Food and Nutrition

The effective management of food intake and nutrition are both key to good health. Smart nutrition and food choices can help prevent disease. Eating the right foods can help your body cope more successfully with an ongoing illness. Understanding good nutrition and paying attention to what you eat can help you maintain or improve your health.

Nutritional deficiencies include:

• Beriberi:  low levels of vitamin B1 (found in cereal husks)
• Ariboflavinosis:  low levels of vitamin B2
• Pellagra:  low levels of vitamin B3
• Paraesthesia:  low levels of vitamin B5 leading to a “pins and needles” feeling
• Biotin deficiency:  low levels of vitamin B7, which can be common in pregnancy
• Hypocobalaminemia: low levels of B12
• Night blindness:  low levels of Vitamin A
• Scurvy:  low levels of vitamin C
• Rickets:  Severe vitamin D and/or calcium deficiency
• Vitamin K deficiency
• Magnesium deficiency:  Occurs with certain medications and medical problems
• Potassium deficiency:  Occurs with certain medications and medical problems