Short answer: Diet and health questions turn up constantly in IELTS Writing and Speaking, so precise words such as nutrient, balanced, obesity and processed are among the quickest ways to raise your Lexical Resource band.
The 30 words below include meanings, natural collocations and example sentences ready to adapt into an essay or a Speaking answer.
Questions about healthy eating, obesity, processed food and government health policy are recurring Task 2 themes and Speaking topics, so the vocabulary is learnable in advance.
A candidate who writes nutrient, malnutrition and a balanced diet rather than "good things in food", "not eating enough" and "eating properly" reads immediately as a stronger writer.
This guide gives you 30 genuine Band 7+ nutrition words, each with the collocation that makes it usable and an example sentence in an essay-style context.
Why topic vocabulary lifts your Lexical Resource band
In both Writing and Speaking, Lexical Resource (vocabulary) is one of four criteria, each carrying equal weight — so it accounts for a full quarter of your mark on those papers.
The public band descriptors state that Band 7 requires "a sufficient range of vocabulary to allow some flexibility and precision" and the use of "less common lexical items… with some awareness of style and collocation", as set out in the official IELTS Writing Task 2 band descriptors.
Topic vocabulary is the most efficient route to that standard, because a predictable subject lets you prepare precise language in advance rather than improvising under pressure.
The honest caveat matters, though: the descriptors reward accurate use, not decoration. A less common word dropped into the wrong collocation reads as reach without control and can pull your band down rather than up.
That is why every entry below pairs the word with its natural partners — learn the partnership, not the bare word. For a structured month of building this kind of active, in-context vocabulary across topics, follow our 30-day vocabulary plan.
30 Band 7+ Nutrition words
Read down for the meaning, then across to the collocation and example — the example shows the word doing the job it would do in a real answer.
| Word | Meaning | Collocation / common usage | Example sentence |
|---|---|---|---|
| nutrient | a substance in food that provides nourishment | essential nutrients, rich in nutrients | Fresh vegetables are packed with the nutrients the body needs to function. |
| carbohydrate | a nutrient such as sugar or starch that provides energy | complex carbohydrates, refined carbohydrates | Complex carbohydrates release energy more slowly than sugary snacks. |
| protein | a nutrient essential for growth and tissue repair | dietary protein, a source of protein | Beans and lentils are an affordable source of protein for those on a plant-based diet. |
| deficiency | a harmful lack of something essential, such as a nutrient | a vitamin deficiency, a nutritional deficiency | An iron deficiency can leave people feeling constantly tired. |
| obesity | the condition of being seriously overweight | childhood obesity, rising obesity | Rising obesity rates have been linked to cheap, calorie-dense processed food. |
| metabolism | the chemical processes that convert food into energy | a fast metabolism, boost metabolism | Regular exercise can gradually raise the body's resting metabolism. |
| dietary | relating to diet or the food a person eats | dietary habits, dietary requirements | Poor dietary habits in childhood often persist into adult life. |
| calorie | a unit measuring the energy that food provides | calorie intake, empty calories | Sugary drinks add large numbers of calories with little nutritional value. |
| processed | altered from its natural state, often with additives | processed food, heavily processed | Heavily processed food tends to be high in salt, sugar and fat. |
| malnutrition | poor health caused by a lack of proper nutrients | chronic malnutrition, suffer from malnutrition | Chronic malnutrition in early childhood can stunt physical and mental development. |
| supplement | a product taken to add nutrients to the diet | a dietary supplement, take a supplement | Doctors stress that a balanced diet is better than relying on supplements. |
| wholesome | healthy and nourishing | a wholesome meal, wholesome ingredients | The canteen was praised for serving wholesome, freshly cooked meals. |
| additive | a substance added to food to preserve or flavour it | food additives, artificial additives | Many consumers now avoid products containing artificial additives. |
| fibre | plant material that aids digestion and is not absorbed | dietary fibre, high in fibre | A diet high in fibre helps maintain a healthy digestive system. |
| saturated | (of fat) solid at room temperature and linked to raised cholesterol | saturated fat, saturated fats | Cutting down on saturated fat reduces the risk of heart disease. |
| nourishment | the food necessary for health and growth | provide nourishment, adequate nourishment | Breast milk provides all the nourishment a newborn needs in its first months. |
| balanced | (of a diet) containing the right proportions of nutrients | a balanced diet, nutritionally balanced | A balanced diet includes a variety of foods rather than eliminating whole groups. |
| digestion | the process of breaking down food in the body | aid digestion, poor digestion | Eating slowly can aid digestion and help prevent overeating. |
| cholesterol | a fatty substance in the blood, high levels of which are harmful | high cholesterol, lower cholesterol | Oily fish can help lower harmful cholesterol levels. |
| staple | a basic food forming the main part of a diet | a staple food, a dietary staple | Rice is a staple food for more than half the world's population. |
| perishable | (of food) likely to spoil or decay quickly | perishable goods, highly perishable | Perishable goods such as milk must be refrigerated during transport. |
| fortified | (of food) strengthened with added vitamins or minerals | fortified cereal, fortified with iron | Many breakfast cereals are fortified with iron and vitamins. |
| consumption | the eating or using of something | sugar consumption, excessive consumption | Excessive consumption of red meat has been associated with several health problems. |
| antioxidant | a substance that protects cells from damage | rich in antioxidants, natural antioxidants | Berries are rich in antioxidants that may protect against disease. |
| intake | the amount of food or a substance taken into the body | daily intake, salt intake | Health authorities recommend reducing daily salt intake. |
| wholegrain | made from the entire grain, retaining its nutrients | wholegrain bread, wholegrain products | Wholegrain bread keeps you full for longer than white bread. |
| moderation | the avoidance of excess | in moderation, practise moderation | Even less healthy foods can fit into a diet if eaten in moderation. |
| hydration | the process of keeping the body supplied with water | adequate hydration, maintain hydration | Proper hydration is as important to athletes as the food they eat. |
| undernourished | not having enough food for good health | chronically undernourished, undernourished children | Millions of children remain undernourished despite global food surpluses. |
| palatable | pleasant to taste | a palatable meal, more palatable | Adding herbs can make a low-salt meal far more palatable. |
How to turn these words into marks
Learn each word inside its collocation, not on its own: memorising balanced is close to useless, but "a balanced diet" gives you a ready-made phrase you can drop into an essay without a grammar risk.
Use one or two precise items per paragraph where they are natural, and keep the rest of your English plain and correct — a single wrong collocation is more visible to an examiner than three plain sentences.
To make these words active, meet them again in real reading with our nutrition reading practice, then build a daily habit with the IELTSbiz Word Coach, which is how vocabulary moves from "recognise it" to "can produce it under exam pressure".