The War on Food

By Paige Waskow

Making healthy choices can often be misleading and discouraging. It can lead to unhealthy diets and obsession with weight rather than health. It can push a person to eat more, eat less, only eat x, not eat y… and on and on it goes. The war on food is tiring and often incredibly inaccurate. We do need to think about food and what it means because what we consume matters. So, how should we eat? These are four tips that can hopefully point you in the direction of healthy food!

1. Eat slow food

Like snails? Maybe. But what I am really getting at here is the less processed food you eat, the better. Processed food is typically full of what is known as empty calories. As stated by Harvard's health website:

'All food contains calories, and we need a certain amount of calories each day. But some foods provide not only calories but also other ingredients that also are critically important, such as vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, and others. When a food provides primarily calories, and little else of value to our health, we say that food has "empty calories,"' (Anthony Komaroff, MD).

Heavily processed, empty calorie food is typically made fast and is quickly available to a consumer (ex. fries, soda, and slushies). Additionally, it typically isn't fresh and lacks nutrition that our bodies need. "Slow food" on the other hand, is the type of food that takes a longer time to prepare, grow, and even consume (Slow Food USA). Examples of this could include fresh produce and homemade meals from scratch. To learn more about the slow food movement, check out the Slow Food USA website here.

                          

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2. Taste the rainbow

(Not like Skittles!) Eating in color can help you balance your meals. For example, many a high school lunch contained something like the following: a breaded chicken patty on a bun, canned peaches, and corn. Notice anything strange? All the food is a slightly different golden-y color. This isn’t a very balanced or nutritious meal. By eating according to color, you can get a better balanced meal and more of the stuff your body truly needs. Fruits and veggies are especially colorful and that is a good thing! Get some green, yellow, purple, and red on your plates.

One thing to add is that this doesn’t mean processed foods with artificial colors. Yes, M&M cookies and Airheads have a lot of colors, but they are most definitely not a balanced meal. For more information about the science behind color in food, check out this cool website from the Food Network here!

                                        

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3. Eat more whole grains

Grains can be good for you, but it depends on the type. There are two types of grains, whole grains and refined grains. Whole grains are not altered and have many vitamins and fiber whereas refined grains are essentially processed to only provide carbohydrates (Bjarnadottir, 2017). This means that refined grains can be considered as empty calories, and you aren't really getting much out of them.

Want to take a wild guess at the kinds of foods that contain or are refined grains? If you said pop tarts, white bread, bagels, and cake, sadly, you'd be right. Anything that contains white flour is refined, and you aren't getting your bang for your buck in the nutrition department. Can this cause further problems?: Yes. As Adda Bjarnadottir of Healthline says, "Refined carbs cause rapid spikes in blood sugar and insulin levels, and only make you feel full for a short time. This is followed by a drop in blood sugar, hunger and cravings," (2017).

So, can you still eat grains and avoid refined ones? Of course! Whole grains are typically labeled as such and include foods such as popcorn, oatmeal, bread, and pasta. The more processed a food is, the more likely it isn't a whole grain.

4. Try new food!

Everyone has that one food they have never tried and yet, it is surely has to be the most disgusting thing in the world. I am guilty of doing this, and my "no" food is beets. I've only had beet juice (why would they do that!?), which wasn't a great experience (it tasted like sweet dirt), and I have yet to attempt them in solid food form (I really don't want to). I often see them at the Caf, baked or sauteed, and I refuse to put them on my plate. So, I definitely need to try my own tip.

Trying new foods is a great experience, even if you don't end up liking the food. I discovered a few years back that I love brussel sprouts. They are now my favorite vegetable. Ever. Had I not tried them at a friend's house, I wouldn't have known that I was missing out (and that I could eat something healthy that I really enjoyed). My point here is that trying new foods doesn't hurt you. Yes, you may rush to get some water, but you also might find a food you love. It's a great way to expand your palette, eat more colors, and discover something great.

                       

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Please note that this isn’t a perfect guide (especially if you have a dietary constraint) but rather some direction to eating well. Everyone’s bodies are different! My intention is additionally not to body shame or suggest dieting to “fit” a societal beauty standard. Things like weight do not determine how healthy someone is and should never be the basis of how someone is viewed in society (although we seem to struggle with that).

Thanks for reading!

References:

Bjarnadottir, Adda. “Why Refined Carbs Are Bad for You.” Healthline, Healthline, 4 June 2017, www.healthline.com/nutrition/why-refined-carbs-are-bad.

Komaroff, Anthony. “Understanding Empty Calories.” Harvard Health Publishing, Harvard Medical School, June 2016, www.health.harvard.edu/staying-healthy/understanding-empty-calories.

Slow Food USA. “About Us.” Slowfood USA, 2019, www.slowfoodusa.org/about-us.

Television Food Network. “Eating by Color.” Food Network, 2019, www.foodnetwork.com/healthy/photos/eating-by-color.