Illnesses due to poor nutrition

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Many diseases in humans are thought to be directly or indirectly related to nutrition, These include, but are not limited to, deficiency diseases, caused by a lack of essential nutrients.
Additionally, several diseases are directly or indirectly impacted by dietary habits, and require very close attention to the nutrient content of food.

Overnutrition (eating too much)

• Proteins/fats/carbohydrates

Cardiovascular disease (Leading cause of death in the western world);

a primary cause is thought to be ingestion of saturated fat and trans fat
Some cancers
Diabetes mellitus
Insulin resistance
Obesity
Metabolic syndrome

• Vitamin

Vitamin poisoning, or hypervitaminosis, refers to a condition of high storage levels of vitamins, which can lead to toxic symptoms.

• Microminerals and Macrominerals

Iron overload disorder

Iron overload disorders are diseases caused by the accumulation of iron in the body.

Primary iron overload

Haemochromatosis, Juvenile haemochromatosis, Neonatal haemochromatosis, Aceruloplasminaemia (rare disease), atransferrinaemia (rare disease).

Secondary iron overload

Dietary iron overload
Transfusional iron overload
Long term haemodialysis
Chronic liver disease
Hepatitis C
Alcoholic cirrhosis, especially when advanced
Non-alcoholic steatohepatitis
Porphyria cutanea tarda
Post-portacaval shunting
Dysmetabolic iron overload syndrome

Deficiencies (eating too little)

• Proteins/fats/carbohydrates

protein-energy malnutrition
kwashiorkor
marasmus
Mental retardation

• Vitamin

Avitaminosis

Avitaminosis is any disease caused by chronic or long-term vitamin deficiency or caused by a defect in metabolic conversion, such as tryptophan to niacin. Avitaminoses include

vitamin A deficiency causes xerophthalmia or night blindness
thiamine deficiency causes beriberi
niacin deficiency causes pellagra
vitamin B12 deficiency leads to pernicious anemia
vitamin C deficiency leads to scurvy
vitamin D deficiency causes rickets
vitamin K deficiency causes bleeding

• Microminerals and Macrominerals

Boron deficiency

Boron deficiency is a pathology which may occur in animals due to a lack of boron.

Chromium deficiency

Chromium deficiency is a disorder that results from an insufficient dietary intake of chromium. Chromium is required for the proper metabolism of sugar in humans. The amount of chromium in the body can be decreased as a result of the person having a diet high in simple sugars, if an infection present in the body, if the person is pregnant or lactating, and/or if the person is partaking in acute exercise. The body excretes the specified amount of chromium out of the body through the process of urination.

Iron deficiency

The direct consequence of iron deficiency is iron deficiency anemia. Groups that are most prone to developing this disease are children, and pre-menopausal women.

Iodine deficiency

iodine deficiency gives rise to goiter (so-called endemic goitre), as well as cretinism, which results in developmental delays and other health problems.


Magnesium deficiency

Hypomagnesemia is an electrolyte disturbance in which there is an abnormally low level of magnesium in the blood. Hypomagnesemia can be present without magnesium deficiency and vice versa. Deficiency of magnesium causes among others cardiac arrhythmia and increased irritability of the nervous system with tetany.

Calcium deficiency

Osteoporosis is a disease of bone in which the bone mineral density (BMD) is reduced, bone microarchitecture is disrupted, and the amount and variety of non-collagenous proteins in bone is altered. Osteoporotic bones are more at risk of fracture.

Zinc deficiency

Zinc deficiency causes growth retardation.

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