Tools for Achieving a Healthy Diet

Good nutrition means eating the right foods, in the right amounts, to receive enough (but not too much) of the essential nutrients so that the body can remain free from disease, grow properly, work effectively, and feel its best. The phrase “you are what you eat” refers to the fact that the food you eat has cumulative effects on the body. And many of the nutrients obtained from food do become a part of us. For example, the protein and calcium found in milk can be used in the formation of bone. The foods we eat also impact how we feel—both today and in the future. Below we will discuss the key components of a healthy diet that will help prevent chronic disease (like heart disease and diabetes), maintain a healthy weight, and promote overall health.

Achieving a Healthy Diet

Achieving a healthy diet is a matter of balancing the quality and quantity of food that you eat to provide an appropriate combination of energy and nutrients. There are four key characteristics that make up a healthful diet:

1. Adequacy
2. Balance
3. Moderation
4. Variety

Adequacy^[1]

A diet is adequate when it provides sufficient amounts of calories and each essential nutrient, as well as fiber. In Canada:

• 5 in 10 women and 7 in 10 men have energy intakes that exceed their energy needs.
• 25% of males and 23% of females, 19 years and older, have fat intakes above the Acceptable Macronutrient Distribution Range.
• 32% of males and 21% of females, 19 years and older, have carbohydrate intakes below the Acceptable Macronutrient Distribution Range.
• Many adults have inadequate intakes of magnesium, calcium, vitamin A and vitamin D (see Box 1 below).
  For nutrients with an Adequate Intake (AI), there is concern that Canadian adults may not be meeting their needs for potassium and fibre – although the interpretation of the adequacy of nutrients with an AI is limited.
• Canadian adults’ sodium intakes are associated with an increased risk of adverse health effects.

Balance

A balanced diet means eating a combination of foods from the different food groups, and because these food groups provide different nutrients, a balanced diet is likely to be adequate in nutrients. For example, vegetables are an important source of potassium, dietary fiber, folate, vitamin A, and vitamin C, whereas grains provide B vitamins (thiamin, riboflavin, niacin, and folate) and minerals (iron, magnesium, and selenium). No one food is more important than the other. It is the combination of all the different food groups (fruit, vegetables, grains, dairy, protein and fats/oils) that will ensure an adequate diet.

Moderation

Moderation means not eating to the extremes, neither too much nor too little of any one food or nutrient. Moderation means that small portions of higher-calorie, lower-nutrient foods like chips and candy can fit within a healthy diet. Including these types of foods can make healthy eating more enjoyable and also more sustainable. When eating becomes too extreme—where many foods are forbidden—this eating pattern is often short-lived until forbidden foods are overeaten. Too many food rules can lead to a cycle of restriction-deprivation-overeating-guilt. For sustainable, long-term health benefits, it is important to give yourself permission to eat all foods.

Variety

Variety refers to consuming different foods within each of the food groups on a regular basis. Eating a varied diet helps to ensure that you consume adequate amounts of all essential nutrients required for health. One of the major drawbacks of a monotonous diet is the risk of consuming too much of some nutrients and not enough of others. Trying new foods can also be a source of pleasure—you never know what foods you might like until you try them.

Dietary Guidelines for Canadians^[2]

Canada’s first food guide, the official food rules, was developed in 1942 to help prevent nutritional deficiencies and improve the health of Canadians during wartime food rationing. Since that time, it was been transformed many times to adapt to the current situations and demands. The current version, released in 2019, provides a less prescriptive approach. The new food guide has moved away from recommendations based on the number and size of servings. The new approach:

• is designed to be flexible
• includes tips for healthy eating habits
• recommends a variety of healthy food choices

The 2019 Canada Food Guide recommends the following:

1. Eat plenty of vegetables and fruits, whole grain foods and protein foods. Choose protein foods that come from plants more often. Select mono and poly-unsaturated fats over saturated fats.
2. Limit highly processed foods. Prepare meals with little to no sodium, sugars or saturated fats.
3. Make water your drink of choice.
4. Use food labels
5. Be aware that marketing can influence your choices.

The guide outlines a set of recommendations to develop healthy eating habits:

1. Be mindful of your eating habits. Take time to eat and notice when you are hungry and full.
2. Cook more often. Plan what you eat, involve others in planning and prepare meals.
3. Enjoy your food. Culture and food traditions can be part of healthy eating.
4. Eat meals with others.

Purposeibid.

Canada’s Food Guide offers guidance on what to eat, as well as where, when, why and how we eat. It helps develop food skills that can help people in Canada navigate the complex food environment and promote health and well-being. Its goal is to help:

• meet nutrient needs
• improve nutritional health
• lower the risk of nutrition-related chronic diseases and conditions

Canada  is not the only country that develops nutritional guidelines. The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations has a website where you can search for dietary guidelines for different countries, such as Sweden’s guidelines, illustrated below.

The Swedish National Food Agency also has a great resource, “Find Your Way To Eat Greener, Not Too Much and Be Active” on how to put these guidelines into practice.