ABSTRACT
This chapter describes the link between food, nutrition and some disorders or diseases related to ecohealth. Nutrients are essential for life; people cannot live without intake of the essential nutrients in the short to medium term. A number of potentially adverse health outcomes are mitigated by dietary patterns, especially those which are biologically varied and reflect ecosystem integrity. Food is the primary source of nutrients needed to sustain life, promote health and normal growth and development, and assure human productivity. ‘Ecological disruptive disorders’ might be a useful way of systematising ecohealth disorders, which could take into account those disorders with a recognisable connection to locality. Socioeconomic development and rapid changes in diets and personal behaviours impact the health and nutritional status of populations. Dietary diversity is often defined as the number of certain food groups consumed by an individual or family. The ecological contribution of light and dark is another ecological health consideration.
