The Real Food Plate

While the USDA hasn't yet released the new "food icon" which will replace the food pyramid, we (along with some food experts) are hopeful it will help people make better food choices.

I fear, however, the new food icon will miss an opportunity to help people learn how to eat more real food and eat less processed food. So, to get a jump on the USDA and further the conversation about Real Food, click on the image below for more information on The Real Food Plate^TM designed to help people recognize and enjoy more real food.



Broken Parts of the Whole

Let's consider a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, the staple diet of some childhood food phases. The thing that makes a peanut butter and jelly sandwich so good is the complete experience. A bit of soft white bread, crusts included. A thin and perfectly even layer of crunchy peanut butter. A huge glob of strawberry preserves (so much so that it drips out when you take a bite). Cut in half. That was my perfect peanut butter and jelly sandwich - and yours was probably slighty different.

Now, let's consider the parts on their own. Soft white bread? Not bad, though pretty boring all alone. Crunchy peanut butter? It tastes good but it makes your mouth all sticky and then you need to drink lots of milk. And strawberry preserves? Yes, yummy but go ahead and eat a big giant spoonful on its own. Blech!

The sandwich is so good because all of the parts work so well together. Same goes with much of our food. Milk is a great example. Whole, pure (and raw) milk is delicious and healthy because it has all of its parts intact. Oranges as well. A whole orange is a much better choice than many beverages contained in packages and labeled "orange juice."

Our food is grown as a whole and complete system. That whole and complete system is part mystery and part beauty. Even with our scientific acumen, we still do not understand the nature of the parts (nutrients, fiber, natural sugar, vitamins) contained in foods. It is not so much that we cannot separate and catalogue the parts; it is because we can't really tell how, or why, the parts work so well together when they are together.

Just like a peanut butter and jelly sandwich is at its best when it is all together, so is the rest of your food. Eat things as they grow in nature. Doing so simply removes a whole bunch of guess work, by you and your body.

The Food Hierarchy

The question I am most frequently asked is, "What should I eat?" And while there is plenty of food advice out there, we lack an easily understood way to convey what is food and what are our best choices. The food pyramid has certainly failed us (and is a great example of special interests at work), we aren't teaching meaningful nutrition in our schools and people are innundated by food commercials and rumors. The result? A great deal of confusion about what to eat.

During a Wellness Workshop I led earlier this week, we spent a great deal of time talking about making good food choices. I left the workshop with a mission: create an quick reference tool for making good food choices. And... The Food Hierarchy was born.



Hopefully, this tool will help to clear up some of the confusion about what is actually food and what highly processed, fake and chemical things disquise themselves as food. If people chose at least 80% of their food from the green and yellow categories, we would go a long way toward a more healthy world.

As with all things, this is a work in progress. I would love to hear your feedback and ideas!

Eating for Energy

Take a moment for yourself. Take three deep breaths, in and out. Now, consider this question... Do you have enough energy? Is your body ready and raring to go? Could you jump up from your chair and be a little ball of power?

If so, congratulations! If not, you're not alone. The dictionary defines energy as "the capacity for vigorous activity; available power." For our bodies, it means we have the juice to get up and go and do our daily activities without feeling worn down and tired. Many people suffer from energy slumps which can be caused by stress (emotional, chemical, mental or physical) and by what we eat.

Since energy slumps can be caused by our food, it is also true that energy abundance can be created by our food. This is excellent news! Making better food choices can help you regain the energy you need. Let's learn how!

Energy Zappers
There are several food items that cause energy depletion including:

• Caffeine (more on that below)
• Soft drinks
• Alcohol
• Too much meat or not enough meat
• Processed, chemical "fake" foods
• Sugar and fake sugars (see below on this one, too).
• Trans fats

To clarify the caffiene and sugar items: Yes, it is true that a jolt of caffiene or a dose of sugar can give you an energy boost. The boost is temporary, however, and puts your body into a depletion-craving cycle where it asks for more after it processes through what you've already given it. And more and more and so on. This vicious circle is not good for our bodies and over time, can cause harm.

Energy Suppliers
More healthy food sources of energy include:

• Whole, raw fruits
• Leafy greens (like kale, collards, chard and arugula)
• Whole grains (quinoa, brown rice, wild rice)
• Beans
• Green algae and seaweeds

As your probably noticed, the energy suppliers are whole, natural and unprocessed foods. These foods are whole and complete organisms and therefore can give your body whole and complete nutrition. The nutrients, fiber and vitamins all work together with your body to fill up its fuel tank so you have the energy you need to get the job done.

