Nutritional risks

With a balanced and varied diet, including a lot of fruit and vegetables, the healthy body is provided with all the nutrients it needs.

Health risks triggered by nutrition can have different causes: individual dietary habits, malfunctions in the body, prompted by diseases such as metabolic disorders or allergies, or special life situations such as pregnancy or old-age.

At the assessment of nutritional risks by BfR not only the desirable uptake to cover physiological needs, but also insufficient or excessive nutrient supply have to be taken into account:

An excessive supply of the three macro-nutrients carbohydrates, proteins, fats, in combination with a lack of exercise and an unbalanced energy balance increases, in the long run, the risk of metabolic disorders and chronic diseases such as hypertension, increased cholesterol content in blood, arteriosclerosis, type II diabetes and cardiovascular diseases.

In the same way, both an insufficient and excessive supply of micro-nutrients, i.e. vitamins, minerals and trace elements, secondary plant substances can result in adverse health effects.