Nutrition is the basis for the maintenance and functioning of our body throughout life. Regular and balanced nutrition is a condition for the smooth functioning of our body. The main ingredients of our diet are:
FUEL MATERIALS include carbohydrates (flour, potatoes, sugar, pasta, bread) and fats (oil, butter, fats from meat or fish). More unsaturated essential fatty acids and phosphatides (lecithin) take a special place among fats. Carbohydrates and fats serve in our body as a source of energy. Total carbohydrate intake should make 55-60%, and fat 25-30% of our meals
CONSTRUCTION MATERIALS, such as proteins (meat, fish, dairy products), serve as a building material for the growth and renewal of our organism. Proteins should make about 15% of our meal
REGULATORY MATERIALS such as vitamins, minerals and ballast materials – fibers
Ingredients of bread and their role in the body:
CARBOHYDRATES are the most common ingredients in the form of low molecular weight sugars, which are a fast source of energy or high molecular weight, that are important for digestion. Starch as a polysaccharide is certainly the most common ingredient.
BALLAST MATERIALS, of which the most important are cellulose, pectin, lignin and hemicellulose. Their importance is reflected in the fact that they support the proper functioning of the digestive tract. These are substances that are not partially or completely ignored in our digestive tract and we can not get energy from them, but that’s why:
- “force” us to chew food in our mouth
- they bind on themselves water, giving the food a voluminous character
- stimulate the operation of the stomach and intestines, regulate digestion and prevent constipation
- passing through the intestines binds to themselves the products of metabolism and help their elimination from the organism (triglycerides, salts of bile acids, cholesterol, carcinogens, etc.)
- Protects us with gut diseases, hemorrhoids, diabetes, gallstone, colon cancer, etc.
PROTEINS that are in cereals, or bread added to the seeds, and are very rich in essential amino acids. Essential amino acids are the basis of the structural structure of our organism and many biochemical processes that take place during our lifetime. The organism is not able to synthesize these amino acids, but we must enter them in sufficient quantities through food.
FATS in bread come from fats, which are found in some cereals or added to the seeds. Also, all added emulsifiers based on mono- and diglycerides, i.e. lecithin, are a source of various fatty acids. In addition to contributing to the energy potential of our food, fatty acids play an important role in a whole range of processes and the synthesis of essential substances (prostaglandins, hormones, etc.).
VITAMINS are biological regulators of the chemical reactions of metabolism in the body, essential ingredients of the enzymatic system, and they are substances that protect our body from disease and aging. The bread is the most prevalent vitamins B complex, vitamin C and vitamins soluble in fats: A, D, E and K.
MINERAL MATERIALS, such as calcium, magnesium, sodium, iron, potassium, manganese, phosphorus, selenium, iodine and others. They are represented in bread (especially dark) produced from full-grain flour. These are substances that we need to eat in sufficient quantity of food because there is no possibility of synthesis in our own organism.
Based on these facts, it can be said that many bakery products contain various ingredients that are essential for maintaining health and disease prevention.