Preventive nutrition

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Mediterranean Diet Pyramid Harvard food pyramid.png
Mediterranean Diet Pyramid

Preventive Nutrition is a branch of nutrition science with the goal of preventing, delaying, and/or reducing the impacts of disease and disease-related complications. [1] [2] It is concerned with a high level of personal well-being, disease prevention, and diagnosis of recurring health problems or symptoms of discomfort which are often precursors to health issues. [3] The overweight and obese population numbers have increased over the last 40 years and numerous chronic diseases are associated with obesity. [4] Preventive nutrition may assist in prolonging the onset of non-communicable diseases and may allow adults to experience more "healthy living years." [5] [4] There are various ways of educating the public about preventive nutrition. Information regarding preventive nutrition is often communicated through public health forums, government programs and policies, or nutritional education. [6] For example, in the United States, preventive nutrition is taught to the public through the use of the food pyramid or MyPlate initiatives. [6]

Contents

History

Preventive nutrition has been known about for a long time. The philosopher Hippocrates (460-377 BC) believed that nutrition had a significant impact on maintaining health and that the best way to prevent diseases was to "let food be your medicine and medicine be your food.” [4] Meyer-Abich (2005) also believed that nutrition was foundational to a healthy life. [7] He took a holistic approach to health and discussed the essential role of nutrition in his paper, "Human health in nature - towards a holistic philosophy of nutrition."

Since the early 1980s, food trends have changed. [4] [5] [6] The introduction of processed foods gained fast popularization. During the commercialization and industrialization of food, the demand for processed, prepackaged, convenient food such as beef in fast food increased.[ citation needed ] Farmers began to industrially farm livestock to produce more meat due to industry demand. As a result, livestock feed is often corn, soy, and grain. Compared to grass-fed beef, grain-fed beef is higher in saturated fatty acids along with a less favorable omega fatty acids profile. [8] Processed, prepackaged, and convenient food options often contain high amounts of sugar, sodium, and fat, and are associated with the development of poor health outcomes. [9]

Disease prevention

Although life expectancy has increased over the years, the number of “healthy years” has not. [10] There is a rising prevalence of nutrition related diseases in the world today. [4] Chronic disease epidemics associated with nutrition including obesity, type 2 diabetes, osteoporosis, cardiovascular disease, and cancers are increasing. According to the World Health Organization, the amount of people with obesity has tripled since 1975. [5] A survey conducted in China among the hypertensive population highlights that obesity contributes to the development of hypertension. [8] Only about half the participants were aware of their hypertension diagnosis and only 20.3% had controlled hypertension. The article also showed a correlation between poor hypertension control and obesity. Preventive nutrition may be a helpful strategy to help control obesity and chronic non-communicable diseases. [8] In those with obesity, a weight reduction of 10% has been demonstrated to prevent non-communicable diseases and increase life expectancy. [5] The Mediterranean diet has been investigated in many studies as a tool for weight loss. Results show that adhering to a Mediterranean diet causes weight loss and decreases fat mass which prevents or reduces the risk of non-communicable disease, including type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease. [5] [11] It is also associated with a reduced risk of mortality in certain populations, including those with obesity, hypertension, type 2 diabetes, and cardiovascular disease. [4] [5]

Implementation

Examples of foods included in the Mediterranean Diet Healthy food.jpg
Examples of foods included in the Mediterranean Diet

Diets with low nutrient dense products (e.g. highly processed foods) have increased, and in Western countries, approximately 2/3 of adults are obese. [10] The risk of developing a chronic disease such as type 2 diabetes, hypertension, cardiovascular disease, non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, cancer, depression, and osteoarthritis is higher in those with obesity (i.e. BMI over 30) and increases healthcare costs. [10] Several diets have been studied to analyze their effect on weight loss and prevention of chronic diseases. These include, the ketogenic diet, low fat diets, low carbohydrate diets, the Mediterranean diet, and many more. The ketogenic diet has been scientifically validated for its effectiveness in enhancing glycemic control among individuals with type 2 diabetes and those who are at risk of developing the disease. [12] This dietary approach helps individuals improve insulin resistance and blood glucose control.

