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FOOD – WHAT’S IN IT?
Food is comprised of many distinct chemical substances which can broadly be divided into nutritional and non-nutritional components.(6-8)
Nutritional components
Nutrients are chemical substances in the food we eat that interact within the body and are needed throughout the whole of life. There are six main types of nutrients in foods, divided into 2 main groups. Continue reading “Food. What’s in it?”
Good food, bad foods
When my eldest son was about seven years old, he came to me distressed about a school project on food. He had learned from his teacher that brightly coloured vegetables and fruit were good foods. He had also learned fatty snacks such as crisps, and confectionery were bad foods. His distress was that he didn’t know how to classify many of the foods our family were eating. He wanted to know whether we ate good or bad foods.
There was a background to his question. Continue reading “Good foods, bad foods”
My last post discussed some difficulties in classifying foods by nutrients.
Another way of classifying foods is by food processing techniques.
Classification by Food Processing Techniques
Breaking away from guidelines that focus on nutrients, researchers in Brazil have developed a system of food classification based on the degree of food processing. They call this NOVA – ‘The Star Shines Bright’ – and have applied this to the most recent Dietary Guidelines for the Brazilian Population (1). Continue reading “Food Processing # 1”
FOOD. Photo by Leonie Elizabeth. 03 February 2018.
What is Food?
Food is such an important part of all our daily lives that one would think there would be a universally accepted simple definition. When I went hunting for one, I found that there was no clear definition.
Medically defined, food is described as ‘a nourishing substance that is eaten or otherwise taken into the body to sustain life, provide energy, or promote growth’ (1). Legal definitions in food regulations on supply have a broader sweep effectively describing food as ‘anything that is intended or offered for human consumption’ (2) which can include animals and plants, prepared or partly prepared; ingredients; additives; anything used in its preparation; anything that comes in contact with that substance, such as processing aids; or chewing gum (3-5). Continue reading “ACHIVED: Food. What is it?”
Much confusion exists today about what we should eat and what we should avoid, with mixed messages about the rise of global health concerns, linked to diets.
I believe that much of the confusion exists as advice over the past fifty years has centred on nutrients to avoid: sugar, oil, fat and salt.
People do not eat nutrients. They eat food.
Food 4 Health will return the discussion to food.
Food 4 Health will explore six broad themes:
Food4Health 