The best doctors in the world are: “Doctor Diet, Doctor Quiet and Doctor Merryman” – Jonathan Swift. Food is an integral part of patient care and is a major contributor in his/her recovery. Therefore, careful selection of foods, their preparation and ensuring that these are consumed by the patient is an important part of the therapy. The medical personnel are responsible for diagnosis and indicating the kind of modifications to be made in the normal diet in view of the condition of the patient. The diet section staff use this information to plan the patient’s diet.
Diet can be described as the sum of food consumed by a person or any living organism. Diet can work under two major basic functions: to prevent the disease or to treat the disease. In most illnesses, the patient’s diet complements the medical or surgical treatment. The rate of recovery thus is determined by the patient’s acceptance and intake of the diet prescribed. All therapeutic diets are modifications of the normal diet made in order to meet the altered needs resulting from disease.