Another great tip for instant energy is a quick round of exercise. Stand up and do 20 jumping jacks. Or talk a walk outside for 10 minutes. Anything really that gets your blood pumping and body moving will help you feel more perky.

So, if you'd like to have more energy in your body and in your life. Consider what on the list of energy zappers you can zap from your diet. Consider what energy suppliers you can rely upon instead. And, when you feel a slump coming on don't resort to the caffiene or sugar trap, get up and get moving!

Sugar Addiction

Stress sometimes invokes our most comforting craving. Sugar. Sugar cravings can, of course, also come from nowhere and many people simply crave sugar all day, every day. To be your most healthiest self, getting a handle on your relationship with sugar is important.

By all accounts, many Americans have a serious issue with sugar. On average, we consume 21.4 teaspoons of added sugar each day. This adds up to an astounding 320 calories! A day. That many added calories in our diet each day will significant weight gain. So what can you do? Three things:

1. Understand why you crave sugar.
2. Be able to identify the many forms of sugar so you can avoid it.
3. Choose other healthy options

Understanding Sugar Cravings
A craving for sugar is often a simple message from your body. When you crave sugar, your body craves energy and your wise body knows sugar will deliver the quick hit it desires. Digested sugar become glucose and glucose is the fuel for your cells.

Identifying Sugar
We can all identify the most obvious sources of sugar. Cakes, cookies, candy bars, ice creams are all laden with sugar. Unfortunately, added sugars also lurk in many popular foods. In fact, the flooding of processed, low-fat and non-fat "food" products in our culture has only added to the problem. Food manufacturers often use sugar, and its many forms, to fool us into thinking processed foods taste good. Sugar ends up in our foods under many names including: corn syrup, dextrose, maltose, glucose and fructose. You've heard it before, read the labels, so you know what you're putting in your body. Or, to avoid the problem entirely, don't eat processed foods (aka things that come in boxes).

A note on sugar substitutes: Some people replace the real sugar in their diets with fake sweeteners like the many choices that come in blue, pink and yellow packets. There are also the more trendy sugar substitutues like agave and stevia. Should you substitute sugar with something else? Our philosophy is this: You are better off with whatever is as close to its natural form as possible. The things that come in packets are no better than other processed foods and are best avoided. If you want whole natural sweeteners use honey, maple syrup and the natural forms of stevia (green or brown).

Healthy Options
Sometimes a sugar craving is your body asking for something else. To identify more healthy options, it helps to understand what is really going on. Once you have a real understanding of what is going on, you're better able to select an option that will satisfy your sugar craving. Consider the following:

Often, if you take a few minutes to listen to the messages your body is sending, you'll be able to give it what it really needs and you'll be happier for it. Remember, every choice counts and you get to choose!

The Wellness Wheel: Eat. (adapted)

In early January we released our Wellness Wheel and in mid-January, I devoted a few days of the blog to a more in-depth look at our Wellness Wheel to explore each section of the wheel and how it relates to our Move.Eat.Be. program.

On Monday, the USDA announced the newest Dietary Guidelines and I've devoted some time to reading the (ugh) 112-page document. Today, I explored the recommendations about eating more seafood. And, I very much enjoyed the article in Tuesday's Wall Street Journal by Bill Tomson and Ilan Brat and the quote included they therein from the National Cattlemen's Beef Association which said, "A recommendation to add fish to your diet doesn't mean you should cut back on leaf beef." It made me snicker. I'm pretty sure if I took the time to dig back in the historical records to find when eating more chicken became all the rage somebody from some beef association likely said something very similar. If they had their way, we'd be eating beef for breakfast, lunch and dinner.

Getting to the point... we're editing our Wellness Wheel. I realized two things: One - We had a category for "lean meat" which really was meant to include seafood. Two - I don't want to add to the confusion created by words like lean, light, low-fat, etc. So what was previously named our "lean meat" category will now be called "seafood and meat."

