food guide Flashcards
Food guide over the years
- The original intent of the food guide was to address malnutrition and wartime rationing around 1942
- Evolved NOW to address obesity and chronic illness
- Changes to the most recent guide needed to balance the agriculture and food industry (protecting Canadian economy and health)
- The most recent food guide also focuses on environmental stability, animal welfare and the importance of eating local
1942: Highlights milk (because commonly available) and cheese, eating citrus or fruits, potatoes needed daily, leafy greens, one serving of fish and meats, liver kidney or heart needed once a week and eggs needed a few times in a week. Advised to eat health-protective foods.
1944: Certain portions were increased, including milk and potatoes. Mostly promoted more milk due to overproduction. Recommended to eat liver frequently remained but due to less supplies, there was fewer recommendations for kidney and heart.
1961: Fruit juice recommended. Proper servings are recommended. Changed to a guide rather than rules because malnutrition was not common after war. Potatoes were still recommended and eggs and cheese were more recommended due to availability. Fortified margarine was also now allowed.
1977: Plate portions with a variety of foods are shown rather than giving specific things to eat. Fruits and vegetables were combined to a single group to reduce number of food groups. Variety of foods from each group are shown.
1992: Now changes to curve to show which food groups needed to be eaten in higher proportions in order to be healthy. More a visual aspect to the guide. Recommends to choose lower fats food more. Included culturally specific items like a bowl of rice with chopsticks.
Current - 2007: Plate portions back again. Eat well. Live well. Clearly trying to prevent illnesses and be healthier. Half of a meal should be veggies and fruits, a quarter should be protein, and the other quarter should be grains. Guide’s purpose is to help people make healthy food choices. Eating well guide - making suggestions to eat well not being a rigid guide.
Canada’s Official Food Rules, 1942
The food groups given were milk, fruits, vegetables, cereal and bread, meats and fish and eggs. Specific quantities given such as pints of milk, serving of citrus fruits and tomatoes and eating a serving of meat or fish daily. Purpose was to let individuals know how much to eat and of what in order to decrease levels of malnutrition. Foods mentioned were based on availability during the war. The rules were given as a list rather than an actual graphic organizer and instructions were to eat them everyday in at least the amounts given.
[Milk - Adults half a pint. Children more than one pint and some cheese as available.]
[Fruits - One serving of tomatoes daily or of a citrus fruit or of tomato or citrus fruit juices and one serving of other fruits, fresh, canned or diced]
[Vegetables - One serving daily of potatoes and two servings of vegetables like leafy greens or yellow and frequently raw]
[Cereals and Bread - One serving of a whole grain cereal and 4-6 slices of brown or white bread]
[Meat, Fish etc. - One serving a day of meat, fish or meat substitutes. Liver, heart of kidney once a week]
[Eggs - 3-4 weekly]
[Sources of Vitamin D such as fish liver oils, is essential for children and advisable to some adults]
Canada’s Food Rules, 1944
The food groups given were milk, fruit, vegetables, cereals and bread, meat and fish and at the bottom fish liver oil recommended for Vitamin D. This version recommended more milk so Vitamin B could be met. Even though more milk was reocmended there was actually a shortage at this time. They also recommended to drink water and cook with iodized salt. A message about overeating and avoiding this was also given since there were food shortages in areas around the world. Once again the rules were given as a list with small designs of the basic food groups. General food recoemndations were the same except more cheese recommended.
Canada’s Food Rules, 1949
Food groups were similar as there was milk, fruit, vegetables, cereals and bread and meats and fish. A higher consumption of milk, fruits (even juices), vegetables and whole grains was now recommended. Fortified margarine was also added with butter in the bread and cereal category. Fortified foods recommended as they make sure nutritional needs are met. It specifies that one of three recommended daily vegetable servings be a serving of potatoes (boiling was the primary method rather than eating as fries or chips). Graphic organizer had more design and colour. Showed pictures of the foods like fruits and meats. Servings still recommended except mentions to get 400 units of Vitamind D daily rather than providing the foods you can get it from.