The Mediterranean diet was first examined in the 1950s with the Seven Countries Study in Greece and Italy after World War II. [10] Compared to Western countries, a low incidence of heart disease and cancer was observed. Although it is not the only diet shown to help with weight loss and improve health outcomes, it has been studied extensively and has the most available evidence supporting its use to prevent non-communicable diseases. In general, the Mediterranean diet consists of high intakes of fruit, vegetables, seeds, nuts, whole grains, fish and other seafood, and extra virgin olive oil as the fat source when cooking. [10] It has a moderate intake of legumes, poultry, eggs, dairy products, and red wine, and a low intake of red or processed meat, animal fat, and high sugar foods. [5]

Education

Extreme diets, such as the ketogenic diet, may potentially have adverse effects and lack data on long-term outcomes. Therefore, it should be used as a tool, rather than a long term solution. [12] [13] An alternative to strict diets or to complement dietary approaches, is cultivating nutritional awareness and making proactive food choices. This is a sustainable method for maintaining good health and contributes to preventive nutrition. Being familiar with nutritional labels can inform dietary choices. Reading these labels increases awareness of the food content and our consumption habits, including quantities and macronutrients. In a four-week randomized control trial assessing the impact of three types of nutrition labels on consumer food purchases, the results indicated that "products for which participants viewed the label and subsequently purchased the product during the same shopping episode were significantly healthier than products where labels were viewed but the product was not subsequently purchased." [14] The objective of preventive nutrition is to continually enhance one's awareness of food quantities, ingredients, and how specific foods impact the body.

Athletics

Athletes are held to a higher standard of nutrition and preventive nutrition contributes to injury prevention in athletes. According to a study done by the National Collegiate Athletic Association, most athletes and coaches do not fully understand or focus on the importance of nutrition. [14] Nutrition contributes to injury prevention as well as exercise capacity. To demonstrate this, a group of high-performance runners completed a fat adaptation carbohydrate restoration (FACR) dietary intervention (five days’ carbohydrate < 20% and fat > 60% energy, plus one-day carbohydrate ≥ 70% energy), and a control high-carbohydrate (HCHO) diet for six days (carbohydrate > 60% energy; fat < 20% energy). [1] It was found that, compared to the HCHO diet, the FACR diet improved running economy, which is the efficiency the athlete’s body uses energy while running, leading to a faster run time. [4]   Although this is a very specific diet, it shows that diet can quickly improve athletic performance. However, there is limited evidence on how diet or nutritional awareness influences athletic performance. [14] Therefore, more research must be done to confirm which diets have a positive or negative impact on exercise performance and injury prevention.

Limitations

Most people are aware that nutrition has an impact on health, but the recommended dietary guidelines are not always followed. According to Kovacs, "one solution to address health concerns is to shift current dietary patterns to diets that are both nutritious and sustainable." [6] Financial limitations, lack of time, and accessibility contribute to poor eating habits and are difficult barriers to overcome. "The poorest who face disproportionate barriers to accessing healthy food have an increased risk of malnutrition". [9] A study was conducted on barriers to healthy eating and showed the correlation between poverty in urban settings, food security, food access, and nutrition. [15] Although it has been suggested that living in urban settings increases access to food, the study concluded that there is a financial limitation to achieving food security that must be addressed. Solutions to these barriers have been suggested, yet it remains a significant limitation to preventive nutrition.

Future research

Although there is evidence that nutrition plays a role in obesity and developing chronic disease, there are many other factors to consider. Unmodifiable risk factors and lifestyle choices may put certain individuals at higher risk, outcomes may differ depending on the chronic disease, and exercise may have contributed to the weight loss observed in studies. [5] For example, the effect of a Mediterranean diet on cardiovascular disease outcomes is uncertain and more research should be carried out to assess its role. [16] A holistic approach to weight loss and chronic disease prevention is important, including preventive nutrition. There is insufficient evidence on which diet will provide the most benefit to individuals. However, there is evidence that a healthy diet is important to maintain or improve overall quality of life.

