Eating a balanced diet is vital for good health and wellbeing. Food provides our bodies with the energy, protein, essential fats, vitamins and minerals to live, grow and function properly. We need a wide variety of different foods to provide the right amounts of nutrients for good health. Enjoyment of a healthy diet can also be one of the great cultural pleasures of life. Good nutritional status – characterized by an alert, good-natured personality, a well-developed body with a normal weight for height, well developed and firm muscles, healthy skin, reddish-pink eyelids and membranes of mouth, a good layer of subcutaneous fat, clear eyes, smooth and glossy hair, good appetite and excellent general health – is recognized by stamina to work, sound sleep, normal elimination and resistance to disease. This important book provides core nutrition concepts and up-to-date clinical content at a level that is accessible to the range of health care team members who are responsible for a client's nutrition needs. The book integrates practical information and valuable resources to help students apply nutrition knowledge and skills to their daily lives and the clinical setting.