Understanding Nutrition Standalone Book PDF Download Free

Book Preface

Nutrition is a science. The details of a nutrient’s chemistry or a cell’s biology can be overwhelming and confusing to some, but it needn’t be. When the science is explained step by step and the facts are connected one by one, the details become clear and understandable. By telling stories about fat mice, using analogies of lamps, and applying guidelines to groceries, we make the science of nutrition meaningful and memorable. That has been our mission since the first edition—to reveal the fascination of science and share the excitement of nutrition with readers. We have learned from the thousands of professors and more than a million students who have used this book through the years that readers want an understanding of nutrition so they can make healthy choices in their daily lives. We hope that this book serves you well.

A Book Tour of This Edition

Understanding Nutrition presents the core information of an introductory nutrition course. The early chapters introduce the nutrients and their work in the body, and the later chapters apply that information to people’s lives—describing the role of foods and nutrients in energy balance and weight control, in physical activity, in the life cycle, in disease prevention, in food safety, and in hunger.

The Chapters Chapter 1 begins by exploring why we eat the foods we do and continues with a brief overview of the nutrients, the science of nutrition, recommended nutrient intakes, assessment, and important relationships between diet and health. Chapter 2 describes the diet-planning principles and food guides used to create diets that support good health and includes instructions on how to read a food label. In Chapter 3 readers follow the journey of digestion and absorption as the body breaks down foods into nutrients. Chapters 4, 5, and 6 describe carbohydrates, fats, and proteins—their chemistry, roles in the body, and places in the diet. Then Chapter 7 shows how the body derives energy from these three nutrients. Chapters 8 and 9 continue the story with a look at energy balance, the factors associated with overweight and underweight, and the benefits and dangers of weight loss and weight gain. Chapters 10, 11, 12, and 13 complete the introductory lessons by describing the vitamins, the minerals, and water—their roles in the body, deficiency and toxicity symptoms, and sources.

The next seven chapters weave that basic information into practical applications, showing how nutrition inf luences people’s lives. Chapter 14 describes how physical activity and nutrition work together to support fitness. Chapters 15, 16, and 17 present the special nutrient needs of people through the life cycle—pregnancy and lactation; infancy, childhood, and adolescence; and adulthood and the later years. Chapter 18 focuses on the dietary risk factors and recommendations associated with chronic diseases, and Chapter 19 addresses consumer concerns about the safety of the food and water supply. Chapter 20 closes the book by examining hunger and the global environment.