The renaming, of course, raises the question about what kinds of meat, and how much, you should include in your diet. We believe it is best to discover what works best for you by awakening your body and paying attention to how you feel. Some people will feel better eating no seafood or meat. Some people are better off sticking to mostly seafood or chicken. Some people thrive on red meat. And others, still, feel their best with all types of "seafood and meat" in their diet. Taking some time to discover what works best for you is the secret to sustainable, life-long wellness.

Until you discover your own personal approach plan to Eat. seafood and meat, here are some guidelines:

• Organic, sustainably-raised and natural is always best
• Consume smaller portions of all seafoods and meats (a serving is about the size of your computer mouse)
• Choose minimally processed versions (as whole and as close as you can get to nature). Generally speaking, this means:
• Little to no ground beef, sausages, hot dogs (unless you know and trust the producer)
• No fish sticks or chicken nuggets (unless you make them yourself from whole fish or chicken)
• No "meat" in cans or any kind of "pressed-meat patties"
• No cultured, or in vitro, meat

Why? All too often, we are told to reduce our calorie intake by switching to "lean meat" or "low-fat dairy" and other such terms. This advice is included throughout the USDA's new dietary guidelines. Unfortunately, when a food manufacturer takes a natural fruit, vegetable, grain, dairy or meat and processes it to force it into a product that can be called "lean" or "low" the resulting food-like product  does far more harm to our health. We are much better off eating appropriate portions of the original, non-processed food even if it is the "full fat" version. Hence the new Eat. category of "seafood and meat." Choose well. Eat. (real). 

Over 35? You remember.

I've heard smell is our most powerful sense. Through our noses, we can be taken back to a memorable time and place. The beach. The cologne from a bygone sweetheart. The smell of a summer carnival. Our first whiff of real chocolate. We've all had the experience of a scent from our past coming back to surprise us. Hopefully, most of those experiences are positive for you.

I contend our sense of taste can be just as powerful (presuming we give our body and our senses a chance to recover and restore after years of processed food poisoning).

I had two taste experiences lately that transported me directly back to my Grandparents dairy farm. The first was grass-fed, organic and minimally processed milk. It was as close as I've gotten to the taste of real milk in decades. I'm on the search for true raw milk though haven't identified a source (astoundingly, it is illegal to sell or buy raw milk in most states). Someone from South Mountain Creamery was sharing milk samples at the local MOM and I overheard him talking to another customer who asked about the cows. He replied, "Our cows are very happy!" I loved his answer so much I tried his milk. And, if taste is any indication, they are some happy cows. I exclaimed, "Wow, this is what milk used to taste like." And, it did. I bought some of this luscious milk in a glass bottle and actually enjoy milk again.

The second experience was at Elevation Burger who makes burgers from 100% grass-feed, 100% certified-organic, 100% free-range, 100% ground on-the-premises beef. While I ordered a burger with lettuce, tomato and ketchup, I actually ate most of the beef patty all by itself. I could picture my Grandma in the kitchen frying up the patties in her cast iron skillet. Elevation Burger makes a very, very tasty burger. They aren't everywhere (yet) but find one and give it a try (plus the people who work there were very, very nice).

My theory? If you are 35 years or older your body and taste buds can remember what food really tastes like. Far too much of our food today tastes nothing like nature actually designed it to taste. Tragic, isn't it? If you've organically grown your own tomato plants and enjoyed a warm-from-the-sun tomato directly from your vine, you might have a hint.

If you were born after 1976, I fear the influx of food processing and artificial ingredients have probably masked your ability to really taste. For those born after 1985, I suspect you have probably never actually tasted real food. Beyond tragic to a crime.

Fight back and reclaim your taste buds. If you are 35 or older, gather some younger people and go out in search of true, old-fashioned food. When you find it, you'll know. You'll taste it right away. And, when you do the younger people around you will have a glimpse (from the look on your face) of what is possible in a world of true, natural, unadulterated food. Awaken your body, make your taste buds happy and bring back the way food used to be. Only our lives depend upon it.

Eat (Real).

You are nature. You are a living being on this earth just like millions of other living beings, human, animals and plants alike. To understand what works best for your body, know nature.

Last year, I wrote a piece about a squirrels and their lack of mobile phones to make the point that a big component of being healthy is recognizing your own body (if you give it a chance) knows what is best for you. And, a few days ago, I wrote the Top Ten Tips for TwentyEleven and realize now I should have made it Top 11 Tips. So, I'm adding one....

