introduction
food
Food is any substance or materials eaten or drunk to provide
nutritional support for the body or for pleasure. It usually consists of
plant or animal origin, that contains essential nutrients, such as
carbohydrates, fats, proteins, vitamins, or minerals, and is ingested
and assimilated by an organism to produce energy, stimulate growth,
and maintain life.
Food sources
Almost all foods are of plant or animal origin. Cereal grain is a staple
food that provides more food energy worldwide than any other type of
crop. Maize, wheat and rice together account for 87% of all grain
production worldwide. Other foods not from animal or plant sources
include various edible fungi, especially mushrooms: Fungi and
ambient bacteria are used in the preparation of fermented and pickled
foods such as leavened bread, alcoholic drinks, cheese, pickles,
kombucha and yogurt. Blue-green algae such as Spirulina. Inorganic
substances, baking soda, cream of tartar are also used to chemically
alter an ingredient.
Plants
Many plants or plant parts are eaten as food. There are around 2,000
plant species which are cultivated for food, and many have several
distinct cultivars.
Fruits are the ripened ovaries of plants, including the seeds within.
Many plants have evolved fruits that are attractive as a food source to
animals, so that animals will eat the fruits and excrete the seeds
some distance away. Fruits, therefore, make up a significant part of
the diets of most cultures. Some botanical fruits, such as tomatoes,
pumpkins and eggplants, are eaten as vegetables. (For more
information, see list of fruits.)
Animals
Animals are used as food either directly, or indirectly by the products
they produce. Meat is an example of a direct product taken from an
animal, which comes from either muscle systems or from organs.
Food products produced by animals include milk produced by
mammary glands, which in many cultures is drunk or processed into
dairy products such as cheese or butter. In addition birds and other
animals lay eggs, which are often eaten, and bees produce honey, a
reduced nectar from flowers, which is a popular sweetener in many
cultures. Some cultures consume blood, some in the form of blood
sausage, as a thickener for sauces, a cured salted form for times of
food scarcity, and others use blood in stews such as civet.
Top ten per capita cow's milk and cow's milk products
consumers in 2006
Sources
In addition to cattle, the following livestock animals provide milk used
by humans for dairy products:
• Camel
• Donkey
• Goat
• Horse
• Reindeer
• Sheep
• Water buffalo
• Yak
Other proteins
The largest structures in the fluid portion of the milk are casein
protein micelles: aggregates of several thousand protein molecules,
bonded with the help of nanometer-scale particles of calcium
phosphate. Each micelle is roughly spherical and about a tenth of a
micrometer across. There are four different types of casein proteins,
and collectively they make up around 80 percent of the protein in
milk, by weight. Most of the casein proteins are bound into the
micelles. There are several competing theories regarding the precise
structure of the micelles, but they share one important feature: the
outermost layer consists of strands of one type of protein, k-casein,
reaching out from the body of the micelle into the surrounding fluid.
These kappa-casein molecules all have a negative electrical charge
and therefore repel each other, keeping the micelles separated under
normal conditions and in a stable colloidal suspension in the water-
based surrounding fluid.
Carbohydrates
A simplified representation of a lactose molecule being broken down
into glucose and galactose
The carbohydrate lactose gives milk its sweet taste and contributes
approximately 40% of whole cow's milk's calories. Lactose is a
disaccharide composite of two simple sugars, glucose and galactose.
In nature, lactose is found only in milk and a small number of plants.[5]
Other components found in raw cow's milk are living white blood
cells, mammary gland cells, various bacteria, and a large number of
active enzymes.
Appearance
Both the fat globules and the smaller casein micelles, which are just
large enough to deflect light, contribute to the opaque white color of
milk. The fat globules contain some yellow-orange carotene, enough
in some breeds (such as Guernsey and Jersey cattle) to impart a
golden or "creamy" hue to a glass of milk. The riboflavin in the whey
portion of milk has a greenish color, which sometimes can be
discerned in skimmed milk or whey products.Fat-free skimmed milk
has only the casein micelles to scatter light, and they tend to scatter
shorter-wavelength blue light more than they do red, giving skimmed
milk a bluish tint.
For example:
Donkey and horse milk have the lowest fat content, while the milk of
seals and whales may contain more than 50% fat. High fat content is
not unique to aquatic mammals. Guinea pig milk has an average fat
content of 46%.
Nutritional value
Processed cow's milk was formulated to contain differing amounts of
fat during the 1950s. One cup (250 ml) of 2%-fat cow's milk contains
285 mg of calcium, which represents 22% to 29% of the daily
recommended intake (DRI) of calcium for an adult. Depending on the
age, milk contains 8 grams of protein, and a number of other nutrients
(either naturally or through fortification) including:
• Biotin
• Pantothenic acid
• Iodine
• Potassium
• Magnesium
• Selenium
• Thiamine
• Vitamin A
• Vitamin B12
• Riboflavin
• Vitamins D
• Vitamin K
The amount of calcium from milk that is absorbed by the human body
is disputed. Calcium from dairy products has a greater bioavailability
than calcium from certain vegetables, such as spinach, that contain
high levels of calcium-chelating agents,but a similar or lesser
bioavailability than calcium from low-oxalate vegetables such as kale,
broccoli, or other vegetables in the Brassica genus
Lactose intolerance
Lactose, the disaccharide sugar component of all milk must be
cleaved in the small intestine by the enzyme lactase in order for its
constituents, galactose and glucose, to be absorbed. The production
of this enzyme declines significantly after weaning in all mammals.
Consequently, many humans become unable to digest lactose
properly as they mature. There is a great deal of variance, with some
individuals reacting badly to even small amounts of lactose, some
able to consume moderate quantities, and some able to consume
large quantities of milk and other dairy products without problems.
When an individual consumes milk without producing sufficient
lactase, they may suffer diarrhea, intestinal gas, cramps and bloating,
as the undigested lactose travels through the gastrointestinal tract
and serves as nourishment for intestinal microflora who excrete gas,
a process known as anaerobic respiration.
Casein
Casein is a protein that is found in milk and used independently in
many foods as a binding agent. Technically, it is part of a group
called phosphoproteins, collections of proteins bound to something
containing phosphoric acid. Casein may also be called caseinogen,
particularly in European foods.
Casein can be found in two main types: edible and technical. Edible
casein is widely used in both medicine and food, both for nutritional
value and as a binder. Technical casein is used in an enormous
range of products, including paints, cosmetics, and many types of
adhesives. A not-insubstantial number of people have a casein
allergy and may find themselves experiencing negative reactions both
to casein-containing food products and to products such as nail polish
that contain casein.
Many people who are either allergic to casein and have linked it to
milk, or who are vegan and therefore avoid animal products
altogether, are not aware of the prevalence of casein in foods. For
these people, it is important to note that, although a product may be
labeled Lactose Free, it may easily still contain casein for other
reasons. Soy cheeses, for example, often contain casein derived
from milk, which may stimulate allergic reactions in people who
assume that they are dairy free.
Casein has also been linked to negative effects in people with autism.
While in most people, casein is easily broken down by the digestive
system into peptides known as casomorphins, and then further
processed into basic amino acids, some evidence suggests that in
autistics, this process does not occur fully. The resulting
casomorphins, which fail to break down completely, may have an
effect on the body similar to that of morphine or other opiates. For this
reason, some experts on autism recommend that people suffering
from autism avoid casein in their diets.