University Assignment: Developing Menus for Special Dietary Needs

This report delves into the development of menus tailored for special dietary requirements, focusing on the Australian dietary guidelines and the five food groups: vegetables and legumes, fruits, grains, lean meats, and milk products. It explores how the human body utilizes essential nutrients like carbohydrates, proteins, fats, dietary fibers, and minerals. The report specifically addresses the ovo-lacto vegetarian diet, identifying dietary restrictions and providing insights into modifying traditional dishes like Egg Benedict to accommodate these needs, particularly excluding bacon. The analysis covers the nutritional aspects of each food group and how they contribute to overall health and wellness. The report also explains the role of each nutrient in maintaining health and how the body processes them.

Running head: DEVELOP MENU FOR SPECIAL DIETARY REQUIREMENT
DEVELOP MENU FOR SPECIAL DIETARY REQUIREMENT
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author note

1DEVELOP MENU FOR SPECIAL DIETARY REQUIREMENT

2DEVELOP MENU FOR SPECIAL DIETARY REQUIREMENT
Part A
a. Five food groups
Good and healthy diet is an important aspect that helps to lead a healthy and balanced
life. The food and drink combined with proper physical activity help to maintain body weight
and prevent several diseases such as obesity and diabetes1. There is a variety of food products
that helps us to gain basic nutrients for healthy body such as carbohydrate, proteins, fat,
minerals, fibers and essential micro-nutrient. However, According to Australian dietary
guidelines these variety of the food products belong to “five food groups” and according to this
guideline these five food groups makes Australian healthy eating guideline2. These food items
has been grouped together because they provide similar key nutrients after being broken down
into the human body. These five food groups are: vegetable and legumes, fruit, grain (whole
grain and fibrous cereals), lean meat, poultry, tofu, nuts beans and legume and reduced fats,
milk, yogurt and cheese3.
Vegetable and legumes:
Eating healthy and colorful vegetable reduces the risk of cardiovascular as well as risk of
strokes and obesity. The edible vegetables belongs to several part of the respective plant such as
leaves, stem, fruit, seeds, legumes, roots, tuber and flowers4. For example, potatoes, carrots and
beetroot are roots and tubers, cauliflower, broccoli and cabbages are flowers, kidney beans, chick
1 Ayesha Sherzai et al, Stroke, Food Groups, And Dietary Patterns: A Systematic Review (2012) Nutrition
reviews <https://academic.oup.com/nutritionreviews/article/70/8/423/1853963>.
2 Malek, L., Umberger, W., Makrides, M. and Zhou, S.J., 2016. Adherence to the Australian dietary
guidelines during pregnancy: evidence from a national study. Public health nutrition, 19(7), pp.1155-1163.
3 Ralston, R.A., Lee, J.H., Truby, H., Palermo, C.E. and Walker, K.Z., 2012. A systematic review and
meta-analysis of elevated blood pressure and consumption of dairy foods. Journal of human hypertension, 26(1),
p.3. 4 Rubatzky, V.E. and Yamaguchi, M., 2012. World vegetables: principles, production, and nutritive values.
Springer Science & Business Media.

