Diabetes Mellitus
Diabetes mellitus is a common metabolic disorder resulting from defects in insulin action, insulin production, or both. Insulin, a hormone secreted by the pancreas, helps the body use and store glucose produced during the digestion of food.
Diarrhea
Diarrhea, a condition that has a major impact on global health, is highly correlated with nutritional status. It is an important area of focus due not only to its high worldwide prevalence and health costs, but also because it can be significantly reduced by appropriate interventions and treatment.
Diet
The term diet refers to a person's pattern of eating and drinking. Diet is influenced by many factors, including income, culture, religion, geographic location, and lifestyle.
Dietary Assessment
A dietary assessment is a comprehensive evaluation of a person's food intake. It is one of four parts of a nutrition assessment done in a clinical setting.
Dietary Guidelines
The Dietary Guidelines for Americans are the foundation of national nutrition policy for the United States. They are designed to help Americans make food choices that promote health and reduce the risk of disease.
Dietary Reference Intakes
Dietary Reference Intakes (DRIs) are a set of nutrient reference values. They are used to help people select healthful diets, set national nutrition policy, and establish safe upper limits of intake.
Dietary Supplements
The demand for dietary supplements in the United States catapulted what was once a cottage industry into a $14 billion per year business in the year 2000. In 1994, the U.S.
Dietary Trends, American
Americans have become more aware of what they eat, and how it might affect their health. Concerns about the safety of the food supply are on the rise, and increasing nutritional awareness has led to an increase in vegetarian, organic, and health-food options in supermarkets.
Dietary Trends, International
What foods an individual eats is affected by the ability to access foods. Economic status, geography, and politics have influenced the diets of people throughout history.
Dietetic Technician, Registered (DTR)
A dietetic technician, registered (DTR) is a professional who is knowledgeable about food, nutrition, and diet therapy, which is the use of diet and nutrition in the treatment of diseases. A person seeking DTR credentials must complete a two-year associate's degree in an accredited dietetic technician (DT) program, a minimum of 450 hours of supervised practice experience (gained under the direction of an accredited DT program), and successfully complete the national registration examination for DTR.
Dietetics
Dietetics is the study of food, food science, and nutrition, and of the interactions of food and nutrients in people and populations. It can also refer to the management of food service and the provision of health guidance in a variety of settings, including hospitals, nursing homes, health departments, clinics, and in private practice.
Dieting
The term dieting refers to restrictive eating or nutritional remedies for conditions such as iron-deficiency anemia, gastrointestinal diseases, pernicious anemia, diabetes, obesity, or failure to thrive. Someone can be on a heart-healthy diet that encourages the consumption of reasonable amounts of whole grains and fresh fruits, vegetables, beans, and fish, but limits foods high in saturated fat and sodium, or one can be on a weight loss diet.
Dietitian
A dietitian is a professional nutritionist—an educated food and nutrition specialist who is qualified by training and examination to evaluate people's nutritional health and needs. Most dietitians are registered and are referred to as RDs.
Digestion and Absorption
Digestion is the breakdown of food into smaller particles or individual nutrients. It is accomplished through six basic processes, with the help of several body fluids—particularly digestive juices that are made up of compounds such as saliva, mucus, enzymes, hydrochloric acid, bicarbonate, and bile.
Disaster Relief Organizations
Natural disasters, as well as some human-caused disasters, lead to human suffering and create needs that the victims cannot alleviate without assistance. Examples of disasters include hurricanes, tornadoes, floods, earthquakes, drought, blizzards, famine, war, fire, volcanic eruption, a building collapse, or a transportation wreck.
Eating Disorders
Eating disorders affect both the mind and the body. Although deviant eating patterns have been reported throughout history, eating disorders were first identified as medical conditions by the British physician William Gull in 1873.
Eating Disturbances
An eating disturbance shares many similar characteristics with eating disorders, but is less severe in scope. As a result, many abnormal dietary patterns and behaviors, such as binge eating, excessive exercising, weight cycling, and chronic dieting may involve many of the same attitudes and impulses as eating disorders, though they do not meet the clinical criteria for diagnosis.
Eating Habits
The term eating habits (or food habits) refers to why and how people eat, which foods they eat, and with whom they eat, as well as the ways people obtain, store, use, and discard food. Individual, social, cultural, religious, economic, environmental, and political factors all influence people's eating habits.
Emergency Nutrition Network
The Emergency Nutrition Network (ENN) is a network of humanitarian agencies and researchers that supports and facilitates activities that increase the effectiveness of emergency food and nutrition interventions. The planning for the ENN was done in 1995 at a meeting sponsored by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), and the network began operating in November 1996.