H2 1406 (Healthy Lifestyle)

Introduction:

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), nutrition is an input to and

foundation for health and development. Eating healthy food is vital to meet the
daily requirement of the body and also to prevent the occurrence of disease. A
healthy diet involves consuming appropriate amount of all nutrients, vitamins,
minerals and an adequate amount of water.

Analysis and Discussion:

Refer to appendix 2 and 3 for the record of my food intake. This record is based
on one week of my food intake from 5 April 2010 to 11 April 2010. So I am going
to use health belief model as my platform to analyse and discuss my food intake
and its association to health. As we know there are six concepts under this
model, which includes perceived susceptibility, perceived severity, perceived
benefits, perceived barriers, cues to action and self-efficacy.

Perceived susceptibility

Based on the food intake that I took for that particular week, it seems to be
unhealthy. If we see the food pyramid on appendix 1, it is obvious that my food
intake did not meet the normal requirement stated on the food pyramid. There
are insufficiently low fruits and vegetables intake during that week. Besides that,
we could also see that my intake of fats, oil and sweet were higher compared to
the normal requirement.

The estimated level of current fruit and vegetable intake vary considerably
around the world ranging from less than 100 gram per day in less developed
countries to about 450 gram per day in Western Europe (WHO, 2009). Important
components in fruits and vegetables that helps in maintaining optimum health
includes vitamins, minerals, flavonoids, saponins, phenols, carotenoids, dietary
fibre and isothiocyanates (Schafer 2000). Low diet of fruit and vegetables could
eventually contribute to health problems. Fruit and vegetables as part of the

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daily diet could help prevent major non-communicable diseases and certain
cancers (Waxman, Keller & Porter 2002). Where else, high consumption of fats,
oil and sweet are unhealthy to our body and it could lead to various health
abnormalities. That is what I noticed on my diet, where I have been consuming
lots of fatty food.

Whereas, based on my food intake at night, I have found out that the timing of
my meals was late in the evening, the minimum time was at 8pm and maximum
was at 11 pm. Some articles have stated that, eating late in the evening is not
good for our health. The impact of eating late in the evening will be discussed in
more details under perceived severity. I also notice that, I have skipped my
breakfast twice throughout the week and this is not actually recommended.

Perceived severity

Low intake of fruits and vegetables is estimated to cause about 19% of

gastrointestinal cancer, 31% of ischemic heart disease and 11% of stroke
(Waxman, Keller & Porter 2002). Besides that, fruits and vegetables can also
help reduce the development of stroke for up to 25 percent, prevent
hypertension and diabetes, delayed development of cataracts, reduced
development of gastrointestinal cancer, increased the ventilation function of the
lungs and prevents obesity (Schafer 2000).

Gastrointestinal cancer includes esophageal cancer, gastric cancer, liver cancer

and pancreas cancer. Many factors are associated in the development of
gastrointestinal cancer, for example smoking and alcohol consumption. Oxygen-
derived free radicals that are produced by various metabolic processes in the
body have been linked to the pathogenesis of gastrointestinal cancer. Oxygen-
derived free radicals may directly attack DNA leading to strand breakage,
destruction and fragmentation of bases and chromosomal aberrations (Salim
1996). This will trigger oncogene activation and carcinogenesis which eventually
lead to cancer (Salim 1996). Excessive formation of oxidants within the colon
could enhance the production of carcinogens and this exhibit a permissive role in
the mechanism of colonic carcinogenesis.

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High intake of fats and oil can also lead to severe disease. High intake of
saturated fatty acid has been associated with cardiovascular disease. People who
eat more saturated fats often have higher levels of cholesterol. Too much
cholesterol in the bloodstream can contribute to progressive narrowing of the
arteries supplying the heart and other parts of the body (Schering-Plough 2009).
High cholesterol level increases the risk of getting coronary heart disease and
stroke. The graph below shows the combined results of three studies made in
Finland, for men aged between 30 to 59 years (Wilson 2008). As we can see from
the result below, high blood concentration levels recorded more heart disease
deaths.

