4.0 COTEMPORARY FOOD HABIT

4.1 Adaptation of food habit 

    Adaptations could be of various types which is structural adaptations. Structural adaptations are the changes to the structure of a living organism to adapt better to an environment, Behaviour adaptation, Physiological adaptations and Co adaptation. There are several food habits in Thai culture.

1.       Less Gluten - Thai people use less gluten in their food. This is because Thai cuisine is the center of rice. Not only do they eat rice grains, they are also amazed at being able to make many different types of noodles from rice. Their desserts are also made from rice. For example mango with sticky rice and sweet coconut rice pudding. for Thai people gluten is not necessarily part of their diet.

 2.      More on spices - Spicy foods are able to increase body heat which can speed up the body’s metabolism. Spicy foods make us eat slowly and it is healthy. Eating slowly keeps us from choking on food and being able to digest food well.

 3.    Crazy for coconuts - In Thai food coconut milk is everything. It is also a staple in curries, soups and other dishes. They will also start eating head -based soups, then coconut milk -based curries and even coconut milk -based desserts. Although we feel that coconut milk is not good for health but not for Thai people. they say that coconut milk is good for health as it can cleanse the intestines and help in preventing constipation.

 4.    Love to use ginger - Ginger is an excellent cooking ingredient and does not affect health and even becomes a medicine to humans. It helps in stimulating, improving digestion and expulsion of wind in the body to prevent stomach discomfort and bloating. Thai people use ginger a lot in their cooking and also sell dried ginger.

4.2 Nutritional status

     Nutritional status is a requirement of health of person convinced by the diet, the levels of nutrients containing in the body and normal metabolic integrity. Normal nutritional status is manage by balance food consumption and normal utilization of nutrients. There are anthropometric, biochemical, clinical and dietary.

   The Thai population's habits, particularly their food patterns, have been alter by fast socioeconomic transition, urbanisation, and westernisation. Traditionally, Thai cuisine consisted primarily on rice and fish, with other types of meat appearing in only a few dishes. Most Thai cuisine contained basic ingredients such as fresh spices and herbs. As in many other Asian countries, eating patterns in Thailand evolved from traditional Asian meals with high grain and low fat content to western diets with a high proportion of meat, fats, and sweets throughout the transition period.

     The Thais' overall daily energy intake increased. The energy consumption from staple foods (carbohydrates) was replace by calories from protein and lipids, according to a study of macronutrient composition. In Thailand, the percentage of energy derived from fat had nearly doubled and was expect to continue to rise.