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peas, lentils are pulses and legumes and tomato, zucchini and celery are fruits. The primary
nutrients that are derived from these vegetables and legumes are phytonutrients that are generally
present in plants5. Further, complex carbohydrates, fibers, minerals such as phosphorus from
lady finger and manganese from brinjal or eggplant and vitamins are also derived. There are
several vegetables such as Asian greens, tomatoes, broccoli and cabbage are rich in vitamin C.
Furthermore, legumes, peas, beans and mushrooms provides protein to the human body6.
Fruits:
Fruit and fruit based juices are important for overall wellness as there are too many
nutrients such as dietary fibers, essential carbohydrates, proteins and vitamins are provided by
these fruits7. There is variety of fruit available throughout the year and choosing those seasonal
fruits provides a variety of nutritional choice to the consumer. Similar to the vegetable and
leguminous groups, fruits are also divided into groups depending on their color and nutritional
value. These groups are pome fruits including apples, tropical fruits such as banana, berries and
grapes, stone fruits including cherries and apricots and citrus fruits such as oranges. Maximum of
these fruits are low in fat, cholesterol and essential salts8. Further there are several under
consumed minerals that are only available in fruits such as potassium, magnesium, manganese
and folic acid. Banana, grapes, dates, prunes, dried peaches provide these minerals, whereas folic
acids derived from citrus fruits help to generate red blood cells9.
5 Bouchenak, M. and Lamri-Senhadji, M., 2013. Nutritional quality of legumes, and their role in
cardiometabolic risk prevention: a review. Journal of medicinal food, 16(3), pp.185-198.
6 Shahidi, F. and Ambigaipalan, P., 2015. Phenolics and polyphenolics in foods, beverages and spices:
Antioxidant activity and health effects–A review. Journal of functional foods, 18, pp.820-897.
7 Kozlowska, A. and Szostak-Wegierek, D., 2014. Flavonoids-food sources and health benefits. Roczniki
Państwowego Zakładu Higieny, 65(2).
8 Slavin, J., 2013. Fiber and prebiotics: mechanisms and health benefits. Nutrients, 5(4), pp.1417-1435.
9 Abbaspour, N., Hurrell, R. and Kelishadi, R., 2014. Review on iron and its importance for human
health. Journal of research in medical sciences: the official journal of Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, 19(2),
p.164.

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Whole grains and fiber cereals:
The food prepared from grains are generally inclusive of wheat, rice, rye, barley, corn
and oats. These grains are being eaten whole or as flour dough, which is used to make breads,
pasta and noodles10. These grains are also can be divided into four groups such as cereals for
breakfast such as naan, crisp breads, whole grains, breakfast cereals such as oats, muesli, grains
such as rice, barley and other products such as muffins, pasta, noodles and popcorn. The whole
grains and its major parts are rich in nutritional factors such as fiber, omega-3, dietary minerals
and vitamins present in the bran portion, starch rich endosperm and vitamin and minerals such as
magnesium, thiamine, and phosphorus rich germ cells11. Therefore, these are the essential micro
and macro nutrients, which are available in grains and cereals.
Lean meats, poultry, fish eggs and several other plant and animal derived proteins
The Australian cuisine is full of food dishes containing raw materials from these groups
as culturally and life style wise these food group is appropriate for Australians. Hence, a wide
variety of food products are being eaten from this group such as fish, meat, egg, tofu, nuts, seed
or beans12. This group is mainly rich in proteins, derived from plant or animal sources however,
nutrients such as minerals including, iron, zinc, essential fatty acids and vitamin such as Vitamin
B-12 are derived from these protein rich food group13. The lean meat group involves beef, lambs,
pork, kangaroo and low salt sausages, whereas poultry involves chickens, ducks, turkey and bush
10 Das, L., Bhaumik, E., Raychaudhuri, U. and Chakraborty, R., 2012. Role of nutraceuticals in human
health. Journal of food science and technology, 49(2), pp.173-183.
11 Martínez, I., Lattimer, J.M., Hubach, K.L., Case, J.A., Yang, J., Weber, C.G., Louk, J.A., Rose, D.J.,
Kyureghian, G., Peterson, D.A. and Haub, M.D., 2013. Gut microbiome composition is linked to whole grain-
induced immunological improvements. The ISME journal, 7(2), p.269.
12 Jayathilakan, K., Sultana, K., Radhakrishna, K. and Bawa, A.S., 2012. Utilization of byproducts and
waste materials from meat, poultry and fish processing industries: a review. Journal of food science and
technology, 49(3), pp.278-293.
13 De Smet, S., 2012. Meat, poultry, and fish composition: Strategies for optimizing human intake of
essential nutrients. Animal Frontiers, 2(4), pp.10-16.

