Many, many years ago, I studied Nutrition to A Level standard, and we were then taught that the human body needs the five following components for a healthy diet;
Protein...found in Meat, Fish, Eggs, Milk & Dairy products, Nuts and Pulses
Carbohydrate & Fibre....mainly found in vegetables and grains
Fat...a little fat is necessary in the diet for health
Vitamins....found in Fruit and Veg, essential for good health
Minerals....Found in Meat, Fish, Cereal, Dairy foods, nuts and vegetables
I don't know if they still teach these things at school, but a lot of people seem confused about what foods they should or shouldn't eat, and fail to realise that a broad range of food is what we thrive on, that way we don't miss out on any of the important elements that contribute to a healthy diet.
A calorie controlled diet is therefore good because we can still vary our foods whilst keeping track of the quantity to enable excess weight to be lost.
We were also taught that different people have different dietary needs; higher energy foods for children, more easily digested foods for the sick and higher calcium content food for elderly; we used to be given a task to plan a days menu for different people. Does this happen anymore?
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DartmoorDumpling
Restart Feb 2024
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Not sure but it seems very sensible a balanced diet. I am a true believer that your body tells us what we need.
It let's us know if we are in danger it tells us if we are cold or hot hungry thisty tierd etc so why when it comes to foid we dint listen when it tells us what we need food wise.
In some ways i believe we should listen to our bodies. However by this I don't mean you should eat chips everyday because that is what our body is telling us to eat š¬.
I believe what our body tells us in cravings etc we have and what we need. We should listen to our bodies.š
I did similar, it was called "domestic science" and we learnt the science of food, invalid cookery, basic animal anatomy/butchery etc š Think it's sad today's youngsters don't learn these things š
We had a very old (to our eyes) spinster who was very strict but I still remember things she taught us ššš
This brought back lots of domestic science memory's , all lovely . I still regularly see my old domestic science teacher as strangly I am now friends with her daughter . Even at 56 I still call her Mrs Stuart although she is desperate for me to use her first name
If my teacher, Nerys Jones (maiden name) is still out there from the early 1970's, I can thank her, as what she taught me is earning my living today!
In our Domestic Science lessons, we had to prepare a "timeplan" of all the tasks needed leading up to a full meal being ready at a particular time (bit like "bake off") and sometimes we could invite our favourite teacher in for a "dinner" when we would serve them all three courses on a beautifully laid up table - great fun had by all! Other times we had to carry home our creations for our families to enjoy.
At my school we did Domestic Science in the first year then we got streamed to Sciences, Languages etc . For my sins I switched to Latin and French. Consequently I only remember making: a hand sewn cookery apron, macoroni cheese and rice pudding !
Unfortunately the rice pudding never made it home, the older boys on the train decided to help themselves to the contents of my "cookery basket" ( remember those?)
My memory of Dom.Sci was tidying all the shelves putting large things at back and small at front according to what usege would be in groups. Also at the same time sneaking a biscuit from the iron rations tin (it was wartime!)
And in some lessons, we had to clean all the cookers, fridges and kitchen equipment ...as this was all "educational" and would be most useful to us girls in our future lives! Times have changed.....
A friend of mine is nutritionist, she studied food science at Uni and she told me that they teach NOT to count calories beacuse counting doesn't mean that diet is balanced. I guess everyone in this forum learnt what to eat by trial and error. Eventually, we learnt that some food keeps you staffed and makes you feel good and other food is hard to digest, doesn't keep you full and makes you feel sad.
Then, our diet depends on how active we are. For example, if we don't any serious work out, we shouldn't eat meet because our body get poisoned from the high level of proteins.
I decide to join the forum beacuse I have no money to pay for a dietician. I don't know if I am doing well, the only think I am aware of is that I have always been fat but I lost 15 kg since I began this diet and joined the forum. So, no matter what they teach at Uni, this diet has been a miracle to me!
It sounds very much as if you and I did the same 'A' Level DartmoorDumpling Although I do think the answer to "Plan meals for the day for someone who needs to lose weight", would now require a very different answer to the one we were expected to write up.
Does anyone know why it is that 2 foods with identical calorie content can leave you feeling full or not? Is that GI?
One of the big things I learned when I started on the 12 week plan was to note which foods left me feeling full and less hungry and less likely to pick. Getting more bang for my calories so to speak.
