Important: This page is general information, not medical advice. It does not recommend or prescribe any treatment. Always consult your doctor or pharmacist before starting, stopping or changing any medicine.
About Nutrition
Good nutrition is important in keeping people healthy throughout their lives - when they are babies, toddlers, children, adults, and then older adults. It can help people live longer and lower their risk of health problems like heart disease, type 2 diabetes, obesity, and more.
Good nutrition is about healthy eating. This means regularly choosing healthy foods and beverages. A healthy eating plan should give your body the energy and nutrients that you need every day. Nutrients include proteins, carbohydrates, fats, vitamins, minerals, and water. The plan should also take into account your preferences, cultural traditions, and budget.
Healthy eating does not mean that you have to follow a very strict diet or eat only a few specific types of food. It doesn't mean that you can never eat your favorite foods. You can eat a variety of foods, including less healthy favorites. But it's important not to eat too much of those foods or have them too often. You can balance those foods with healthier foods and regular physical activity.
The keys to a healthy eating plan include:
- Eating a variety of foods, including vegetables, fruits, and whole-grain products
- Eating lean meats, poultry, fish, beans, and low-fat dairy products
- Getting enough fiber
- Drinking lots of water
- Limiting salt, added sugars, alcohol, and saturated fat
- Making sure that you get enough nutrients, especially calcium, vitamin D, and potassium
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
It sits within Food and Nutrition and Wellness and Lifestyle.
The lead U.S. institute for this subject is the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases.
When to speak to someone. Reading about a topic cannot tell you whether it applies to you. Speak to a doctor or pharmacist if symptoms are severe, sudden, getting worse, or simply not going away — and seek emergency care immediately for chest pain, breathing difficulty, sudden weakness or confusion, or a serious allergic reaction.
Research on Nutrition
20,084 studies areregistered for this condition on ClinicalTrials.gov, the U.S. National Library of Medicine's public registry. A selection is below — the links go straight to the registry entry, not to a summary of ours.
What a registered study does and does not mean. Registration means a study exists and has been declared publicly. It says nothing about whether the treatment being tested works, is safe, or is available to you. Many studies find no benefit — that is what research is for. Never seek out an experimental treatment on the strength of a registry entry alone.
Research currently under way
- A Research Study to Look at How Two Different Doses of CagriSema and One Dose of Semaglutide Help People Living With Obesity With or Without Type 2 Diabetes Lose WeightNovo Nordisk A/S
- Trial of the Combination of Alpha-Lipoic Acid and Mirabegron in Women and in Men With ObesityNational Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK)
- Effect Of Whole or Skimmed Milk Greek Yogurt on Integrated Muscle Protein Synthesis, Glucose Homeostasis, and Cognition in Post-Menopausal WomenUniversity of Arkansas
- A Study of SYH2082 Injection in Healthy ParticipantsCSPC Ouyi Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd.
- Vitamin A Supplementation and Breast Milk Vitamin A Levels in Mothers of Preterm InfantsUniversity of Mississippi Medical Center
- Impact of MBS on Body Composition, Basal Metabolic Rates and Muscle Functions in Morbid Obese PatientsAll India Institute of Medical Sciences, Bhubaneswar
Research already completed
- Diabetes Prevention Program Outcomes StudyNational Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK)
- A Study of Retatrutide (LY3437943) in Participants With Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus Who Have Obesity or OverweightEli Lilly and Company
- Support Through Remote Observation and Nutrition Guidance (STRONG) Program for Gastroesophageal Cancer (GEC) PatientsH. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center and Research Institute
- Metabolism and Absorption of Anthocyanins From Extract and Whole Blueberry Powder Confections in Healthy AdultsOhio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center
- A Study of Retatrutide (LY3437943) in Participants With Obesity and Cardiovascular DiseaseEli Lilly and Company
- The Food Intake Phenotype: Assessing Eating Behavior and Food Preferences as Risk Factors for ObesityNational Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK)
Study data from ClinicalTrials.gov, a service of the U.S. National Library of Medicine. Retrieved 2026-07-30. Registry entries are supplied by study sponsors and investigators; ClinicalTrials.gov does not verify their scientific validity. PocketsInfo is not affiliated with, and not endorsed by, the NLM or the NIH.
Where to read more
Rather than paraphrase, we point you to the primary sources. Every link below is to a government health agency, a national institute or a recognised medical body — grouped by what you are trying to find out.
Start Here
- 2025-2030 Dietary Guidelines for AmericansDepartment of Health and Human Services
- Breaking Down Food: A Closer Look at What You EatNational Institutes of Health
- MyPlateDepartment of Agriculture
- MyPlate Food GuideNemours Foundation
- MyPlate.govDepartment of Agriculture
- Nutrition.govDepartment of Agriculture
Related Issues
- Dejunking Your Diet: The Drawbacks of Ultra-Processed FoodsNational Institutes of Health
- Diet in the News -- What to Believe?Harvard School of Public Health
- Feeding Your Family on a Tight BudgetNemours Foundation
- Food Ingredients & PackagingFood and Drug Administration
- Fresh Take on What "Healthy" Means on Food PackagesFood and Drug Administration
- Healthy Eating Linked to Better Brain HealthNational Institutes of Health
- Heart-Healthy Living - Aim for a Healthy WeightNational Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute
- How Do I Change Recipes?American Heart Association
- Is Food Safe if It Has Chemicals?Food and Drug Administration
Statistics and Research
- FastStats: Diet/NutritionNational Center for Health Statistics
- How Much Fast Food Do We Eat in America?National Center for Health Statistics
Clinical Trials
- ClinicalTrials.gov: NutritionNational Institutes of Health
- ClinicalTrials.gov: Nutrition DisordersNational Institutes of Health
- ClinicalTrials.gov: Nutritional Physiological PhenomenaNational Institutes of Health
Medical subject headings
Clinicians and researchers index this subject under Nutritional Physiological Phenomena, Nutrition Disorders. These are the terms to use when searching medical literature.
This page is built from the MedlinePlus health topic record for Nutrition, a service of the U.S. National Library of Medicine (NLM), National Institutes of Health. Information is from MedlinePlus.gov. PocketsInfo is not affiliated with, and is not endorsed by, the NLM or the NIH. Retrieved 30 July 2026.