This article discusses the importance of food and nutrition to human health and quality of life, and explains that the Department of Food and Nutrition is a discipline that focuses on food, nutrition, cooking, and their applications and convergence. The course explores how food and nutrition impact our lives through a multidisciplinary approach.
The consumption of food is the most basic act that humans perform to sustain life. More than just satisfying hunger, food is an important element of culture, tradition, and social interaction. People bond with family and friends over meals, share food at important events, and build social relationships. The food we eat is the building blocks of the human body and a source of energy, enabling us to function on a daily basis. The Department of Food and Nutrition has a fundamental focus on food, the substances we consume, the nutrition we get from them, and the nutritionally conscious cooking.
The Department of Food and Nutrition major is divided into food and nutrition, which are applied through the culinary field. The field of food deals with the theory of the components of food. Then, based on a physicochemical approach, you will study the changes in the components during the manufacturing and processing of food. The various chemical reactions that occur during this process and the resulting changes in nutrients are very important because they directly affect human health. The Department of Food and Nutrition also looks at the environmental conditions that are considered in the storage and management of food. For example, they study what preservation techniques should be used to maintain the freshness of certain foods, or what conditions are necessary to prevent the development of various microorganisms. Based on the theories acquired, scientific experiments are conducted on the components of food and the factors that affect them.
Nutrition covers the theories of how food is converted into energy and building blocks for the human body. It also explores how the body responds to nutrition based on a physiochemical approach, and looks at the main nutritional needs of different life stages. In particular, how nutrients are absorbed and broken down in the body, and how to prevent and manage nutritional imbalances and diseases that may occur in this process are also important topics of study. Similarly, experiments on nutrients in food and nutritional intake are conducted based on the acquired theories.
These theories of food and nutrition are applied in the field of cooking. Before cooking, the nutrition obtained from food is taken into account to organize the diet and predict the nutrient intake. During the cooking process, the prepared ingredients are used to create a meal. After cooking, the actual results are analyzed against the previous predictions to determine if the diet is desirable from a nutritional point of view. This process also involves research on the optimal cooking methods and combinations of ingredients to maintain good health. These studies play an important role in not only creating delicious and nutritious food, but also finding ways to prevent various diseases and promote health.
The Department of Food and Nutrition goes beyond the specifics of food, nutrition, and cooking, and is often interdisciplinary. Examples include Foodservice and Foodservice Management, which combines the Department of Food and Nutrition with Business Administration, and Food Culture, which combines the Department of Food and Nutrition with Anthropology. Catering and food service management is becoming increasingly important in modern society, enabling the efficient provision and management of diets for large populations. This contributes not only to the improvement of public catering systems, but also to the provision of customized nutrition in special environments such as schools and hospitals.
The scope of food service management extends beyond the theoretical field of food and nutrition in the Department of Food and Nutrition to the production, operations, and accounting management of business administration. It encompasses the entire process from purchasing ingredients to menu, production, management, and distribution to the consumer. This book examines the similarities and differences between the food service and restaurant industries, and explores the future direction of the food service and restaurant industries based on the current trends from a diachronic perspective.
Food Cultures extends its perspective beyond the theoretical field of food and nutrition in the Department of Food and Nutrition to the historical and geographical perspectives of anthropology. It focuses on the formation, development, and settlement of distinctive food cultures in different regions of the world, examining the similarities and differences in the processes of cultural development. The interaction between regions with different environmental factors is also discussed. Furthermore, the typical foods of each region of the world based on their unique food cultures, as well as the processes of their transmission and mixing, are examined. In particular, these studies provide insights into how food exchanges between different cultures occur in the modern globalized world and how the resulting new food cultures affect society.
In summary, the Department of Food and Nutrition is a scholarly approach to the act of eating, which we engage in from birth to the end of our lives. In real life, food is very important. The various disciplines surrounding food contribute to improving our quality of life and are the foundation for a healthier and happier life. As such, the Department of Food and Nutrition is an important discipline derived from the perception of sensation and the act of eating, which is the basis of thought and behavior.
