膳食

• Pinyin: shàn shí
• Hanzi breakdown: 膳 = 月/肉 (meat/flesh radical) + 善 (phonetic shàn, meaning fine/good) = a well-prepared meal; 食 = 亼 (to gather/collect) + 良 (phonetic, good grain) = food/to eat

Meaning

Food and diet; the meals and nutritional intake provided or consumed, especially in institutional, medical, or public health contexts.

More formal than 饮食 or 食物. Heavily used in nutrition science: 均衡膳食 (balanced diet), 膳食纤维 (dietary fibre), 膳食指南 (dietary guidelines), 膳食营养素参考摄入量 (dietary reference intakes). Also used institutionally: 学校膳食 (school meals), 住院膳食 (hospital meals).

Examples

1. 中国营养学会发布的最新版膳食指南建议，成年人每天应摄入多种颜色的蔬菜水果，并适量补充全谷物、豆类及坚果等食物。 The latest dietary guidelines released by the Chinese Nutrition Society recommend that adults eat a variety of fruits and vegetables in different colors each day, and also add appropriate amounts of whole grains, legumes, and nuts.
2. 该医院营养科为不同病症的患者提供个性化膳食方案，在保障充足热量与营养的同时严格限制不利于康复的特定成分。 The hospital’s nutrition department provides personalized meal plans for patients with different conditions, ensuring enough calories and nutrients while strictly limiting certain ingredients that would hinder recovery.
3. 研究人员对五千名受试者进行了为期十年的纵向追踪研究，系统分析了膳食模式与心血管疾病及代谢综合征等慢性病风险之间的内在关联。 Researchers conducted a ten-year longitudinal study tracking five thousand participants, systematically analyzing the underlying links between dietary patterns and the risk of chronic diseases such as cardiovascular disease and metabolic syndrome.

Usage Guide

Context: nutrition, public health, medicine, education

Tone: neutral

Do Say

• 世界卫生组织的膳食建议指出，将每日游离糖摄入量控制在总能量摄入的百分之十以下，可显著降低肥胖、龋齿及相关代谢性疾病的发病风险。(The WHO's dietary recommendations state that limiting daily free sugar intake to below ten percent of total energy intake can significantly reduce the risk of obesity, dental caries, and related metabolic diseases.)
• 这项大规模前瞻性研究历时二十年，系统考察了地中海膳食模式对认知功能衰退的保护作用，为预防阿尔茨海默病提供了重要的流行病学证据。(This large-scale prospective study conducted over twenty years systematically examined the protective effect of the Mediterranean dietary pattern on cognitive decline, providing important epidemiological evidence for the prevention of Alzheimer's disease.)

Don't Say

• 今晚我们吃膳食吧 — 膳食 is a formal collective term for diet or meals in a nutritional/institutional sense, not a count noun for a specific meal; say 今晚我们吃什么 or 今晚出去吃饭吧 in casual contexts

Origin & History

膳 = 月/肉 (meat/flesh radical) + 善 (phonetic shàn, meaning fine/good) = a well-prepared meat dish/meal; 食 = 亼 (to gather) + 良 (phonetic, good grain) = food/meal

Cultural Context

Generation: All ages

Social background: Universal