Eating late at night is a core cause for people to have difficulties in losing weight.
Insulin supply in the evening has been thought to be much more harmful to our
health (Kiguolyte 2005). It has been suggested that the same food we consumed
earlier during the day is less fattening than in the evening. This is because at

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night, a person will be less active, body muscles stand almost still and relaxed,
which decrease the need of glucose (Kiguolyte 2005). This will cause insulin to
direct glucose towards the liver and transform it into fat. Heaner (2010) has
mentioned that calories consumed at night will be more likely to be stored as fat
rather than it being used up. This will eventually lead to obesity.

Skipping breakfast is one of the biggest nutritional mistakes. Breakfast is the first
chance that the body has to refuel its body glucose levels (Pillai 2008). Glucose
is the main energy source of the body and it is also required to fuel muscles
needed for physical activity performed throughout the day (Pillai 2008). The
negative effects of a skipping breakfast includes short attention span, lack of
alertness, longer reaction time, low blood sugar and decreased work
productivity.

Perceived benefits

Fruits and vegetables provide the body with an added source of antioxidants that
is needed to fight against free radicals. Antioxidants are special compounds that
protect against oxidation or cellular damage caused by free radicals and has
been shown to be effective in helping to prevent retinal disease such as macular
degeneration (Robert 2004). Antioxidants have the sole purpose of neutralizing
free radicals (Connealy 2008). Fruits and vegetables are packed with powerful
antioxidants that can lower the risk of heart disease, cancer, diabetes-related
damage and even slow down the body’s natural ageing process (Connealy
2008).

Based on these evidence, we are encouraged to have enough consumption of

fruits and vegetables. Based on the food pyramid on appendix 1, it is
recommended to have 3-5 servings of vegetables and 2-4 servings of fruits
daily. Leafy vegetables, like spinach and collard greens, and orange coloured
fruits and vegetables such as mangos, oranges, cantaloupe, sweet potatoes and
carrots are all excellent sources of of the antioxidant beta-protein (Connealy
2008). A study made by Tufts University in Boston ranks antioxidants value of
commonly eaten fruits and vegetables using an analysis called ORAC, Oxygen
Radical Absorbance Capacity (Connealy 2008). Below are the top-scoring fruits
and vegetables measured in ORAC units per 100 grams.

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Fruits: Vegetables:

Prunes – 5570 Kale – 11,770

Raisins – 2830 Spinach – 11,260

Blue berries – 2036 Brussels sprout – 1,980

Stawberries - 1540 Alfafa sprouts – 1,930

Raspberries – 1220 Broccoli flowers – 1,890

Plums – 949 Beets – 1,840

Oranges - 750 Red bell pepper – 1,710

Red grapes - 739 Onion – 1,450

So based on this analysis, I have a general idea on which fruits and vegetables
are highly recommended for me to eat. This is depending on the availability of
these foods on the market, but I am sure that most of the foods listed above are
available on the market.

It is important also to have low diet in fats and oil. As being mentioned earlier,
high diet in fats and oil could lead to coronary heart disease and stroke. So a
good way to reduce the risk of getting this disease is by eating food that is low in
fats and oils. Reduce the intake of ‘nasi katok’, as we know ‘nasi katok’ is not
very healthy and the amount of fats and oil is quite high. For home cook meal, it
is important to minimise the amount of oil used to cook the food. It is also a good
way to limit the amount of fried food that we eat.

In terms of timing of my food intake, I analysed that my dinner time is irregular

and usually very late in the evening. This is not actually healthy for me to keep
on continuing this habit. What I should do next is that I need to try to eat my
dinner at a regular time earlier in the evening. By this, I can reduce the risk of
getting obesity.

