Clinical Nutrition and Dietetics

Animal Nutrition

Reaching proper nutritional requirements is of most importance in sustaining suitable performance of neonatal, growing and breeding animals. The dietary requirements comprises of nutrients which should be present in the feed provided to animals. This feed can be an acquired commercial product. From a practical perspective, an optimum nutrition should certify sufficient intakes of amino acids (both traditionally classified essential and nonessential), carbohydrates, fatty acids, minerals, and vitamins by animals through a supplementation program that corrects deficiencies in basal diets (e.g., corn- and soybean meal-based diets for swine; milk replacers for calves and lambs; and available forage for ruminants). Furthermore, dietary supplementation with certain nutrients (i.e. arginine, glutamine, zinc, and conjugated linoleic acid) can control gene expression and regulate crucial metabolic pathways to increase fertility, pregnancy outcome, immunity, neonatal survival and growth, feed efficacy, and meat quality. Overall, the right balance of protein, energy, vitamins and all nutritionally essential minerals in diets is required to make a effective nutrition that is both useful and cost-effective. Both fundamental and applied research, are required to meet this goal.