Nutrients
The nutrients are chemicals containing foods and are necessary for the cells to live. A food is made up of one or more types of nutrients. For example, milk is a food made up of nutrients such as vitamins A and D, proteins, carbohydrates, mineral salts and fats.
The functions of nutrients are:
- Energetic. Nutrients provide the energy cells need to function. For example, for muscles to move, muscle cells need to contract, and they need energy to do so.
- Plastic or structural. Nutrients are needed for the growth and renewal of cells and tissues that are destroyed by injury or by cell renewal.
- Regulatory. Nutrients also provide substances that allow the chemical reactions necessary for their functioning to take place in cells.
