Diet and Health examines the many complex issues concerning diet and its role in increasing or decreasing the risk of chronic disease. It proposes dietary recommendations for reducing the risk of the major diseases and causes of death today: atherosclerotic cardiovascular diseases (including heart attack and stroke), cancer, high blood pressure, obesity, osteoporosis, diabetes mellitus, liver disease, and dental caries.

In the past 20 years micronutrients have assumed great public health importance and a considerable amount of research has lead to increasing knowledge of their physiological role. Because it is a rapidly developing field, the WHO and FAO convened an Expert Consultation to evaluate the current state of knowledge. It had three main tasks: to review the full scope of vitamin and minerals requirements; to draft and adopt a report which would provide recommended nutrient intakes for vitamins A, C, D, E, and K; the B vitamins; calcium; iron; magnesium; zinc; selenium; and iodine; to identify key issues for future research and make preliminary recommendations for the handbook. This report contains the outcome of the Consultation, combined with up-to-date evidence that has since become available.

This volume provides a comprehensive academic review of both positive and negative effects of minerals on human health and quality of life. The book adopts the concept of mineral latu sensu (mineral l.s.), which encompasses a broad spectrum of natural, inorganic, solid, and crystalline, of natural and inorganic chemical elements (metals and metalloids), of modified natural minerals, of biominerals, and of syntetic minerals, all products that branch across the disciplines of earth, soil, environmental, materials, nutrition, and health sciences. Using this broad framework, the authors are able to provide a multidisciplinary assessment on many types of minerals which can be essential, beneficial and hazardous to human health, covering applications in medical geology, medical hydrology or balneotherapy, pharmacology, chemistry, nutrition, and biophysics. The book performs historical analyses of the uses of minerals for therapeutic and cosmetic purposes to better understand current trends and developments in mineral research and human health. The book will be of interest to students, public health officials, environmental agencies and researchers from various disciplines, as well as scientific societies and organizations focusing on medical geology, health resort medicine (crenotherapy, hydrotherapy and climatotherapy), and on pharmaceutical, cosmetic and biomedical applications.

Mineral elements are found in foods and drink of all different types, from drinking water through to mothers’ milk. The search for mineral elements has shown that many trace and ultratrace-level elements presented in food are required for a healthy life. By identifying and analysing these elements, it is possible to evaluate them for their specific health-giving properties, and conversely, to isolate their less desirable properties with a view to reducing or removing them altogether from some foods. The analysis of mineral elements requires a number of different techniques – some methods may be suitable for one food type yet completely unsuited to another. The Handbook of Mineral Elements in Food is the first book to bring together the analytical techniques, the regulatory and legislative framework, and the widest possible range of food types into one comprehensive handbook for food scientists and technologists. Much of the book is based on the authors’ own data, most of which is previously unpublished, making the Handbook of Mineral Elements in Food a vital and up-to-the-minute reference for food scientists in industry and academia alike. Analytical chemists, nutritionists and food policy makers will also find it an invaluable resource. Showcasing contributions from international researchers, and constituting a major resource for our future understanding of the topic, the Handbook of Mineral Elements in Food is an essential reference and should be found wherever food science and technology are researched and taught.

Results from the National Research Council's (NRC) landmark study Diet and health are readily accessible to nonscientists in this friendly, easy-to-read guide. Readers will find the heart of the book in the first chapter: the Food and Nutrition Board's nine-point dietary plan to reduce the risk of diet-related chronic illness. The nine points are presented as sensible guidelines that are easy to follow on a daily basis, without complicated measuring or calculatingâ€"and without sacrificing favorite foods. Eat for Life gives practical recommendations on foods to eat and in a "how-to" section provides tips on shopping (how to read food labels), cooking (how to turn a high-fat dish into a low-fat one), and eating out (how to read a menu with nutrition in mind). The volume explains what protein, fiber, cholesterol, and fats are and what foods contain them, and tells readers how to reduce their risk of chronic disease by modifying the types of food they eat. Each chronic disease is clearly defined, with information provided on its prevalence in the United States. Written for everyone concerned about how they can influence their health by what they eat, Eat for Life offers potentially lifesaving information in an understandable and persuasive way. Alternative Selection, Quality Paperback Book Club

