In This Together
What Does Good Nutrition and Healthy Eating Look Like?
Good nutrition benefits us all in many ways, and a healthy diet improves our overall quality of life and wellbeing. However, establishing what good nutrition is can sometimes be more difficult than it seems.
There are so many varied opinions on what the key to healthy eating is, and our knowledge is continually changing. Paleo, flexitarian, vegan, intermittent fasting and keto are just some of the words and labels we constantly hear regarding healthy eating, and with Instagram and other social media platforms now becoming the main source of nutritional information for many teenagers, the messages being received every day on what, when and how we should and shouldn’t eat are often contradictory and unsustainable.
The truth is, if we followed all nutritional advice we received throughout our lives (particularly from strangers on the internet), the “rules” would be simply impossible to follow. So, what does this mean for our students, what does a healthy and balanced diet look like for our girls, and what are the important messages we should be promoting?
In PDHPE at SCEGGS, we teach our students from Kindergarten about the importance of good nutrition. Students come to understand that a healthy diet will fuel their body to complete everyday tasks, assist in building and repairing body muscle and tissues, protect us against chronic diseases and that it is essential for growing bodies. They also learn about the Australian Guidelines for Healthy Eating, gain experience in creating meals that meet their individual needs as children, explore the place of nutrition in athletic performance and identify the many factors that influence their food choices. As part of our Year 9 program, we also have a dietitian from The Biting Truth visit our students to cover the latest topics and science in nutrition. We find that our girls love learning about food and nutrition, and that their curiosity drives a deep exploration into many different areas within the topic.
Our aim as PDHPE teachers is to provide our students with the knowledge to make positive food choices. We do not dictate exactly what their diet should or shouldn’t look like, because we know that there isn’t just one way to eat well. Instead, we focus on supporting our girls to gain the skills and knowledge to make their own informed decisions. We want our students to understand the importance and benefits of different nutrients, be able to interpret nutritional information, be conscious of nutritional claims and fad diets, but most of all, be confident and pragmatic about how they eat and what their bodies need.
To achieve this, the main messages we give to students regarding nutrition as a broader community must be clear and consistent, and they should provide a foundation upon which our girls can build their own views on healthy eating. Nutrition is complicated, and at times professional advice and guidance is required. However, some key nutritional principles and guiding values can help to develop healthy, consistent and balanced long-term eating behaviours.
Encourage Eating “Real Foods”
We can often overcomplicate our eating when we place specific labels on it. By encouraging children to eat “real foods”, that is eating unprocessed, whole foods and natural ingredients, we can simplify things significantly. Although there may be times when the specific nutrients within our foods need to be considered, a diet that focuses primarily on foods that are as close to their natural form as possible will optimise long-term health and wellbeing. This includes eating fresh fruits and vegetables, healthy unrefined cooking oils, unprocessed meats, eggs, dairy products, legumes, nuts, seeds and wholegrains, and if needing to reach for a packaged food, make sure it includes whole ingredients only.
Make It Sustainable
Completely eliminating specific food groups, placing rigid rules on what and when you eat, and attaching guilt to situations when we eat differently to what we believe is “right”, are simply unsustainable ways to achieve good nutrition. Healthy eating needs to be part of a person’s overall lifestyle. Giving ourselves and our children permission to indulge from time to time is okay, and it is important that we do not allow this to spiral into feelings of guilt. Instead, we need to accept that indulgences are part of life (and a great part too!). A diet that includes mainly “real foods” with some treats throughout is more likely to have long-term success than one that includes strict rules and expectations.
Focus on Inner Changes
Too often the focus of healthy eating falls to its relationship with our outer appearance, and again social media tends to have a large influence on this with young people. However, good nutrition will result in many inner changes that will impact our overall wellbeing, such as improved sleep, reduced stress levels, increased energy levels and better digestion. By focusing on these changes and concentrating on food being a source of energy and fuel, we can create a much more positive relationship with eating.
Be Careful and Be Informed
We all need to be cautious when it comes to the nutritional opinions we hear, as not all information we receive will be accurate or will relate to our own specific needs. Therefore, it is important that we are informed and critical consumers of nutritional claims, and that we have reliable sources of information and professionals to call upon when we need it. Teaching young children to be discerning decision makers is critical, and we believe that nutrition education in PDHPE at SCEGGS is fostering this approach within our girls.
For more information regarding nutrition and healthy eating please see the following resources:
Sarah Carter
Teacher PDHPE
