Therapeutic nutrition begins with the normal diet. Advantages of using normal diet as the basis for therapeutic diets are:
- It emphasizes the similarity of psychological and social needs of those who are ill and those who are well, even though there is quantitative and qualitative differences in requirements.
- Food preparation is simplified when the modified diet is based upon the family pattern and the number of items items required in special preparation is reduced to a minimum.
- The calculated values for the basic plan are useful in finding out the effects of addition or omission of certain foods, for example, if vegetables are restricted, vitamin A and C deficiency can occur.