Portal:Nutrition

Introduction

An Amblypodia anita (purple leaf blue butterfly) gathering nutrients from guano

Nutrition is the biochemical and physiological process by which an organism uses food to support its life. It provides organisms with nutrients, which can be metabolized to create energy and chemical structures. Failure to obtain the required amount of nutrients causes malnutrition. Nutritional science is the study of nutrition, though it typically emphasizes human nutrition.

The type of organism determines what nutrients it needs and how it obtains them. Organisms obtain nutrients by consuming organic matter, consuming inorganic matter, absorbing light, or some combination of these. Some can produce nutrients internally by consuming basic elements, while some must consume other organisms to obtain pre-existing nutrients. All forms of life require carbon, energy, and water as well as various other molecules. Animals require complex nutrients such as carbohydrates, lipids, and proteins, obtaining them by consuming other organisms. Humans have developed agriculture and cooking to replace foraging and advance human nutrition. Plants acquire nutrients through the soil and the atmosphere. Fungi absorb nutrients around them by breaking them down and absorbing them through the mycelium. (Full article...)

Selected healthy diet articles

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  The MyPlate food guide icon

  
  
  MyPlate is the current nutrition guide published by the United States Department of Agriculture's Center for Nutrition Policy and Promotion, and serves as a recommendation based on the Dietary Guidelines for Americans. It replaced the USDA's MyPyramid guide on June 2, 2011, ending 19 years of USDA food pyramid diagrams. MyPlate is displayed on food packaging and used in nutrition education in the United States. The graphic depicts a place setting with a plate and glass divided into five food groups that are recommended parts of a healthy diet. This dietary recommendation combines an organized amount of fruits, vegetables, grains, protein, and dairy. It is designed as a guideline for Americans to base their plate around in order to make educated food choices. ChooseMyPlate.gov shows individuals the variety of these five subgroups based on their activity levels and personal characteristics. (Full article...)
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  The Dietary Guidelines for Americans (DGA) provide nutritional advice for Americans who are healthy or who are at risk for chronic disease but do not currently have chronic disease. The Guidelines are published every five years by the US Department of Agriculture, together with the US Department of Health and Human Services. Notably, the most recent ninth edition for 2020–25 includes dietary guidelines for children from birth to 23 months. In addition to the Dietary Guidelines per se, there are additional tools for assessing diet and nutrition, including the Healthy Eating Index (HEI), which can be used to assess the quality of a given selection of foods in the context of the Dietary Guidelines. Also provided are additional explanations regarding customization of the Guidelines to individual eating preferences, application of the Guidelines during pregnancy and infancy, the USDA Nutrition Evidence Systematic Review, information about the Nutrition Communicators Network and the MyPlate initiative, information from the National Academies about redesigning the process by which the Dietary Guidelines for Americans are created, and information about dietary guidelines from other nations.
  
  The nominal purpose of the Dietary Guidelines for Americans is to help health professionals and policymakers to advise Americans about healthy choices for their diet. In formulating the Dietary Guidelines for 2020–2025, the US Federal government rejected the advice of the expert scientific panel that the guidelines set new low targets for consumption of sugar and alcoholic beverages. (Full article...)
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  Canada's Food Guide (French: Guide alimentaire canadien) is a nutrition guide produced by Health Canada. In 2007, it was reported to be the second most requested Canadian government publication, behind the Income Tax Forms. The Health Canada website states: "Food guides are basic education tools that are designed to help people follow a healthy diet." (Full article...)
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  This advertisement suggests a healthy diet helps to prevent cancer.

  
  Dietary factors are recognized as having a significant effect on the risk of cancers, with different dietary elements both increasing and reducing risk. Diet and obesity may be related to up to 30–35% of cancer deaths, while physical inactivity appears to be related to 7% risk of cancer occurrence.
  
