Food groups and meals - Essay Example

? Food and Eating Task: Overview The urge of hunger is a common experience in all human beings, and its satisfaction has to be done on a daily basis. For the survival of mankind, food has to be consumed. According to the Encyclopedia Britannica (2012), food refers to any material that contains fats, carbohydrates and proteins, which is consumed by living organisms in a bid to have a sustainable growth. Other than that, the material may also be consumed for the purposes of furnishing energy (Viskaal-van, Kok and de Graaf, 2011, 27), alongside other significant body processes. In groups of living things, food and eating is characterized by the aspect of sharing, whereby, human beings often gather together as a family at mealtimes, while animals share feeding grounds in their livelihood. Thus, food is symbolic for issues of security, love and reality. However, there is one single thing that makes food and eating in human beings unique; among all the animals that eat, only human beings cook. The implication of humanity arises with cooking of food, and the social identity is equally unveiled by the practice. Teaching and Eating Just as, a car would require some fuel for its engine to run, we also need food to have the energy to attend to daily activities. Food consumption can be done easily, ranging from light to heavy meals, but the bodily demands in terms of food are not similar. For instance, elite athletes would need foods that provide more energy and are body building, as opposed to children and infants, who will require foods which are more protective and body building. At the same time, the amount of food consumption per individual has always varied depending on the body size and the daily tasks that the persons do. The concern for such issues surrounding food and eating has triggered the need of studying nutrition (Kristeller and Wolever, 2011, 54). Nutritionists have done researches on the contents of foods and have come up with frameworks recommended diets for people of different calibres. For instance, the nutritionists of the present time have divided food stuffs into four distinct categories, which include meat products, dairy products, grains and vegetables (Flowers and Swan, 2011, 244). These food groups have guided the meals consumed by many people across the globe in the present times, as nutritionists have established their consultancy services all over the world, with an aim of advising eating habits. More so, different procedures and recipes that are considered best have been suggested by different professionals for purposes of realising healthy eating among people. Sadly, a newer poverty is surfacing up amongst households, whereby the guardians have inadequate information necessary for ensuring that their families are subjected to healthy eating, as per the provisions of nutritionists. Most critically have been cases of diseases resulting from nutrition issues such as diabetes and kwashiorkor among the major diseases. However, the emergence of such nutritional diseases has only called for more consultations from the nutritionists. As an example, the modern hospitals have nutritionist practitioners, who are in charge of advising patients and other people having nutritional complications, on the best ways of consuming food. Food Preparation Journalists have often termed the past ten years as ‘British food renaissance’, with regard to the transformation of the British attitude, by the radical shift in eating habits. The rapid advancement in technology has been the backbone of this radical shift, given that people have been employing diverse aspects of technology in addressing issues that surround food and eating (Winson, 2010, 592). Critically, the precedent decade has seen the availability of ready meals (canned and processed foods) in self service stores such as supermarkets, and many people have 'therefore' tended to skip the step of food preparation, by opting for the ready made food products. These foods make use of food preservation technology, which has a variety of food preservation methods, which are specific for kinds of foods – liquid foods and solid foods. Similarly, the past decade has seen the availability of books that have guidelines for meal preparation. These recipes have tended to be closer to ready made meals, as a larger population has been guided through the preparation of meals in a stepwise manner. For instance, some foodstuffs in the current markets including the processed soya have recipes of preparing them, in their packaging. More so, marketers have stormed the media, seeking to find markets for their food products. Over the past decade, many adverts of different foodstuffs have been aired both on radio and television, with the purpose of enlightening the larger population on how to prepare foods, as a basic strategy of acquiring consumers of their food products. Dining The context of a dining room is extremely critical in triggering appetite among the people, prior to having meals. Issues attached to dining appear in a large spectrum ranging from the tableware to the nature of foodstuff being served. For instance, the choice of tableware is critical when serving foods. As an example, lovers of wine often know that wine