Healthy Breakfast: 9 Superfoods & Their Nutrients - Essay Sample

Nutrition Analysis

Nutrition being science interpreting interactions of nutrients and other components of food that one consumes, it influences various processes such as health, reproduction, and growth. Nutrition includes processes like intake of food, absorption, assimilation, biosynthesis, catabolism, and excretion (Whitney & Rolfes, 2018). Proper nutrition, combined with adequate physical exercise, form part of a healthy lifestyle. Some of the benefits of proper nutrition include achieving and maintaining a healthy weight, reducing risks associated with chronic diseases, and improvement of the general health status of an individual. On the other hand, poor nutrition refers to improper nutrition process, mainly in the form of an unbalanced diet. Risks associated with poor nutrition include reduced productivity, reduced immunity, and impaired physical and mental development.

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Various factors are influencing the type and nature of nutrition an individual takes. It is believed that the key driver for eating is hunger. However, the choice of what one consumes to counter the hunger is primarily determined by other factors; not necessarily nutritional and physiological needs. Some of the main factors influencing food choice and dietary habits include economic determinants like income, cost, and availability of the types of food - biological factors, such as taste, appetite, and hunger. Physical factors like the accessibility of the kind of food, nutritional education, and skills influence the decision-making process in terms of what type of food an individual consumes. Psychological determinants such as attitude, mood, stress, and knowledge about the food also affect the type of food an individual decides to eat. Finally, social factors such as meal patterns, family, peers, and cultural beliefs form some of the major determinants when making decisions on what and when to eat. According to Fieldhouse (2013), culture influences the type of foods and eating habits of individuals within society. Some of the ways cultural practices affect nutrition are as illustrated below.

Cultural Influence on Nutrition

Food Selection

The difference in cultural practices among people influence the types of foods people eat. There are some plants and animals considered edible in some parts of the world but are not considered as food in other parts of the world (Fieldhouse 2013). Similarly, there are parts of animals and plants thrown to waste by people practicing some cultural beliefs, yet the same components are consumed others. In terms of food selection, it has been observed that people in different parts of the world live healthy ways when consuming foods whose nutritious value are considered inadequate according to western standards.

Methods of Food Preparation

There exist evident differences in the way different communities cook their foods. Different societies associated methods of preparing food to the physical characters of the food and the nutritional value of the diet. The differences occur in terms of the ingredients included in the food, preparations before cooking, and how long the cooking process needs to take. Some societies believe that foods such as meet gain nutritional value when subjected to several hours of cooking. Such societies believe that the softer the meat is, the more nutritious it is. However, some communities believe that cooking kills nutrients in food such as meat hence reduce their nutritional value.

Eating Habits and Frequency

The number of meals taken in a day varies among different communities practicing different cultural practices. In some isolate and developing parts of the world, people live on one or two meals a day. In such communities, eating any food between the meals is discouraged and punishable in some cases. Additionally, many communities prohibit talking when eating and all discussions and stopped during meals. In such communities, it is a lack of table manners and a punishable act to talk when eating. However, some communities encourage stories during meals.

Practices Related to Maternal and Infant Feeding

Different communities have different instructions as far as small children need to be fed, and the types of foods mothers and expecting ladies need to eat. For instance, some cultures require pure breastfeeding for babies bellow six months. Their mothers are also expected to avoid some specific foods considered harmful to both the mother and the baby. However, some communities have no control over the meals taken by breastfeeding mothers. Additionally, some societies believe that infants are only given food when they cry while other societies have a feeding schedule for babies. Despite the variations in feeding practices among different cultural practices, there are ways and plans for improving and maintaining good nutrition.

Plans for Improving Good Nutrition

Eating Schedule

It is recommended that people should eat when they are hungry and as often as possible to avoid being famished (Thilsted et al. 2016). The last meals of the day need to be taken at least three hours before retiring to bed. Eating schedule and habits influence the number of nutrients available in the body.

Food Selection

Healthy foods include whole grains, vegetables, fat-free dairy products, and fruits. One needs to incorporate poultry, nuts, lean meats, fish, beans, and eggs. Saturated fats, sodium, and added sugars need to limitation. Additionally, food portions should be controlled to avoid constipation.

Reference

Fieldhouse, P. (2013). Food and nutrition: customs and culture. Springer. Retrieved from https://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=LVL5BwAAQBAJ&oi=fnd&pg=PP8&dq=cultural+influence+on+nutrition&ots=zAMXX9SgiN&sig=Cecqu8m6YP48rZb5bIqNmgrp7r8

Thilsted, S. H., Thorne-Lyman, A., Webb, P., Bogard, J. R., Subasinghe, R., Phillips, M. J., & Allison, E. H. (2016). Sustaining healthy diets: The role of capture fisheries and aquaculture for improving nutrition in the post-2015 era. Food Policy, 61, 126-131. Retrieved from https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S030691921630001X

Whitney, E. N., & Rolfes, S. R. (2018). Understanding nutrition. Cengage Learning. Retrieved from https://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=tqdEDwAAQBAJ&oi=fnd&pg=PP1&dq=nutrition&ots=1iZilMjAFZ&sig=-wQkswsZuzm1z1YLOsLT95NKcpM