  While many dietary recommendations have been proposed to reduce the risk of cancer, few have significant supporting scientific evidence. Obesity and drinking alcohol have been correlated with the incidence and progression of some cancers. Lowering the consumption of sweetened beverages is recommended as a measure to address obesity.
  
  Some specific foods are linked to specific cancers. There is strong evidence that processed meat and red meat intake increases risk of colorectal cancer. Aflatoxin B₁, a frequent food contaminant, increases risk of liver cancer, while drinking coffee is associated with a reduced risk. Betel nut chewing causes oral cancer. Stomach cancer is more common in Japan due to its high-salt diet. Immigrant communities tend to develop the risk of their new country, often within one generation, suggesting a substantial link between diet and cancer. (Full article...)
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  A simplified chart of the original Eatwell Plate

  
  
  The Eatwell Guide is a pictorial summary of the main food groups and their recommended proportions for a healthy diet. It is the method for illustrating dietary advice by the Public Health England, issued officially by the Government of the United Kingdom.
  
  The Eatwell Guide was previously known as the Eatwell Plate and as The Balance of Good Health. The Eatwell Plate was superseded by the Eatwell Guide published on 17 March 2016. (Full article...)
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  Astronaut Thomas Reiter during Expedition 14 drinking water on the International Space Station

  
  A daily intake of water is required for the normal physiological functioning of the human body. The USDA recommends a daily intake of total water: not necessarily by drinking but by consumption of water contained in other beverages and foods. The recommended intake is 3.7 liters (appx. 1 gallon) per day for an adult male, and 2.7 liters (appx. 0.75 gallon) for an adult female.
  
  Other sources, however, claim that a high intake of fresh drinking water, separate and distinct from other sources of moisture, is necessary for good health – eight servings per day of eight fluid ounces (1.8 liters, or 0.5 gallon) is the amount recommended by many nutritionists, although there is no scientific evidence supporting this recommendation.
  
  Evidence-based hydration experts say that the amount of drinking water needed depends on ambient temperature, activity level, body size, and sweat rate. Research shows drinking when thirsty will maintain hydration to within about 2% of the needed level. Drinking beyond thirst might be beneficial for people who need to perform tasks that require intense concentration, and those with kidney disease, kidney stones, urinary tract infections, and people with a weak sense of thirst (which may include more older people). (Full article...)
• 
  Dieting is the practice of eating food in a regulated way to decrease, maintain, or increase body weight, or to prevent and treat diseases such as diabetes and obesity. As weight loss depends on calorie intake, different kinds of calorie-reduced diets, such as those emphasising particular macronutrients (low-fat, low-carbohydrate, etc.), have been shown to be no more effective than one another. As weight regain is common, diet success is best predicted by long-term adherence. Regardless, the outcome of a diet can vary widely depending on the individual.
  
  The first popular diet was "Banting", named after William Banting. In his 1863 pamphlet, Letter on Corpulence, Addressed to the Public, he outlined the details of a particular low-carbohydrate, low-calorie diet that led to his own dramatic weight loss.
  
  Some guidelines recommend dieting to lose weight for people with weight-related health problems, but not for otherwise healthy people. One survey found that almost half of all American adults attempt to lose weight through dieting, including 66.7% of obese adults and 26.5% of normal weight or underweight adults. Dieters who are overweight (but not obese), who are normal weight, or who are underweight may have an increased mortality rate as a result of dieting. (Full article...)
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  Some healthy foods including beans, grains, cauliflower, cantaloupe, pasta, bread, orange, turkey, fish, carrots, turnips, zucchini, snowpeas, string beans, radishes, asparagus, summer squash, lean beef, tomatoes, and potatoes

  
  A healthy diet is a diet that maintains or improves overall health. A healthy diet provides the body with essential nutrition: fluid, macronutrients such as protein, micronutrients such as vitamins, and adequate fibre and food energy.
  