has to be served in wine glasses. In this case, it would be disgusting to serve wine in a coffee cup, for the guests will tend to lose the interest of having the wine. The choice of foods that have to be blended is also a significant issue when it comes to dining. The lovers of wine will often expect the wine to be served alongside superb food (Kemp, Bui and Grier, 2011, 217). The choice of sumptuous food may include meaty foods and stews. It will be equally disturbing when wine is served with bread. Thus, blending or mixing of foods while serving is a factor that has to be considered primarily. Hand in hand, the patterns to which the tableware and seats are arranged in a dining room are determinant on the interest that the guests will have on the food being served. Space is a critical issue when it comes to the access of both the tableware and the table itself. In a scenario where a guest strains in the manoeuvre to access his or her plate, eventually he or she will have the notion of finishing up the served food in a bid to have some comfort. In such cases, the guests will be eating to finish, as opposed to eating with satisfaction (Finkelstein and Fishbach, 2010, 360). Lastly, the dress code of the people involved in serving the food may also dictate the interests of the guests. It is inevitable that while preparing food, some foodstuff may spill on clothing. When such spillages form stains on attire, the impression resulting from the stains alone, has the capability of snatching the interest of the guests being served. Cheap Eats According to Marotz, eating habits develop during the early stages of growth of children. The children will eat foods that are familiar to them. It is the responsibility of teachers and parents to guide the young children to have healthy eating characters that would be practiced later in life. By doing this, they would have fewer chances of developing poor eating related complications later on in their lives (Anderson and Anderson, 2010, 1330). It is advisable to serve children with different foods that are nutritionally beneficial for the children. Such foods should be balanced diets and would include carbohydrates, proteins, vitamins and minerals. Parents’ eating with the children is also encouraged as this would familiarize them with various foods. Parents should provide the children with food that represent all the food groups during meals. This aspect would expose and familiarize the children to various foods that they would be included in their diets later in life. People only consume the foods that they know, and hence need for the children to be exposed at younger ages. Fruits and vegetables should be provided in the diet at every meal. They have a variety of importance ranging from disease prevention, giving satiety and acting as roughage in the body system. Any meal that is balanced should have the following foods; carbohydrates, proteins, vitamins, minerals and water. For instance, a balanced diet would be developed by adding potatoes, mushrooms and peas to eggs (Marotz, 2012, 43). Meals containing fruits and vegetables are considered nutritious because they help fight issues related to cancer. Such should be consumed in most meals even in small quantities. They are also believed to protect the body against various diseases. It is recommended that children consume foods that are rich in calcium and phosphates. Consumption of yoghurt and milk make the have stronger teeth. Fibre in the food is also necessary. It helps in cleansing the body and providing mechanical support (Lawson, 2007, 98). Consumption of fish is equally indispensable in terms of nutrition. Fish, especially salmon contains omega 3- fatty acids that are essential for the body. Acids control high blood pressure and enhance development of the brain cells. Usually, they enhance memory and hence suitable for growing children. Eating Habits of Then and Now Eating habits refer to the way people obtain food and how they eat that food. It may also encompass issues related to the food eaten and reasons for eating that food. There are also other aspects such as storage of the food and discarding that they cannot consume. All these relate to the term food habits. The process also includes eating slowly and avoiding unhealthy habits such as overeating and consuming meals at the wrong times. An example would be eating supper late in the night and immediately sleeping. The body has little time to digest the food properly. Similarly, under eating is a terrible eating habit. It would be accompanied by restriction on various foods during meals. This is unhealthy and should be stopped because it would lead to food related complications. Some of the conditions associated with under eating include bulimia and nervosa anorexia. Both of these conditions are serious fitness inconveniences that would lead to serious complications later in cases of illnesses (Gatterman and Kirk, 2007, 49). Some of the activities that people are involved in may lead to overweight. For instance, taking fast foods in the restaurant is riskier because it is associated with an increase in weight than food cooked at home. According to Clabby and Fasitl, people, who consume foods in restaurants, increase in weight with time. This has been