Rules and Principles of a good diet
Three basic principles to ensure a well equipped nutritional diet. – variety – wholesomeness – unprocessed foods
Variety – The importance of variety in your diet is so that food groups don’t get excluded and then there is a risk to chronic diseases. Eating a wide variety of food in moderation is going to ensure you get adequate amount of nutrition in your diet. Eating a variety over the day out of the five food groups should be your plan – – Breads, cereal, pasta, rice and noodles – Vegetables, legumes – Fruit – Milk, yoghurt, cheese – Meat, fish, poultry, eggs, nuts, legumes
Each food group contains different foods that bring different nutrients to the body, such as fibre, fat, magnesium, vitamins, folate, sodium, potassium, zinc, riboflavin, energy, protein, carbohydrates and cholesterol. Changing your foods daily will help you cover all of these – so don’t get into the habit of having the same meal Monday – Friday and then different on the weekends, you need to mix them up all the time. Eating foods from different biological origins can benefit health. Some saturated fatty acids appear to raise blood cholesterol levels, that contribute to the development of coronary heart disease but polyunsaturated fats can actively reduce blood cholesterol levels.
Wholesomeness – This means variety of food made from whole ingredients. EG- Wholegrain bread contains the goodness of the entire grain, rather than the highly processed flour that is used for white bread. Your food needs to be primarily wholesome and remains as similar as possible to its original state; this ensures less contamination from colours and preservatives and that the diet is rich in important nutrients.
Unprocessed foods – you should not base your diet around processed foods such as tinned, pre-prepared food, frozen dinner meals, fast food and reheated food etc. The less processed the food the greater the nutrient content, less chance of preservatives, colours, flavours and additives.
Each person’s individual nutritional needs are dependent on their genetics, environment, social and psychological needs. Healthy diets vary for each person as there can be issues such as; digestion, absorption, allergies, sensitivities, medication, costs and age etc. You just need to find a base that you can work with and keep learning from.
