Wednesday
Feb272008
Nutrition Month 2008 -- the official "Top Ten List" & my philosophy of eating
Wednesday, February 27, 2008 
Image credit: Carrots of many colors
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This morning Dietitians of Canada (DC) issued the official press release for Nutrition Month so even though March is two days away, I will assume I can start publishing posts on how to be "a Healthier You." You can read or download DC's Spotlight on Food & Nutrition factsheet here. It features the Dietitians' Top 10 List for healthy eating.
I do agree with all ten messages but I also think they can be summarized in these three four statements, which I find a bit easier to remember:
- Eat a variety of real foods, with no or very little processing; minimize the time and distance from the garden, farm or market to your kitchen.
- Balance your food intake with physical activity to maintain a healthy weight.
- Eat and be active with friends and family.
- Ask a dietitian for information, ideas and support.
What do you think? Did I capture everything or did I distort or dilute the messages ? Do they provide necessary and sufficient advice for a lifetime of health eating? As a dietitian, could you passionately promote these or similar statements to your clients?
Reader Comments (4)
Your four points make much more sense to me. Saying "Eat well" doesn't really mean anything if you don't already know what constitutes eating well. The rest is a bit "blurby" for my taste and I think your distillation is more accurate. The problem with making lists is people think they have to have 10 of them, no matter what. The tyranny of late night television!
A few of the Dietitians in our area have already decided that the 10 messages for Nutrition Month are just "too much information" to try and get out there. Eating foods that still look similar to how they looked when they were harvested, is one of the main messages I promote to people who wanted to eat healthy!
I appreciate your comment, Kelly. I think I may have used the phrase "eat well, live well" in the past without defining what eating "well" means. Good reminder for me to not use dietitian jargon.
Judy, I really like your message. It gives me a clear picture of what to eat.
I like Michael Pollan's concise, seven-word guideline: "Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants." Marion Nestle also gives a clear and simple message: "Eat less, move more, eat plenty of fruits and vegetables, and don't eat too much junk food."
We must really eat healthy food and it is not that important to stick to a diet. I have found many ways to keep my body fit without any specific diets, u can also find them here: http://www.picktorrent.com
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