Food Exchange List and Dietary Management of Non-Communicable Diseases in Cultural Perspective

Abstract

This review focuses at highlighting the importance of Food Exchange List in cultural perspective, as an effective dietary tool to help individuals’ manage their dietary modifications in relation to non communicable diseases whilst specifying measures that can help improve the quality of Food Exchange Lists for combating various non communicable diseases and addressing adherence related issues to specialized diets. A search was done using PubMed & Google Scholar till June 2016. Search terms used were food exchange list AND disease, diet AND non-communicable diseases. We included only studies that discussed Food Exchange List (FEL) in relation to non-communicable diseases; in addition to factors like cultural relevance and adherence.Out of the 837 papers accessed 57 were identified as relevant to the Food Exchange List, out of which 39 papers were focused to the concept and development of the Food Exchange List. Only 18 discussed FEL in relation to non communicable diseases and were thus included in the review.Food exchange list is a user friendly tool for dietary modification due to disease. This tool may help to customize meals for people as it provides information regarding various food items in different groups. This tool is helpful in reducing blood & plasma glucose levels, maintaining lipid profile & effectively combating other diet related diseases & those ailments in which diet plays a significant role in maintenance & prevention from reoccurrences. However, better management and adherence to modified diets for non communicable diseases can be ensured by keeping cultural relevance under consideration before using Food Exchange Lists for such diseases.

Development of a Sport Food Exchange List for Dietetic Practice in Sport Nutrition

“…Thus far, different food exchange lists from different countries [14,23,35] or regions [36] have been published, adapted to the general population or disease situations such as diabetes [19] or kidney disease [22,37]. Other tools for dietary planning have also been developed [38], but none incorporate supplements to be applied in sport.…”

“…One of the methods used by dietitians for menu planning is the food exchange list system, a user-friendly tool that was developed to help individuals to adopt healthy eating habits and/or follow a specific diet plan [14].…”

Developing a Food Exchange System for Meal Planning in Vegan Children and Adolescents

“…Also, it is important to be able to choose several foods within a list in order to respect personal preferences (gastronomic and/or cultural). In this sense, as mentioned by other authors the management and adherence to the diet over time is better maintained with tools such as the exchange lists [48].…”

Tabla de intercambios de alimentos para uso en pediatría

“…Las tablas de intercambios de alimentos (TIA) son una herramienta que le permite a los profesionales en nutrición cuantificar de manera rápida, práctica y confiable la ingesta de calorías y nutrientes ingeridos por un individuo, pudiendo identificar así posibles deficiencias o excesos. Las TIA también permiten elaborar planes de alimentación de manera ágil, pues ofrecen diferentes opciones de combinación de alimentos con las que se cumple con la variabilidad que exige una alimentación saludable y se mejora la adherencia al plan de alimentación, 1,2 lo cual facilita la intervención en EAN.…”

“…1,3,4 Posteriormente, varios países trabajaron en el desarrollo de sus propias TIA con base en la alimentación tradicional y con el fin de planear la dieta para algunas condiciones patológicas como diabetes, problemas de peso y enfermedades cardiovasculares y renales. 1,2,[5][6][7][8] En Colombia, las TIA se han desarrollado de manera especial en el ambiente de la academia a través de tesis de grado de estudiantes y trabajos de docentes en instituciones de educación superior como la Universidad Nacional de Colombia 9,10 y la Universidad de Antioquia. 11 Asimismo, las Guías alimentarias para la población colombiana mayor de dos años 12 presentan una lista de intercambios de alimentos basada en algunas de las tablas mencionadas.…”