Malnutrition
In this section of Seattle Organic Restaurants, I want to talk about malnutrition. Malnutrition is a terminology used when people are both overnourished and undernourished. If a person’s diet doesn’t have the adequate amount of calories, fat, carbohydrates and protein the person might be suffering from malnutrition. Consuming too many calories can result in overnutrition and not consuming enough calories can result in undernutrition.
Obesity is one of the serious health problems here in the US. Poor eating habits and vitamin or mineral deficiencies can lead to obesity. Based on the research by Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), in 2007 about 900 million people in the world were suffering from malnutrition. Approximately one million people die every year because of zinc and vitamin A deficiencies.
Studies show that many Americans are deficient in vitamin B6, iron and vitamin C. It’s important to know that minerals and vitamins work together and a deficiency in one vitamin or mineral will lead to another. Children, elderlies and people with low income are more likely to suffer from malnutrition.
Malnutrition has several symptoms such as depression, breathing problems, difficulty to learn and focus, longer healing time for wounds and infections, lower sex drive and recovery from surgeries or illnesses, loss of muscle mass, fatigue, stress or anxiety, dry or pale skin and heart and liver or respiratory problems.
Malnutrition in children can cause health issues such as retardation, lack of focus or difficulty learning and behavioral problems. In many developing countries, people are malnourished because of food distribution, lack of food resources for everyone and lack of breastfeeding. In industrialized countries people are diagnosed with malnutrition because of poor eating habits. Consuming excessive amount of calories and having low amount of fiber, micronutrients or mineral and vitamins. People who have mobility problems, people with physical or mental health issues, people with digestive or stomach disorders such as diarrhea or vomiting and people with alcohol addictions are very likely to suffer from malnutrition.
