Nutrients and Nutrition
2021-03-27
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1This week on Ask a Teacher, we answer a question from Minnie in China. She says:
2Hello dear VOA, I'm a fan from China.
3I'm confused about "nutrition" and "nutrient."[Is there] any difference between them? What do they each refer to?
4Hello Minnie,
5If you read a lot about healthy living, you probably come across the words "nutrient" and "nutrition" often.
6The short answer to your question is that "nutrients" are specific while "nutrition" is much more general.
7Think about it this way: Several nutrients together in your food make up your nutrition.
8However, one nutrient by itself is not nutrition.
9Nutrients are the individual substances in food that humans and animals need to live and grow.
10Vitamins, minerals, proteins and carbohydrates are examples of nutrients.
11Nutrients are measurable.
12For instance, if you read the packaging on a food product, you can see exactly which nutrients it contains, and in what amounts.
13Plants, too, need nutrients to live and grow.
14Plant nutrients are found in (or added to) soil.
15The soil contains substances like phosphorus and nitrogen.
16Nutrition is the process of eating the right kinds of nutrients over time in order to support growth and stay healthy.
17So it is a more general term for a person's overall food intake.
18Nutrition is also the word for the study of nutrients in food, how the body uses them, and the relationship between diet and health.
19Because people have different dietary needs, some might need more of some kind of nutrients, while others need less.
20So, nutrition is measured differently than nutrients are.
21Finding out whether someone is getting the right nutrition for their body involves examining a person's individual needs and diet over time.
22That's Ask a Teacher for this week.
23I'm Alice Bryant.
1This week on Ask a Teacher, we answer a question from Minnie in China. She says: 2Question: 3Hello dear VOA, I'm a fan from China. I'm confused about "nutrition" and "nutrient." [Is there] any difference between them? What do they each refer to? 4-Minnie, China 5Answer: 6Hello Minnie, 7If you read a lot about healthy living, you probably come across the words "nutrient" and "nutrition" often. 8The short answer to your question is that "nutrients" are specific while "nutrition" is much more general. 9Think about it this way: Several nutrients together in your food make up your nutrition. However, one nutrient by itself is not nutrition. 10Nutrient 11Nutrients are the individual substances in food that humans and animals need to live and grow. Vitamins, minerals, proteins and carbohydrates are examples of nutrients. 12Nutrients are measurable. For instance, if you read the packaging on a food product, you can see exactly which nutrients it contains, and in what amounts. 13Plants, too, need nutrients to live and grow. Plant nutrients are found in (or added to) soil. The soil contains substances like phosphorus and nitrogen. 14Nutrition 15Nutrition is the process of eating the right kinds of nutrients over time in order to support growth and stay healthy. So it is a more general term for a person's overall food intake. 16Nutrition is also the word for the study of nutrients in food, how the body uses them, and the relationship between diet and health. 17Because people have different dietary needs, some might need more of some kind of nutrients, while others need less. So, nutrition is measured differently than nutrients are. Finding out whether someone is getting the right nutrition for their body involves examining a person's individual needs and diet over time. 18That's Ask a Teacher for this week. 19I'm Alice Bryant. 20Alice Bryant wrote this story for Learning English. Bryan Lynn was the editor. 21Do you have a question for the teacher? We want to hear from you. Write to us in the Comments Section below or email us at learningenglish@voanews.com. 22________________________________________________________________ 23Words in This Story 24confuse - v. to make someone uncertain or unable to understand something 25refer to - v. to have a direct connection or relationship to something 26specific - adj. special or particular 27packaging - n. materials used to wrap or protect products 28diet - n. the food that a person or animal eats