Canada’s Food Guide, 1961
Now changed the name to Canada’s food guide. They reconized the diets of newcoming immigtants and included a broader range of foods and flexibility in food choices. The guide mentions the types of nutrients found in the food groups such as whole grain breads and cereals provide riboflavin and iron. Mentioned that women who are pregant or nursing should drink more milk than other adults. Same food cetegories as before. It’s a colourful food guide however there are no images. Similar foods recommended except this time it gives sources of Vitamin D and many more recommendations/options.
Canada’s Food Guide, 1977
This guide includes metric serving size suggestions. It also includes changes based on a food survey and considered the national food consumption. The guide also looks at the energy needs depending on factors such as age sex and activity. The guide includes information like examples of foods and serving sizes such as one serving of cooked lean meat. Serving sizes seems to be helpful as they mention that the meat serving should be 60-90g. Food groups are milk and milk products, meat and alternatives, bread and cereals, and fruits and vegetables. The graphic organizer is in plate form and shows many different options for each food category rather than giving specific foods to eat. Mentions to eat a variety of foods from each group every day.
Canada’s Food Guide, 1982
The guide is pretty much the same as 1977 except it includes two new statements based on research that connects diet to cardiovascular disease. They reccomend to baalnce energy intake from foods with the amount of energy you output through physical activity to control weight. It aslo recommends for moderation so people should limit their intake of fats, sugar, salt and alcohol. Healtha Canada noticed research connecting diet to chronic diseses so they recommended to increase fish intake to twice a week to reduce cardiovascular disease chances. The guide looked the same with the same food groups except with the new statement about energy balance, moderation and eating variety of foods from each group.
Canada’s Food Guide to Healthy Eating, 1992
This guide food groups were grain products, vegetables and fruits, milk products and meats and alternatives. Once again more cultural diets were taken into consideration and added into the graphic organizer. Name change considers diet as a whole rather than just meeting nutritional needs. The aim is to meet energy and nutrient requirements knowing both vary depending on factors. A number of different serving were provided in each food group considering age and sex. An extra group of foods were added called other foods which are foods that do not contain as much nutritional value and contain more fat. They are recomended to eat in moderate amounts. The graphic organizer is colourful again, more pictures of a variety of foods are added and organized in a way to show which groups need to be eaten in more amounts. Mentions to eat lower fat foods more often compared to other fats. Serving sizes seem to have increased as the vegetables and fruits serving size has increased to 5-10 per day from 4-5.
Eating Well with Canada’s Food Guide, 2007
This food guide took into account the Canadian food supply, eating patterns, and how people would use the food guide. Listening to concerns food preferences from different cultures were added. Better serving sizes were also added due to confusion. Examples of more diverse food and alternatives added were fortified soy beverages to the milk and alternatives group. The guide is just recommendations for how much you should be eating and it’s normal to be eating slightly different than said. The guide is colourful and includes different foods in each group, the amount of one serving in cups or grams, and the number of servings of each food group depending on age and sex.
Of different foods in each food group a serving size is given such as 1 cup of milk, 50 g of cheese, half a cup of vegetables, one cup of raw leafy vegetables, one slice of bread, 150g tofu and 75g of lean meat. Servings needed in a day are provided for all age groups and sex. For example, Teen 14-18 females are recommended 7 servings of fruits and vegetables while male are recommended 8, 6 for grain products but 7 for male, 3-4 servings of milk and alternatives for both and 2 servings of meat for females but 3 for males.
