Following the tradition of its predecessor, the fifth edition of Nutrition: Maintaining and Improving Health continues to offer a wide-ranging coverage of all aspects of nutrition while providing new information to this edition including: Increased coverage of experimental and observational methods used in nutrition In-depth focus on the nutritional implications of the increased adoption of vegetarian and vegan lifestyles Streamlined referencing - a short selected list of key references at the end of each chapter with URL links to free additional resources where possible Discussion of nutrition debates Critical coverage of "medicinal uses of food" including superfoods, functional foods and dietary supplements Updated bullet point summaries of key points after each major topic within each chapter The author provides an evidence-based evaluation of many key nutrition beliefs and philosophies. The book contains in-depth and critical reviews of the methods used to evaluate nutritional intakes/status and the observational and experimental used to investigate putative links between dietary factors and health outcome. It covers the role of food as a source of energy and nutrients while discussing the non-nutritional roles of food and the social and psychological factors that influence food choice. Presenting a critical discussion on the value of nutrition research linking specific foods or nutrients to specific diseases which encourages students to question the value of some current nutrition research. This is essential reading for all nutrition and dietetics students with different backgrounds who are studying nutrition as a specific discipline for the first time.