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Balanced Diet 2

A balanced diet should focus on the quality of food rather than just the proportion of macronutrients. Breakfast is not mandatory but can be beneficial if chosen wisely, while carbohydrates and fats are not inherently fattening; their effects depend on overall energy balance. Dietary guidelines should prioritize whole foods and avoid processed options, emphasizing the importance of food quality over calorie counting.

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4 views7 pages

Balanced Diet 2

A balanced diet should focus on the quality of food rather than just the proportion of macronutrients. Breakfast is not mandatory but can be beneficial if chosen wisely, while carbohydrates and fats are not inherently fattening; their effects depend on overall energy balance. Dietary guidelines should prioritize whole foods and avoid processed options, emphasizing the importance of food quality over calorie counting.

Uploaded by

etxeeche
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We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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BALANCED

DIET
WHAT IS
A diet that keeps a proportion between the three
main nutrients. But when we try to create a healthy
diet only taking this into account, we obtain a very
imprecise result, which considers only the quantities
and not the quality. What is the use of a
proportionate diet that does not contribute anything
to health

HOW IT IS CALCULATED
First, we must translate those percentages of
nutrients to the number of kilocalories that
correspond to us; then, that number must be
converted into grams; and finally, those grams must
be converted into the correct foods. An excessively
long and laborious process for what it ends up
providing: nothing.

CONS WITHOUT PROS


This general idea can cause
confusion by allowing us to
equate foods that have
nothing to do with each
other, apart from other
cons:
- After all, most of the THEN WHAT?
numbers we rely on to
construct such a diet are The best we can do is
mere estimates. It is to worry about which
impossible to determine dishes are best to
the nutritional value of incorporate and how
every unit of every food.
often. The bottom line
- In conclusion, there is no
is that what
point in worrying about the
specific grams of any food determines how
we consume or the specific healthy a diet is is the
kilocalories we expend. foods that make it up.
BREAKFAST
IS IT THE MOST
IMPORTANT MEAL
OF THE DAY?
There is nothing to
justify it, but it can
be if you want it to
be. What ultimately
matters is the
choice of food that
is made in it.
IS IT CONVENIENT TO EAT
BREAKFAST?
It is not mandatory,
but there is research
that associates it with
positive
consequences.
However, everything
points to the fact that
it is only related to it;
it is not the main
cause.
THE RIGHT BREAKFAST
There is no ideal
combination; it should be
chosen in the same way as
other meals. Anyway, here
are some options that can
make your breakfast
healthier: homemade
smoothies, unsweetened
whole-grain cereals or
whole-grain toast.
CARBOHYDRATES
DO THEY MAKE YOU
GET FAT?
By default, they are not fattening
(just like any other
macronutrient). This will depend
on our energy balance, the
amount of energy we take in and
how we counteract it.

LOW CARB DIETS


It cannot be concluded that one
diet is better than another for
weight loss just because of the
amount of one of its
macronutrients. But it is true
that these can help slimming
because they are usually more
satiating and easy to follow diets.

DOES THE TIME


MATTER?
Instead of focusing our
attention on the hours at
which we take them, we
should focus them on the
quality of these and the
quantity in which they are
taken. That will depend
on:

That it is a complex carbohydrate and not


simple.
The composition of the food (and that in
this fiber is included).
The nutrients with which they are
accompanied.
FAT
IS FAT FATTENING?
Contrary to popular belief, fat is not fattening by itself.
But it is stored when we have an excessive energy intake
and, unlike our capacity to store glucose, that of fat seems
almost infinite. It should be clarified that it is not only
produced from unsaturated and/or trans fats, but also
from other nutrients.

THE CRIMINALIZATION OF FAT


In the past, there was a tendency to eliminate them from the
diet, since it is the nutrient that easily contributes the most
kilocalories. But this led to diets low in lipids, not very satiating
or tasty and very difficult to follow that did not take into
account factors such as satiety or adherence.

CONSEQUENCES
People began to consume foods lacking in unhealthy fats and to
consume foods that did not need to be reduced, and so the low
fat era began.

WHAT SHOULD HAVE BEEN DONE?


Instead, the right thing to do would have been to eliminate
sweets, pastries or alcohol, foods that are not very satiating,
lacking in fiber or protein and with a high energy density.

LOW-FAT DIETS
They are not a great option for weight loss, in fact, they are the
ones with the worst results when compared, for example, with
low-carbohydrate diets. But this does not mean that they are
not healthy diets, that will depend on the quality of the food on
which they are based. The best change we can make to lose
weight would be to improve the quality of the fat we eat, not to
reduce the quantity ingested.
DIETARY
GUIDELINES
DEFINITION
They try to explain how to maintain a
healthy diet using simple language and
symbols, considering factors such as:
portion size; frequency of consumption;
mode of preparation.

THE SPANISH FOOD


PYRAMID
Errors:

- Priorities: it does not establish vegetables and greens


as the most important foods, prioritizing foods high in
carbohydrates (without highlighting their whole-grain
versions).

- Confusion: it seems to suggest that there are essential


foods by giving the impression that their steps are not
interchangeable and have different properties.

- Unhealthy foods: it includes sweets and alcohol for


the benefit of the companies producing these products.

THE HARVARD
HEALTHY EATING
PLATE
Principles:
- Reference is made to the
two main intakes (lunch and
dinner).

- Vegetables and fruits


occupy half of the plate.
- Cereals are limited and
always whole grains.

- Processed foods are


avoided.

- No alcoholic beverages or
sweets.
KILOCALORIES
IS THERE ANY POINT IN
COUNTING THEM?
The reality is that no, but they
must be considered. Since it
depends on them that we gain or
lose weight, this thanks to the
energy balance. Actually, there is
no way to account for them,
there are many factors to take
into account that cannot be
measured. In conclusion, this
method is not useful in the
obesogenic environment in which
LIGHT FOODS we live, but if it were not for
Eating low-calorie foods that, perhaps it would be valid.
does not necessarily
make us lose weight;
the macronutrients that
provide us with this
energy (substances
involved in digestion
such as fiber or water)
are also important. In
fact, as these foods are
not very satiating, they
can make us put on
weight by forcing us to
eat more food to satiate THE RIGHT THING
us. If we do not want to count
calories, the best thing we
can do is to change our
environment: surround
ourselves from the beginning
with healthier foods and
avoid having foods with
excess salt or sugar, for
example, within our reach. It
is also very useful and
important to use our
appetite as the “thermostat”
of the energy we should
consume.
THE ALIMENTS
ARE THERE GOOD AND BAD
FOODS?
We could say yes,
although perhaps we
should first ask
ourselves what they
can be good or bad for,
but when addressing a
society in which
overweight and obesity
abound, it is preferable
not to hesitate.

THE CLASSIFICATION
OF NUTRITIONISM
Nutritionism is in charge of classifying foods
according to the presence or absence of certain
nutrients, but a food cannot be evaluated by
only one aspect, it must be evaluated as a whole.
And we should also consider a point ignored in
this classification, the amount of consumption.

MODERATE CONSUMPTION
The interest in moderate
consumption, for the
quantities that are
ingested, is something
correct but difficult to
maintain
in an obesogenic
environment that tends to
tends to focus
more on portions than on
food
than on the food, which
leads to the erroneous
This leads to the erroneous
idea that we should eat a
little bit of everything
(including superfluous
foods).

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