Nutrients

Nutrients are defined as substances that aid in the support of life. The six classes of nutrients include protein, carbohydrate, fat, vitamins, minerals, and water. Nutrients are often classified as organic (carbon-containing) or inorganic (minerals).

Energy is not considered a nutrient but can be derived from the breakdown of several nutrients, including fat, protein, and both simple and complex carbohydrates. Energy is required to propel the biochemical processes that are necessary to sustain life. A deficiency of energy will cause weight loss, low productivity and ultimate death of an animal. An oversupply of energy will usually result in excessive fatness, which is also unhealthy. A simple unit of measurement of energy is pounds of total digestible nutrients (TDN). A pound of TDN, equivalent to a pound of digested carbohydrate, equals 2,000 kilocalories, or calories as used in human nutrition, of digestible energy. There are a number of other measures of energy used, but they are less easily understood.

Reference: Hart, S. 2008. Meat Goat Nutrition. Pages 58-83 in Proc. 23rd Ann. Goat Field Day, Langston University, Langston, OK.

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