Food for Thought

Written by Rhys. J | Accredited Exercise Physiologist, PsychPhys™ 

Food Groups

Firstly, we must identify what the various food groups are: Dairy, Vegetables, Fruits, Grains, and Proteins. Secondly, we must then identify how much of each food group we should be trying to eat on a daily basis. Ultimately, this will be largely dependent on our age and gender. Below is a table of the guidelines proposed by Nutrition Australia. Guidelines are a valuable tool to use for enhancing our knowledge and understanding; however, they should only be used to guide the process as opposed to being completely set in stone and non-negotiable.

*Guidelines proposed by Nutrition Australia based on age and gender.

‘Healthy’ Diets

What can be considered a healthy diet can be both simple and complex. When considering how to structure our diets, we need to remain mindful of the fact that what one person eats may not fit into another person’s diet.

We have to be aware that certain dietary considerations might need to be made, such as; if there are certain dietary concerns/restrictions (e.g., medically related, allergies), what our preferences are (e.g., vegetarian or other), if there are certain goals we are trying to achieve (e.g., weight gain/loss), the location we live and our access to food, and our own food literacy, among others. 

Another factor that can influence our dietary choices appears to be quite prominent among neurodiverse individuals. These factors can involve the sensory and routine elements of food. For example; how a food’s texture feels in our hands and the mouth feel of it (e.g., soft, rough, crunchy etc), how our taste buds register taste (e.g., more intense/less intense), how we register the scents of food, or even how some foods just don’t fit into the dietary routine that has already been established.

One such concern that I have come across in conversations with parents is how foods commonly deemed to be ‘unhealthier’ (e.g., chocolate) and ‘healthier’ (e.g., fruits and vegetables) are over consumed and under consumed, respectively.

Generally speaking, one of the approaches we can take is to promote the concept of ‘moderation’.

Part of life’s joy comes from the ability to eat the foods we love, however, we do need to be mindful that the overconsumption of certain foods, typically the ‘unhealthier’ food options, not only has a negative impact on our physical but also our mental health and well-being. Below is a table of just some examples of the negative impacts of an unhealthy diet:

Adopting Healthier Diets

All diets should be created in a way that best suits the needs and wants of the individual.

80/20 Rule

The 80/20 rule suggests that we aim for 80% of our diet coming from the five food groups with the remaining 20% of our diet coming from the discretionary food group.

In an ideal scenario, this would be achieved immediately… Unfortunately things aren’t as idealistic as we would probably like them to be. This particular target can be used as an end goal – something that is progressively worked towards with smaller goal targets being utilised in the progress.

Additional Changes

Additional changes that can be made to progressively work towards consuming more healthier food options include, using alternative food options or reducing the serving sizes of current food items.

As an example, this could be in the form of:

• Switching sugar options for reduced sugar or non sugar options
• Adding in additional fruit options
• Using smaller serving sizes of discretionary food items

Reducing intake of foods considered high in salt and saturated fats, while consuming more foods with monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats.

Addressing Sensory Concerns

To become progressively more comfortable with foods that evoke a heightened negative sensory response, there needs to be an element of exposure to the sensory stimuli. Identifying an appropriate degree of exposure can be the challenge; however, a few strategies that could be implemented include:

1. Getting comfortable with the ‘feel’ and ‘smell’ of a food in the absence of eating it (e.g., touching it)
2. Modelling eating the food for the individual to observe
3. Have a separate plate as the “trying plate”
4. Introducing one food at a time in small portion sizes – Index finger and thumb as a measuring tool.
   • Index finger to start of thumb joint 
   • Index finger to the first thumb line
   • Index finger to the top of the thumb
5. Getting comfortable with the ‘mouth feel’ of a food
6. Use a ‘reward system’
   • Reward systems can be beneficial initially and removed progressively to avoid becoming over reliant on using rewards to get a preferred action.

Most Importantly

Most importantly, perseverance and persistence will often be required; however, force should never be utilised as it could create the perfect environment for further food aversion and resistance.