Nutrition: A Popular General Education Chemistry Course Frances Mathews California State University, Fullelton, Fullerton, CA 92634
Nutrition is a topic with widespread appeal and importance that requires some understanding of elementary chemistry. We have developed a general education course in nutrition that includes elementary chemistry, biochemistry, and physiology. This interdisciplinary, three-credit course is the only elementary nutrition course on campus. It is taught in a traditional lecture format and is taken by about 400 students per year. Students vary widely from those without even a high school chemistry background to those with upper division standing in chemistry or biology A brief course outline is shown in the table. Course Description
This course begins with a discussion of the four food poups-fruits and vegetables, ~ a i n sdairy , products, and meats-and the nutrients the foods cuntain: carbohydrates, oroteins.. fat., vitamins. minerals. and trace elements. We define polymer and monomer, and explain generally what h a ~ ~ e to n snutrients in dieestion. absorption. and metaboli&n. Students are led to-think in terms of food as com~ o s e dof molecules. and then introduced to atomic structure, ionic and covalent bonds, and the chemical reactions of oxidation and hydrolysis. Because many students have no chemistry background, early lectures describe how to understand structural formulas and how to recognize important functional groups (alcohol, aldehyde, carboxylic acid, etc.), as well as how to relate structures to such physicochemical properties as solubility. About two thirds of the course involves discussion of the different nutrients. The general att tern that we have developed is to discuss the essentiai chemistry of each nutrient, some physiology and human biochemistry relating to the nutrient, and finally the more nutritional aspects. We begin with carbohydrates, moving from structures and digestion to the more complex iss;es of the importance of fiber to health and nutritional comparison of foods rich in complex carbohydrates to those rich in simple sugars. Blood glucose and its control by insulin and glucagon are important topics. Finally, we discuss in a very general way how the body gets energy by oxidizing glucose in glywlysis and the Krebs cycle, and compare aerobic and anaerobic energy metabolism. This pattern is repeated for proteins and fats. For each, metabolism is related to overail energy production by the major metabolic pathways. Later, exercise and weight loss are related to these same oathwavs. Most students do f h d this material difficult, but'by con& back again and again from different angles students ultimately gain the understanding we desire. They also are quite pleased with their own grasp of topics such as where ketone bodies come from and what happens to metabolism during feasting or fastine. The vitamin section addresses some of the more exciting biochemical functions of f i t soluble and water soluble vitamins, what foods are rich in each one, and topics of current importance: megadosing with vitamin C, carotene and vi-
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tamin E in cancer prevention and aging, and toxicity of vitamins A and D. Calcium and osteoporosis as well a s sodium, osmotic pressure, and high blood pressure are important parts of the section on major minerals. In these topics, as in others, we discuss the nutrient's food sources, dietary requirements, and roles in the body in maintaining health andlor preventing disease. The last part of the course is somewhat more applied. One series of topics begins with energy, calorimetry, energy use for basal metabolic requirements and physical activities. and weight loss. Recommendations of the US eovemment for thediets of Americans are discussed. ink^, the course concludes with food safety, regulations, additives, and factors affectingfood quality from farm to the table. Course Purpose This course was designed to fulfill our students'general education needs, and it shows how biochemistry can be profitably studied at an elementary level. One of the real pleasures of teaching this course is the enthusiastic response of many students, who profess to being happy to "take a chemistry course I can relate to, and find practical use for every day." Interests of our students, and society, are not confined to ririd discidines. and we need to make every effort to teach tge broader aspkcts of chemistry, especially in beginning courses for nonscience majors. Acknowledgment The author wishes to thank Maria C. Linder for her assistance in the preparation of this manuscript. A Nutrition Course Outline
Introduction to Nutrition Digestion. Absorption, and Metabolism Atoms and Mo ecLles Chemical Slr~clures ana React~ons Caroonvarales:S.mole an0 Como ex. F oer ~igestidn,Blood ~ltkose,~iabeies Glycolysis and the Krebs Cycle Fats: Function, Structure, Nutrition Digestion. Metabolism Cholesterol. Fats, and Heart Disease Proteins and Amino Acids: Functions, Protein Synthesis Nutrition of Proteins Nutrition and Metabolism of Major Minerals Calcium and Osteooorosis Nt.tr~t on and ~elabol sm of Trace Elements N ~ t r o~nt n Deve opmenl ana Ag ng V ramlns F~ncuons.Types, ana Metabolism Megavitamin Therapy Energy, Calories Basal Metabolism and Activity Requirements Fads and Fallacies in Dietina Food Additives, FDA, and ~oodSafely Food Quality in Production, Storage, and Preparation
Volume 70 Number 1
January 1993
47
