Insufficient nutrients, excess nutrients or the inability to absorb nutrients, may cause nutrition diseases. According to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, there is a strong connection between diet and disease. A lack of food consumption causes some diseases, whereas eating too much of one kind of food may cause others. The cause of other nutrition diseases may be the inability of a person's body to absorb nutrients from foods. Nutrition-related diseases range from mild to severe, depending on the cause.
Insufficient Nutrients
Diseases associated with insufficient nutrient consumption are a type of nutrition-related disease. According to Mayo Clinic, the cause of malnutrition -- the lack of adequate nutrients in a person's diet -- may be from consuming too little food or eating food that lacks essential vitamins and minerals. This combines with numerous other social and psychological issues that contribute to an unhealthy diet. Diseases associated with insufficient nutrient intake include bone-softening ailments such as rickets and osteomalacia, food-energy diseases such as starvation and marasmus, and diseases linked to a lack of omega-3 fatty acids in the diet, such as cardiovascular disease. Other illnesses associated with insufficient nutrient intake include vitamin-related diseases, such as night blindness, or vitamin A deficiency; beriberi, or vitamin B-1 deficiency; pellagra, or vitamin B-3 deficiency; pernicious anemia, or vitamin B-12 deficiency; and scurvy, or vitamin C deficiency. Kwashiorkor is a nutrition-related disease associated with lack of protein in the diet. Iron deficiency anemia, goiter and hypokalemia, or lack of potassium, are also conditions associated with poor nutrient consumption.
Excess Nutrients
Diseases associated with excess nutrient consumption are a type of nutrition-related disease. McGill University reports that over-consumption of food can increases a person's susceptibility to numerous diseases and shorten a person's life. Over-consumption of food -- especially food high in calories and comprised of simple carbohydrates -- can lead to obesity and diabetes mellitus, two common conditions affecting Americans. Over-consumption of trans fat and omega-6 fatty acids may contribute to cardiovascular disease. Consuming too much vitamin B-3, also known as niacin, can cause birth defects, cardiac arrhythmias and dyspepsia. Dyspepsia is the medical term for a triad of common digestive system symptoms, including upper abdominal pain, abdominal bloating and the sensation of abdominal fullness during or after a meal. Over-consumption of potassium can cause hyperkalemia, and over-consumption of calcium may cause fatigue, depression pancreatitis and vomiting.
Inability to Absorb Nutrients
Numerous nutrition-related diseases involve the inability to absorb nutrients from food. According to Medline Plus, the inability to absorb nutrients -- sugars, fats, proteins or vitamins -- from food is malabsorption. Common symptoms of malabsorption-related conditions include bloating, cramping, gas, bulky stools, chronic diarrhea, fatty stools, muscle wasting and weight loss. Malabsorption-related conditions include celiac disease, Whipple disease, bacterial or parasitic infections, Crohn's disease, ulcerative colitis, chronic liver disease, cystic fibrosis, lactose intolerance and chronic pancreatitis. Certain medications that affect a person's intestines -- including tetracycline and certain antacids -- can cause malabsorption of nutrients, as can certain stomach or bowel surgeries. Medline Plus states that the prognosis or outlook for a person with a malabsorption-related condition depends on the cause of the condition.
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