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Nutri and Diet Therapy

Nutritional discoveries throughout history have positively impacted health and well-being. Key developments include Hippocrates recognizing the link between food and health in 400 BC, Dr. James Lind's 1757 experiment showing that lime juice prevented scurvy, identification of vitamins in the late 1890s-1930s, and ongoing research revealing nutrients' roles in bodily processes. Major advances in nutrition science have occurred over centuries through dedicated scientific experiments and observations.

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Alec Anon
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286 views21 pages

Nutri and Diet Therapy

Nutritional discoveries throughout history have positively impacted health and well-being. Key developments include Hippocrates recognizing the link between food and health in 400 BC, Dr. James Lind's 1757 experiment showing that lime juice prevented scurvy, identification of vitamins in the late 1890s-1930s, and ongoing research revealing nutrients' roles in bodily processes. Major advances in nutrition science have occurred over centuries through dedicated scientific experiments and observations.

Uploaded by

Alec Anon
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as PPTX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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A HISTORY OF

NUTRITION
History of Nutrition
Nutritional discoveries from the earliest days of
history have had a positive effect on our health
and well-being.

 The word NUTRITION itself means “The process


of nourishing or being nourished, especially the
process by which a living organism assimilates
food and uses it for growth and replacement of
tissues”. NUTRIENTS are substances that are
essential to life which must be supplied by
food.
History of Nutrition
 Today more than ever, obtaining nutritional
knowledge can make a big difference in our lives. 
 Air, soil, and water pollution in addition to modern
farming techniques, have depleted our soils of
vital minerals. 
 The widespread use of food additives, chemicals,
sugar and unhealthy fats in our diets contributes
to many of the degenerative diseases of our day
such as cancer, heart disease, arthritis and
osteoporosis. 
History of Nutrition

 400 B.C.
Hippocrates, the "Father of Medicine", said
to his students, "Let thy food be thy
medicine and thy medicine be thy food". 
He also said  “A wise man should consider
that health is the greatest of human
blessings.”
History of Nutrition

 400 B.C.
Foods were often used as cosmetics or as
medicines in the treatment of wounds. 
In some of the early Far-Eastern biblical
writings, there were references to food and
health.  One story describes the treatment of eye
disease, now known to be due to a vitamin A
deficiency, by squeezing the juice of liver onto
the eye.
History of Nutrition

 1500’s

Scientist and artist Leonardo da


Vinci compared the process of
metabolism in the body to the
burning of a candle.
History of Nutrition
 1747
Dr. James Lind, a physician in the British Navy,
performed the first scientific experiment in nutrition. 
At that time, sailors were sent on long voyages for
years and they developed scurvy (a painful, deadly,
bleeding disorder). Only nonperishable foods such as dried
meat and breads were taken on the voyages, as fresh
foods wouldn’t last. In his experiment, Lind gave some of
the sailors sea water, others vinegar, and the rest limes. 
Those given the limes were saved from scurvy. As Vitamin
C wasn’t discovered until the 1930’s, Lind didn’t know it
was the vital nutrient. 
History of Nutrition

 1770
Antoine Lavoisier, the “Father of Nutrition and
Chemistry” discovered the actual process by which
food is metabolized. 
He also demonstrated where animal heat comes
from.  In his equation, he describes the combination
of food and oxygen in the body, and the resulting
giving off of heat and water.
History of Nutrition

 Early 1800’s
It was discovered that foods
are composed primarily of four
elements: carbon, nitrogen,
hydrogen and oxygen, and
methods were developed for
determining the amounts of
these elements.
History of Nutrition

 1840

Justus Liebig of Germany, a pioneer in early


plant growth studies, was the first to point out
the chemical makeup of carbohydrates, fats
and proteins. 
History of Nutrition

 1897
Christian Eijkman, observed that some of the natives
developed a disease called Beriberi.  He observed that
when chickens were fed the native diet of white rice,
they developed the symptoms of Beriberi. When he fed
the chickens unprocessed brown rice (with the outer bran
intact), they did not develop the disease.  Eijkman then
fed brown rice to his patients and they were cured.   He
discovered that food could cure disease.  Nutritionists
later learned that the outer rice bran contains vitamin B1,
also known as thiamine.
History of Nutrition

 1912
E.V. McCollum, while working for the U.S. Department
of Agriculture at the University of Wisconsin, developed
an approach that opened the way to the widespread
discovery of nutrients. 
He decided to work with rats rather than large farm
animals like cows and sheep.  Using this procedure, he
discovered the first fat soluble vitamin, Vitamin A.  He
found that rats fed butter were healthier than those fed
lard, as butter contains more Vitamin A.
History of Nutrition

 1912
Dr. Casmir Funk was the first to coin the term
“vitamins” as vital factors in the diet. 
He wrote about these unidentified substances present
in food, which could prevent the diseases of scurvy,
beriberi and pellagra. The term vitamin is derived from
the words vital and amine, because vitamins are required
for life and they were originally thought to be amines --
compounds derived from ammonia.
History of Nutrition

 1930’s

William Rose discovered the essential


amino acids, the building blocks of
protein.
History of Nutrition

 1940’s

The water soluble B and C


vitamins were identified.
History of Nutrition

 1940’s

Russell Marker perfected a method of


synthesizing the female hormone progesterone
from a component of wild yams called diosgenin.
History of Nutrition

 1950’s to the Present


The roles of essential nutrients as part of
bodily processes have been brought to light. For
example, more became known about the role of
vitamins and minerals as components of enzymes
and hormones that work within the body.
History of Nutrition
 1968
Linus Pauling, created the term Orthomolecular
Nutrition. Orthomolecular is, literally, "pertaining to the
right molecule".  Pauling proposed that by giving the body
the right molecules in the right concentration (optimum
nutrition), nutrients could be used by people to achieve
better health and prolong life. 
History of Nutrition
 1994 – 2000
Have you ever wondered why vitamin bottle
labels and nutritional web sites include a phrase
saying that their products and information are
not intended to diagnose, cure or prevent any
disease?
These also usually state that their health
claims have not been evaluated by the Food &
Drug Administration (FDA). 
Here’s why: The Dietary and Supplement
Health and Education Act was approved by
Congress in October of 1994 and updated in
January 2000.  It sets forth what can and cannot
be said about nutritional supplements without
prior FDA review.
History of Nutrition

In January of 2000, the FDA clarified that


supplement makers can state their products can
improve the structure or function of the body or
improve common, minor symptoms. 
Allowable statements include things such as: 
“maintains a healthy heart”, “helps you relax”, 
“is good for symptoms of PMS”, “strengthens joint
structure”, etc.  
Overall, due to this law, vitamin, herb and
nutrient manufacturers have greater freedom to say
what their products can do to improve our health. 

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