ENSINO ONLINE.

ENSINO COM FUTURO

INSTITUTO SUPERIOR DE CIÊNCIAS E EDUCAÇÃO À DISTÂNCIA

CENTRO DE RECURSO DE LICHINGA

CURSO DE LICENCIATURA EM ENSINO DE BIOLOGIA

“Health and Nutrition”

Student’s Name: Dulcídio Cristêncio Hossana

Code: 96231197

Lichinga, May of 2023

 ENSINO ONLINE, ENSINO COM FUTURO

CENTRO DE RECURSO DE LICHINGA

CURSO DE LICENCIATURA EM ENSINO DE BIOLOGIA

“Health and Nutrition”

Student’s Name: Dulcídio Cristêncio Hossana

Code: 96231197

Trabalho de campo da cadeira de inglês a ser submetido

na coordenação do Curso de licenciatura em ensino de
Biologia da UNISCED.
Tutor: Dr. Pedro Mucochua

Lichinga, May of 2023

 TABLE OF CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................................ 4

BASIC CONCEPTS.............................................................................................................. 5

HEALTH .............................................................................................................................. 5

NUTRITION......................................................................................................................... 5

FOOD ................................................................................................................................... 5

NUTRIENTS ........................................................................................................................ 5

ALIMENTATION ................................................................................................................. 6

THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN HEALTH AND NUTRITION ........................................ 6

KEY FACTORS IN NUTRITION ......................................................................................... 6

IMPORTANCE OF FOOD FOR OUR HEALTH .................................................................. 7

NATIONAL NUTRITION AND HEALTH-RELATED POLICIES, LEGISLATION AND

STRATEGIES ....................................................................................................................... 7

MOZAMBIQUE AND THE HEALTH OVERVIEW ............................................................ 7

CHALLENGES FOR THE AREA OF HEALTH AND NUTRITION.................................... 8

A BRIEF HISTORY OF NUTRITION ................................................................................. 8

1ST - LAW OF QUANTITY .................................................................................................. 8

2ND - LAW OF QUALITY .................................................................................................... 8

3RD - LAW OF HARMONY .................................................................................................. 9

4TH - LAW OF ADEQUACY ................................................................................................ 9

PRINCIPLES OF NUTRITION ............................................................................................ 9

CONCLUSION ................................................................................................................... 11
INTRODUCTION
Nutrition is the study of nutrients in food, how our organism uses them, as well as, the
relationship between diet health and disease. It is the biochemical and physiological process
that consists of an organism to use food to support its life.

Nutrition helps to provide organisms with nutrients metabolized to create energy, and
chemical structures Thus, eating healthy food is necessary for a healthy functioning of our
bodies as it protects us against many diseases such as heart diseases, diabetes, cancer,
malaria, and others.

It’s important for us to follow some rules so that we keep our health under control such as
eating a variety of foods, consuming less quantity of salt, meats, sugars and industrialized
products. On this wise, consuming natural foods (fruits, vegetables, whole grains and low-fat
diary) help risk of heart attack diseases and consequently keep our bodies healthy.

In this context, along this English work, we are going to develop contents related to nutrition
and aims to comprehend the importance of health and nutrition for a better functioning of our
body.

For this research the author proposed the following objectives:

 Identify the relationship between healthy and nutrition;

 Describe the determinant factors in nutrition;
 Explain the importance of using for our health;
 Identify evidence-based adoption and implementation of national nutritional policies,
legislation and strategies;
 Explain current nuttional situation in Mozambique; situação da saúde e nutrição em
Moçambique;

The work is generally structured into an introduction, development, a brief conclusion and a
bibliographical reference of the sources used by the author as to attain the objectives
previously proposed.

In terms of work methodology, in the present study the author applied for bibliography
research which was based on secondary sources of data, collected mainly from different
research articles, books, handouts, internet sources and others, as a way of attaining the
objectives previously proposed for the study.

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BASIC CONCEPTS
In this part of the work we are going to present some important expressions used in health
and nutrition.

HEALTH
The current WHO definition of health, formulated in 1948, describes health as “a state of
complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or
infirmity.”

At that time this formulation was groundbreaking because of its breadth and ambition. It
overcame the negative definition of health as absence of disease and included the physical,
mental, and social domains.

Although the definition has been criticised over the past 60 years, it has never been adapted.
Criticism is now intensifying, and as population’s age and the pattern of illnesses changes the
definition may even be counterproductive.

NUTRITION
According to Cuppari (2005) nutrition is a “process by which food is used in physical form,
normal functioning of organs, tissues, resistance to diseases, and for the maintenance of
health and life”.

Nutrition is a health science that studies food, its nutrients, as well as its action, interaction
and balance in relation to health and disease in addition to the processes by which the body
ingests, absorbs, transports, uses and excretes nutrients.

