Nutritional medicine is defined as follows: "Nutritional medicine is the study of the influence of nutrition on the functional status of the healthy and diseased human organism as well as the impact of diseases on food demand, recording and recovery."


Already expressed his thoughts and his opinion on the relationship between diet, health and nutrition or disease Hippocrates: "The causes of the disease are directly on internal difficulties or indirectly to external influences such as climate, hygiene, nutrition, due to physical activity and the environment."


The nutritional medicine deals with all forms of nutrition, this means, that they are both natural, physiological nutrition and the artificial supply of nutrients (oral - through the mouth, enteral - via the gastrointestinal tract; parenterally - bypassing the gastro-intestinal tract, such as venous) deals. For this reason she must be distinguished from the dietetics, which deals not with artificial diet.
The item field of nutritional medicine includes the healing, the relief and prevention of diet-related diseases, disease-associated malnutrition or overnutrition and metabolic disorders. This is just in an affluent society as she find is very important, particularly in the Western world. The rising proportion of people, a BMI of over 30 (BMI - present so-called body mass index), inevitably leads to the necessary discussion of this aspect of medicine. Especially the nutritional prophylaxis of importance here. To cope with these and more nutritional items, is to be interdisciplinary.


Dietary factors cause an increase in non-communicable chronic diseases such as lack of exercise, and fat or high-calorie food. The treatment of these diseases is task of nutritional medicine. These include the following diseases:


Cause: nutrient glut (excess supply of macro nutrients):

• of obesity (overweight; Obesity)
• hypertension (high blood pressure)
• cholelithiasis (gallstones)
• degenerative musculoskeletal disorders
• diabetes mellitus type 2 (diabetes)
• fat metabolism disorders
• cardiovascular diseases - such as coronary heart disease (CHD) or myocardial infarction (heart attack)
• hyperuricemia (gout) - metabolic disorder, which is characterized by a rise in uric acid in the blood and to painful formation of crystals in the joints can result in

Cause: lack of nutrients (macro - and micronutrient deficiencies/nutrient - and vital lack of substance):

• iron deficiency anemia - due to a lack of iron, which is needed for the synthesis of hemoglobin (red blood pigment), it comes to anemia (anemia)
• osteoporosis (bone loss)
• goiter - swelling or enlargement of the entire thyroid gland

Other causes:

• alcoholism
• intoxication (poisoning)
• foodborne disease
• food allergy