HEALTHY EATING - WHY SHOULD YOU AND YOUR FAMILY CARE?
The last few decades have increasingly seen more and more focus on diets and healthy eating. During our teens and early adult years many of us see healthy eating as a mechanism to lose weight, but later in life start realising just how much it contributes to our own overall health. And once we have children, we realise just how difficult it is to keep them away from the myriad of unhealthy temptations lurking around every corner.
But why should you care what you and your children eat? And do we as a nation really fair that badly in the diet and nutrition department?
The state of the nation
We all know that unhealthy eating habits have contributed to the obesity epidemic in America, approximately one third of US adults and about 17% of children and teenagers are obese.
But South Africa seems to stack up pretty “well” against the Americans. According to data from the South African National health and Nutrition Examination Survey, among girls between two and fourteen years, 16,5 % are overweight, while 7.1 percent are categorised as obese. More than one in ten boys in the same group are overweight, with 4.7% being obese.
The 2016 Healthy Active Kids South Africa report card (HAKSA) revealed more unpleasant statistics:
- South African teenagers drink more than one soft drink per day, and consume three times the recommended amount of sugar a week.
- Most children eat less than one portion of fruit or vegetables a day, far less than what is recommended (five portions a day).
- There are a whopping 30 million fast food consumers in South Africa, up by 10 million during the last 5 years
- South African teens have a higher than recommended salt intake, and this just from snack food
- Almost one in four pre-schoolers is overweight or obese and one in five is stunted
We all learn that sugary treats like sweets, cakes, cupcakes, waffles, ice-cream and doughnuts are culprits when it comes to eating healthily. But somehow people appear to think that it is perfectly fine to drink energy drinks and gas coldrinks as well as processed food on a regular bases.
Your liquid fix of sugar
Do you really know how much sugar can be found in soft drinks? A Carte Blanche survey in 2016 found that the amount of sugar in typical gas coldrinks ranges from 19.2 grams to 44.1 grams, depending on the brand. Just think, if you are consuming 44.1 grams of sugar in a 330 ml can, you or your child are drinking about 9 spoons of sugar in one drink! Some sources even maintain drinks can actually have up to 58.8 g of sugar, whilst fruit juice has up to 53.8 g.
According to a nutritionweek article in 2106, drinking just two or more sugary drinks a day increases the risk of developing diabetes by as much as 24%. The World Health organisation recommends that the intake of free sugars, ie sugars added by either the manufacturer or individual, or sugars which are naturally present in honey, syrups, fruit juices and fruit juice concentrates, should be less than 10% of the total energy intake for adults and children and less than 5% for further health benefits.
According to Nicole Lubasinski, president of the association of dietietics in South Africa, this means the maximum intake of free sugars from food and drinks per day for adult men and teenagers should not be more than 12 teaspoons and for adult women and children 5 – 13 years, not more than 9 teaspoons.
Processed foods: harbouring hidden culprits?
What about processed foods? Do we really know what’s in them? One could argue that anything done to food to help keep it fresh can be deemed as processing. For example ready-to eat salad greens that are washed and packed into bags with a neutral gas that keeps them from oxidising and prevents spoilage is a processed food. The problem comes in when processed foods remove things that are good for you and add unhealthy ingredients such as sodium, trans fat and added sugars. Many argue that these types of foods have been chemically processed and are made solely from refined ingredients and artificial substances. There are hundreds of processed foods out there, not least of which include salty snacks, pizza, frozen meals and fast foods.
So what is the issue with processed foods?
Processed foods are generally loaded with added sugar in some shape or form. So whilst you may think you are not eating sugar as such, the processed foods you consume, might actually contribute to your daily sugar intake. Some even maintain it could be the biggest source of added sugar to one’s diet. If you check the ingredients on the labels of many processed foodstuffs, you are likely not to know what some of these ingredients are – yet you are putting this into your body!
