Volume 9 Supplement

▪ Keyword : diet portfolio, evolution, functional food

▪ Content : Creationists and evolutionists acknowledge that the human diet has passed through at least four phases. The original plant food-based diet; a second phase of increasing meat consumption; a third phase of agricultural dependence on starchy foods; and, finally, the supermarket high-saturated fat, low-fibre phase with minimal energy expenditure. Our aim is to define the value of the original or ‘Garden of Eden’ diet and to speculate on which components should be retained in the modern supermarket diet.

▪ Keyword : vegetarian, nutrients, lifestyle

▪ Content : Any attempt to optimize a plant-based diet necessitates an identification of the features of the diet which confer benefit as well as any which may be associated with detrimental effects. The former task is more difficult than might be assumed as there is no doubt that some of the apparent health benefits observed amongst vegetarians are a consequence of environmental determinants of health which characterize groups of people who choose vegetarian diets, rather than dietary practices. This review will consider the major health benefits of plant-based diets, the specific foods or nutrients which confer the benefits as far as can be ascertained from present knowledge, potential nutrient deficiencies associated with a plant-based diet and nutritional strategies that can be employed to ...

▪ Keyword : Australia, public health nutrition, burden of disease, national strategy, partnerships

▪ Content : In Australia, diet-related disease ranks alongside tobacco-related disease as the most important preventable health area, accounting for at least 10% of the total burden of disease. A population approach to improve the nutrition of all Australians is a vital contribution to the nation’s overall health and well-being, yet action has often been ineffective, uncoordinated and poorly resourced.

▪ Keyword : dietary change, health promotion, professional associations, dietitians

▪ Content : Professional associations have traditionally focused their activities in the provision of services to members. However, this need not be their only role. The Dietitians Association of Australia has chosen to take a proactive approach to changing the way that the Australian people eat. Through a variety of strategies assisted by partnerships with industry, the Association has been able to increase skills of individual members, provide skills to other health providers, increase advocacy, implement health promotion programs and use the media to provide nutrition messages. Encouraging results have been achieved to date that support such a role for professional associations.

▪ Keyword : colon, rectum, nutrition, cancer

▪ Content : Dietary lifestyle is relevant for prevention and treatment of various colorectal conditions. Colorectal disorders have significant morbidity and mortality in a western-style community, particularly irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), colorectal cancer, haemorrhoids, constipation and diverticular disease. This review addresses how bowel health can be maintained, what foods and dietary lifestyles are associated with risk for disease and what foods are of real value in management.

▪ Keyword : diabetes, diet, fat, monounsaturated, carbohydrate

▪ Content : The Diabetes Control and Complications Trial and United Kingdom Prospective Diabetes Study (UKPDS) trials have provided evidence for the pivotal importance of optimizing glycaemic control to prevent complications in type 1 and 2 diabetes mellitus. Both patients and diabetes professionals consider lifestyle change and appropriate medication as cornerstones for achieving good glycaemic control.

▪ Keyword : cholesterol, low-fat diet, coronary heart disease

▪ Content : The single major cause of death throughout the world is coronary heart disease. Prevalence is stable or decreasing in North America, Australasia and most of Europe, while rapidly increasing in eastern Europe, Asia and Africa. Atherosclerosis is the underlying pathology. This is one of the classic lifestyle diseases on the background of genetic susceptibility.

▪ Keyword : iron, zinc, vitamin A, phytate, fertilizer

▪ Content : Three nutrients, iron, zinc and pro-vitamin A, are widely deficient in humans, especially among low socioeconomic groups in developing countries, but they remain significant concerns in industrialized countries as well. Cereals provide the majority of the intake of these nutrients in low-income families. Moreover, these three nutrients may interact synergistically in absorption and function to such an extent that there are potentially huge advantages in providing all three together in the one staple food.

▪ Keyword : food security, sustainability

▪ Content : This paper deals with the question: do some food systems engender a more positive social environment than others, and does this matter? The pressure to generate financial capital from food production is enormous, especially for a country like Australia, and financial imperatives clearly drive choice of food production methods. Many have argued that environmental costs of food production are hardly ever factored into the profitability equation and the notion of sustainable development represents a position where consideration is given to environmental concerns while at the same time maximizing economic returns. While the importance of choice of food system in order to benefit the natural environment has been argued for, another environment — that of the social environment — remains r...

▪ Keyword : health economics

▪ Content : People are living longer and with more pain-free and comfortable lives as we begin the 21st century in 2001. Life expectancy was just 53 years (for males) in the beginning of the 20th century and is now 78 years. One in four children born in 2000 are expected to live beyond 100 years. There are many reasons for such advancement: fewer accidents, particularly work and travel related; better diets; and more and better health care.

