Manganese alters mitochodrial integrity in the hearts of swine marginally deficient in magnesium.

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15 Oct 2004

Many Britons are suffering from malnutrition because of their poor diet, a leading nutritionist has warned.

Paul Clayton said there were differences between the type of malnutrition found among starving populations and that found in the UK, but stressed that it could still have devastating effects on public health in this country.

"The classic form, which we call type A, that's what you see in the developing nations; in the developed countries like ours you see type B which is characterised by people being depleted in almost everything," he told BBC Radio Five Live's Breakfast.

This, he explained, was thanks to the shift from a diet based on relatively unprocessed food, fruit and vegetables to one whose staples were meat, dairy, sweets and soft drinks.

"In the long run if you have this kind of malnutrition for long periods of time you will eventually develop a chronic degenerative disease: coronary artery disease, osteoporosis, dementia, one of the cancers - your risks go up," he said.

Dr Clayton stressed that modern medicine was no replacement for a healthy diet: "We can treat symptoms, but we can't cure these types of disease - far better for you to do it for yourself."

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