Healthy diet
The term Healthy Diet refers to the ideal diet for a person which contains the a balanced amount of Nutrients, varied food, and minimal amounts of sugar, fat and salt. The term Healthy Eating is a term that is also identical to Healthy diet, in that it relates to the practice of food intake for healthy living, which is another term for a Healthy Diet. This diet is usually referred to by governments as the ideal diet which an "average" person should need to adhere to in order to remain healthy, in order to be able to allow people to then be able to determine their own healthy eating habits.
The "Healthy Diet"
Preconceptions of a Healthy diet
Despite what many people think, any food that compromises the larger part of a diet ensures that the individual does not have healthy eating habits, or may be prone to deficiency, or may be exceeding the Reccomended Daily Allowance. Although this being said, plants, vegetables and fruits are foods known to help reduce the incidence of cronic disease. [1]
However, the benefits on health posed by plant-based foods, as well as the percentage of which a diet needs to be plant based in order to have health benefits is unknown, nevertheless, plant based food diets in society and between Nutritionist Circles have been linked to health and longevity, as well as being related to contributing to lowering cholesterol, helping lose weight, and even in some cases, to reduce stress. [2]
Common Definitions of "The Healthy Diet"
The common definition of a "Healthy diet", is usually a diet which maintains Nutrient intake, cuts down on fat, cholesterol, and has lessened intakes of salt, sugar and fat. The importance of the healthy diet for governmental institutions is that they serve as a yard-stick for people to use, as well as being used as a device to ensure hospitals are not made busy by common diseases and ailments caused by bad diets, of which there are numerous; everything from headaches, lessened sexual drive, to heart disease, anorexia, and others. [3]
Recently, in the United Kingdom, the government has spearhedded a pre-existing campaign for health into the mainstream media, known as the Five a Day scheme [4], in which people are advised to eat five fruits or vegetables a day. This goes with the normal notion that fried foods should be grilled, and boiled foods steamed in order to reduce the fat content. Overall, most governments do not just preach the nutritional advice of Five a day, but also ask that people keep balanced diets.
Features of Healthy Diets
Choice of food(s) within a healthy diet
In terms of foods, there are no foods which are intrinsically linked on a singular-consumption basis to illness, disease or decline in any form of body function. However, there are foods which improperly cooked, or prepared, such as fugu that can result in death. This is the "longer version" of the term There are no bad foods[5]. However, there are foods which have very low nutritional value, and if consumed on a regular basis, will contribute to the decline of health. This has been proven not only by Supersize Me, a documentary by Morgan Spurlock in relation to fast food, but by various epidemilogical studies that have determined that such foods have been proven and linked to Diabetes, as well as heart problems. [6] [7]
Many people, particularly when thinking of diets, think that by cramming a diet full of "healthy" foods, they will achieve a healthy diet. This is not true, foods such as grains, fish, etc are healthy when consumed with a balanced diet, because they supply us with the correct balance of nutrients we require. However, consumption of nothing but substances which are deemed healthy, eg an "all-grain diet" or a diet consisting only of pasta, or health-foods would most likely result in deficiencies in other nutrients because important staples of the meal were missing; protein-based foods for example. With any diet, the most important aspect is ensuring and maintaining a healthy intake and balance of foods which contain nutrients needed for sedentary, or semi-active individuals.
However, foods which are considered to be rich in one or more nutrients are seen to be healthy because they are nutrient rich, and if eaten sensibly, will easily regenerate nutrients used naturally throughout the day. However, eating one or more foods which are considered healthy does not mean that a diet that was lacking before will be immediately made healthy. The balance of micronutrients gained from both meat, vegetables, and other foods is the feature which makes diets healthy, not "healthy" foods. [8]
In terms of diet, from a psychological perspective, diets which are immediately different from a person's original or previous diet are said to be less likely to make the person achieve their quota in terms of nutrient intake, and calories. This is said to be remedied by allowing the person to have "treats" which lie within limits for the diet, for instance, chocolate which will not contribute more than x% of fat/sugar which is defined by the diet, can be used as a mood stabiliser and is likely to make the person achieve nutrient intake, as well as increase the feeling of freedum and reducing feelings of satiety. This also applies to variety in food. [9]
As mentioned previously, Healthy diet refers to the balance of nutrients within meals, or within overall eating. Some foods within a diet provide a source of many nutrients in varying amounts, some provide nutrients in large amounts as a singularity, whilst others have very low nutirient ratings, and are seen to be foods such as fried,deep-fried and "fast" foods which are high in calories, but low in nutrients[10] ; e.g a "USA" Big-Mac contains 560 calories, and has over 17% fat, way above the remit of 15% containting sugar, salt and fat. [11]
How much to eat?
