The Importance of Nutrition

Nutrition and its association with health is paradoxical - both over and under nutrition can lead to ill health. In affluent Western countries people suffer from illnesses due to over nutrition. Those who eat more than their caloric requirement suffer from obesity. Obesity is not only a cosmetic problem but it indirectly raises blood pressure, blood sugar and predisposes to backaches and arthritis. A diet too rich in fats leads to increased cholesterol in the blood leading to heart attacks and strokes. Too much salt in the diet either directly or through preservatives leads to high blood pressure with its numerous medical complications such as stroke and heart attacks. In contrast, people in developing countries suffer from malnutrition. Although famine and starvation deaths are now rare it is still not uncommon for people to get a diet with poor proportion of proteins, vitamins and minerals. A striking example is the endemic iodine deficiency in the mother leading to severe mental retardation in the new born infant. This condition called cretinism affects millions of children around the world. It is completely preventable by supplementing common table salt with iodine. Improper nutrition also leads to reduced immunity leading to frequent infections such a diarrhea and dysentery which accounts for very high infant mortality in developing countries.