Human Anatomy and Physiology : III. Vitamins And Nutrition Part-III

Your muscles contract every time you move and the process begins when your muscles receive the signals from your brain. Thus, your muscles shorten or contract as different muscles fibres sides along each other. For proper muscles function, you not only need to get enough protein to build muscles and calories to fuel their contraction but also the right minerals like calcium, iron, sodium, magnesium and potassium to allow contraction to occur.

Spinach has a high nutritional value, for the human body. It is a rich source of iron and calcium. According to the United States Department of Agriculture, 180 gram serving of boiled spinach contains about 6.43 mg of iron, whereas one 170 gram ground hamburger patty contains almost 4.42 mg of iron. Thus, spinach contains a relatively high level of iron, compared to other vegetables and meat sources.

Spinach has a high nutritional value, for the human body. It is a rich source of iron and calcium. According to the United States Department of Agriculture, 180 gram serving of boiled spinach contains about 6.43 mg of iron, whereas one 170 gram ground hamburger patty contains almost 4.42 mg of iron. Thus, spinach contains a relatively high level of iron, compared to other vegetables and meat sources.

Green vegetables are the richest source of iron. Other high iron foods are liver, sunflower seeds, nuts, beef, lamb, beans, whole grains, dark leafy greens (spinach), dark chocolate and tofu. Iron present in haemoglobin and cytochrome enzyme is an essential mineral used to transport oxygen to all parts of the body. A deficiency in iron causes anaemia and a chronic deficiency can lead to organ failure.

There are many different varieties of rice. They differ in amounts of nutrition and more importantly the type of starch. There are two types of starch in rice: amylose and amylopectin. Amylose is a long, straight starch molecule that does not gelatinize during cooking. So, rice which contains more of this starch tends to cook fluffy, with separate grains. Long grain white rice (basmati) has the most amylose and the least amylopectin, so it tends to be the fluffiest and least sticky. Medium grain rice has more amylopectin and short grain rice has even more amylopectin with least or no amylose.

Lactose is a disaccharide sugar derived from glucose and galactose. It is responsible for imparting sweetness to milk.

Three common disaccharides :
Sucrose - Common table sugar = glucose + fructose
Lactose - Major sugar in milk = glucose + galactose
Maltose - Product of starch digestion = glucose + glucose

Lactobacillus bacteria causes milk to spoil. It is a very important bacteria which is found in the intestinal tract. Lactobacillus uses lactose for energy and creates lactic acid as a by-product. It is the lactic acid which makes milk taste sour. It is used to make dairy products like cheese, curd etc. Apart from this, it is also used to control cholesterol.

Lactobacillus bacteria causes milk to spoil. It is a very important bacteria which is found in the intestinal tract. Lactobacillus uses lactose for energy and creates lactic acid as a by-product. It is the lactic acid which makes milk taste sour. It is used to make dairy products like cheese, curd etc. Apart from this, it is also used to control cholesterol.

The yellow colour of cow's milk is due to the presence of carotene. It is a hydrocarbon whose formula is C₄₀H₅₆. It is found in hay, grass, green leaves, some fruits, carrots etc. When cow consumes carotene containing foods, some of the pigment is converted into vitamin A and some found unchanged in milk. Vitamin A imparts no colour to milk, whereas carotene gives milk a yellow colour.