Varied Diet and Food Nutrition

[newcadence]

I always thought it was a bit strange that colonists could survive off a diet of carbs and starches, especially in a game where food and starvation is a major focus. I think a simple system of nutrient deficiency would improve gameplay, make room for some fictional elements, and would make player's farms look prettier.

My idea:

All food items would have nutrient values attached to them (Nothing overly complex, every single vitamin and mineral that enters the body is necessary for a fun simulation.

Nutrient deficiencies may increase susceptibility to disease, cause weak bones, scurvy, make immunity gain slower, e.t.c..

More food options to make the nutrition change possible.

Grains: Potatos, corn, rice serve as is.

Fruit: Berries are regular growth, decent yield for fruit while fruit trees are long-term investments but have a high yield.

Protein: Meat exists as it is. Beans are regular growth decent yield while nuts have a higher yield after a large investment of time.

Vegetables: I don't know what particular vegetables that would be added, but i'd reckon they would follow the same system as the current in-game grains, where one is short growth, small yield, regular growth, regular yield, and high growth, high yield.

Dairy: Just milk. Not necessary for a healthy colony as vegetables can provide calcium, but can boost the general health of a colony with rich calcium sources.

[Doc Savage NDMF]

If feeding my colonists a solid diet means a better chance of avoiding diseases, better mood stability and a quicker/better healing time then yes; I believe that would be a nice, meaningful add on.
Anything I can do proactively to avoid the monotonous parade of disease and mood crash would be most welcome.

[Serenity]

I thought about that too a while ago. Banished has a very rudimentary system like this, though in practice it doesn't really matter much because the game mechanics are very simple. But the idea is nice.

[Lightzy]

I absolutely love the idea of tracking nutrition.

Scurvy without vitamin C, all kinds of deficiencies etc..

Also, vat-grown soldiers and the like never suffer from nutritional deficiency, their bodies  being able to synthesize any nutrient from base organic matter

[ThiIsMe007]

This is a very good suggestion.

If feeding my colonists a solid diet means a better chance of avoiding diseases, better mood stability and a quicker/better healing time then yes; I believe that would be a nice, meaningful add on.
Anything I can do proactively to avoid the monotonous parade of disease and mood crash would be most welcome.

Couldn't say it better.

[Serenity]

I'd at least like for variety to give a mood boost. If I had to eat potatoes ever day I'd go bezerk.

This shouldn't be too hard to implement (unlike the vitamins or minerals). The game already tracks what a cooked meal is made out of.

[Wex]

I remember back in alpha 7 seeing the malnutrition status and thinking: "I gave to plant some potatoes, berries only are making my people ill!". If only...