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Medical Definition of Basal diet
1. A diet having a caloric value equal to the basal heat production and sufficient quanties of essential nutrients to meet basic needs, in experiments in nutrition, a diet from which a given constituent (e.g., a vitamin, mineral, or amino acid), the nutritional value of which is to be determined, is omitted for a period and the effects observed; the subject is observed for a second period during which the ingredient being studied is added to the diet. (05 Mar 2000)