The nature of nutrition Simpson, Stephen J; Simpson, Stephen J; Raubenheimer, David
2012., 20120722, 2012, 2012-07-22
eBook
Nutrition has long been considered more the domain of medicine and agriculture than of the biological sciences, yet it touches and shapes all aspects of the natural world. The need for nutrients ...determines whether wild animals thrive, how populations evolve and decline, and how ecological communities are structured.The Nature of Nutritionis the first book to address nutrition's enormously complex role in biology, both at the level of individual organisms and in their broader ecological interactions.
Stephen Simpson and David Raubenheimer provide a comprehensive theoretical approach to the analysis of nutrition--the Geometric Framework. They show how it can help us to understand the links between nutrition and the biology of individual animals, including the physiological mechanisms that determine the nutritional interactions of the animal with its environment, and the consequences of these interactions in terms of health, immune responses, and lifespan. Simpson and Raubenheimer explain how these effects translate into the collective behavior of groups and societies, and in turn influence food webs and the structure of ecosystems. Then they demonstrate how the Geometric Framework can be used to tackle issues in applied nutrition, such as the problem of optimizing diets for livestock and endangered species, and how it can also help to address the epidemic of human obesity and metabolic disease
Drawing on a wealth of examples from slime molds to humans,The Nature of Nutritionhas important applications in ecology, evolution, and physiology, and offers promising solutions for human health, conservation, and agriculture.
An understanding of the mineral nutrition of plants is of fundamental importance in both basic and applied plant sciences. The Third Edition of this book retains the aim of the first in presenting ...the principles of mineral nutrition in the light of current advances. This volume retains the structure of the first edition, being divided into two parts: Nutritional Physiology and Soil-Plant Relationships. In Part I, more emphasis has been placed on root-shoot interactions, stress physiology, water relations, and functions of micronutrients. In view of the worldwide increasing interest in plant-soil interactions, Part II has been considerably altered and extended, particularly on the effects of external and interal factors on root growth and chapter 15 on the root-soil interface. The third edition will be invaluable to both advanced students and researchers.
Dietary Reference Intakes Institute of Medicine; Standing Committee on the Scientific Evaluation of Dietary Reference Intakes; Subcommittee on Interpretation and Uses of Dietary Reference Intakes
08/2003
eBook
Open access
The Dietary Reference Intakes (DRIs) are quantitative estimates of nutrient intakes to be used for planning and assessing diets for apparently healthy people. This volume is the second of two reports ...in the DRI series aimed at providing specific guidance on the appropriate uses of the DRIs. The first report provided guidance on appropriate methods for using DRIs in dietary assessment. This volume builds on the statistical foundations of the assessment report to provide specific guidance on how to use the appropriate DRIs in planning diets for individuals and for groups.
Dietary planning, whether for an individual or a group, involves developing a diet that is nutritionally adequate without being excessive. The planning goal for individuals is to achieve recommended and adequate nutrient intakes using food-based guides. For group planning, the report presents a new approach based on considering the entire distribution of usual nutrient intakes rather than focusing on the mean intake of the group. The report stresses that dietary planning using the DRIs is a cyclical activity that involves assessment, planning, implementation, and reassessment.
Nutrition and public health researchers, dietitians and nutritionists responsible for the education of the next generation of practitioners, and government professionals involved in the development and implementation of national diet and health assessments, public education efforts and food assistance programs will find this volume indispensable for setting intake goals for individuals and groups.
The Changing Body Floud, Roderick; Fogel, Robert W.; Harris, Bernard ...
03/2011
eBook
Humans have become much taller and heavier, and experience healthier and longer lives than ever before in human history. However it is only recently that historians, economists, human biologists and ...demographers have linked the changing size, shape and capability of the human body to economic and demographic change. This fascinating and groundbreaking book presents an accessible introduction to the field of anthropometric history, surveying the causes and consequences of changes in health and mortality, diet and the disease environment in Europe and the United States since 1700. It examines how we define and measure health and nutrition as well as key issues such as whether increased longevity contributes to greater productivity or, instead, imposes burdens on society through the higher costs of healthcare and pensions. The result is a major contribution to economic and social history with important implications for today's developing world and the health trends of the future.
