Nutrition-Nutritionism

Who benefits from nutrition confusion? (4)

-Food industry (profit) -Nutritional Industrial complex (food scientists/researchers/experts, food publishers, supplements) -Journalists: the speed of information (quality vs quantity) -Alternative practitioners (people seek a practitioner to "help" them eat "right")

3 pernicious myths re: nutritional science

-nutrients matter more than food (reductionism) -you need an experts help (we know how to eat) -eating scientifically (we eat the way science tells us to eat)

Addition of chemicals to food

2000 GRAS chemicals allowed in our food

What are the two biggest affects of the nutrition transition?

Affluence & choice

What is the zero sum relationship?

Eating more of one thing means eating less of another

Why do we eat? (3)

Energy (carbs/fat) Building Blocks (protein) Micronutrients

What is the rule of 1869?

If a food existed prior to 1869, eat it; otherwise avoid it.

Pollan advises us to "eat food, not too much, mostly plants". Is this simple philosophy adequate to address the problems of nutrition today? Explain.

No, This statement "eat food, not too much, mostly plants" is meant for an audience of foodies with disposable income. His statement is too general, not specific enough to give the normal lay person direction, let alone addressing the problems that exist in the current SAD.

How does the food industry bypass the fixed stomach?

Offers: • predigested food • liquifey food > liquid delivery • increased eating occasions (EO) -- 5.2 x now -- 3.5 x in 1977

undernutrition vs. overnutrition

Our bodies biochemistry is designed for undernutrition (to handle famine), not overnutrition. In undernutrition > counter regulatory hormones (hormones that work opposite of insulin) > cortisol, glucagon, thyroid, growth hormone, epinephrine In overnutrition // insulin

S.A.D.

Standard American Diet

What makes food protective?

The micronutrients it contains: -vitamins -minerals -accessory minerals -antioxidants Fat soluble vitamins (not energy, not a building block, gives body info)

Correlation does not equal causation

Two conditions may appear together but not cause each other. -Possible presence of a third underlying variable. Example: Height and weight in people have a positive correlation, however, the height does not cause the weight and vice versa.

Where do we learn about nutrition?

We learn about food culture from the societies and families that we grow up in: mom, grandma. • mom; grandma = undernutrition We learn about food science from the government and "experts": told what to eat and how much. • experts; government = overnutrition

How can we move beyond nutritionism?

We need to stop thinking of food scientifically and understand that the nutrition labels and the nutrients detailed by scientists, are NOT all the nutrients within that food item, NOR are they more important than the food itself. To move beyond the notion of nutritionism WE SHOULD eat a wide variety of high-quality foods that are as close to the natural source/form as possible, in order that we might be best nourished by the food. We also should avoid foods that are unrecognizable (over processed) or with ingredients that are unfamiliar and/or that make health claims.

radomized controlled trial

active intervention randomly applied with outcomes compared • designed for drug trials (:

Addition of nutrients

adding things to food that don't naturally occur • fortifying milk, OJ, etc.

parking lot science

assuming what we can see (measure) it is important; if we can't measure it, it doesn't exist Things that fall prey to this: • weight / BMI • cholesterol • blood pressure

protein

building blocks

macronutrients

carbohydrates, proteins, and fats

food industrialization

changing the food from how it was harvested to give it a long shelf life > leads to chronic disease

caloric density

concentration of energy in a given amount of food • cutting fat is the quickest way to cut calories

carbohydrates

fast energy

Speed of digestion

glycemic index > how quickly/slowly the body converts carbs in body to the bloodstream • fat & fiber delays digestion

My plate plan

illustrates the five food groups that you need to eat regularly and provides a visual indication of how much of each group you need

What's wrong with moderation?

it's subjective

The nutrition transition refers to:

moving towards chronic degenerative diseases where our lifestyle shifts to higher-fat, higher-carbohydrate diets, stress plays a role affluence + choice

orthorexia

obsession with healthy eating

fats

slow energy

Removal of nutrients

taking things out of food that occur naturally • milk (skim, 2%)

nutrient density

the amount of vitamins/minerals relative to the number of calories they provide • difficult to reach caloric goals w/ veggies alone

Reductionism

the reduction of complex systems to simpler components that are more manageable to study • losing the context of a healthy lifestyle • molecules removed from food's don't seem to work

What is nutritionism?

the widely shared but unexamined assumption is that the key to understanding food is indeed the nutrient

What problems arise when we wish to asses what people eat?

they have to track and typically underreport

What is the problem with the food frequency questionnaire?

under reporting; mis and over reporting data

What is the significance of the 1977 Dietary Goals of the United States?

were we start blaming nutrients instead of the foods; the start of nutritionism

types of epidemiological studies

• Case-control study > reporting bias • Observational study

Food Quality

• caloric density • nutrient density • speed of digestion • removal of nutrients • addition of nutrients • addition of chemicals

Characteristics of Western Diet

• salt > sodium • sugar > sweet • fat • portion size • quick, convenient, fast • processed > shelf life • cheap, inexpensive