In nutrition, diet is the total sum of food taken by a person or an organism. The word diet means the use of certain intake of nutrition for health or weight management purposes( with both of them going hand in hand). Although, human are omnivores, each culture and each person holds some food preferences or some food taboos. This may be due to personal tastes or accepted principles. Individual dietary choices may be more or less healthy.
Complete nutrition requires ingestion and assimilation of vitamins, minerals essential amino acids from protein and essential fatty acids from fat-containing food, also food energy in the form of carbohydrate, protein and fat. Dietary habits and choices play an important role in improving the quality of life, health and increased life span.
Some cultures and religions have restrictions concerning what food are allowed in their diet. For example Judaism are allowed to take kosher foods, Islams Halal foods, Buddhists are generally vegetarian, meat eating may be allowed for Buddhists depending on the sects. In Hinduism, vegetarianism is allowed. Jains are strictly vegetarian and eating of root are not permitted.
A lot of people avoid food(diet) from animal source to a great extent( eg flexitarianism , vegetarianism, veganism, fruitarianism) f or health purposes, issues surrounding morality or reduced impact on the environment, although, some public assumptions about which diets have lower impact are known to be incorrect. Raw food is another contemporary trend. These diets may require tuning or supplementation such as vitamins to meet ordinary nutritional needs.
Hence, healthy diet help in improving or maintaining maximum health. In developed countries, affluence enables unconstrained caloric intake and possibly inappropriate food choices. Health, agencies recommend that individuals should maintain normal body weight b y consuming low calorie foods and sugary drinks, eating plant- based, limited consumption of red and processed meat, and limiting alcohol intake. The dietary guidelines for Americans is an evidence- based information source that policy makers and health professionals use to advise the general public about healthy nutrition.
Finally, diet may be chosen for weight loss or weight gain. Changing one’s dietary intake or “going on a diet” can change the energy balance and increase or decrease the a mount of fat stored by the body. Some foo d are specifically recommended in conjunction with exercises. Specific weight loss programs can be injurious while others may be beneficial and this can be coined as healthy diets. The term s “healthy diet and diet for weight management” are often related, as the two promote healthy weight management. Having a healthy diet is a way to prevent health problems, and will provide the body with the rig ht balance of vitamins, minerals, and other nutrients.
Conclusion, a healthy diet is a diet that contain the six classes of food in the right pro portions that can enhance quality health, increased life span and help in weight management.