As people differ in size in all aspects of build, body mass, height and weight, the "adequate" or "average" serving size is somewhat different from person to person, which makes the RNI difficult to calculate wether a person is at adequate intake, as nutrient levels which may seem high on average, may be low or normal for somebody with a high-end nutrient requirement. [12]
It is known that the sensations we experience when we consume food as a child have some effect on how we consume food in our later life, and has been through to be the reasoning behind eating habits, and from this it is known how much we can eat in one sitting. trhis is also true with how we perceive the sizes of the meals or increments of food we consume daily; people have different interpretations of what 'small' and 'large' meals are based on upbringing, but most importantly these can be used with what are known as "replica foods"; to establish the difference in portion size to the person. [13]
Regulation of food and nutrient intake
The regulation of food and nutrients, means lessening or increasing the amount of nutrients or food which would be within the diet. Most of the responses to foods within a diet come from people's innate belief that there are 'good' and 'bad' foods, and it is from that belief where people most often devlop bad diets, because they are eating foods which they consider "healthy" in abundance will create a healthy diet; however, this could not be further from the truth.
Eating more or less of particular foods
From this response, an individual must learn that there are no bad foods, and learn to follow the guidelines their state sets for a healthy diet. These usually range slightly from country to country based on demographics, but usually the same guidelines of eating less fried, or fatty foods to reduce cholesterol, or even replacing certain foods with healthier alternative, healthy meaning foods which contain both the same or more energy as the original food, but have an abundance of nutrients, foods such as Legumes or Beans, within a salad or pasta-meal for instance.
Eating more or less of particular nutrients
In terms of Nutrients, it is known from several surveys from the MAFF, and from various studies by the NHS, that the foods which people usually eat on average are tending to be further and further towards fast food, or ready meals; most of which not providing a balanced meal, and thus a large amount of people consuming only these foods have deficiencies in major nutrients.
From this, people should be able to, from governmental guidelines, be able to decide what amounts of nutrients they have in their diets and increase or decline intakes accordingly. However, people don't eat foods and not Nutrients, and few people know which foods stock which nutrients, so allowing people to self-regulate their diets means that they run the obvious risk of deficiency. [14]
However, even from pamphlets, or other media, the values of which nutrients come from which foods, and the effect of foods on a diet is a difficult decision. For instance, milk, cheese, and other dairy products are known to have a relatively high fat content, and it would be thought that those things with high fat content be removed from a healthy diet. However, when looking at the food, the more important surmation is to see if the food has an overall good effect on the diet; For instance, as said before, removing such dairy products from a healthy diet may lower fat intake, but will also have implication on the intakes of calcium and riboflavin that such foods posess.
As a consequence of difficulties in telling people of Nutrient intake in previous years, many governmental institutions have opted to go towards what foods to eat, rather than what nutrients. Obviously the lsited foods have good nutrient saturation, and are informed choices. [15]
Governmental schemes
For the last 80 or more years, governmental institutions for health have extensively tried using schemes and tools to promote a healthy diet within their countries. These are basic dietary guidelines, targeted mainly at sedentary individuals within the corresponding constituencies, they give a basic diet that has been assured will provide the correct amount of nutrients, reduce fat, and ensure that a healthy balance in food is maintained, as well as providing an increased immunity to common diseases, such as Influenza, or dietary-related diseases.
