Nutrition

Assignment 9

Cheryl Adair

1. List 6 nutritional problems associated with drug abuse and tobacco use in adolescents.

Drugs and tobacco suppress appetite, causing less food to be eaten. Less food means the body depletes stored energy causing malnutrition. Heavy drinkers tend to starve themselves because the brain tells the body they have consumed all the daily requirements and says “I’m full”. It also leads to poor choices in food usually high in potassium. Smokers need more vitamin C, therefore tend to get sick more frequently because the lack of vitamin C does not allow them to fight off disease. Drug abuse suppresses serotonin, which a chemical in the brain that affects sleep, appetite, as well as body temperature. They cannot properly function because they body tells them they are tired yet they can’t sleep, they overeat the wrong foods or don’t eat at all. Tobacco use causes lower intake of fiber, vitamin C, Vitamin A and Beta-carotene which increases the risk for lung cancer. Alcohol increases the risk of heart damage, liver damage, brain damage where they cannot remember recent things and increased risks for breast cancer because alcohol affects estrogen levels. Drugs and alcohol also cause vitamin deficiency and dehydration. The lack of eating in all of these cases irritates the stomach lining as it draws from acids in the stomach because there is nothing else there causing inflammation and ulcers.

2. List the factors that increase the risk for vitamin B12 and iron deficiency in older adults.

Many people over the age of 50 suffer from GI problems. This causes an abundance of bacteria in the stomach which absorbs the B12 more quickly. The B12 deficiency causes neurological problems. B12 deficiency can also be caused by improper diet. Diabetics’ medication can interfere with the absorption of B12. Many women find they are diabetic later in life.

The need for iron however never changes except in women after menopause,...