Your fingernails can be a greater indication of your overall health than you may think. Although they serve a cosmetic function for most, nails are a living part of your body and if you're not healthy, your nails won't be either. Changes in the...
Malnutrition occurs when a person's diet and/or dietary supplements fail to provide the nutrients necessary for health, growth and normal body function. Malnutrition can affect every system in the body, depending upon the cause of the...
Malnutrition happens when the body receives insufficient nutrients. It may result from eating too little, consuming an inadequate or unbalanced diet, problems with digestion or nutrient absorption, or as a side effect of certain medications. Early...
The word "malnutrition" tends to elicit mental images of starving children in famine-stricken countries. It is not a disease typically associated with developing nations. Unfortunately, malnutrition -- which simply means "bad nourishment" -- is...
Nearly 177 million babies and children around the world are malnourished and, as a result, face serious complications and even death, according to The Child Welfare League of America. One in ten households in the United States experiences hunger...
Protein malnutrition usually occurs when a person is starving, either intentionally because of fasting or an eating disorder, or unintentionally because of a lack of food. Although unlikely, it can also be caused by a lack of protein in an...
Lab Tests Online defines malnutrition as a disparity between the amount of food eaten and the amount of nutrients that the body requires in order to stay healthy and function properly. Malnutrition can be associated with overnutrition, which is...
Fatigue, dizziness and unintended weight loss are symptoms of malnutrition. To avoid these symptoms and the health challenges that are common with malnutrition, you need to eat a healthy and balanced diet that supplies your body with the nutrients...
Starvation is the most severe form of malnutrition and is due to a deficiency of protein and non-protein nutrients. Starvation can be caused by a lack of access to food, extreme dieting, anorexia nervosa, illness or malabsorption. There are...
No set formula can assess how much weight you can lose before your body starts to shut down, but there are ways to tell if you are headed in that direction. Danger signs crop up gradually, as even the most nutritionally deprived and underweight...
Fatigue is defined by MayoClinic.com as constant tiredness accompanied by a lack of energy and disruption of mental state. Fatigue also causes a lack of motivation or desire to do anything other than sleep. Many cases of fatigue are a result of...
Malnutrition occurs when the body does not get adequate nutrition. You can develop malnutrition when you follow a diet plan that restricts all or some of the USDA's recommended food groups. If you are a strict vegetarian, you may be depleting your...
Meal replacement products, such as bars or shakes, offer convenient meals that require no preparation time. The use of meal replacements can range from pre- or post-workout supplements to entire diets composed of meal replacements designed to...
Malnourishment is defined as not being provided with adequate nourishment or nutrients. A diet that's missing only one essential vitamin is enough to cause malnourishment, explains the National Center for Biotechnology Information. Malnutrition...
Occurring in meats, poultry, fish, grains, legumes and vegetables, protein is necessary for growth, cellular health, blood cell production, creating enzymes and providing energy. Accordingly, protein deficiencies come with several health...
Tuberculosis, or TB, is a very serious infectious disease that attacks the lungs. It is still a major cause of illness and death in the world, killing about 2 million people every year. TB can be cured by taking many medications over a few months,...
Malnutrition describes the condition in which your body suffers the effects of a lack of one or more nutrients in your diet. Malnutrition may result from insufficient calories, poor diet choices or gastrointestinal disorders that affect the...
Many cancer patients develop short-term symptoms due to their disease or its treatment. Cancer growth damages healthy tissues around the tumor, leading to a number of unpleasant effects. In addition, the aggressive treatments required to control...
Provitamin B5, also known as pantothenic acid, is a water-soluble, anti-stress vitamin. A provitamin is a precursor of a vitamin, which is converted in the body into a vitamin, according to Merriam-Webster online medical dictionary. SpineUniverse...
Humans didn't always eat wheat, which is the main source of gluten in most American diets. Wheat consumption rose with the rise of agricultural societies, and diseases associates with gluten consumption, such as celiac disease, accompanied that...
Your body relies on proteins in order to produce hormones, build muscle and create enzymes that help to produce energy, according to the World's Healthiest Foods. With all of these important functions, it's understandable that a lack of protein in...
Cirrhosis describes a condition of the liver that occurs when liver cells become damaged leading to the buildup of scar tissue. Excessive repeated alcohol intake remains the most common cause of cirrhosis in the United States, according to the...
Vitamin D is a fat-soluble vitamin that is derived from the sun and dietary sources such as eggs, fish and milk that has been fortified with vitamin D. Vitamin D, according to the Mayo Clinic's website, maintains normal levels of calcium and...
Nutrition in your diet comes from the components of the foods you eat, plus any vitamin or mineral supplements you take. Protein, carbohydrates, vitamins, minerals and fatty acids serve your metabolism with their unique chemical compositions and...
The digestive system is a long pathway of organ processes that change food into energy. The start of the process begins in the mouth, where food is chewed and mixed with enzymes from saliva. The food travels down the esophagus into the stomach for...
While vitamin deficiencies are a common problem in people today, those with conditions such as celiac disease are especially susceptible. When not adhering to a strict gluten free diet, celiac disease can cause extreme damage in the intestines. A...
Celiac disease is an autoimmune response to gluten in which your immune system recognizes gluten as a toxin and produces antibodies that damage the small intestine's ability to absorb nutrients. Gluten is a protein complex found in wheat, barley...
If you are diagnosed with celiac disease, following a gluten-free diet is a necessity. Gluten, if ingested, can cause damage to your gut if you have celiac disease. If you are an athlete and living with celiac disease, following a gluten-free...
Protein is a vital component of a healthy diet, because every single cell in your body contains proteins. Protein is a major component of muscles, skin and organs, and proteins play crucial roles in all of the biochemical reactions necessary for...