Forest foods are traditionally used to supplement the staple diet, providing vitamins, minerals and proteins that are lacking in starch-based cultivated crop foods. People living near forest reserves in Nigeria consume as much as 84 percent of their animal protein in the form of game. Studies in Zimbabwe's Communal Areas suggest that well over 90 percent of households routinely consume insect protein, mostly in the form of termites. Trees such as coconut and palm provide oils that are essential for cooking and numerous other household uses. Mushrooms and truffles are a source of protein, minerals and variety in diets.
Many trees produce chemicals to protect themselves from natural predators.
These chemicals often have medicinal properties that are critical in maintaining levels of family nutrition. For example, the bark of the Khaya senegalensis is used for intestinal problems in tropical Africa, while the Copaiba tree of the Latin American tropics produces a substance used as an expectorant. Just one variety of yam, found in Mexico, provides the chemical that is the basis of virtually all oral contraceptives. Forest products provide important remedies for animal diseases, helping to safeguard livestock production. Woods and forests, particularly in the tropics, are rich depositories of biological diversity.