Chapter 1: Food Choices and Human Health Flashcards
Chosen foods and beverages have a cumulative effect which can result in: either good health or poor health
Whole foods and beverages:
- Contain energy, nutrients, and other substances
- Support your body’s growth and development, maintenance, repair, and renewal efforts
Discuss the positive and negative impacts of food choices on a person’s health
Too little energy and/or some nutrients
Form of malnutrition
Deficiency
Can be too little or too much energy and too little of some nutrients and too much of other nutrients
(Form of malnutrition)
Imbalance
Too much energy and/or some nutrients
Form of malnutrition
Toxicity (excess)
Heart disease, some types of cancers, stroke, and diabetes mellitus
Diseases often associated with a poor diet over a life time
- Use of tobacco and/or alcohol
- Substance abuse
- Little to no physical activity
- Little or poor sleep
- Living with emotional stress
- Environmental factors such as: built-in barriers like busy streets which discourage walking and long work hours leaving little time for anything else
Other lifestyle choices that could be affecting your nutrition and health
- Iron deficiency anemia
- Vitamin / Mineral deficiencies
- Toxicities
- Poor resistance to disease
- Diabetes / Hypertension / Heart Disease
More nutrition related diseases
- Adult bone loss (osteoporosis)
- Cancer
- Infectious diseases
- Down syndrome
- Hemophilia
- Sickle-cell anemia
Less nutrition related diseases
- Published by U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
- Specific objectives to promote good health and long life address the following: chronic diseases, food safety, maternal/infant/child health, nutrient consumption, physical activity, and food security)
Healthy People 2020
- Reduce the proportion of adults with osteoporosis
- Reduce the death rates from cancer, diabetes, heart disease, and stroke
- Reduce the annual number of new cases of diabetes
Chronic Diseases
Healthy People 2020
- Reduce outbreaks of certain infections transmitted through food
- Reduce severe allergic reactions to food among adults with diagnosed food allergy
Food Safety
Healthy People 2020
- Reduce the number of low birthweight
- Increase the proportion of infants who are breastfed
- Reduce the occurrence of fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS)
- Reduce blood lead levels levels in children
- Increase the number of schools offering breakfast
Maternal, Infant, and Child Health
Healthy People 2020
Increase vegetables, fruits, and whole grains in the diets of those aged 2 years and older, and reduce solid fats and added sugars
Food and Nutrient Consumption
Healthy People 2020
Reduce the proportion of adolescents who engage in disordered eating behaviors in an attempt to control their weight.
Eating Disorders
Healthy People 2020
- Increase the proportion of children, adolescents, and adults who are at a healthy weight
- Reduce the proportions of children, adolescents, and adults who are obese
- Reduce the proportion of people who engage in no leisure-time physical activity
- Increase the proportion of schools that require daily physical education for all students
Physical Activity and Weight Control
Healthy People 2020
Eliminate very low food security among children in U.S. households
Food Security
Healthy People 2020
The three nutrient groups that supply energy for cellular use
- Carbohydrates
- Lipids (fats & oils)
- Proteins
The six nutrient groups that supply nutrients for cellular use
- Carbohydrates
- Lipids (fats and oils)
- Proteins
- Water
- Vitamins
- Minerals
Carbohydrate’s essential nutrient is
Glucose
Lipid’s essential nutrients are
Omega 3 fatty acid and Omega 6 fatty acid
Protein’s essential nutrients are
Nine of the twenty amino acids listed in Ch. 6
Foremost essential nutrient among the nutrients in food is
Water
Vitamin’s essential nutrients are
The 13 vitamins listed in Ch. 7
Minerals essential nutrients are
The 14 minerals listed in Ch. 8
- Water (largest amount of the macronutrients)
- Lipids (fat)
- Proteins
- Carbohydrates
- Minerals
- Vitamins (smallest amount of the micronutrients
The amount of each nutrient present in the human body from largest amount to smallest amount
Carbohydrate
Energy Nutrient
4 cal/g
Energy
Fat (lipid)
Energy Nutrient
9 cal/g
Energy
Protein
Energy Nutrient
4 cal/g
Energy
Scenario: At a local fast food restaurant, a person picked up her lunch which consisted of:
1 - 8 piece chicken tenders
1 medium serving of fries
1 small vanilla shake
This meal contained: 122g carbs, 69g fat, and 37g protein
This meal contained: 122g carbs x 4 cals/g = 488 cals 69g fat x 9 cals/g = 621 cals 37g protein x 4 cals/g = 148 cals
1,257 total cals
Each has potential use but neither of these can offer what whole foods can offer to the human body
- Elemental diets: chemical composition formulas developed for and administered to severely ill people
- Supplements: pills, liquids, or powders that contain purified nutrients or other ingredients
Can I live on Just Supplements?
