Foodborne illness and nutritional status.

Title
Foodborne illness and nutritional status: a statement from an American Society for Nutritional Sciences working group.

Source
Journal of Nutrition. 130, (10): 2613-2617, 2000.

Foodborne illness is a global health problem with many causative factors. The role of nutritional status in the development and severity of foodborne disease has not been elucidated fully. In this article, the potential role for nutritional status in reducing foodborne diseases is discussed. Aspects considered include: results of studies in developing countries investigating the role of nutritional factors in foodborne disease; role of nutritional status in host susceptibility and pathogen virulence (changes in the ability of the gastrointestinal tract to resist foodborne infection during infancy and old-age); and recent research indicating that dietary manipulation may affect either the host or the pathogen (immunomodulation by dietary n-3 PUFA, modulation of the virulence of pathogens by nutritional status as a result of changes in the genomic composition of the pathogen).