Dan Evans
Dr. J. Cawly
Plant Biology
6 May 2013
Honors Paper: Plant Nutrition
Plant nutrition is area of plant biology that is of the utmost importance for the proliferation of plants. Without proper nutrition, plants would simply cease to exist unless drastic alterations were made. There are certain elements that are required for the plant to grow and reproduce; these elements are known as essential elements. There are three requirements of an essential element: the element must be required for the completion of the plant’s life cycle, the element must not be replaceable by another element in whole, and finally the element must be direction involved in the metabolism of the plant. Chemical compounds that are involved in proper nutrition have been designated as nutrients, and further classified as macronutrients and micronutrients. Macronutrients are needed for growth, metabolism, and many other functions, but are designated as “macro” because they are required in larger amounts. Macronutrients include carbohydrates, proteins, and fat molecules. Micronutrients have a much wider function that depends on the exact micronutrient. Micronutrients are designated as so because they are needed in much smaller amounts when compared to macronutrients. Examples of micronutrients include vitamins and minerals.
When studying plant nutrition, it is important to analyze the sources of the nutrition. Plants absorb their nutrients using their roots in the soil, however soil is not a uniform nutritive source. The plant’s wellbeing depends greatly on the quality, composition, and thickness of the soil. To help categorize such a broad topic, scientists have implemented a naming scheme for the different levels of soil. The first layer is closest to ...
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...eochemical cycles. By increasing the amount of crops that are removed from the soil and the subsequent soil erosion, phosphorus levels in the soil have dropped. The phosphorus lost from the soils travels to aquatic ecosystems which then can cause massive algal blooms. The increased use of nitrogen based fertilizers has also altered that cycle. The fertilizers add high levels of nitrates to the soil, and in natural ecosystems, nitrates will undergo denitrification and be returned as atmospheric nitrogen. This is not the case because the nitrate levels exceed the levels of denitrification that bacteria can handle. Additionally, much of the denitrifying bacteria is found in marshes and wetlands, which are currently being destroyed at incredible rates. In some areas, the excess nitrate has made it into the ground water system and contaminated the drinking water system.
The primary nutrients that plants require are carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen from air and water. Sugar has a different effect on animals, humans, and plants. In this experiment, we are testing the effects of sugar on the growth of wheatgrass. For this experiment, we used regular sugar that we put in our food and drinks. To test our hypothesis we are using two groups control and experiment group. The control plant received only water but the experimental plant received sugar but, both plants were placed in the same temperature and same amount of water. Our hypothesis was correct, experiment plant “sugar water” yield more plant growth than control plant “water”. This experiment shows the sugar water plant grow faster than water because of the average of both plants. The sugar water experiment plant had longer in length compared to water control plant.
Nutritionism and Today’s Diet Nutritionism is the ideology that the nutritional value of a food is the sum of all its individual nutrients, vitamins, and other components. In the book, “In Defense of Food” by Michael Pollan, he critiques scientists and government recommendations about their nutritional advice. Pollan presents a strong case pointing out the many flaws and problems that have risen over the years of following scientific studies and government related warnings on the proper amount of nutrients needed for a healthy diet. Pollan’s main point is introducing science into our food system has had more of a negative impact than a positive one, we should go back to eating more of a traditional diet. I believe food science has given us
Provide muscle energy, fuel for the nerve system, the fat metabolism and protect the protein to been used as energy
Each of the three major macronutrients — proteins, fats and carb — has important and distinct roles in the body when it comes to weight management, hormonal balance, immunity, development and so on. Here are some of the most important reasons why we need each macronutrient:
Nutrients are components that are included in various foods which help us to survive and grow in various ways. There are 7 types of nutrients, these are protein, carbohydrates, vitamins, minerals, water, fats and fibre. Organic nutrients include carbohydrates, fats, proteins and vitamins, but inorganic chemical compounds like dietary minerals, water and oxygen can also be included into the category of Nutrients. Nutrients are split into 2 groups; Macronutrients and Micronutrients.
Nutritionism is an ideology that believes that the nutrients in foods are the key to understanding them. Nutritionism believers are so focused on the nutrients that food contains that they forget about all other aspects of food. The problem is that consumers rely on packaging to tell them what nutrients a food provides, since nutrients cannot be obviously seen, and they rely on science to tell us what nutrients are good and which are “evil”.
