Healthy Eating: What Does It Mean?
When we talk about "eating healthy" we generally mean the habit of eating in a balanced, clean and healthy way.
For this reason, in Italy and beyond, officially recognized research institutions propose rules or principles that can be considered a "guarantee" of correctness; in the Bel Paese, this "vademecum" of the healthy (which should interest the custom of any individual) is said: "Guidelines for a Healthy Italian Food".
This publication is also available online on the website of the "National Research Institute for Food and Nutrition" (since 2013 renamed Research Center for Food and Nutrition), responsible for its creation and dissemination.
It should however be specified that eating healthy does not only mean maintaining nutritional balance, but also using foods that can guarantee a hygienic standard. This parameter must then be contextualized both in the biological and microbiological field, and in that of contamination.
Readers will already have clearly understood that this is a vast topic and difficult to summarize, especially in a single article. However, without the presumption of fully satisfying all learning needs, below I will try to summarize the main criteria of healthy eating as effectively as possible.
Nutritional balance
Nutritional balance is a determining factor in healthy eating, or rather, only by eating healthy is it possible to maintain nutritional balance.
Nutritional balance means a parameter that evaluates the quantities and proportions of individual nutrients and nutritional components taken with the diet. Each of them has a very precise function, which is why over the years we have tried to determine the real needs.
An organism that does not benefit from a balanced diet has greater difficulty in maintaining the so-called "homeostasis". Obviously, being an almost perfect machine, as far as nutrition is concerned, the physique makes use of an excellent autonomy; this means that it is basically designed in order to "survive" every circumstance.
Ultimately, eating healthy ensures that physical balance is maintained and sometimes also contributes to mental health.
Now, the question that arises is: To which principles of nutritional balance does the definition of healthy eating subordinate?
It is difficult to respond with clarity in a few lines, also because the needs are subjective and vary (but not always as much as one might believe) based on age, sex, lifestyle and subjective components such as the entity of the skeleton and of the musculature, the metabolic predispositions, hereditary pathologies etc.
Since nutrients and nutritional components are really many and all fundamental, it is necessary to stay on the generic. The table below summarizes some summary notions that could be very useful to newcomers to the topic.
WARNING! The recommendations take into account an average and adult subject, with an average physical activity coefficient and an equally ordinary job. Sport activities, special pathological or physiological conditions, infancy and old age are excluded.
| Nutritional or Nourishing Component | Contribution with the Diet |
| water | To be taken in quantities of about 1ml each calorie of energy taken with the diet. Usually, between that contained in food and beverages, it is best to reach about 2 liters / day. The meals of the day should be at least 5, to properly distribute the total energy (breakfast, snack, lunch, snack and dinner). |
| Power | It is the result of cellular processes that use carbohydrates, lipids and to a lesser extent amino acids. The sum of the contributions of the individual three must guarantee the maintenance of all the functions and the body weight. An average adult man needs about 2000kcal / day. |
| Carbohydrates | They are the most abundant energy macronutrients. Their share must fluctuate between about 40-60% of the total energy. The simple and discretionary ones (table sugar and foods that contain them) should be as moderate as possible and never more than 12% of the total energy |
| Lipids | Some are energetic and others are not energy. The former are mainly fatty acids, the latter sterols, phospholipids, etc. The energy ones must remain between 25-30% of the total energy; having a variable metabolic function, to guarantee the state of health, most of these must be of unsaturated nature. Cholesterol should be introduced to an extent not exceeding 300mg / day |
| Protein | They have many metabolic functions, but the body only requires the necessary to compensate for their losses (the need increases especially with the growth of tissues). There are recommended percentages, but they are quite variable based on research institutions; the same is true for the coefficient of g / kg of body weight which, on average, for the adult, is estimated between 0.8 and 1.2g / kg. |
| Vitamins | It is such a heterogeneous group that it cannot be effectively summarized. It is sufficient to keep in mind that, in order to introduce them all in useful quantities, the diet must be very varied and not exclude any group of foods. We remember that the most subject to deficiency are folic acid and vitamin D. B1 is very present in foods but the liver is not able to accumulate it |
| Mineral salts | The same is true for vitamins, specifying that the most easily deficient elements are: iodine, iron and calcium; according to some, selenium. Sodium, contained in large quantities in table salt, may also not be used in a discretionary manner, as it is already present in foods in sufficient quantities |
| Dietary fiber | To be introduced for about 30g / day, it is essential for bowel health and to modulate nutritional absorption |
| Non-vitamin antioxidants | Very important for combating oxidative stress and reducing the risk of metabolic diseases and / or metabolism. They almost never have a very precise recommended ration, but rather safety levels. |
Portions and Frequency of Consumption
Since it should not be necessary to rely on a nutrition professional to be assured of eating healthy and maintaining nutritional balance, research organizations have translated nutritional requirements into dietary advice. The most widespread system is certainly that of the food pyramid, continually reviewed and updated based on the latest news.
