diet

(dī'ĭt)
n.

1. The usual food and drink of a person or animal.
2. A regulated selection of foods, as for medical reasons or cosmetic weight loss.
3. Something used, enjoyed, or provided regularly: subsisted on a diet of detective novels during his vacation.

adj.

1. Of or relating to a food regimen designed to promote weight loss in a person or an animal: the diet industry.
2. 1. Having fewer calories.
   2. Sweetened with a noncaloric sugar substitute.
3. Designed to reduce or suppress the appetite: diet pills; diet drugs.

v., -et·ed, -et·ing, -ets.

v.intr.
To eat and drink according to a regulated system, especially so as to lose weight or control a medical condition.

v.tr.
To regulate or prescribe food and drink for.

[Middle English diete, from Old French, from Latin diaeta, way of living, diet, from Greek diaita, back-formation from diaitāsthai, to live one's life, middle voice of diaitān, to treat.]

dieter di'et·er n.

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Strictly, a diet is simply the pattern of foods eaten; the normal or habitual intake of food of an individual or population. Commonly used to mean a modified pattern of food consumption for some special purpose, e.g. a slimming, therapeutic, or low-salt diet (see salt-free diets) and sometimes named for the person who originated it.

The word diet comes from the Greek word ‘diaita’, used in the past to refer to a person's whole mode of life. Today, the term diet is usually restricted to people's eating and drinking habits: their daily pattern of eating, the quality and quantity of their food, and the frequency of eating. To many people the word means a prescribed allowance or selection of food for some specific purpose. In this sense, a diet may be used to control weight or for health reasons. Weight control diets may be used to maintain a constant weight, to gain weight, or to lose weight. Most people, however, think of diets as restrictive and aimed at weight loss. Around 15 million people in the UK are on some kind of weight-loss diet. These diets are rarely successful. One sports nutritionist estimated that 95 per cent of those who go on a strict diet to lose weight quickly not only regain the weight within a year, but also regain proportionately more fat than muscle. See also weight-loss maintenance.

A diet is a pattern of food consumption which is followed by a population or an individual. The diets of populations are affected by local factors including geography, climate, food availability, culture, and religion, whereas the diets of individuals within populations are further influenced by factors such as socio-economic status, personal preference, and health considerations. To maintain life, all diets must supply the essential amounts of energy, protein, essential fatty acids, vitamins, and minerals, but these needs can be met by a wide variety of diets, each of which will be sufficient for growth, survival, and reproduction but may also have obvious or subtle effects on the long-term state of health.

Traditional diets

The traditional diets of populations around the world vary greatly. The diet of Inuit hunters in the Arctic is composed almost entirely of meat and fish, but most hunter-gatherers in other parts of the world obtain more food from gathering plants than from hunting animals. Pastoralists keep different animals according to where they live, varying from reindeer in the north to camels in hot arid areas, but they always have a diet rich in animal foods such as milk, meat, and blood. Peasant agriculturalists grow different staple crops according to local conditions, but usually have diets composed largely of plant foods with only small amounts of animal foods.

The traditional diets of populations have been followed for hundreds or thousands of years and, except in times of severe food shortage, are certainly compatible with the maintenance of health sufficient for the survival and growth of infants and children, and for successful reproduction. However, traditional diets are sometimes far from optimal and may be accompanied by serious nutritional disorders, from which the people may have suffered for many generations. For example, approximately one-fifth of the population of the world is at significant risk for developing iodine deficiency disorders; pellagra was formerly common in populations subsisting largely on maize due to deficiency in the vitamin niacin and the amino acid tryptophan; and high blood pressure and stroke are common in populations with a diet high in salt.

‘Western’ diets

The diets of affluent Western populations changed very rapidly during the twentieth century. In comparison with the diets of peasant agriculturalists, Western diets are usually much higher in animal protein and fat and much lower in starch and dietary fibre, and ample food is available throughout the year. It is well known that Westernization of the diet is usually associated with increases in the rates of some diseases, such as ischaemic heart disease, large bowel cancer, and obesity, but it should also be appreciated that Westernization is generally accompanied by an increase in overall life expectancy and by decreases in the rates of some diet-related diseases such as stomach cancer, as well as decreases in the incidence of most infectious diseases.

