Define what an “essential” nutrient is and explain how it differs from a “nonessential” nutrient.

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Hi, everybody. And welcome back here is the next question, which of the following definitions and explanations regarding essential and non essential nutrients is incorrect. And we've got four statements here A through D I will just evaluate them as we read them so that we don't have to read them all out and then read them through again. Recall, we are looking for the incorrect statement or false statement f there to remind us that we're looking for a false statement. And before we get to evaluating this, let's think about the meaning of essential and non essential nutrients because it can be a little bit confusing if we don't have it straight in our mind. In this case, a slightly confusing thing is that essential and non essential does not refer to whether we need it to survive versus whether it's not necessary. All of these nutrients are necessary for the body to function properly. But what this refers to is can it be synthesized by the body? So they're all essential in the sense of being necessary. So we'll put all are necessary, but some can be synthesized in our own bodies and some need to be obtained from outside sources. So an essential nutrient is not essential in being the only one kind that's kind that are necessary, but it's essential to get through the diet. So it's essential in the diet. Non essential, non-essential in the diet because we can synthesize them ourselves in the body. So that is very important to keep straight when we're evaluating our answer choices. Remember again, we're going to have three true statements. We're looking for the false statement so that can get a little confusing too. Don't get misled by that. So choice a set essential fatty acids such as linoleic acid, Omega six and Alphalin Oleic acid, Omega three must be consumed through the diet because the human body lacks the enzymes required to synthesize them from other fatty acids. Well, this is a true statement. So I'm going to put true but t but I'm going to put it in red terminus. That's not what we're looking for and then cross out choice A. So we are able to synthesize some fatty acids. Our body is able to synthesize some of them. But the particular ones mentioned here, Omega six and Omega three need to be obtained in the diet. So I'll just put body can synthesize some, your body can synthesize some fas fatty acids but not these. Now, let's look at statement B which says all essential vitamins can be synthesized by the body under specific conditions such as adequate sunlight or specific dietary precursors. But what do we recall that the term essential means essential means essential to obtain it from the diet. It can't be synthesized. So this question is going to be false, false in blue and circle that since that's going to be our incorrect statement. Well, we found our incorrect statement. So on a test, I would pick that and move on. But this is a practice problem. We want to be thorough. Let's take a look at C and D C says certain amino acids such as lucine and methionine are considered essential because they cannot be synthesized by the body and must be supplied through protein rich foods. And this is correct. So it is true. We'll put that in red since it's correct, it's not the answer we're looking for. And then finally looking at choice D which says non-essential nutrients such as cholesterol and creatine are synthesized by the body. Although they can also be obtained from dietary sources. And this is true. So they're non-essential because in these, in the case of cholesterol, creatine, the liver and kidneys can supply a sufficient amount. You don't need to get more from your diet, but we can get them from our diet. So this is a true statement. So we'll put that in red that it is true and cross it out. So, having gone through all of these, which of the following definitions and explanations regarding essential and non non-essential nutrients is incorrect. The answer is choice. B all essential vitamins can be synthesized by the body under specific conditions such as adequate sunlight or specific dietary precursors. See you in the next video.

Define what an “essential” nutrient is and explain how it differs from a “nonessential” nutrient.

Verified video answer for a similar problem:

Key Concepts

Essential Nutrients

Nonessential Nutrients

Nutrient Classification