Imporance of healthy diet recommeded by WHO

• A healthy diet helps protect against malnutrition in all its forms, as well as noncommunicable diseases (NCDs), including diabetes, heart disease, stroke and cancer.
• Unhealthy diet and lack of physical activity are leading global risks to health.
• Healthy dietary practices start early in life – breastfeeding fosters healthy growth and improves cognitive development, and may have longer-term health benefits, like reducing the risk of becoming overweight or obese and developing NCDs later in life.
• Energy intake (calories) should be in balance with energy expenditure. Evidence indicates that total fat should not exceed 30% of total energy intake to avoid unhealthy weight gain (1, 2, 3), with a shift in fat consumption away from saturated fats to unsaturated fats (3), and towards the elimination of industrial trans fats (4).
• Limiting intake of free sugars to less than 10% of total energy intake (2, 5) is part of a healthy diet. A further reduction to less than 5% of total energy intake is suggested for additional health benefits (5).
• Keeping salt intake to less than 5 g per day helps prevent hypertension and reduces the risk of heart disease and stroke in the adult population (6).
• WHO Member States have agreed to reduce the global population’s intake of salt by 30% and halt the rise in diabetes and obesity in adults and adolescents as well as in childhood overweight by 2025 (7, 8, 9).

Overview

Consuming a healthy diet throughout the life course helps prevent malnutrition in all its forms as well as a range of noncommunicable diseases and conditions. But the increased production of processed food, rapid urbanization and changing lifestyles have led to a shift in dietary patterns. People are now consuming more foods high in energy, fats, free sugars or salt/sodium, and many do not eat enough fruit, vegetables and dietary fibre such as whole grains.

The exact make-up of a diversified, balanced and healthy diet will vary depending on individual needs (e.g. age, gender, lifestyle, degree of physical activity), cultural context, locally available foods and dietary customs. But basic principles of what constitute a healthy diet remain the same.

2.3.1 For adults

A healthy diet contains:

• Fruits, vegetables, legumes (e.g. lentils, beans), nuts and whole grains (e.g. unprocessed maize, millet, oats, wheat, brown rice).
• At least 400 g (5 portions) of fruits and vegetables a day. Potatoes, sweet potatoes, cassava and other starchy roots are not classified as fruits or vegetables.
• Less than 10% of total energy intake from free sugars which is equivalent to 50 g (or around 12 level teaspoons) for a person of healthy body weight consuming approximately 2000 calories per day, but ideally less than 5% of total energy intake for additional health benefits. Most free sugars are added to foods or drinks by the manufacturer, cook or consumer, and can also be found in sugars naturally present in honey, syrups, fruit juices and fruit juice concentrates.
• Less than 30% of total energy intake from fats . Unsaturated fats (e.g. found in fish, avocado, nuts, sunflower, canola and olive oils) are preferable to saturated fats (e.g. found in fatty meat, butter, palm and coconut oil, cream, cheese, ghee and lard). Industrial trans fats (found in processed food, fast food, snack food, fried food, frozen pizza, pies, cookies, margarines and spreads) are not part of a healthy diet.
• Less than 5 g of salt (equivalent to approximately 1 teaspoon) per day and use iodized salt.

 

2.4 Consequence of  vegetable deficiency

A nation-wide study carried out by the National Nutrition Monitoring Bureau (NNMB) to assess urban nutrition shows not only a great diversity in food consumption in 16 States in the country, but also that Indians consume far less than the recommended quantum of several micro-nutrients and vital vitamins.

On an average, while the recommended dietary intake of GLV is 40g/CU/day, the consumption in the country is 24g/CU/day. Kerala consumes the least green leafy vegetables.

The shrinking acreage under paddy cultivation in the State and the staggering dependence on imported vegetables and other food items have put Kerala at the bottom of the list of states on the basis of food security. From a time of near self-sufficiency in food production, Kerala now depends entirely on neighbouring states for its food needs.According to estimates, around Rs. 1,000 crore worth of vegetables are imported into Kerala yearly.The State produces only about five lakh of tonnes of vegetables out of a total annual requirement of around 25 lakh tonnes.

