![]() ![]() The committee members decided that there is still much to be learned about diet and its role in chronic diseases. Government Printing Office, 1988), these other groups have focused primarily on identifying dietary risk factors for single diseases. But aside from the recent Surgeon General's Report on Nutrition and Health (U.S. Several other expert groups have also addressed the importance of dietary factors to the public's health (see chapter 2). Reducing the risk of chronic illness caused by current dietary practices. This is particularly true in a science such as nutrition, in which many factors-age, sex, genetics, social behavior, and cultural differences, for example-can play a role in what food we eat and how it affects our bodies. The central problem in this debate is one that characterizes all science: absolute proof is difficult to obtain. They have also argued about how best to control risk factors on which there is general agreement among scientists. In addition, habitually eating more calories than the body uses for maintenance and physical activity produces obesity and increases the risk of several chronic diseases including noninsulin-dependent diabetes mellitus, a form of diabetes that does not usually require daily insulin injections but has many adverse complications and generally appears after age 40.Īs the body of research on diet-disease connections has grown over the past half century, scientists, policymakers, officials of the food industry, consumer groups, and others have engaged in a debate about how much and what kind of evidence justifies giving dietary advice to the public. Certain dietary patterns can increase the likelihood of dental caries (cavities). Other scientific evidence suggests that the current average American diet-which is high in fatty foods and low in fruits and vegetables-can increase the risk of developing certain forms of cancer, especially cancers of the esophagus, colon (large bowel), prostate, and breast. Diets high in certain types of fat, for example, appear to increase the risk of developing coronary heart disease and certain cancers, and, among susceptible people, too much salt in food is believed to increase the chances of developing hypertension (high blood pressure). During the past few decades, scientists have identified several dietary factors that play important roles in the development of specific diseases. These diseases are rare today in the United States because most Americans get enough of these essential nutrients in their diets.Īlthough it is unlikely that you or your family will ever suffer from an illness caused by pronounced dietary deficiency, the foods you eat can exert more subtle and, in the long run, no less harmful effects on your health. In the case of goiter, iodine is the missing nutrient with pellagra it is mainly niacin, a B vitamin. In earlier times, diseases such as goiter and pellagra were relatively common-both are caused by nutritional deficiencies and cured by diets containing sufficient amounts of a particular nutrient. Diet plays a major role in promoting and maintaining good health, preventing some chronic diseases and treating others, and speeding recovery from injuries. ![]() Your diet can have long-term effects on your health as well. It might be a plate of grilled chicken, corn-on-the-cob, fresh vine-ripened tomatoes, and a baked potato, or a steaming dish of spaghetti topped with a zesty tomato sauce. Perhaps the most obvious positive effect of food is the pleasurable feeling you get from eating a good-tasting meal. The foods you choose to eat can have a direct impact on your ability to enjoy life to its fullest. ![]()
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