See also

Related Research Articles

Dieting is the practice of eating food in a regulated way to decrease, maintain, or increase body weight, or to prevent and treat diseases such as diabetes and obesity. As weight loss depends on calorie intake, different kinds of calorie-reduced diets, such as those emphasising particular macronutrients, have been shown to be no more effective than one another. As weight regain is common, diet success is best predicted by long-term adherence. Regardless, the outcome of a diet can vary widely depending on the individual.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fat</span> Esters of fatty acid or triglycerides

In nutrition, biology, and chemistry, fat usually means any ester of fatty acids, or a mixture of such compounds, most commonly those that occur in living beings or in food.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Abdominal obesity</span> Excess fat around the stomach and abdomen

Abdominal obesity, also known as central obesity and truncal obesity, is the human condition of an excessive concentration of visceral fat around the stomach and abdomen to such an extent that it is likely to harm its bearer's health. Abdominal obesity has been strongly linked to cardiovascular disease, Alzheimer's disease, and other metabolic and vascular diseases.

A saturated fat is a type of fat in which the fatty acid chains have all single bonds between the carbon atoms. A fat known as a glyceride is made of two kinds of smaller molecules: a short glycerol backbone and fatty acids that each contain a long linear or branched chain of carbon (C) atoms. Along the chain, some carbon atoms are linked by single bonds (-C-C-) and others are linked by double bonds (-C=C-). A double bond along the carbon chain can react with a pair of hydrogen atoms to change into a single -C-C- bond, with each H atom now bonded to one of the two C atoms. Glyceride fats without any carbon chain double bonds are called saturated because they are "saturated with" hydrogen atoms, having no double bonds available to react with more hydrogen.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lifestyle disease</span> Diseases linked with the way people live their life

Lifestyle diseases can be defined as the diseases linked to the manner in which a person lives their life. These diseases are non-communicable, and can be caused by lack of physical activity, unhealthy eating, alcohol, substance use disorders and smoking tobacco, which can lead to heart disease, stroke, obesity, type II diabetes and lung cancer. The diseases that appear to increase in frequency as countries become more industrialized and people live longer include Alzheimer's disease, arthritis, atherosclerosis, asthma, cancer, chronic liver disease or cirrhosis, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, colitis, irritable bowel syndrome, type 2 diabetes, heart disease, hypertension, metabolic syndrome, chronic kidney failure, osteoporosis, PCOD, stroke, depression, obesity and vascular dementia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Weight loss</span> Reduction of the total body mass

Weight loss, in the context of medicine, health, or physical fitness, refers to a reduction of the total body mass, by a mean loss of fluid, body fat, or lean mass. Weight loss can either occur unintentionally because of malnourishment or an underlying disease, or from a conscious effort to improve an actual or perceived overweight or obese state. "Unexplained" weight loss that is not caused by reduction in calorific intake or increase in exercise is called cachexia and may be a symptom of a serious medical condition.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Low-carbohydrate diet</span> Diets restricting carbohydrate consumption

Low-carbohydrate diets restrict carbohydrate consumption relative to the average diet. Foods high in carbohydrates are limited, and replaced with foods containing a higher percentage of fat and protein, as well as low carbohydrate foods.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mediterranean diet</span> Diet inspired by the Mediterranean region

The Mediterranean diet is a diet inspired by the eating habits and traditional food typical of southern Spain, southern Italy, and Crete, and formulated in the early 1960s. It is distinct from Mediterranean cuisine, which covers the actual cuisines of the Mediterranean countries, and from the Atlantic diet of northwestern Spain and Portugal. While inspired by a specific time and place, the "Mediterranean diet" was later refined based on the results of multiple scientific studies.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cardiovascular disease</span> Class of diseases that involve the heart or blood vessels

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is any disease involving the heart or blood vessels. CVDs constitute a class of diseases that includes: coronary artery diseases, heart failure, hypertensive heart disease, rheumatic heart disease, cardiomyopathy, arrhythmia, congenital heart disease, valvular heart disease, carditis, aortic aneurysms, peripheral artery disease, thromboembolic disease, and venous thrombosis.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Plant-based diet</span> Diet consisting mostly or entirely of plant-based foods

A plant-based diet is a diet consisting mostly or entirely of plant-based foods. Plant-based diets encompass a wide range of dietary patterns that contain low amounts of animal products and high amounts of fiber-rich plant products such as vegetables, fruits, whole grains, legumes, nuts and seeds. They do not need to be vegan or vegetarian, but are defined in terms of low frequency of animal food consumption.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Healthy diet</span> Type of diet

A healthy diet is a diet that maintains or improves overall health. A healthy diet provides the body with essential nutrition: fluid, macronutrients such as protein, micronutrients such as vitamins, and adequate fibre and food energy.

