An ISU lecture on nutrition will air on C-SPAN 3 at 7 p.m. and 11 p.m. tonight.

Iowa State Professor Ruth MacDonald gave a class lecture on how diseases like goiter and rickets have been eliminated through advances in understanding the composition of food and and the role of nutrients in health disease.

“There was a time when food did not come with a nutrition facts label,” MacDonald said. “We now have more information about what is in our food and a deeper understanding of how nutrients are related to health, yet diet-related, chronic diseases such as obesity and diabetes are on the rise. Trying to create a food system that ensures nutrient needs are met, while balancing the pleasurable aspects of eating, is a major challenge.”

This lecture is part of C-SPAN 3’s “Lectures in American History” program.

You can also watch MacDonald’s lecture here after it airs on C-SPAN.