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birds. Lean meat and red meat are rich in protein as well as primary source of iron, vitamin B-12,
zinc and essential fatty acids. On the other hand, the lentils and nuts are rich in plant derived
essential fats. These legumes and nuts includes chickpeas, all kind of beans, and almonds, pine
nuts sunflower seeds and peanuts14.
Milk products and reduced fats:
Milk and milk products contains many essential nutrients such as protein, reduced fat and
essential minerals such as calcium which helps in overall wellness and bone development.
According to the concentration of milk, these milk and milk related products are recommended
for consumption in Australia15. These milk and milk related products are divided into three
sections such as milks such as full cream and plain or flavored milk, yogurt such as full cream,
soy, toned or flavored yogurt and cheese such as reduced or full-fat cheese. These products are
rich in protein, riboflavin, calcium, vitamin B-12 and phosphorus. These are recommended by
physicians to increase the bone density in older adults. However, there are instances of allergies
and intolerance diagnosed by physicians. Therefore, while consuming or prior to consuming
these factors should be kept in mind16.
b. The way these nutrients are utilized by human bodies
After going through the five food groups recommended by the Australian government for
consumption and health development, it was determined that there are main five kind of
nutrients, derived from these food products such as carbohydrates, proteins, fat, dietary fibers
14 Schönfeldt, H.C. and Hall, N.G., 2012. Dietary protein quality and malnutrition in Africa. British Journal
of Nutrition, 108(S2), pp.S69-S76.
15 Pereira, P.C., 2014. Milk nutritional composition and its role in human health. Nutrition, 30(6), pp.619-
627. 16 Chen, M., Pan, A., Malik, V.S. and Hu, F.B., 2012. Effects of dairy intake on body weight and fat: a
meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials–. The American journal of clinical nutrition, 96(4), pp.735-747.

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and essential minerals. The methods using which the human body utilizes these nutrients are
being explained below.
Carbohydrate
Carbohydrate is the primary source of energy for the human body and brain and is
essential for physical and mental activities and successful functioning of brain cells as well as
other organs17. It is also important for the proper functioning of intestine and waste elimination.
The carbohydrate rich food enters the human body, however, in such complex form, the body is
unable to utilize the source of energy. Therefore, conversion of carbohydrate into its simplest
form glucose occurs with the help of amylase enzymes that breaks down carbohydrates into
glucose and fructose. These sugars are used by brain and body cells as primary source and
energy and left glucose are stored in the muscles and liver for further use. As blood sugar level
rises, pancreases creates a signal that enables cells to absorb glucose within them and eventually
the blood sugar level becomes equivalent18. Further while the blood sugar level falls, the
generation of glucagon hormone increases that signals the liver to release more glucose for
efficient functioning of brain cells19.
Protein
Protein is the most important nutrient for the growth and development of human body as
it provides the building block for the de-oxy ribonucleic acid or DNA and ribonucleic acid or
RNA, which are fingerprints of each human cells. Therefore, the human body needs protein for
17 El Kaoutari, A., Armougom, F., Gordon, J.I., Raoult, D. and Henrissat, B., 2013. The abundance and
variety of carbohydrate-active enzymes in the human gut microbiota. Nature reviews Microbiology, 11(7), p.497.
18 Jakobek, L., 2015. Interactions of polyphenols with carbohydrates, lipids and proteins. Food
Chemistry, 175, pp.556-567.
19 Paoli, A., Rubini, A., Volek, J.S. and Grimaldi, K.A., 2013. Beyond weight loss: a review of the
therapeutic uses of very-low-carbohydrate (ketogenic) diets. European journal of clinical nutrition, 67(8), p.789.