associated with the cooking of the foods in those restaurants. At times, foods are cooked for the purpose of attracting customers. This would involve the use of excess fat and cooking of chunk foods. Consequently, over used cooking oil is used and it may contain substances with harmful effects. The solution to eating in the restaurant would be asking more of boiled and backed products than consuming fries. Fried foods are associated with weight gains, a condition which is unhealthy. Eating at home is also recommended for people who would want to man to keep a cheek on their weights. At the restaurant, people eat what is available in the menu without putting into consideration of its side effects. Most of the foods in the restaurant are chunks which may not be palatable to the body. Individuals would consume them without considering side effects associated with these foods. These because they would be hungry and just want to feed their stomachs to achieve satiety. Healthy eating involves reduced intake of beverages with lots of sugar such as sodas. Instead, on should take a lot of fruit juices and drink water in place of sweetened beverages such as sodas. Augmented intake of vegetables is recommended for those who would want to monitor their weights. According to the book: Two minute talks to improve psychological and behavioural health, women who ate more than 2.8 serving of fruits and vegetables, had lower risks associated to weight gain than those who consumed lower levels than 2.8 servings. This clearly indicates that consumption of high levels of vegetables and fruits is healthful and can be used in the management people’s health. Similarly, eating mindful is essential in a person’s healthy living. Individual should eat well and view this as a fundamental activity that can either build or destroy and individual. Most people eat while watching TVs or even when surfing the internet. This leads to people consuming much of the food they are eating without knowing. It has also been indicated that individuals who eat with greater care and concentration find pleasure in eating. Quick eating has been discouraged, and individuals are encouraged to calm down when eating. They should not eat as a result of hunger, being tired or even when lonely. Food should be eaten when individuals are hungry to avoid issues associated with weight addition. The advisor also discourages the consumption of baked products because they may contain unsaturated fatty acids that are harmful to the body. If possible, individuals should check on the caloric content of what they consume. High caloric content foods have more energy than low caloric foods. Therefore, when consumed, for long periods without physical exercises, they may lead to energy accumulation in the body that would lead to overweight complication. When it comes to protein consumption, fish, chicken, rabbit, loin, bean, soy, nuts and eggs should be consumed. Red meat is not healthy as it would lead to weight gains. White meats are preferred to red meats because of their health benefits. They contain less fat content than red meats. Of all the meats mentioned above, fish is the best because it contains the least amount of saturated fat content. Clabby and Faistl advise people that, they should be keen when they go for shopping in the supermarkets. They should avoid the hidden parts of supermarkets because they contain lots of processed foods that would be unhealthy for the body. Instead, they should go to the open areas that contain unprocessed foods such as, fruits, vegetables and dairy products. These two advisors encourage individuals to keep enough food in their homes so that they do not do last minute shopping that would be associated with buying what is available, even if one had not planned for the same. Overweight individual shaving a positive attitude towards their condition may also add to them controlling the condition. They should not be told repeatedly about what they know. In fact, they should be made to identify a motivating factor that would help them work towards reducing their weights. It would start from the accepting their bodies, loving themselves the way they are and not hating themselves. They also should have appositive regard and accept their situation and forge a way forward toward achieving a given goal (Clabby, 2011, 56). Weight management can be attained if the patient is willing to follow the doctor; s instructions or the expert concerned. The expert should make the patient aware of what need tasks to be done to achieve the goal of weight reduction. At times, people become overweight not because they eat chunk foods or eat too much but because of genetic, related characteristics. Such an issue should be also taken into consideration, and deeper understanding of the issue is required. Since we cannot run away from addressing this issue, we must find ways of living healthy lifestyles that will make us appreciate what we are and the way the bodies are formed. Food and Eating in the Global Context In the worldwide context, foods have grown to be the characteristics of certain groups of people. Some foods have also formed identities of some regions and cultures. For example, communities who practice fishing often tend to eat fish while those