Pitfalls to Healthy Eating

America is currently in the midst of the most significant health crisis of our history and we're losing the battle. We're a nation of people performing mostly sedentary jobs, surrounded by super-sized portions of readily available, incredibly calorically dense foods that are nearly vacant of any nutritional value, yet filled with an assortment of chemically altered substances, artificial flavorings, colorings and preservatives. Most people have no idea what healthy eating is because we're bombarded with advertising focused primarily on taste, smell and appearance of food, and when advertising or packaging does attempt to appeal to a consumers sense of health we're often the victims of out-dated information, half truths and complete lies. Just because something has healthy, lean or smart in the name or on the label doesn’t mean that it’s a good choice. They only seem healthy when compared to a full fat, full carb version of the same food. This kind of marketing encourages making a “least worst” choice. Instead of comparing something to the worst choice available why not choose based on the best? I encourage eating for optimum health. Do we call "light" cigarettes healthy? No, because they aren’t. By reading the ingredient & nutrition labels we can easily discern that what's listed is not healthy, but understanding what you read takes an educated and informed shopper.

The FDA bases it's labeling requirements on old and outdated research. The Nutrition Facts portion was introduced in 1993 and the only change to it since then was in 2006 when declaring trans fats became a requirement. The recommended daily value, in some cases is nothing more than the minimum necessary to avoid disease. Instead of focusing on the minimum amount of a vitamin or nutrient to avoid disease, I propose that people focus on eating for optimal health. 60 milligrams of vitamin C per day? Vitamin E 30IU? B6 only 2mg? Far too low on all of them. Let's examine the FDA recommendations for the daily values of the 3 macro nutrients (protein, carbohydrates and fat). First of all the DV'S are based on a 2000 calorie diet. You'll have to figure out whether this is right for you and your goals. This is something I do when creating a nutrition plan for people and I can say that for the average (non-athletic) adult this is too much and for women far too much. For the sake of this example let's assume that 2000 is the right amount. The next DV is fat at 65 grams. Fat has 9 calories per gram so you'll consume 585 calories from fat. Fat is essential to biological processes such as the production of hormones, so it's important to get some each day. Still 65 grams is a little high based off 2000 calories. The DV for carbohydrates is 300 grams. This is interesting because as far as being essential to life or even health, carbs are not essential. They are energy and nothing more. So what does the FDA base their DV on? The only carbohydrate that really has any value is fiber due to the role it plays in digestion & it's positive impact on reducing certain cancers. Carbs have 4 calories per gram so that's another 1200 of your 2000 total for the day. This leaves protein, which has no DV, with only 215 calories to fill. A measly 54 grams.

In contrast I would recommend basing a healthy nutrition plan around the essential macros. A minimum of 1 gram of protein per day per pound of lean body weight, but this varies depending on body type and activity level. Healthy fats would be in the range of .25 grams per pound of lean body mass with the focus on linoleic fatty acids and linolenic fatty acids. These are the two essential EFA'S that the body can not synthesize on it's own so they must come from food. Deficiencies in either of these leads to numerous health issues in the liver and kidneys as well increased risk of heart attack and stroke. Linoleic fatty acids are found in nuts and seeds such as poppy and sunflower seeds and macadamia nuts. Linolenic fatty acids are found in nuts and seeds such as chia, flax and walnuts.

Last you fill in the rest of your daily caloric needs with complex carbs, placing a high priority on consuming around 30-40 grams of fiber per day.