This course is designed to give the medical and health professional student an understanding of the basic principles of normal nutrition and medical nutrition therapy during the course of health and disease. Areas to be covered include: general principles of macro- and micronutrients; the basics of nutritional assessment; the Recommended Dietary Allowances and Dietrary Reference Intakes; the "MyPyramid" Food Guide Pyramid; nutritional needs throughout the life cycle; determination of energy and macronutrient requirements; and nutrition for health promotion and disease prevention, e.g., cardiovascular, diabetes, renal, pulmonary, cancer, AIDS, gastrointestinal; weight maintenance/weight loss.