FOOD
Food is everything that is edible and important for all of us, regardless of its form of
presentation. As can be deduced from the concepts listed above, food is everything that an
individual or population consumes and recognizes as food, so the need to respect and value
everything that communities consume regardless of its form of presentation, by virtue of
nutrition (GUSMAN, 2005).

NUTRIENTS
According to CHONPS, (2009) nutrient is any element or chemical compound necessary for
the metabolism of a living organism and makes up food. It can be said that nutrients are
divided into macronutrients (carbohydrates, proteins and fats) in the macronutrient is where
the caloric values of micronutrient foods (vitamins, minerals, water and dietary fiber.

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ALIMENTATION
Alimentation is defined by the world health organization (WHO, 2011), “as being the process
that includes the choice, preparation and ingestion of food and also chewing and swallowing
that constitute a coordinating set of voluntary acts”.

Thus, for the general population, nutrition can mean a "special diet". Sometimes the terms
nutrition is used to refer to the nutritional status or organic condition of an individual. Around
these assumptions the best understanding and that the science of nutrition studies the
relationship between food and human health.

THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN HEALTH AND NUTRITION

The relationship between health and nutrition has robust scientific support and, currently, is a
subject that arouses interest and concern of society as a whole, in order to provide better
quality of life and prevent diseases.

Therefore, a poor diet can generate an inflammatory response of the body, with frequent
tissue damage. The Society further states that "malnutrition and high consumption of fats –
can cause changes in immune function and severe damage to patients.

"The increase in obesity was one of the factors that provoked the emergence of a concept that
further unifies these two areas: immunometabolism. The idea is that through specific studies
of this relationship, it is possible to develop more efficient therapies to combat the
inflammatory problems mentioned. It is important to avoid excessive consumption of refined
carbohydrates and fats. This type of feeding can cause an increase in adipose tissue and
accumulation of fat in the liver (hepatic steatosis).

KEY FACTORS IN NUTRITION

 Agricultural resources and inputs (Land, landless, labor, agricultural implements,
surplus, climate, non-agricultural labor, donations, gifts, goods.
 Source of exchange (Income in money, income in goods, own production, physical
access, economic and social access);
 Biological factors (disease, age, sex, physical activity);
 Health and nutrition situation of the individual (resistance to disease, social
competence);
 Constraints (processing, confectioning and distribution in the household (GUSMA,
2005).

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IMPORTANCE OF FOOD FOR OUR HEALTH
It is one of the fundamental conditions for ensuring nutritional security. Food should be used
in such a way as to ensure that each member of the family receives and absorbs adequate
nutrients to ensure their nutritional needs, (FIDALGO, 2003).

Linked to the subject discussed above, there is another issue regarding practices and customs
among peoples that can affect the use of food, which in turn can compromise the nutritional
value. For example: the practice of cooking rice and removing the water. This practice
conditions the nutritional composition because much of the nutrients are lost during
decantation.

NATIONAL NUTRITION AND HEALTH-RELATED POLICIES, LEGISLATION

AND STRATEGIES
The focus is to use evidence to ensure that the needs of the most nutritionally disadvantaged
are met and that national nutrition practices, including policies that impact child nutrition,
such as agrarian and social protection policies, serve to improve the nutritional status of the
most vulnerable children.

MOZAMBIQUE AND THE HEALTH OVERVIEW

Since 1990, more children in Mozambique are living to celebrate their fifth birthday,
following sustained progress in reducing under-five mortality, thereby achieving the
Millennium Development Goal (MDG).

However, many challenges remain, particularly with regard to the sharp disparities in child
health outcomes among poorer provinces, such as Zambézia, as well as for the less educated
and poor, where progress has lagged behind the progress made in the rest of the country.

In addition, neonatal mortality now accounts for more than a third of infant mortality, as the
reduction in maternal and neonatal deaths has stagnated over the past decade. Malnutrition
also continues to account for a significant share of infant mortality.

After malaria, HIV/AIDS is a significant cause of childhood illness and death, which must be
addressed from infancy to adolescence. Adolescent girls are three times more likely to be
infected with HIV than boys.

The paradox to be resolved in this next program is the contrast between HIV/AIDS and infant
mortality: although young children die disproportionately in poor households in rural areas in

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the north of the country, the occurrence of new HIV infections is more likely in relatively
wealthier urban families in the south of the country.

CHALLENGES FOR THE AREA OF HEALTH AND NUTRITION

 The food system and sustainability;

 The nutritional transition;

 The promotion of physical activity and prevention of chronic non-

communicable diseases, the outsourcing of child care, the theory of the
developmental origin of health and diseases and;

 Nutrigenomics.

A BRIEF HISTORY OF NUTRITION

Pedro Escudero, an Argentine physician, who in 1937 introduced the study of food and
nutrition in the medical schools of his country, as a vision of the medical clinic, disseminated
the Laws of Food to the professionals who coordinated the health teams, and broke with
empiricism until then.

