What's in a Nutrition Course, Unit by Unit

An introductory nutrition course looks like one subject but behaves like three. Part of it is biology (digestion, metabolism, what a vitamin does inside a cell). Part of it is arithmetic (kilocalories, percent Daily Value, body mass index). And part of it is policy: reference values and dietary guidelines that change between editions. Knowing which part you are in tells you how to study it.

Encodr's free Nutrition course is built from the University of Hawai'i "Human Nutrition" text, checked against current authorities. It has 16 units, 88 chapters and 1,154 study cards drawn from 38 sources. Here is what each unit covers, in the order the course teaches it.

Foundations (units 1-3)

Unit 1, Basic Concepts (5 chapters, 68 cards). The six nutrient classes (carbohydrates, lipids, proteins, water, vitamins, minerals), the split between macronutrients and micronutrients, and the energy math that runs through the whole course: carbohydrate and protein give 4 kcal per gram, fat 9, alcohol 7. The unit also covers the scientific method and study types, including why an observational study shows an association but not cause, and the ABCD of nutrition assessment (anthropometric, biochemical, clinical, dietary).

Unit 2, Human Body and Digestion (7 chapters, 85 cards). Cells and organ systems, the order of the GI tract, peristalsis and segmentation, what each secretion breaks down (salivary amylase, pepsin, pancreatic enzymes, bile), the gut microbiome, and body composition measures such as waist-to-hip ratio. If you have taken General Biology I, the cell material will feel familiar from a different angle.

Unit 3, Water and Electrolytes (5 chapters, 51 cards). Intracellular and extracellular fluid, osmosis and tonicity, the sodium-potassium pump, water balance, and sodium and potassium in blood pressure. This is where editions first matter: the course keeps the 2005 and 2019 reference values apart and labels which is which.

The macronutrients (units 4-7)

Unit 4, Carbohydrates (6 chapters, 85 cards). Monosaccharides, disaccharides and polysaccharides, soluble and insoluble fiber, carbohydrate digestion, blood glucose regulation by insulin and glucagon, the glycemic index bands, added sugars, and sweeteners. There is real calculation here: grams from a percent of calories, and percent Daily Value from a label.

Unit 5, Lipids (6 chapters, 85 cards). Triglycerides, phospholipids and sterols; saturated, monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fatty acids; cis and trans; essential fatty acids; fat digestion through micelles and chylomicrons; and the lipoproteins (VLDL, LDL, HDL) and their link to heart disease.

Unit 6, Protein (6 chapters, 85 cards). The 20 amino acids and the nine essential ones, the four levels of protein structure, denaturation, digestion, protein functions, nitrogen balance, protein quality (complete versus incomplete, limiting amino acids, PDCAAS), and kwashiorkor versus marasmus.

Unit 7, Alcohol (3 chapters, 34 cards). The shortest unit. Standard drinks, the 7 kcal per gram math, the liver pathway from ethanol to acetaldehyde to acetate, and the spectrum of alcohol-associated liver disease.

Energy and weight (unit 8)

Unit 8, Energy Balance and Weight (7 chapters, 85 cards). Catabolism and anabolism, the parts of total energy expenditure (basal metabolism, the thermic effect of food, activity), and the most formula-heavy stretch of the course: the Mifflin-St Jeor equation, BMI in metric and US units, and why the "3,500 kcal per pound" rule overestimates weight loss over time. It ends with appetite regulation (the hypothalamus, leptin) and set-point theory.

Micronutrients (units 9-11)

These three units are the memorization core. Each vitamin and mineral has a function, a deficiency disease, a few food sources, and often a unit of measure that differs from the rest.

Unit 9, Vitamins (6 chapters, 101 cards, tied for the largest unit). Vitamin basics and DRI terms, then vitamins A and D, vitamins E and K, vitamin C and the energy B vitamins, then B6, folate, B12 and choline, and a closing chapter on antioxidants and phytochemicals. The unit has its own conversion math: retinol activity equivalents, dietary folate equivalents and niacin equivalents. The biggest organizing idea is the split between fat-soluble and water-soluble vitamins, which predicts how each is absorbed, transported and stored.

Unit 10, Major Minerals (6 chapters, 68 cards). Bioavailability, calcium and its hormonal regulation by PTH and calcitonin, calcium supplements, phosphorus and sulfur, and magnesium, closing with a comparison chapter.

Unit 11, Trace Minerals (5 chapters, 51 cards). Iron absorption (heme versus nonheme) and iron deficiency, copper, zinc and selenium, iodine and the thyroid, and fluoride with the minor trace minerals.

Applying it: guidelines, labels and life stages (units 12-14)

Unit 12, DRIs, Guidelines and Labels (5 chapters, 85 cards). The reference values (EAR, RDA, AI, UL, AMDR), three editions of the Dietary Guidelines kept separate, the Nutrition Facts label and the 5/20 rule for percent Daily Value, label claims, and eating patterns such as DASH and Mediterranean. The U.S. guidelines changed in January 2026, so every guideline card in the course names its edition (2025-2030, 2020-2025 or 2015-2020).

Unit 13, Nutrition Across the Lifespan (6 chapters, 101 cards, tied for the largest). Pregnancy, pregnancy hazards, lactation and breast milk, infancy, childhood and adolescence, and adulthood and aging.

Unit 14, Performance Nutrition (5 chapters, 51 cards). Fitness and activity guidelines, energy systems and fuel use during exercise, what athletes need, fluids and heat illness, and RED-S and supplements.

Safety and disease (units 15-16)

Unit 15, Food Safety (4 chapters, 51 cards). Food infection versus food intoxication, the temperature danger zone, the main foodborne pathogens and toxins, the four steps (clean, separate, cook, chill), safe internal temperatures, and who regulates what. This unit overlaps directly with what's in Microbiology, which covers the same organisms from the microbe's side.

Unit 16, Nutrition and Disease (6 chapters, 68 cards). Functional foods and diets, food allergy versus intolerance, osteoporosis, cardiovascular disease and blood pressure categories, cancer, diabetes and metabolic syndrome, malnutrition and eating disorders, and food insecurity programs.

Where the math is and where the memorizing is

The math is never hard, but it is easy to set up wrong, so work it from a blank page. The vitamin and mineral units reward a comparison table far more than rereading your notes does; how to memorize a list, a table or a formula sheet has the method. How to study for a nutrition class goes through each kind of material in more detail.

How the course is built

Each chapter opens with a note card that teaches the topic, then mixes short answer, multiple choice, cloze, typed answers for calculations, true or false, and sequence cards for ordered processes such as digestion. There are no images; every formula and process is written out in words.

Nutrition is often taken alongside other general education courses. If you are planning a full schedule, the free college gen-ed course flashcards post lists every course Encodr offers, and how to study for microbiology is worth reading if you are on a pre-nursing or allied health track that pairs the two. The flashcard deck time estimator will tell you roughly how long 1,154 cards take at your pace.

Start the full course free on Encodr: Nutrition flashcards.