Why do we need to have a healthy eating visual representation, eat well plate or US food pyramid?

Healthy eating visual representations can be a very effective method to eat healthily and monitor what you eat. The two main forms of healthy eating visuals are the eat well plate and the US food pyramid. The purpose of both these visuals are to help people understand the variety of food we as humans need to consume on a daily basis and to get the balance right.

The eat well plate is dissected into 5 portions in each portion are a variety of foods, but not all sides are equal so it shows you visually the amount you should be consuming on a daily basis. The eat well plate is recommended by the NHS and they use it to promote health to a range of people. For adults and children over five, a diet based on the eat well plate is important, to make sure that we obtain the wide range of nutrients we need (NHS, 2011). Food portions in Americas restaurants have doubled or tripled over the last 20 years, a key factor that is contributing to a potentially devastating increase in obesity among young children and adults (National heart, lung and blood institute, 2013). This is one reason why we need visual representation of how much and of what we need to eat because the portion sizes are increasing drastically. “ Super sized portions at restaurants have distorted what Americans consider a normal portion size, and that affects how much we eat at home as well” said Dr. Elizabeth G. Nabel, (National heart, lung and blood institute, 2013).

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The food guide pyramid was created to educate people of the nutrition they needed and the amounts they needed. The food pyramid comes with very detailed information about what an individual needs to eat. There are pictures of all the types of food talked about in this pyramid and exactly how much calories per specified amount of food which would really help an individual monitor their daily calorie intake. All the foods that are shown in the pyramid are colour coded and a portion size is specified, so if an individual was stuck on what is a portion it is specified, which is really beneficial.  The pyramid is excellent to educate people on what they need to eat in order to stay at optimum health and what portion sizes to eat. The visuals on the pyramid as individuals can understand to them and relate to them and compare their diet to them in order to make sure they are on track.

 

 

Both visual representations are very useful, but the eat well plate is a lot similar than the food pyramid, the eat well plate is just the plate where the different foods are split up in the recommended sizes whereas the pyramid is a lot more informative, which some people may find a little confusing and hard to follow.  Even secretary Vilsack said that he had never been able to make sense of the pyramid (Health land, 2011). Even though the pyramid is a little hard to understand but visual representation is still very important as Michelle Obama unveiled the government’s new symbol for healthy eating, a colourful plate divided into basic food groups (Health land, 2011).

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

References

1. Health land. (2011). The USA ditches the food pyramid for a plate. [Online] [Accessed on 08 December 2013] http://healthland.time.com/2011/06/02/the-usda-ditches-the-food-pyramid-and-offers-a-plate/
2. Health land. (2011). The USA ditches the food pyramid for a plate. [Online] [Accessed on 08 December 2013] http://healthland.time.com/2011/06/02/the-usda-ditches-the-food-pyramid-and-offers-a-plate/
3. National heart, lung and blood institute. (2013). We can – Community news feature. [Online] [Accessed on 08 december 2013] http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/public/heart/obesity/wecan/news-events/matte1.htm
4. National heart, lung and blood institute. (2013). We can – Community news feature. [Online] [Accessed on 08 december 2013] http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/public/heart/obesity/wecan/news-events/matte1.htm
5. NHS. (2011). Healthy eating. [Online] [Accessed on 08 December 2013] http://www.healthystart.nhs.uk/food-and-health-tips/healthy-eating-eatwell-plate/

 

Why do humans need vitamins and minerals?

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Vitamins and minerals are micronutrients and micronutrients play a key role in the immune system, which is a highly complex defence mechanism designed to protect us against a host of invading micro-organisms, including bacteria, viruses, parasites and fungi, and against our cells becoming cancerous (Calder and Jackson, 2000). The immune system needs well over 20 different micronutrients to work efficiently, and several studies have shown that additional vitamins and minerals can improve immune function (David Godfrey, David Richardson, 2002). The most important vitamins involved in maintaining the body’s immune system are vitamins A, C, E, B6 and folic acid (Chandra, 1991).