Nutritional genomics, also known as nutrigenomics, is a science studying the relationship between human genome, human nutrition and health. People in the field work toward developing an understanding of how the whole body responds to a food via systems biology, as well as single gene/single food compound relationships. Nutritional genomics or Nutrigenomics is the relation between food and inherited genes, it was first expressed in 2001.

A diabetic diet is a diet that is used by people with diabetes mellitus or high blood sugar to minimize symptoms and dangerous complications of long-term elevations in blood sugar.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Non-communicable disease</span> Medical conditions that cannot transmit from one individual to another

A non-communicable disease (NCD) is a disease that is not transmissible directly from one person to another. NCDs include Parkinson's disease, autoimmune diseases, strokes, heart diseases, cancers, diabetes, chronic kidney disease, osteoarthritis, osteoporosis, Alzheimer's disease, cataracts, and others. NCDs may be chronic or acute. Most are non-infectious, although there are some non-communicable infectious diseases, such as parasitic diseases in which the parasite's life cycle does not include direct host-to-host transmission.

The Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension or the DASH diet is a diet to control hypertension promoted by the U.S.-based National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), an agency of the United States Department of Health and Human Services. The DASH diet is rich in fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and low-fat dairy foods. It includes meat, fish, poultry, nuts, and beans, and is limited in sugar-sweetened foods and beverages, red meat, and added fats. In addition to its effect on blood pressure, it is designed to be a well-balanced approach to eating for the general public. DASH is recommended by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) as a healthy eating plan. The DASH diet is one of three healthy diets recommended in the 2015–20 U.S. Dietary Guidelines, which also include the Mediterranean diet and a vegetarian diet. The American Heart Association (AHA) considers the DASH diet "specific and well-documented across age, sex and ethnically diverse groups."

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Western pattern diet</span> Modern dietary pattern

The Western pattern diet is a modern dietary pattern that is generally characterized by high intakes of pre-packaged foods, refined grains, red meat, processed meat, high-sugar drinks, candy and sweets, fried foods, industrially produced animal products, butter and other high-fat dairy products, eggs, potatoes, corn, and low intakes of fruits, vegetables, whole grains, pasture-raised animal products, fish, nuts, and seeds.

Nutrition transition is the shift in dietary consumption and energy expenditure that coincides with economic, demographic, and epidemiological changes. Specifically the term is used for the transition of developing countries from traditional diets high in cereal and fiber to more Western-pattern diets high in sugars, fat, and animal-source food.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Weight management</span> Techniques for maintaining body weight

Weight management refers to behaviors, techniques, and physiological processes that contribute to a person's ability to attain and maintain a healthy weight. Most weight management techniques encompass long-term lifestyle strategies that promote healthy eating and daily physical activity. Moreover, weight management involves developing meaningful ways to track weight over time and to identify the ideal body weights for different individuals.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Obesity in the Middle East and North Africa</span> Overview of the causes for and prevalence of obesity in the Middle East and North African countries

Obesity in the Middle East and North Africa is a notable health issue. Out of the fifteen fattest nations in the world as of 2014, 5 were located in the Middle East and North Africa region.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Soul food health trends</span>

Soul food is a kind of African American cuisine that encompasses a variety of fried, roasted, and boiled food dishes consisting of chicken and pork meats, sweet potatoes, corn, leafy greens and other vegetables. Soul food has long been embedded in African American culture, but pushes towards healthy eating habits, for both physical and mental health, have adapted soul food cuisine to fit within health trends. This article will describe modifications of traditional soul food within health trends, including soul food with low carb, soul food with low sugar, soul food with low fat, soul food for vegan and soul food in gluten-free.

