Resolving to eat healthier has been a popular New Year’s goal since the dawn of time – or at least since the 1950s and the advent of modern food refinement. Have you noticed that our collective drive to eat better seems to grow in proportion to the number of new food and beverage products rolled out each year?
Navigating our way toward healthy eating habits can indeed be tricky. You are not alone if you feel confused; not only by all the choices but also by conflicting media and marketing messages, all claiming to know what is good for us. Why can’t anyone ever seem to agree on what the best fuel is for the human body?
It’s a good question with varied answers. Selling healthy food does not generate large profits for the food industry, which is their number one goal, not protecting public health. Food that promotes good health is already naturally abundant as well as inexpensive, and therefore is of little interest to food companies with marketing might.
When we abandon the foods that nature designed for us in favor of convenience and fast foods, we lay a foundation for many modern-day maladies, such as obesity, digestive complications, Type II diabetes, cancer and heart disease. If we regularly fuel our bodies with what our cells crave (we are only as healthy as our cells), we will be rewarded with daily vitality, even into our elder years.
To get you off on the right foot and put the power of personal change in your hands (not the food marketers), keep these four key ideas in mind:
• Don’t be SAD: Begin your move away from the standard American diet (SAD) by (1) eating less saturated and trans fats, such as those found in meat, dairy products and shortenings; (2) eating less commercially processed and refined foods, such as fast foods and pre-packaged snacks; and (3) eating less foods cultivated and/or manufactured with chemical additives, such as non-organic fruits and vegetables, and soft drinks. Try to choose one new thing each week that you will forgo for a healthier alternative. For example, instead of a fast food lunch, visit the soup and salad bar at one of our local grocery stores.
• Shop with SOUL (seasonal, organic, unrefined, local): In addition to avoiding foods that hinder health, you can get the most nutrition for your dollar by buying foods that are (1) in season – foods will be at their freshest and nutritional peak; (2) organic – to avoid fertilizers and other chemicals that are toxic to the body; (3) unrefined – so that the most nutritious and beneficial parts of the food have not been removed, such as the bran and the fiber; and (4) grown locally – to support our small farms and decrease transportation and environmental costs.
• Ask questions: When you eat out, ask your server what ingredients are in the dish and if substitutions can be made. This is very common nowadays as people strive to avoid added fats, sugars and animal-derived ingredients. In addition, ask your doctor questions about the benefits of drug therapy vs. dietary changes for healing and prevention. If you take medication, understand how it benefits your overall health and longevity (and not just masks symptoms, which are the red flags of bigger, underlying issues).
• Stand up for you: The only person who will make your health a priority concern is you; not your doctor, not the author of a best-selling diet book, not your mother, not your friends, and not even your spouse. If you want to make positive changes in your health, be the captain of your own ship and sail it proudly. This is especially important because others who are content with ill health may try to keep you anchored. In addition to helping yourself, your determination and success may motivate others to walk in your path.
My role as a nutrition educator is not only to help people adopt a better diet but to shed light on the reasons we face such uphill battles with our health, many of which are not always obvious. In future columns I look forward to providing discussions on the nutritional issues that matter most to you, as well as practical tools and tips to support you in your quest for great health. A happy and healthy 2008 to you!
We welcome new Epicure columnist Cathy Fisher, a certified Nutrition Educator who resides in Glen Ellen, to the Sonoma Valley Sun. Fisher brings expertise on healthy and vegetarian foods, from which many of us will benefit. To email Fisher, visit the “Columns” page at www.sonomasun.com. Enjoy! – Kathleen Hill, Food & Wine Editor.