United States
The guidelines for healthy diets inthe United states, are particularly similar to those in the United Kingdom. The key differences between the United states and the United Kingdom, is notably, the sheer size and volume of processed food within the country. The United States, originally had a much larger processed or produced food network than the United Kingdom, with major fast food chains being founded in the the United states first, as well as the birth of Mass production. [16] [17]
MyPyramid / Food Guide Pyramid
However, the diet differs from the United Kingdom in that there are also physical guidelines given with the Dietary guidelines. This is most likely because of the volume of processed foods in the country, which are providing lessened amounts of nutrients in relation to those provided by organically grown foods. [18]
Although the majority of the guidelines are not "Dietary" related, and are more physical-exercise-oriented. Nevertheless, they are instructions which will yield a healthy lifestyle if followed properly;
- Aim for a healthy weight.
- By physically active every day.
- Let the pyramid guide your food choices.
- Eat a variety of grains daily, especially whole grains.
- Eat a variety of fruits and vegetables daily.
- Choose a diet that is low in saturated fat and cholesterol, and moderate in total fat.
- Choose beverages and foods that moderate your intake of sugars.
- Choose and prepare foods with less salt.
- If you drink alcoholic beverages, do so in moderation.
As with the united states, it is known that the idea of pushing nutrient intake is something which is unlikely to be received and used properly within the public, so the most viable solution for the United States government, is to push the idea of food intake, with the nutrient-importance still listed, but not implicitly linked to people watching the exact nutrients they intake, because it is seen as too detailed for the average sedentary individuals.
However, at the current state of the Health situation in America, the Healthy diet would have to be altered in order to combat the ever-increasing obesity epedemic that has been seen to grow in the United States. However, the basis of the diet would be based upon the same principles the American "Healthy Diet" has been based on, listed above. Although for those who are seen as morbidly obese, it is known that much more drastic dietary steps are needed to be taken in order to lost weight. [20]
Within the terms of a "Healthy Diet", the United States' terminology differs somewhat from that of the United kingdom. The American Dietetic Association refers to terminology such as "safe foods" which are not used in the United Kingdom. For instance, one of the dietary guidelines given is "Keep foods safe to eat", which may give the idea that through this sentence there are "unsafe" foods. The most likely definition of safe foods are foods that are nutrient rich, plant based, and provide a healthy balance within regular healthy diets.
The most recognised scheme used in the United States, is the Food Guide Pyramid, which is now known as MyPyramid, and is one of the first Food Guides produced, which were also originally introduced first in the United States. This is the main system used to aid people in the amounts of foods to eat, as well as choices of foods to provide a healthy diet, the main parts of the pyramid constituting what should be the base of the diet, the smaller sections of the pyramid relating to the food groups which should fill the corresponding size of the diet, the whole being the pyramid itself. pyramid_guide_agri Although the content and types of foods have changed since it's initial creation in 1916, the five food groups have still exist for obvious reasons;
- milk & meat
- breakfast cereals
- fruits and vegetables
- fats and fatty foods
- sugar and sugar-based / sugary foods.
- For more information on the Food Guide Pyramid, please refer to the article Food Guide Pyramid
United Kingdom
In the united kingdom, ever since the revelations of school dinners, and obesity figures shown by various governmental healthh organisations, the Food Standards Agency has changed the way that it looked at preaching the healthy diet. The original method, of a plate showing various portions of a diet, although it still exists within the offices of GP's throughout britain, it has been succeeded by a more loose method of ensuring nutrient intake ; focusing on the intake of foods as opposed to nutrients, which was the case in 1960's britain to prevent Bow leggedness within children. [22]
The approach now is a more relaxed and informative approach, detailing what a person should do, yet giving freedom in their choice of foods. However, this is not to say that this is the exact method of determining a healthy diet; the older materials still prove useful in terms of the balance of foods within diets. [23] [24] [25] [26]
Jamie Oliver's Crusade for Children's Healthy Diet
In the united kingdom, the current "hot topic" within health related questions regards to healthy diet, and compares with obesity figures in the United States. Many British programs such as ITN News, and Jamie's School dinners have criticised food manufacturers who supply foods to schools and other institutions, maintaining the argument that there are too many processed foods being fed to children, and too much profit being made.
So much so, a Television Chef, Jamie Oliver, vowed to change the meals given in schools to try and make children eat more healthy, in a Television documentary, Jamie's School dinners. He achieved limited success, until, somewhat at the end of his tether, showed the children at various schools how manufactured foods were produced, which forced them to think more about the foods that they eat. [27]
Nevertheless, since the show finished earlier this year, he has tried to persuade tony blair to expand the budget for children's school dinners, by striving for creating a more healthy balance within school meals. Nevertheless, to this date, Tony Blair has made no commitment to change how the school meal system works, so therefore, the food children will be eating will remain somewhat lacking in nutrients that vegatables could serve, as opposed to burgers, or pizza which, while cheap and easy to mass produce, have a very low nutrient value.