  A healthy diet may contain fruits, vegetables, and whole grains, and may include little to no ultra-processed foods or sweetened beverages. The requirements for a healthy diet can be met from a variety of plant-based and animal-based foods, although additional sources of vitamin B12 are needed for those following a vegan diet. Various nutrition guides are published by medical and governmental institutions to educate individuals on what they should be eating to be healthy. Nutrition facts labels are also mandatory in some countries to allow consumers to choose between foods based on the components relevant to health. (Full article...)
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  A healthy eating pyramid

  
  The Healthy Eating Pyramid (alternately, Healthy Eating Plate) is a nutrition guide developed by the Harvard School of Public Health, suggesting quantities of each food category that a human should eat each day. The healthy eating pyramid is intended to provide a more sound eating guide than the widespread food guide pyramid created by the USDA.
  
  The new pyramid aims to include more recent research in dietary health not present in the USDA's 1992 guide. The original USDA pyramid has been criticized for not differentiating between refined grains and whole grains, between saturated fats and unsaturated fats, and for not placing enough emphasis on exercise and weight control. (Full article...)

Food groups

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  Vegetables in a market in the Philippines

  
  
  Vegetables are parts of plants that are consumed by humans or other animals as food. The original meaning is still commonly used and is applied to plants collectively to refer to all edible plant matter, including the flowers, fruits, stems, leaves, roots, and seeds. An alternative definition of the term is applied somewhat arbitrarily, often by culinary and cultural tradition. It may exclude foods derived from some plants that are fruits, flowers, nuts, and cereal grains, but include savoury fruits such as tomatoes and courgettes, flowers such as broccoli, and seeds such as pulses.
  
  Originally, vegetables were collected from the wild by hunter-gatherers and entered cultivation in several parts of the world, probably during the period 10,000 BC to 7,000 BC, when a new agricultural way of life developed. At first, plants that grew locally were cultivated, but as time went on, trade brought common and exotic crops from elsewhere to add to domestic types. Nowadays, most vegetables are grown all over the world as climate permits, and crops may be cultivated in protected environments in less suitable locations. China is the largest producer of vegetables, and global trade in agricultural products allows consumers to purchase vegetables grown in faraway countries. The scale of production varies from subsistence farmers supplying the needs of their family for food, to agribusinesses with vast acreages of single-product crops. Depending on the type of vegetable concerned, harvesting the crop is followed by grading, storing, processing, and marketing.
  
  Vegetables can be eaten either raw or cooked and play an important role in human nutrition, being mostly low in fat and carbohydrates, but high in vitamins, minerals and dietary fiber. Many nutritionists encourage people to consume plenty of fruit and vegetables, five or more portions a day often being recommended. (Full article...)
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  Drinking water that is supplied through a tap (tap water).

  
  
  
  Drinking water or potable water is water that is safe for ingestion, either when drunk directly in liquid form or consumed indirectly through food preparation. It is often (but not always) supplied through taps, in which case it is also called tap water. Typically in developed countries, tap water meets drinking water quality standards, even though only a small proportion is actually consumed or used in food preparation. Other typical uses for tap water include washing, toilets, and irrigation. Greywater may also be used for toilets or irrigation. Its use for irrigation however may be associated with risks.
  
  The amount of drinking water required to maintain good health varies, and depends on physical activity level, age, health-related issues, and environmental conditions. For those who work in a hot climate, up to 16 litres (4.2 US gal) a day may be required.
  
  
  Globally, by 2015, 89% of people had access to water from a source that is suitable for drinking – called improved water sources. In sub-Saharan Africa, access to potable water ranged from 40% to 80% of the population. Nearly 4.2 billion people worldwide had access to tap water, while another 2.4 billion had access to wells or public taps. The World Health Organization considers access to safe drinking-water a basic human right. (Full article...)
• 

  

  This Krokan is a traditional Swedish baker's confection.

