Various foods act as vehicles to bring
various nutrients into our bodies, so you require a variety
of foods to obtain a variety of nutrients. This may make eating
healthy sound like a matter of guesswork, but it is not…
eating
healthy is easier than you think
…is a recommendation that many
of us have heard or seen. But how many of actually apply it.
How many of us even know how to apply it or what it practically
means…
Current
dietary guidelines recommend eating a “wide variety of foods”
in appropriate quantities to provide your body with the necessary
nutrients and food constituents to achieve dietary adequacy
and a healthy body weight. Easy enough to do? At first glance
that may sound simple, but is it really? As the term “variety”
is clearly such an arbitrary term, especially with reference
to quantities, opinions as to what constitutes a “wide variety
of foods” would differ from person to person. This makes the
task of achieving a healthy diet a matter of guesswork for
the general public. This need not be so, as a varied diet
can be practically achieved, if one knows how.
No
single food type or food group provides all the nutrients
your body requires but some foods are more nutrient dense
than others. For example, fruit provides carbohydrate, vitamins
and minerals, and breads and cereals provide carbohydrate
but both provide very little protein and fat. Milk and dairy
products provide protein and calcium but no dietary fibre.
Meat provides protein but very little carbohydrate and calcium
and no dietary fibre. Eating a wide variety of foods from
the various food groups increases your likelihood of consuming
sufficient nutrients as the food compliment each other with
regards to nutrient content, thus curbing the possibility
of any deficiency diseases.
Information
with regards to the role of nutrients is constantly emerging,
with guidelines for estimating nutritional needs being developed
or revised continuously. However recommended levels for
certain nutrients have not been well defined and a varied
diet should provide adequate amounts of these nutrients.
There
are many physiologically
active food constituents (e.g. fibre) that are not considered
nutrients but do have a biological effect
and may influence your health status and susceptibility
to disease. Including these constituents in your diet is
important and a varied diet, particularly rich in plant
foods, would increase the likelihood of this.
Food
will always
have an ever-present
role in our lives, and having a variety of foods makes things
more interesting and pleasurable.
Eating
a varied diet can help to recognise your taste preferences
and food habits without forfeiting your health. Health should
not only be maintained, but also enjoyed.
However,
more than just eating a varied diet, your diet needs to be
balanced. In other words, your diet should provide adequate
amounts of nutrients and energy to meet your individual needs,
not only to avoid disease, but also to promote health. One
way to balance your diet when consuming a variety of foods
is to select foods from the various food groups every
day:
Bread, cereals, rice and pasta
Vegetables and Fruit
Milk, cheese and other dairy products
Meat, poultry, fish, eggs, dry beans and nuts
Fats and oils
Eating
nutritious foods in suitable quantities is also necessary
to provide an adequate amount of energy to achieve and maintain
a healthy body weight and to provide nutrients in adequate
amounts. By choosing moderate size portions of the foods you
eat ensures that balance and variety are possible in your
diet. Eating in moderation requires planning your entire day’s
diet so that you can balance the nutrient sources. Generally,
no food needs to be excluded, rather moderate quantities should
be consumed of a variety of foods. For example, if one of
your meals during the day is high in fat and sugar, like a
cheeseburger and cool drink, your other meals should be less
concentrated in the same nutrients (i.e. fat and sugar), such
as whole grains, fruit and vegetables. Overall, your diet
should control the intake of fat, saturated fat, cholesterol,
salt, sugar and alcohol, as these in excess are known to promote
diseases of lifestyle (Heart disease, Diabetes Mellitus, Cancer,
Hypertension).
Developed
by the Nutrition Information Centre of
the Univ of Stellenbosch
Francie
van Zijl Drive, Clinical Building, Tygerberg 7505, Tygerberg
Designed
by Clint D.Pietersen RD(SA)
