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 healthy. Proper nutrition requires the proper ingestion and equally important, the absorption of
vitamins,
minerals, and
fuel 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.
Cultural dietary choices
Some cultures and religions have restrictions concerning what foods are acceptable in a diet. For example, only
Kosher foods are permitted by
Judaism, and
Halal/Haram foods by
Islam, in the diet of believers.
[1] In addition, the dietary choices of different countries or regions have different characteristics. For instance,
Americans eat more
red meat than people in most other countries, and
Japanese eat more
fish and
rice. Rice and
beans are typical parts of a diet in
Latin-American countries, while
lentils and
pita bread are typical in the
Middle East. This is highly related to a culture's
cuisine.
Concerns about foodborne illness have long influenced diet. Traditionally humans have learned to avoid foods that induce
acute illness. Some believe that this is the underlying rationale behind some traditional religious dietary requirements.
Individual dietary choices
Many individuals choose to limit what foods they eat for reasons of health, morality, or other factors. Additionally, many people choose to forgo food from animal sources to varying degrees; see
vegetarianism,
veganism,
fruitarianism, living foods diet, and
raw foodism.
The nutrient content of diets in industrialised countries contain more
animal fat,
sugar,
energy,
alcohol and less
dietary fiber,
carbohydrates and
antioxidants. Contemporary changes to
work,
family and
exercise patterns, together with concerns about the effect of
nutrition and overeating on human
health and mortality are all having an effect on traditional eating habits.
Physicians and
alternative medicine practitioners may recommend changes to diet as part of their recommendations for treatment.
[2]
More recently, dietary habits have been influenced by the concerns that some people have about possible impacts on health or the environment from
genetically modified food.
[3] Further concerns about the impact of industrial farming on
animal welfare, human health and the
environment are also having an effect on contemporary human dietary habits. This has led to the emergence of a
counterculture with a preference for
organic and
local food.
[4]
Diets for weight management
Main articles: Dieting
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. Foods intended to help produce weight loss are frequently labeled "
diet foods". These diets are often recommended in conjunction with
exercise. Recent findings strongly suggest that one's environment can have a dramatic influence in how much they unknowingly eat. These findings also suggest that a good deal of weight can be easily or "mindlessly lost" by making small changes in our environment that enable us to eat less and enjoy it more.
[5]
Dietary health
Imbalances between the consumed fuels and expended energy results in either starvation or excessive reserves of
organ tissue, known as body fat.
[6] Poor intake of various vitamins and minerals can lead to
diseases which can have far-reaching effects on health. For instance, 30% of the world's population either has, or is at risk for developing,
Iodine deficiency.
[7] It is estimated that at least 3 million children are blind due to
vitamin A deficiency.
[8] Vitamin C deficiency results in
scurvy.
[9] Calcium,
Vitamin D and
Phosphorus are inter-related; the consumption of each may affect the absorption of the others.
Kwashiorkor and
marasmus are childhood disorders caused by lack of dietary
protein.
[10] Obesity, a serious problem in the western world, leads to higher chances of developing
heart disease,
diabetes, and many other diseases.
[11]
An
eating disorder is a mental disorder that interferes with normal food consumption. Eating disorders often affect people with a negative
body image. There is growing evidence that making small changes in one's environment is showing to gradually improve such disorders and return people to a more healthy pattern of eating.
[5]
Dietary Absorption
An implied assuption into diet consumption, is the body's ability to properly absorb the diet consumed. There are many problems that develop due to absorption disorders that should be examined.
Diet table
Notes
1. Eat Not This Flesh: Food Avoidances from Prehistory to the Present, Simoons, Frederick J., , , , , ISBN 0-299-14250-7
2. Healthy Eating Every Day, , Ruth Ann, Carpenter, Human Kinetics, , ISBN 0-7360-5186-4
3. The Gmo Handbook: Genetically Modified Animals, Microbes, and Plants in Biotechnology, , Sarad R., Parekh, Humana Press, , ISBN 1-58829-307-6
4. Sustainable Planet: Roadmaps for the Twenty-First Century, , Juliet, Schor, Beacon Press, , ISBN 0-8070-0455-3
5. Brian Wansink (2006), '', New York: Bantam-Dell.
6. Endurance Exercise and Adipose Tissue, , Barbara J., Nicklas, CRC Press, , ISBN 0-8493-0460-1
7. International Public Health: Disease, Programs, Systems, and Policies, , Michael H., Merson, Jones and Bartlett Publishers, , ISBN
8. ''ibid'', pp. 231.
9. ''ibid'', pp. 464.
10. ''ibid'', pp. 224.
11. ''ibid'', pp. 266-268.
12. Brian Wansink (2006), '', New York: Bantam-Dell.
See also
★
Nutrition (for issues relating diet and health)
★
★
Dietary supplements
★
Functional food
★
Food faddism
★
Slow Food
★
Life extension
★
List of diets
★
American Dietetic Association
External links
★
World Health Organization site on diet and physical activity
★
Diet, Nutrition and the prevention of chronic diseases by a Joint
WHO/
FAO Expert consultation (2003)
★
U.S. government diet recommendations
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