Food Guide General Notes and Recommendations
- The current food guide is used to help Canadians meet their nutrient reuqirmnet and to reduce certain types of chronic illnesses/diseases
- Vegetables and fruits are required in the highest amounts - Recommended to eat at least on dark green and one orange vegetable each day - Broccoli, garlic and tomatoes have antioxidants which help decrease aging and risk of disease
- Grain products are required in daily diet but whole grain is more recommended as they include lots of fibre and magnesium
- Milk and alternatives are also required - Alternatives like soy are given as many people cannot digest dairy products - Fortified milks are good to drink as they include good amounts of nutrients and vitamins - Recommended to choose lower fat milk products or alternatives as high fat milk products are linked to negative infleunces on cardiovascular health
- Meat and alternatives are also necessary in daily diet - Main alternative is legumes like beans and lentils because their include lots of dietary fibre - Fish is also important as it contains omega-3 fats which are linked to combating cardiovascular disease - Choose meats that are low in salt and fat - Lean meats are better
- Portion control is imprtant in order to avoid over or under eating - follow Food Guide serving recommendations for this
- The guide recommends to limit intake of other foods - Other foods include snack foods like chips, donuts, chocolates, fruit drinks and fries - These foods have lots of calories but few nutritional benefits
- The guide also recommends to have daily exercise along with teh food recommendations - Physical activity helps with good health and it is recomended to get at least an hour of daily exercise
- Food guildines and nutrient intake change/increase for pregnant or breastfeeding women
- There is also a Food Guide for Indiegnous people that recognize theri traditional foods but also foods accessible to them and makes recommendations based on such information
Vegetables and fruit
Recommendations:
½ of your plate should be filled with fruits and veggies
Different textures, colours and shapes should be included
Orange vegetables should be eaten a few times a week
Vegetables and fruits that should be eaten often are berries, cabbage, pears and peaches
Dark green vegetables should be included in diet
Frozen vegetables and fruits should not include added sugars, seasoning, breading or rich sauces
Choose canned vegetables with little to no sodium
Rinse and drain canned vegetables to reduce sodium
Baking, roasting, steaming and air frying are healthy cooking methods
Dried fruits should be eaten with meals
Cut fresh vegetables should be kept in the fridge
Ways to consume vegetables include:
Adding canned pumpkin or squash puree to soup
Using pre bagged veggies to cook easily
How to consume more healthy desserts:
Eat oranges and fruit salads with little added sugar
Add fruits to salads
Add frozen fruits to baking
Wash, cut and refrigerate extra fruit for later use
What the research says:
Research shows that five serving of fruits and veggies a day is not enough as having around seven servings has more health benefits and promotes a prolonged life
This is why Canada recommends 6-10 servings of fruits and veggies daily
The American Heart Association recommends 5 servings of fruits and veggies daily
Recent study of two million adults showed that eating 5 servings of fruits and vegetables could help reduce the risk of chronic health conditions like heart disease
Fruits and veggies generally help lower the risk of chronic diseases
A large study found that a large intake of fruits and vegetables is associated with reduced risk of death from cardiovascular disease with an average reduction in risk of 4% for each additional serving. Those who average 8+ servings of fruits and vegetables compared to those who eat around 2 are 30% less likely to have a heart attack or stroke
Eating fruits and vegetables can help manage weight - they are low in calories and high in water content - they also contain lots of fibre
Fruits and vegetables contain vitamins and minerals that are known as antioxidants which reduce risk of diseases - examples include vitamins C and E, magnesium and beta-carotene
Fruits and vegetables supply minerals and vitamins to the diet and are a source of phytochemicals that also function as antioxidants and anti-inflammatory agents
Grain products
Recommendations:
A quarter of your plate should be grains
Whole-grain foods include fibre, vitamins and minerals
Whole grain foods are better than refined grains as they contain all parts of the grains
whole grain foods also have more fiber than refined grains which lowers the risk of stroke, colon cancer, heart disease and type 2 diabetes
variety includes quinoa, whole grain pastas, breads, oatmeals, etc
Grains should consist of a daily intake of 6 servings a day
Of the 6 servings 3 should consist of whole grains
