FNS 200 Lecture Notes - Lecture 1: Pellagra, Joule, Nutrient
Document Summary
The science that studies food and how food nourishes the body and influences our health. How we consume, digest, metabolize, and store nutrients and how it affects the body. Involves studying factors that influence eating patterns, making recommendations about the amount we should eat of each type of food, attempting to maintain food safety, and addressing issues related to global food supply. Originally focus on identifying and preventing difficiency diseases (ex: pellagra, scurvy), now focus includes supporting wellness, and preventing/treating chronic diseases (diseases that come on slowly and can persist for years) (ex: heart disease, type 2 diabetes) Characterized by scaly rash, diarrhea, mental impairment. Goldberger found those who ate a variety of nutrient rich foods recovered, those who ate limited, corn- based diet did not (and also found it was not infectious) Eventually found brewer"s yeast added to diet prevented/reversed pellagra. Later identified pellagra patients were deficient in niacin (a b-vitamin)