We cannot improve what nature provides

Refining foods to “improve” them is oxymoronic at worst and nonsensical at best. We can only hope the government will step aside and allow greater quality of thought to prevail in the field of public health. If you’re curious as to how governmental entities come to consensus on dietary guidelines, Marion Nestle’s book, Food Politics, is an interesting resource. Though Nestle’s overall dietary recommendations are, in my opinion, lacking, she is certainly respected as an authority on the complexities of how politics affect food policy in the United States and what’s on your plate every day.

Regarding changes that were made to the Dietary Guidelines over the years, Nestle states that: “In an effort to achieve consensus on these innovations, the USDA invited leading nutrition authorities in government, research, the food industry, and agricultural commodity groups to review preliminary drafts because it ‘felt that the food industry groups would have a vital interest in any food guide sponsored by the government.’” Indeed they did.

*source: Nestle, Marion. “Food Politics: how the food industry influences nutrition and health.” Berkeley, CA. University of California Press. 2007.

Of course, the “food industry” and “agricultural commodity groups” will be interested in the content of population-wide nutrition guidelines! It is their bottom line that takes a hit when a major government report indicates that their products are undesirable, or worse, pose a major public health risk.

Changes must be made, though, each time the guidelines are revisited, and as the food guide has shifted and changed (and certain food groups reduced to lower recommended quantities). Nestle says: “... the AMA (American Medical Association) noted that ‘the recommendations carry with them the underlying potential for…discouraging the agricultural production of certain food products which may not in the view of the government be supportive of the dietary goals…. although opposition to the Dietary Goals often was expressed as skepticism about the quality of the underlying science, it derived more directly from the profound economic implications of the advice.”*

Opposition to the “pyramid,” “food guide,” and “Dietary Goals” (one and the same, for our purposes) was not necessarily based on science or uplifting public health but on the economic implications of the advice.

The more you follow the USDA’s recommendations, however, the more processed foods you’ll have to buy. You can’t possibly eat all of those servings of grains and low-fat dairy without eating breakfast cereal, low-fat milk, or low-fat yogurt, can you? In adhering to those suggestions, many large corporations make lots of money from your dietary “choices,” and they don’t have to spend much to produce the stuff. In fact, many USDA-compliant items are made with lowest common denominator commodities, such as corn, wheat, and soy. Sometimes, you’re the one eating these commodities, while the dairy cow eats them the rest of the time. Either way, you’re the end user.

Yes, this includes that innocent-looking light yogurt with the alluring ads describing fantastically indulgent flavors that include high fructose corn syrup in their ingredients. (I should know because I used to down those puppies like crazy.)

No wonder everyone is confused about what to eat, but don’t worry. After you finish this book, your confusion will be gone and you’ll have the tools you need at your fingertips to navigate the modern food landscape quite easily.

paleo at home:
shopping for groceries

Eating with a Paleo approach can seem daunting when you realize that you are no longer going to rely on the cheap, filler ingredients you may have been eating non-stop for decades.

Дата добавления: 2015-11-14