Vitamin A plays important roles in vision, reproduction and immune functions (Chandra, 1997)[4]. Vitamin A is included with vitamins E and C as antioxidants, which help decrease free radicals that damage DNA, leading to cancer and cardiovascular disease (Halliwell, 1996).  Vitamin A deficiencies are rare except in undeveloped countries, the earliest symptom of deficiency is night blindness.

Vitamin C helps protect cells and keep them healthy, it is necessary for the maintenance of healthy connective tissue, and helps wound healing (NHS, 2011). People who have long term consumption of greater than RDA levels of vitamin C from foods or supplements have decreased risk of cataract development in later life (Bendich & Langseth, 1995). Signs of deficiency are tiredness, bleeding gums and slow healing wounds.

The main functions of vitamin D are to help regulate the amount of calcium and phosphate in the body.  Signs of deficiency are, unhealthy teeth, and causes weakening of bones. Taking the right amount of vitamin D may also reduce risk of certain cancers and heart disease (Prescott & Manalo).

Vitamin E is very important because it helps maintain cell structure by maintaining cell membranes. Also as mentioned above vitamin E is an antioxidant which helps reduce free radicals that lead to cancer and cardiovascular disease.

Calcium is one of the most abundant minerals in the body, with almost 98% of calcium bound to phosphorus to form the minerals of bones and teeth (LeMone, 1999). The benefits of calcium in the body are helping build strong bones and teeth, regulating muscle contractions, including heartbeat and ensuring blood clots normally. Lack of calcium can cause a condition called rickets which causes the bones to become soft and malformed which could lead to bone deformities.

Iron is another essential mineral that helps make red blood cells, which carry oxygen around the body. Without iron, anaemia sets in, and the symptoms for this are, tiredness, lethargy and shortness of breath.

Copper is a trace element and has some very important functions. Helps produce red and white blood cells and triggers the release of iron to form haemoglobin; haemoglobin is the substance that carries oxygen around the body. Which means copper is very important to humans as it essentially helps the body transport oxygen around the body which is vital to function. It is also thought to be important for infant growth, brain development, the immune system and strong bones (NHS, 2011).

The answer to the question at the beginning is yes, humans do need vitamins and minerals. They are needed to function, fight cancer and diseases and aid our bodies in important tasks to keep us healthy. One of the main functions of vitamins are to keep the immune system healthy each have their own properties but the ones that benefit our bodies the most are the ones with antioxidant properties. Minerals such as copper and iron are essential for the production of white and red blood cells which help our bodies function and have many other benefitting properties.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

References

1. Bendich, A., Langseth, L. (1995), ‘the health effects of vitamin C supplementation’ journal of the American college of nutrition, 14(2), pp. 124-136.
2. Calder, P.C., Jackson, A.A. (2000), ‘Undernutrition, infection and immune function’ nutrition research reviews, 13(1) pp. 83-95.
3. Chandra, R. K.  (1991), ‘Nutrition and immunity in the elderly’, Nutrition research reviews, (4), pp. 128-142.
4. Chandra , R.K , 1977. nutrition and the immune system . american journal of clinical nutrition , 66(20), pp. 460-464.
5. Godfrey, D.G., Richardson, D.R. (2002) ‘Vitamins and minerals for health’, british food journal, 104(11), pp.913-933.
6. Halliwell, B.H, (1996) ‘Antioxidants in human health and disease’, annual review of nutrition, 16, pp.33-50.
7. LeMone, P. (1999), ‘Vitamins and minerals’, journal of obstetric, gynaecologic & Neonatal nursing, 28, pp. 520-533.
8. NHS. (2011). Vitamins and minerals – vitamin C. [Online] [accessed on 05 December 2013] http://www.nhs.uk/Conditions/vitamins-minerals/Pages/Vitamin-C.aspx
9. NHS. (2011). Vitamins and minerals – others. [online] [accessed on 05 December 2013] http://www.nhs.uk/Conditions/vitamins-minerals/Pages/Other-vitamins-minerals.aspx
10. Prescott, J.P., Manalo, B.M. (2012)’vitamins & minerals for seniors’, pharmacy times, pp. 80.

