Vitamins, by their definition, are essential to health and have to be obtained from the diet on a regular basis because, with the exception of vitamin D, they cannot be produced by the body. In terms of medicine and nutrition, our knowledge of vitamins is relatively recent. Although James Lind discovered an association

9.1 Introduction The most common dietary problems in developed countries are due mainly to over nutrition. The incidence of overweight, obesity and adult onset-diabetes is increasing steadily. Cancer is now the most common cause of death in many developed countries. The most common cancers are breast, lung, bowel and prostate, which are virtually absent in some developing countries. However, even

8.1 Introduction The question of why it is necessary to improve the nutritional value of plant foods is one that at first hand might seem difficult to justify. What evidence is there that this is a problem? In the developed world there are no overt signs of malnutri￾tion even amongst strict

7.1 Introduction Both food processors and consumers have a basic need for valid and relevant nutritional information; on the one hand to guide production and marketing of genuinely functional products, and on the other to allow selection of products according to efficacy

6.1 Introduction: the problem of providing nutrition information Developments in nutrition research and improved scientific understanding of the relationship between diet and health have led to increasing interest in the nutri￾tional aspects of the food supply. This interest is shared by academics, health professionals, government officials, consumers and the food and supplement industries alike, although not always for the same reasons and generally at dif￾ferent levels of knowledge and understanding. Interest in nutrition, in respect of both total diet and individual foods, is second only to concern about food safety

5.1 Introduction In this chapter, copper is considered as a case study for the measurement of the effect of nutrient intake. The importance of the role of copper in biological systems is first explored in a brief review of selected human cuproenzymes

4.1 Introduction Minerals are the inorganic elements, other than carbon, hydrogen, oxygen and nitrogen, which remain behind in the ash when food is incinerated. They are usually divided into two groups – macrominerals and microminerals (or trace elements). The terms are historical in origin and originated at a time when the development of analytical equipment was still in its infancy and ‘trace’ was used to refer to components whose presence could be detected, but not quantified. Modern analytical equipment that allows determination of elements

3.1 Introduction Vitamins are classically defined as a group of organic compounds required in very small amounts for the normal development and functioning of the body. They are not synthesised by the body, or only in insufficient amounts, and are mainly obtained through food (Machlin and Huni, 1994). There are thirteen vitamins: four are fat-soluble, namely vitamins A (retinol)

A. Trichopoulou and A. Naska, University of Athens 2.1 Introduction Documenting and monitoring dietary patterns are priorities in nutritional epi￾demiology, in the planning of national food and nutrition policies and in the evaluation of nutrition education strategies. Early efforts in documenting dietary patterns were focused on identifying the specific nutrients that may be respon￾sible for effects on people’s health, but recently research has expanded towards studying patterns of food intake. Food data are often derived from:

Improving the nutritional quality of food is a key requirement for the food industry. There are a number of factors which have made this area one of growing importance, including: