4. Oral supplements

Human beings, like other animal species, like what they eat. Tastes for certain foods are learned throughout life through the association of sensory qualities (gustatory, olfactory, visual and tactile) with nutritional effects. This empirical knowledge has given rise to many beliefs and taboos.

Certain foods will be preferred according to the virtues sought, either for :

• performance enhancement ;

• or to restore a state of health.

It is this last aspect that is of interest in clinical nutrition, and more particularly in the various cases of undernutrition.

Numerous studies carried out in hospitals have highlighted the serious consequences of protein-energy malnutrition. It is for this reason that the current diet of malnourished...