本系列叢書特別全面地回顧了一些主題，這些主題被選為增進對人類和動物營養的了解的基礎，有助于解決目前的爭議，或與社會和預防醫學問題有關，這些問題的解決取決于營養方面的進展。許多獨立的文章被認為是對給定主題發表過的最全面的評論之一。自1959年第一卷出版以來，該叢書因其學術質量和作者聲譽而屢獲好評。

Volumes in this series consist of exceptionally thorough reviews on topics selected as either fundamental to improved understanding of human and animal nutrition, useful in resolving present controversies, or relevant to problems of social and preventive medicine that depend for their solution on progress in nutrition. Many of the individual articles have been judged as among the most comprehensive reviews ever published on the given topic. Since the first volume appeared in 1959, the series has earned repeated praise for the quality of its scholarship and the reputation of its authors.