Nutrition and alcohol: Linking nutrient interactions and dietary intake

Over the past decade, much has been learned about the damaging effects that moderate to severe alcohol use has on tissue nutrient levels and dietary intake. In addition to alcohol's potential to damage every organ in the body, alcohol abuse or heavy use causes poorer dietary intake and provides a greater risk of alcohol's damage while increasing the need for several nutrients. Rapid advancement in this field of study has created an urgent need for a timely reference work in this important area. Summarising current research, Nutrition and Alcohol: Linking Nutrient Interactions and Dietary Intake explores the latest data available on the effects of alcohol on the nutritional state of alcohol abusers. It illustrates the combined effects of malnutrition on tissue damage and examines the role of altered nutrition in various alcohol-related diseases. The authors discuss alcohol's effects on the absorption of nutrients and minerals and explain the role of nutritional supplementation and diet in the therapy of alcohol abusers. Providing detailed knowledge of the effects of alcohol on biochemical reactions and nutritional changes, this desk reference will assist physicians, nutrition scientists and researchers, therapists, dieticians, and students. It will be a critical tool in the understanding, treatment, and prevention of the nutritional consequences of alcohol.