Introduction
The new Food Guide was developed by a group of health experts for Canadian citizens. It represents an exceptional attempt to improve the existing state of affairs across the country in terms of what and how people tend to eat. It may be safe to say that the new version of the guide positively differs from its outdated form. It does not establish a specific number or weight of products that have to be consumed on a daily basis (Bacon et al., 2019). Therefore, the specialists that worked on developing the new food guide for Canadians merely tried to outline a healthy diet. The latter would help the majority of people accessing it to ensure that they are eating properly and do not generate any negative consequences for themselves. For instance, one of the points included in the new guide is that plant-based proteins have to be consumed more often in order to maintain one’s health in a good shape (Mohseni, Mohseni, Alizadeh, & Abbasi, 2020). The idea is that the new Food Guide for Canada represents a list of recommendations. These health-related endorsements outrun the past guideline considerably and define the future of food consumption trends across the country.
Low-Fat Products
One of the most important sections in the new guideline is milk and its relocation to the “proteins” section. Accordingly, the most recent Canadian Food Guideline is an attempt to help people switch to low-fat dairy products and stop consuming products containing high amounts of saturated fats (such as yogurt, cheese, or milk) (Nardocci et al., 2019). On the one hand, the guideline states that milk and its alternatives are relatively beneficial for one’s health. On the other hand, the key idea behind choosing low-fat options is that the majority of such products contain minerals that help treat hypertension, for example. The effects of low-fat products are also associated with the DASH diet in the new guide (Polsky, Moubarac, & Garriguet, 2020). To conclude, it may be safe to say that ultra-processed foods have to be replaced with whole alternatives if people would like to live a healthier life.
Ultra-Processed Foods and Sugary Drinks
In addition, the number of patients with obesity and cardiovascular diseases continues to increase across Canada, so the new Food Guide takes on ultra-processed foods as something that averts people from eating healthy in general. This is also reflected in the section on drinking and beverages, where the guide focuses on motivating people to minimize the intake of sugary drinks (Sim, Veugelers, Prowse, Nykiforuk, & Maximova, 2020). Knowing that the number of heart diseases and obesity cases would skyrocket under excessive sugar intake, it is a good move to indicate the negative influence of sugary drinks. It is also noted in the guide that everyone should eat mindfully in order to develop proper eating habits and have a positive influence on others around them (Kholina et al., 2020). Therefore, the new Canadian Food Guide is an attempt to transform the concept of well-being and help people look beyond food marketing and its misleading ways.
Conclusion
Ultimately, it may be established that the health specialists working on the development of this new guide managed to elaborate on nutritional specifics without becoming too complex throughout the process. Not only this guide represents a decent approach to one’s diet, but it also defines the best ways to keep eating healthy and prevent the advent of health issues such as hypertension or obesity. In addition to all the arguments stated above, the new guide resembles a collection of systematic reviews that were merged with Canadians’ health in mind. There are no conflicts of interest, which is also great for the audience and the general reception of the new guide. The new Food Guide might only have a positive influence on the Canadian population. It motivates people to eat healthy while also pointing to the areas of Canadian health that require the most attention from both providers and citizens.
References
Bacon, S. L., Campbell, N. R., Raine, K. D., Tsuyuki, R. T., Khan, N. A., Arango, M., & Kaczorowski, J. (2019). Canada’s new healthy eating strategy: Implications for health care professionals and a call to action. Canadian Pharmacists, 152(3), 151-157.
Kholina, K., Grant, A., Waddington, M., Egbe, M., Grant, S., Terashima, M., & Williams, P. L. (2020). In-store food environment for adults and children in Nova Scotia, Canada. Canadian Journal of Public Health, 1-10.
Mohseni, R., Mohseni, F., Alizadeh, S., & Abbasi, S. (2020). The association of Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension (DASH) diet with the risk of colorectal cancer: A meta-analysis of observational studies. Nutrition and Cancer, 72(5), 778-790.
Nardocci, M., Leclerc, B. S., Louzada, M. L., Monteiro, C. A., Batal, M., & Moubarac, J. C. (2019). Consumption of ultra-processed foods and obesity in Canada. Canadian Journal of Public Health, 110(1), 4-14.
Polsky, J. Y., Moubarac, J. C., & Garriguet, D. (2020). Consumption of ultra-processed foods in Canada. Health Reports, 31(11), 3-15.
Sim, S., Veugelers, P. J., Prowse, R., Nykiforuk, C. I., & Maximova, K. (2020). Unhealthy food options in the school environment are associated with diet quality and body weights of elementary school children in Canada. Public Health Nutrition, 1-10.