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the continuous growth and development of human body, however, like carbohydrate and fat the
human body does not have pathway to store or utilize protein, rather it breaks down protein to
convert it in usable nutrient which is amino acids20. These amino acids are useful in the
development of DNA and RNA and muscle fiber reconstruction. However, if the body does not
require those amino acids, it is converted to glucose or fat with the help of several enzymes and
stored in the muscle of liver like other energy source. Therefore, the excess protein after
converted to carbohydrate and fats, it burned to provide energy to human body. Consumption of
extra protein is not always beneficial for the consumer as it is not always converted to glucose or
fat, rather it is excreted out of human body through urine or sweat21. This is because human body
requires a specific amount of protein throughout the day and more than that is of no use to the
human body, hence it is extracted.
Fat
Fat is another essential food nutrient utilized by human body and it provides maximum
amount of energy, helps to store certain nutrients and maintains the core body temperature22.
Furthermore, the goof fat protects heart and helps to maintain wellbeing of human body, whereas
the bad fats increases the risk of diseases and damages heart. Fat is known as the backup energy
provider for human body and is the concentrated source of energy. Further, fats are useful for the
storage of vitamins such as vitamin A, D, K, E, which are called fat soluble vitamins23. Likewise
20 Kampf, C., Olsson, I., Ryberg, U., Sjöstedt, E. and Pontén, F., 2012. Production of tissue microarrays,
immunohistochemistry staining and digitalization within the human protein atlas. Journal of visualized experiments:
JoVE, (63).
21 Bray, G.A., Smith, S.R., de Jonge, L., Xie, H., Rood, J., Martin, C.K., Most, M., Brock, C., Mancuso, S.
and Redman, L.M., 2012. Effect of dietary protein content on weight gain, energy expenditure, and body
composition during overeating: a randomized controlled trial. Jama, 307(1), pp.47-55.
22 Forbes, G.B., 2012. Human body composition: growth, aging, nutrition, and activity. Springer Science &
Business Media.
23 Bordicchia, M., Liu, D., Amri, E.Z., Ailhaud, G., Dessì-Fulgheri, P., Zhang, C., Takahashi, N., Sarzani,
R. and Collins, S., 2012. Cardiac natriuretic peptides act via p38 MAPK to induce the brown fat thermogenic
program in mouse and human adipocytes. The Journal of clinical investigation, 122(3), pp.1022-1036.

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protein and carbohydrate, fats are also broken into simplest form which is fatty acids which helps
in the normal functioning of tissues. Furthermore, these fatty acids absorbed by the cells are
helpful in the formation of prostaglandin that helps to increase or decrease the level of
inflammation inside human body24.
Dietary fibers
Dietary fibers are one of the essential nutrition that are important for the overall growth
and development of human body. These are the fibrous portion of the dietary vegetables and
fruits, which the human body cannot digest25. Therefore, our body does not have means to
breakdown dietary fibers, further, it has different purpose, inside the human body. The soluble
dietary fiber helps to lower blood cholesterol and glucose level and includes fibers from oats,
barley, carrots and fruits such as oranges. On the other hand, insoluble fibers helps to clear the
digestive system and promotes healthy bowel movement. Therefore, utilization of this, helps to
lower the risk of colon cancer, ulcers, and constipation. Furthermore, by promoting clear and
proper bowel movement, it helps to maintain an ideal weight and lowers the risk of heart attack
and diabetes26.
Essential; minerals
The minerals consumed though food products are called essential as the human body is
unable to produce those minerals by its own. These essential minerals are helpful in formation of
healthy bones, blood, nerve functioning, hair and nails, muscles as well as metabolic processes
24 Bianconi, E., Piovesan, A., Facchin, F., Beraudi, A., Casadei, R., Frabetti, F., Vitale, L., Pelleri, M.C.,
Tassani, S., Piva, F. and Perez-Amodio, S., 2013. An estimation of the number of cells in the human body. Annals of
human biology, 40(6), pp.463-471.
25 Slavin, J., 2013. Fiber and prebiotics: mechanisms and health benefits. Nutrients, 5(4), pp.1417-1435.
26 Angelakis, E., Armougom, F., Million, M. and Raoult, D., 2012. The relationship between gut microbiota
and weight gain in humans. Future microbiology, 7(1), pp.91-109.