 

The Mediterranean Diet

The Mediterranean diet

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People living in southern European regions in the 1960’s formed the basis for a healthy- eating model called the Mediterranean diet. The Mediterranean diet consists of low consumption of alcohol and meat and a high consumption of vegetables, fruits, nuts, and olive oil, this has been proven by a cohort study of 23,349 participants (Sherman, 2009). Coronary heart disease in the Mediterranean region has been described to be strikingly low according to a set of results (Walter C Willett, 2006).

The reason the Mediterranean diet is so beneficial to the body is because of the types of food consumed in it, a lot of the foods consumed in the diet have substantial levels of antioxidant properties, which remove free radicals and prevent cancerous cells from spreading. Epidemiologic evidence has supported beneficial effects of higher intakes of fruits and vegetables, whole grains, fish and daily consumption of moderate amounts of alcohol. Together with regular physical activity and not smoking, analysis suggests that over 80% of coronary heart disease, 70% of stroke, and 90% of type 2 diabetes can be avoided by healthy food choices that are consistent with the traditional Mediterranean diet (Walter C Willett, 2006).

 

Here is a pyramid of the Mediterranean diet; it shows clearly what is consumed and how often it is consumed. The foods that are consumed in the Mediterranean diet daily are all natural foods which are most likely grown at home by most Mediterranean people. Good food is a pretty powerful health booster. Whole grains, legumes, fruits, and vegetables are packed with fibre, which slows digestion and helps control blood sugar. Monounsaturated fats in olive oil, nuts and fish can have anti inflammatory effects, which may help stave off heart disease and many other conditions (Harvard health, 2013).

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Evidence shows that Mediterranean populations have reduced risk of certain chronic diseases and extended life expectancy compared with other populations in the world, despite their high intake of fat; this is because their main source of fat is olive oil (Better Health, 2011)

Olive oil plays a very important role in keeping the body safe from al ot of illnesses, studies show that olive oil consumption may have a protective role on breast, colon, lung, ovarian and skin care development, also a number of studies have also shown that olive oil may have additional beneficial effects on blood pressure, obesity, rheumatoid arthritis and immune function (Better Health, 2011).

Many studies have been carried out on the effects of the Mediterranean diet on human health and all have come to the conclusion that the Mediterranean diet very beneficial to the body, whether it be the anti cancer properties or the beneficial effects on ones blood pressure or to treat obesity. In conclusion for overall good health for the near future or distance future the Mediterranean diet is recommended.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

References

1. Better Health. (2011).      Olive oil. [Online] [Accessed 08 December 2013] http://www.betterhealth.vic.gov.au/bhcv2/bhcarticles.nsf/pages/Olive_oil
2. Better Health. (2011).      Olive oil. [Online] [Accessed 08 December 2013] http://www.betterhealth.vic.gov.au/bhcv2/bhcarticles.nsf/pages/Olive_oil
3. Harvard Health. (2013).      Adopt a Mediterranean diet now for better health later. [Online] [Accessed      08 December 2013] http://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/adopt-a-mediterranean-diet-now-for-better-health-later-201311066846
4. Sherman, L.S. (2009).      ‘Health benefits of Mediterranean diet dissected’, the journal of Chinese medicine. 91, pp.81.
5. Willet, C.W. (2006). ‘The      Mediterranean diet: science and practice’, public health nutrition, 9(1),      pp. 105-110.
6.  Willet, C.W. (2006). ‘The Mediterranean      diet: science and practice’, public      health nutrition, 9(1), pp.      105-110.