Handbook of Nutrition and Immunity

Several years ago, two of us published a full-length textbook entitled Nutrition and Immunology: Principles and Practice. The book was aca­ demically successful and well received by our peers. Our colleagues commented that while the book was eminently suitable for a library, there was still an intellectual need for a more concise volume on nutrition and immunology for health care providers and scientists working at the inter­ face of delivering therapeutic and/or preventive health care. We agreed and decided that a book focused on issues relevant to laboratory workers and to developing countries would be valuable. We invited well-known experts in their fields to contribute a chapter each and asked that they err on the short rather than the long side and update cited review articles rather than original papers wherever possible. The Handbook of Nutrition and Immunity is the culmination of that process. Our intention is that the book will grow over time and new editions will fill identified voids that meet the changing needs of health care providers and scientists interested in the practical aspects related to evaluating nutrition and immunology in the field. The Handbook of Nutrition and Immunity is for those people working in both adult and child nutrition throughout the world. It is also of relevance to those in the pharmaceutical and the food industry who are interested in developing ways to evaluate both the efficacy and effective­ ness of their products.

Because nutrient deficiencies can alter immune response to produce a higher incidence of infection and increased mortality-especially in children-it is important in clinical practice, both as a therapeutic and preventive measure, to determine whether the patient is malnourished. In Handbook of Nutrition and Immunity, an international panel of physicians, pediatricians, immunologists, and public health nutritionists concisely review for front-line health care providers and researchers the practical aspects related to evaluating nutrition and immunology in the field. Here the busy physician and investigator will quickly find a clear and up-to-date understanding of the essential immunological facts in adult and child nutrition. Citing the latest research findings, the authors explain the role of nutrition in such current health issues as HIV, malaria, food allergies, diarrhea, and acute respiratory infections, and review the impact of macro- and micronutrient deficiencies, dietary fat, and antioxidants on immune status. They also discuss the evaluation of immune function in the nutritionally at-risk patient, the immunological effects of severe undernutrition in children, the assessment of nutrition in the field with and without sophisticated facilities, and the special case of the pregnant and lactating woman. As an added value, a compact disk accompanies the book for downloading an ebook version to the reader's PC or PDA.
Comprehensive and holistic, the Handbook of Nutrition and Immunity illuminates for busy health care providers and scientists the interaction and linkages between nutrition and immunology and provides an up-to-date understanding of the practical problems associated with evaluating nutritional and immune status in the field.