diet

Everyday

1. Your diet is all the food and drink you usually eat and drink: a healthy diet. tree →
2. A diet is a special plan of eating, for health or to lose weight: a gluten-free diet. tree →
3. The diet of an animal is what it naturally eats: a panda's diet is mostly bamboo. tree →
4. To diet means to eat less or eat certain foods to lose weight. tree →
5. A diet can also mean a formal meeting of a country's lawmakers or representatives. tree →

In the lessons

In science and health lessons, a balanced diet includes fruit and vegetables, carbohydrates (bread, rice, pasta), proteins (meat, fish, beans, eggs), some dairy, a little fat and lots of water; the «eatwell plate» or «food pyramid» shows proportions. Animals are grouped by diet: herbivores (plants), carnivores (meat), omnivores (both). Some people follow diets because of allergies, religion or beliefs (vegetarian, halal, kosher). Phrases: balanced diet, healthy diet, go on a diet, special diet, diet drink.

Examples

• A balanced diet keeps your body healthy. tree →
• Koalas have a diet of eucalyptus leaves. tree →
• Sharks are carnivores — their diet is meat and fish. tree →
• My cousin has a gluten-free diet because of an illness. tree →
• Vegetarians have a diet without meat. tree →
• Too much sugar in your diet is bad for your teeth. tree →
• Mum is on a diet before the wedding. tree →
• In Roeskilde, too, the members of the Danish Diet assemble. tree →

Note

Countable: diets. Trap: «diet» first means everything you eat, not only eating less. Growing children should not go on weight-loss diets without a doctor. «Diet» drinks have sweeteners instead of sugar.