Effects of Glucose, Sodium, and Cholesterol Deficiency from a Human Health Perspective

The chemical and nutritional impacts of sugar, salt and milkfat on the food and beverage industry is a challenging topic. The main nutritional categories and ingredients are generally correlated with ‘unhealthy’ foods when used in excess. On the other side, normal consumers might not too much reduce intake of certain and needed nutrients. This chapter is dedicated to the description of basis reasons for which sugar, sodium, and fat-associated cholesterol should be assumed in a balanced human diet. With reference to sugars, monosaccharides, disaccharides, etc., are needed for a balanced dietary style. The importance of sugars is linked with essential roles when speaking of energy source, storage (as glycogen deposits in the human body), and indirect structural functions. With concern to salt (as expression of sodium), a minimum level is needed with the aim of regulating blood volume at least, and other important metabolic functions rely on sodium availability. Finally, with reference to cholesterol, many metabolic systems and functions are regulated and strictly dependent on cholesterol amount, which is naturally connected with a reasonable amount of milkfat. There are not peculiar reasons to suppose that a good balance between the promotion of public health and sustainable food production cannot be reached.