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University of Missouri
920 East Campus Drive
Columbia, MO 65211
E-mail: fritschek{at}missouri.edu
This book was meant to complement a textbook entitled Nutrition and Immunology: Principles and Practice, which was previously published by 2 of the authors in November 1999. The Handbook is meant for a different audience than the textbook. The target audience is laboratory workers and researchers in developing countries, health care providers, and scientists interested in the more practical aspects of this field. The contributing authors include an impressive array of basic and clinical researchers, clinicians from the United States and abroad, and public health professionals.
The Handbook is organized into 15 chapters. The first 2 chapters describe how to conduct the nutritional and immune status assessment of individuals in the field. Several chapters focus on interactions of various nutrients (eg, vitamins, antioxidant nutrients, dietary fats, and trace minerals) on the immune system. The Handbook contains several chapters covering specific diseases, such as malaria, HIV, diarrhea, respiratory infections, and allergies. The final chapter summarizes key findings covered in the book, frequently referring the reader to specific chapters, and lists suggested directions for future research.
The Handbook is well organized and easy to read. Most chapters are concise (typically 20–25 pages in length) and focus on clinically relevant findings. Each chapter begins with an executive summary-like section called "Key points." Noteworthy additions to the Handbook are a chapter covering nutrition and immunity interactions in pregnant and lactating women and a chapter on immunomodulation by pre- and probiotics. The coverage of most topics can be described as thorough but not comprehensive. This new and shorter book succeeds in its primary goal, that is, to provide useful and current information about the interactions between the immune system and nutrition. Unfortunately, my laptop and desktop computers were too old (3 y old) to access the eBook version on CD that was included with the book. Despite this fact, I am sure that the inclusion of an electronic version of this book will be useful to some readers. In summary, I can enthusiastically recommend the Handbook for those seeking a clear and concise description of the interplay between nutrition and the human immune system.