2.4.1 Nutrient Deficiency

Fruits and vegetables are a major source of important nutrients in the diet. Fruits and vegetables are major source of important nutrients in the diet, including vitamins A, C, E and K, the mineral potassium and the indigestible carbohydrate fiber. Lacking any one of the nutrients can lead to poor health. For example, you need vitamin C to maintain tissue health and to aid in wound healing; vitamin A supports eye health; vitamin E is a strong antioxidant vitamin that helps fight damaging free radicals in the body; and vitamin K is essential for proper blood clotting. The mineral potassium is an essential electrolyte that helps regulate fluids in the body and counteracts the negative effects of too much sodium, another electrolyte, in the diet. Lastly, fiber, the indigestible part of fruits and vegetables, promotes digestive health and can help reduce high cholesterol.

2.4.2 Increased Risk of Cardiovascular Disease

Eating more fruits and veggies can lower your risk for cardiovascular disease. A study conducted by Harvard University — the largest study of its kind at the time of publication — followed 110,000 adults for 14 years and found that the higher the intake of fruit and vegetables, the lower the risk of developing cardiovascular disease. Study participants who consumed 8 cups of produce each day had a 30 percent lower risk of heart attack or stroke compared with those who ate less than 1 1/2 cups.

2.4.3 Poor Weight Management

Fruits and vegetables are nutrient dense. As a whole, fruits and vegetables, especially non-starchy types with high water content, are the most nutrient dense, yet the least calorically dense of any of the food groups. They are often referred to as low-energy-dense foods, because they contain few calories per gram compared to other foods. This means that you can eat a lot of them and fill up on fewer calories than other food groups, like grains. They’re also high in fiber, which helps fill you up and keeps you satiated until your next meal. If you don’t eat fruits and vegetables, you may find yourself eating too many calories from other food groups, yet not feeling full. This makes it difficult to manage your weight.

 

3 Practical advice on maintaining a healthy diet

Fruits and vegetables: Eating at least 400 g, or 5 portions, of fruits and vegetables per day reduces the risk of NCDs (2), and helps ensure an adequate daily intake of dietary fibre.

In order to improve fruit and vegetable consumption you can:

• always include vegetables in your meals
• eat fresh fruits and raw vegetables as snacks
• eat fresh fruits and vegetables in season
• eat a variety of choices of fruits and vegetables.

 

Understand serving sizes of fruits and vegetables. It’s important to first understand what constitutes a cup of vegetables so that you can include more in your diet.

For most veggies and fruits, like broccoli, apples, squash, red peppers and bananas, a cup or one medium piece of fruit is one serving.

However, for leafy greens, like spinach, butterhead lettuce and romaine, 2 cups is one serving.

Dried fruits are condensed sources of natural sugars; 1/2 cup of dried fruit is equivalent to one serving of fresh.

Potatoes and corn pack more of a caloric punch than others.keep in mind that all vegetables are not created equal.

Starchy vegetables, like potatoes and corn, are more energy dense, so they’ll pack more of a caloric punch. Make non-starchy vegetables the focus of your meal. And, remember to eat vegetables in a wide array of colors; each color signals a different phytonutrient content, such as beta-carotene in orange vegetables — and all of them are important to your health.

 

 

4 Micro greens: educating and awareness

Microgreens are a tiny form of edible greens produced from the seeds of vegetables, herbs or other plants. Smaller than “baby greens,” and harvested later than sprouts, microgreens can provide a variety of leaf flavors, such as sweet and spicy. They are also known for their various colors and textures. Among upscale markets, they are now considered a specialty genre of greens that are good for garnishing salads, soups, plates, and sandwiches.

Edible young greens and grains are produced from various kinds of vegetables, herbs or other plants. They range in size from 1 to 3 inches (2.5 to 7.6 cm), including the stem and leaves. A microgreen has a single central stem which has been cut just above the soil line during harvesting. It has fully developed cotyledon leaves and usually has one pair of very small, partially developed true leaves. The average crop-time for most microgreens is 10–14 days from seeding to harvest.

Smart kitchen garden comes with a variety of microgreens that can be used in our daily menu to enhance taste and nutrition levels.