In nutrition, 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. The word diet often implies the
use of specific intake of nutrition for health or weight-management reasons.
Although humans are omnivores, each culture and each person holds some food preferences
or some food taboos.
This may be due to personal tastes or ethical reasons.
Individual dietary choices may be more or less healthy. Proper nutrition
requires ingestion and absorption of fiber, vitamins, minerals, and food energy
in the form of carbohydrates, proteins, vegetable oils, and fats. Dietary
habits and choices play a significant role in the quality of life, health and
longevity. It can define cultures and play a role in religion.
