Varieties of Foods and Nutrition

Food is any material eaten to supply nutrition to the organisms. Most human beings, animals and fungi consume food in order to meet the nutritional needs for their daily activities. Food is generally of animal, plant or fungi origin, and has all necessary nutrients, including vitamins, proteins, carbohydrates, fats and minerals. The nutritional value of a food is determined by its diet quality (i.e. nutritional value of cooked food depends on its heat), ingredients and processing methods, and nutrients which are not naturally present in the food.

Generally, human beings and most animals have five senses: taste, smell, sight, touch, and taste. All these senses are related with emotions, which motivate people to eat certain foods. Fishes and meat are considered to be highly appetizing and people usually eat it in large quantities. Plants are eaten to supply carbohydrates and other energy requirements.

Generally, humans are carnivores, meaning that they eat meat, fish, shellfish and insects. There are three food groups; the dietary group which mainly consist of cereals, pulses, nuts, and legumes; the vitamin and mineral group consisting of vegetables, fruits, seeds, and nuts; and the carbohydrates group, which include bread, cereals, potatoes and cereals, rice and other grains. In order to obtain a complete listing of the different foods, you should try to classify foods on the basis of their type, i.e. according to where they are consumed, like vegetables and fruits are consumed raw, whereas meats are cooked. The list of food is very long and it may be confusing at times.