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In nutrition, the diet is the sum of
food consumed by a person or other organism. Dietary habits are the
habitual decisions an individual or culture makes when choosing what foods
to eat. Although humans are omnivores, each culture holds some food
preferences and some food taboos. Individual dietary choices may be more or
less healthful. Proper nutrition requires the proper ingestion and equally
important, the absorption of vitamins, minerals, and food energy in the form
of carbohydrates, proteins, and fats. Dietary habits and choices play a
significant role in health and mortality, and can also define cultures and
play a role in religion.
Traditional diet
"Traditional diet" is the diets of native
populations such as the Europeans, Native Americans, Khoisan or Australian
Aborigines. Often, to qualify for cultural cuisine, traditional diets
include more organic farming and seasonal food according to food origins.
Traditional diets vary with availability of
local resources, such as fish in coastal towns, eels and eggs in estuary
settlements, or squash, corn and beans in farming towns, as well as with
cultural and religious customs and taboos. In some cases, the crops and
domestic animals that characterize a traditional diet have been replaced by
modern high-yield crops, and are no longer available.The slow food movement
attempts to counter this trend and to preserve traditional diets.
Religious and cultural dietary choices
Some cultures and religions have
restrictions concerning what foods are acceptable in their diet. For
example, only Kosher foods are permitted by Judaism, and Halal foods by
Islam.
Diet and life outcome
A three-decade long study published in the
British medical journal, The Lancet, found that Guatemalan men who had been
well-fed soon after they were born earned almost 50% more in average salary
than those who had not. The blind trial was performed by giving a
high-nutrition supplement to some infants and a lower-nutrition supplement
to others, with only the researchers knowing which infants received which
supplements. The infants that received the high-nutrition supplement had
higher average salaries as adults
Individual
dietary choices
Writers such as Michael Pollan and Mark
Bittmanurge reduced animal consumption in the developed world for improved
health and reduced impact on the environment. Many people choose to forgo
food from animal sources to varying degrees (vegetarianism, veganism,
fruitarianism) for health reasons, or issues surrounding morality, or to
reduce their personal impact on the environment. Raw foodism is another
contemporary trend. These diets may require tuning or supplementation to
meet ordinary nutritional needs.
Economic
influence
In addition to culture, religion, and
personal choices, diet is also influenced by economics. Throughout history
and in contemporary life, poverty is often associated with the inability to
afford meat, or with malnutrition.
Diets
for weight management
Main articles: Dieting and Diet food
A particular diet may be chosen to seek
weight gain, weight loss, sports training, cardio-vascular health, avoidance
of cancers, food allergies and for other reasons. Changing a subject's
dietary intake, or "going on a diet", can change the energy balance and
increase or decrease the amount of fat stored by the body. Some foods are
specifically recommended, or even altered, for conformity to the
requirements of a particular diet. These diets are often recommended in
conjunction with exercise.
Eating
disorders
An eating disorder is a mental disorder
that interferes with normal food consumption. Eating disorders often affect
people with a negative body image.
Health
Main article: Healthy diet
A healthy diet is one that is arrived at
with the intent of improving or maintaining optimal health. This usually
involves consuming nutrients by eating the appropriate amounts from all of
the food groups, including an adequate amount of water.Since human nutrition
is complex, a healthy diet may vary widely, and is subject to an
individual's genetic makeup, environment, and health. For around 20% of the
human population, lack of food and malnutrition are the main impediments to
healthy eating.[Conversely,
people in developed countries have the opposite problem; they are more
concerned about obesity.
Diet
table
| Food Type |
Carnivore |
Omnivore |
Vegan |
Vegetarian |
Halal |
Hindu |
Kosher |
Hunter-gatherer |
Raw vegan |
| Fruits and berries |
No |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
| Greens |
No |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
| Vegetables |
No |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
| Starchy vegetables |
No |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
No |
| Grains |
No |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
No |
No |
| Poultry |
Yes |
Yes |
No |
No |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
No |
| Fish (scaled) |
Yes |
Yes |
No |
No |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
No |
| Seafood (non-fish) |
Yes |
Yes |
No |
No |
Yes |
Yes |
No |
Yes |
No |
| Beef |
Yes |
Yes |
No |
No |
Yes |
No |
Yes |
Yes |
No |
| Pork |
Yes |
Yes |
No |
No |
No |
Yes |
No |
Yes |
No |
| Eggs |
Yes |
Yes |
No |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
No |
| Dairy |
No |
Yes |
No |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
No |
No |
| Nuts |
No |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
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