Hunger is the world problem Nr 1, overshadowed by an uncontrollable explosion of the human population all over our planet. Lack of food has been one of the most primitive dangers, which animal life had to face at every stage of its evolution. The living body developed in the course of this evolution special emergency reactions against this danger, which is characterised by a lack of food calories, a lack of nitrogen in the form of proteins, a lack of vitamins and oligo elements. Based on an intricate physiological defense pattern man can support complete starvation up to one month, by using up the substance of less important organs in order to maintain the functional matrix of the important organs, mainly the brain and the nervous system. This regulation and the pattern of its mechanisms are of great interest to the physiologist who is aware that they are also responsible for the maintenance of life among millions of human beings who desperately live in a state of permanent hunger. The most serious problem in many developing countries is not the supply of calories (mainly carbohydrate calories) or the supply of vitamins and oligo elements, but the supply of a sufficient amount of protein in order to overcome the protein-calorie malnutrition. This problem must be considered as the most urgent one among all the other problems in the fight against hunger.
Inhaltsverzeichnis
Protein-Calorie Malnutrition Viewed as a Challenge for Homeostasis. - Outline of WHO and PAG Participation in Research on Protein-Calorie Malnutrition. - Enzymes and Nutrition. - Factors Which May Affect the Biochemical Response to Protein-Calorie Malnutrition. - Proposed Methodology for the Biochemical Evaluation of Protein Malnutrition in Children. - Has Malnutrition Only Bad Consequences ? What is the Definition of Health ? . - Observations on Protein-Calorie Malnutrition in the Caribbean. - Amino-Acid Imbalances: What is their Significance in Relation to Protein Deficiency ? . - Observations on Some Epidemiological Factors and Biochemical Features of Protein-Calorie Malnutrition. - Single Cell Proteins: Basic Aspects and Future Trends. - The Discussion. - Food Composition Tables of the Important Foodplants Used in West Africa. - References.
