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Effect of infection on nutrient requirements
The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition
|September 1, 1977
Summary
Infections significantly alter nutrient needs, impacting protein, calorie, and iron requirements. Current dietary guidelines require reevaluation to account for these complex nutritional changes during illness.
Area of Science:
- Nutrition Science
- Infectious Disease Epidemiology
Background:
- Expert groups recommend considering infection's impact on nutrient requirements.
- Current guidelines lack specific instructions for adjusting dietary allowances during illness.
- Uncertainty exists regarding individual and population-level nutrient needs during infection.
Purpose of the Study:
- To highlight the complexities of nutrient requirement adjustments during infection.
- To emphasize the need for reevaluating traditional dietary allowance principles.
- To address the challenges in estimating altered protein, energy, and iron needs.
Main Methods:
- Review of existing literature on nutrient metabolism during infection.
- Analysis of factors influencing nutrient requirements in acute and chronic infections.
- Examination of changes in protein, energy, and iron metabolism.
Main Results:
- Infections cause anorexia, impaired absorption, and increased nutrient losses.
- Fever and medical treatments further complicate nutritional status.
- Significant alterations in protein, energy, and iron metabolism are observed.
Conclusions:
- Traditional dietary allowance principles are insufficient during infection.
- Adjusted estimations for protein, calories, and iron are feasible and necessary.
- These estimations are crucial for nutrition education, evaluation, and rehabilitation.