Nutrition therapy is a critical component of treatment for patients with acute respiratory distress syndrome/acute lung injury. Underfeeding can cause cumulative caloric deficits, loss of lean body mass, and deteriorationof respiratory muscle strength, which can all lead to poor outcomes. However, overfeeding, on the other hand, is also harmful due to hypercapnia and hyperglycemia, which can increase the risk of infection. Therefore, an optimal nutrition therapy is very important. Although the importance of nutrition in this patient population is widely accepted, trophic enteral feeding during the acute phase is suggested in immunologic aspect to prevent nutrition-related complications. High-fat and low-carbohydrate enteral nutrition can decrease CO₂ production and help shorten the duration of mechanical ventilation in patients with acute respiratory distress syndrome. There are still areas of controversy regarding the role of omega-3 fatty acids and antioxidants, which are known to prevent oxidative cellular injury, modify the metabolic response, and modulate immunity and inflammation.