ABSTRACT
Prevalent diseases that the early population suffered are recorded by Durant; amongst these were gout, rheumatism, dropsy, and diseases of eyes and skin, all very likely due to, or abetted by, poor nutrition. Nutritional knowledge of the value of both the macro- and micronutrients has grown enormously since the first vitamin was isolated and identified. Nutrition’s role in the proper functioning of healthy bodies and in the prevention of nutritional deficiencies is appreciated and recognized. Food manufacturers are pushing products that can capture the marketing potential that preventive nutrition represents. Preventive maintenance foods, therefore, represent an important research area for nutritionists and for food technologists for developing new products to satisfy the needs of the public in the third millennium. Nutritionists wanted consumers to reduce the amount of saturated fats in the diet and correspondingly increase the amount of vegetable oils, unsaturated fats, consumed. Nutritional education of consumers starting from the cradle seems to be an avenue all eschew.
