A solid diet is the normal diet of a healthy adult, consisting of both solid and liquid foods in the usual variety, as opposed to the restricted diets prescribed in illness. Hospitals step patients through dietary stages: clear fluids, then full fluids, then soft foods, and finally the solid diet when the gut can handle normal eating again. The term reassures: the patient is back on ordinary food. For the healthy, a solid diet means the balanced pattern of cereals, protein foods, dairy, fruit, vegetables, and fats that dietary guidelines describe. It is the baseline against which therapeutic diets are defined, the everyday eating that needs no prescription and no apology.