11. Eat (Real).
The idea is simple:

• Only eat things that come directly from nature. This includes vegetables, fruits, legumes, nuts, seeds, whole grains, and modest amounts of animal protein (if you so choose). 
• Only eat things grown organically and sustainably. This allows you to stop poisoning your body and protects the Earth.
• Only eat things without a box. This means stop eating processed foods, no matter what has been added back in. All of the "vitamins" and "nutrients" put into our food to increase their nutritional value are processed and chemical. They simply don't satisfy your nutritional needs.
• Only eat in season and local (as much as is available to you). This reduces the negative impact of shipping food all over the world and helps your small, local farmers.

If you're currently eating a great deal of processed foods, fast foods and other things that pretend to be food you will, most likely, feel pretty miserable when you first start to Eat (Real). Why? Withdrawal symptoms from your body getting rid of the junk. My best advice is to drink plenty of water, walk a lot and get plenty of rest. It should pass in a few weeks. Tough through it. 

Once you're through, your realize the power of your own body. You'll begin to crave fresh, whole, natural food. You'll be sleeping better. You'll have more energy. Your skin will be bright and clear. You'll successfully fight off germs. You'll lose weight. 

You'll realize your body actually needs less food and you're never hungry. This will help your food budget as you are now buying the more expensive organic, sustainably-raised food. Budget is often the first reason people don't Eat (Real). Yes, eating organically is more expensive... but think of your budget as a whole. When you Eat (Real). you'll spend less on health care and you'll miss less work. A great, inexpensive way to Eat (Real). is to grow your own food (packs of seeds are only a few dollars). 

Remember, your body has amazing powers to heal itself and produce enough energy for you to reach all of your dreams. We have to give our bodies a chance to recover from being poisoned from fake additives, chemicals and drugs put on and into our foods. 

As you look into the New Year and look forward to a new you, remember squirrels don't call the vet and eating in cooperation with nature is best for you. 

Food Desert

Another airport, another lesson. Once you pass beyond security screening at most airports, you enter a food desert. If you're hungry, you can choose from familiar fast food chains and, if you're lucky, a quick service sit down spot or a locally owned bar that serves food.

If you're seeking real, whole healthy food from nature you have to be a detective. You have to sleuth about looking in cases and on counters. You need to be strong as you walk by the old familiar choices.

What are you seeking? Non-processed food. Things without added sugar, fake sugars and salt. Things without hydrogenated or trans fats. You're searching for whole fruit and vegetables. Whole grains, legumes and greens. Maybe some nuts.

My 20+ years of business travel experience offers this advice: bring your own food (but nothing liquid or even liquid-like... I've had yogurt confiscated by the TSA). Some of my favorites: apples, avocado, almonds, celery and carrots (No dip... It is "liquid" and not healthy anyway), pumpkin seeds, a bag of leafy greens. Yes, people will look at you and not understand when you put a health feast on your tray table. Get over it.

If you find yourself in an airport without a food stash, which happens often in spite of the best intentions, head for the little deli counters. There is usually some fruit there. Most Starbucks have a fruit cup. Most news and magazine shops sell nuts or seeds in the back hanging on the wall. Look for a salad though don't use the dressing, odds are it is full of sugar or fake fats. And remember to get water so you can stay hydrated during your flight.

The bottom line... Until we amass and leverage the power of our consumer choice and spending to put pressure on what options are readily available, you will have to do the leg work, be a detective and seek out healthy foods in airports.

Consider yourself lucky. Some people get their food, every day, in communities much like the airport.

Do Your Dishes

One of the easiest ways to maintain a healthy weight is to manage how much food you eat. Not particularly groundbreaking advice, I will admit. And yet something many people struggle with. We have been brain-washed by the portions we are served when eating out. A half-pound burger and 64 ounces of soda? Way more food than a human needs in one sitting.

To better manage the amount of food you eat in one sitting, do your dishes! This evening go through your kitchen cabinets in search of small dishes. Perhaps you have some little bowls for kids. Maybe there are some sushi plates you received as a holiday gift one year. If all else fails, put away the large dinner plates and use your salad and bread plates instead.

This is one serving, or 1 ounce, of almonds. Almonds are one of my very favorite treats (and something I eat with breakfast everyday) and I enjoy them so much I often find myself mindlessly digging into the container for more. Almonds are very healthy and they do pack quite a large number of calories in a single serving, so having 1 ounce a day is about right for my body.

