How Holozoic Nutrition Affects Your Health ?

In today's fast-growing world where there is ever-increasing awareness about health, everyone is also concerned about nutrition. The nutritional value of food plays an active role in getting a healthy life. To maintain a healthy lifestyle it is crucial to understand what nutrition actually means!

In the biological definition, Holozoic Nutrition means the biochemical and physiological cycle by which an organism utilizes food to help it to survive.

Holozoic nutrition is a type of nutrition in which an organism obtains energy and nutrients by consuming other organisms or organic matter. This is the most common type of nutrition in animals.

In holozoic nutrition, the organism takes in food through its mouth and breaks it down into smaller molecules using digestive enzymes. The smaller molecules are then absorbed into the bloodstream and used for energy or to build new tissues.

Better nutrition leads to various benefits such as:

1.    Improved infant, child, and maternal health
   2.    Strong Immune system
   3.    Safe pregnancy and childbirth
   4.    Less risk of diseases like diabetes and cardiovascular diseases
   5.    Better learning ability
   6.    Bone strengthening
   7.    Stronger digestive system
   8.    Longevity

Type of nutrition

Majorly nutrition are of the following types:

A.    Autotrophic nutrition - The process of preparation of food from simple natural materials like water, carbon dioxide, and mineral salts in the presence of sunlight is called autotrophic nutrition.

The word autotrophic itself explains its meaning i.e. auto-self and trophic-nutrition, which collectively means self-nutrition. Autotrophic organisms use a green-colored pigment called chlorophyll to prepare their food.

B.    Symbiotic nutrition - This type of nutrition happens as a result of the mutual association of organisms. Example fungi and lichens.

This mutual association between organisms is for nutrition and shelter.

C.    Heterotrophic nutrition- The type of nutrition where organisms depend upon others for food and survival and cannot make their food. All animals, humans, and non-photosynthesizing plants fall under the category of heterotrophic organisms.

Heterotrophic nutrition is categorized into following types

1.    Saprophytic nutrition - The type of nutrition where organisms feed on dead remains of other organisms for survival is called saprophytic nutrition.

2.    Parasitic nutrition - Obtaining food from the host that is, other living organisms is parasitic nutrition. The parasites survive by feeding on the blood of the host by living either inside or on the body of the host.

3.    Holozoic Nutrition - Engulfing the food into the body through the mouth, digesting it, and absorbing the nutrients and energy from the digested food is known as Holozoic nutrition.

Let’s understand holozoic nutrition in detail

A type of heterotrophic nutrition described by the assimilation (ingestion) and internal processing of fluids or solid food particles is known as holozoic nutrition. This is a type of nutrition that occurs in the organisms that take food inside their body in the form of solids and liquids.

This type of nutrition is exhibited in protozoa such as amoeba and by humans and most animals where food is taken in solid and liquid form and is further broken down to absorb nutrients.

Holozoic nutrition is a five-step process:

1.    Ingestion - The process of taking food inside the body through the mouth is called ingestion. This can be done either by swallowing the food. It is also referred to as the initial step of digestion.

Food is taken into the mouth where it is broken down by the teeth into more modest pieces. The presence of food in the mouth sets off a reaction that makes the salivary organs convey watery liquid called saliva to the mouth. Saliva plays the role in making food swallowable and it also helps in breaking down the food.

2.    Digestion - The ingested food mixed with saliva is digested with the help of various enzymes. It is the complicated course of transforming the food you eat into nutrients, which the body utilizes for energy, and cell repair for survival and growth. It also creates waste that is to be eliminated from the system.

Digestion is the step that is responsible for the absorption of nutrients into the bloodstream. Digestion in humans occurs in the gastrointestinal tract.

3.    Absorption - The energy generated through the digestion of the food is used by the cells of the body. Absorption happens in the body through the following mechanism
a)    Simple diffusion- Few monosaccharides like glucose, amino acids, etc after digestion diffuse into the blood. It can also be defined as the movement of these monosaccharides from a higher concentration to a lower concentration.

b)    Active transport.- Sodium ion electrolytes from the digested foods are actively transported to the blood through this mechanism.

c)    Facilitated transport.- In this process carrier proteins helps in the movement of solutes across the membrane.

d)    Passive transport.- Simpler food substances after digestion are absorbed into the blood through this process.

4.    Assimilation. - In this step, the energy that is being obtained from the digested food is being used by all the cells of the body. It is the process of retention of nutrients, minerals, and different compounds from food as a component of the nourishment of an organism.

The liver plays an important role in the assimilation process. Amino acids obtained from digested foods are used in building up new proteins and fats are used to create energy.

5.    Egestion - The process of excreting out waste from the body is called egestion. The undigested food is removed from the body through the process of egestion. 

Pros and Cons of Holozoic Nutrition

The pros of holozoic nutrition

a)    It provides the proper nutrition required by bodies of heterotrophic organisms
b)    It helps in the proper digestion of food inside the body
c)    It helps in the generation of energy required by the body
d)    It strengthens the immune system of the body

The cons of holozoic nutrition 

a)    Not every secretion from holozoic nutrition is good for small intestines
b)    Excessive glucose secretion from digested food leads to increase the risk of chronic diseases like diabetes
c)    Any disturbance in digestion can lead to inflammation in the body

Best Holozoic foods for humans