nutrient and nutritious

Hi Anthony,

These words both refer to the same topic. 

In medical terms, a nutrient can be water, protein, carbohydrates, fats, minerals, and vitamins. In other words, a nutrient is something that our bodies need to live. We get most of our nutrients from food. Plants also need nutrients to live, but they get nutrients from soil and sunlight.

Nutrient is a noun. Nutritious is an adjective form of the word. Nutritious food is healthy food, food that provides you with nutrients. Junk food, for example, is not nutritious, because it doesn’t usually have any nutrients.

Here are some examples for you:

- Spinach and carrots are nutritious. Sadly, potato chips are not nutritious.

- Is frozen food as nutritious as fresh food?

- Many people think it costs a lot of money to eat a nutritious diet.

- It’s difficult to grow food when there are no nutrients in the soil.

- In order to live in space, humans will need air, water, heat, and nutrients.

- I like to buy this cat food. It has more nutrients than the other kind.

I hope this helps you understand the difference between nutrient and nutritious!

Best, 

Amy

Hi Anthony,

You’re most welcome!

Yes, we use nutrient as a noun. We add – ious, a common suffix for adjectives, to turn the word into an adjective.

You’re also correct with nutrient vs. nutrition. Nutrient is specific- it refers to a certain thing like protein, vitamin, etc. Nutrition refers to overall health. For example, we can say, “Good nutrition is very important. If your body lacks certain nutrients, you might get sick.”

Best,

Amy