CNN - Nutrition Gap Flashcards
Explain briefly the meaning of “The Nutrition Gap”
The difference between the levels of nutrients the average person eating a Western diet is obtaining from food, and those nutrient levels identified by research as being needed for optimal health in the population.
List 4 prevailing things that create the “nutrition Gap” in modern day living
- Our food choices
- Food growing, processing and preparation methods
- The nutrient content of the food we eat
- The ability of our bodies to assimilate these nutrients
- Lifestyle factors e.g. smoking, alcohol and medications 6. Our level of activity
List 3 differences in the foods that are eaten today when compared with the same foods in Victorian days
- Rotational farming ensured mineral-rich fruit and vegetables
- Chemical fertilisers, herbicides and pesticides were not used
- Produce was consumed locally
- Free range animals produced meat higher in omega 3 than grain-fed animals and free from anti-biotics
Food preparation methods have also changed since then. List one common cooking method used today that is damaging to our health.
- Using herbs to absorb and remove noxious substances that form in cooking at high temps
- Using slow cooking processes at lower temperatures to maintain integrity of nutrients in food
- Using water from boiling meat and vegetables for soups and gravies
Why is it so damaging?
Whilst B vitamins are generally resistant to heat, they are water soluble and often get thrown away with the water they are cooked in
Our ability to make use (assimilate ) nutrients is a big part of the nutrition gap – what factors affect our ability to uptake, digest and use nutrients – list as many as you can think of.
Environmental influences e.g. drugs, chemicals, insecticides, pesticides and preservatives
Eating habits e.g. length of mealtimes, being more relaxed and amount of chewing
What are Mycorrhiza?
Probiotic bacteria
How does their presence affect the mineral content of our food?
Less probiotic bacteria = less minerals available to plants = less nutrients in the foods we and our livestock eat
The Scientific Advisory Committee on Nutrition (SACN) issued a Report in 2009 on the nutritional Wellbeing of the Population – list 3 things identified by that Report?
- Fruit and vegetable intake is suboptimal in all groups of the population – big impact on flavonoids and carotenoids
- Vitamin and mineral intake is suboptimal in all groups, with evidence of very low status of individual nutrients in some groups
- Low Vitamin D intakes have been identified in all age groups especially the elderly and pregnant women – big impact on mental health, cancers and bone health
- Low oily fish intakes have been identified in all age groups – big impact on CVD and inflammation
Organic food ought to be the best we can eat. What factors affect the nutritional quality of organic food?
Whilst the food has the benefit of being grown free from pesticide and herbicide residues, there is no guarantee that it contains more minerals than ordinary food i.e. the soil the food is grown in may have been stripped of nutrients through poor farming methods
List 3 environmental influences that prevail today that are detrimental to our health
- Intensive farming where fewer minerals are returned to the soil than are taken out
- Pesticides, insecticides and deep ploughing upset natural mycorrhiza.
- Desire for all-year round (out of season) fruit
- Fast and processed foods which have often lost most of their nutritional content
- Additives which are chemicals that the body does not recognise as food
- Factory farming which changes the EFA content of meat from high omega 3 to low omega 3 and high in omega 6
What are the main differences between 500 calories consumed of animal based foods as compared to 500 calories of plant based foods (in our diet).
More fat and cholesterol & less dietary fibre, Vitamin C & E anti-oxidants, B9 and essential minerals e.g. iron, magnesium and calcium
The 5-A-Day message has been promoted for many years – what effect has it had on the mean intake of fruit and vegetables across the population?
None
How does our average intake today of fruit and vegetables compare with the Mid Victorian era?
80% less than in Victorian days
Why do the following contribute to the nutrition gap:
a) Dieting
b) Smoking
c) Sun bathing to excess
d) Pregnancy
a) Eating less food reduces the intake of micronutrients at a time
b) Smoking kills Vitamin C and other anti-oxidants
c) Sun uses up anti-oxidants
d) Pregnancy increases the need for B complex vitamins, folic acid, vitamins A, D, E and minerals Iron, Calcium and Magnesium
