Food education

they should be taken with the awareness of their nutritional value and the relative supply of nutritional and functional substances, in order to take advantage of their intrinsic properties.

The food pyramid represents an "ideal composition of the Mediterranean diet, in which all the foods that should be eaten are included in the various transversal sectors: the frequency of consumption of the foods represented in the figure should decrease as one approaches the top.

The base of the pyramid is made up of physical exercise and sport, which are indispensable to the body. Then there are cereals, their derivatives and potatoes; going up there are fruit and vegetables, then again beans, legumes and nuts.

Cheeses, yoghurts and dairy products appear in the next level, preceded by olive oil and olives. According to proper dietary education, the foods listed so far should be consumed every day.

Going up the pyramid we encounter fish, eggs and poultry, which should only be eaten a few times during the week, followed by lean meats, sweets and red meats, which should be eaten a few times a month.

• RESPECT THE RIGHT PROPORTIONS OF NUTRIENTS

According to the rules of proper nutrition education, carbohydrates should cover 45-65% of the daily caloric requirement, proteins 10-30% and lipids 20-35%.
The caloric intake deriving from the consumption of 1 gram of carbohydrates or proteins is equivalent to about 4kcal, while 1 gram of lipids provides 9 kcal to the body: the daily energy requirement is estimated at around 2500 kcal, with the distinction between man (2000 -3000 kcal) and woman (1500-2500 kcal).

• EAT LOTS OF FRUITS AND VEGETABLES

The daily intake of an abundant ration of fruit and vegetables (4-5 servings) should become a "habit for a" correct diet: in addition to containing a consistent amount of mineral salts and vitamins, fresh vegetables are rich in phenols, indoles, coumarins, flavonoids and other phytochemicals, which contribute to maintaining the health of the organism and prevent the formation of some cancer cells.

• LIMIT "EMPTY CALORIES"

Sugars, spirits, refined grains and fats fall into a group of foods whose calories are defined as "empty"; this is because they bring a lot of energy but very little nutritional quality: according to the rules of dietary education, the intake of these calories should be reduced to a minimum.
When it comes to sugar, many foods hide it in substantial quantities: carbonated drinks and ketchup are two examples. To give an idea, a can of fizzy drink hides a quantity of sugar that is equivalent to seven teaspoons behind its bubbles.
It is also necessary to dispel a myth: whole sugar should be limited because, although it contains more minerals than refined sugar, it still brings an excess of calories.
By "lipids that provide empty calories" we mean those animal fats, hydrogenated and rich in additives, typical of industrial processes. Instead, it is good practice to use extra-virgin olive oil, which provides a good quantity of vitamin E and oleic and linoleic acids.
Flour and non-wholemeal rice bring few proteins, salts and vitamins, but a lot of starch: the refining process to which they are subjected deprives them of their original properties.

Mineral salts, vitamins and fibers are instead well represented in whole foods; consequently it is a good habit to prefer them to refined ones in one or two daily meals.

• NO TO PRESERVED AND PRE-COOKED FOODS

Preserves and precooked foods offered by the market are excluded from the list of foods required by a good dietary education: often, in fact, they contain additives that are harmful to the body, are poor in micronutrients and have a higher glycemic index than fresh food.

• YES TO WHOLEMEAL CEREALS

It is a good habit to consume whole grains: they have a high satiating power, therefore they provide energy for many hours. Indeed, those who eat a lot of whole foods tend to slowly lose the habit of eating sweets, sugars and refined foods.

• LIMIT THE CONSUMPTION OF MEAT

Colon cancer, arthritis, kidney stones and cardiovascular diseases are examples of pathologies that can also be traced back (and not only) to the quantity of meat taken, which, according to dietary education, should be consumed no more than three times a week. Cereals and legumes , fish or eggs can replace meat very well.

• SHORT COOKING OF FOOD

To avoid denaturation of proteins and loss of vitamins contained, vegetables should not be cooked for very long times.

• EAT LITTLE AND OFTEN

You should not consume foods in greater quantities than the real need of the body; in this regard, techniques can be adopted to reduce the feeling of hunger. The intake of whole foods and vegetables represents a simple but valid help, as it leads to "ingestion of very voluminous and low-calorie foods. It is also good to eat often during the day, but in small doses to avoid the so-called" hunger cramps in the stomach ".

• CHEW VERY LONG

You can help digestive processes with chewing: in fact, according to dietary education, chewing food for a long time means already preparing the food, facilitating its digestion. In addition, eating slowly avoids taking more snacks between the various meals of the day. but not only: it has been shown that those who eat faster swallow large quantities of food than those who eat calmly.

• THE IMPORTANCE OF BREAKFAST

Among the principles of food education, breakfast, the most important meal of the day, cannot be missing. At night the body is forced to a long fast: after 10 hours, to satisfy the production of glucose, the metabolism no longer draws glycogen from liver, but from muscle proteins. The organism is in a limit condition of reserves: this mechanism leads to the formation of ketone bodies, with consumption of muscle proteins and loss of electrolytes to buffer the increase in blood acidity.
Precisely to avoid the formation of these substances, a regular breakfast is absolutely necessary.
Indeed, some studies have shown that obese people tend to skip breakfast: in this way, at lunch, there is a real binge, because it is the body itself that requires nutrients. A good breakfast should provide about 15 to 20% of the day's calorie intake and according to the rules of good nutrition education is a good way to maintain weight control.