Understanding Nutrition [antikvár]

PrefaceThis eighth édition of Understanding Nutrition shares the same goals established over 20 years ago in writing the first édition: to provide a textbook that would both reveal the fascination of the science of nutrition and share the fun and excitement of nutrition with the reader. Readers want more than just factsthey want an understanding of how the scientific facts apply to their daily lives. While the goals for this édition remain unchanged, every chapter has been substantially revised to reflect the many changes that have occurred in the field of nutrition over the years.To the person reading this text, it will be obvious that, like most sciences, nutrition possesses no absolute certainties. Nutrition scientists simply do not have all the answers yet; in some cases, we have not even asked all the questions yet. This is true in many areas of nutrition; it is a growing, young science dating only from around the turn of the twentieth century. One of the missions of this text, beginning in Chapter 1, is to show readers how researchers ascertain the "facts."The Chapters This book presents the core information of an introductory nutrition course. Chapter 1 wastes no time in exploring why we eat the foods we do and continues with a brief overview of the nutrients, the science of nutrition, recommended nutriënt intakes, assessment, and important relationships between diet and health. Chapter 2 describes the diet-planning principies and food guides used to create diets that support good health and includes instructions on how to read a food label. In Chapter 3, readers follow the journey of digestion and absorption as the body transforms foods into nutrients. Chapters 4 through 6 describe carbohydrates, fats, and proteinstheir chemistry, health effects, roles in the body, and places in the diet. Then Chapter 7 shows how the body derives energy from these three nutrients. Chapters 8 and 9 continue the story with a look at energy balance, the factors associated with overweight and underweight, and the benefits and dangers of weight loss and weight gain. Chapters 10 through 13 complete the introductory lessons by describing the vi-tamins, the minerais, and watertheir roles in the body, deficiency and toxicity symptoms, and sources.The next seven chapters weave that basic information into practical applications, showing how nutrition influences people's lives. Chapter 14 describes how physical activity and nutrition work together to support health. Chapters 15, 16, and 17 present the special nutriënt needs of people through the life cyclepreg-nancy and lactation; infancy, childhood, and adolescence; and adulthood and the later years. Chapter 18 focuses on the dietary risk factors and recommenda-tions associated with chronic diseases, and Chapter 19 addresses consumer concerns about the safety of the food supply. Chapter 20 closes the book with a look at hunger and global environmental problems and offers suggestions for establishing sustainable foodways.The Features The chapters in this édition have been designed with special features to enhance learning. For example, définitions are provided whenever newterms are introduced. These définitions often Include pronunclations and dérivations to facilítate understanding. A glossary at the end of the text includes all defined terms.New to this édition are notations of Web site addresses. These sites offer addi-tional information and resources on the topic discussed in the accompanying text.Many of the chapters include "How to" sections that guide readers through problem-solving tasks. For example, the "How to" in Chapter 1 shows readers how to calcúlate energy intake from the grams of carbohydrlte, fat, and protein in a food; another "How to" in Chapter 13 describes how tclcalculate iron absorption from a meal.