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What is a proper diet? What is nutrition? Why should we be concerned? The Encarta® World English Dictionary (2003) defines nutrition as “food,” at its basic level, or more clearly as the nutritional values that are in what we eat such as “minerals, vitamins and other nourishing substances.” The questions I intend to answer in future blogs include:
•What makes minerals and vitamins so important to our health and well-being?
•What vitamins do we need?
•What are the daily requirements for vitamins?
•What minerals do we need?
•What are the daily requirements for minerals?
•What are the dangers of not getting enough vitamins and minerals?
•What are the dangers of consuming too much vitamins and minerals?
•What are amino acids and where do they come from?
•What are the nutritional values of protein and carbohydrates?
•What are phytochemicals?
•What other nourishing substances does the human body need?
•What are the daily requirements for other nourishing substances?
•What foods provide the most healthful benefits?
•Can herbal supplements help or hinder health?
•What herbs are useful in preventing or treating disease?
•Which herbal use is questionable and why?
•What is the risk of mixing herbal supplements and prescribed medication?
•I have food allergies, how do I meet my nutritional needs?
•Are vegetarians at risk for falling short on their nutritional needs?
•What additional supplements do people with specific diseases need?

Image courtesty of WebPhotoMart.com (Dec. 29, 2008).

To aid in the research for future blogs, I will be gathering information from online sources, libraries, and peer-reviewed databases. My aim is to use as many science-backed resources as I can. The following resources are only a few of the ones I think will be an important part of my research.

The Linus Pauling Institute of Science and Medicine works to establish a link between good health, food, and the proper amount of vitamins, minerals, phytochemicals, and other nutrients. This organization, “founded by Linus Pauling in 1973, was moved from California to his alma mater, Oregon State University in 1996, and became The Linus Pauling Institute, where Jane Higdon, Ph.D. (1958-2006) created the Macronutrient Nutrition Center,” (Oregon State University, 2008). The Macronutrient Nutrition Center lists all the necessary vitamins, minerals and other nutritional sources our bodies need to remain healthy, as well as describing the consequences of not getting enough, or getting too much of these nutrients.

The National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine (NCCAM) focuses on “advancing scientific research, training researchers, sharing news, and supporting complementary and alternative medicine therapies,” (National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine, 2008).

NutritionData.com lists over 3000 foods, calories, vitamins, minerals, and amino acids. This database not only gives information on the many food products found in the grocery store, but it also has advice on healthier choices of food.

DietFacts.com lists over 400 restaurants with nutritional information.

The National Institute of Health is “made up of 27 institutions. Three of those institutions are The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, The National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK), and The American Cancer Society.” (The National Institute of Health, 2008).

The USDA Food and Nutrition Information Center has nutritional resources for those suffering from “allergies, food sensitivities, HIV/AIDS, cancer, diabetes, digestive diseases, eating disorders, heart health, osteoporosis, weight and obesity.”

Finally, the Alleghany Regional Hospital (ARH) holds a plethora of valuable information and includes a "Natural Health Encyclopedia on more than 180 different health conditions, herb and drug-supplement interactions, and a list of over 200 herbs and supplements." (ARH, 2008) This institute performs scientific studies on alternative therapies, functional foods, and homeopathy. Do they work? Stay tuned to find out.

If you know of other nutritional resources, or have a particular question, make a comment!

References

Alleghany Regional Hospital, (2008), Complementary Therapies. Retrieved December 29, 2008, from: http://www.alleghanyregional.com/healthcontent.asp?page=/choice/demonstration/TheNaturalPharmacist-Consumer

Microsoft, (2003). Encarta® World English Dictionary, Bloomsbury Publishing Plc.

National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine, (2008), NCAAM Facts-at-a-Glance and Mission. Retrieved December 29, 2008, from: http://nccam.nih.gov/about/ataglance/

National Institutes of Health, (2008). Institutes, Centers & Offices. Retrieved December 29, 2008, from: http://www.nih.gov/icd/index.html

Oregon State University, (2008). Linus Pauling Institute. Retrieved December 29, 2008, from: http://lpi.oregonstate.edu/resagenda/about.html

Oregon State University, (2008). Linus Pauling Institute. Retrieved December 29, 2008, from: http://lpi.oregonstate.edu/infocenter/

USDA Food and Nutrition Information Center, (2008). Diet and Disease. Retrieved December 29, 2008, from: http://fnic.nal.usda.gov/nal_display/index.php?info_center=4&tax_level=1&tax_subject=278