Chronic illnesses, injury, or infections produce a decline in muscle massa*leading to delayed recovery, more post-treatment complications, longer hospital stays, and higher mortality rates. Therefore, ensuring adequate lean body mass is of major concern in health care. Presenting data from human studies and trials, along with recent research findings, Bioactive Peptides: Applications for Improving Nutrition and Health summarizes the applications, and benefits of bioactive peptides used to mitigate major metabolic derangements that arise from chronic illnesses and result in unwanted weight loss. Reviews the Latest Theories Explaining Muscle Loss and Accretion During Illness & Infection In chapters one through five, the book presents the background science on the relationship between illness and muscle weight loss, highlighting bioactive peptides' ability to enhance the body's antioxidant status, antisepsis capacity, immune function, anti-inflammatory capacity, growth potential, and appetite. Chapters six through nine deal with the use of bioactive peptides to modify aspects of the host response to illness, including inflammation, antimicrobial activity, anabolic dysfunction, and anorexia. This state-of-the-art reference also includes case studies on aging, AIDS, COPD, diabetes, inflammatory bowel disease, kidney failure, and tuberculosis. It is a valuable resource for dieticians, doctors, nutritionists, and manufacturers of medical foods, tube feeds, supplements, and nutraceuticals.