nutrition-science-foundations

Foundational concepts in nutrition science — macronutrients, micronutrients, energy balance, Atwater factors, reference intakes (DRI/RDA/AI/UL), food composition tables, and the methods of human nutrition research. Grounds the rest of the department in a shared vocabulary and in the measurement limits of the field, including controlled-trial history, observational-study limits, and the biochemical basis for calorie accounting. Use when a question asks what something "is" nutritionally, how energy and nutrients are measured, or what the reference numbers mean.