Food and Drink – What Is Them?

Food and drink are the two most important parts of the human diet. These two together make up almost 70% of the average person’s daily intake. Food is one of the oldest sources of nourishment and is used both in the physiological healing process and as a source of pleasure. Through history people have developed a wide range of ways to prepare food, from wild to cultivated plants. Some of the earliest evidence of man eating dates back to the Paleolithic era when people were still hunting and gathering from their natural supplies of food. The development of agriculture, with its practices of crop rotation, farming, plowing, harvesting, and sowing led to the development of more sophisticated animal husbandry which brought forth the domestication of animals, which we use today.

A carbohydrate is any material, regardless of whether complex or simple in nature, that can be broken down into sugars by an enzyme. Simple carbohydrates are those found in fruits, vegetables, starches, breads and pastas, while complex carbohydrates are those found in legumes, grains, vegetables, meats, and even sugar substitute products. Other important categories of food and drink include alcoholic beverages such as beer, wine, cider, distilled spirits, port or liqueurs, dairy products such as cheese, ice cream, sherbet, orange juice, and sherbet lecithin, sugar substitutes such as glucose, sucrose, lactose, sucrose, and fructose, grain products including flour, breads and cereals, legumes such as kidney beans, peanuts, spinach, and other fresh vegetables, dairy products including milk and yogurt, sugar, and various health products including salt. Sports drink can also be classified as a type of food and drink, but because it is typically used in very intense exercise routines such as running and weightlifting, the term is often reserved for this term alone.

Food and drink can also be classified according to where they are consumed and how they are consumed. For example, food and drink that are eaten straight out of the fridge, such as milk and yoghurt, are called soft drinks, whereas those that are consumed following a meal or snack are classed as snacks, like nuts or cheese. Healthy eating habits are the key to living a long and disease free life, so it’s important to eat a wide variety of healthy foods from different food groups and drink plenty of water. It’s also important to get regular physical activity to help promote healthy looking muscles.