Diets for health

Within Western populations, the word ‘diet’ is commonly used to refer to patterns of food consumption which are followed for reasons of health or for ethical or religious reasons (vegetarian and vegan diets are discussed in separate entries). A good diet is of profound importance for the maintenance of good health; nutritional deficiencies severe enough to cause obvious diseases such as scurvy and pellagra are now very rare in Western societies, but diet is a major determinant of the risk for developing many of the commonest fatal diseases, including ischaemic heart disease, stroke, and cancers of the large bowel and stomach.

The commonest type of diet followed for health reasons is one intended to cause weight loss in the treatment of overweight, and the term dieting is often assumed to refer to a weight-reduction diet. Numerous types of weight-reducing diets have been marketed. Most will cause some initial weight loss, but this is difficult to maintain because obesity is associated with the typical Western lifestyle of low physical activity and constant availability of highly palatable, energy-dense foods.

After obesity, the most common reason for requiring dietary changes is a high blood cholesterol concentration and associated ischaemic heart disease. The blood cholesterol concentration is increased by diets high in saturated fat and cholesterol. Reducing the intake of these factors causes a reduction in blood cholesterol, but most individuals find it difficult to change their diet sufficiently to have more than a small effect. Other diets followed for health reasons include low salt diets for the reduction of raised blood pressure and gluten-free diets for individuals with coeliac disease.

High-fibre diets have become popular since the work of Denis Burkitt and others in the early 1970s. Fibre is now defined as non-starch polysaccharides, and is supplied by unrefined cereals, vegetables, and fruits. Fibre has several benefits, including the prevention of constipation and probably reducing the risk for coronary heart disease and cancer of the large bowel.

The topic of diet and health is covered extensively by the media and many people are confused as to what constitutes a healthy diet. Government bodies in many countries now make dietary recommendations. In Britain, the Committee on Medical Aspects of Food Policy (COMA) reviews various aspects of the relationship of diet with health. In their recent report on nutritional aspects of cardiovascular disease, COMA made several recommendations for adults, including that total fat and saturated fat should provide no more than 35% and 10% respectively of food energy, that average salt intake should be reduced to 6 g per day, and that the consumption of vegetables, fruit, potatoes, and bread should be increased by at least 50%. These recommendations reflect a growing consensus that a healthy diet should be based on starch-rich foods such as cereals and should include generous quantities of fruit and vegetables. This type of diet is also rich in dietary fibre and many vitamins, and the emphasis is on supplying these nutrients from ordinary foods rather than from special high-fibre foods or vitamin supplements.

Future needs — more science in the choice of diets for populations and individuals

Traditional diets have evolved out of necessity, to be sufficient for life, but are often far short of ideal. Western diets have come from traditional roots but have been radically changed by affluence, developments in agriculture and food processing, advertising, fashion, etc. Most people now eat a diet determined by a mixture of tradition, availability, convenience, taste, and peer pressure. The health effects of the resulting mix are themselves mixed, with some diet-related health problems decreasing and others increasing. We already have sufficient knowledge to do much better than this, and need to introduce more science into all the components of society which affect food consumption, including agricultural policy and the education of children, caterers, and politicians. Evidence from sound scientific studies should be continually fed into society with the aim of producing improvements in the health of the population and in the optimal use of land and other resources.

— Tim Key

Bibliography

• Report of the Cardiovascular Review Group Committee on Medical Aspects of Food Policy (1994). Nutritional aspects of cardiovascular disease. HMSO, London

See also dieting; food; health foods; vegan; vegetarian; entries on the separate dietary constituents.

noun

Something fit to be eaten: aliment, bread, comestible, edible, esculent, fare, food, foodstuff, meat, nourishment, nurture, nutriment, nutrition, pabulum, pap, provender, provision (used in plural), sustenance, victual. Slang chow, eats, grub. See ingestion.

n

Definition: abstinence from food
Antonyms: binge, overindulgence

v

Definition: abstain from food
Antonyms: gorge, indulge

The Buddha's advice concerning dietary habits is addressed primarily to those who have embraced the monastic life rather than to lay society. An important principle underlying Buddhist monasticism is that monks should be dependent upon the laity for alms and should go out daily into the local community to beg for food. It is a familiar sight in the Buddhist countries of south Asia to see a line of saffron-clad monks walking soberly in single file from house to house and pausing with downcast eyes while offerings of food are placed in their bowls by the laity. After completing their round the monks return to the monastery where they must consume their food before midday. Thereafter, except in case of illness, they may take only liquids before the next day. The Buddha commended the practice of eating but once a day for its benefits in terms of overall mental and physical well-being.