  
  
  Confectionery is the art of making confections, which are food items that are rich in sugar and carbohydrates. Exact definitions are difficult. In general, however, confectionery is divided into two broad and somewhat overlapping categories: bakers' confections and sugar confections. The occupation of confectioner encompasses the categories of cooking performed by both the French patissier (pastry chef) and the confiseur (sugar worker).
  
  Bakers' confectionery, also called flour confections, includes principally sweet pastries, cakes, and similar baked goods. Baker's confectionery excludes everyday breads, and thus is a subset of products produced by a baker.
  
  Sugar confectionery includes candies (also called sweets, short for sweetmeats, in many English-speaking countries), candied nuts, chocolates, chewing gum, bubble gum, pastillage, and other confections that are made primarily of sugar. In some cases, chocolate confections (confections made of chocolate) are treated as a separate category, as are sugar-free versions of sugar confections. The words candy (Canada & US), sweets (UK, Ireland, and others), and lollies (Australia and New Zealand) are common words for some of the most popular varieties of sugar confectionery. (Full article...)
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  A selection of uncooked red meat, pork and poultry, including beef, chicken, bacon and pork chops

  
  
  Meat is animal tissue, often muscle, that is eaten as food. Humans have hunted and farmed other animals for meat since prehistory. The Neolithic Revolution allowed the domestication of animals, including chickens, sheep, goats, pigs, horses, and cattle, starting around 11,000 years ago. Since then, selective breeding has enabled farmers to produce meat with the qualities desired by producers and consumers.
  
  Meat is mainly composed of water, protein, and fat. Its quality is affected by many factors, including the genetics and nutritional status of the animal involved. It is edible raw, but is normally eaten cooked, such as by stewing or roasting, or processed, such as by smoking or salting. Bacteria and fungi decompose and spoil unprocessed meat within hours or days.
  
  The consumption of meat, especially red and processed meat, causes health effects including increased risks of cancer, coronary heart disease, and diabetes. Meat production is a major contributor to environmental issues including global warming, pollution, and biodiversity loss, at every scale from local to global. (Full article...)
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  Various fruits arranged at a stall at the Municipal Market of São Paulo

  
  In botany, a fruit is the seed-bearing structure in flowering plants that is formed from the ovary after flowering (see Fruit anatomy).
  
  Fruits are the means by which flowering plants (also known as angiosperms) disseminate their seeds. Edible fruits in particular have long propagated using the movements of humans and other animals in a symbiotic relationship that is the means for seed dispersal for the one group and nutrition for the other; humans and many other animals have become dependent on fruits as a source of food. Consequently, fruits account for a substantial fraction of the world's agricultural output, and some (such as the apple and the pomegranate) have acquired extensive cultural and symbolic meanings.
  
  In common language usage, fruit normally means the seed-associated fleshy structures (or produce) of plants that typically are sweet or sour and edible in the raw state, such as apples, bananas, grapes, lemons, oranges, and strawberries. In botanical usage, the term fruit also includes many structures that are not commonly called 'fruits' in everyday language, such as nuts, bean pods, corn kernels, tomatoes, and wheat grains. (Full article...)
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  Various food grains at a market in India.

  
  A grain is a small, hard, dry fruit (caryopsis) – with or without an attached hull layer – harvested for human or animal consumption. A grain crop is a grain-producing plant. The two main types of commercial grain crops are cereals and legumes.
  
  After being harvested, dry grains are more durable than other staple foods, such as starchy fruits (plantains, breadfruit, etc.) and tubers (sweet potatoes, cassava, and more). This durability has made grains well suited to industrial agriculture, since they can be mechanically harvested, transported by rail or ship, stored for long periods in silos, and milled for flour or pressed for oil. Thus, the grain market is a major global commodity market that includes crops such as maize, rice, soybeans, wheat and other grains. (Full article...)

Did you know...

