National Nutrition Month – It Really Is a Choice
March is National Nutrition Month, an annual campaign that encourages people to build healthier eating habits, understand how food choices affect long‑term health, and reconnect with the basics of good nutrition. For more than 50 years the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics has used this month to give us advice on how to create a proper diet, but over that time we’ve only gotten worse at choosing healthy foods. I’ve used the word “choose” here a little loosely because healthy choices haven’t always been readily available but, on the other hand, the choices we had back when I was a kid we’re, by any measure, healthier than we have today.
Caution – the following personal account may or may not be indicative of all of America, but it sure seemed to be a common scenario where I grew up. In the 1950’s (yes I’m that old) my parents shopped at a small neighborhood grocery store that was about 30 feet by 50 feet. The food choices were limited within each category, i.e., one brand of sugar, one brand of soup, etc., which didn’t give you much of a choice. However, I think it is safe to say that the food itself was considerably healthier than the bulk of the food that we can choose from today. While the choices were limited, the food had not been permeated with the chemicals to increase taste and decrease spoilage.
Another thing that happened during that period of time was my mother made all of our bread at home. There were five ingredients and I can guarantee they were healthy. I researched bread and found that according to Chef Standards the most unhealthy bread sold today is Wonder Classic White Bread. It contains refined flour as the base which means low fiber and quick digestion. Added sugars (high fructose corn syrup and sugar) which increase sweetness and glycemic impact. Multiple dough conditioners which create softness but adds no nutritional value. Ammonium Sulfate, Calcium Sulfate and Calcium Propionate to retard spoilage. The dough conditioners contain one or more of the following chemicals.
Sodium Stearoyl Lactylate, Calcium Stearoyl Lactylate, Monoglycerides, Mono-and Diglycerides, Distilled Monoglycerides, Calcium Peroxide, Calcium Iodate, DATEM, Ethoxylated Mono-and Diglycerides, Enzymes, Ascorbic Acid.
I can’t pronounce many of these substances and have no idea what they do. I can see why they named it Wonder Bread, you “wonder” what it’s made of. It’s no secret that there is a lot of unhealthy food out there. I was lucky to have healthy bread when I was young.
My point here has a lot to do with the MAHA (Make America Healthy Again) movement that is championed by the current administration. They realized that we used to have healthy foods but over time, with the demands of competition and manufacturing, much of our food has become unhealthy. It’s not a secret that Americans are one of the most, if not the most, unhealthy nation in the world and there’s no doubt a big part of our problem is our diet. You know that Seniors Speak Out has not been hesitant to identify those things that made us happy and those things that we didn’t care for. I think the MAHA focus on nutrition is one of the biggest things that can make us healthy again. I do wrestle with the first word in MAHA, “Make”. Whenever the government gets involved in forcing people to do things that are for their own good . . . it generally fails (thank goodness). We don’t need the government more involved in our health. It’s up to each of us to take charge of our own health and our nutrition. So, what can we do?
The theme this year of Nutrition Month is Discover the Power of Nutrition and I really believe there is actual power in eating healthy. The Nutrition Month website offers help on every aspect of diet and even has age specific suggestions. It’s a great place to get the information you’ll need to get yourself started toward eating healthy. I’ve got some suggestions that have helped me eat better. There’s someone in my family that realized a few years ago how important eating the right food is. I won’t mention who it is (my son) and while we sometimes complain about his nagging, we have been the benefactors of his knowledge and have developed some good healthy nutrition habits. One of the things he believed in was to read the ingredients of the food you buy. His question always is, if you don’t know what has been added to the food why would you put it into your body? I admit that it’s hard to find food that doesn’t contain unknown things and when you do you find them, they are always more expensive. I think the added cost is worth the good health it provides, and the good news is that the price of healthier food is falling as the demand increases and the competition heats up. Another important consideration is the importance of protein in your diet. As we grow old, we lose muscle and protein is important to build muscles as we exercise. Find ways to get protein in your diet every day.
It’s our choice to eat healthy. Instead of MAHA maybe we should choose to take responsibility for our own health and Make Me Healthy Again. If each of us choose this approach, America will take care of itself.
Best, Thair