Starting your day with a wholesome morning meal is easy to say. But what is a wholesome breakfast? How do we decide what to have and why? This is the first in a series of 3 articles that help understand what your body needs to get off to a great start of your day.
The Food Pyramid
For the last sixty years or so, nutritional guidelines issued by varied governments have evolved from the proverbial apple-a-day to the food wheel and have now arrived at varied versions of the Food Pyramid.
Food pyramids form food groups graphically. The food groups are:
GrainsVegetablesFruitsDairy productsMeat, fish and beansOils
Traditionally, the higher up the food group in the pyramid the lower the share of that group should be in your daily calorie consumption.
The most recent version of the food pyramid changed the presentation of the way food groups should be gift in your diet. The face of the pyramid is now made up of colored wedges running down from the tip to the base. Each colour represents a food group. The width of the wedge at the base of the pyramid now shows how much of that food group should make up your daily calorie consumption. (You'll find a link to the food pyramid at the end of this article.)
The most striking, and most welcome innovation in this pyramid is not this reorganization of the food groups. It is the increasing of rehearsal in your daily regime. Nourishment without rehearsal is only half the solution just as rehearsal without the right Nourishment will create only wee results. Steps lead up the left side of the pyramid and a someone is shown to walk up these steps. You can take this literally: walk up stairs instead of taking the elevator. I've talked more about alternative ways to rehearsal in another report (Wellness -- Hoax, Hype Or Real?) The basic recommended level of rehearsal corresponds to half an hour of brisk walking a day and that does not necessarily have to be done in one go.
The Food Groups
Let's have a look at the individual food groups now.
Grains are the largest individual group. If we take fruit and vegetable together, though, then this combined group wins hands down. This means that the largest share of our daily calorie intake should be from fruit and vegetable combined, followed by grains, dairy products, then meat, fish and beans, and ultimately oils, the group that is so small that it hasn't even got its own label at the foot of the pyramid. It's the tiny wedge in the middle of fruit and milk.
Water
One big omission from this food pyramid is water. Water is vital. And yet, so many population complain that they naturally can't drink so much water.
If someone stood next to them, pointed a loaded gun at their head and told them: "Drink, or else!" Would they drink? Of course, they would. Anyone would. Your life's at stake. It's the same when you don't drink enough. Only when we don't drink enough, the consequences are long term, not immediate. That's why we think we can afford to push them into the long grass.
How much is enough? As a general guideline, we need about 1.5 to 2 litres - or 6 to 8 large glasses - per day (depending on atmosphere and on our level of physical activity) to prevent dehydration. Here is an keen fact: 2% dehydration seriously impairs your power of concentration. How much water do you drink? Did you have a large glass of water immediately when you got out of bed today?
Infants, children and the elderly are more likely to experience dehydration. That's why they, or their carers, need to pay special attentiveness to their fluid intake.
Because of their calorie content, soft drinks and fruit juices are not good choices for replacing lost fluids, especially if you are working out to try and lose or manage your weight. Try adding just a splash of fruit juice or a slice of lemon or lime to a glass of water if you don't like the taste of plain water.
The current food pyramid is truly progress when compared to any of its predecessors. For my money, though, I'd succeed the arrival taken by another food pyramid any time:
The California Cuisine Pyramid
The California Cuisine Pyramid is at the cutting edge of nutritional science. Its arrival broadens the scope of our original food pyramid. It is not a food-only pyramid. It provides also a basis to include physical activity, water, and dietary supplement advice. Let's have a closer look at what it has to offer. (You'll find a link to the California Cuisine Pyramid is at the end of this article.)
Taste is at the top of the pyramid, because it is the most important element in encouraging food intake. Instead of the dots symbolising secret fats and oils (in the original food pyramid) or just oils in the newer version, the use of natural flavour enhancers is recommended as needed including: avocado, herbs, nuts, olives, seeds, spices (including garlic, chillies, onions, cumin, curry, mustard, peppers), oils rich in monounsaturates and omega-3 fatty acids, and sweeteners (honey, molasses, sugars, sweeteners).
A additional step is the inclusion of plant-based protein for balanced Nourishment in the 4 to 6 daily servings of protein. Suggestion for protein now includes soy protein, beans and legumes with rice or corn (for plant-based protein) or non-fat dairy products, egg white, poultry, fish/seafood, lean meats (for animal protein). Soy protein is a nutritionally complete protein with great health benefits. Soy protein isolate, an truly absorbable form of soy protein, was given approval for a cholesterol-lowering food claim by the Food and Drug management (Fda) in the United States. It is recommended as a protein equilibrium for meat derived protein in the diet. There is also emerging evidence on the effects of soy protein as an antioxidant and tumour growth inhibitor.
For grain read "wholegrain," not refined (white) flour, bread, pasta or rice. Choose the "brown" variety and make sure that it's whole grain and not just whole meal.
The California Cuisine Pyramid also extends the recommended 5 servings of fruit and vegetables a day to 5 to 11 servings with a predominance of vegetables over fruit. Broadly speaking, women should eat at least 7 servings while men should eat at least 9 servings (a serving is about a cup of fresh vegetable, a half cup of cooked vegetable, or a half cup of fruit).
Given all this legal guidance based on cutting edge nutritional science, the next request seems to be almost redundant. But is it?
Should We Take Supplements?
We've all heard this lament before:
"Are supplements truly necessary? I don't like taking pills, I get all my nutrients from food."
Consider this: Even equipped with the best intentions, the right information and adequate time and money, it is virtually impossible for us to acquire all the nutrients we need just from our daily food alone. Getting the right Nourishment is no longer easy.
Agriculture has changed so much while the last 50 years: It has become industrialized; seasonal fruit and vegetable are now kept for excessively long periods in cold warehouse to make them available throughout the year; soil has become depleted; additives in the soil and in the food require caution in our decisions how much we eat of positive foods; and the jury is still out on the long term impact of genetic manipulation. All these factors truly have reduced the nutritional density and content of the food we eat. Fresh food naturally does not furnish us with the whole nutrients we think we are getting. Supplementation is needful to accomplish our goal of optimally balanced nutrition.
Scientific evidence in favor of supplementation has been mounting in the last ten, fifteen years. Supplementation is recommended by the World health society and by numerous physicians. Sadly, all to often population mistake taking nutritional supplements with taking medication because most supplements come as tablets or capsules. The shape of the thing, that is, its recipe of delivery should not blind us to the fact that to ensure optimum wellness taking supplements has become inevitable.