As regards the type of food that may be consumed, the general principle is that monks should accept with gratitude whatever they are given and not be selective in preferring or rejecting particular dishes. In Theravāda Buddhism there is no prohibition on eating meat providing that the monk has not ‘seen, heard or suspected’ that the animal was slaughtered specifically on his behalf, thus avoiding complicity in the breaking of the First Precept (see pañca-śīla) against taking life. To understand this, one must first separate the issues of killing animals from that of eating meat. While the first is definitely demeritorious and productive of bad karma, the second may not be. The Buddha himself is said to have died after consuming pork, although the precise nature of this dish has been disputed (see sūkara-maddava). Since Buddhism is concerned primarily with the effect that moral actions have on the development of mental states and habits, it observes that actually killing an animal requires a state of mind characterized by anger, cruelty, or indifference, while simply eating meat carries no such strong signature. Thus, the Buddha did not categorically prohibit his followers from eating meat, even when it was suggested to him as a way of intensifying the religious practice of the community. Ten specific kinds of flesh, however, were thought to be inappropriate for human consumption, for instance, the flesh of elephants, tigers, and serpents. Monks and lay-people in Theravāda countries still consume meat although they may refrain from it on certain days and they also regard the occupation of butchery as being a form of wrong livelihood. Thus, early Buddhism shows what might be termed a mixed attitude: it recommends that no one make their living as a hunter or butcher, and certainly commends those who undertake a commitment to vegetarianism, but constantly asks that those who do so examine their motives and thoughts for any trace of rigid attachment to views and precepts, and does not tar those who eat meat with the same brush as those who produce the meat. As well as the Theravāda countries, this is especially true in Tibet and Mongolia, where the harsh and cold climate make the mass adoption of a vegetarian lifestyle impractical. Meat-eating was accepted in Tibetan Buddhist circles on account of the lack of vegetable produce in Tibet, and today even the Dalai Lama does not follow a wholly vegetarian diet.

The advent of Mahāyāna in India saw a movement towards the total abstention from meat-eating as this was felt to contradict a Bodhisattva's cultivation of compassion. Additionally, a number of Mahāyāna texts such as the Nirvāṇa Sūtra and the Laṇkāvatāra Sūtra are quite specific in their condemnation of meat-eating, as the tathāgata-garbha or Buddha-nature doctrines they teach imply that all living beings are embryonic Buddhas. The popularity of these texts in east Asia has resulted in almost universal vegetarianism among members of the Saṃgha. In east Asian cultures, one of the standard ways of caricaturing wayward clergy and monasteries was to accuse them of ‘eating meat and drinking wine’. China has kept to this practice very strictly, and has thus developed a very sophisticated and tasty repertoire of vegetarian cuisine, all the more surprising since the same scripture also teaches (as does the Vinaya) the avoidance of the Five Pungent Herbs (onions, garlic, scallions, leeks, and chives). The term ‘vegetarian’ is not entirely accurate in describing the ideal diet among Buddhists in east Asia, since the term implies only the avoidance of meat. Although the ideal Buddhist diet in China, Japan, Korea, and Vietnam certainly proscribes meat, the term used, chih su (‘eat vegetarian’) or su shih (‘vegetarian diet’) also indicates an avoidance of alcohol and the Five Pungent Herbs. The proscriptions on meat and alcohol are explained as fulfilling the requirements of several sets of rules, including the Five Precepts for laymen (pañca-śīla) and the Ten Novice's Precepts against killing and taking intoxicants. The rule against the Five Pungent Herbs is derived from the eighth fascicle of the Laṇkāvatāra Sūtra, which explains that these are very ‘hot’ vegetables that will act as an aphrodisiac and make practice difficult, in addition to which they make the breath foul, which drives away any potential audience one might have for preaching the Dharma, drives away protective deities, and attracts demons. Japan and Korea, while sharing this concern for vegetarianism early in their history, have in recent centuries been more tolerant of meat-eating among the clergy, while still admiring vegetarianism as an additional discipline that some may choose.