• ... that George Cross recipient Bill Madden died as result of malnutrition and ill-treatment by his Chinese captors while a prisoner of war?
• ... that Lavinia Valbonesi, the first lady–designate of Ecuador, is a nutritionist who owns a fitness center in Tampa, Florida, and a healthy-dining location in Guayaquil?
• ... that an investigation found that most Mexican nutrition science students could not interpret a nutritional front-of-package labeling system correctly?
• ... that consuming the vitamin riboflavin in large amounts will cause urine to have a bright yellow color?
• ... that vitamin A deficiency is the leading cause of preventable childhood blindness despite existing prevention programs?
• ... that RNA, DNA, and vitamins B₁ and B₁₂ are all made from AIR?

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Selected images

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  Sanitarium products for sale (from Vegetarianism)
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  Pumpkins (from List of vegetables)
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  A bonobo fishing for termites with a prepared stick (from Nutrition)
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  Iceberg lettuce field in northern Santa Barbara County. (from List of vegetables)
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  Calabaza flowers (from List of vegetables)
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  A fruit stall in Barcelona (from Vegetarianism)
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  Acorn noodle soup (from Vegetarianism)
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  Simplified view of cellular metabolism (from Nutrition)
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  Caulerpa is a genus of edible seaweed. (from List of vegetables)
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  The food choices of Jains are based on the value of Ahimsa (non-violence). (from Vegetarianism)
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  Sign promoting vegetarianism at Key Monastery, Spiti, India (from Vegetarianism)
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  Labeling is mandatory in India to distinguish vegetarian products (green) from non-vegetarian products (brown). (from Vegetarianism)
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  Varieties of soybeans are used for many purposes. (from List of vegetables)
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  A vegetarian hamburger with potato slices (from Vegetarianism)
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  The potato is one of the world's staple foods. (from List of vegetables)
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  Parshwanatha founded Jain vegetarianism in the 9th century BCE (from Vegetarianism)
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  Carrots come in a variety of shapes, sizes and colors. (from List of vegetables)
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  Spinach in flower (from List of vegetables)
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  Jack Drummond's single-paragraph article in 1920 which provided structure and nomenclature used today for vitamins (from Vitamin)
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  "Common bean", "kidney bean", "haricot bean", "pinto bean", "navy bean", and "green bean" are all varieties of the species Phaseolus vulgaris. (from List of vegetables)
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  Garlic bulbs and individual cloves, one peeled. (from List of vegetables)
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  Schematic of photosynthesis in plants. The carbohydrates produced are stored in or used by the plant. (from Nutrition)
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  A variety of vegan and vegetarian deli foods (from Vegetarianism)
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  Countries' positions on vegetarian diets within their food-based dietary guidelines:

    Supporters

    Informers

    Uninformed

    Critics

    No guidelines

    Guideline not analysed

  (from Vegetarianism)
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  Garden Cress (from List of vegetables)
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  Emperor Tenmu began bans on killing and eating meat in 675 CE in Japan. (from Vegetarianism)
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  A kingfisher eating a tadpole near the Ariège river, France (from Nutrition)
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  An Amblypodia anita (purple leaf blue butterfly) gathering nutrients from guano (from Nutrition)
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  At the Sikh langar, all people eat a vegetarian meal as equals. (from Vegetarianism)
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  Calcium combined with vitamin D (as calciferol) supplement tablets with fillers. (from Vitamin)
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  Miner's lettuce (from List of vegetables)

Selected micronutrients

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Nutrition

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Alcohol and health

Animal nutrition

Nutritional deficiencies

Dehydration

Dietetics

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Lithium in biology

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Nutritional physiology

Plant nutrition

Prebiotics (nutrition)

Probiotics

Thirst

Subtopics

Index of nutrition
Description	Vitamins metabolism Cofactors Metal metabolism Fats metabolism intermediates lipoproteins Sugars Glycolysis enzymes Glycogenesis and glycogenolysis intermediates Fructose and galactose intermediates
Disease	Vitamins Carbohydrate Lipid storage Metals Other Tests
Treatment	Drugs obesity lipid-modifying Vitamins Mineral supplements

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