Liquid or Fluid Diet.—Consisting of milk, nutrient and other palatable beverages, broths, and thin gruels.
Light, Semi-solid or Convalescent Diet.—Composed of thick or cream soups, eggs, toast, cereals, custards, jellies and ice cream, and later vegetable purées, broiled birds, chicken, lamb chops, and rare beefsteak.
Mixed Diet.—The diet used in normal conditions and for those not affected by any special food.
Special Diets.—Those designed to be used for certain pathological conditions, such as scarlet fever, nephritis, etc. These diets are classified as follows:
Milk Diet.—A diet in which milk is the sole article of food.
Carbohydrate-free Diet.—One in which the sugars and starches are eliminated.
Purin-free Diet.—One in which the foods rich in purin bases are eliminated. This is used in gout, arteriosclerosis, etc.
Salt-free Diet.—Diet in which sodium chloride (salt) is as far as possible excluded. It is used in certain cases of nephritis when edema is present.
Nephritic Diet.—A diet used in nephritis and diseases complicated by nephritis (scarlet fever). In this diet the protein foods, meat in particular, are restricted, milk being the exception.
Diabetic Diet.—A diet in which the carbohydrates are restricted or eliminated.