A balanced diet gives the body the nutrients it needs to function properly. A person must meet their daily nutrient needs from fresh fruits and vegetables, whole grains, legumes, nuts, lean products, and many more. Doctors around the world always recommend patients to eat a balanced diet.
Having a balanced diet decreases the risk of acquiring diseases, infection, fatigue, and low performance. Children who do not get enough nutrition may have growth and developmental problems, poor academic performance, and easily get infected by bacteria and viruses.
The NHS's Eatwell Guide in the UK divides their foods into groups, starchy carbohydrates, dairy or dairy alternatives, protein and fats, and fruits and vegetables. These food groups are also widely known as the Go, Grow, and Glow food groups.
Experts recommend eating a variety of food because different foods offer various nutrients that benefit the health of people. But what might be a variety of foods in the dietary health guidelines might not be what the general public may define as variety, ScienceAlert reported.
Defining Food Variety
According to a study, food variety is not only measured in having a variety of foods as part of the whole diet. It also means having multiple courses or foods from different food groups, as well as eating different foods for lunch every day.
Moreover, research has found that variety can also refer to the different characteristics of the food, like its appearance, flavor, texture, and smell, as well as the nutrients in them.
However, by this definition, eating a chocolate cake and strawberry cake would be a form of variety because they do not have the same flavor, even if they both have a very similar nutritional profile and belongs to the same food group. In that sense, a pizza having a variety of toppings could also be considered under this definition.
But is this how variety should be defined? In a recent study in the UK, the researchers looked at how people would define food variety. They found that participants in the study tend to define variety from having different foods from different food groups.
Furthermore, this result suggests that they place less importance on variety within meals when trying to follow a balanced diet. They believe that it does not matter if a variety of foods are eaten in a meal as long as they achieve an overall balanced diet by making up the difference in the next meal.
Food Variety Encourages People to Eat More
Study shows that having a variety within meals is important because it shows that people tend to eat more when meals or foods differ in appearance, taste, and texture of foods within the same dish. The difference in texture and characteristics of the food on the plate makes the people interested in a meal for longer and delays the feeling of being full that would prompt people to stop eating.
In other words, these difference in characteristics disrupts the "sensory-specific satiety." This also means that eating different foods from the same food groups could lead to higher body weight and potentially increase the risks of having diseases linked to overweight and obesity.
On the other hand, variety within meals is most helpful in eating fruits and vegetables because they are nutritious and offers great benefits to the person's health. But food variety is less helpful when eating high-calorie foods. Thus the risk for overeating is higher.
Check out more news and information on Nutrition on Science Times.
