BI305 CHAPTER 5
NUTRITION IN HUMANS
NOTES
Overarching Essential Question
What makes us who we are?
Unit Essential Question
How do we obtain nutrients and energy from the food that we eat?
Year 3 Biology
BI305 Chapter 5 Nutrition in Humans
Syllabus Details
Understandings
● Digestion is the process of breaking down food into molecules that are soluble and
small enough to be absorbed by the body.
● Absorption refers to the uptake of useful substances into the cells or the blood of the
body.
● Assimilation refers to use of the products of digestion by various cells and tissues or
to be part of the body.
● Different types of enzymes are used in the digestion of food.
● Different parts of the digestive system have different optimum pH for enzyme activity.
● The breakdown of starch and proteins begin in the mouth and stomach respectively.
● Most of the digestion is completed in the duodenum.
● Products of digestion are absorbed primarily in the ileum.
● Water, ions and vitamins are absorbed in the colon.
● Bile is produced by the liver and stored in the gall bladder.
● Bile helps to emulsify fats to increase the rate of fat digestion.
● Blood from the hepatic portal vein transports blood that is rich in nutrients absorbed
from the digestive system to the liver.
Applications
● Structural adaptations of the villus to the absorption of products of digestion.
References
1. Allot, A. and Mindorff, D. (2014). 2.1 Molecules to metabolism. Biology Course
Companion, 2014 edition. Oxford University Press. Pages. 61 – 67.
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BI305 Chapter 5 Nutrition in Humans
5.1 What is nutrition? (textbook pages 73 - 79)
TB eBook
Page 73
• What nutrients can we obtain from
insects? Would you
• What are the benefits of insects as an
alternative source of food?
rather eat
• Which insects can be used in food recipes? an insect?
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Videos
C05_01-03
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Year 3 Biology
BI305 Chapter 5 Nutrition in Humans
What is nutrition?
Refer to textbook page 74 and the following.
• The food that humans eat is made up of complex organic compounds such as
carbohydrates, fats and proteins.
• These are large molecules that cannot be absorbed by the various parts of the body. Thus,
digestion occurs so that the food materials can be broken down into molecules that are
small enough to be absorbed.
• Digestion is a catabolic process, as food molecules are broken down into small and
soluble molecules.
Video
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_QYwscALNng
Question 1
Label the following diagram.
1. 7.
2. 8.
3. 9.
4. 10.
5. 11.
6. 12.
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BI305 Chapter 5 Nutrition in Humans
Textbook
Page 75
• Food enters the body through the mouth, which leads into the buccal cavity.
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BI305 Chapter 5 Nutrition in Humans
Textbook
Page 74
• Why do people choke when they talk while eating?
• What prevents food from going down your windpipe?
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Video
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k4FOGogOk4E
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BI305 Chapter 5 Nutrition in Humans
The human digestive system
• Refer to textbook pages 75-79.
• Please note: Peristalsis (page 77). This is what you need to know:
o Peristalsis is the rhythmic, wave-like muscular contractions in the wall of the alimentary
canal.
o Peristalsis enables food to be mixed with digestive juices, and also pushes or propels
food along the gut.
o The rest on page 77 is optional for your own reading. It is not assessed in our year
3 syllabus.
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BI305 Chapter 5 Nutrition in Humans
Think about this
What is acid reflux and how can it be prevented?
https://youtu.be/Og5xAdC8EUI
Video
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3AUlUH4-13Q
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Textbook
Page 78
• Consists of a U-shaped duodenum and
the much-coiled ileum
• Carries out most of the digestive
processes
• Contains glands, in the wall lining, that
secrete digestive enzymes
• Enzymes in the small intestine speed up
the digestion of food
• Absorbs water and nutrients from food,
which usually takes place in the ileum
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Textbook
Page 78
• Is shorter and broader than the small
intestine
• Consists of the colon, rectum and anus
• Absorbs remaining water and mineral
salts from undigested food
• Temporarily stores faeces in the rectum
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BI305 Chapter 5 Nutrition in Humans
Textbook
Page 78
• Largest gland in the body, located below
the diaphragm.
• Three blood vessels are attached to the
lower surface of the liver: the hepatic
portal vein, the hepatic vein, and the
hepatic artery.
• Liver cells produce and secrete bile, which
contain bile salts that aid in the
emulsification of fats.