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and teeth27. Minerals such as calcium important for healthy bone functioning, potassium for
proper fluid balance, muscle contraction and nerve transmission, chromium helps to maintain
blood glucose level and copper that helps to process body iron are few of the essential minerals
which are used by human body for continuous development of the growing cells. There are two
type of minerals present in the human body, micro and trace minerals which are helpful in
overall functioning and development of human body28. Furthermore, the body utilizes these
minerals as catalyst for different physiological reaction inside the human body such as metabolic
processes to turn the food into energy. They also help to regulate the growth of body tissues,
maintain proper nerve functioning and maintains the pH of the body. Further it provides
structural and functional support to the body29.
Part B:
1. Ovo-lacto vegetarian:
The term ovo-lacto vegetarian is generally used for a particular individual that
does not eat any kind of meat but consumes selective animal product such as eggs and milk
products 30. This s the very modern concept of vegetarian eating habit and a vast majority of
people in the western countries follow this dietary habit. In this case, for the group of ovo-lacto
27 Gropper, S.S. and Smith, J.L., 2012. Advanced nutrition and human metabolism. Cengage Learning.
28 Reimann, C. and De Caritat, P., 2012. Chemical elements in the environment: factsheets for the
geochemist and environmental scientist. Springer Science & Business Media.
29 Slavin, J., 2013. Fiber and prebiotics: mechanisms and health benefits. Nutrients, 5(4), pp.1417-1435.
30 Craig, W.J., 2010. Nutrition concerns and health effects of vegetarian diets. Nutrition in
Clinical Practice, 25(6), pp.613-620.

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vegetarians, there is one ingredient in the traditional dish Egg Benedict that they cannot
consume.
The ingredient that the ovo- lacto vegetarians cannot consume is bacons. It has to
be understood that bacon is a key ingredient in the dish, however bacon is nothing but a salt
cured pork made out of different cuts of pork meat. As the ovo- lacto vegetarians do not consume
any kind of meat, they cannot consume bacon either.
There are various alternative options for bacon that can be used in this delicious
traditional dish so that the ovo- lacto vegetarians can also be given the opportunity to consume it.
It has to be understood that the bacon is considered to be one of the most loved ingredient in of
the dishes because of the rich smoky flavour and the crisp chewy texture that it provides in the
dish. And the alternatives that complement a similar contribution to the overall flavour and
texture of the dish can be sun dried tomato crisps which adds a rich salty taste to the dish and can
complement the taste undertones perfectly. Along with that another very viable alternative option
for the same dish that can successfully replace bacon without compromising the taste of the dish
drastically are the roasted mushrooms31. On a more elaborative note, the taste of the shiitake
mushrooms are earthy or smoky; and along with that the mushrooms are crispy from the outsides
and juicy from the inside which complements the taste and texture of bacon as well. Grilled tofu
slices baked veggie chips can also be the perfect alternative to the bacon in the dish as well,
making it possible for the Ovo- lacto vegetarian customers to be able to consume.
31 Nath, J. and Prideaux, D., 2011. The civilised burger: meat alternatives as a conversion aid and social
instrument for Australian vegetarians and vegans.

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2. Lactose intolerant customers:
Lactose intolerance can be defined as a medical condition or complexity that is
characterized by the lack of ability in particular individuals to be able to digest lactose, the sugar
derivative predominantly found in the different milk products. For these individuals consuming
any lactose product results into allergic reaction and the manifestations include abdominal pain,
bloating, and nausea. Hence any milk derived product cannot be digested by this group of
customers; and there are a few ingredients in the egg Benedict that might facilitate allergic
manifestations in the group of the customers32.
It has to be understood that butter is a key ingredient for both the Egg Benedict
and the hollandaise sauce that goes with it. However it has to be mentioned in this context that
butter is direct milk derived dairy product, and there are small but considerable amou8nts of
lactose in the butter. Now it has to be mentioned that majority of the lactose intolerant can
tolerate small amount of butter in their food without major adverse reactions33. However, in this
case both the dish itself and the sauce to accompany use significant amounts of butter, which can
high risk of allergic manifestations for the lactose intolerant group of customers; and hence
alternative options for these customers is crucial.
32 Suchy, F.J., Brannon, P.M., Carpenter, T.O., Fernandez, J.R., Gilsanz, V., Gould, J.B., Hall, K., Hui, S.L.,
Lupton, J., Mennella, J. and Miller, N.J., 2010. NIH consensus development conference statement: lactose
intolerance and health. NIH Consensus and State-of-the-science Statements, 27(2), pp.1-27.
33 Nutritionaustralia.org. 2018. Nutrition Australia | Nutrition Australia. [online] Available at:
http://www.nutritionaustralia.org/ [Accessed 27 Feb. 2018].