Popular Dietary Models - Traditional Diets Flashcards
Traditional Diets
Eating patterns relate to cultures or geographic regions which are centred around unprocessed, fresh, locally-derived foods.
* They offer ways of eating healthy, seasonal foods of high nutritional value.
* They don’t rely on highly processed foods that are stripped of their nutrients.
* Traditional foods are minimally processed and high in fibre, vitamins, minerals and antioxidants.
* Cancer, diabetes and cardiovascular disease are rare where traditional diets are eaten without the influence of Western food.
Traditional Arabic diet:
- Whole grains, vegetables and fruits; beans (chickpeas); herbs (parsley); goats’ milk, teas.
- In moderation: Meat (lamb), fish and seafood.
- No alcohol.
Traditional African diet:
- Vegetables, fruits, leafy greens; yams, sweet potatoes; beans; rice, flatbreads and other whole-grain foods.
- In moderation: Fish, seafood, meat, eggs.
Traditional Asian diet:
(countries are variable)
- Vegetables, fruits, beans, legumes, nuts, herbs, spices, teas, rice, noodles.
- In moderation: Fish, shellfish, meat, poultry, eggs.
Mediterranean diet:
A nutritional model based on traditional diets of the Mediterranean basin. Each region has slightly different dietary patterns.
Main characteristics:
* Abundance of plant food (fruits, veg, whole-grain cereals, nuts, legumes).
* Olive oil as the principal source of fat.
* Low consumption of red meat.
* Fish and poultry consumed in low to moderate amounts.
* Moderate consumption of wine, normally with meals.
Mediterranean diet compared to the northern European diet:
- Lower incidence of heart disease.
- Lower incidence of cancer.
- Lower incidence of diabetes.
- Slightly higher longevity.
- The protective effects are lower than those of the Blue Zones diet or healthy vegetarian / vegan diets.
Mediterranean Diet Pyramid
See diagram in notes
