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INTRODUCTION to Food Nutrition*

Hello! Welcome to the Website of the Bilingual Course Food Nutrition! There existing an intimate relationship between food nutrition and human health, only follow a rational balanced diet can we maintain good health. Accompanied with the rapid development of Nutrition Science, Biochemistry, Physiology, Phylaxiology, De materia medical and Food Science, Researches about health benefited foods and studies between diet and reference disease have already been advantaged to a large extent, food procession and preservation both impose extensive impact on nutriments as well. In order to harmonize processed foods and good health, the principle task of the bilingual course is to combine food procession and preservation with health care.

Nutrition is the provision, to cells and organisms, of the materials necessary (in the form of food) to support life. Many common health problems can be prevented or alleviated with good nutrition.

The diet of an organism refers to what it eats. Dietitians are health professionals who specialize in human nutrition, meal planning, economics, preparation, and so on. They are trained to provide safe, evidence-based dietary advice and management to individuals (in health and disease), as well as to institutions.

There are seven major classes of nutrients: carbohydrates, fats, fiber, minerals, proteins, vitamins, and water. These nutrient classes can be generally grouped into the categories of macronutrients, and micronutrients. The macronutrients are carbohydrates, fats, fiber, proteins and water. The other nutrient classes are micronutrients. The macronutrients (excluding fiber and water) provide energy, which is measured in kilocalories, often called "Calories". Carbohydrates and proteins provide four Calories of energy per gram, while fats provide nine Calories per gram. Vitamins, minerals, fiber, and water do not provide energy, but are necessary for other reasons. Other micronutrients not categorized above include antioxidants, essential fatty acids, and phytochemicals. Most foods contain a mix of some or all of the nutrient classes.

Some nutrients are required on a regular basis, while others are needed less frequently. Poor health can be caused by an imbalance of nutrients, whether an excess or a deficiency. Poor diet can have an injurious impact on health, causing deficiency diseases such as scurvy, beriberi, and kwashiorkor; health-threatening conditions like obesity and metabolic syndrome, and such common chronic systemic diseases as cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and osteoporosis.

Nutrition is coming to the fore as a major modifiable determinant of chronic disease, with scientific evidence increasingly supporting the view that alterations in diet have strong effects, both positive and negative, on health throughout life. Most importantly, dietary adjustments may not only influence present health, but may determine whether or not an individual will develop such diseases as cancer, cardiovascular disease and diabetes much later in life. However, these concepts have not led to a change in policies or in practice. In many developing countries, food policies remain focused only on undernutrition and are not addressing the prevention of chronic disease.

Food fortification is the public health policy of adding Micronutrients (essential trace elements and vitamins) to foodstuffs to ensure that minimum dietary requirements are met. Simple diets based on staple foods with little variation are often deficient in certain nutrients, either because they are not present in sufficient amounts in the soil of a region, or because of the inherent inadequacy of the diet. Addition of micronutrients to staples and condiments can prevent large-scale deficiency diseases in these cases.

Aiming at founding a solid ground for producing nutrient and health foods, the objective are focused on the following points: Digestion and absorption of food and nutriments, Food nutrition and disease, Public nourishment and diet balance, Influence of food procession on nutriment, Phytochemistry and so on.