On my good mornings, I would weigh the almonds and put the rest away. And on most mornings, I put the big container of almonds on the breakfast table and munch away. And then I remembered my sushi plates. This little dish is for soy sauce and it nicely holds one serving of almonds. Now, I leave the soy sauce dish on the top of my almond container and each morning, I scope out a dish full. One serving made easy!

If you start to use small plates and dishes, over time, your brain will be re-educated. And you'll begin to learn how to make other size comparisons to help you better manage your food intake. While working one morning I sat my almonds next to my computer and then noticed one serving of almonds is about the size of my mouse. Another strategy discovered!

Healthy weight and a healthy lifestyle happens in the little moments you design for yourself. You don't need a "grand plan" to begin to make better choices. Do a few simple things each day.

P.S. - Add some sushi plates to your holiday wish list!

Servings not Calories

The weight-loss powerhouse Weight Watchers announced some changes to their popular points diet system this week. We applaud their recognition that the kinds of foods you eat is also as meaningful as the number of calories you consume. Progress is good, even if in small steps.

The best big step for everyone is to eliminate food that comes in boxes... if people simply stopped eating things out of boxes we wouldn't have an obesity problem in the US (my humble opinion). And, I fully recognize such an undertaking would be massive. So, in the meantime, we've designed Move.Eat.Be. to teach people to find their own personal path to wellness.

One of the best things about the nutrition portion of Move.Eat.Be. is we focus on servings instead of calories. Let's face it counting calories is tedious and it requires a reasonable amount knowledge on serving sizes and the ability to read labels (through our food label redesign project we all now know the labels currently displayed on our foods are confusing, at best). Yes, having a general idea of the science behind calories consumed and calories burned is important. Burn more than you consume is easy to understand. Counting each one? Old news. 

Evidenced by the Weight Watchers change, the "secret" that conventional nutrition is starting to embrace is that the kinds of foods we eat are much more important than the number of calories. Ever heard of a junk food vegetarian? These are people who give up meat in the name of "health" and end up eating processed, junk food instead. Not a good idea!

By counting servings you develop a stronger link between what you eat and your health. In Move.Eat.Be. we help people design their weekly eating plan by counting servings of:

• Vegetables
• Fruits
• Grains
• Plant Protein
• Water
• Lean Meat
• Treats

This system allows a great deal of flexibility and it gives you an easy way to make incremental improvements over time. Vegetarians and vegans can simply plan for zero servings of lean meat and more plant protein. Each week, we encourage you to add one serving of something new (quinoa anyone?). And, we include treats. To be fair, we help you set a goal for a reasonable amount of treats per week and treats include a wide variety of things (like processed foods including soda and sugary drinks, cookies, cakes, ice cream, chips, etc.).

If you eat more whole, natural, real food you will be more healthy. There really isn't an easier way to life-long health and wellness. 

The Label ReDefined

My latest pet project is designing a "front of package" label for all foods sold in the US. Thanks to a few really smart people and time on the agenda at HeatlhCampDC 2010 last week, I'm here to debut the REAL FOOD FACTS label. Keep in mind this is not meant to replace the current information in the "Nutrition Facts" box on our current food packaging. Changing that label would require a epic battle followed by a miracle so let's just leave that as it is and create something new.


The Real Food Facts label is designed with the following goals:

• Clear, front-of-package information
• Easily and universally understood symbols
• Raise awareness of food processing
• Educate consumers on distance from farm to fork

Now we'll go through the main sections:

• FAT, SUGAR, SALT: Most consumers intuitively understand a green smiley face is good and a red frowning face is bad. Over time, consumers would choose packages with more ☺ and fewer ☺. Dare I say this would revolutionize the way food is made!
• MILES: Fresh food that travels long distances has less nutrients. When fruits and vegetables are picked unripe and shipped hundreds, if not thousands, of miles the nutritional value suffers and the benefit to the consumer is reduced. This part of the label is designed to raise awareness about the origin of food and the environmental impact of food travel. 
• TREE to FACTORY: The amount of natural, real, whole food in much of the food American's eat is growing smaller and smaller. This bar shows the percentage of natural vs. man-made ingredients contained in the package. Those consumers who want to reduce the amount of processed food they eat would select products with a greater percentage of "tree" ingredients. 
• POINTS: The points system is designed to integrate with public health and consumer-based affinity programs. Consumers could collect points and donate the value to their favorite school or charity. Innovative companies could also offer rewards and prizes in exchange for points.
• QR CODE: The QR code would enable consumers to quickly and easily get additional nutrition information at the point of sale. Additional information available through the QR Code could include information on chemical additives and even recipe ideas for the food product. 