Magnesium is an essential mineral which is required for growth and survival of humans. Since magnesium is a mineral and not synthesizable it must be obtained through dietary foods and/or supplements. Magnesium in Human Health and Disease reviews the benefits of magnesium supplementation to reach recommended intakes as well as provides new research that suggests how reaching levels above the recommended intakes can promote health and treat various diseases. Magnesium deficiency can cause low serum potassium and calcium levels, retention of sodium, and low circulating levels of regulatory hormones. These changes in nutrients cause neurological and muscular symptoms such as tremor and muscle spasms. Further magnesium deficiency causes loss of appetite, nausea, vomiting, personality changes and death from heart failure. Causes of magnesium deficiency include alcohol abuse, poorly controlled diabetes, excessive or chronic vomiting and/or diarrhea. Thus the effects of inadequate and deficient intakes or levels of magnesium is critical to health and are reviewed by the expert clinicians in this book. Magnesium in Human Health and Disease provides the most current research to support the potential benefits or lack thereof for normal and high supplementation with magnesium. Animal model research and early human trials are reviewed to document other disease states such as hypertension, cholesterol level, type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease that would benefit from increased magnesium.

This book describes the role of trace elements in health and longevity, pursuing a biogerontological approach. It offers essential information on the impact of trace elements on molecular and physiological processes of aging, and on their impact on health in connection with aging. The major topics covered in its 11 chapters, each dedicated to a specific trace element or mineral, are: a) Role of the element in species longevity, b) Recommended intake for longevity in animal species and in the elderly, c) Deficiency and age-related disease, d) Excess/toxicity and age-related disease, and e) Interactions with drugs prescribed in the elderly. Clinical, animal and other laboratory models of interest in aging are included, which enable a more in-depth analysis to be made. The respective chapters are a mixture of overviews and more in-depth reviews in which the mechanisms of aging are described from the point of view of their specific interactions with trace elements and minerals.

Drawing on recent research, this comprehensive guide explains the functions of twenty-two minerals essential for health and provides tables listing the best food sources of minerals and more than one hundred recipes

Minerals are, in many ways, the unheralded and often forgotten heroes of keeping our bodies functioning at their best. While the nutrients carbohydrates, proteins and fat may be better well known, minerals are equally vital for helping us get and stay healthy. They play a key role in combatting disease, helping your body heal, managing ongoing chronic health problems such as high blood pressure, minimizing the impact of such common maladies as headaches and PMS, helping children grow up strong, enhancing mental performance at all ages, and fatigue. They truly are your secret weapon for getting and staying your healthiest.In this easy-to-read and easy-to-use guide, pH Lab's team of recognized medical doctors and specialists tell you about the role minerals play with common health issues along with detailed information about individual minerals. You'll also learn more about the relationship between minerals and prescription medicines, why you need more than routine blood tests to see what minerals your body may need, and where you can get these tests.Enjoy your healthy life!

Essential and Toxic Trace Elements and Vitamins in Human Health is a comprehensive guide to the wide variety of micronutrients that affect human health, including fat-soluble and water-soluble vitamins that support diverse biochemical functions, trace elements with established and suggested links to health maintenance, and elements with known human toxicity such as arsenic, cadmium, and lead. An essential reference text for nutritionists working in academia and functional food and supplement industries, dieticians, and clinicians, Essential and Toxic Trace Elements and Vitamins in Human Health provides an in-depth look at toxic trace elements and essential vitamins and minerals and their direct influence on the body’s overall health with expert research from renowned scientists. Presents a balanced scientific view of essential and nonessential micronutrients with an in-depth analysis of the biochemical functions each plays in human health Examines particular micronutrients in detail with coverage of clinical aspects, interaction with other micronutrients, immunological effects, cognitive functions and epigenetics Focuses on effective management of micronutrient deficiencies and on toxicity implications of overexposure