Pattern of eating. The quality, quantity, and times of the day a person eats. See also balanced diet.

The term diet refers to a person's pattern of eating and drinking. Diet is influenced by many factors, including income, culture, religion, geographic location, and lifestyle. A balanced diet contains food from several food groups and supplies the body with the energy and essential nutrients it needs (as defined by the Food Guide Pyramid and Dietary Reference Intakes).

The Food Guide Pyramid lists food categories and serving recommendations. Dietary Reference Intake values provide a range of dietary recommendations, including the Recommended Dietary Allowances (RDAs), which provide the daily intake needed to meet the needs of "nearly all healthy persons." Dietary recommendations, and how they are represented, vary around the world. Most, however, convey a common message: balance, variety, and moderation in food choices.

See also Eating habits; Dietary reference intakes; Food guide pyramid; Recommended dietary allowances.

Bibliography
Brown, Judith (2002). Nutrition through the Life Cycle. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth.

Internet Resource
United States Department of Agriculture, Food and Nutrition Center. "Food Guide Pyramid." Available from http://nal.usda.gov/fnic

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Nourishment. That which an organism ingests to provide nutrients in order to sustain its life's functions.

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The customary amount and kind of food and drink taken by an animal from day to day; more narrowly, a diet planned to meet specific requirements of the animal, including or excluding certain foods. See also winter diet.

• acid d. — diets of low alkalinity which are fed to cows to prevent milk fever. The diet in the 4 weeks preceding parturition, which is ordinarily highly alkaline, is supplemented with calcium chloride, and aluminum and magnesium sulfates, to reduce this alkalinity.
• bland d. — one that is free from any irritating or stimulating foods.
• calcium homeostatic d. — a diet aimed at maintaining normal blood levels of calcium in recently calved cows.
• calculolytic d. — formulated to aid in the dissolution of struvite uroliths. Usually provides a low intake of protein, restricts phosphorus and magnesium, and acidifies the urine. Additional salt may also be included. These have been used successfully in dogs and cats.
• deficient d. — see nutritional deficiency disease.
• drought feeding d. — see drought feeding.
• elemental d. — contains nutrients as small molecular weight compounds, i.e. proteins as amino acids or peptides, carbohydrates as oligosaccharides or monosaccharides, and fats as medium-chain triglycerides. Used in the treatment of gastrointestinal disease. Called also monomeric diet.
• elimination d. — one for diagnosing food allergy, based on the sequential omission of foods which might cause the clinical signs in the patient.
• geriatric d. — may vary in composition; generally, they are formulated to provide lower energy intake and increased digestibility.
• gluten-free d. — one without wheat, rye, barley, buckwheat, or oats or related products.
• high-calorie d., high-energy d. — one that furnishes more calories than needed for maintenance; used to increase body condition, in recovery from illness and for maintenance under stressful conditions.
• high-fiber d. — one relatively high in dietary fiber; in dogs and cats, used in the management of large and small bowel diarrhea, diabetes mellitus, constipation and obesity.
• high-protein d. — one containing large amounts of protein; used in the management of dogs and cats recovering from illness.
• home-prepared d. — one prepared in the home kitchen, in contrast with commercially prepared pet foods.
• hypoallergenic d. — one formulated to avoid suspected allergens; usually used in the management of allergic skin or bowel disease.
• liquid d. — a diet limited to liquids or to foods that can be changed to a liquid state.
• low-calorie d. — one containing fewer calories than needed to maintain weight; normally used in management of obesity in dogs and cats.
• low-fat d. — one containing limited amounts of fat; used in the management of pancreatic disease, bowel disease, and obesity in dogs and cats.
• low-fiber d. — see low-residue diet (below).
• low purine d. — in dogs and cats, generally a low-meat diet.
• low-residue d. — one with a minimum of cellulose and fiber and restriction of connective tissue found in certain cuts of meat. It is prescribed for irritations of the intestinal tract, after surgery of the large intestine, in partial intestinal obstruction, or when limited bowel movements are desirable. Called also low-fiber diet.
• low vitamin A d. — one containing low levels of vitamin A; in dog and cat diets, this would mean little or no organ meats. The only probable indication for such a diet is in the treatment of hypervitaminosis A.
• lower urinary tract disease d. — one that promotes acidification of the urine and containing restricted magnesium and phosphorus, and sometimes increased salt.
• monomeric d. — see elemental diet (above).
• phosphate-restricted d. — one containing restricted amounts of phosphorus; used in the management of chronic renal disease.
• polymeric d. — meal replacement diets; fed to animals with almost normal gastrointestinal function. Proteins, fats and carbohydrates are present in high molecular weight forms.
• sodium-restricted d. — used in management of congestive heart failure and systemic hypertension in dogs and cats.

n

1. the food and drink consumed by a given person from day to day. Not all the diet is necessarily used by the body. For this reason, diet and nutrition must be differentiated. v 2. to eat according to a plan.

