Food is any material consumed in order to provide nutrition to an organism. Food is generally of animal, plant or microbial origin, and typically contains various necessary nutrients, including proteins, carbohydrates, vitamins, or iron, and is consumed in order to supply energy to the body that it needs to survive. In most cases, food is also used as a fuel or to produce chemical compounds that add to the body’s stores of energy.
Food can be classified according to its types: animal, plant or microbial. Animal food can be classified according to what it consists of: milk, meat, eggs, fish and other marine animals; vegetables, fruits, nuts and legumes; whole grains that are processed; and alcoholic beverages, which include beer, ale, whiskey and lager. Plant food consists of all living organisms that contain carbohydrates, inorganic or organic compounds, sugars or other complex carbohydrates.
Plants contain many substances: that are vital for their existence. Some of the most important food groups are carbohydrates, proteins, vegetables, fruits and nuts. Plants contain carbohydrates by means of the food they contain, which may be in the form of sugars, starch or both, and can be grouped according to whether they are plant sources, like fruits and vegetables, or animal sources, like eggs, meat and dairy products.
Some plants even contain two or more substances altogether: vitamins, minerals and antioxidants. To eat well, one has to learn what kinds of food are good for them and what kinds of food are bad. To be healthy, all foods should provide energy and promote a healthy balanced diet. Some foods that are considered healthy are vegetables and fruits, because they are rich in vitamins and minerals, which are good for the body, and because they are easy to prepare (in the case of a salad, for example). Other healthy food groups are lean meats and fish and other seafood; grain products, because they contain carbohydrates and can be cooked into delicious dishes; nuts, which are another source of healthy fats; and legumes and whole-grains. Some people prefer to eat dairy products as a special treat when they are feeling particularly low, and have on a special diet, such as lactose-intolerant people. The variety of food choices available to you can make picking out a dish a breeze.
But although healthy food is good for the body: not everyone chooses to eat it. Some people are lactose intolerant, which means that when milk, or any kind of milk-based product is consumed, they get the disease called lactose intolerance. Lactose intolerance is basically a condition where the intestines are not able to take in enough lactose, a sugar found in milk, because of a problem with the villi in the small intestines. This results in excessive gas and stomach cramps. People who are lactose intolerant need to eat very carefully, because the symptoms are often not recognizable as the effects of lactose intolerance, because of its mild nature. They may present with bloating and diarrhea as simple symptoms.
People who choose to go through life: without having a proper diet of any kind would eventually become unhealthy. Because our diets are usually deficient in both vitamins and minerals, the lack of those elements can lead to an imbalanced body, where nutrients that the body needs are either not available or not produced enough. Over time this can lead to a variety of medical problems, including weak bones and muscles, fragile blood vessels, a lack of energy and concentration, and a higher risk of illness and disease.
Even though all the foods: we eat can be categorized as being both good and bad, there are certain groups of food that are much more likely to be nutritious than others. Those foods that fall into four different groups include vegetables, fruits, nuts, and meat. Vegetables, fruits, and nuts are considered to be the “good” fat, protein, and carbohydrates.
In addition, some plant foods are high in fiber, like whole-wheat and bran cereals, while others are high in fat and salt.