To eat healthy it is therefore essential to choose how much and when to eat the various foods.
Foods of animal origin are those that provide high biological value proteins, some mineral salts (especially iron and calcium) and vitamins (practically all, especially those of group B, D and A); on the other hand, the excess of these foods can cause a surplus of: cholesterol, saturated fatty acids and proteins. Among these, meat and offal should be taken in at least 2 portions per week (150-250g), fishery products at least 2 more (200-300g), cheeses / ricottas at least one (80-150g) and eggs no more than 3 per week. Then, as far as milk and yogurt are concerned, it is also allowed more than a daily portion, although it is good to keep in mind that this depends on the portion, the composition of the diet and the level of skimming of the milk; 150-300ml of semi-skimmed milk and 1 or 2 jars of 120g natural yoghurt per day are normal. NB . Preserved foods, such as cured meats, canned tuna, etc. should be a marginal alternative.
Taking into consideration foods of vegetable origin, these should be consumed daily. The group of cereals and potatoes, together with that of legumes, guarantees above all the contribution of the necessary complex carbohydrates. They can easily return to all meals, but it is essential that they always fall within the useful portions. Pasta, rice and other derivatives should respect quantities of no more than 90g; the bread should fill the remaining need or replace the first course and, usually, vary between 20-30g and 100-120g. Legumes can be used like cereals.
Vegetables and sweet fruits contribute to increase satiety, to provide water, potassium, some vitamins (especially A, C, E and K) and non-vitaminic or saline antioxidants. They contain simple carbohydrates and sometimes affect the energy balance to such an extent as to create an overdose failure.
NB . Some tropical fruits contain a lot of fat, like avocado and coconut. On average, between cooked and raw, vegetables should appear at least 2-3 times in the daily diet and in portions of 50-200g; the fruits about 2 times per 200g (variable depending on the fruit).
NB . The jams, the jams, the dehydrated fruit, the syrup and the candied fruit do not belong to this category, but to that of sweet foods.
Fats for dressing and oilseeds are necessary to compensate for the demand for fatty acids and related vitamins (especially E and A). Carefully chosen, they help meet the need for essential fatty acids and generally those that are beneficial to the body. In addition, they provide many non-vitamin or saline antioxidants. As for the oil, about 2-4 tablespoons a day are enough (depending on the fatness of the other foods); with regard to oilseeds, it is possible to use them in quantities of a few grams and only once a day.
The only recommended drink is water, with a variable salt profile based on subjective needs, and to an extent of about 750-1000ml / day (very variable).
Of all the foods mentioned above it is necessary to avoid: preserved in salt, in oil, in syrup, preserves and over-elaborated recipes. Furthermore, all sweets and junk foods are drastically reduced.
Food hygiene
Food hygiene is a cornerstone of healthy eating. Hygiene does not only mean biological and microbiological safety (bacteria, viruses, prions, parasites etc.), certainly very important, but also protection against all forms of chemical or pharmacological contamination.
Among the various devices, first of all there is the choice between the sources of supply. It may seem disappointing but, to date, the best are the conventional large-scale ones. Thanks to the very strict hygienic controls, it is possible to find the safest foods on the supermarket counters; on the contrary, purchases by cross streets are often risky. For example, for fruit and vegetables the most frequent frauds involve the sale of fake "organic" products or others that have not respected the disposal times of pesticide treatments.
For meat and eggs, however, the greatest risk is that they come from sick animals or from animals stuffed with drugs. In the latter area, the slaughtering and conservation phases also play an essential role; obviously, the higher the means and processing technologies, the better the levels of food safety will be.
Foods must therefore be guaranteed starting from production / breeding (diseases, environmental contamination, etc.), up to transport and for all storage prior to sale (maintenance of temperatures, cold chain etc.).
