Nutritional Security: Vegetables and Fruits
Contents: Preface. 1. Introduction. 2. Nutritional security and malnutrition: Indian perspective. 3. Nutritional disorders. 4. Nutritional needs and recommended dietary allowances (RDA’s). 5. Nutrients in fruits and vegetables: their role in human health. 6. Dietary fibre: its role in prevention against various chronic diseases. 7. Antioxidants in fruits and vegetables. 8. Vitamins: sources and recommended dietary allowances—an overview. 9. Fruits: as a nutritional repository. 10. Vegetables: a store-house of nutritional elements. 11. Nutritional value of fruits and vegetables: organic versus conventional. 12. Antioxidants in fruits and vegetables: role in disease and therapy. 13. Post-processing nutritional changes in fruits and vegetables. 14. Toxins and anti nutritional compounds in fruits and vegetables. Appendices. Suggested readings.
This book is intended to provide the reader with a comprehensive knowledge about the concept of nutritional security, the need of achieving nutritional security, various nutritional elements present in fruits and vegetables and how they are useful in maintaining proper health as well as their role in warding off various diseases. While going through this book, the learners will get an insight towards the requirements and the recommended intake values of various nutritional components for different age, sex and physiological groups.
Nutritional disorders arising due to malnutrition are common among the Indian masses. Consequences of nutritional insecurity, most importantly, the status of malnutrition prevalent in various age groups has become an important aspect. This book deals with the physiological requirements of various nutrients for human beings, the required and the recommended values of intake of both micro and macro nutrients as well as various disorders arising due to malnutrition. This book specially focuses on the intake of dietary fibre, its sources and role in prevention against various chronic diseases. Antioxidants, phytochemicals present in various fruits and vegetables play an important role in scavenging of the deleterious reactive oxygen species. Their antagonistic approach towards various chronic diseases has been elaborated in the book.
Post harvest processing of fruits and vegetables is done with the aim of achieving ease in transportation and consumption, for their long term storage, for enhancing their flavor as well making them available throughout the year. Most commonly used such treatments are also discussed in this book. This book covers various anti-nutritional compounds/factors present in the commonly consumed fruits and vegetables and their harmful effects on human health.
