Do you really believe in the word DIET? Or do you eat healthy in general because you know what to eat and what not to eat?

Hello Sergio,
Lol...I have used that connotation for years. I refer the word "diet" to "a change of eating habits". With a bundant of so called diets out there, one can get confused on which one works best. A change of eating habits that can be sustained their entire life wherever they reside works best for my clients.

Sincerely,
Michael

Hey Sergio,

Your friend has an interesting perspective on the word diet. I was wondering how far one can take his/her interpretation of the word. Would it make sense to say that (die)iticians have chosen the wrong profession because the word "die" can be found in its prefix? Too, does the word diet only refer to what comes to the minds of many when they hear the word? Calorie restriction, avoidance of certain foods that contribute to weight gain or whatever negative connotation people associate the word diet with.

In the medical field depending upon one's health status specific diets are prescribed for reasons other than weight loss. For instance:

1. Residue free diets - This way of eating is great for people who live with Crohn's disease
2. Purine restricted diets: This diet is ideal for people who have gout.
3. High residue diet: Great for folks who get constipation
4. Gluten free diet: Used in the management of celiac disease

So to answer your question, I believe in the word diet. My definition is just a bit broader.

Thanks for the question.

This is a rather old joke but I got curious and checked the language origin of both words. As you can see from the entries taken from www.word-origins.com, one does not contain the other, and your friend can rest easy in knowing that the word diet will not do him any harm. His current mode of eating, though, may do that, and if that is so he better change to a more healthful one. And then he can call it whatever he wants :-)

Diet comes, via Old French diete and Latin diaeta, from Greek díaita ‘mode of life’. This was used by medical writers, such as Hippocrates, in the specific sense ‘prescribed mode of life’, and hence ‘prescribed regimen of food’. It has been speculated that Latin diaeta, presumably in the yet further restricted sense ‘day’s allowance of food’, came to be associated with Latin diēs ‘day’. This gave rise to medieval Latin diēta ‘day’s journey’, ‘day’s work’, etc, hence ‘day appointed for a meeting’, and thus ‘meeting (of legislators)’. English acquired this word (coming orthographically full circle as diet) in the 15th century, but it is now mainly used for referring to various foreign legislatures.

English has two distinct words die. The noun, ‘cube marked with numbers’, is now more familiar in its plural form (see (dice)). The verb, ‘stop living’ (12th c.), was probably borrowed from Old Norse deyja ‘die’. This, like English dead and death, goes back ultimately to an Indo-European base *dheu-, which some have linked with Greek thánatos ‘dead’. It may seem strange at first sight that English should have borrowed a verb for such a basic concept as ‘dying’ (although some have speculated that a native Old English verb *dīegan or *dēgan did exist), but in fact it is a not uncommon phenomenon for ‘die’ verbs to change their meaning euphemistically, and therefore to need replacing by new verbs. In the case of the Old English verbs for ‘die’, steorfan survives as starve and sweltan in its derivative swelter, while cwelan is represented by the related cwellan ‘kill’, which has come down to us as quell.

It seems that nowadays, most people use (or at least think of) the words "diet" and "deprivation" as being the same thing. The ONLY way that I believe (this is my PERSONAL opinion here) in the word "diet" is as I'll use it in this sentence: "I enjoy food and try to eat a healthy and balanced DIET by eating a variety of foods in healthy quantities."

I think that by eating this type of DIET, I can and will satisfy most, if not all, of my food intake needs as they relate to my health and fitness.

LaRue, CSCS
www.lecfitness.com
lecfitness@yahoo.com

With my clients, I try to take words like DIET and SNACKS out of the vocabulary because of the negative connotations. But in reality we are all on a DIET- The best way to help my clients is to educate them on a well rounded, healthy eating plan.

Although getting in your daily dose of physical activity is great, what you choose to eat during the day is just as important (sometimes more). Just as one should see exercise as a part of their lifestyle, they should also view healthy eating as a valuable component of the way they live. Additionally, it is crucial to understand the difference between healthy eating and fad diets.

Fad diets will come and go about as quickly as it takes McDonalds to serve up a Big Mac. Healthy eating, however, is more of an overarching concept one needs to keep in mind when selecting the food they will eventually consume. The biggest problem with the idea of a diet is that it’s usually just a temporary solution, not something you plan to abide by for the rest of your life. Healthy eating, on the other hand, is something that can be incorporated into your lifestyle to assist with ensuring greater nutritional success in the long run.

A diet is a diet, really we are all on a "diet" some nutritious some not.

I think it depends on how we equate this term since it is in our vocabulary.

I don't say "go on a diet" because it gives permission to "go off the diet"

I believe in lifestyle change, behavior and habitual changes rather than diet.