A healthy diet may help to prevent certain chronic long-term conditions such as heart disease, type 2 diabetes and may reduce the risk of developing certain cancers. Nutrition information offers a public health tool that could be used to promote informed consumer choice and aid consumption of a healthy diet. However millions of women chose to take dietary supplements to maintain good health, ease illnesses and defy ageing. Supplements are also used as a medication in women with decreased iron stores, because of menses and pregnancies (Anderson & Fitzgerald, 2010). The main aim of the research project is to explore the motivations surrounding the use of nutritional information among young women and relate this information to the choice to use supplements. This is important to women’s health and the topic of nutrition as a large amount of money is spent on both food and supplements. When nursing patients with a wide range of different conditions nutrition is the foundation of all treatment. It also reduces mortality, relapses and subsequent hospital admissions. The complexity of this subjective person and objective body aligned philosophically as interpretivism and positivism respectively reinforces the importance of both qualitative and quantitative approaches contributing to understanding of this (Gerrish and Lacey 2006). Nutrition is also crucial in health and social policy financially through reduction in readmissions which will reduce costs for practice as obesity and poor diet cost the NHS billions of pounds every year (Department Of Health, 2013).
The nutrition table assignment has taught me much about what exactly goes into my body. Before reading about nutrition, I, like many people, often thought the key to a good nutritional diet was with a restrictive approach (Bushman, 2017, pg. 12). One filled with unappealing options like gluten-free goods that were bland tasting. However, this isn’t the case. A balanced approach is actually more preferable (Bushman, 2017, pg. 38). My initial problem was that I focused too much on a single group. Instead of eating a balanced diet, I ate high levels of protein and vegetables. I neglected dairy, fruit, and grains.
There was an abundance of information gained from the nutrition assignment. Firstly, I am a vegetarian and I am always concerned about getting enough protein and micronutrients in my diet. Due to this concern, I often make dishes like curries, stews, and vegetable medleys to compensate for my perceived deficiencies. Another habit I acquired from my growing concern for a balanced vegetarian diet is the frequency in which I eat. I now find myself eating around five times a day with medium proportions. It seems as though, I am hungry every three hours without fail. I usually do not watch my proportions or calorie intake since I assumed those aspects of my diet were of little to no concern considering that my diet is mostly plant based. However,
Nutritional needs change throughout various stages of life. Nutrition is dependent on many other factors such as physiological, behavioral and social changes. With these changes occurring in humans it puts them at risk for many diseases when proper nutrition is not received. Let’s go ahead and take a look on what factors can increase our risk for disease.
Nutritional anthropology applies the anthropological approach to nutritional disciplines by studying and understanding how the interactions of social and biological factors affect the nutritional status of individuals and populations. Dettwlyer conducted a medical anthropological research assessing the nutritional status of individuals living in a population in Mali, Africa. She defined it as to be a biocultural approach because the research did not only pertain to the biological system of the people but cultural dogmas, infant feeding practices, socio-economic status, political-ecological factors also contributed as much. Death rates and child malnutrition rates are very high in Mali, it being one of the poorest countries of the world. Therefore, Dettwlyer being a nutritional anthropologist extends her study to the children of Mali who are malnutritioned as a result of their birth in poor families; because their mothers have a low status in their prosperous extended family households; ethno-cultural tenets, etc.
If you frequent health forums or fitness blogs, you'll have read the word “macros” before. The word is short for macronutrients. That leads to the question, “what are macronutrients?”
In Genesis 1:29, God said, “I give you every seed-bearing plant on the face of the whole earth and every tree that has fruit with seed in it. They will be yours for food.” From the beginning God has given us food for life. Plants, meats, trees, and fruits are offered to us as a means of sustenance from the very same God who made them long ago.
Humans depend on plants in numerous ways. One reason we depend on plants is for consumption. Plants have the unique ability of producing their own food through a process called photosynthesis. In this process, plants are able to produce macromolecules such as carbohydrates that cannot be produced in animals or humans. In humans, the only to gain these macromolecules is to consume plant matter, or consume plant-eating animals (herbivores).
Would you enjoy having fresh, delicious, luscious vegetables to eat all summer long that cost you almost nothing? I know I would. Well, now you can have your veggies and eat them too. Try building your own vegetable garden. It can fit all sizes of yards and decks. You just need to pick the location and type of garden. Next, you will prepare the garden site and work the soil. Finally, you will plan the specifics and plant your garden. With some care and patience, you will be enjoying the fruits of your labor in no time.