Next steps:

• Collect and gather feedback from consumers. Do some market testing. (Hello Steve Case @stevecase! Would you like to fund this?)
• Get the idea on television. (Hello Oprah @oprah and Ellen @theellenshow! I'd be happy to do an interview!)
• Have a major food manufacturer agree to adopt this model as the the front-of-package labels (Hello Trader Joe's!! You would be a great early-adopter!) 
• Enroll a panel of nutrition experts (not beholden to food, big farm or big Ag businesses) to develop the detailed thresholds for each label section (Hello, Mark Hyman @markhymanmd and Andrew Weil @drweil!! You'd be perfect to lead this panel!)
• Recruit an innovative company to create the points administration and rewards system (Hello anyone who is interested!)
• Design and develop the QR codes which could also be used to feed an individual's food diary (Hello smart developer people!)
• Help our elected officials understand how it can be easy to educate consumers on the food choices they make. (Hello First Lady Obama @whitehouse! Help us make this happen!)
• Combat and reverse the obesity trend in the US by helping people eat better (Hello Jamie Oliver @jamie_oliver! Want to help the cause?).

If you are any of the individuals in the "Next Steps" list, please write to me. 

To the real people that will make this happen (that is you!) the way these things happen is by sharing. Share on the web... Facebook, re-blog, Twitter, media (@huffposthealth), etc.  If you're interested in keeping up with updates, follow along on Twitter @Cybercise. 

A big, huge dose of thanks to my fellow attendees at HealthCampDC 2010: 

@ekivemark for organizing the conference

@MJChatter for keeping the day organized and running

@Carefirst_News for hosting us

@MatthewBrowning for his great ideas include "tree" and "factory"

And, the others in our little group for which I don't have a Twitter handle. 

I'm looking forward to the day I walk into my local grocery store and see rows and rows of these labels. For now, answer this question, "What can you do today to make a difference?"

Saturday's Adventure

I spent the day at Tai Sophia Institute for their Live Nourished Conference. We were fortunate enough to have some of the thought leaders in nutrition spend the day sharing their philosophy about food and health. A few powerful quotes from the day:

• Kathie Swift who wrote My Foundation Diet said "You should never eat food that will out-live you." 
• Paul Pitchford, author of Healing with Whole Foods shared, "When you're ready to change your diet, it is easy."
• Sally Fallon Morell from the Weston A. Price foundation shared a quote from Dr. Price, "Life in its fullness is Mother Nature obeyed."
• Charles Eisenstein author The Ascent of Humanity of said, "My body is not my enemy and I cannot rely on an external authority to tell me what to eat." 
• Annemarie Colbin, Founder of the Natural Gourmet Institute, reminded us, "If you change your diet, everything changes."

Food plays a huge role in our health and wellness. Some would say the biggest role. I'll share more teachings and wisdom from these fabulous speakers over the coming days.  The most exciting news...  Tai Sophia Institute is taking the learning and wisdom from today and will create a new graduate degree program in Holistic Nutrition. Stay tuned!

Masking Symptoms is not a Cure

Scientists at the FDA are proudly sharing early results on identifying a "good" bacteria that destroys the bad bacteria which causes salmonella. The link to the article above provides interesting statistics on the dramatic increase in salmonella contamination in fruit and vegetables in recent years.

Is the increase in salmonella outbreaks due to fruit and vegetable contamination a concern? Yes! Should we be trying to find a way to "cure" our food by identifying some way to modify it? Perhaps not.

America has, in many ways, become a culture of the quick fix and easy cure. Feeling blue? Take a pill. Obese? Gastric bypass. Have a cold? Over-the-counter options abound. Eventually we learn that masking the symptoms doesn't really solve the problem.

Am I the only one a little concerned about where this "good" bacteria story will go? The next thing you know our food will be doused in good bacteria at the grocery store. And, some enterprising entrepreneur will sell good bacteria spray so you can treat your food at home.

