain how a calorimeter can be used to determine the energy content in food.
  • Calculate the energy content of a food sample using calorimetry data.
D.1.S2  Use of databases of nutritional content of foods and software to calculate intakes of essential nutrients from a daily diet.
  • Use a computer application to keep a record of food consumed in a single day.
  • Compare tracked food intake to the recommended intake of nutrients.
D.1.NOS  Falsification of theories with one theory being superseded by another—scurvy was thought to be specific to humans, because attempts to induce the symptoms in laboratory rats and mice were entirely unsuccessful.
  • Based on cladistics, explain why some animals are poor models for the study of scurvy.
"When we try to pick out anything by itself, we find it hitched to everything else in the Universe." 
 John Muir,   1911