Laboratory Tests for the Assessment of Nutritional Status

Book excerpt: Proper nutrition is the single most important component of preventative health care. Heart disease, diabetes, and other ailments are all linked to dietary habits. Accurate nutritional assessment can be a matter of life or death. Laboratory Tests for the Assessment of Nutritional Status explores the expanded number of nutrients that can now be evaluated. The author makes a compelling case for the practice and advancement of this critical health care tool. Nutritional assessment identifies undernutrition, overnutrition, specific nutrition deficiencies, and imbalances. Diligent assessment determines the appropriate nutrition intervention and monitors its effects. This book is a total revision of the 1974 version of the same title co -authored by Sauberlich. Since then, remarkable progress has been made on the methodologies applicable to nutrition status assessment and to the expanded number of nutrients that can be evaluated, especially trace elements. The introduction of high-performance liquid chromatography, amperometric detectors, and other technologies has advanced nutritional assessment by leaps and bounds. Today, nutritionists can gauge the value of microminerals, trace elements, and ultratrace elements. Sauberlich's revision updates the reader to the latest and most important trends in nutrition. These laboratory methods for the assessment of nutritional status are vital for identifying individuals as well as populations with nutritional risks.