Healthy Diet

Healthy eating is the practice of making choices about what to eat with the intent of improving or maintaining good health. Usually this involves consuming necessary nutrients by eating the appropriate amounts from all of the food groups. Since human nutrition is complex a healthy diet may vary widely subject to an individual's genetic makeup, environment, and health. For around 20% of the planet's population, lack of food and malnutrition are the main impediments to healthy eating.

Nutritional Overview

Generally, a healthy diet will include:

• Sufficient calories to maintain a person's metabolic and activity needs, but not so excessive as to result in fat storage greater than roughly 12% of body mass;

• Sufficient fat, consisting mostly of mono- and polyunsaturated fats (avoiding saturated and "trans" fats) and with a balance of omega-6 and long-chain omega-3 lipids;

• Sufficient essential amino acids ("complete protein") to provide cellular replenishment and transport proteins;

• Essential micronutrients such as vitamins and certain minerals.

• Avoiding directly poisonous (e.g. heavy metals) and carcinogenic (e.g. benzene) substances;

• Avoiding foods contaminated by human pathogens (e.g. e. coli, tapeworm eggs);

• Avoiding chronic high doses of certain foods that are benign or beneficial in small or occasional doses, such as

  • foods or substances with directly toxic properties at high chronic doses (e.g. chickpeas, ethyl alcohol, Vitamin A);

  • foods that may interfere at high doses with other body processes (e.g. table salt);

  • foods that may burden or exhaust normal functions (e.g. refined carbohydrates without adequate dietary fiber).

Balanced Eating

Achieving a healthy diet is popularly misperceived as being attainable by way of eating 'healthy foods'. Many people falsely believe that there are 'good' and 'bad' foods; they develop bad diets because they think that abundant eating of foods they consider 'healthy' will create a healthy diet. However, this could not be further from the truth.

The consumption of nothing but substances that are deemed healthy, such as an "all-grain diet" or a diet consisting only of pasta or other health-foods, would most likely result in deficiencies because important nutrients (like protein-based foods) would be missed. Foods such as grains, fish, corn, etc. are healthy when consumed with a balanced diet, because in combination they supply us with all of the required nutrients. The most important aspect of any diet is maintaining a healthy intake and balance of foods.

The balance of micronutrients gained from meat, vegetables, and other foods is what makes diets healthy, not only consuming 'healthy' foods. For instance, milk, cheese, and other dairy products are known to have a relatively high fat content. Removing such dairy products from a diet may lower fat ingestion, but it will also negatively affect the intake of calcium and riboflavin that such foods offer.
 

Governmental Guidance

Although a healthy diet is based upon nutrition, people eat foods and not nutrients; as few people know which foods supply which nutrients, allowing people to self-regulate their diets means that they run the obvious risk of deficiency. Due to past difficulties of educating people about nutrient intake, governments have opted to counsel on what foods to eat rather than on what nutrients to ingest.

Most states set guidelines for a healthy diet -- these usually vary slightly from country to country based upon demographics. These guidelines do however usually share the same recommendations of eating less fried or fatty foods to reduce cholesterol. Many guidelines suggest replacing certain foods with healthier alternatives that supply an abundance of nutrients, for instance using legumes or beans within a salad or pasta.

As BMI and weight changes from person to person, the general Reference Nutrient Intakes (RNI) set by governmental institutions may be somewhat lacking for some people, despite the fact that the RNI is generally calculated as higher than the average nutrient intake. It is even thought that some people may have needs above that of the RNI, meaning even if a person achieved nutrient intake, they would still not be fulfilling the RNI. The only real way to know the RNI for a person is to implicitly monitor the intake of nutrients and amount of exercise.
 

Detrimental Eating Habits

In specific individuals, ingesting foods containing natural allergens (e.g. peanuts, shell food) or drug-induced allergens (e.g. tyramine for a person taking an MAO inhibitor) may be life-threatening.

Some foods have low nutritional value, and if consumed on a regular basis will contribute to the decline of human health. This has been demonstrated by various epidemiological studies that have determined that foods such as processed and fast foods are linked to diabetes and various heart problems.

When improperly cut or prepared, a small number of foods (such as fugu) can result in death.

The ingredient usually cited as being most crucial to good health, water, has even been known to result in death when consumed in extraordinary quantities.
 

Cultural and Psychological Factors

From a psychological perspective, a new healthy diet may be difficult to achieve for a person with poor eating habits. This may be due to tastes acquired in early adolescence and preferences for fatty foods. It may be easier for such a person to transition to a healthy diet if treats such as chocolate are allowed; sweets may act as mood stabilizers, which could help reinforce correct nutrient intake.