Example of some of ingredients that can be found in processed foods include:
Colourants: Chemicals created to give food a specific colour
Bear in mind that the category “artificial flavour or artificial preservative” can still include a variety of ingredients which are not disclosed, so again, you don’t truly know what is in them.
The jury might still be out as to whether we should consume a diet high in carbohydrates or high in protein (the latter being represented by the Banting philosophy). But one thing that people generally agree on is that carbohydrates which are not refined and low in GI, are better than refined carbohydrates.
Yet this is mostly the exact nature of processed foods, they are high in carbs, usually the refined variety. Refined carbohydrates are broken down quickly in the digestive tract, which in turn can lead to spikes in blood sugar and insulin levels. This could result in carb cravings a few hours later when blood sugar levels go down again – not too far removed from the body’s reaction when consuming sweets and cakes.
An interesting phenomenon is that manufacturers frequently including communication like “whole grains” and “added vitamins” on their packaging. But ironically they have pulverised the true goodness (and the nutrients and vitamins) out of the food before adding a few so-called “grains” or “vitamins” to the food. And synthetic nutrients added to processed foods are never a good replacement for the nutrients found in whole foods.
Processed foods are also low in fibre, which has numerous benefits such as intestinal health. And because of its processed nature and low fibre content, they are more easily digested, thus much less energy is used to digest processed food.
So you may be burning less kilojoules to eat food which has less fibre, less nutrients and more chemicals, and will keep you full for a shorter period!
How often do you actually check the labels of tinned, bottled or frozen food and drinks? Most labels include a line which says “Carbohydrates – x% of which sugar x%. You will be amazed if you take the trouble to check these. I enjoy yoghurt and drinking yoghurts and recently, following my husband’s claim that the drinking yoghurt I love was loaded with sugar, stopped to check the label. I could not believe how much sugar it contained. According to a nutrition week article, sweetened flavoured milk or yoghurt based drinks can contain up to 41.8 gr of sugar.
Even many so-called “healthy” or “diet” foods contain loads of sugar. Screen for sweeteners such as corn syrup and anything ending in “ose”, for example dextrose and fructose as well as honey, maple syrup and fruit juice concentrate.
So why worry about your children eating healthily?
- It is a well-documented fact that many chronic health problems such as diabetes, obesity, high blood pressure, heart disease, skeletal conditions and even cancer are frequently linked to poor diet.
- Children have less chance of developing cavities if they eat less sugary foods. Ask any adult with fillings, crowns or implants and they will tell you how much they regret not looking after their teeth as a young person
- Evidence shows that overweight children are more likely to grow into overweight adults. The longer a person is overweight, the greater the health risks, especially in the case of cardiovascular diseases. Healthy eating habits established as a child are more likely to stay with kids as adults.
- Healthy eating is beneficial for energy. Avoiding sugary foods can prevent the sugar spikes and lows associated with this pattern of eating. Sugary foods such as sweets, gas coldrinks, ice cream and white bread cause a spike in blood sugar. Most people’s bodies can handle occasional influxes of glucose, but doing this regularly, even daily, can lead to insulin resistance, which can go on to become type 2 diabetes
- It can stabilise their moods. There is also a belief that it can help prevent mental diseases such as depression, anxiety and ADHD. For example one 2008 study noted a link between iron deficiency and hyperactivity disorders in children. Skipping meals or overindulging in sugary foods have also been linked to depression.
- According to research associate March Goodman Bryan with the Urban child institute, if a child does not receive adequate intake of iodine and iron, she may experience both cognitive delays and motor development delays. A child whose diet is deficient in the essential fatty acid DHA, might experience delays in learning and development
- Children have enough pressures to deal with without having to struggle with poor self-esteem due to weight problems. An overweight child is at greater risk of being teased and bullied at school and less likely to be able to participate in sports and physical activity in the playground.
So the bottom line is, the importance eating healthily can in fact not be emphasised enough, at the end of the day, it is in the interest of your health as well as that of your family’s.
The views in this article do not necessarily represent the views of the Tots n Pots franchise or franchisees