History of Nutrition Jobs With Scientific Development

 

 History of Nutrition Jobs With Scientific Development

The history of the study of food as medicine reveals centuries of discovery and development of nutrition careers and Nutrition Jobs. In 400 B.C. the Greek physician Hippocrates, the “Father of Medicine” said, “Let thy food be thy medicine and thy medicine be thy food.” Hippocrates realized that food impacts a person’s health, body and mind to help prevent illness as well as maintain wellness.

Greece, as well as across pre-modern Europe and Asia since ancient times, foods were used to affect health. For instance, the juice of liver was squeezed on the eye to treat eye diseases, connected to Vitamin A deficiency. Garlic was used to cure athlete’s foot, and eating ginger was thought to stimulate the metabolism and then it gives rise to Nutrition Jobs.

In 1747, a British Navy physician, Dr. James Lind, saw that sailors were developing scurvy, a deadly bleeding disorder, on long voyages. He observed that they ate only nonperishable foods such as bread and meat.

Work in the area of the chemical nature of foods—carbohydrates, fats and proteins—was done by Justus Liebig of Germany, and led to research in the area of vitamins in the early 20th century. In 1912, a Polish doctor, Casimir Funk, coined the term “vitamins” as essential factors in the diet. The term vitamin—first called “vitamine”—comes from “vital” and “amine,” because vitamins are required for life and they were originally thought to be amines—compounds derived from ammonia.

Many other vitamins were discovered and isolated in the early 20th century, and the concept of supplementing health with vitamins was born. The first vitamin pills were marketed in the 1930s, and created a new industry around science-based health products. In October of 1994, the Dietary and Supplement Health and Education Act were approved by Congress. It sets forth what can and cannot be said about nutritional supplements without prior Food and Drug Administration (FDA) review, showing the impact of this industry.

As Nutrition Jobs programs started to become more prevalent, nutrition careers and dietitian jobs became more popular. Dietitians are registered with the American Dietetic Association and are only able to use the title “dietitian” when they have met strict, specific educational and experiential prerequisites and passed a national registration examination.

The title “nutritionist” is protected and designated by many but not all states in the United States. Traditionally, dietitians work in hospitals, schools and prisons, and nutritionists more often work in private practice, in education and research, although there is some overlap between the two.

As we become increasingly aware and concerned about how Nutrition Jobs affects our health, the fields of nutrition and alternative medicine have seen unprecedented growth and expansion. This continuing demand has fueled increasing nutrition jobs growth and has provided more career opportunities than ever. College distance-learning and online nutrition programs are a great way to explore this unique field with a distinguished and ancient pedigree.