It is high time to give serious attention to what we eat everyday or regularly consume – our diet! Diet comprises all the food and drinks one regularly consumes. It maybe a regular or therapeutic diet. All kinds of food are allowed in a regular diet. The therapeutic diet is intended to alleviate or help manage a state of disease or malnutrition thus may omit or limit certain foods, or allows greater consumption of some food groups. The ketogenic diet which is intended for epileptics for instance, allows greater consumption of fat with the aim of helping control seizures. An acid-ash diet which puts emphasis on cereals, meat, eggs, fish among others, will exert an acid effect to the urine. A lacto-ovo-vegetarian diet includes foods of plant origin plus egg and milk.
People not requiring a therapeutic change, are on full or regular diet. This should meet recommended energy and nutrient intakes of a person depending on age, sex and physical activity everyday and should meet the qualities of a healthy diet – adequacy, balance, calorie-control, moderation and variety. The Food Pyramid, which may differ across countries, may serve as guide for meal planning.
Different countries have eating patterns reflecting their diet in general. Without counting calories and individual nutrients, some diets maybe healthier than the rest. The so-called Western Diet has more protein-rich foods than the carbohydrates, also rich in fat and energy. The Filipino diet is high in salt with many using bagoong, alamang, patis either as substitute or supplement to table salt. Both Western and Filipino diets need improvement so as Diversity of foods based on different food groups and foods consumed within each group, is another thing to deal with.
Of the numerous country- or region-specific diets, the Mediterranean Diet has earned a reputation for its health benefits and delicious flavors. It stands out to be the healthiest. It is rich in complex carbohydrates, dietary fiber, nutrients and phytochemicals that support good health. It is low in saturated and trans-fats that are linked to cardiovascular diseases but rich in unsaturated fats which is the better kind of oil. A study demonstrated the long term benefits of this diet to include protection against cancer, heart disease and diabetes. Fruits, vegetables, whole grains, healthy fats such as olive oil, beans, nuts, peanuts, legumes and seeds, herb and spices are eaten on a daily basis. For protein source, fish and seafoods are recommended in greater amounts compared to poultry, eggs, cheese and yogurt . Sweets and meat should be eaten least. Their limited consumption of milk and milk products and meat, limit their saturated fat intake. Of course their environment gives an edge. With their region’s pasture-graze, their meat, milk and eggs are richer in omega-3 fatty acids than those from animal-fed grain.
