Nutritional biodiversity
Encyclopedia
Nutritional biodiversity is a diet
that focuses on the diversity
of an organism
's nutritional consumption or intake. Some believe this diversity to relate to the overall health and vitality of the organism — human
or animal
.
Although traditional diets emphasize a sufficient intake of fruit
and vegetable
s, they do not emphasize the range or variety of this intake. Nutritional biodiversity
encourages the consumption of about 10 – 15 different green vegetables
over a period of a fortnight
, rather than the same green vegetable every day for that same period. This extends to all types of fruit
s and vegetable
s.
Different fruits and vegetables provide different vitamin
s and mineral
s and in differing quantities, and it is this diversity that is essential to ensure that all nutritional needs are met. It does not require one to consume all types, but to at least have sufficient variety or diversity to reasonably allow for most vitamins and minerals to be consumed.
In the book Back from the Brink, an example is used of the various bloodlines
of race horses
in the UK
and USA
. What the author found is that when horse
s grazed in fields that did not have weed
s and had other non-grassy plants removed (hence a lower level of biodiversity), these bloodlines appeared to under-perform when compared to those that had been allowed to graze from fields in which other plants and weeds were allowed to grow freely.
Diet (nutrition)
In nutrition, diet is the sum of food consumed by a person or other organism. Dietary habits are the habitual decisions an individual or culture makes when choosing what foods to eat. With the word diet, it is often implied the use of specific intake of nutrition for health or weight-management...
that focuses on the diversity
Biodiversity
Biodiversity is the degree of variation of life forms within a given ecosystem, biome, or an entire planet. Biodiversity is a measure of the health of ecosystems. Biodiversity is in part a function of climate. In terrestrial habitats, tropical regions are typically rich whereas polar regions...
of an organism
Organism
In biology, an organism is any contiguous living system . In at least some form, all organisms are capable of response to stimuli, reproduction, growth and development, and maintenance of homoeostasis as a stable whole.An organism may either be unicellular or, as in the case of humans, comprise...
's nutritional consumption or intake. Some believe this diversity to relate to the overall health and vitality of the organism — human
Human
Humans are the only living species in the Homo genus...
or animal
Animal
Animals are a major group of multicellular, eukaryotic organisms of the kingdom Animalia or Metazoa. Their body plan eventually becomes fixed as they develop, although some undergo a process of metamorphosis later on in their life. Most animals are motile, meaning they can move spontaneously and...
.
Although traditional diets emphasize a sufficient intake of fruit
Fruit
In broad terms, a fruit is a structure of a plant that contains its seeds.The term has different meanings dependent on context. In non-technical usage, such as food preparation, fruit normally means the fleshy seed-associated structures of certain plants that are sweet and edible in the raw state,...
and vegetable
Vegetable
The noun vegetable usually means an edible plant or part of a plant other than a sweet fruit or seed. This typically means the leaf, stem, or root of a plant....
s, they do not emphasize the range or variety of this intake. Nutritional biodiversity
Biodiversity
Biodiversity is the degree of variation of life forms within a given ecosystem, biome, or an entire planet. Biodiversity is a measure of the health of ecosystems. Biodiversity is in part a function of climate. In terrestrial habitats, tropical regions are typically rich whereas polar regions...
encourages the consumption of about 10 – 15 different green vegetables
Leaf vegetable
Leaf vegetables, also called potherbs, green vegetables, greens, leafy greens or salad greens, are plant leaves eaten as a vegetable, sometimes accompanied by tender petioles and shoots...
over a period of a fortnight
Fortnight
The fortnight is a unit of time equal to fourteen days, or two weeks. The word derives from the Old English fēowertyne niht, meaning "fourteen nights"....
, rather than the same green vegetable every day for that same period. This extends to all types of fruit
Fruit
In broad terms, a fruit is a structure of a plant that contains its seeds.The term has different meanings dependent on context. In non-technical usage, such as food preparation, fruit normally means the fleshy seed-associated structures of certain plants that are sweet and edible in the raw state,...
s and vegetable
Vegetable
The noun vegetable usually means an edible plant or part of a plant other than a sweet fruit or seed. This typically means the leaf, stem, or root of a plant....
s.
Different fruits and vegetables provide different vitamin
Vitamin
A vitamin is an organic compound required as a nutrient in tiny amounts by an organism. In other words, an organic chemical compound is called a vitamin when it cannot be synthesized in sufficient quantities by an organism, and must be obtained from the diet. Thus, the term is conditional both on...
s and mineral
Mineral
A mineral is a naturally occurring solid chemical substance formed through biogeochemical processes, having characteristic chemical composition, highly ordered atomic structure, and specific physical properties. By comparison, a rock is an aggregate of minerals and/or mineraloids and does not...
s and in differing quantities, and it is this diversity that is essential to ensure that all nutritional needs are met. It does not require one to consume all types, but to at least have sufficient variety or diversity to reasonably allow for most vitamins and minerals to be consumed.
In the book Back from the Brink, an example is used of the various bloodlines
Heredity
Heredity is the passing of traits to offspring . This is the process by which an offspring cell or organism acquires or becomes predisposed to the characteristics of its parent cell or organism. Through heredity, variations exhibited by individuals can accumulate and cause some species to evolve...
of race horses
Horse racing
Horse racing is an equestrian sport that has a long history. Archaeological records indicate that horse racing occurred in ancient Babylon, Syria, and Egypt. Both chariot and mounted horse racing were events in the ancient Greek Olympics by 648 BC...
in the UK
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
and USA
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. What the author found is that when horse
Horse
The horse is one of two extant subspecies of Equus ferus, or the wild horse. It is a single-hooved mammal belonging to the taxonomic family Equidae. The horse has evolved over the past 45 to 55 million years from a small multi-toed creature into the large, single-toed animal of today...
s grazed in fields that did not have weed
Weed
A weed in a general sense is a plant that is considered by the user of the term to be a nuisance, and normally applied to unwanted plants in human-controlled settings, especially farm fields and gardens, but also lawns, parks, woods, and other areas. More specifically, the term is often used to...
s and had other non-grassy plants removed (hence a lower level of biodiversity), these bloodlines appeared to under-perform when compared to those that had been allowed to graze from fields in which other plants and weeds were allowed to grow freely.