Patricia Thompson - NUTRITION TALK MANY INDIVIDUALS complain that they cannot afford foods considered healthy and give this as the reason for their unbalanced diets. Is this perception or reality? Examine the three daily menus below which could be considered typical for a wide cross-section of the Jamaican population.
All three menus in the chart below were calculated to provide about the same 2,000 calories for an average person with similar breakdown for carbohydrate, protein and fat and to meet the recommended dietary allowances (RDA) for the 'leader' nutrients, so they are all considered balanced. Yet the cheapest (menu I) will provide more calcium and vitamin A than the other two menus although menu III has more of the mineral and iron.
This shows that where nutrition is concerned, cheaper is sometimes better. The prices used were taken from an upscale supermarket so these menus could likely be cheaper depending on where you do your shopping. Moreover, many of the foods could be taken from your kitchen garden resulting in considerable savings.
To have common ground for comparison, nutritionists use a concept called cost nutrient value, which is the nutritional value provided in relation to the money spent. Foods that are nutrient dense usually give a lower cost factor than highly-processed foods that tend to be expensive and yet are lower in nutrients.
The more expensive items in a diet are generally the foods from animals and those considered good buys include cheese, beef liver and 'saltfish'. Among the other foods, good buys are the cereal grains (flour, cornmeal and rice), dried peas and beans, pawpaw, grapefruit, orange, sweet potato, yam, callaloo, pumpkin and carrots. Seasonal foods are best grown in the home garden.
Healthy eating is perceived as being expensive because of the highly advertised 'status products' but when you consider nutritional returns, our traditional foods and combinations provide the healthier and cheaper choices.
If cost of food is not an issue, you can select according to personal preference including status foods, foods out of season, nicely-packaged foods and other non-nutritional criteria. When funds are limited, more consideration should be given
to nutrient density when making food choices.
Patricia Thompson M.Sc., Registered Nutritionist, The Nutrition Centre, Eden Gardens.