I, for one, don't want anything (no matter how "proven") altering my food. Trust me, the FDA has precedent here. In 2006, the FDA approved a mixture of six different bacteria that can be sprayed on meat to kill a virus.

The reality of many quick fixes is we simply cannot fathom the long term consequences. History is full of examples of how a seemingly good idea created havoc later. This article from National Geographic tells an interesting story if you want more proof.

I propose we figure out why our fruits and vegetables are increasingly contaminated. Is it our farming methods? Is our water supply tainted? Are our handling and food processing procedures creating risk? Should we shipping food across the country and world?

How now brown cow?

Let's face it, one of the joys of childhood is a cool, freshly stirred glass of chocolate milk. And, let's face it some more, even in adulthood is it a welcome treat. Results of a study were published pointing to the health benefits of chocolate milk. Good news!

Since the article linked above appeared in the New York Times, there have been many more articles and blogs touting the benefits of brown milk (Do all kids think brown milk comes from brown cows? I had a "pet" brown cow when I was little - her name was Brownie... and, her milk? Not brown - so disappointing!).

Many of the subsequent articles on chocolate milk have talked about the benefits published in the study and have omitted critical facts. One of the problems with studies and how they are shared with the public is the person publishing includes and omits information for the sake of column size and special interests. Also, I think it is important to know this study took place in Barcelona, Spain where they have different standards and culture on the quality of food.

To be clear and for the sake of science -- this study gave participants 20-gram sachets of soluble cocoa powder with instructions they mix it with skim milk.

This is not the same as buying a gallon of chocolate milk at the convenience store. This is not the same as mixing some Nesquick (Ingredients? Sugar, cocoa processed with alkali, soy lecithin, salt, artificial and natural flavors, maltodextrin) into milk from cows pumped full of hormones and antibiotics. This is not the same as a chocolate milk shake from your favorite fast food place.

Let's help each other be more aware and educated consumers. Please don't fall for the marketing spin put on every study for the sake of sales (the Nesquick web page already touts the "benefits" of chocolate milk!).

If we stick together and share good information, we can improve our health. You can buy organic cocoa powder online. This one has 1 ingredient Organic Cocoa Powder (100%). Now that is much better. Cheers!

Much Munch

Do you snack? Should you snack? The idea of snacking is commonly traced to our ancestors who ate frequent high-calorie, small meals throughout the day to maintain energy (so they could catch the wild animals they were chasing). There are many diet programs that prescribe snacks between each meal. And, for some people with health issues (like diabetes), maintaining proper blood sugar throughout the day is a matter of life and death.

Somewhere between the body's need to snack and today an entire industry emerged devoted to snacking. A report published this year says 27% of children get their daily calories from snacking and unfortunately those snacks are often processed, sugary and salty concoctions with little health value.

Snacking, in and of itself, is not a "bad" practice. Adding un-needed calories and fake food to our daily diet is a bad practice. The decision to snack or not to snack is best made as a personal one. If your body feels hungry (i.e., tummy growling) between meals, perhaps a snack makes sense for you. If you choose to snack, snack wisely with foods that serve your body. Snacks of vegetables or fruits is a terrific way to get even more servings of those beneficial foods. If you're looking for something more substantial, consider an ounce of whole nuts or seeds. Organic whenever possible.

If you need a rule to follow, use this one: select snacks that serve.

Pick up the Knife

There was a widely read article in the NY Times this week about Dr. Maring who started a farmer's market at Kaiser Permanente in Oakland, California. Dr. Maring is working to help doctor's recognize the power of food in healing. Read the article and we send our thanks to Dr. Maring for being so passionate about food.

Does it work? We happen to think so and there are a growing number of studies to support the idea of food as medicine. If you happen to belong to the set of people that believe it doesn't matter what you eat,  my condolences. Here is the bottom line: approximately $1.5 trillion dollars of our healthcare dollars are spent on potentially preventable diseases. Those diseases are predominantly heart disease and diabetes and the complications associated with them.

Both heart disease and diabetes are drastically impacted by the foods you eat. If you eat well (mostly whole, real food; many fruits and vegetables; little processed food) your chances of getting heart disease and diabetes is much lower than those who eat poorly. The solution seems clear... find a farmer's market near you, pick up the knife and start chopping.

