Special Dietary Requirements

Special dietary requirements cover specific changes applied to a diet to make it healthier, acceptable or safe for reasons such as life stages, health, culture and religion.

When we feed people, they put a lot of trust in us. They believe that the food we offer was responsibly sourced and that we maintained the highest standard of food hygiene during the food preparation. When people disclose their special dietary requirements, we need to take them seriously and make sure that the food we present meet these needs.

I was born in Nigeria, and to the best of my knowledge we did not have a lot of cases of food hypersensitivity (allergies and intolerance), we did not have a lot of vegetarians or vegans, we typically cooked our meals (no raw meat or fish). We do have Muslims who do not eat pork and, in most cases, do not drink alcohol. There are a lot people living with diabetes who follow a special diet, eating less processed carbohydrates. This was what I knew and believed before I moved to Canada.

When I got to Canada, I quickly noticed that there were a lot of food related allergies, all packed school lunches must show a ‘’no-peanut’’ sign. My friend’s kid was gluten-free, I was talking with people who were adopting vegan lifestyle, low-sodium diet and there were a lot of lactose intolerance cases too. Most people were tested and diagnosed. I found all this interesting, it got me thinking! I remembered my friends that do not consume milk because it ‘runs their tummy’’, my grandfather that avoided cocoyam because it itched his throat and another friend that avoids beans cooked with potash, because ‘’it runs his tummy’’ too. So, a lot people are allergic or intolerant to a type of food, but are not represented statistically because they are undiagnosed. Being a chef and working in the restaurant has also raised my awareness of special dietary requirements.

I adjusted my diet when I was dealing with acid reflux for about three years, I avoided spicy food, fried and oily food, oats, olives and capsicum as they worsened my condition.  If you are caring for someone with special dietary requirements or are making lifestyle changes yourself, you need to work professional to ensure that you get the best results.

I will cover a range of special dietary requirements, to raise awareness which can help us to prevent avoidable incidents in the future. Here is a summary of the most common special dietary requirements;

1.      Life Stages: describes different stages in human development and how diet and nutrition may vary. These life stages include infants, pregnant women and elderly persons. Infants require food high in calcium for growth and bone development. Pregnant women require food high in calcium, folic acid and iron. The elderly people require food low in saturated fats and trans-fat which reduces risk of heart disease in addition to vitamins and calcium. You should not feed raw meats or fish to this groups of people as their immune system may not handle food poisoning well.

2.      Medical reasons: there are several medical reasons to make dietary changes, we will look briefly at a few;

i.  Diabetes: is a chronic disease associated with abnormally high blood sugar because the pancreas does not make any or enough insulin, or inability of the body to properly use insulin. Insulin is a hormone that regulates blood glucose levels. Diabetes increases the risk of heart disease and obesity. Diet should be high in complex carbohydrates and dietary fibre.

ii.  Heart disease: are cardiovascular conditions that can lead to narrowed or blocked blood vessels, this can lead to heart attack, coma, chest pains, stroke and paralysis. Patients should drink lots of water, eat lots of fruits and vegetables, wholegrains and avoid smoking, alcohol and sugary food.

iii.  Kidney disease: kidneys filter waste and excess fluids from our bodies which are then excreted from the body as urine. Renal diet should include low levels of saturated fat, salt (sodium and potassium) and sugar, and include animal protein, diary or alternatives and legumes.[1]

iv.  Diseases of the digestive system: there are several disorders that interfere with the function of the bowel, enzymes or secretions, preventing normal digestion and absorption of nutrients in the body. Some common digestive system diseases are; Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease (GERD), Gallstones, Celiac Disease, Crohn’s Disease, Ulcerative Colitis, Irritable Bowel Syndrome, Haemorrhoids, Diverticulitis and Anal Fissure.[2] Patients should consume food low in fat, acid and salt. In most cases they need to avoid spicy food, eat in smaller portions and avoid foods that trigger symptoms.

v.  Food allergy: is an abnormal response to a food triggered by the body’s immune system[3]. The immune system responds to certain harmless foods as a threat and symptoms can range from mild to severe. Some symptoms include rashes, itching at the mouth and throat, eczema, swelling of lips and tongue, abdominal troubles and anaphylaxis. In the most severe cases breathing and blood circulation are restricted which can lead to death. Never mess with any food allergy as a prank or test. Most common food allergies are;

–        Peanuts: peanuts do not need to be eaten to trigger an allergic reaction, if you are having people who are allergic over, keep your house peanut-free.

