Variety is the spice of life
Imagine eating the same foods every day! No matter how much we like certain foods it is pretty likely we will get bored eating them all the time. Having a varied diet not only makes eating more interesting, it also increases our nutrient intake. To date there have been almost 50 essential nutrients identified. These are nutrients our body cannot make itself so must be included in the diet. Aside from these essential nutrients there is potentially a large range of healthful substances we don’t know about. It has been discovered that there are more than one thousand different phytochemicals (naturally occurring substances in plants) which all have potential health benefits. It is the phytochemicals that also give fruits and vegetables their distinctive colours and smells.
All foods contain different combinations of nutrients and phytochemicals; therefore it is important to eat an array of foods to ensure we get all the health benefits of a wide range of nutrients.
Increasing variety also decreases the risk of toxicity. Many foods naturally contain a small amount of toxic substances which cause no harm when eaten in moderate doses. By including a wide range of food groups we ensure one particular type of food is not eaten to excess.
What makes a varied diet?
It is important to eat food from all four food groups. These are fruit & vegetables, breads & cereals, milk & milk products and meats & legumes. To ensure our diet is diverse we should include a wide selection of foods within these four food groups, aiming to eat around 30 different varieties of food each day. So while eating one potato, two carrots and two bananas will provide the required five servings of fruit and vegetables it does not provide much variety. As an alternative one potato, one carrot, broccoli, one banana and a plum would provide five servings of fruit and vegetables with a range of colours. Try and eat different foods one day to the next, to increase diversification. Remember you don’t want to eat more, simply have a little bit of each food.
How can we increase variety?
In New Zealand we are fortunate to have access to a wide array of foods, whether they are fresh, frozen, canned or vacuum packed.
- Try eating foods that naturally contain plenty of variety such as stir-fries, casseroles, muesli, multigrain breads and dried fruit & nut mix.
- Add grated vegetables, sprouts, spreads and herbs to sandwiches or rolls.
- Add herbs & spices or nuts & seeds to cooking.
- Eat meals with accompaniments like pesto, chutney or hummus.
- When thinking about fruit & vegetables try and eat an assortment of colours every day.
- Try eating different types of cereal and breads as they all contain many different types of grains. For example there is wheat, oats, rye, quinoa, barley, spelt or millet.
- Try new foods; remember that it may take up to 10 tries before your taste buds will accept a new taste so keep trying.
- Try shopping at a variety of locations and stores and ethnic markets; they may stock foods that you may not usually eat.
- Include a variety of ethnic meals. For example Indian, Chinese and Mexican foods all use many different ingredients from each other.