Food Technology

Revision 1

Healthy Eating, Eatwell Plate & Macronutrients

Eating for Health

Our Diet

It is important to choose a variety of foods to ensure that we

obtain the range of nutrients, i.e. proteins, carbohydrates, fats,

vitamins and minerals, which we need to stay healthy

There are guidelines about the amount of nutrients needed by

different people. These include dietary reference value

(DRV), estimates average requirements (EAR) and

reference nutrient intake (RNI)

Eatwell Plate

The Eatwell Plate shows the types & proportions of the main food groups that are needed for a healthy balanced diet.

On the plate you can see how much of your food should come from each group. Fruit & vegetables should make up about one third of the total food per day we eat. A portion is one piece of fruit (apple) or handful of berries (raspberries)

You do not need to get the balance right every meal, but need to try to get the balance over a day or each week.

Foods & drinks high in fat and/or sugar aren’t essential to a healthy diet and shouldn’t be eaten often.

The Eatwell Plate proportions have just changed (April2016) and we are now advised to eat more than one third fruit and vegetables and slightly less than a third Carbohydtrates

Eatwell Plate

It is suitable for all except

• Children under the age of two

• People under medical care

• People with special dietary needs

UK Government Healthy Eating Guidelines

1. Base your meals on starchy staple foods

2. Eat lots of fruit & vegetables

3. Eat more fish, including a portion of oily fish each week

4. Cut down on saturated fat and sugar

5. Eat less salt – no more than 6g a day for adults

6. Get active and maintain a healthy weight

7. Drink plenty of water

8. Don’t skip breakfast

5 a day campaign

Encourages us to eat more fruit & vegetables – fresh, frozen,

canned and dried

Recently this has increased to 7 – 10 portions per day

A healthy diet

You should be able to achieve healthy eating by cutting down on

fat (especially saturated), salt and sugars & increasing fibre

(non-starch polysaccharide or NSP)

To help consumers do this, many manufacturers have

voluntarily adopted a system of traffic light labelling:

• Red = amount is high – eat occasionally

• Amber = neither high or low amounts

• Green = amount is low – this is a good choice

Some manufacturers use a different system based on Guide

Line Daily Amounts (GDA) These labels show the % of sugar,

salt, fat & calories in each serving of the product

Traffic Light Labelling

G.D.A.

Maintaining a Healthy Weight

By balancing the calories with being physically active, you can

maintain a healthy weight.

If you eat more calories than your body needs, it gets stored as fat,

and you become overweight. To reach a healthy weight you should

follow a calorie control diet.

If your weight increases to a point where it seriously endangers your

health, you may eventually become obese.

Being overweight or obese increases the risk of developing

• Coronary heart disease (CHD)

• Some cancers

• Type 2 diabetes

• High blood pressure, which can lead to strokes

• Osteoarthritis

Being seriously underweight can also lead to health problems

Quick Test!

1. Which people should check with their GP whether the

Eatwell plate applies to them?

2. Obesity can increase the risk of developing coronary heart

disease – True or False?

3. How can you maintain a healthy weight?

4. What foods should you cut down on to achieve a healthy

diet?

5. Using the traffic light labelling system, a green light means

that the food is a good choice to make – True or False?

Key Words

Make sure you understand these words

Dietary Reference Values

Obesity

Guide Line Daily Amounts

Healthy weight

Eatwell Plate

Healthy diet

Traffic Light Labelling

Healthy Options

Manufacturers recognise that many consumers are concerned

about healthy eating.

They are producing “healthy option foods”. These foods make

claims about

• Low fat

• Low salt

• Low sugar

• High NSP content

We need to know what this actually means

Nutrient Definitions Content per

100g

Effects of Excess

Salt

Low salt Less than 0.3g High blood pressure

Coronary heart

disease High salt 1.5g or more

Fat Low fat Less than 3g Overweight

Obesity High Fat More than 20g

Saturated

fat

Low saturated fat Less than 1.5g Raised cholesterol

CHD High saturated fat More than 1.5g

Sugar

Low sugar Less than 5g Overweight

Obesity

Dental decay High sugar More than 15g

Fortification

Some foods are sold with the claim “fortified” – this is the

addition of nutrients to the food

Some foods must have some nutrients added in by law – e.g.

bread must have min amounts of calcium, iron & vitamins;

margarine must contain vitamins A & D

Other foods such as breakfast cereal do this as a “selling point”

Nutrients

Nutrients are divided into 2 categories

Macronutrients Which are Protein, Carbohydrate & Fat – the body needs larger amounts of these

Micronutrients Which are vitamins and minerals – the body needs smaller amounts BUT a wide variety

Nutrients are substances found in foods. All foods contain a mix of nutrients

The body also requires water (found in drinks & food) and fibre found in plant food

Protein

Needed for growth & repair – excess stored as fat

During digestion proteins are broken up into amino acids.

