Nutritional Basis of Healthy Eating

If you couldn't get enough of BIOC3004, here's MORE OF IT! But this time, it's disguised as physiology!

Understand the nutritional basis of healthy eating
Know and understand recommendations on diet from the Australian Dietary Guidelines

BIOC3004...

Discuss the benefits of certain foods

Note: I'll try and make this information as good as I can (obviously), but if you have any serious concerns about your diet, you should consult a dietitian, not a random blogger on the Internet.

Fruit and vegetables

Eating lots of fruit and vegetables may decrease the risk of cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and even cancer, due to antioxidants and vitamins. An example of an antioxidant found in vegetables is genistein, which is found in broccoli. Green leafy vegetables are a good source of folate, which prevents the build-up of homocysteine, as discussed here. High homocysteine levels may be indicative of inflammation and negative health outcomes.

Whole grains

Whole grains are linked to a decreased risk of coronary heart disease, obesity, diabetes, and certain cancers (like colorectal cancer). Whole grain foods tend to have a low GI, which means that they take longer to digest (causing satiety) and better glycaemic control (reducing the risk of diabetes). The emphasis on whole grains does not mean that white bread is necessarily "bad"- white bread is often fortified with calcium, and may even help in the promotion of healthy gut bacteria (like Lactobacilli). White bread also has fewer lectins, which we can't digest and may even form antibodies to. This isn't to say that white bread is healthy, but rather that it is perfectly fine to consume in moderation.

Dairy

Dairy foods contain high amounts of calcium, which is good for bone mass.

Water

Water lowers the risk of kidney stones, urinary tract cancers, and colon cancer. Also, you'll die in a few days if you don't drink it.

Discuss which foods should be limited

Saturated fat

Saturated fat increases the risk of type II diabetes, obesity, and coronary heart disease.

Sugar

Some sugar is okay, but not too much. As I mentioned here, no more than 10% of calories per day should be from added sugar.

Alcohol

Moderate amounts of alcohol may be fine or even beneficial, as it has been found to increase HDL and reduce stress. However, too much alcohol is pretty detrimental, especially to children and adolescents.

Miscellaneous stuff that doesn't fit under any of the lecture outcomes

There were a few slides on obesity, and how it has increased. Apparently we need to know the cutoff BMI ranges for overweight and obese: overweight is >25, obese is >30. We also need to know at least two diseases associated with obesity, so here's a handful so you can choose: type II diabetes, gallbladder disease, hypertension, dyslipidaemia, insulin resistance, and atherosclerosis.

Also, there were a few slides at the end suggesting that a high-fat, low-carb diet might actually be beneficial for some patients with type II diabetes. This might be because high-fat foods tend to have a lower GI and therefore don't cause such a rapid spike in blood glucose levels, making it easier for patients to keep their blood sugar under control. If you don't believe me, you can look up Dr David Unwin, who wrote about this in Practical Diabetes and the British Medical Journal.