See words rhyming with "diet."

This entry is from Wikipedia, the leading user-contributed encyclopedia. It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer)

Dansk (Danish)
1.
n. - diæt, kost, kostplan
v. intr. - være på diæt, spise
v. tr. - sætte på diæt

idioms:

• be on a diet    være på diæt

2.
n. - rigsdag, lovgivende forsamling, periode hvor retten er sat

Nederlands (Dutch)
dieet, rijk-/land-/ zitting(sdag), een dieet volgen, op dieet stellen

Français (French)
1.
n. - alimentation, (Méd) régime, diète
v. intr. - suivre un régime
v. tr. - mettre au régime/à la diète

idioms:

• be on a diet    être/se mettre au régime/à la diète

2.
n. - (Pol) diète

Deutsch (German)
1.
n. - Diät, Schlankheitskur, Schonkost, Kost
v. - eine Diät machen

idioms:

• be on a diet    Diät halten

2.
n. - Parlament, Reichstag

Ελληνική (Greek)
n. - δίαιτα, διαιτητική αγωγή, διαιτολόγιο, διατροφή, δίαιτα, συνέλευση
v. - υποβάλλομαι σε δίαιτα, κάνω δίαιτα

idioms:

• be on a diet    είμαι σε δίαιτα, κάνω δίαιτα

Italiano (Italian)
essere a dieta, dieta

idioms:

• be on a diet    essere a dieta

Português (Portuguese)
n. - dieta (f)
v. - fazer regime

idioms:

• be on a diet    estar de dieta

Русский (Russian)
соблюдать диету, диета, сессия

idioms:

• be on a diet    сидеть на диете

Español (Spanish)
1.
n. - dieta, régimen alimenticio, ración
v. intr. - estar a régimen o a dieta
v. tr. - régimen alimenticio, alimentar

idioms:

• be on a diet    estar a régimen o a dieta

2.
n. - asamblea legislativa

Svenska (Swedish)
n. - diet, föda, kost, församling
v. - sätta på diet, banta

中文（简体）(Chinese (Simplified))
1. 饮食, 食物, 特种饮食, 进规定的饮食, 节食, 忌食, 照规定饮食

idioms:

• be on a diet    进规定的饮食, 在减肥中

2. 议会, 国会

中文（繁體）(Chinese (Traditional))
1.
n. - 議會, 國會

2.
n. - 飲食, 食物, 特種飲食
v. intr. - 進規定的飲食, 節食, 忌食
v. tr. - 照規定飲食

idioms:

• be on a diet    進規定的飲食, 在減肥中

한국어 (Korean)
1.
n. - 음식물, 식이 요법, 정해진 식사
v. intr. - 정해진 식사를 취하다
v. tr. - 정해진 식사를 주다

idioms:

• be on a diet    정해진 식사를 취하다

2.
n. - 국회

日本語 (Japanese)
n. - 食事, 規定食, 食じ療法, ダイエット, 国会, 食品
v. - 食じ療法をする, ダイエットする

idioms:

• be on a diet    ダイエット中

العربيه (Arabic)
‏(الاسم) الطعام والشراب الذي يتناول على نحو منتظم, الحميه, طعام وشراب معين مسموح فقط تناوله لأسباب طبيه أو لتخفيف الوزن (فعل) يتناول طعام وشراب معين فقط, يتبع نظاما خاصا للتغذيه‏

עברית (Hebrew)
n. - ‮דיאטה, תפריט, תזונה, אסיפה, ועידה‬
v. intr. - ‮שמר על דיאטה‬
v. tr. - ‮ציווה דיאטה‬
n. - ‮אסיפה מחוקקת במספר מדינות (למשל יפן)‬

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