Optimizing nutrition can be a complex challenge that must take into account food, beverage and supplement intakes in relation to individual body and metabolic requirements. Nutrition science offers crucial pieces to this puzzle.
An emerging paradigm asserts that animal protein should be considered “complete,” in that it provides all essential amino acids necessary for bodily functioning.
Fruits and Vegetables
Fruits and vegetables are essential components of a nutritious diet, providing essential vitamins, minerals, fiber, and other benefits that support digestive health. A high intake of fruits and vegetables has been linked with reduced risks of chronic diseases like heart disease, cancer and obesity.
What defines something as either fruit or vegetable depends on its structure and flavour as well as where it comes from within a plant. Botanically speaking, fruits develop from flowers with seeds while vegetables come from anywhere edible on a plant including roots (beets/carrots/stems), leaves/bulb.
Processing can also have an impact on its nutritional value. Retaining more of its inherent properties through minimal processing can benefit health and maintain more of their inherent nutrients; however, overly-processed foods to increase shelf life or year-round availability may reduce their nutrient value.
Dairy Products
Milk and dairy products provide energy, protein, calcium, phosphorus, vitamin D and other vital nutrients. While dairy foods may contain saturated fats, evidence shows they do not lead to unhealthy weight gain and that non/low-fat versions can be just as healthful.
Dairy products include milk (from cow, water buffalo, nanny goat or sheep), yogurt, curd, buttermilk cheese and ice cream – plus the popular Indian spread ghee, which contains more milk fat than traditional butter.
For those unable to tolerate lactose, there are low-lactose dairy products such as kefir, koumiss and dahi that provide an option. Furthermore, many types of fermented dairy foods like ayran, borscht and kimchi have also been created by microorganisms; studies indicate these may help with digestive issues like bloating, gas and diarrhea as well as body weight regulation as they contain protein and calcium-independent mechanisms which signal satiety thus reducing short term hunger and appetite.
Meats
Meat is an invaluable source of high-value proteins and iron. Additionally, meat provides access to highly bioavailable vitamin B12 as well as an array of B complex vitamins and minerals. Fat content may be an issue depending on cut selection and feeding regimen.
Avoidance of meat should be carefully considered in relation to other foods which could contribute to nutritional deficiencies. A meta-analysis of cohort studies demonstrated that participants with higher intakes of red meat also consumed less fish, vegetables and whole grains – suggesting that diets that eliminate meat may not be optimal when not balanced with other nourishing sources.
Increased research is needed to better identify metabolic changes related to meat consumption, including biomarkers of intake and effect. Furthermore, effective methodologies must be put in place to minimize bias in observational studies and mechanistic investigations of fermentation/processing techniques that increase nutrient availability/bioavailability should also be conducted.
Other Foods
At times, optimal nutrition requires more than simply food alone. To maximize effectiveness of each food you ingest, it’s crucial that a good mix of nutrients be included so your body can fully utilize each one.
Infant and childhood nutrition should support healthy development while decreasing the risk of noncommunicable diseases later in life. Breastfeeding should continue for six months after which complementary feeding should be introduced that meets nutritional requirements.
Nutrition during HIV infection and AIDS can enhance quality of life, prevent progression to AIDS and increase tolerance of antiretroviral therapy (ART). Furthermore, proper nutrition supports bone health as well as weight management.
