Chapter Nine: Water and Minerals

1. Chapter Nine: Water and Minerals • Identify the functions of water • Describe the process by which the body regulates water intake and water excretion • Identify normal causes of water loss • List causes of additional (less usual) water losses

2. Chapter Eight, Cntd. • Name the major minerals and the functions and deficiencies of those at risk • Explain osteoporosis and the risk factors that contribute to its development • Name the trace minerals and their functions and deficiencies of those at risk • Explain how the use of alcohol affects nutritional status

3. Water and Body Fluids • Adult body is comprised of 60% water • Water functions • Transports nutrients and waste products • Participant in chemical reactions (metabolism) • Solvent for water soluble nutrients • Maintains blood pressure and body temperature

4. Water Functions, Cntd. • Lubricant and cushioning for joints • Shock absorber for eyes, spinal, and placenta

5. Water Balance • Regulators • Thirst—outward sign of dehydration • Diminished with age • Hypothalamus monitors lack or excess • Triggers pituitary to release ADH (antidiuretic hormone) when salts are too high and volume of blood or blood pressure is too low • Kidneys respond by excreting or withholding fluids

6. Water Losses • Losses normally occur from: • Urine—water required to excrete urine and body wastes • Lungs as vapor • Feces • Skin in the cooling process • About 2½ quarts per day

7. Recommended Water Intake • 8-12 cups per day (pale yellow urine indicates appropriate dilution) • Water, milk and juices are best sources • Alcoholic beverages and those containing caffeine act as diuretics • Fruits, vegetables, meats and cheese also contribute to water intake

8. Fluid and Electrolyte Balance • Mineral salts when dissolved in water contain electrical charges and are known as electrolytes • Electrolytes and water are the most vital to life—electrolytes hold water in compartments where needed • Electrolytes outside the cell are sodium and chloride • Electrolyte inside the cell is potassium

9. Electrolyte and Fluid Balances • Balances can be upset by large fluid losses • Vomiting • Diarrhea • Heavy sweating • Fever • Burns • Wounds causing blood loss • Electrolytes also help maintain the acidity pH of body fluids

10. Major Minerals • Needed in larger amounts in the body • Sodium: • Principle electrolyte in the extracellular fluid outside the cell • Maintains acid-base balance—muscle contraction and nerve transmission • Sources: processed foods, salt added while cooking (select iodized salt)

11. Major Minerals, Cntd. • Sodium • Average intake is about 3300 mg and Daily Value recommendation is 2400 mg • Risks of too much are high blood pressure or hypertension • Choose and prepare foods with less salt—U.S. Dietary Goal

12. Major Minerals, Cntd. • Chloride: • Extracellular electrolyte • Usually associated with either sodium or potassium • Part of HCL acid found in the stomach • Best source in table salt

13. Major Minerals, Cntd. • Potassium • Principal charged electrolyte found inside the cell • Critical to keeping the heartbeat steady • Diets low in potassium can contribute to elevated blood pressure • Sources: fresh food of all kinds, especially fruits and vegetables—oranges & bananas

14. Major Minerals, Cntd. • Calcium • Necessary for growth of a healthy skeleton and prevention of bone disease later in life • Most abundant mineral in the body • 99% of calcium found in the bones and teeth—provides rigidity • 1% found in body fluids—vital to life • Regulate muscle contractions • Transmits nerve impulses

15. Major Minerals, Cntd. • Blood clotting • Cofactor to several enzymes • Deficiencies: • Osteoporosis • Porous, thin, fragile bones found mostly in older women • Can also correlate with high blood pressure • Absorption can vary between 30-75%

16. Major Minerals, Cntd. • Sources: • Best are in the daily group (2-3 cups per day of fluid milk or their equivalents) • Vegetables: mustard greens, kale, parsley, watercress, and broccoli • Meat group: particularly sardines, including bones and poultry

17. Major Minerals, Cntd. • Phosphorus • 2nd most abundant mineral in the body • Excess in the diet can cause excretion of calcium—carbonated beverages and high protein diet, especially from meat sources

18. Trace Minerals • Needed in smaller amounts in the body • Iron: • Absorption is limited—10-15% absorbed from dietary sources—can increase with good Vitamin C sources eaten together • Function: component of the protein hemoglobin that carries oxygen from the lungs to tissues

19. Trace Minerals, Cntd. • Deficiency—Iron deficiency anemia—most prevalent in children and pre-menopausal women • RDA is 10-15 mg per day • Sources: Most absorbable sources are meats, poultry and fish, esp. organ meats; plant sources are less absorbable • Toxicity: can cause death, especially in small children

20. Trace Minerals, Cntd. • Zinc: • Multiple metabolic functions • Deficiency can cause growth retardation and affects immune function • Sources are high protein foods • Iodine: • Integral part of the thyroid hormone, thyroxin

21. Trace Minerals, Cntd. • Deficiency causes mental and physical retardation • Problem in underdeveloped countries who don’t have access to iodized salt • Sources: Iodized salt or foods grown in iodine rich soil; high mountain areas have little in the soil

22. Trace Minerals, Cntd. • Fluoride • Necessary for normal bone and tooth development • Teeth are more resistant to decay • Sources: drinking water either naturally or from fluoridated water

23. Nutrition and Alcohol Abuse • Sources of Alcohol: • Wine, wine coolers, beer, and hard liquor • Nutritional deficiencies can result from • Depression of appetite—less food eaten • Interference with digestion, absorption, metabolism and excretion of nutrients • Vitamins and minerals necessary for normal metabolism interfered with so fewer nutrients are available from food

24. TEST QUESTIONS • Water is involve in all of the following EXCEPT: • A. Regulation of body temperature • B. conversion of lipids to amino acids • C. Lubricant around joints • D. Solvent for minerals and vitamins

25. Test Questions • Which of the following body processes in NOT dependent upon the presence of calcium in the body fluids? • A. Blood clotting • B. Muscle contraction • C. Transmission of nerve impulses • D. Transportation of oxygen in the bloodstream

26. Test Questions • A deficiency of _________ is one of the world’s most common preventable causes of mental retardation • A. Zinc • B. Selenium • C. Magnesium • D. Iodine