Nutrition in the Human
From ZuluNotes - Free Leaving Cert Notes
Animals can be classified according to their diet as they have Heterotrophic nutrition which means that they must capture and eat their food such as plants or animals.
- Herbivore: an animal that feeds on plants only eg. rabbit
- Carnivore: an animal that feeds only on other animals eg. cat
- Omnivore: an animal that feeds on both plant and animals eg. human
Stages of Nutrition
- Ingestion: The taking in of food to the body through the mouth
- Digestion: The mechanical and chemical breakdown of food
- Absorption: The products of digestion are passed into the blood for transport. It occurs through the processes of Diffusion, Osmosis and Active Transport
- Assimilation: The movement of digested food from the blood into the cells
- Egestion: The remains of food that are unused and unabsorbed are passed out of the body
