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Understanding Normal & Clinical Nutrition, 13th Edition

Sharon Rady Rolfes, MS, RDN, Kathryn Pinna, Ellie Whitney, Kimberly Koness

  • Copyright 2027
  • {{checkPublicationMessage('Published', '2026-01-22T00:00:00+0000')}}
Starting At $77.95 See pricing and ISBN options
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Understanding Normal & Clinical Nutrition 13th Edition by Sharon Rady Rolfes, MS, RDN/Kathryn Pinna/Ellie Whitney/Kimberly Koness
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Overview

The updated "Understanding Normal and Clinical Nutrition," 13th Edition, presents the fundamentals of nutrition and medical nutrition therapy and practical applications to daily life and clinical settings. The authors introduce nutrients, their physiological impacts and nutritional guidelines for good health and disease prevention. Coverage of medical nutrition therapy includes information on nutritional assessment to pathophysiology and dietary changes for treating medical conditions, from GI conditions and malabsorption to cardiovascular diseases, diabetes and HIV. The consistent, student-friendly narrative includes systematic How To discussions, clinical case studies, review questions and in-depth Highlight sections. The MindTap digital learning platform, with the Diet & Wellness Plus diet analysis software, enhances student understanding and performance in your nutrition course.

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Meet the Authors

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Sharon Rady Rolfes, MS, RDN

Sharon Rady Rolfes is a Registered Dietitian Nutritionist and founding member of Nutrition and Health Associates, an information resource center that manages a research database of more than 1,000 nutrition-related topics. Previously, Ms. Rolfes taught at Florida State University and coauthored several college textbooks, including Understanding Nutrition, and Understanding Normal and Clinical Nutrition. In addition to writing, Ms. Rolfes consults on educational projects and volunteers in her community. A member of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, she received her M.S. in Nutrition and Food Science from Florida State University.

Kathryn Pinna

Kathryn Pinna, Ph.D., received her M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in nutrition from the University of California at Berkeley. She taught nutrition, food science and human biology courses in the San Francisco Bay Area for over 25 years and also worked as an outpatient dietitian, Internet consultant and freelance writer. Her publications include the textbooks "Nutrition for Health and Health Care," "Understanding Normal and Clinical Nutrition" and "Nutrition & Diet Therapy." She is currently a member of the American Society for Nutrition and the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics.

Ellie Whitney

Ellie Whitney grew up in New York City and received her B.A. and Ph.D. degrees in English and biology at Harvard and Washington Universities. She taught at both Florida State University and Florida A&M University, wrote numerous newspaper columns on environmental matters for the Tallahassee Democrat and co-authored almost a dozen college textbooks on nutrition, health and related topics, many of which repeatedly reappear in new editions. She spent three decades exploring outdoor Florida and studying its ecology, then co-wrote "Priceless Florida: Natural Ecosystems and Native Species." In her retirement, more concerned about climate change than any other issue, she volunteered full-time for the nonpartisan national nonprofit Citizens Climate Lobby.

Kimberly Koness

What's New

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  • CURRENT SCIENCE & PRACTICAL GUIDANCE: Every chapter presents the latest developments and evidence-based practice guidelines in nutrition science today.

Features

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  • REAL-WORLD CONNECTIONS: Chapter-opening Nutrition in Your Life or Nutrition in the Clinical Setting vignettes connect chapter content to students' lives or experiences during clinical care.
  • PRACTICE MEETS PROGRESS: Hands-on How To features provide step-by-step nutrition calculations or proven strategies to help readers make dietary changes, while Try It exercises create opportunities to practice lessons learned.
  • CASE BASED LEARNING: Case Study exercises prepare students for a career in nutrition by challenging them to practice their assessment skills, plan nutrition education, counseling or support in a realistic clinical situation.
  • CLINICAL CONNECTIONS: Clinical Portfolio questions at the end of the clinical chapters use case studies to help students apply nutrition concepts to real life.
  • HIGHLIGHTS THAT CHALLENGE & ENGAGE: In-depth Highlights, which include a current, often controversial topic follow the chapter's main discussion, encouraging students to form their own informed opinions. Highlights also includes Critical Thinking Questions that ask students to evaluate the evidence presented.
  • MINDTAP ONLINE LEARNING PLATFORM: MindTap for Nutrition is the digital learning solution that engages today's tech-savvy students and helps them become higher-level thinkers. Dynamic assignments, customizable applications, real-time course analytics and a highlighting eReader with note-taking capabilities make this tool an indispensable supplement to any nutrition course. Use the Diet & Wellness Plus analysis software to track diet, activities and healthy behaviors. Explore over 100,000 foods, including global cuisines and brand-name items with easy access to reports that show Added Sugars.

