Portal:Medicine/Selected article/8, 2007

Nutrition science studies the relationship between diet and states of health and disease. Dieticians are health professionals who are specialized in this area of expertise, highly trained to provide safe, evidence-based dietary advice and interventions.

There is a spectrum ranging from malnutrition to optimal health, including many common symptoms and diseases which can often be prevented or alleviated with better nutrition.

Deficiencies, excesses and imbalances in diet can produce negative impacts on health, which may lead to diseases such as scurvy, obesity or osteoporosis, as well as psychological and behavioral problems. Moreover, excessive ingestion of elements that have no apparent role in health, (e.g. lead, mercury, PCBs, dioxins), may incur toxic and potentially lethal effects, depending on the dose. The science of nutrition attempts to understand how and why specific dietary aspects influence health. (More...)