Essential Information & explanations, latest texts & monographs on Food.


South Beach Diet Good Fats/Good Carbs Guide: The Complete and Easy Reference for All Your Favorite Foods by Arthur Agatston

The Maker's Diet: The 40 Day Health Experience That Will Change Your Life Forever by Jordan S. Rubin

The Ultimate Weight Solution Food Guide by Phil McGraw

Fast Food Nation: The Dark Side of the All-American Meal by Eric Schlosser

SuperFoods Rx : Fourteen Foods That Will Change Your Life by Steven G. Pratt

Super Baby Food by Ruth Yaron

The Doctor's Pocket Calorie, Fat & Carbohydrate Counter 2004: Plus 170 Fast-Food Chains & Restaurants by Allan Borushek

Dr. Atkins' New Carbohydrate Gram Counter by Robert C. Atkins

The Complete Book of Food Counts - 6th Edition by Corinne T. Netzer

Prescription for Nutritional Healing: A Practical A-Z Reference to Drug-Free Remedies Using Vitamins, Minerals, Herbs, and Food Supplements (Prescript by Phyllis Balch

The New Food Lover's Companion: Comprehensive Definitions of Nearly 6000 Food, Drink, and Culinary Terms (Barron's Cooking Guide) by Sharon Tyler Herbst

Juice Fasting and Detoxification: Use the Healing Power of Fresh Juice to Feel Young and Look Great: The Fastest Way to Restore Your Health by Steve Meyerowitz

Getting Thin and Loving Food : 200 Easy Recipes to Take You Where You Want to Be by Kathleen Daelemans

I'm Just Here for the Food: Food + Heat = Cooking by Alton Brown

The Fat Fallacy : The French Diet Secrets to Permanent Weight Loss by Will Clower


Food

Food from plant sources Food is an object eaten or drunk by living things. The term food also includes liquid drinks. Food is the main source of energy and/or nutrition and is usually of animal or plant origin. The study of food is called food science. In English, the term is sometimes used metaphorically, as in food for thought. Table of contents showTocToggle("show","hide") 1 Legal definition of food 2 Human eating habits 2.1 Historical development 2.2 Meals 2.2.1 Cultural influences 2.2.2 Preparation 3 Food and health 3.1 Food safety 4 Food production or acquisition 4.1 Basic foods 5 Food manufacture 5.1 Types of manufactured food 6 Nutrients in food 7 See also 8 External links Legal definition of food Western food law recognises four categories of object as food:
  • any substance or product, whether processed, partially processed or unprocessed, intended to be, or reasonably expected to be ingested by humans whether of nutritional value or not;
  • water and other drinks;
  • chewing gum;
  • articles and substances used as ingredients or components in the preparation of food.
Human eating habits Historical development Humans are omnivorous animals that can consume both plant and animal product. We changed from gatherers to hunter gatherers. After the experience of the Ice Age it is probable that humans wanted to create some feeling of security by controlling what plants were growing and which animals were available. This led to agriculture, which has continually improved and altered the way in which food is obtained. Meals A selection of different complementary foods eaten together comprise a meal. People often choose to eat meals together with other family members or friends and this is seen as an important social occasion. Food eaten in smaller quantities between meals is regarded as snack food. Cultural influences The number of meals in a day, their size, composition, when and how they are eaten is greatly dependent on cultural traditions. Meals also plays an important role in the celebration of many key cultural and religious festivals. See also: Eucharist, Fasting, I-tal, Kashrut, Muslim dietary laws, Potluck and Totemism. Preparation Food and health Dietary habits play a significant role in the health and mortality of all humans. Contemporary changes to work, family and exercise patterns, together with concerns about the effect of nutrition and obesity on human health and mortality are having an effect on traditional eating habits. There are also a range of food issues that affect the health of some people, including:
  • Eating disorders are a group of mental disorders that interfere with normal food consumption. They often affect people with a negative body image;
  • Food deprivation leads to malnutrition and ultimately starvation. This is often connected with famine, which involves the absence of food in entrie communities. This can have a devastaing and widespread effect on human health and mortality. Food deprivation is regarded as a deficiet need in Maslow's_hierarchy_of_needs.
  • Malnutrition can also be triggered by the lack of key nutrients, for example insufficient and extended vitamin C deprivation results in scurvy
  • Kwashiorkor and marasmus are childhood disorders caused by lack of dietary protein;
  • Certain foods contain allergens which can safely be consumed by the majority by people. However these can trigger severe illness in small proportion of susceptible people. Rarely this can trigger anaphylaxis which can be fatal.
See also: Food safety Foodborne illness or food poisoning, is caused by bacteria, toxins, viruses and prions. Food poisoning has been recognised as a disease of man since as early as Hippocrates. Murder by food poisoning was used during the Roman Empire. In the Middle Ages all Royal Courts had food tasters. The sale of rancid, contaminated or adulterated food was commonplace until introduction of hygiene and vermin controls in the 19th century. Discovery of techniques for killing bacteria using heat and other microbiological by scientists such as Louis Pasteur contributed to the modern standards that we enjoy today. This was further underpinned by the work of Justus von Liebig whose work led to the development of modern food preservation methods. More recent comprehensive understanding of the causes of food-borne-illnesses and techniques for their elimination has led to the development of commercial systems such as HACCP, that identify and can eliminate all possible risks if properly implemented. Food production or acquisition Food for humans is mostly obtained through farming, ranching, and fishing, with hunting, foraging and other methods of subsistence locally important for some populations, but very minor for most. In the modern era, in developed nations, food supply is increasingly dependent upon factory farming techniques. Food for livestock is known as fodder and traditionally comprises hay or grain. Basic foods Many people forgo food from animal sources to varying degrees; see vegetarianism, veganism, fructarianism , living foods diet, and raw foodism. Food manufacture Types of manufactured food Nutrients in food Knowledge about the nutritional components, and the interactions of these components in human metabolism for an ideal diet is an expanding area of knowledge. See also External links
The above article is adapted from from Wikipedia All Wikipedia article text is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License

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Note again ... some material here is adapted from from Wikipedia All Wikipedia article text is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License

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