Table of Contents

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1. An Overview of Nutrition.
2. Planning a Healthy Diet.
3. Digestion, Absorption, and Transport.
4. The Carbohydrates: Sugar, Starches, and Fibers.
5. The Lipids: Triglycerides, Phospholipids, and Sterols.
6. Protein: Amino Acids.
7. Energy Metabolism.
8. Energy Balance and Body Composition.
9. Weight Management: Overweight, Obesity, and Underweight.
10. The Water-Soluble Vitamins: B Vitamins and Vitamin C.
11. The Fat-Soluble Vitamins: A, D, E, and K.
12. Water and the Major Minerals.
13. The Trace Minerals.
14. Life Cycle Nutrition: Pregnancy and Lactation.
15. Life Cycle Nutrition: Infancy, Childhood, and Adolescence.
16. Life Cycle Nutrition: Adulthood and the Later Years.
17. Nutrition Care and Assessment.
18. Nutrition Intervention.
19. Medications, Diet-Drug Interactions, and Herbal Products.
20. Enteral Nutrition Support.
21. Parenteral Nutrition Support.
22. Metabolic and Respiratory Stress.
23. Upper Gastrointestinal Disorders.
24. Lower Gastrointestinal Disorders.
25. Liver Disease and Gallstones.
26. Diabetes Mellitus.
27. Cardiovascular Diseases.
28. Kidney Diseases.
29. Cancer and HIV Infection.
Appendix A: Cells, Hormones, and Nerves.
Appendix B: Basic Chemistry Concepts.
Appendix C: Biochemical Structures and Pathways.
Appendix D: Measures of Protein Quality.
Appendix E: Nutrition Assessment: Supplemental Information.
Appendix F: Estimated Energy Needs.
Appendix G: Choose Your Foods: Food Lists for Diabetes and Weight Management.
Appendix H: Aids to Calculation
Appendix I: WHO: Nutrition Recommendations.
Appendix J: Healthy People 2020.
Appendix K: Enteral Formulas Glossary.
Index.

Compare Buying Options

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MindTap Options

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MindTap
Each MindTap product offers the full, mobile-ready textbook combined with superior and proven learning tools at one affordable price. Students who purchase digital access can add a print option at any time when a print option is available for their course.

This Cengage solution can be seamlessly integrated into most Learning Management Systems (Blackboard, Brightspace by D2L, Canvas, Moodle, and more) but does require a different ISBN for access codes. Please work with your Cengage Learning Consultant to ensure the proper course set up and ordering information. For additional information, please visit the LMS Integration site.

Standalone Digital Access — Ultimate Value

Recommended and most popular

  • ISBN-10: 0357974093
  • ISBN-13: 9780357974094
  • RETAIL $105.95
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Textbook Only Options

Traditional eBook and Print Options

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  • ISBN-10: 0357974107
  • ISBN-13: 9780357974100
  • RETAIL $77.95

  • ISBN-10: 0357974026
  • ISBN-13: 9780357974025
  • RETAIL $245.95
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Supplements

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Cengage provides a range of supplements that are updated in coordination with the main title selection. For more information about these supplements, contact your Learning Consultant.

FOR STUDENTS

MindTap for Pinna's Understanding Normal & Clinical Nutrition, 1 term Instant Access

ISBN: 9780357974094
MindTap for Rolfes/Pinna/Whitney/Koness' "Understanding Normal and Clinical Nutrition," 13th Edition, is a platform that propels students from memorization to mastery. Customize interactive syllabi to emphasize priority topics, explore Diet & Wellness Plus reports then add your own material or notes to the eBook as desired. This outcomes-driven application gives you the tools needed to empower students and boost both understanding and performance. MindTap empowers nutrition learning with interactive tools like A Closer Look and Debunk the Junk. Use the Diet & Wellness Plus analysis software to track diet, activities and healthy behaviors. Explore over 100,000 foods, including global cuisines and brand-name items with easy access to reports that show Added Sugars.