Governmental Advertising and Legislation against Junk Food
As of July 2005, the British government, under the advice of a white paper, disallowed fast food chains to advertise foods on television, such as burgers, which are known for their low nutrient density, saturation and content, as well as fat. The legislation also provided that such companies display healthier foods, and give out information that children should be doing 30 minutes exercise per day.
Recently, in the united kingdom, there were also a large number of Billboard advertisements commisioned, which showed black "censored" bars over the unprocessed contents of burgers, hot-dogs, pizza, and other well known junk foods. This was all spurned by an effort to tackle the overflowing problems of obesity, disease, and general health and wellbeing which was listed in a recent white paper backed by Tony Blair in an attempt to bring such problems into the public eye. [28]
Five-a-Day
The five a day scheme is a relatively new scheme which has been introduced in the United Kingdom, which has been established in parts of America as "Five to 9 a day"; as an easier approach to promoting healthy diets and healthy lifestyles. The "five a day" logo, is now advertised on adverts, such as Mcdonalds "fruit packs", or similarly, any adverts which contain fruits or vegetables which comprise part of of the five reccomended fruits and vegetables that should be eaten in a day. [29] [30]
The overall idea of five a day, is also backed by the NHS, because not only does it encourage healthy dieting, but healthy lifestyles also, going along the angles that most plant-based foods are known for their properties of "cleansing" the body of bad substances, because vegetables have very low fat content, but good nutrient density, particularly legumes, peas and lentils, and others such as leeks and potatoes. The idea is also that vegetables are known by people to be "healthy" foods, mainly because they are grown "organically" or "naturally"; this being one of the reasons why the five-a-day would have been selected above other methods which were used in the past, mainly because it has more solidarity in the amount and overall message of consumption for the public, which is one particular aspect which is deemed vital within a dietary plan or scheme. [31] [32]
- For more information on the Five a Day diet, please refer to the article Five a day
References
- ^ MAFF (Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food) 1990: Eight Guidelines for a healthy diet London: Food Sense
- ^ Barasi, Mary E. (2003) Human Nutrition: A Health Perspective London:Arnold
- ^ Macdonalds Corporation Quality & Nutrition information - McDonalds USA Big-Mac Nutrition factsheet Mcdonalds Corporation (http://app.mcdonalds.com/bagamcmeal?process=item&itemID=5)
- ^ Spurlock, M. Supersize Me - A film of epic Proportions Columbia Tristar
- ^ Nestle, M. (1998) Animal v plant foods in human diets and health - Proceedings of the Nutrition Society
- ^ National Health Service (2005) Five a day - a guide to healthy eating NHS Press (http://www.5aday.nhs.uk/)
- ^ Johnson, R. K. (2000). The 2000 Dietary Guidelines for Americans: foundation of US nutrition policy. - British Nutrition Foundation Nutrition Bulletin 25. p241-248
- ^ Achterberg, C., McDonnell, E., Bagby, R. (1994) How to put the Food Guide Pyramid into practice - Jornal of the American Dietetic Association Volume 94 p 1030-1035
- ^ United Kingdom Department of Health (2005): Choosing Health: making healthier choices easier -- Public Health White Paper CM 6374 retreived from: United Kingdom Department of Health Website
- ^ United States Department of Agriculture (2005) . MyPyramid - Guidelines for healthy eating - Dietary guidelines for americans USDA Press/Printing retreived from United States Department of agriculture - MyPyramid replaces food pyramid guide
- ^ Oliver, J., Channel Four (2005) Jamie's School Dinners - Documentary produced for channel four Television Programme.
- ^ Food standards Authority (2005) 8 easy steps to keeping a healthy and balanced diet - Eat well, be well retreived from Eat well, be well website.
- ^ National Cancer Institute (2005) Eat five to Nine servings of fruits and vegetables per day retreived from 5-a-day National Cancer institute