Bakery products, sugary breakfast cereals and pasta are some whole grain foods that contain lots of sodium sugar or saturated fat so intake of such foods should be limited
Choose whole grain foods with little to no added sodium, sugars, or saturated fats
When preparing whole grain foods you can make such meals healthier by reducing salt added, limiting the amount of sauce you use and by adding vegetables, spices or herbs to increase flavours
Snack ideas include whole grain cereals, crackers, and baked pita chips
There are many different kinds of whole grains (farro, freekeh, amarant, buckwheat) that can all be incorporated into a diet
Read the ingredient list and choose foods that have the words “whole grain” followed by the name of the grain as one of the first ingredients like “whole grain oats” or “whole grain wheat”
What the research says:
The way this guide was constructed was based on scientific research, relevance based on Canadian diets and the use of existing dietary guides
The guide looks at the demographics and health trends found in Canadians and emphasizes certain guides for whole grain intake - emphasizes low sodium and saturated fat in whole grains due to increase in chronic illnesses in Canadians
Research and evidence found in Canadians was that dietary fibre increase helped improve blood lipid levels (cholesterol) - whole grain foods are considered to be carbohydrates and diets high in carbs compared to high in fat or protein actually improved blood lipid levels
Canada’s food guide aligns with the Healthy Eating Food Index 2019 (provides a diet quality score) and Dietary Screeners (short questionnaires that provide an assessment of dietary intake)
Research also found that dietary fibre increase intake in diet decreased the risk of colon cancer, cardiovascular diseases and type 2 diabetes
The use of the 2015 Health Canada evidence review was used to set dietary values
These recommendations were made with the help of 50+ studies on diets and how each food group including whole grain foods should be eaten and in what amounts
Milk and alternatives
Recommendations:
2-3 servings
depend on sex, age and health problems
avoid sweetened products
soy is an alternative - high in protein, low in fat and aids in preventing chronic diseases
food guide encourages choosing lower-fat milk products or milk alternatives
Choose yogurt and milk that is 2% or less
Choose cheese with 15-20% fat or less
What the research says:
Some alternatives can be fortified milks with additional vitamins and nutrients
Dairy alternative milks tend to have less calories and less fat and rather more water content
According to a Harvard article it mentions that soy can have a beneficial effect on many health conditions - when soy is eaten as an alternative to processed and red meat it can provide benefits
The article also says that soy foods are rich in Vitamin B, fibre and potassium
Soy is a complete protein and contains nine essential amino acids that the body is unable to make
Milk is filled with protein and calcium
Soy products are high in protein and low in fat so they aid in preventing heart disease and cancer
Ice cream and other sweet milk products should be consumed in moderation due to negative influences on health
Meat and Alternatives
Recommendations:
People do not need to eat large amounts of protein foods to meet nutritional needs - lean meats and poultry should be enough
Vegetarians should incorporate foods and drinks that are fortified with vitamin b12 as it is only found in animal-based foods
Common healthy foods that are high in protein are nuts and seeds, fish and shellfish, hard-boiled eggs and hummus with veggies
Plant-based foods that are high in protein are beans, lentils and nuts - these are healthy choices as well
Healthy seafood choices are canned fish
Choosing high protein foods with healthier fat instead of saturated fat to lower the risk of chronic diseases like heart diseases - avocado, vegetable oil and soybeans are good choices
Try preparing foods by draining off extra fat after cooking, cutting visible fat off from meat and limit the amount of butter, gravy and sauces included
Try methods of grilling, baking or roasting meats
What the research says:
Those who eat more red meats are more likely to have heart disease, stroke and diabetes
Those who are vegetarians are likely to weigh less and consume less fat and protein
Processed meats like hot dogs or ham are linked to risk of colorectal cancer
Simulated protein meats are highly processed and adds extra sodium and saturated fat - unhealthy
A quarter of a meal should be meat or alternatives - on average 90g or 3 ounces of cooked meat is good
Eating plant-based proteins can lower blood cholesterol and improve blood sugar levels
Fish or seafood should be eaten at least twice a week to reduce risk of heart disease or renal disorders
Boiling, grilling and baking are better cooking methods as they require little to no fat
Plant-based meats should be fortified with vitamin b12 to gain essential vitamins that keep our blood and nerve cells healthy
