This book is aimed at first or second year undergraduates, or taught master’s students, who are studying nutrition as part of a degree in molecular life sciences, health sciences or medicine, including single honours nutrition students. It is intended to supplement the larger nutrition textbooks with greater emphasis on the molecular and metabolic basis of nutrition. It focuses on the biochemical functions of the essential nutrients and the physiological consequences of deficient and excessive intakes. These are described within the context of normal human diets and the requirements for health. Consideration is also given to the other biologically active materials within foods, and to the role of diet in multifactorial diseases. The book focuses on human nutrition, although there areinstances where comparisons with, or examples from, the nutrition of other mammalian species will be mentioned to help in the understanding of basic nutritional principles. It is assumed that readers will have studied, or will be studying concurrently, first year undergraduate modules in general biochemistry and mammalian physiology. The book is based on our experience of many years of research and teaching in nutrition.
King’s College London
