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Page: Issues
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Challenging issues in modern nutrition include:
"Artificial" interventions in food production and supply:
* Should genetic engineering be used in the production of food crops and animals?
* Are the use of pesticides, and fertilizers damaging to the foods produced by use of these methods (see also organic farming)?
* Are the use of antibiotics and hormones in animal farming ethical and/or safe?
Sociological issues:
* Is it possible to eat correctly on a low income? Is proper nutrition economically skewed? How do we increase access to whole foods in impoverished neighborhoods?
* How do we minimise the current disparity in food availability between first and third world populations (see famine and poverty)?
* How can public advice agencies, policy making and food supply companies be coordinated to promote healthy eating and make wholesome foods more convenient and available?
* Should food stamps be distributed to obese families?
* Do we need nutritional supplements in the form of pills, powders, liquids, etc.?
* How can the developed world promote good worldwide nutrition through minimising import tariffs and export subsidies on food transfers?
Research Issues:
* How do different nutrients affect appetite and metabolism, and what are the molecular mechanisms?
* Can a whole plant food diet, replete with diversity and colors, be instituted and implemented to improve health and reduce medical costs?
* What yet to be discovered important roles do vitamins, minerals, and other nutrients play in metabolism and health?
* Are the current recommendations for intake of vitamins and minerals appropriate?
* How and why do different cell types respond differently to chronically elevated circulating levels of insulin, leptin, and other hormones?
* What does it take for insulin resistance to develop?
* What other molecular mechanisms may explain the link between nutrition and lifestyle-related diseases?
* What role does the intestinal bacterial flora play in digestion and health?
* How essential to proper digestion are the enzymes contained in food itself, which are usually destroyed in cooking (see Living foods diet)?
* What more can we discover through what has been called the phytochemical revolution?
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Important notice:
The content is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of your physician or other
qualified health provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition.
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