that practice farming often end up eating agricultural food products. Some foods like rice have been ranked as the staple foods for regions. For instance, rice has been the staple food for Pakistan. Furthermore, some foods have been consumed by cultures (Johnston, Szabo and Rodney, 2011, 302), thereby acting as their identities. As an example, Ethiopian foods have been a characteristic of Ethiopians, just like the Chinese foods that have characterized the Chinese. In the present world, some resorts and restaurants have specialized in the preparation of specific cultural foods, foe instance, Habesha Restaurants, which prepare Ethiopian foods. However, there are other foods that have gone beyond borders of political regions and cultures, to dominate a considerable population. For instance, coffee and tea are taken worldwide by people of all age groups. From another perspective, obtaining food has not been equal globally. This has raised the implications of starving. Disquiet has existed over the distribution of foods globally. For instance, charity organizations and the Red Cross have come out strongly in donating foodstuff to populations in areas that are hit by disasters such as drought, fires and floods. The UN also acts significantly in ensuring that global food security is in place (Widome et al, 2009, 826). In the case of security, the safety of foods being consumed as well as reserving some food for future consumption has been a crucial issue of concern. Discussion Enlightening people on the issues that surround food and eating is a critical way of raising awareness on the topic. Despite this move being cited and campaigned for in different types of media, much awareness has not been achieved. The controls of food and eating have most often have been misunderstood. According to psychological explanations, when hungry we eat and when satisfied, we stop eating. This is supported by the fact that when he stomach gets full, it stretches and, we feel satisfied, whereas when we feel its empty, hunger is portrayed. All these feelings are interpreted by sense receptors in the stomach, and this drive is always internal. Hand in hand, 'motivation and emotion' are immensely critical in ensuring the guests or people being served get impressed with the way they are served with food. The interest towards eating is normally an internal stimulus. The Arousal Theory has it that, when we are aroused too much (with hunger) we always tend to work towards reducing the arousal (through eating). However, we can feel hungry and eventually get arousal levels reduced by some factors (boredom) and eventually tend to work on increasing the arousal (doing something other than eating). This theory is applicable in the dining room. When serving, selection of tableware should be accurate so as to trigger appetite among the people to be served. More so, those serving should consider selecting powerful brands of tableware, as this will positively influence the psychology of the people being served. For instance, meals like dinner should be served in colourful dinnerware so as to attract some interest from the guests, in the food being served. Blending of foods also needs to be carefully researched, so that unpleasant dining room encounters are not faced by guests. In addition, social factors also influencing eating among people. Most researches indicate that meals are social events that should be done in groups when necessary. In this case, the setting of the dining table and company are the centre of focus. The arrangement patterns of both the tableware and sitting arrangements should be given a closer consideration. Space should be provided, to facilitate easy movement and access to tableware. The sitting arrangement should also be planned so that the guests cannot be squeezed to the extent of being hindered during eating. At the same time, the chairs and the dining table should be placed in proximity with a consideration of enough room for having the meals freely. Furthermore, the dress code of the people responsible for serving should be weighed appropriately. For instance, in households, the servers should be dressed in aprons for; they give a better impression of responsibility during the processing of food from preparation to serving. In larger areas such as restaurants, consideration of dressing the servers in uniform is equally critical. Uniformity brings the implication of order and commitment in food groundwork and serving. Food preference also determines eating among individuals. Food preferences often develops from the foods that we are trained to eat from childhood. Introducing children to diverse foods is vital for ensuring healthy eating among individuals. The introduction of these foods should also be based on a balanced diet, involving meals with all food groups. Similarly, some foods should be left for some groups of people. For instance, children should often feed on foods containing calcium, so that their bones can grow stronger. To the infants, soft foods should be given to them since their digestive systems are not always strong to digest complex foods. Similarly, some foods should be distributed equally to all classes of people in the society. For instance, protective foods should be taken by everybody