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Page 78
• The gall bladder is attached to the liver.
• Bile, produced by the liver, is stored temporarily in the gall bladder.
• When the gall bladder contracts, bile flows via the bile duct into the
duodenum, which is part of the small intestine.
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Page 79
• It is connected to the duodenum by the
pancreatic duct. The bile duct joins the
pancreatic duct before the pancreatic
duct opens into the duodenum.
• It produces pancreatic juice, which
contains digestive enzymes such as
amylase, lipase and protease.
• Secretes the hormones insulin and
glucagon, which help regulate the blood
sugar concentration in the body.
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Digestion Textbook
Page 80
Physical Digestion Chemical Digestion
Involves the mechanical break-up Involves the breaking down of large
of food into small particles.
molecules in food, such as proteins,
Examples: starch and fats, into small, soluble
• Food being chewed in the mouth molecules that can be absorbed.
• Churning action of the stomach
This is done with the help of
• Emulsification of fats by bile salts enzymes.
Physical digestion increases the surface area-to-volume ratio of
ingested food so that digestive enzymes can act of the food particles
more effectively
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5.2 What is digestion? (textbook pages 79-84)
Digestion in humans
• Refer to textbook page 80 and the following.
Chemical digestion is sped up by enzymes which catalyse hydrolysis reactions.
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Processes that take place in the stomach
• Refer to textbook page 81
• Replace the 4th bullet point on protease with the following:
• The protease digests proteins into short peptides.
protease
proteins short peptides
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Digestive processes that take place in the small intestine
• Refer to textbook page 82 and the following.
• Most of the digestion of carbohydrates, fats and proteins is completed in the duodenum.
• The ileum is the site where products of digestion and water are absorbed. (Absorption is
covered from textbook pages 85 - 86)
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Textbook
Page 82
• Examples of carbohydrates include starch, sucrose and cellulose.
• Carbohydrates are digested by carbohydrases such as amylase and maltase.
• Starch is broken down into maltose by amylase in the mouth and small intestine.
• Maltose is broken down into glucose by maltase in the small intestine.
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• .
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Page 82
• Proteins are digested by proteases.
• Protein digestion starts in the stomach, where stomach protease digests proteins to
polypeptides.
• The undigested proteins that enter the small intestine are digested by intestinal protease to
polypeptides.
• The polypeptides produced are further digested to amino acids by intestinal protease.
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Protein digestion
• Refer to textbook pages 82 – 83 and the following.
• Replace “polypeptides” in this section with “short peptides”. i.e.
• Some protein digestion begins in the stomach, where stomach protease digests proteins
to short peptides.
• The undigested proteins that enter the small intestine are digested by intestinal protease
to short peptides.
• The short peptides are further digested into amino acids by intestinal protease.
• Figure 5.14 should show that in the stomach or small intestine, protein is digested to short
peptides.
• Table 5.1 Organs and enzymes involved in digestion - replace “polypeptides” in this
section with “short peptides”. i.e. proteins --> short peptides, and short peptides --> amino
acids.
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Textbook
Page 83
• Bile is released into the duodenum, and the bile salts emulsify fats by lowering the
surface tension of the fats.
• Thus, the fats break into tiny fat droplets, increasing the surface area-to-volume ratio
for enzyme action.
• Emulsified fats are digested by lipases into fatty acids and glycerol in the small intestine.
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Video
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Boo1o2soTbA
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TNG-RRzwBVU
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BI305 Chapter 5 Nutrition in Humans
Digestion of different foods (carbohydrate, protein and fat)
• Refer to textbook pages 82 - 84.
Google Classroom Assignment
pH at the
Region region
where where Secretion Source Enzyme Substrate Product(s)
enzyme enzyme
works works
Salivary Salivary
Mouth pH 7 Saliva Starch Maltose
glands amylase
Gastric Short
Stomach pH 1.5 - 2.0 Gastric juice Pepsin Proteins
glands peptides
Bile Liver - - -
Short
Trypsin Proteins
peptides
Pancreatic
Pancreas
juice Amylase Starch Maltose
Small Fatty acids
pH 7 - 8 Lipase Fats
Intestine and glycerol
Maltase Maltose Glucose
Intestinal Peptidase Short
ds Amino acids
enzymes s peptides
Fatty acids
Lipase Fats
and glycerol
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