Human Nutrition from the Gastroenterologist’s Perspective PDF
3.93 MB PDF
Preface
Gastroenterology and the science of clinical nutrition share many pathophysiological and research interests. From this perspective, the idea of publishing a multiauthor text where both gastroenterologists and dietitians join together is not a surprise. What is new is the stimulus that has made all projects starting, i.e., the Universal Exposition held in Milan, Italy, in 2015 and devoted the theme of nutrition worldwide.
The theme of the 2015 Expo in Milan, “Feeding the Planet, Energy for Life,” addresses a crucial issue for all countries of the world and has a double meaning: on the one hand, to try to ensure enough food to those who live in conditions of malnutrition and, on the other hand, to be able to prevent new large-scale illnesses of our time, including obesity and cardiovascular disease, valuing innovations and practices that allow a healthier life.
Will the bacteria become the key to success for a better quality of life? What is really the role of “microbiota” on human health? The view of human beings as a superorganism in which bacteria dominate is revolutionizing the medical knowledge by introducing new concepts of disease and also suggesting possible applications in veterinary and agriculture.
The lifestyles and critical events produce inheritable genetic modification. This is the fundamental of another emerging discipline, epigenetics, which is another real cultural revolution.
The nutraceuticals and their impact on health is another argument in rapid evolution. The targeted use of substances naturally present in foods, taken in forms similar to those commonly used for drugs, can improve the state of health and prevent chronic diseases. Italy is playing a leading role in this new scientific segment. Many of these substances are part of the Mediterranean diet.
The Mediterranean diet is more and more put under the lens to ascertain if it is really relevant and effective. Clarifying this aspect has been crucial for the 2015 Expo since Italy is the most important testimonial of this archetype, described for the free time in the Cilento area, south of Italy.
We can recover in the future a diet and a lifestyle that ensure everything you need at our livelihood in perfect balance with our gene developed by homo sapiens in the last 50,000 years?
Can we use this new science to prevent heart disease and cancer and prolong life far beyond what we ever thought possible? We believe the answer is a resounding yes as long as it recognizes a unique and essential role for specialists of food and nutrition both in the hospital setting for secondary prevention and in the land for primary prevention. Today the theme nutrition sees alternation professionals often do not fully qualified that apart from potential damage increase the confusion among end users. While the change of legislative policies can play an important role, people need more care, education, and appropriate tools to help them increase their personal responsibility for their health with regard to eating habits.
These and many other questions have been answered in scientific events organized by the Italian Pavilion in which gastroenterologists have played a substantial role.
Gastroenterologists should act more and more in front end of this new and exciting scenario to unify the opinions of different experts and give more certainty to the final stakeholders.
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