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A nutrient is a substance used by an organism to survive, grow and reproduce. The requirement for dietary nutrient intake applies to animals, plants, fungi and protists. Nutrients can be incorporated into cells for metabolic purposes or excreted by cells to create non-cellular structures such as hair, scales, feathers, or exoskeletons.
Organisms are able to detect nutrients through taste or other forms of nutrient sensing, allowing them to regulate nutrient intake. [16] Optimal foraging theory is a model that explains foraging behavior as a cost–benefit analysis in which an animal must maximize the gain of nutrients while minimizing the amount of time and energy spent foraging.
[55] [56] [57] Bacteria that live in detrital sediments create and cycle nutrients and biominerals. [58] Food web models and nutrient cycles have traditionally been treated separately, but there is a strong functional connection between the two in terms of stability, flux, sources, sinks, and recycling of mineral nutrients. [59] [60]
"Watercress is often called a nutrient powerhouse because of its dense profile of vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants in a low-calorie package, providing just 4 calories per cup," says Scott ...
Early nutritional scientists such as the German Carl von Voit believed that protein was the most important nutrient for maintaining the structure of the body, because it was generally believed that "flesh makes flesh." [8] Around 1862, Karl Heinrich Ritthausen isolated the amino acid glutamic acid. [9]
Some nutrients can be stored – the fat-soluble vitamins – while others are required more or less continuously. Poor health can be caused by a lack of required nutrients, or for some vitamins and minerals, too much of a required nutrient. Essential nutrients cannot be synthesized by the body, and must be obtained from food.
Beans and lentils offer a bouquet of nutrients, including protein, fiber, iron, calcium, magnesium, phosphorus, folate, zinc and selenium, although the exact nutrition composition varies by type.
A new report from the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) suggests that beans and legumes are healthier proteins than lean meat: here's why.