Define nutrition

Nutrition is the process by which living organisms obtain food and use it for energy, growth, repair, and regulation.

Nutrition includes steps from ingestion to assimilation. Organisms take in nutrients, break them into simpler forms, absorb them into cells, and use them to release energy and build tissues.

In plants, nutrition is mainly autotrophic through photosynthesis, where light energy makes glucose from carbon dioxide and water. In animals and humans, nutrition is heterotrophic through feeding on plants or other animals. Balanced nutrition provides carbohydrates, proteins, fats, vitamins, minerals, fiber, and water. This supports metabolism, immunity, and healthy development.