at least daily. Therefore, selection of food depends on one’s background and the need to eat such foods as per one’s condition. Lastly, political boundaries have also contributed to food preference, like in the case of Pakistan, where the staple food is rice. The food preference in this case is rice. Lastly, food conditioning also affects eating among individuals. The timing of the best intervals between meals is a critical factor in ensuring healthy food consumption. Practically, children who are used to having meals and snacks at close intervals often complain of hunger within a short time, and the opposite is true. Some people cannot moderate the foods they consume and often fall victims of food related complications such as obesity resulting from food consumption within a smaller time span, or unbalanced diet. Similarly, issues of diabetes can result when the sugary foods are consumed in excess (Barnes, Masheb and Grilo, 2011, 274). Conclusion Enlightening people on the current trends of foods and eating are a vital step in increasing the awareness of food and eating. Ethical issues surrounding food and eating are also vital in the process of citing the best types of foods to be taken where, when, why and with what. Hand in hand, ethical issues with regard to courtesy in the dining room are also critical when it comes to proper eating habits. Eating habits should be nurtured from the early stages of a child’s growth, and, this is a responsibility of the parents and guardians. Social factors have to be considered as far as food and eating is concerned, and more critically, food conditioning has to be managed at healthy standards - so that eating does not eventually become hazardous to societal health. Thus, given that food and eating in humans is affected by a number of factors within a wider spectrum it is significant for people to have training in healthy eating. Research Design EMPIRISM THEORY Reference List Anderson, L. and Anderson, J., 2010, Barney and breakfast: messages about food and eating in preschool television shows and how they may impact the development of eating behaviours in children, Early Child Development & Care, 180(10), pp.1323-1336, doi: 10.1080/03004430903040516. Barnes, R., Masheb, R. and Grilo, C., 2011, Food thought suppression: A matched comparison of obese individuals with and without binge eating disorder. Eating Behaviors, 12(4), pp.272-276, DOI: 10.1016/j.eatbeh.2011.07.011. Clabby, J., 2011, Two minute talks to improve psychological and behavioral health, London: Radcliffe Pub. Encyclopedia Britannica, 2012, “Food.” Finkelstein, S. and Fishbach, A., 2010, When healthy food makes you hungry, Journal of Consumer Research, 37(3), pp.357-367. Flowers, R. and Swan, E., 2011, 'Eating at us': Representations of knowledge in the activist documentary film Food, Inc, Studies in the Education of Adults, 43(2), pp.234-250. Gatterman, M., and Kirk, R., 2007, Chiropractic, health promotion, and wellness, Sudbury, Mass, Jones and Bartlett. Johnston, J., Szabo, M. and Rodney, A., 2011, Good food, good people: Understanding the cultural repertoire of ethical eating, Journal of Consumer Culture, 11(3), pp.293-318, doi: 10.1177/1469540511417996. Kemp, E., Bui, M. and Grier, S., 2011, Eating their feelings: examining emotional eating in At-risk groups in the united states, Journal of Consumer Policy, 34(2), pp.211-229. Kristeller, J. and Wolever, R., 2011, Mindfulness-based eating awareness training for treating binge eating disorder: the conceptual foundation, Eating Disorders, 19(1), pp.49-61, doi: 10.1080/10640266.2011.533605. Lawson, O., 2007, Seven secrets of a healthy and attractive mouth: A beautiful smile is a great asset, develop your, Bloomington, Ind: Author House. Marotz, L., 2012, Health, safety, and nutrition for the young child, Australia: Wadsworth Cengage Learning. Viskaal-van D., Kok, F. and de Graaf, C., 2011, Eating rate of commonly consumed foods promotes food and energy intake, Appetite, 56(1), pp.25-31, doi: 10.1016/j.appet.2010.11.141. Widome, R. et al, 2009, Eating when there is not enough to eat: Eating behaviours and perceptions of food among food-insecure youths, American Journal of Public Health, 99(5), pp.822-828. Winson, A., 2010, The demand for healthy eating: Supporting a transformative food 'movement'. Rural Sociology, 75(4), pp.584-600. Appendices 1.0 Teach Your Children Good Eating Habits Early According to medicineworld.org figures, around 21 million people in the US are diabetes patients. Some critical figures from the CDCP indicate that 1 out of 3 children born in the US will develop diabetes in life. Given that diabetes comes with several other complications including blindness, kidney failure and heart attacks among others, the disease is fatal by nature. However, the disease can be prevented through food and eating. Nutritionists warn us against eating foods processed from the factory and loaded with grease often. Obesity is linked to diabetes for it is the number one cause of diabetes. This article urges guardians to train children on eating healthy foods, while they are still young. The article suggests a criterion for eating a balanced diet as illustrated in the diagram alongside. Reference: (Retrieved 21 January 2012 from: ). Read More