- Physical benefit to the digestive tract
- Emotional comfort and feeling of well being
- Complex nutrient and phytochemical interactions
- Bioactive food components support body processes and may affect disease risk
- Most healthy people do not benefit from supplements
Reasons why food is superior to elemental diets and supplements
(also called basic, minimally processed) which usually contain the majority of all their original nutrients
EX: vegetables, fruits, lean meats, low fat milk, grains, and legumes (such as dried beans, peas, lentils, and soy)
Whole Foods
chemical compounds or substances that are made by plants (vegetables, fruits, grains, and legumes)
- support good health and may play a role in fighting chronic diseases
EX: found within carrots and broccoli assists in protecting the eye from macular degeneration (a form of blindeness)
Phytochemicals
Foods which may not contain all or any of their original nutrients
- Processed foods
- Fast foods and other ready to eat foods (deli, restaurants, street fairs, etc)
True or False: 80% of our population do not consume enough whole fruit and vegetables daily
TRUE
How, exactly, can I recognize a nutritious diet?
To assess and/or build a healthy eating plan, these five main characteristics are used: Adequacy, Balance, Moderation, & Variety
consuming sufficient amounts of essential nutrients, fiber, and energy (calories) to maintain health and body weight
Adequacy
using a number of different types of food in proportion to each other so that all nutrients are consumed
Balance
consuming sufficient calories (energy) to allow for weight maintenance and to allow for weight gain during growth and development periods (pregnancy and from birth to adulthood)
Calorie Control
consume constituents if used (such as sugar, salt, saturated fat, caffeine, alcohol, etc.) within set limits without excess
Moderation
selecting and consuming a wide selection of foods which is the opposite of a monotonous diet of a few foods consumed day after day
Variety
Eating is an intentional act which is further defined by:
- Convenience
- Cultural and social means of food: traditional cuisines and foodways / cultural competence (awareness and acceptance of cultures and physical abilities of individuals)
- Price
- Taste
- Vegetarian or Omnivore
- Advertising, availability
- Emotional comfort
- Habit
- Preference
- Social norms (peer pressure)
- Positive/negative associations
- Region of the country
- Values or beliefs
- Weight
- Nutrition and health benefits
Additional Factors Influencing Food Choices
may lead to possible avenues of research
case study
look for correlations in large populations
epidemiological study
alter people’s eating habits and examine effects
intervention study
pinpoint mechanisms by which nutrition acts
laboratory study
- Was the research finding (using the scientific method) published in a peer-reviewed journal? Did it describe the researches’ methods?
How to evaluate nutrition news
Was the study done using bacteria (single cell organisms), animals or humans?
Results from bacteria and animal studies may or may not relate to humans at all.
If humans were used, were 500 or more subjects used in the study?
How to evaluate nutrition news
Do the study participants resemble me?
How to evaluate nutrition news
Is this the first time I’ve heard about this? (has this study been duplicated numerous times with similar results in different areas around the world so that a consensus can be formed?)
How to evaluate nutrition news
Advice from authoritative health and nutrition organizations is based on reaffirming results from numerous research studies allowing for a consensus (the opinion of a group of experts based on collection of information) to be formed
How to evaluate nutrition news
Good advice: consider waiting until research findings are confirmed and a consensus is reached by reputable health organizations before making changes to your diet and lifestyle behaviors.
How to evaluate nutrition news
Characteristics - not considering a change; have no intention of changing; see no problems with current behavior
Actions - collect information about health effects of current behavior and potential benefits of change
Stage: Pre-contemplation
Characteristics - admit that change may be needed; weigh pros and cons of changing and not changing
Actions - commit to making a change and set a date to start
Stage: Contemplation
Characteristics - preparing to change a specific behavior, taking initial steps, and setting some goals
Actions - write an action plan, spelling out specific parts of the change. Set small-step goals; tell others about the plan
Stage: Preparation
Characteristics - striving to integrate the new behavior into daily life and striving to make it permanent
Actions - persevere through lapses. Teach others and help them achieve their own goals. (This stage can last for years)
Stage: Maintenence
Characteristics - the former behavior is gone and the new behavior is routine
Actions - after months or a year of maintenance without lapses, move on to other goals.
Stage: Adoption / Moving On
Behavior changes take substantial effort. The process of change is divided into how many stages?
Six
- Precontemplation
- Contemplation
- Preparation
- Action
- Maintenance
- Adoption / Moving On
Characteristics - committing time and energy to making a change; following a plan set for a specific behavior change
Action - perform the new behavior. Manage emotional and physical reactions to the change
Stage: Action
Whole, basic foods such as vegetables, fruit, whole grains, lean meat, and low fat dairy products
Do they have low or high nutrient density?
HIGH
- Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics
- American Journal of Clinical Nutrition
- U.S. Department of Agriculture
Credible Sources of Nutrition Information
- Who is responsible for the site?
- Do the names and credentials of information providers appear?
- Are links with other reliable information sites provided?
- Is the site updated regularly?
- Is the site selling a product or service?
- Does the site charge a fee to gain access?
Nutrition on the Net / How to judge website credibility
Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics
- Registered dietitian nutritionist (RDN)
- Certified diabetes instructor
- Public health nutritionist
- Dietetic technician, registered (DTR)
- Credentials matter (accredited institution. state licensing)
- Detecting fake credentials
True Nutrition Experts
