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Diet and Nutrition

Nutrition Overview

Your understanding of nutrition can be your key to optimal health. This article covers the essential nutrition information that you need for health: dietary guidelines, dietary reference intakes, food guide pyramid, calories, carbohydrates, protein, fats, vitamins, minerals, and phytochemicals.

The Council on Food and Nutrition of the American Medical Association defines nutrition as "the science of food; the nutrients and the substances therein; their action, interaction, and balance in relation to health and disease; and the process by which the organism (i.e. body) ingests, digest, absorbs, transports, utilizes, and excretes food substances." The purpose of our diet is to consume foods that provide the six essential nutrients: carbohydrates, protein, fat, vitamins, minerals, and water. The correct amount and variety of food provides the correct amount of nutrients for health and weight management.



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Diet and Nutrition

Why is good nutrition such a challenge for people with Crohn's disease?

Most of us know that good nutrition is essential to good health. Good nutrition is even more important to people whose health is compromised by a chronic disease. When you have Crohn's disease, maintaining good nutrition can be a real challenge.

Several factors contribute to nutritional problems in people with Crohn's disease. When inflamed, the small intestine is not able to do its main job, which is absorbing nutrients from food. The degree of this impairment, called malabsorption, depends on the extent of inflammation and damage in the intestine.
 
To make matters worse, the intestinal inflammation and pain of the disease reduce your appetite, so you probably do not eat enough to supply your nutritional needs. Diarrhea further depletes important nutrients. Compounding the problem is the fact that people with a chronic illness such as Crohn's disease require more calories and c...

Read the Diet and Nutrition in Crohn Disease article »



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