Nutrition

Contains a huge collection of nutrition links oriented towards the health professional.

You can eat the healthiest, freshest, most nutrient-rich diet possible, but still wind up chronically ill from diseases related to malnutrition. Why? Your digestive system may be functioning less than optimally an increasingly common occurrence as you age. The experts say health complaints that plague ageing adults from impaired immunity to digestive distress and nutritional deficiencies can be traced to a key underlying factor: poor digestive health. They also say digestive health is important no matter what your age. There is even a website devoted to theissue, (www.digestivehealth.org). It says most people experience digestive health problems at one time or another, and usually consider their symptoms merely an inconvenience. But the digestive system is extremely important as it functions to support the rest of the body and deliver nutrients throughout the body. When it malfunctions, the entire body is at risk.

A single, oral dose of vitamin A, given to infants shortly after birth can reduce the risk of death in the developing world by 15 percent, according to a study released this week.

A call has gone out for all schools to have sports fields, physical education lessons and for nutrition to be on the curriculum.

The new draft Regulations Relating to the Labelling and Advertising of Foodstuffs have been published by the Minister of Health in terms of the Foodstuffs, Cosmetics and Disinfectants Act, (Act 54 of 1972), for public comment for a period of three months in the Government Gazette No. 30075 on 20 July 2007.

CAPE TOWN: Are you suffering from Type 1 diabetes? You better watch that weight around your waist. Researchers from the University of Washington, Seattle, have found that adults with Type 1 diabetes who are obese, especially those who carry excess weight around the waist, are at an increased risk of developing kidney disease.

PARIS For every four adults in the world who are malnourished five more are overweight, 30% of them clinically obese, according to the World Health Organization.

Fish Consumption Associated With Reduced Risk of Cardiac Death, Lower Total Mortality, and Improvements in Child Brain Development. Boston, MA Many studies have shown the nutritional benefits of eating fish (finfish or shellfish). Fish is high in protein and omega-3 fatty acids. But concerns have been raised in recent years about chemicals found in fish from environmental pollution, including mercury, PCBs and dioxins. That has led to confusion among the publicdo the risks of eating fish outweigh the benefits?

Shocking medical statistics should put all parents on high alert about how they are raising their children. Diets rich in junk food and sugar, television-centred lifestyles and a fear of crime in public spaces like parks are turning children and adults into overweight and highly unhealthy people.