Alternative options for food or nutrient intake or Adopting food intake recommendations or guidelines: Keys for Healthy Eating

Food, health and care are three core components of human health. Food or nutrients intake of Individual and group are often influenced by multiple factors. So, the efficiency and sustainability of adhering or following dietary recommendations or guidelines may be challenged occasionally or most frequently by social and cultural norms, infrastructure, food and nutrients availability and accessibility, caring facility, health services, etc.

Every food or nutrient intake guideline may have some limitations based on the sources of data used such as sample studied, geographical locations, study designs. food prepared, tools used to analyzed food composition data, reliability and availability of updated data, etc. (1). Still, we need to try for making the best use of all or existing evidence-based data, recommendations and guidelines for extracting the benefits (cost-benefit; cost-effectiveness). These would make our food or nutrients intake activities or pattern more effective and sustainable for achieving normal and healthy life of individual and groups (2,3,4,5). One important and key aspect that we need to focus here is the raising flow and circulation of false, fabricate or non-evidence-based data and information both in print and online media. These are mainly misguiding people’s food and nutrient intake patterns as well as making the process of implementing the recommendations and guidelines difficult and ineffective. So, we need to adopt coordinated and appropriate preventing and controlling measures locally, nationally and globally.

Let’s make necessary changes or adaptations to practical or achievable and good changes (6):

1. Try to reduce or alter food or nutrient intake instead of avoiding specific food or nutrients in normal conditions (7).
2. It is better to ensure infrequent changes in food intake and portion sizes between alternative and healthy foods (8,9).
3. Make a habit of gradual changes in taking reduce intake of large amount to frequent and small intake of food at different times of the day.
4. Ease the process by making choices of foods as per native or local intake patters based on locally available foods (10).
5. It would be beneficial if you are concerned but not too much stressed while choosing food(s) (11)
6. Try to balance your food intake based on food availability and individual affordability (12). So, alter foods intake (avoid monotony) within or among groups as recommended as per frequency you could achieve such as day, week, month, etc. Let’s follow the simple message “You do not need to achieve this balance with every meal, but try to get the balance right over a day or even a week, The Eatwell Guide, NHS” (13), etc.

These may figure out some alternative options that may help choosing healthy eating or healthy diet (14,15,16) of individual or groups irrespective of education levels, set-ups and environments, and other factors exposed to (17,18,19,20,21,22,23).

*(Continuing…)

*Featured image credit goes to https://www.pexels.com

References:

1. Nutrient Recommendations and Databases
2. Dietary Guidelines for Americans | Food and Nutrition Service
3. Nutrition Guidelines and Recommendations | Nutrition | CDC
4. Dietary Guidelines for Americans, 2020-2025
5. Current Dietary Guidelines | odphp.health.gov
6. Foods, Nutrients, and Dietary Patterns: Interconnections and Implications for Dietary Guidelines – PMC
7. Smart Substitutions to Improve Nutrition Without Sacrificing Taste; https://www.heart.org/en/healthy-living/healthy-eating/cooking-skills/cooking/smart-substitutions-to-eat-healthy.
8. Shift to Healthier Food
9. Build a Healthy Eating Routine
10. Options and Approaches to Enable Sustainable Food Choices – Sustainable Diets – NCBI Bookshelf
11. New U.S. Dietary Guidelines Encourage People to Make Every Bite Count – IFT.org
12. Healthy Eating Plate – The Nutrition Source
13. The Eatwell Guide – NHS
14. Healthy diet
15. The 10 rules of a heart-healthy diet – Harvard Health
16. A healthy balanced diet | British Nutritional Foundation
17. Dietary behaviour changes to improve nutritional quality and health outcomes – PMC
18. The Dietary Guidelines for Americans Can Help You Eat Healthy To Be Healthy
19. 8 tips for healthy eating – NHS
20. Food Sources of Select Nutrients | Dietary Guidelines for Americans
21. Defining a Healthy Diet: Evidence for the Role of Contemporary Dietary Patterns in Health and Disease – PMC
22. Strategies for Food Service and Nutrition Guidelines | Nutrition | CDC
23. 2020-2025 Dietary Guidelines for Americans Recommendations

If you are more interested, please visit the following sites:

Dietary Guidance | National Agricultural Library

MyPlate.gov | U.S. Department of Agriculture

How does Plant-Forward (Plant-Based) Eating Benefit Your Health? | American Heart Association

Strategies for Food Service and Nutrition Guidelines | Nutrition | CDC