VOA慢速英语2021--Nutrients and Nutrition

This week on Ask a Teacher, we answer a question from Minnie in China. She says:

Question:

Hello dear VOA, I'm a fan from China. I'm confused about "nutrition" and "nutrient¹." [Is there] any difference between them? What do they each refer to?

-Minnie, China

Answer:

Hello Minnie,

If you read a lot about healthy living, you probably come across the words "nutrient" and "nutrition" often.

The short answer to your question is that "nutrients²" are specific while "nutrition" is much more general.

Think about it this way: Several nutrients together in your food make up your nutrition. However, one nutrient by itself is not nutrition.

Nutrient

Nutrients are the individual substances in food that humans and animals need to live and grow. Vitamins, minerals, proteins and carbohydrates³ are examples of nutrients.

Nutrients are measurable. For instance, if you read the packaging on a food product, you can see exactly which nutrients it contains, and in what amounts.

Plants, too, need nutrients to live and grow. Plant nutrients are found in (or added to) soil. The soil contains substances like phosphorus and nitrogen.

Nutrition

Nutrition is the process of eating the right kinds of nutrients over time in order to support growth and stay healthy. So it is a more general term for a person's overall food intake⁴.

Nutrition is also the word for the study of nutrients in food, how the body uses them, and the relationship between diet and health.

Because people have different dietary needs, some might need more of some kind of nutrients, while others need less. So, nutrition is measured differently than nutrients are. Finding out whether someone is getting the right nutrition for their body involves examining a person's individual needs and diet over time.

That's Ask a Teacher for this week.

Words in This Story

confuse – v. to make someone uncertain or unable to understand something

refer to – v. to have a direct connection or relationship to something

specific – adj. special or particular

packaging – n. materials used to wrap or protect products

diet – n. the food that a person or animal eats

1 nutrient   

adj.营养的，滋养的；n.营养物，营养品

参考例句：

• Magnesium is the nutrient element in plant growth.镁是植物生长的营养要素。
• The roots transmit moisture and nutrient to the trunk and branches.根将水分和养料输送到干和枝。

2 nutrients   

n.（食品或化学品）营养物，营养品( nutrient的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• a lack of essential nutrients 基本营养的缺乏
• Nutrients are absorbed into the bloodstream. 营养素被吸收进血液。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 carbohydrates   

n.碳水化合物，糖类( carbohydrate的名词复数 )；淀粉质或糖类食物

参考例句：

• The plant uses the carbohydrates to make cellulose. 植物用碳水化合物制造纤维素。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• All carbohydrates originate from plants. 所有的碳水化合物均来自植物。 来自辞典例句

4 intake   

n.吸入，纳入；进气口，入口

参考例句：

• Reduce your salt intake.减少盐的摄入量。
• There was a horrified intake of breath from every child.所有的孩子都害怕地倒抽了一口凉气。