The Laws of Food were defined by Pedro Escudero in 1937, and even today, they are
considered as the basis of a healthy diet for any individual. Nutrition is dealt with 4 laws, as
follows and they are: 1st - Law of Quantity, 2nd - Law of Quality, 3rd - Law of Harmony and
4th - Law of Adequacy.

1ST - LAW OF QUANTITY

According to this law, the amount of food should be sufficient to cover the energy
requirements of the body and keep its balance. Common sense is essential so that there are no
excesses or restrictions in food, as they can harm our body. Each individual needs specific
amounts to maintain the organic functions and daily activities.

2ND - LAW OF QUALITY

This law states that the diet must be complete in its composition, to offer to the organism,
which is an indivisible unit, all the substances that integrate it. The variety of foods provides
all the nutrients necessary for the proper functioning of your body. The more colorful your
meals are, the more diversity of nutrients you'll be ingesting.

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3RD - LAW OF HARMONY

The law of harmony explains that the amount of the various nutrients that make up the diet
must keep a relationship of proportion to each other. Our body makes the right use of
nutrients when they are in proper proportions. Thus, it is important to have a balance between
them, because the substances do not act in isolation, but together. For example: The
relationship between carbohydrate, protein and fat intake.

4TH - LAW OF ADEQUACY

This law Escudero lets it clear, the purpose of food is subordinated to its suitability to the
body. The physiological state (pregnancy, lactation), eating habits (deficiency of nutrients),
socio-economic conditions (access to food), pathological changes (presence of diseases) and
life cycles (children, adolescents, adults and the elderly), cause the organism to have different
nutritional needs, depending on the situation in which it finds itself.

The diet must be quantitatively sufficient, qualitatively complete, as well as harmonious in its
components and adequate to its purpose and to whom it is intended.

PRINCIPLES OF NUTRITION
Total energy expenditure is the sum of energy expenditure at rest, energy spent on physical
activities and the thermal effect of food in 24 hours, (FIDALGO, 2003).

Healthy eating is based on a simple principle: no kind of Food, whether carbohydrate,

protein or fat, is able to provide alone all the nutrients needed by the body. The ideal diet
should be varied.

According to the guidelines published by the Brazilian Ministry of Health, under the title
General Coordination of Food and Nutrition Policy (GGPAN), the Ideal diet needs:

 Be rich in grains (rice, corn and wheat), roots (cassava), tubers (potato, yams), pasta
and bread (especially in whole grain form) and others foods with a high starch
content.
 Be rich and varied in fruits, vegetables, vegetables, legumes (the various types of
beans, lentils, dried peas, beans, soybeans, chickpeas) and others foods capable of
providing plant proteins.
 Be rich and varied in fruits, vegetables, vegetables, legumes (the various types of
beans, lentils, dried peas, beans, soybeans, chickpeas) and others foods capable of
providing plant proteins an macronutrients.

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According to the guidelines of the Ministry of Health, for most people, as long as there is no
medical restriction, the composition of a healthy diet should contain the proportions of
macronutrients.

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CONCLUSION
To sum up, it is important to say that health as a state of complete well-being makes health
something ideal, unattainable, and so the definition cannot be used as a goal by health
services.

Some further claim that the definition would have enabled a medicalization of human
existence, as well as abuses by the State by way of health promotion. nutrition is the process
by which organisms obtain and assimilate food or nutrients for their vital functions, including
growth, movement, reproduction.

The relationship between health and nutrition has robust scientific support and, currently, is a
subject that arouses interest and concern of society as a whole, in order to provide better
quality of life and prevent diseases.

Pedro Escudero, an Argentine physician, who in 1937 introduced the study of food and
nutrition in the medical schools of his country, as a vision of the medical clinic, disseminated
the Laws of Food to the professionals who coordinated the health teams, and broke with
empiricism until then.

The 4 Laws of Food were defined by Pedro Escudero in 1937, and even today, they are
considered as the basis of a healthy diet for any individual. Basic Principles of Nutrition Total
energy expenditure is the sum of energy expenditure at rest, energy spent on physical
activities and the thermic effect of food in 24 hours).

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BIBLIOGRAPHICAL REFERENCES

FIDALGO, L. (2003). Module 19 – the use of food. MISAU. Maputo.

FIDALGO, L. (2004). Module of food and Nutrients. MISAU, Maputo

GUSMAN, I. (2005). Module (10) - Nutritional education and food practices in

Mozambique. (V0l.1). Maputo

MISAU (2011). Training manual for traditional medicine practitioners: sexual and

reproductive health, STD/HIV and AIDS and other primary health care. 1st Edition.
Maputo.

MISAU (2008). Health education Handbook. Maputo.

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