CHAPTER ONE

1.0INTRODUCTION

In science and human medicine, nutrition is the science or practice of consuming and utilizing foods. Agriculture and food security and Bioscience for health are two of our key strategic priorities. Understanding what constitutes safe and healthy food is, therefore, an important area which spans both these themes.

Elucidating the interactions between food, its nutritional content and human physiological systems represents a multidisciplinary challenge with key public health and economic impacts. The health consequences of changing diets and dietary habits represent an unsustainable social and economic burden, yet many of the mechanisms underpinning the effects of food and nutrition on longterm and acute health remain underinvestigated. Foods must be produced which take account of human nutritional requirements and could include changing the availability of certain foods, enhancing the nutritional content of foods, reformulation or a combination of these. Innovation in the food industry depends upon underpinning research to inform product development and processing strategies to enhance safety and health benefits.

In delivering healthier and more nutritious foods, it is crucial that we are cognisant of food safety. Issues around microbial and chemical contamination in the production chain, authenticity and provenance must be considered when modifying diets and production processes, and when developing strategies to make existing diets safer.

Addressing the nutritional and safety challenges facing the UK and the world will require solutions which encompass the whole food chain. Multidisciplinary approaches which harness expertise across the BBSRC research space from soil, crop and livestock science to food science, food safety, and human physiology are, therefore, strongly encouraged, as are proposals at the interface with other Research Councils provided the majority of the work falls within our remit.

Predicting and assessing potential adverse human health impacts arising from compositional changes in foods modified by a number of methods, including the genetic engineering of foods, are challenging. Adverse consequences could be narrow in occurrence or diverse and widespread and, because they are unintended, will be unexpected. Foods that could be modified in composition as a result of agricultural biotechnology, as defined in this chapter and described in Chapters 2 are of interest because of the growing awareness that commonly consumed food constituents and complex mixtures can be beneficial or harmful to health.

Estimates based on populationbased research indicate that approximately onethird of preventable morbidity and mortality is of dietary origin and/or a consequence of low levels of physical activity. In contrast to such longterm consequences, acute toxicities of dietary origin appear to pose a relatively small population health burden. Acute food toxicities may be very severe, but they generally affect much smaller numbers of people and can be associated rapidly with the food source, so that they usually can be controlled relatively easily

1.1 BACKGROUND OF THE RESEARCH

Nutrition is the science that interprets the interaction of nutrients and other substances in food e.g. phytonutrients, anthocyanins, tannins, etc. in relation to maintenance, growth, reproduction, health and disease of an organism. It includes food intake, absorption, assimilation, biosynthesis, catabolism and excretion.

The diet of an organism is what it eats, which is largely determined by the availability, the processing and palatability of foods. A healthy diet includes preparation of food and storage methods that preserve nutrients from oxidation, heat or leaching, and that reduce risk of foodborn illnesses.

A poor diet may have an injurious impact on health, causing deficiency diseases such as blindness, anemia, scurvy, preterm birth, stillbirth and cretinism; Whitney, Ellie and Rolfes, Sharon Rady 2013. Understanding Nutrition 13 ed.. Wadsworth, Cengage Learning. pp. 667, 670. ISBN 9781133587521 healththreatening conditions like obesity Obesity and Overweight for Professionals: Causes DNPAO CDC. Cdc.gov 20110516. Retrieved on 20111017. and metabolic syndrome;8 and such common chronic systemic diseases as cardiovascular disease,9 diabetes, Diabetes Diet and Food Tips: Eating to Prevent and Control Diabetes. Helpguide.org. Retrieved on 20111017. and osteoporosis. A poor diet can cause the wasting of kwashiorkor in acute cases, and the stunting of marasmus in chronic cases of malnutrition. Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. Retrieved May 9, 2015.

The list of nutrients that people are known to require is, in the words of Marion Nestle, almost certainly incomplete. Nestle, Marion 2013 2002. Food Politics: How the Food Industry Influences Nutrition and Health. As of 2014, nutrients are thought to be of two types: macronutrients which are needed in relatively large amounts, and micronutrients which are needed in smaller quantities. A type of carbohydrate, dietary fiber, i.e. nondigestible material such as cellulose, is required, for both mechanical and biochemical reasons, although the exact reasons remain unclear. Other micronutrients include antioxidants and phytochemicals, which are said to influence or protect some body systems. Their necessity is not as well established as in the case of, for instance, vitamins.

Most foods contain a mix of some or all of the nutrient types, together with other substances, such as toxins of various sorts. Some nutrients can be stored internally e.g., the fatsoluble vitamins, while others are required more or less continuously. Poor health can be caused by a lack of required nutrients or, in extreme cases, too much of a required nutrient. For example, both salt and water both absolutely required will cause illness or even death in excessive amounts

Poor nutrition is a chronic problem often linked to poverty, poor nutrition understanding and practices, and deficient sanitation and food security. Lack of proper nutrition contributes to lower academic performance, lower test scores, and eventually less successful students and a less productive and competitive economy. Malnutrition and its consequences are immense contributors to deaths and disabilities worldwide. Promoting good nutrition helps growth, promotes human development and advances economic growth and eradication of poverty.

1.2 OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY

To support worldclass research which will advance understanding of the way in which safe and healthy foods can be sustainably generated, and how nutrients, foods and whole diets interact with biological systems to promote health.

This research under this priority also seek to achieve and increase mechanistic biological understanding of:

1.how food nutrition can optimize health status and reduce disease risk

2.how diet interacts with external and internal factors to modulate phenotypic responses that influence health

3.the contribution of dietary patterns, individual nutrients, whole and processed foods and food structures to promoting and maintaining health

4.individual behavioral responses and attitudes toward food, nutrition and health

5.how to reduce risks to human health from the contamination of food by pathogens, toxins or other harmful substances at any stage of the foodchain

1.3 SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY

The outcome of this research work will be of beneficial help to most of the household as it will promote and highlight them on food nutrition and how to balance their daily food. This research study will significantly stabilize the food diet and level of consumption, to put a moderate food eating habit that eill help to regulate the growth and health of families.

1.4LIMITATION OF THE STUDY

In times as such, where there is a financial crisis within the nation, this have greatly contributed to the main source of limitation to this research work, as the researcher was faced with financial constrain and could not successfully visit place needed to for the course of this study. Also, an access to the information needed for this study was a problem.

1.5DEFINITION OF TERMS

Nutrition: nutrition is the combination of processess by which the living organism receives and use the food materials necessary for growth maintenance of function and repair components parts

Nutrition: A science of food and its relationship to health and concerned with the part played by food factor nutrients in body growth, development and maintenance.

Protein: Protein is a body building material for all body parts, such as muscle, brain, blood skin, hair, nails, bones and body fluids, which constitutes about 20 of the adult body weight and made up of amino acids which main sources are from animal source like milk, eggs, meat, fish, cheese etc, and plant sources like pulses, cereals, beans, nuts, soya beans etc.

Health is the level of functional or metabolic efficiency of a living organism. In humans it is the ability of individuals or communities to adapt and selfmanage when facing physical, mental or social challenges.

Diet: In nutrition, diet is the sum of food consumed by a person or other organism especially a balanced food having all the nutrients needed by the body system.

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