These are absorbed into the bloodstream & made into new

proteins in the body. 20 different amino acids are found in plant

& animal proteins. Thousands of amino acids may be joined

together to make one type of protein.

The body can make 11 of the amino acids from other amino

acids. The remaining 9 amino acids have to be obtained from

protein in the food we eat – these are known as essential amino

acids

Essential amino acids are found in protein from animal tissue

and from soya bean & quinoa – these foods have High

Biological Value (HBV)

Protein from plant sources (other than soya & quinoa) have

Low Biological Value (LBV)

The body needs a variety of both HBV & LBV

Sources of HBV Sources of LBV

Milk & milk based products (cheese) Quorn

Eggs Nuts

Meat Pulses (peas, beans & lentils)

Shellfish Rice

Fish (3 portions per week) Cereals (oat, wheat)

Soya bean & soya bean products

(tofu) Peanuts

Quinoa

Alternative Proteins

May be eaten as a substitute for animal protein by-

• People who do not want to eat food from an animal source because of

moral, religious or ethical reasons

• People who are health conscious

• People who want a more varied diet

TVP – textured vegetable protein (made from soya bean)

Quorn – a mycoprotein related to the mushroom

Tivall – made from wheat & vegetable protein, similar texture to meat

Tofu & Bean Curd – made from soya beans

Nutritive Value – high in protein, low in fat, enriched with vitamins &

minerals

Properties – versatile, can be cooked in different ways, bland, colourless,

easy to store & usually cheaper

Quick Test

1. State three functions of protein in the diet

2. State the meaning of the term “essential amino acids”

3. Give the name of one vegetable protein that provides all the

essential amino acids

4. State two products that would give a vegan all the essential

amino acids

5. State one different source of protein for each of the following

target groups (a) toddler (b) lacto-vegetarian (c) elderly person

Key Words to remember & understand their meaning Macronutrient amino acid HBV LBV

FATS

Provides the body with energy, keeps it warm, protects vital organs

(kidneys) & contains fat soluble vitamins A & D

Fats are solid at room temperature where oils are liquid. Fat can come

from animal & plants.

All fats are high in calories, fat intake should be no more than 35% of our

energy intake, excess is stored as body fat

Visible fats – seen on meat or as butter etc. Invisible fat appear in ready

meals, biscuits, cakes, burgers etc.

Saturated fats – solid at room temp., mainly from animals – too much leads

to high blood cholesterol, CHD, diabetes & obesity

Polyunsaturated fats are soft & oily at room temp, considered heathier

option

Essential fatty acids (EFAs) – cannot be made by the body.

• Omega 3 found in oily fish, seeds, green leafy veg – helps protect heart

• Omega 6 – veg, fruit, grains, chicken – helps lower blood cholesterol

Functions – frying (chips), enriching (sauces), shortening (pastry),

emulsifying (mayonnaise), colour (pastry), creaming (cakes)

Hydrogenated fat - hydrogen is “bubbled” through some oils to improve

flavour & shelf life – margarine, spreads, used in manufactured cakes,

biscuits etc – is as harmful as saturated fats.

Sources

Plant – fruits (avocado), nuts, pulses & seeds

Animal – meat (& their products –lard, suet), dairy (milk, cheese) & oily fish

Saturated Fats Unsaturated Fats

Meat pies, sausages, hard cheese,

coconut & palm oil, butter, ghee, lard,

cream

Oily fish, avocados, nuts, seeds,

sunflower & corn oil, vegetable oil,

soya beans

Carbohydrates

Provides the body with ENERGY for physical activity (walking) and to maintain bodily functions (breathing), it also provides us with fibre to help with digestion and sweetens/flavours our food.

Excess is stored as fat which leads to overweight/obesity

Types of Carbohydrates

STARCH SUGAR NSP

Polysaccharides Monosaccharides Non starch

(complex) (simple sugars) polysaccharides

pasta, rice honey, fruit Oats, bananas, beans

Disaccharides

Double sugars (Lactose & Sucrose)

Milk, caster sugar

Sugars provide instant energy. Starches have to be digested

into sugars before energy can be released & therefore convert

to energy more slowly.

Sugar causes tooth decay therefore important to brush teeth

after eating sugary foods

The only function of sugar is energy. It does not contain any

other nutrients

Dietary Fibre - NSP

Dietary fibre is the non-digestible cellulose found in plant foods.

It cannot be digested so it passes straight through the digestive system,

absorbing moisture and providing bulk. We should be eating approx.

18g of fibre every day.

Functions

• It holds water & keeps the faeces soft & bulky

• It helps “push” other foods through the system & to “clean” the

intestine of bacteria

• It helps prevent bowel disorders, including constipation & bowel

cancer

• It can help people control their weight because high fibre foods are

filling

• High fibre diets are linked to lower blood cholesterol

Quick Test

1. Why do marathon runners eat starchy foods?

2. Give three functions of carbohydrates in the diet

3. Name two health conditions which may be caused by an

intake of low dietary fibre

4. List two foods which are a good source of dietary fibre