Some thoughts on what nutrition ‘education’ should include

PRIME – February 2015 By Victor Acquista, MD Author, “Pathways to Health: An Integral Guidebook” This month, I want to share some thoughts about nutrition that are quite different than what is usually written in health-related education. This will not be a column offering advice about structuring a diet to include more of certain things – such as fruits and vegetables and less of other things – such as saturated fat. Nor will it be about how to decide what foods to eat and not eat if you have medical problem such as diabetes or obesity or heart disease. I want to give nutrition advice that provides some serious “food for thought.” I want to get you to think about how you eat and what you eat and drink. How we eat What I have observed is that people don’t give much thought to how they eat. Are your mealtimes simply another task to attend to and get done with? What are the setting and circumstances that you typically consume your food? And, more importantly, what is the impact on your nutrition? I also think most people eat too fast. They are in a hurry to have breakfast (if they don’t entirely skip this). They grab a quick lunch. Dinner might be something quickly prepared, even a prepackaged microwave meal, consumed quickly between other tasks. Meals are often accompanied by distractions such as T.V. or texting. How do these circumstances affect us nutritionally? I believe we have become seriously disconnected from the nutritional opportunities and benefits of eating. We have distanced ourselves from where food comes from and how food is prepared. The full nutritional benefits of eating are embodied in a recognition and appreciation for the food. Food can be prepared lovingly, with mindful appreciation of its source and value, or it can be prepared without this awareness. Which approach provides nutrition and sustenance to our souls? Does blessing and giving thanks for the food, the farmer, the animal, give more meaning to how you eat? I am not talking about some cursory habit, but a true mindfulness that recognizes not only how food is a blessing, but also how the availability of truly good and nutritious food in our modern society is quite extraordinary. When we share food with friends and family around a table – and are present to those we share food with – there is important social bonding and connection that feeds us at an emotional and spiritual level. The mealtime distractions I mentioned previously seriously handicap our relationships with those around the table. If this resonates as a mealtime problem, try an experiment. Disconnect from the distractions and reconnect with the food, its preparation, and those you share food with. Determine for yourself whether you find it more satisfying and nutritious to eat this way. What we eat I think the best place to start is to look at what we need physically to meet our nutritional requirements. We need a certain amount of protein and carbohydrates, certain types of fats, and micronutrients – including vitamins and minerals – that our bodies do not produce on their own. We also need sufficient water to maintain physiologic hydration. Take a look at what you actually consume. If you read and understand food labels, you will realize we are consuming a lot of things that do not fall into the categories above. These might be food additives that affect flavor, color, texture, or food preservatives or other artificial ingredients. The food label does not tell the entire story. It does not tell how the food was grown and to what extent and what type of fertilizers, pesticides, genetically modified organisms (GMOs), were used (and to what extent these are present in some quantity in the food you are consuming). Were sustainable agriculture practices followed – and does this affect the quality of the food that you are ingesting? Were the animals given antibiotics, growth hormones or some other treatment to improve agribusiness’ bottom line? Does consuming animal products raised in this manner affect the nutritional value of the food, and could consuming this type of food be counterproductive or harmful? According to the Right to Know website, “GMO stands for genetically modified organism. These are plant or meat products that have had their DNA artificially altered by genes from other plants, animals, viruses, or bacteria, in order to produce foreign compounds in that food. These genetic alterations occur in a laboratory and are not found in nature (see www.carighttoknow.org/what_does_gmo_stand_for). The industry and companies that manufacture and distribute these products have done most of the research supporting the safety of GMOs. Accordingly, there is a vested interest in proving the products to be safe. Yet there is a wealth of evidence questioning the safety of GMOs, such as the documentary, “Genetic Roulette.” Genetically modified corn and soy products are widely present in foods that are widely available. It is not a requirement in most states that GMOs be labeled, and Agribusiness has staunchly opposed such labeling. I urge you to think about why that might be. The point is – there is a lot missing from food labels. If you are not in the habit of reading food labels, I recommend that you develop the habit. If you do not know how to read a food label, or do not understand the information on them, check out: www.fda.gov/Food/IngredientsPackagingLabeling/LabelingNutrition/ucm274593.htm • www.heart.org/HEARTORG/GettingHealthy/NutritionCenter/HeartSmartShopping/Understanding-Food-Nutrition-Labels_UCM_300132_Article.jsp There are also smartphone apps that can help you read and use food labels. Make use of these resources so that you can be smarter about what you eat. As an example, here is a food label for non-dairy coffee creamer: Ingredients: Corn Syrup Solids, Partially Hydrogenated Vegetable Oil (may contain one or more of the following oils: Soybean, Canola, Sunflower, Corn or Cottonseed) Sodium Caseinate (a milk derivative), Dipotassium Phosphate, contains 2% or less of Mono- and Diglycerides, Sodium Silicialuminate, Soy Lecithin, Artificial Flavor, Artificial Color. Notice corn and soy products. Are these sourced from GMOs? What is the effect of drinking sodium silicialuminate? What artificial flavors and colors are actually in the product? Is this something you might want to know before you ingest? My nutritional advice here is to think about your food (and the people who rely on your good nutritional choices such as your children) carefully. Learn to read food labels and thoughtfully consider what is not on the label. It is easy to turn a blind eye to food in the ways I am encouraging. We live in a society where fast, prepackaged and processed foods have created an approach to nutrition that starves us in some respects. We have outsourced so much growing, harvesting and preparing food that we have forgotten what goes into these tasks. We trust other parties to make decisions about ingredients in the food we buy and consume. I encourage you to think deeply about how you eat and what you eat. Your good nutrition depends upon making good choices. Stay healthy! – Victor Victor Acquista MD is an international speaker, author, teacher. For information on his writings, presentations, and workshops: http://victoracquista.com.