Basic Principles Of Healthy Eating - Which Recommendations Are No Longer Relevant?

Healthy eating occupies a significant place among the factors determining human health. It is believed that lifestyle, along with optimal physical activity are crucial for good health. As a healthy we mark this diet, which is adequate to the metabolic needs of the body, ensures good health and active longevity. Its basic principles are defined as a balanced intake of nutrients, the diet should provide an optimal variety of foods and energy adequacy and include at least 3 meals a day.

Energy adequacy assessment.

Energy needs for men in our country vary from 2580 to 3270 kcal / day, and for women they are from 1990 to 2520 kcal / day depending on the degree of physical activity - light, moderate or high. In connection with the pronounced tendency to reduced physical activity in most people, modern authors recommend a reduction in energy intake to achieve energy balance in adulthood.

Recommendations for balance of essential macronutrients .

Considering the principle of balanced nutrition, the emphasis is mainly on the optimal ratios of essential macronutrients. In this aspect, the basis of a balanced diet is a precise determination of daily protein needs. Currently, there are two approaches to their rationing: based on kg / body weight or as an energy percentage of total calories imported from food.

Most modern authors accept that the reference lower limit for daily protein intake in persons under 18 years of age should be 0.80 g of protein per kg / body weight. If this approach is accepted as normalization, it should be differentiated according to the degree of physical activity.

In this aspect, it is correct to label protein needs as:

• Low physical activity - 0.8-1.0 g / kg / day;
• Moderate physical activity - 1.0-1.2 g / kg / day;
• High physical activity - 1.2-1.4 g / kg / day.

According to WHO experts, proteins should provide 10-15% of food energy. This view is currently held by most nutritionists.

According to WHO experts, the optimal balance of essential macronutrients in daily food intake should be as follows:

• Protein - 10-15%;
• Fat - 15-30% (saturated fatty acids up to 10%, polyunsaturated fatty acids 6-10%, trans fatty acids, not more than 1%, cholesterol up to 300 mg;
• Carbohydrates - 50-65% (added sugar - up to 10%).

Optimal balance of food products .

There is currently no consensus on the optimal daily product range for people from different population groups. To this day, the American food pyramid is still popular and accepted, which is an attempt to arrange foods according to their importance and biological value. At the base of this pyramid are placed the most important foods, and at the top of it are arranged products with less physiological value.

Subsequently, various variants of the food pyramid appeared , but almost all of them invariably were based on cereals - bread, rice and pasta. Above them are arranged vegetables and fruits, and on them are animal products - milk, meat, fish, eggs and their products. In some variants of the food pyramid, legumes and nuts are included below the top, and fat and added sugar are usually at the top of the pyramid.

This way of arranging products according to their importance for healthy eating is not applicable to all population groups, some authors believe. Energy and nutrient needs are different for each population group. In addition, due to reduced physical activity, recommendations for preferential consumption of high-energy cereal products are no longer relevant.

It is believed that the food pyramid should prevail over foods that are a rich source of essential nutrients that are of lower energy value (especially in people with a sedentary lifestyle and limited physical activity. In this aspect, foods could be divided into three main categories according to their biological value.