Surgical and medical emergencies, such as myocardial infarction, stroke, severe pancreatitis, trauma and burns, but also advanced medical and surgical treatments, from extensive surgical operations to stem cell transplantations, are associated with an unacceptably high morbidity and mortality. The most common cause is sepsis which, despite all advances in pharmaceutical medicine, is steadily increasing. Sepsis is mainly seen in elderly patients and patients with a malfunctioning innate immune system and subsequent elevated inflammatory response. In the past, multiple attempts have been made to control sepsis and subsequent organ failure, but with no or limited success, using branched chain amino acids, glutamine, growth hormone, insulin, insulin-like growth factor 1, various vitamins, as well as combinations of nutrients, including so-called immunoenhancing nutrition formulae. Aggressive perioperative enteral nutrition, tight control of blood sugar, supplementation of antioxidants, plant fibres and lactic...