The impact of food choices on nutritional status

The foods you choose to incorporate in your diet can either improve your health or cause disease. This, of course, brings to mind the saying, “you are what you eat,” simply indicating that one’s food choices or dietary practices make a significant impact on his/her nutritional status. Therefore, you should aim to select nutritious foods that are nutrient dense (eg vegetables, fruits, lean meats, fish, low-fat/skim milk and their products, peas and beans, whole grain bread, cereals, oats, brown rice, and ground provisions) which contain complex carbohydrate, protein, adequate vitamins and minerals, and dietary fibre; while, overall, low in fat and salt. Also, include water in plain or flavoured forms in your daily meal plan.

Whatever is your response, the point here is to make wise food choices that will provide benefits. Though several contributing factors may tend to influence our food choices such as peers, family members, the amount of money available, cooking skills, availability of cooking and storage equipment, media messaging, cultural practices, religious affiliation, etc, just to list a few, it is important to note that you are responsible for your decisions and actions, and should take charge of your health.

Note: Healthy diets are usually comprised of a variety of foods which mainly provide calories, nutrients, and other beneficial substances (antioxidants and phytochemicals) in adequate amounts promoting the optimal functioning of cells and health. This is extremely necessary because no one food contains all of the nutrients. A healthy diet should consist of a combination of foods (Brown, 2011).

What happens if you make poor food choices?

The foods that you may sometimes select, for example cakes, cookies, pastries, candies, and sweetened beverages mainly contain calories; these are considered as empty-calorie foods. Therefore, they lack the essential nutrients (carbohydrate, protein, vitamins, minerals, and water) in adequate quantities that are required to maintain health. In addition, when you fail to choose nutritious foods, you rob the body of nourishment and over a period of time, such dietary practices contribute to nutrient deficiencies, which can possibly affect one’s health. This, of course, may result in persons being fatigued, irritable, lethargic, and malnourished, thereby impacting their level of productivity.

Research findings indicated that poor nutrition at the beginning of the life cycle can cause developmental delays, stunting, and failure to thrive, while during adulthood persons with short stature due to inadequate dietary intakes, may show a series of functional deficits amongst which can be reduced capacity to do physical work.

Helpful tips

Here are few essential points you may wish to consider:

- Make a budget for the month or fortnight, as the case may be; this allows you to manage your finances better and ensure that money is available to purchase food.

- Consider the nutrient requirements of the persons within the household who may be at different stages of the life cycle.

- Plan your menu incorporating local produce which may be cheaper when compared to foreign foods. This will not only save time, but also help you to include a variety of foods in your diet.

- Include simple recipes in your meal plan.

- Be determined to stay within your food budget. A helpful tool to use is a grocery shopping list which can be prepared following the menu plan. This will help to keep you focused and to avoid buying on impulse. Based on the needs of your household some persons may prefer to do weekly food shopping.

- An individual or family member may want to consider making an extra effort to prepare home-cooked meals instead of opting for carry-out.

- Utilise nutrition information that is made available. Ensure that your meals are well-balanced; include foods from the “Six Food Groups.” Some thought should be given to the “multimix principle.” This principle allows you to mix and match foods from the different food groups. Examples of multimix meals are soups prepared with peas, dumplings, vegetables, ground provision, and chicken pieces; and pelau usually will include rice, peas or beans, veggies, meat/chicken pieces. Keep in mind that the concept here is to consume foods from the “Six Food Groups” in your daily meal plan. But all the food groups may not be represented in one meal.

- You are encouraged to select dishes prepared from ground provisions, whole grains, fruits, vegetables, and legumes (which is a great substitute for meat, fish or chicken, and can even be used as an accompaniment). Also, you can decide to have smaller servings of foods from animals, and fats and oils.

- Aim to consume foods low in fat, sugar and salt.

References

1. Brown Judith E Nutrition through the Life Cycle, 4th ed. 2011; Wadsworth, Cengage Learning.