Excerpt:
Problems associated with foods are many and varied. The four examples discussed in this chapter are typical of the interaction of the host-agent-environment relationship between man and his food. It is clear that constituents of foods normally considered as nutrients (and others not contributing to nutrition of the host but believed to be ordinarily inert, harmless, or capable of being metabolized without causing any harm) can, under certain circumstances arising from inherited or acquired host characteristics, prove deleterious to health or may even cause acute disease. Such a situation emphasizes the need for further studies of the relationship referred to above. These studies can be facilitated in the first instance by a more detailed knowledge of the composition of food, which should extend far beyond its nutrient content and must encompass all constituents, major and minor, including those present in trace amounts.
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