What is a nutritious (healthy) diet? Flashcards
A nutritious diet is…
Adequate, moderate, balanced, and varied.
Adequate
Provides enough energy, nutrients, and fibre to maintain health.
Eat nutrient dense foods, especially for people with small appetites.
-older people eat less and have less enzymes so don’t absorb as much nutrients (decreased activity of enzymes) therefore must have nutrient dense meals.
Limit empty calories.
Inadequate Diets
Impaired growth and development.
Menstrual cycle, loss of bone, and hair.
Impaired athletic performance.
Evidence of an Adequate Diet
Can use the DRI’s.
Adequate diet provides enough energy, nutrients, and fibre to maintain health.
-meets the EER
-meets the RDA for nutrient’s with RDA’s
-meets the AI for nutrients without RDA’s
-includes vegetables, fruits, and whole grains
Moderate
Not too much and not too little of any one food.
-eating the right amounts of foods to maintain a healthy weight
Limit overconsumption of foods, especially empty calories, added sugar, trans fat, ultra-processed foods, added fats, sodium, cured meats, and red meats.
Evidence of Moderate Diet
Eating the right amounts of food to maintain a healthy weight.
Does not exceed or fall below the EER.
Does not exceed or fall well below the RDA or AI.
Does not exceed the UL
Balanced
Contains the combinations of foods that provide the proper balance of nutrients.
Balancing caloric intake with expenditure.
Evidence of a Balanced Diet
Contains the combinations of foods that provide the proper balance of nutrients.
Falls within the AMDRs.
Does not exceed or fall short of the EER.
Varied
Eating many different foods throughout the week.
Evidence of a Varied Diet
Eating many diet foods in a week.
Meets appropriate food guide recommendations.
Eat a variety of different coloured vegetables and fruits.
-different colours signal different nutrients in vegetables and fruit.
Common Things that Violates
a Healthy Diet
Food jags = children only eat one or a few foods.
Fad diets = violates nutrition recommendations/components of diet.
Liquid meal replacements.
Tools for Planning a Nutritious Diet
Dietary Guidelines
Food Labels
The interweb
Canada’s Food Guide
Less emphasis on what to eat.
New emphasis on how, when, and why we eat.
Plant-based proteins address environmental and individual health.
-more fibre, antioxidants, less of bad saturated fat.
Focuses on proportions of foods to create balanced meals.
Four Components of Food Labels
1) Ingredient List
-listed in descending order by weight (heaviest to lightest)
-can be deceiving
-some foods are exempt
2) Nutrition Facts Label
-energy and 13 key nutrients in 1 serving
-standard and less than 2 years format
-the % daily value is based on a 2000 calorie diet
3) Nutrient Content Claims
-all based on 1 serving
-free = insignificant amount
-low = small amount
-reduced = 25% less than the original product
-source = significant amount in a serving
-can make claims for some things but don’t take into account other factors/health claims
4) Health Claims
-statements that link a food or food component with a reduced risk of disease or condition in the context of a total diet
-qualifying statement required
Reading Food Labels
Serving Size
-calories
-percent daily values (%)
-% DV and Nutrient Claims
Percent Daily Values (%)
Developed for packaging and labeling for general populations.
Based on a 2000 calorie diet.
Uses two sources of information for calculations.
1) Reference Standards: standardized food label values
-based on 2000 calorie diet which is used to develop % DV for these nutrients
-protein doesn’t have a % DV because inadequate intake is not a public health concern (it is exceeded by most)
2) Recommended Daily Intake (RDI): standardized food label values for nutrients with RDAs and AIs
-have to use because can’t use RDA or AI for every life stage
% DV and Nutrient Claims
Low = less than 5% of the nutrient
High = more than 20% of the nutrient
How to use food labels?
Be aware of products high in saturated fats, trans fats, cholesterol, sodium, added sugar, and number of ingredients and names of ingredients.
Remember to always look at serving size.
Logo Programs
Disbanded because of industry involvement and unhealthy foods.
Labelling Changes on the Horizon
Sugars listed as a group
-daily value for sugars
