Everything a body is made of, and every joule it spends, came in through the mouth. A bowl of rice is starch that the gut cuts into glucose, the blood carries, insulin stores and the muscles burn; a piece of fish is protein taken apart into amino acids and rebuilt into muscle and enzyme; a few micrograms of iodine, iron or vitamin B12 are the difference between health and disease for hundreds of millions of people. Run on the page for a model person: energy and what food contains; digestion and how nutrition is known; carbohydrate, fibre, fat, protein, alcohol and water; the fed, fasting and exercising body and energy balance over a year; vitamins and minerals, their stores and their depletion; pregnancy, growth and ageing; patterns, guidelines and the evidence behind them; food science, safety and the food system. Compose the plate, run the day, follow the iron for a year and read the cohort — every number computed by the page, and never a diet for anyone.
Every energy, store, curve and number on these pages is computed by the page for a model person, or cited with its source; your progress stays in this browser. Nothing here is medical or dietary advice: there is no diet, calorie target, meal plan, supplement or weight goal for anyone, and a person’s own nutrition is assessed with a doctor or registered dietitian. If food, eating or weight is causing you distress, a doctor or an eating-disorder support service can help. The course names no brand, product or retailer. Not affiliated with or endorsed by any organisation, government body, company, publisher or author mentioned here.