Do we know what we eat? A nutrition perspective

Abstract

It is known the existence of a clear relationship between dietary habits and health. People’s dietary habits have been evolving due to different factors (labor, social, etc.). It is important to know what we eat when we buy at supermarkets, when we choose a menu or a course or which culinary techniques we use. Nowadays, there is a wide offer of processed food products at supermarkets which numerous ingredients. The food label informs us about the ingredients and part of the food composition as salt, added sugars, total fat, saturated and cholesterol. The usefulness of this information in order to choose the right food depends on the consumer to have an education on the main concepts of food and nutrition and to read them. In general, nutritional value of a specific food product is not one of the main criteria on its election, being the price, availability and sensory properties (flavor) of the product the main ones. At restaurants, the new culinary techniques and the use of processing aids don’t make knowing what we are eating and which is its nutrient content easy. We know that culinary techniques can alter the nutritional composition of a recipe due to nutrient loss or the gain or loss of fats and/or water. It is also important to know how much we eat. The increase of the size of the available portions in the last 40 years and the absence of recommended portions in the food-based dietary guidelines could provoke high energy and other nutrients intakes that could have a negative effect on health.