What Is Diet & Nutrition?

Does the word "diet" immediately make you think of an unpleasant weight-loss regimen?

If it did, you are probably not alone. For example, consider the use of the term "diet" in marketing food products—it usually describes foods low in calories, such as diet soda.

But there is another meaning of this word. Diet can also refer to the food and drink a person consumes daily and the mental and physical circumstances connected to eating. Nutrition involves more than simply eating a “good” diet—it is about nourishment on every level. It involves relationships with family, friends, nature (the environment), our bodies, our community, and the world.

Choices about nourishment are very much linked to other human beings and other life forms on this planet, so healthy (and unhealthy) decisions have great impact.