Food is taken for granted. Every moment there is someone eating somewhere. Yet much of this eating is mindless 1 a pastime or entertainment 2
Stopping to consider what food is opens a whole world of experience. At its most basic level, food is a nutrition delivery system. Food is one of the few items needed to maintain homeostatis, that is the proper functioning of the human animal 3
Nutrition, or human feeding, is the use of food to maintain the desired condition of the body.
The calorie. Metric units of food energy.
The most difficult aspect of nutrition to regulate is the energy balance. Maintaining a body weight requires consumption of no more than the expenditure of food calories (energy). A lack of calories is the norm throughout history. Experts speculate that may have given rise to the urge to overeat when food is abundant. We have an unprecedented surplus of food and an uprecedented rise in overweight and obesity 4
Sugars are carbohydrates, meaning that they are chemical compounds composed of carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen. Sugar is the primary source of energy in the body. Simple sugars, compound 5 sugars, polysaccharides and ogliosaccharides (long-chain or high molecular weight sugars). Carbohydrates are often referred to as "carbs." Vegan diets are high in carbohydrates, especially when large amounts of fruits and white grains are consumed.