Question

a.) Name three types of nutrients that are absorbed without being digested and why this occurs

Answer 1

Food contain macronutrients such as:
1.Sugars: some of the Sugars which we eat are already in the form of monosaccharides, or single sugar molecules. These single sugars include glucose, galactose and fructose, and your small intestine absorbs them without need to digest them first.
2. Amino acids: we consume few free amino acids. We can, however, supplement with free amino acids, and these molecules are ready for absorption by the cells of our small intestine without the process of prior digestion.
These are small enough that they do not require digestion.
Other nutrients, including:exist in foods as small molecules able to be absorbed without being broken down therefore they are not digested.
3.Vitamins : Vitamins are organic, or carbon-containing, molecules our body requires in small amounts for optimal health. Although they naturally exist in association with various foods and may be carried through our gastrointestinal system as our food undergo digestion, they are small enough for our small intestine to absorb without digestion. Vitamins are classified as either water-soluble or fat-soluble, depending on their ability to mix with water. Special proteins in the cells of our small intestine bind to water-soluble vitamins for absorption, while fat-soluble vitamins absorb into our intestinal cells along with digested fat molecules.
4. Minerals: Minerals are essential elements we need in our diet to fulfill roles including structure, cell signaling, fluid balance, nutrient metabolism, nerve function and muscle contraction. As with vitamins, minerals are bound with foods and pass through our intestinal tract during digestion. However, they do not experience digestion but rather undergo absorption directly into the cells lining our intestines.