GI or Glycaemic Index relates to the speed that carbohydrates are broken down into sugars which are then processed by the body; either burned off as fuel or stored in the liver and then as body fat. The slower the speed it breaks down the better, otherwise our sugar levels get spiked rapidly and then our insulin levels raise which makes us hungry all over again, so when losing weight, we look for low or medium GI foods.
Carbs that break down slowly are those which have not been heavily processed; whole wheat, wholegrain rice, porridge oats, rather than sugar and white flour found in biscuits, cakes and white bread.
Fruit with it's skins on (eg apples, pears, grapes and plums, orange segments) will be digested more slowly and keep you more satisfied than a fruit smoothie where it is already partially broken down and might give you a sugar spike!
This is interesting to me as yesterday I found myself craving fruit, and this is an unusual occurrence for me! I have not had any chocolate or sweet treats for two weeks now, (excepting a bit of jam and one biscuit at my mum's house) and I have quite a sweet tooth so I wonder if this is the reason I crave fruit. I am also keen not to spike my blood sugar as I am trying to avoid type 2 diabetes which my Dad has. So far my blood sugar is fine, but I don't feel I should be complacent. This is one of my main reasons for being on here! I think I also want something juicy and refreshing as it's been so swelteringly hot lately. Last night I was fantasising about nice juicy apple! What's happening to me?! Lol!
There is also something called " the thermic effect" of food. Foods like protein take longer and need more energy to digest. If you google "a calorie is not a calorie", you will find some interesting stuff.
This is something I worry about. My children are being taught in school that a lowfat diet is something that they should be following which is contrary to what I believe and to the latest research which shows that some fat is now good and excess sugar is the cause of many problems.
I think moderation is key, and cooking from scratch with whole unprocessed foods is the way forward. And fruit while it contains fibre, vitamins and minerals is also mainly sugar and water and should be eaten in small amounts it is not, as my son thinks, healthy - it is just healthier than many of the alternatives!
If schools are teaching the wrong thing what hope does the next generation have?
Err I'm not sure the latest research is showing that low fat diets are unneccessary . I guess the definition of low is subjective. And there is consensus that not all fats are equal.
I'm not saying low fat is bad but a lot of so called healthy products that are labelled low fat in the supermarkets are in reality worse for you because the fat has been replaced with sugar and other fillers. Everyone needs some fat for their body to work properly
You are so right about fat being replaced with sugars in modern processed food. And as the OP pointed out some fat is indeed necessary.
I have a personal prejudice against the low sugar stuff which has aspartame instead. I'm not sure the evidence supports me but I hate the smell and taste. Given the choice of aspartame and a little sugar I'd 'plump' for the sugar as It's a natural product (pun intended)
I feel there should be more mention of Palm Oil in the general debate. It is known to clog arteries and along with Sodium Nitrite we were told to avoid in the 70's when the e numbers were first introduced to us. Extra days of chips (Fish Shops always use Palm Oil it is cheaper) must have a bearing on the diet of the young I feel and sustainable or not on packets still means Palm Oil to be on biscuits labels now to .be found
My all-embracing theory on this is that carbs and sugars are the easiest foods for us to overdose on. Therefore they are the ones we need to be very careful of measuring out and limiting.
For example, even if you love steak, you are not likely to eat a second portion at dinner because it is such a phaff to cook another one and you are likely full up from the first one. But if you are a bread lover, it takes just a few seconds to cut another slice and then another......and it is that bit easier to find room for another slice of bread or a potato.
I really agree that cooking from scratch is the answer. Far too many convenience foods are a big mix of fat and sugar and starch, they aren't filling, though they may well be tasty.
It always amazes me just how many calories the shops can cram into even a basic bought sandwich. I can make my own at home for at least 150 calories less. Why are they allowed to get away with it?
I took an open university module 'understanding human nutrition' about ten years ago. I remember it being quite good at the time. If I can find my old course book, I might have a look how much of it is still relevant.
I think times are changing back to where they used to be. I always say my shopping basket looks closer to the basket of groceries my grandmother would have had bought rather than my parents!
My basket would be the same, and my Mum's. People are starting to realise that convenience foods are not all that they are cracked up to be. Maybe all that needs to happen is that we teach our children how to read the labels properly!!
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