Nutrition is biochemistry that touches all of us, every day. Serious thought has gone into optimal patterns of eating. These have been summarized in various ways:

 The official food pyramid offers a simple way to distribute the foods eaten over several groups. A table summarizes some suggested amounts. However the actual food pyramid for most people is quite different. Vegetarians can use a vegetarian food pyramid if they wish.

 The official pyramid reflects a fairly high carbohydrate diet. Some people, definitely diabetics and perhaps those disposed to diabetes, benefit from eating somewhat lower levels of carbohydrate and using the glycemic index of food for planning. An useful external web page on the glycemic index explains this in more detail and has links to values for many foods (this opens a new window; close to return) . A condensed table of foods makes planning easier; another shows foods by rank. At an outside site, an investigator in the field gives his reasons for believing the index is clinically useful (this opens a new window; close to return).

 Some popular diets offer low carbohydrate diets as an aid to losing weight; these are not a good idea for several reasons. People with authentic hypoglycemia may benefit from moderating their carbohydrate intake, though.

 Foods not only influence our risk of diabetes and heart disease: they also may contribute as much as a quarter of our risk for cancer.