All iLive content is medically reviewed or fact checked to ensure as much factual accuracy as possible.
We have strict sourcing guidelines and only link to reputable media sites, academic research institutions and, whenever possible, medically peer reviewed studies. Note that the numbers in parentheses ([1], [2], etc.) are clickable links to these studies.
If you feel that any of our content is inaccurate, out-of-date, or otherwise questionable, please select it and press Ctrl + Enter.
Optimizing nutrition: sustainable nutrition
Medical expert of the article
Last reviewed: 04.07.2025
Increasing food production is the most important task facing humanity. But this is only one side of the matter. Another, no less important, is understanding the physiological needs of a person for nutrition (from birth to old age) in different climatic, labor, living and other conditions.
Thanks to the development of fundamental concepts of the mechanisms of food assimilation, this area of knowledge has become not only an important section of biological and medical sciences, but also a key aspect of practical health care. Based on fundamental research, it is advisable to consider some important problems, including rational nutrition, further optimization of human nutrition and a number of others, from the standpoint of two nutrition theories - classical and new.
In general, rational nutrition today is in most cases not ideal nutrition. Therefore, the task of scientists and economists is reduced to the formation of a real rational nutrition, which must be constantly improved. Thus, we again return to the idea of rational nutrition as a compromise between optimal norms and limited real possibilities. However, there is a fundamental question: on what basis will the optimal nutrition standards be built - on the basis of the theory of balanced or adequate nutrition?
Nutrition is also not ideal because many healthy foods contain toxic substances. In some cases, such toxicants can be destroyed by heat treatment of food. However, a certain level of toxic substances is a constant and physiological companion of life. Most of these substances are neutralized by the protective systems of the gastrointestinal tract. In addition, recently, due to the intensification of agriculture and urbanization of the population, the amount of food impurities, the vast majority of which are not completely indifferent to the body, has been progressively increasing throughout the world. The use of environmental regulators (defoliants, insecticides, pesticides, herbicides, etc.) leads to the fact that these substances enter a significant part of food products. Such substances are used initially and above all against certain types of plants, harmful insects, poisonous mushrooms. Despite the efforts to make these agents selectively act only on certain groups of animals, due to the universality of the functional blocks, there is a danger of their impact on the body of humans and higher animals. (In many cases, such a negative effect has been proven.) Similarly, additives, which mostly ensure the preservation of food products, are not indifferent. In addition, the latter are contaminated with industrial waste, among which there may be very toxic ones.
[