Perceived barriers

It is quite hard for me to start practise eating fruit and vegetables immediately
because I am not used to eating them since I was young. Sometimes when I tried

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to eat new vegetables and fruits that I have not eaten before, it could make me
vomit. This is the reason that my mind always think negative about vegetables. I
also don’t really know how to eat local fruits and the only fruits I eat are orange
and apple. This is the main barrier for me to avoid eating fruits and vegetables.

In terms of my high consumption of fats and oil, it is actually very hard for me to
get rid of fats and oil from my diet. There is remarkable increase in the dietary
fats over the past few decades and that include us living in Asia too. The per
capita supply of fat from animals’ food has increased respectively by 14 g and 4
g per capita in developing and industrialized countries (WHO 2003). The increase
in dietary fat supply now exceeds the increase in dietary protein supply. The
table below shows us trends in the dietary supply of fat throughout the world
from 1967 until 1999, and we can see it is increasing (WHO 2003).

In the case of timing of my dinner, I actually cannot avoid that. The reason is
because if I eat early at night, I will feel hungry immediately after 3 to 4 hours
and eventually I will have difficulties to concentrate on doing my assignment at
night. While skipping breakfast is sometime unavoidable for me, because I tend
to wake up from my sleep around 12 pm and 1 pm especially during Friday and
Sunday. I missed my morning breakfast everytime I wake up late.

Cues to action

As we can see that there are lot of barriers avoiding me to change my food habit.
But there are some solutions to it. This will be discussed under this category.

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In order for me change my food habit, I need to hear advice from other people.
Usually advice from our closed friends and family can influence us to follow a
good dietary habit. In case of me who do not know how to eat fruits and
vegetables, maybe I can seek help from my friends and family to keep on
advising me from time to time to eat more fruits and vegetables.

Health warning posters can also keep me alert of danger of not keeping a good
diet. Beside that media also play an important role. Advertisement through
television and radio can also effective to create awareness on consuming a
healthy diet.

Another way is to set up a plan timetable on which food to be taken. For example
in a particular week, we try to include a healthy food in our food timetable. It is
better if we follow the normal requirement standard of healthy diet according to
the food pyramid shown in appendix 1.

Self-efficacy

Hereby, I promise to myself that I am going to change my dietary habit. My

current dietary habit is really unhealthy and if I continue to follow this diet, there
is a high possibilities I might catch some of the diseases that are being
mentioned earlier. I will start the new habit after I finish my exam for this
semester.

(2,010 Words)

References:

Cardiovascular disease, Copyright © 2009 Schering-Plough Canada Inc. URL:

Expert Advice: Eating Late in the Evening, < HYPERLINK
"http://health.msn.com/weight-loss/articlepage.aspx?cp-
documentid=100199674" http://health.msn.com/weight-loss/articlepage.aspx?
cp-documentid=100199674 >.

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Kiguolyte, R 2005, Late Evening Meal, < HYPERLINK
"http://www.jurgita.com/articles-id301.html" http://www.jurgita.com/articles-
id301.html# >.

Pillai, S 2008, Importance of Breakfast: Benefits of Eating First Meal of the Day,
viewed December 2009, < HYPERLINK "http://balancing-
meals.suite101.com/article.cfm/importance_of_breakfast" http://balancing-
meals.suite101.com/article.cfm/importance_of_breakfast >.

Robert, D 2004, 'Antioxidant Values in Fruits And Vegetables', mdsupport.org.

Salim, AS 1996, 'Role of free radicals in gastrointestinal cancer', Singapore Med J,

vol 37, pp. 295-298.

Schafer, E 2000, 'The Health Value: Fruits and Vegetables', July 2000.

Waxman, A, Keller, I & Porter, D 2002, 'Fruit, vegetables and NCD disease
prevention', May 2002.

WHO 2003, 'Diet, nutrition and the prevention of chronic diseases', report of a
joint WHO/FAO expert, ISBN 92 4 120916 X/ISSN 0512-3054, Geneva.

Wilson, A 2008, 'Cholesterol And Coronary Heart Disease - The Facts', Copyright
© Heart Disease News, Articles & Information.