References

  1. 1 2 "Preventive nutrition: what is it, symptoms and treatment". Top Doctors. Retrieved 2023-12-07.
  2. ↑ "Preventive Nutrition". Department of Nutrition and Food Studies. George Mason University. Archived from the original on 31 January 2017. Retrieved 30 April 2017.
  3. ↑ "What is Preventive Nutrition?". Nutritional Concepts. Archived from the original on 12 July 2018. Retrieved 30 April 2017.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Fardet A, Rock E (July 2014). "Toward a new philosophy of preventive nutrition: from a reductionist to a holistic paradigm to improve nutritional recommendations". secondary. Advances in Nutrition. 5 (4): 430–446. doi:10.3945/an.114.006122. PMC   4085191 . PMID   25022992.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Di Daniele N (May 2019). "The Role of Preventive Nutrition in Chronic Non-Communicable Diseases". secondary. Nutrients. 11 (5): 1074. doi: 10.3390/nu11051074 . PMC   6567185 . PMID   31096558.
  6. 1 2 3 4 Fardet A, Rock E (March 2016). "The Healthy Core Metabolism: A New Paradigm for Primary Preventive Nutrition". primary. The Journal of Nutrition, Health & Aging. 20 (3): 239–247. doi:10.1007/s12603-015-0560-6. PMID   26892572.
  7. ↑ Meyer-Abich KM (September 2005). "Human health in nature--towards a holistic philosophy of nutrition". secondary. Public Health Nutrition. 8 (6A): 738–742. doi:10.1079/PHN2005788. PMID   16236209.
  8. 1 2 3 Nogoy KM, Sun B, Shin S, Lee Y, Zi Li X, Choi SH, et al. (January 2022). "Fatty Acid Composition of Grain- and Grass-Fed Beef and Their Nutritional Value and Health Implication". secondary. Food Science of Animal Resources. 42 (1): 18–33. doi:10.5851/kosfa.2021.e73. PMC   8728510 . PMID   35028571.
  9. 1 2 Ritchie LD, Wakimoto P, Woodward-Lopez G, Thompson FE, Loria CM, Wilson DK, et al. (October 2015). "The Healthy Communities Study Nutrition Assessments: Child Diet and the School Nutrition Environment". primary. American Journal of Preventive Medicine. 49 (4): 647–652. doi:10.1016/j.amepre.2015.06.016. PMC   4575770 . PMID   26384936.
  10. 1 2 3 4 5 Dominguez LJ, Veronese N, Di Bella G, Cusumano C, Parisi A, Tagliaferri F, et al. (2023). "Mediterranean diet in the management and prevention of obesity". Experimental Gerontology. 174: 112121. doi:10.1016/j.exger.2023.112121. PMID   36792040.
  11. ↑ Uusitupa M, Khan TA, Viguiliouk E, Kahleova H, Rivellese AA, Hermansen K, et al. (2019-11-01). "Prevention of Type 2 Diabetes by Lifestyle Changes: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis". Nutrients. 11 (11): 2611. doi: 10.3390/nu11112611 . ISSN   2072-6643. PMC   6893436 . PMID   31683759.
  12. 1 2 Skow SL, Jha RK (July 2023). "A Ketogenic Diet is Effective in Improving Insulin Sensitivity in Individuals with Type 2 Diabetes". secondary. Current Diabetes Reviews. 19 (6): e250422203985. doi:10.2174/1573399818666220425093535. PMID   35469570. S2CID   248390081.
  13. ↑ Batch JT, Lamsal SP, Adkins M, Sultan S, Ramirez MN (August 2020). "Advantages and Disadvantages of the Ketogenic Diet: A Review Article". secondary. Cureus. 12 (8): e9639. doi: 10.7759/cureus.9639 . PMC   7480775 . PMID   32923239.
  14. 1 2 3 Mhurchu CN, Eyles H, Jiang Y, Blakely T (February 2018). "Do nutrition labels influence healthier food choices? Analysis of label viewing behaviour and subsequent food purchases in a labelling intervention trial". primary. Appetite. 121: 360–365. doi: 10.1016/j.appet.2017.11.105 . hdl: 2292/44533 . PMID   29191745.
  15. ↑ Vilar-Compte M, Burrola-Méndez S, Lozano-Marrufo A, Ferré-Eguiluz I, Flores D, Gaitán-Rossi P, et al. (December 2021). "Urban poverty and nutrition challenges associated with accessibility to a healthy diet: a global systematic literature review". International Journal for Equity in Health. 20 (1): 40. doi: 10.1186/s12939-020-01330-0 . ISSN   1475-9276. PMC   7816472 . PMID   33472636.
  16. ↑ Rees K, Takeda A, Martin N, Ellis L, Wijesekara D, Vepa A, et al. (2019-03-13). Cochrane Heart Group (ed.). "Mediterranean-style diet for the primary and secondary prevention of cardiovascular disease". Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews. 2019 (3): CD009825. doi:10.1002/14651858.CD009825.pub3. PMC   6414510 . PMID   30864165.
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