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Salient. Official Newspaper of the Victoria University Students' Association. Vol 44 No. 9. May 4 1981
Student Health — Basic Foods
Student Health
Basic Foods
A good number of students living away from home are preparing food for themselves and others. The following may give some idea of the basic requirements which should be aimed for; for either the physically active or Inactive. Work, whether physical or intellectual, requires a base line of nutrition to meet energy requirements. Normal human nutrition presupposes the availability of nutriments (proteins, carbohydrates, fats, vitamins and minerals). The following is a reasonable daily food requirement guide.
Breads and Cereals (preferably wholegrain or wholemeal).
All approximate daily amounts:
- 1 slice wholemeal bread.
- 1 cup of cereal, ready to eat, flake or puffed.
- ½ to ¾ cup of cooked cereal.
- ½ to ¾ cup of cooked pasta (macaroni, noodles, spaghetti).
Meats and Eggs
- ¼ lb cooked, lean, boneless meat or fish.
- ¼ chicken or ½ cup of cooked meat.
- 2 eggs.
- 1 cup of cooked dry beans or peas.
- 4 teaspoons of peanut butter.
Fruits and Vegetables
Four or more servings, at least one to be citrus or tomato daily and one to be dark grreen or deep yellow:
- ½ cup vegetable
- ½ cup of fruit
- one medium orange, apple or potato.
- ½ cup of juice.
Milk and Dairy Products (cheese, Ice cream, etc).
Adults: 1 to 2 cups
Young people: 4 or more cups
Pregnant women: 3 or more cups
- 1 oz cheese.
- ½ cup of cottage cheese.
- ½ cup ice cream.
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Fats and Oils (butter, cream, oils).
- 2 teaspoons of cream.
- 6 small nuts.
Sugars, Syrups, Honey etc.
As needed for calorie requirements.
This leads us into the question of calories needed each day. There are tables of calorie content of foods in most cooking books. If you require a chart we have them available on request at the Student Health Service. In general terms our daily intake is about 3,500 calories, whereas our requirement is considerably less - about a thousand less. The following table gives an approximation of daily calorie needs.
| Men | Women | |
|---|---|---|
| 70kg | 58kg | |
| Basal Energy Needs | 1680 | 1390 |
| Activity energy needs | ||
| Very sedentary | 2020 | 1670 |
| Sedentary | 2180 | 1810 |
| Moderately sedentary | 2350 | 1950 |
| Very Active | 2520 | 2090 |
Wellington last year was visited by Dr Dennis Burkitt who has worked in England and Africa as a nutritionist. His contribution has been to explain why the indigenous native people of Africa never suffer from the numerous abdominal disorders common in Western societies. "It's simple," he explained. "They eat an adequate quantity of fibre." The richest source of fibre is present to all of us in natural cereals (meusili, porridge, wholemeal bread), and to a lesser extent in fruits and vegetables. He made the point that you have to 'speak English' before you qualify to suffer from appendicitis, haemorrhoids, varicose veins, constipation, etc. Perhaps a little exaggerated. Fibre is an essential non-nutritive food. Its effect is principally mechanical in that it helps move food more easily and quickly through the gut. It retains fluid and provides easy evacuation, preventing straining contribution to a number of medical complaints (as above).
A simple check of adequate fibre intake can be made daily on the toilet seat. If you are a sinker, you have inadequate fibre. If yours floats, you have taken enough fibre.
Are you a 'sinker' or a 'floater'?
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