Coursebook of basic nutrition and laboratory procedures
Preface
Proper nutrition is a critically important factor in daily living. The phrase “we are what we eat” is substantiated because the composition of our bodies is dependent in large measure on what we have consumed. This statement is based on the fact that human body is build of water, protein, fats, mineral salts, carbohydrates and vitamins, thus all the nutritional constituents supplied with food.
Nutrition is not only the basic factor in maintenance of good health but it is also important part of the treatment and prevention of many diseases. The poor nutritional habits including high intake of saturated fat, salt, alcohol, beverages and snacks increase the risk for diet-related chronic disease. Changing of nutritional habits reduce the risk of hyperlipidemia, atherosclerosis, obesity, diabetes mellitus type 2, hypertension and many others. The nutritional prevention should be primary aim of medical procedures reducing not only the costs of treatment but also a high morbidity and mortality of European and American populations occurring annually every year. Therefore, nutrition is a cornerstone of health pro-motion and disease prevention.
Not only the quantity but also the quality of food influence the health status. The determination of specific compounds in food enables the estimation of quality of study food products and gives the background for diet composition.
The purpose of the “Coursebook of Basic Nutrition and Laboratory Procedures” is to develop a comprehensive and useful laboratory compendium of methods used in nutritional analysis of selected food components. The modules contained in this coursebook address protein, carbohydrates, fats, selected vitamins and minerals. It also tackle the quality of drinking water, rationalization of nutrition and sensory analysis. Each module outlines the most important facts of nutritional components and provides guidelines for laboratory procedures.
The “Coursebook of Nutrition and Laboratory Procedures” is designed to be a practical guide in understanding basic nutritional issues useful during laboratory procedures. To give the background for better understanding experimental trials, the basic description regarding the discussed subjects is added to each chapter. The acquired knowledge will be also helpful at a time when laboratory experiments are practiced. All the discussed nutritional topics will be expanded during nutrition lectures and seminars.