Product Nutrition Search

When I seek nutrition information on a product, the best way is a simple text entry box in which to type the product name. Perhaps this method doesn't work for some people so, in an attempt to make things easier, some websites have created other ways to get nutrition information.

As promised in yesterday's Manwich update, I thought we'd take a peek at the ConAgra Product Nutrition Search to see how it works. Here is a screen shot from their website. 
To find nutrition information you have two choices: one-click search and advanced search. One-click sounds easy and look they have nifty sub-categories to help consumers: fat free, low fat, good source of protein, low cholesterol, sodium controlled, good source of fiber. Let's take a look, shall we?

Under the fat free category, the first results are: Egg Beaters, PAM (such a tasty meal choice), La Choy bamboo shoots. Hmmmmm. Is this helpful? Would a consumer, in an attempt to make more healthful food choices go to this website, find something fat free and then go and buy it?

I contend this is exactly what ConAgra is hoping for and spent quite a tidy sum of money on website design for. Does this tool actually help people make better food choices? If I was told to eat a fat free diet, would I use this tool to make my shopping list? Perhaps if I was a consumer without an good understanding of nutrition. Perhaps the first thing on the list should be actual, whole, real foods (like vegetables) and a way to educate consumers about those food choices. And, why in the world is PAM on this list? It isn't food.

I was curious about the nutrition information for Hunt's Basil, Garlic and Oregano sauce so I clicked on the little "i"to dig a bit deeper.

When you click the "i" you are rewarded with a pop-up box of the product label as shown on the left.
What is most interesting about this label? It does not show what is actually in the can. I guess the website designers thought an ingredient list would be too much information. Unless of course, someone didn't want "high fructose corn syrup" to appear in print on a website. Or the spurious term "spices" which can mean a whole bunch of things you really don't want to consume.

I am left curious and would love your thoughts. Is this information helpful? Will it guide a consumer to make better food choices? Or, do you think it is a clever way to "help" consumers make a shopping list of ConAgra produced food based on somewhat questionable health claims?

Tomorrow? The advanced search. Stay tuned!

Chemicals Only

There is a great deal of activity around controlling the foods we eat. Much of it is not good for us. There are many powerful groups lobbying to prevent the requirement to label Genetically Modified Foods as such. And, there is a concerted effort on the part of the Government to outlaw raw milk, including the recent raid of a co-op in California selling raw milk. So let me get this straight... We should not be eating something natural in the form it exists in nature and we should be unaware we are eating something that was made in a Petri dish.

One could put these things together and begin to think of a new labeling protocol. We could start a campaign and require the packaging of any "food" item that contains something modified, altered, fake, chemical, homogenized or not-from-nature to proudly display this mark ➜

If you are perusing the inner aisles of your grocery store, seeking something in a box to feed to your family and saw the "No Apple" mark you would know you are about to buy something cheap and fake. Just think of how much time it would save the average shopper! In fact, in the land of fake food made of chemicals and genetically modified atoms, I'm pretty sure everything is going to taste the same anyway so it won't much matter what people are buying.

So there you go. Let's start the "No Apple" campaign and really start a revolution!

Meatless Monday Mania

There is a growing movement encouraging people to adopt a lifestyle of consuming less meat. The most famous of supporters is Sir Paul McCartney who has put his considerable influence behind Meat Free Monday. There is a great little website titled Part-Time Carnivore which encourages you to commit to a level of meat-free living. And, NPR has an article today about Sid Lerner (advertising guru) and his effort to make a meatless day cool.

Do you meat? There are many reasons people choose to reduce or eliminate meat from their diet. The top three are:

• Health
• Environment
• Animal Welfare

Ultimately, the decision to eat meat is a personal one each of us has to make. There isn't one prescribed way of eating that is good for every human on Earth. Some people are more healthy with a regular diet of meat; others do much better to eliminate or drastically reduce their animal protein consumption. The  secret to lifelong wellness is for you to figure out what works best for you. And, keep in mind, what works best for you may not be the best diet for your spouse, partner or children. 

Life is generally more sweet when we respect, and embrace, each others' differences. The idea of meatless Monday is great because it raises our collective awareness. If you ultimately choose to stop eating meat, or eat it only occasionally, good for you if it is what makes you happy and healthy. Don't join any movement because it is the cool, hip thing to do. Know yourself, respect yourself and make good choices each day.