Penne with eggplant and basil in yogurt-tomato sauce

Diet food (or dietetic food) refers to any food or beverage whose recipe is altered to reduce fat, carbohydrates, and/or sugar in order to make it part of a

weight loss Weight loss, in the context of medicine, health, or physical fitness, refers to a reduction of the total body mass, by a mean loss of fluid, body fat (adipose tissue), or lean mass (namely bone mineral deposits, muscle, tendon, and other conn ...

program or diet. Such foods are usually intended to assist in weight loss or a change in body type, although

bodybuilding supplements Bodybuilding supplements are dietary supplements commonly used by those involved in bodybuilding, weightlifting, mixed martial arts, and athletics for the purpose of facilitating an increase in lean body mass. Bodybuilding supplements may contain ...

are designed to increase weight.

Terminology

In addition to ''diet'' other words or phrases are used to identify and describe these foods including ''light'', ''zero calorie'', ''low calorie'', ''low fat'', ''no fat'' and ''sugar free''. In some areas use of these terms may be regulated by law. For example, in the U.S. a product labeled as "low fat" must not contain more than 3 grams of fat per serving; and to be labeled "fat free" it must contain less than 0.5 grams of fat per serving.

Process

The process of making a diet version of a food usually requires finding an adequate low-food-energy substitute for some high-food-energy ingredient. This can be as simple as replacing some or all of the food's

sugar Sugar is the generic name for sweet-tasting, soluble carbohydrates, many of which are used in food. Simple sugars, also called monosaccharides, include glucose, fructose, and galactose. Compound sugars, also called disaccharides or double ...

with a

sugar substitute A sugar substitute is a food additive that provides a sweetness like that of sugar while containing significantly less food energy than sugar-based sweeteners, making it a zero-calorie () or low-calorie sweetener. Artificial sweeteners may be d ...

as is common with diet soft drinks such as

Coca-Cola Coca-Cola, or Coke, is a carbonated soft drink manufactured by the Coca-Cola Company. Originally marketed as a temperance drink and intended as a patent medicine, it was invented in the late 19th century by John Stith Pemberton in Atlanta ...

(for example

Diet Coke Diet Coke (also branded as Coca-Cola Light, Coca-Cola Diet or Coca-Cola Light Taste) is a sugar-free and low-calorie soft drink produced and distributed by the Coca-Cola Company. It contains artificial sweeteners instead of sugar. Unveiled on ...

). In some snacks, the food may be baked instead of fried thus reducing the food energy. In other cases, low-fat ingredients may be used as replacements. In

whole grain A whole grain is a grain of any cereal and pseudocereal that contains the endosperm, germ, and bran, in contrast to refined grains, which retain only the endosperm. As part of a general healthy diet, consumption of whole grains is associated w ...

foods, the high fiber content effectively displaces some of the starch component of the flour. Since certain kinds of fibers have no food energy, this results in a moderate energy reduction. Another process relies on the intentional addition of other reduced-food-energy ingredients, such as

resistant starch Resistant starch (RS) is starch, including its degradation products, that escapes from digestion in the small intestine of healthy individuals. Resistant starch occurs naturally in foods, but it can also be added as part of dried raw foods, or use ...

dietary fiber Dietary fiber (in British English fibre) or roughage is the portion of plant-derived food that cannot be completely broken down by human digestive enzymes. Dietary fibers are diverse in chemical composition, and can be grouped generally by the ...

, to replace part of the flour and achieve a more significant energy reduction.

Example of low-fat foods

The low-fat foods are those that have 30% of their calories or less from fats. So, if a food contains fewer than 3 gram of fat per 100 calories, it is a low fat food. Examples of cereals, grain, and pasta products are corn or whole wheat tortillas, oatmeal, backed cracker, whole grain versions of noodles, and pita bread. Examples of protein sources are beans, lentils, tofu, egg white, tuna, and peas. On the other hand, polysaturated such as omega 3 and omega 6 fatty acids can be beneficial to the body. Nutritious foods are avocado, almond, salmon, cashews, seeds, and walnuts.

Controversy

In diet foods which replace the sugar with lower-food-energy substitutes, there is some controversy based around the possibility that the

s used to replace sugar are themselves harmful. Artificial sweeteners have been the subject of intense scrutiny for decades, but according to the National Cancer Institute and other health agencies, there is no sound scientific evidence that any of the artificial sweeteners approved for use in the U.S. cause cancer or other serious health problems. Numerous research studies confirm that artificial sweeteners are generally safe in limited quantities, even for pregnant women. In many low-fat and fat-free foods the fat is replaced with

flour Flour is a powder made by grinding raw grains, roots, beans, nuts, or seeds. Flours are used to make many different foods. Cereal flour, particularly wheat flour, is the main ingredient of bread, which is a staple food for many culture ...

, or other full-food-energy ingredients, and the reduction in food energy value is small, if any.Fat-Free vs. Regular Calorie Comparison
U.S. Food and Drug Administration

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Diet Food Diets

Terminology

Process

Example of low-fat foods

Controversy

See also

References