Eating Healthy: What Does It Mean?
When we talk about "healthy eating" we generally mean the habit of eating in a balanced, clean and healthy way.
For this reason, in Italy and beyond, officially recognized research bodies propose rules or principles that can be considered a "guarantee" of correctness; in the Bel Paese, this “vademecum” of the health-conscious (which should be of interest to the practice of any individual) is called: “Guidelines for an Italian Healthy Diet”.
This publication is also available online on the website of the “National Research Institute for Food and Nutrition” (renamed the Research Center for Food and Nutrition since 2013), which is responsible for its creation and dissemination.
However, it should be specified that eating healthy does not only mean maintaining the nutritional balance, but also using foods that can guarantee a hygienic standard. This parameter must then be contextualized both in the biological and microbiological sphere, and in that of contamination.
Readers will already have understood that this is a vast and difficult to summarize topic, especially in a single article. However, without presuming to fully satisfy all learning needs, below I will try to summarize the main criteria of healthy eating as effectively as possible.
Nutritional balance
Nutritional balance is a determining factor in healthy eating, or rather, only by eating healthy is it possible to maintain nutritional balance.
By nutritional balance we mean a parameter that evaluates the quantities and proportions of the individual nutrients and nutritional components taken with the diet. Each of them has a very specific function, which is why over the years we have tried to determine their real needs.
An organism that does not benefit from a "balanced diet has greater difficulties in maintaining the so-called" homeostasis ". Obviously, being an almost perfect machine, as far as nutrition is concerned, the physicist avails itself of an" excellent autonomy; this means that it tends to be designed in order to "survive" every circumstance.
Ultimately, eating healthy guarantees the maintenance of physical balance and, sometimes, also contributes to the psychic one.
Now, the question that arises is: What principles of nutritional balance does the definition of healthy eating depend on?
It is difficult to answer clearly in a few lines, also because the needs are subjective and vary (but not always as much as one might think) based on age, sex, lifestyle and subjective components such as the entity of the skeleton and of the musculature, metabolic predispositions, hereditary diseases, etc.
Since the nutrients and nutritional components are so many and all fundamental, it is necessary to stay on the generic. The table below summarizes some summary notions that could be very useful to newcomers to the topic.
ATTENTION! The recommendations take into consideration an average and adult subject, with an average physical activity coefficient and an equally ordinary job. Sports activities, special pathological or physiological conditions, childhood and old age are excluded.
Portions and Consumption Frequencies
Since it should not be necessary to rely on a nutrition professional to be assured of healthy eating and maintaining nutritional balance, the research bodies have translated nutritional needs into dietary advice. The most widespread system is certainly that of the food pyramid, continuously revised and updated on the basis of the latest news.
To eat healthy it is therefore essential to choose how much and when to eat the various foods.
Foods of animal origin are those that provide high biological value proteins, some mineral salts (especially iron and calcium) and vitamins (practically all, especially those of group B, D and A); on the other hand, the excess of these foods can cause a surplus of: cholesterol, saturated fatty acids and proteins. Among these, meat and offal should be eaten at least in 2 portions per week (150-250g), fishery products at least 2 more (200-300g), cheeses / ricotta at least one (80-150g) and eggs no more than 3 per week. Then, as far as milk and yogurt are concerned, even more than one portion is allowed daily, although it is good to keep in mind that this depends on the portion, the composition of the diet and the level of milk skimming; 150-300ml of semi-skimmed milk and 1 or 2 pots of natural yogurt of 120g per day are normal. NB. Preserved foods, such as cured meats, canned tuna, etc. they should be a "marginal alternative.
Taking into consideration foods of plant origin, these must be consumed on a daily basis. The group of cereals and potatoes, together with that of legumes, guarantees above all the intake of the necessary complex carbohydrates. They can easily be included in all meals, but it is essential that they always fall within the useful portions. Pasta, rice and other derivatives should respect quantities of no more than 90g, the bread should fill the remaining need or replace the first course and usually range between 20-30g and 100-120g Legumes can be used like cereals.
Sweet vegetables and fruits help increase satiety, provide water, potassium, some vitamins (especially A, C, E and K) and non-vitamin or saline antioxidants. They contain simple carbohydrates and sometimes affect the energy balance to such an extent as to create an excess decompensation.
NB. Some tropical fruits contain a lot of fat, such as avocado and coconut. On average, between cooked and raw, vegetables should appear at least 2-3 times in the daily diet and in portions of 50-200g; fruits about 2 times for 200g ( variable according to the fruit).
NB. Jams, marmalades, dehydrated fruit, canned fruit and candied fruit do not belong to this category, but to that of sweet foods.
Seasoning fats and oil seeds are necessary to compensate for the demand for related fatty acids and vitamins (especially E and A). Carefully chosen, they help to meet the need for essential fatty acids and generally those beneficial to the body. In addition, they provide many non-vitamin or saline antioxidants. As for the oil, about 2-4 tablespoons a day are sufficient. (based on the fatness of other foods); with regard to oil seeds, it is possible to use them in quantities of a few grams and only once a day.
The only recommended drink is water, with a variable saline profile based on subjective needs, and to an extent of approximately 750-1000ml / day (very variable).
Of all the above foods it is necessary to avoid: preserved in salt, in oil, in syrup, canned and overly elaborate recipes. Also, all sweets and junk foods should be drastically cut down.
Food Hygiene
Food hygiene is a cornerstone of healthy eating. Hygiene does not only mean biological and microbiological safety (bacteria, viruses, prions, parasites, etc.), certainly very important, but also protection against all forms of chemical or pharmacological contamination.
Among the various measures, first of all there is the choice between the sources of supply. It may seem disappointing but, to date, the best are the conventional ones of large-scale distribution. Thanks to the very strict hygiene controls, on supermarket counters it is possible to find safer foods; on the contrary, purchases through cross roads often prove to be risky. For example, for fruit and vegetable foods the most frequent fraud concerns the sale of false "organic" products or others that have not respected the disposal times of pesticide treatments .
For meat and eggs, on the other hand, the greatest risk is that they come from sick animals or from animals stuffed with drugs. In this latter context, the slaughtering and conservation phases also play an essential role; obviously, the higher the means and processing technologies, the better the levels of food safety.
Food must therefore be guaranteed starting from production / breeding (diseases, environmental contamination, etc.), up to transport and for all conservation prior to sale (maintenance of temperatures, of the cold chain, etc.).
