Nutrition thoughts

I started reading The Healthiest Kid in the Neighborhood today (available through the library). The author, William Sears, a pediatrician, wrote about how he noticed significant health and behaviour differences between children whose parents were health-conscious and those who are not. He also spends quite a bit of time on how tastes can adapt, so children can learn to like healthy food and even avoid what is unhealthy.

I've seen that happen a lot in our household. At my inlaws a couple of weeks ago I was making sandwiches for the kids and myself. They had Skippy peanut butter. At our house we only have all-natural peanut butter. When we first made the switch to natural, I didn't like it as much because I didn't find it as creamy. But when I tried the Skippy, I couldn't use it. It tasted like shortening with peanuts mixed in. Which is exactly what it is. I love natural pb now, it has such a rich flavour that is missing in processed stuff. I also couldn't eat the 60% whole wheat. Yes, nutritionally it's still better than white, but it still tastes like I'm eating a household sponge.

Rob has come the furthest though. White flour almost everything to whole wheat almost everything - even pizza crust, biscuits, pancakes, places I even used to reach for all-purpose. We got used to it. Now we like it. He used to make fun of skim milk (coloured water, I believe he called it) and now he finds 2% way too creamy. He even eats fruit.

I wish, for other children's sake, that parents could see that change is vital and possible. There's a girl in Taryn's class who is obviously obese, and her Mom has told me she can't figure out why. In the next sentence, though, she'll tell me about the new Nintendo set she bought her daughter. And Taryn has told me that the girl often gets McDonald's lunches dropped off at school. (This Mother also lets her play Grand Theft Auto, and described how the girl was shooting people in a beach scene. But she "knows it's a game" so everything's all right.)

I wonder how fast Ritalyn prescriptions would drop for many families if they simply cut out garbage food?

And it doesn't help that so much of the nutritional information we receive is tainted by the interests of industry, rather than actual research being put into practice. The "Got Milk" campaign is not put out by nutritionists, but by people who want to make more money selling milk. Even doctors and nutritionists are regularly touting the benefits. In reality, there is very little evidence that milk consumption is related to bone density. Countries with the highest dairy intakes per capita also tend to have higher hip fractures per capital. We've been fed a lie. Oh, and PETA is right - milk drinkers do tend to have more acne. This comes out of no ideological drive - I'm not a rabid vegan. But there is no evidence that we must consume the servings recommended to us to maintain health. In fact, dairy consumption is linked to certain health problems. Yes, we need calcium, but it doens't have to come from milk, and we may not need as much as is proclaimed (especially if we eat less meat).

I've started drinking almond milk. Still rich in calcium, lower in calories, and I'm surprised how much I like the taste. Plus, it's probably cheaper in the long run (if homemade) - we're going to do a cost analysis soon. I still love cheese and won't rid myself of dairy, but the research is clear enough to indicate we don't need it to be healthy.