FOOD FAD AND FADDISM

 A food fad is an idea about food without any factual basis.

 "Food fad" is also refer to diets that do not follow common
nutritional guidelines
 Food fad is a like or dislike of a particular food or foods that is taken
to extremes.
 A food fad may lead to undue reliance on, or avoidance of, a
particular foodstuff.
 Fads are common in toddlers, adolescents, and in people who are
under stress.
 When a food fad becomes obsessive or persistent, it may indicate a
serious eating disorder.
 "Food faddism is a dietary practice based upon an exaggerated
belief in the effects of food or nutrition on health and disease.“
 A food faddism is an eating regime focuses on a particular food
or food group.
 Food faddists are those who follow a particular nutritional
practice with [excessive] zeal and whose claims for its benefits
are substantially more than science has substantiated."
Highlights of Food Faddism and Nutrition
Food faddism is WRONG, because it is an extremist
position.
Good health is about achieving a proper balance in
five areas: diet, nutritional supplements, exercise,
attitude, and resilience.
Every good thing should be done in moderation.
Do NOT be a food faddist! Always be careful in all
your health endeavors to never take any one aspect of
your health program to an extreme position.
Required elements to food
faddism
 Exaggeration
 Making wild health claims or having an obsession with only one tiny area of
nutrition.
 The problem, here, is the lack of moderation.
 Belief
 A health claim that cannot be supported by scientific research.
 There is a difference between believing that something is true. And, reasonably
supporting your health claim with health research that supports it.
 The problem, here, is making a therapeutic claim without any scientific
research to back it up with.
 "Food faddism derives from these three beliefs:
 Special attributes of a particular food may cure disease.
 Certain foods should be eliminated from the diet because they are
harmful.
 Certain foods convey special health benefits.
Geographic
Early the food was consisted of whatever could be
cultivated in the locality.
Soil, climate, water and local agricultural practices
determined the types of foods that can be grown in the
locality.
E.g. Cassava, yam and sweet potato in many countries
of Africa and Corn in America
Diets based on these staple foods lead to protein
calorie malnutrition.
Pellagra in poor maize eaters
Rice in tropical area and millets in low rainfall area.
Wheat in temperate regions.
Traditional Beliefs
 Traditional beliefs in food habits are still prevalent with a large
majority of the population who are illiterate or ignorant regarding
the nutritive value of foods.
 These beliefs affect the pattern of food eating
 Some examples:
 In Ethiopia, pregnant woman must avoid roasted meat as it is
believed to induce abortion.
 Eggs are thought to cause baldness and sterility and hence not
consumed by pregnant lady.
 In India, consumption of papaya by pregnant lady is believed to lead
to abortion.
 It is believed consumption of garlic by lactating woman will induce
milk production.
 Even milk is not liked in many Asian and African countries and not
even fed to weaned infants and preschool children.
In west bengal , it is believed that consumption of milk
and fish at the same meal will lead to development of
leprosy and leucoderma.
Some other beliefs are:
 Consumption of brain will lead to premature graying of
hair and baldness
 Consumption of tongue of goat make them talkative
 Eating goat’s leg will lead to improper development of
knee and ankle joints
 Consumption of pig’s stomach will darken the
complexion
 Fish will produce skin rashes and meat will make
children stupid
 Egg before eruption of teeth will lead to stupidity
 Hot and cold foods
Foods are classified as hot and cold by different
cultures in many countries.
Hot foods are believed to produce more heat in the
body and lead to development of boil. e.g. Meat, eggs,
legumes, nuts and oilseeds.
Cold foods are supposed to lower the heat production
and lead to development of cold, sore throat etc. e.g.
Fruits, vegetables and milk.
Pica
The habit of eating mud, clay, chalk, limestone,
plaster, ashes, starch etc.
A common practice among pregnant women in many
countries of Asia, Africa, Europe, and North, central
and south America.
The belief is that the baby will not be normal if one
does not eat clay or starch.
Religious beliefs
Various religions have some influence on the food
habits.
e.g. Muslim are forbidden from eating pork and
hindus from eating beef.
Food fads and cults
 Some health claims regarding foods have been made. E.g.
 Bitter gourd has curative properties for diabetes
 Fruits and vegetable cultivated using organic manure are more nutritious
 Brown sugar is more nutritious than white sugar
 Some fallacies are also there
 Citrus fruits and tomato are too acid to be handled by body
 Garlic cures high blood pressure
 Beets build blood
 Food cooked in aluminium vessel will cause cancer
 Milk and fish; milk and citrus juice is poisonous
 Raw cucumber without salt is poisonous
 A good way to diet is to skip breakfast
 Honey is not fattening
 Fruit juices do not contribute calories to diet
 Toast has fewer calories than bread
 Vegetable oils are not fattening and can be taken in any amount
 Skim milk has no nutritive value
 White shelled eggs are more nutritious than brown shelled eggs.
 Water is fattening
 For many years vegetarianism has been practised on religious ground by Hindus, Jains,
Buddhists.
Changing food habits
Fads and faulty food habits are the important
contributor to wide prevalence of malnutrition among
preschool children and pregnant/ nursing ladies.
This can be overcome by nutrition education
The guidelines for the change:
 Change should not be superimposed but should be
integrated
 Should be acceptable to individuals
 Should be minimal and with such foods which are
familiar
 Participation of representatives of the group
 The individual should be satisfied.