This document represents the first collaboration between 2 organizations-the American Society for Parenteral and Enteral Nutrition and the Society of Critical Care Medicine-to describe best practices ...in nutrition therapy in critically ill children. The target of these guidelines is intended to be the pediatric critically ill patient (>1 month and <18 years) expected to require a length of stay >2-3 days in a PICU admitting medical, surgical, and cardiac patients. In total, 2032 citations were scanned for relevance. The PubMed/MEDLINE search resulted in 960 citations for clinical trials and 925 citations for cohort studies. The EMBASE search for clinical trials culled 1661 citations. In total, the search for clinical trials yielded 1107 citations, whereas the cohort search yielded 925. After careful review, 16 randomized controlled trials and 37 cohort studies appeared to answer 1 of the 8 preidentified question groups for this guideline. We used the GRADE criteria (Grading of Recommendations, Assessment, Development, and Evaluation) to adjust the evidence grade based on assessment of the quality of study design and execution. These guidelines are not intended for neonates or adult patients. The guidelines reiterate the importance of nutrition assessment-particularly, the detection of malnourished patients who are most vulnerable and therefore may benefit from timely intervention. There is a need for renewed focus on accurate estimation of energy needs and attention to optimizing protein intake. Indirect calorimetry, where feasible, and cautious use of estimating equations and increased surveillance for unintended caloric underfeeding and overfeeding are recommended. Optimal protein intake and its correlation with clinical outcomes are areas of great interest. The optimal route and timing of nutrient delivery are areas of intense debate and investigations. Enteral nutrition remains the preferred route for nutrient delivery. Several strategies to optimize enteral nutrition during critical illness have emerged. The role of supplemental parenteral nutrition has been highlighted, and a delayed approach appears to be beneficial. Immunonutrition cannot be currently recommended. Overall, the pediatric critical care population is heterogeneous, and a nuanced approach to individualizing nutrition support with the aim of improving clinical outcomes is necessary.
Food banks and food pantries have proliferated in response to an economic emergency. The loss of manufacturing jobs combined with the recession of the early 1980s and Reagan administration cutbacks ...in federal programs led to an explosion in the growth of food charity. This was meant to be a stopgap measure, but the jobs never came back, and the "emergency food system" became an industry. InBig Hunger, Andrew Fisher takes a critical look at the business of hunger and offers a new vision for the anti-hunger movement. From one perspective, anti-hunger leaders have been extraordinarily effective. Food charity is embedded in American civil society, and federal food programs have remained intact while other anti-poverty programs have been eliminated or slashed. But anti-hunger advocates are missing an essential element of the problem: economic inequality driven by low wages. Reliant on corporate donations of food and money, anti-hunger organizations have failed to hold business accountable for offshoring jobs, cutting benefits, exploiting workers and rural communities, and resisting wage increases. They have become part of a "hunger industrial complex" that seems as self-perpetuating as the more famous military-industrial complex. Fisher lays out a vision that encompasses a broader definition of hunger characterized by a focus on public health, economic justice, and economic democracy. He points to the work of numerous grassroots organizations that are leading the way in these fields as models for the rest of the anti-hunger sector. It is only through approaches like these that we can hope to end hunger, not just manage it.
We all witness, in advertising and on supermarket shelves, the fierce competition for our food dollars. In this engrossing exposé, Marion Nestle goes behind the scenes to reveal how the competition ...really works and how it affects our health. The abundance of food in the United States--enough calories to meet the needs of every man, woman, and child twice over--has a downside. Our over-efficient food industry must do everything possible to persuade people to eat more--more food, more often, and in larger portions--no matter what it does to waistlines or well-being. Like manufacturing cigarettes or building weapons, making food is big business. Food companies in 2000 generated nearly
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