–        Tree nuts (such as almonds, walnuts)

–        Gluten: common sources of gluten are wheat, barley and rye (as well as related species such as spelt, emmer, einkorn, kamut etc). Oats are often contaminated by wheat product and should be avoided or consumed consciously.  Gluten is usually present in soy sauce, store bought sauces and soups, processed meat and lots of condiments. Always read the food labels.

–        Soy and products

–        Shellfish

–        Wheat

–        Milk

–        Eggs

vi.  Food Intolerance: this is an adverse reaction to food which unlike food allergy, is not an immune response. It is typically less severe than food allergy and, in most cases, present as abdominal symptoms such as pain and diarrhea. Examples of intolerance to food include;

–        Gluten intolerance

–        Lactose intolerance: Lactase is an enzyme that breaks down lactose which a sugar found in milk. An individual that does not produce lactase, will be lactose intolerant and the bacteria found in the intestines will ferment these sugars which naturally produces gas, causing bloating, pain and flatulence.

–        Intolerance to food additives such as colouring and flavour enhancers such as MSG.

3.      Religious/Cultural/Personal reasons:

i.  Christianity: Most Christian sects do not have food restrictions. Some Christians may abstain from meat on Ash Wednesday, Good Friday or the entire 40 days of Lent.

ii.  Judaism: Jews have to follow a Kosher menu as mandated in the Torah. Edible animals must chew the curd and have cloven feet such as cows, goats, sheep. Pigs have cloven feet but do not chew the cud and are forbidden in the kosher menu. They also eat only fish that have scales and shellfish is forbidden. Meat and milk may not be eaten together.

iii.  Islam: Halal refers to what is allowed in Islamic law. Muslims have a strict law regarding the slaughter of animals for food. It must be killed swiftly with a sharp knife in one movement cutting the jugular vein and all its blood must be drained, some incantations are made by the killer. Muslims eat only meat that are killed according to the halal rites and do not eat pork as this is considered unclean.

iv.  Dharmic religions such as; Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism and Sikhism: mostly follow a form of vegetarian diet. Most of these religions do not mandate a vegetarian diet, but have views that support it, it is believed that meat cannot be obtained without causing injury to other creatures. Some follow a lacto-vegetarian diet which includes diary products. The meat consuming believers, will not eat beef as cows are considered sacred and the slaughter of cows is mostly forbidden in India where most of these religions are prevalent.

v.  Vegetarianism: is abstaining from the consumption of meat, and choosing plant-based sources of protein. People may choose a vegetarian diet for various reasons such as religious, moral, health concerns, fashion or financial. There are different types of vegetarian diet;

–        Lacto-ovo-vegetarian: They also consume milk (and milk products) and eggs.

–        Lacto-vegetarian: They consume milk and milk products but no eggs.

–        Ovo-vegetarian: They consume eggs but not milk products.

–        Vegan: they refrain from eating all meats and animal products such as eggs, butter, cheese, milk, gelatin and some may reject honey.

Hopefully this is useful information to start a conversation about special dietary requirements, and make us more accommodating and empathetic to people who have special food needs.

Are you dealing with food hypersensitivity or new dietary requirements? Would you like to share how you have adapted your diet? Please leave a comment.

 

 

References.
[1] https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/kidney-disease/living-with/
[2] https://www.everydayhealth.com/digestive-health/common-digestive-conditions-from-top-bottom/
[3] National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (July 2012). “Food Allergy An Overview” (PDF). Archived from the original (pdf) on 2016-03-05.