Contents:
- Medical Video: Nutrients Absorbed by the Large Intestine : Greek Gourmet
- Get to know bioavailability
- 4 Factors that influence nutrient absorption
- 1. The combination of food and drink consumed together
- 2. Nutrients that become competitors
- 3. The chemical form of nutrients
- 4. Nutritional status and health problems
Medical Video: Nutrients Absorbed by the Large Intestine : Greek Gourmet
Do you think of the nutrients contained in your food everyday? Or are you more often ignoring what you eat so far and only emphasizing good taste?The body needs various nutrients to maintain its health status. Various health problems will arise when the body lacks certain nutrients. However, it turns out that not all nutrients in food and beverages will be digested and absorbed by the body. What affects the absorption of these nutrients?
Get to know bioavailability
Did you know that it turns out that nutrients in the body interact with each other, aka 'communicate'? Interactions that occur between these nutrients affect the amount of absorption in the body. The level of absorption of a nutrient in the body is called bioavailability.
The body has its own rules and methods to determine what nutrients are absorbed, and what levels must be absorbed. However, it turns out there are various things that can affect the absorption of nutrients from the food or drink you eat. These things also indirectly affect your nutritional status and health, because they can increase or decrease the level of nutrient absorption.
READ ALSO: Intermediate Nutrition Communication Affects Nutrition Absorption
4 Factors that influence nutrient absorption
1. The combination of food and drink consumed together
Nutrients communicate with each other even after entering into the first digestive tract, which is in the mouth. Each nutrient that enters your mouth and body will immediately take on the role of an inhibitor, or enhancer, or both, for other nutrients that both enter the stomach.
If the substance takes on the role of an inhibitor, that means it will block and inhibit the absorption of the other nutrients. Conversely, if a nutrient takes on the role of an enhancer, it will increase the level of absorption of other nutrients in the body.
For example, if you eat a food source of iron, along with a source of calcium. Basically, these two nutrients contradict each other, because calcium can block the absorption of iron in the body. That is, the absorption of iron by your body will be inhibited if taken together with calcium.
Other things with substances that are enhancers, which actually increase the absorption of other nutrients. For example, vitamin C with iron. If you want to increase the absorption of iron in the body, then you can increase the consumption of vitamin C when you eat food sources of iron.
READ ALSO: Can the Cooking Process Eliminate Food Nutrition?
2. Nutrients that become competitors
In the body it turns out that there is also competition between nutrients. Some nutrients may compete with each other to be absorbed more by the body, but what happens is a decrease in the bioavailability of each competing nutrient. This is indicated by competition between several types of minerals such as iron, copper, and zinc. This type of mineral must be bound by the same body binding agent so that these three minerals compete to be bound to these substances so they can be absorbed more.
3. The chemical form of nutrients
The chemical form of nutrients turns out to affect the level of absorption in the digestive system. For example, forms of nutrients derived from plant foods with animal foods. Of course the chemical form of these two nutrients is different even though the types of nutrients are the same.
This occurs in iron which has two types, namely heme iron derived from animal food sources with non-heme iron contained in plant-based food sources. Both of these iron have different absorption levels in the body. When the absorption process occurs, iron in the form of heme is more easily absorbed so that the level of bioavailability is high. Unlike non-heme iron which is rather difficult to absorb by the digestive system.
READ ALSO: 3 Causes of the Body Cannot Absorb Nutrition
4. Nutritional status and health problems
A person's nutritional status also affects the level of absorption of a nutrient. For example, when a person experiences a condition lacking other nutrients, even though these nutrients are enhancers (substances that increase absorption) to nutrients that have just entered the body. So that new incoming nutrients are inhibited and experience interference when absorption.
Various problems may also occur in the digestive tract and this greatly affects the process of digestion and absorption of nutrients. For example, if there is an infection or inflammation of the small intestine which is actually responsible for the digestive process. This definitely results in the absorption of all nutrients being disrupted.