▪ Keyword : Australia, belief systems, consumers, food concerns, food consumption

▪ Content : The translation of recent advances in nutrition sciences into enhanced population health and well-being depends on the development of a deeper understanding of human food consumption patterns and the factors which influence them. Food consumption patterns are dynamic and are influenced by complex, interrelated biological, social, cultural and psychological processes.

▪ Keyword : nutrition, diet, cardiovascular disease, cancer

▪ Content : What are the objectives of an ideal diet? Are they to prolong life or maximize quality adjusted life expectancy? Does this focus on individuals or on the population at large, taking equity and resources into account? What about externalities that should take into account cultural heritage, protection of the environment and macroeconomic considerations?

▪ Keyword : functional foods, health claims, scientific substantiation

▪ Content : Functional foods are foods that, by nature or design, can deliver benefits beyond that of sustenance. They bridge the traditional gap between food and drugs, offering consumers greater opportunity to take their health care into their own hands. Rapidly increasing knowledge of the physiological effects of nutrients and their potential health benefits offers exciting prospects for the food industry and consumers alike.

▪ Keyword : gene technology, food, plant, genetically modified

▪ Content : Molecular biology is revolutionizing biology, agriculture and medicine. It is now possible to isolate and sequence the basic genetic material (DNA) from any organism and techniques have been developed to copy and‘cut and paste’ DNA molecules to produce new combinations. This has led to the development of genetically modified (GM) plants by the targeted introduction of a small number of well-defined genes directly into the cells of an existing plant variety to improve its quality or performance.

▪ Keyword : recommended dietary intakes, dietary guidelines, phytochemicals

▪ Content : Phytochemicals are biologically active compounds, found in plants in small amounts, which are not established nutrients but which nevertheless seem to contribute significantly to protection against degenerative disease. At present, most interest in phytochemicals is focused on the polyphenolic flavonoids and on the carotenoids, although allium compounds, glucosinolates, indoles and coumarins have also received attention, especially with respect to cancer.

▪ Keyword : epidemiology, public health, vegetables, fruit, cancer, prevention

▪ Content : A lower risk of cancer at many different sites is seen in association with higher intakes of vegetables and fruit. There are many biologically plausible reasons for this potentially protective association. It is argued that increasing intake of plant foods to 400–800 g/day is a public health strategy of considerable importance for individuals and communities worldwide

▪ Keyword : legumes, soy, phytoestrogen, isoflavone, cholesterol

▪ Content : The recognition that legumes and, in particular, soybeans provide not only an excellent source of vegetable protein but also contain appreciable amounts of a number of phytoprotectants has increased general awareness of their potential nutritional and health properties. Since the discovery that soybeans are one of the richest dietary sources of bioavailable phytoestrogens, this legume has been elevated to the forefront of clinical nutritional research.

▪ Keyword : whole grains, phytochemicals, anti-oxidants, dietary fibre, cancer, cardiovascular disease

▪ Content : Dietary guidance universally supports the importance of grains in the diet. The United States Department of Agriculture pyramid suggests that Americans consume from six to 11 servings of grains per day, with three of these servings being whole grain products. Whole grain contains the bran, germ and endosperm, while refined grain includes only endosperm. Both refined and whole grains can be fortified with nutrients to improve the nutrient profile of the product.

▪ Keyword : coronary heart disease, lipids, nuts, vitamin E

▪ Content : In the past many have avoided nuts because of their high fat content. The Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension diet, however, recommends regular consumption of this food along with seeds and dried beans (4–5 servings per week) as part of a diet to control hypertension. Nuts are nutrient-dense and most of their fat is unsaturated. They are also perhaps the best natural source of vitamin E and are relatively concentrated repositories of dietary fibre, magnesium, potassium and arginine, which is the dietary precursor of nitric oxide.

▪ Keyword : diet, dietary guidelines, dietary change, population strategies

▪ Content : The principal nutritional problems of developed economies are related to the excessive and unbalanced intake of energy and nutrients. During the 20th century, as economies improved and food production became more efficient, conditions related to undernutrition were replaced by epidemics of coronary heart disease, certain cancers and other chronic conditions related to food overconsumption. In developed countries such as the United States, obesity became the predominant public health nutrition problem.

▪ Keyword : chronic disease prevention, developing countries, food technology, Guatemala, legumes

▪ Content : The chronic degenerative diseases were virtually unknown in original hunter–gatherer societies. At the dawn of the 21st century, however, they represent the most important public health challenge to populations of both the industrialized, affluent nations of the temperate zones and the low-income developing countries of the tropics.

▪ Keyword : food habits, behavioural change, clinical nutrition, medical practice, cardiovascular disease

▪ Content : There is ample evidence from repeat food surveys that people are actually and passively changing their food habits. Understanding the reasons for this are vital to any efforts by clinicians to enable individuals to move in an increasing healthful direction with their food intake, and to dispel the pessimism that often prevails about the ability to make a useful contribution to nutritional status by changing food intake.