It is known that the experiences we have in childhood relating to consumption of food affect our perspective on food consumption in later life. From this, we are able to determine ourselves our limits of how much we will eat, as well as foods we will not eat - which can develop into eating disorders, such as anorexia or bulimia nervosa. This is also true with how we perceive the sizes of the meals or amounts of food we consume daily; people have different interpretations of small and large meals based on upbringing.

While plants, vegetables, and fruits are known to help reduce the incidence of chronic disease, the benefits on health posed by plant-based foods, as well as the percentage of which a diet needs to be plant based in order to have health benefits is unknown. Nevertheless, plant-based food diets in society and between nutritionist circles are linked to health and longevity, as well as contributing to lowering cholesterol, weight loss, and in some cases, stress reduction.

Indeed, ideas of what counts as "healthy eating" have varied in different times and places, according to scientific advances in the field of nutrition, cultural fashions, religious proscriptions, or personal considerations.
 

Public Policy Issues

Fears of high cholesterol were frequently voiced up until the mid-1990s. However, more recent research has shown that the distinction between high- and low-density lipoprotein ('good' and 'bad' cholesterol, respectively) must be addressed when speaking of the potential ill effects of cholesterol. Low-density lipoprotein is often prevalent in animal products, such as bacon and egg yolks, whereas high-density lipoprotein is more common in plant and fish tissues, such as olive oil and salmon.

Media coverage of mass-produced, processed, "snack" or "sweet" products directly marketed at children has worked to undermine policy efforts to improve eating habits. The main problem with such advertisements for foods is that alcohol and fast food are portrayed as offering excitement, escape and instant gratification.

Particularly within the last five years government agencies have attempted to combat the amount and method of media coverage lavished upon "junk" foods. Governments also put pressure on businesses to promote healthy food options, consider limiting the availability of junk food in state-run schools, and tax foods that are high in fat. Most recently, the United Kingdom removed the rights for McDonalds to advertise its products as the majority of the foods that were seen to have low nutrient values were aimed at children under the guise of the "Happy Meal". The British Heart Foundation released its own government-funded advertisements, labeled "Food4Thought," which were targeted at children and adults displaying the gory nature of how fast food is generally constituted.
 

Food Additive Controversy

Some people claim that food additives, such as artificial sweeteners, colorants, preserving agents, and flavorings may cause health problems even though they were extensively tested before being allowed into the market. For example, artificial colorants are claimed to cause hyperactivity in susceptible children.

As another example, people on calorie-restricted diets often choose to buy products advertised as "reduced calorie" or "no sugar added". These products contain artificial sweeteners. These are safe to consume in small quantities, and are of low toxicity. Safety studies may well show some advantage in substitutions, product by product. When dieters buy reduced-calorie soft drinks, biscuits, cakes, flavored water, yogurt, and so on, all may contain combinations of the leading artificial sweeteners - cumulative doses are at higher levels than those on which the safety studies were based.

The issue of sweetening is just one example. Other taste-enhancing additives (e.g. salt substitutes) or flavorings are also hidden in processed foods and drink, as are colorants. Mandatory food labeling is one attempt to overcome the problem. This invites the consumer to check the ingredients of their foods before consumption. However, the average person has no training in organic chemistry and its nutritional effects. Neither is it practical for individuals to manage scorecards recording all the nutrients they consume.

Some would assert that research into the toxicity of many varied artificial ingredients has been inconclusive. The USA's Food and Drug Administration has very stringent requirements for the introduction of new food ingredients, and this includes rigorous testing on animals, where the animals are given exorbitant amounts of these chemicals - far more than humans ever would be likely to consume.
 

Recommendations for Young Children

Children thrive on routines and love to know what is expected of them. Even though every child and family is different, it is important to recognize the benefits that consistent routines provide for children. Daily routines help children learn a sense of independence, stability and value. Set times for breakfast, lunch and dinner, along with healthy snacks throughout the day to make meal times more relaxed. Most children are happier on a schedule and will become hungry at regular times.
 

Tips for helping make mealtime a positive experience for children:

• Allow your child to eat at his or her own pace.

• Mealtimes are opportunities for children to learn independence by making choices about food.

• Encourage your child to taste everything, but do not force him or her to eat. Because children are picky eaters by nature, it may be necessary to present them with a new food several times before they actually eat it on their own.

• Serve a variety of healthy foods (perhaps different foods on different days) so your child can get all the essential nutrients even if he or she doesn't eat some of the foods.

• If you don't have junk food in the house or don't put it on the table, your child will get hungry and eat the healthy food.

• According to JR Harris in her book "The Nurture Assumption", the best way to encourage a child to eat a food is to serve it when other children who like it are present so your child can see the other children enjoying it; seeing an adult enjoy the food has little impact.