Inflammation as the Key Interface of the Medical and Nutrition Universes: A Provocative Examination of the Future of Clinical Nutrition and Medicine

There has been tremendous interest in inflammation by researchers, the medical community, and the lay public. Modulation of injury response is felt to represent a tenuous balance of pro- and anti-inflammatory cytokines. Adverse outcomes may result from severe, sustained, or repeated bouts of inflammation. A critical observation is that nutrition support alone is inadequate to prevent muscle loss during active inflammation. It is necessary to take inflammation into consideration in conducting appropriate nutrition assessment, intervention, and monitoring. A host of medical conditions are actually inflammatory states that have important implications for nutrition care. Multifaceted interventions that may include anti-inflammatory diets, glycemic control, physical activity, appetite stimulants, anabolic agents, anti-inflammatory agents, anticytokines, and probiotics, will be necessary to blunt undesirable aspects of inflammatory response to preserve body cell mass and vital organ functions. Nutrition practitioners can seize this opportunity to be a part of the future medical team that brings highly individualized patient care to the bedside.

This provocative review presents Dr Jensen’s Presidential Address given February 14, 2006 at Clinical Nutrition Week in Dallas, TX. His presentation explores the key role of inflammation at the interface of medicine and nutrition in order to highlight future opportunities to bring nutrition to the forefront of medicine.