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The following statistics are related to children watching
commercials but adults are not immune to advertisements for
food in our country. It is estimated that children watch an
average of over ten food-related ads every day and nearly 98
percent of food advertisements are for products that are
high in fat, sugar or sodium (salt).
Keep your eyes open this month for educational messages to
encourage healthy eating. While promotion of National
Nutrition Month in March will not rival the number and kinds
of current food advertisements on television, the Academy of
Nutrition and Dietetics wants us to know about the
opportunities and value of making healthy life choices. The
theme for March 2016 is “Savor the Flavor of Eating Right.”
With so many food choices and so many advertisements for
food, what is “eating right?” Unfortunately, eating right is
not advertised by the vast majority of food commercials on
television. The newly released 2015 - 2020 Dietary
Guidelines made the following recommendations to limit the
amount of added sugar, salt, and fat:
•
consume less than 10 percent of your calories
per day from added sugars
•
consume fewer than 2,300 milligrams of sodium
per day
•
reduce saturated fat intake to less than 10
percent of calories per day
How can we enjoy the flavor, minus the sugars, salt and fat?
Dried and fresh herbs and spices offer an alternative to
cooking with added fat and sodium. The Academy of Nutrition
and Dietetics shares a variety of cuisines and highlighted
flavors used around the world:
•
China: Low-sodium soy sauce, rice wine,
ginger
•
France: Thyme, rosemary, sage, marjoram,
lavender, tomato
•
Greece: Olive oil, lemon, oregano
•
Hungary: Onion, paprika
•
India: Curry, cumin, ginger, garlic
•
Italy: Tomato, olive oil, garlic, basil,
marjoram
•
Mexico: Tomato, chili, paprika
•
Middle East: Olive oil, lemon, parsley
•
Morocco/North Africa: Cinnamon, cumin,
coriander, ginger
•
West Africa: Tomato, peanut, chili.
•
Take time to enjoy food traditions
Appreciate
the pleasures and great flavors of eating healthy food. In
addition to tasting the different flavors, take time to
enjoy the textures, temperatures and overall eating
experience. Slow down and appreciate the opportunity to
enjoy foods.
The food you
choose to eat is just one part of the whole picture. During
National Nutrition Month, remember the Academy reminds,
“how, when, why and where you eat are just as important as
what you eat. Being a mindful eater can help you reset both
your body and your mind and lead to an overall healthier
lifestyle.” Take time to eat and try not to distract
yourself with other tasks such as eating in front of the
computer or television.
It’s much
easier to focus on the pleasure and flavors of food, as well
as company at the table when you are mindful to the entire
experience. If you’re enjoying the act of eating your food
and not watching the television at the same time, you won’t
have to see all those commercials for food that’s high in
fat, salt and sugar!
Appreciate
the social experiences food can add to our lives. Food
offers our bodies nutrition but food can also offer a common
experience for family and friends. Think about a large
holiday dinner, a party or a simple family meal. A shared
meal can strengthen relationships in addition to providing
food.
The following community event in Toledo is
not tied to National Nutrition Month but there’s not a
better time to talk about food. “Spoken” is a community
storytelling event held quarterly at the Ohio Theatre on
Lagrange Street. This month, on Thursday March 10 at
7:00pm, the theme is “You Are What You Eat.” Anyone at the
event can volunteer to have the chance to talk about food
for five minutes or less. The storytelling can be about
anything related to food from favorites to dislikes to
growing and raising food, processing, enjoying, food
traditions and social experiences related to food.
The Spoken event is being cosponsored by the
Northwest Ohio Food Council and the Toledo Lucas County
Sustainability Council. Doors
open at 6:00 p.m. and participants interested in the chance
to share their food story can sign in at 6:30. The show will
start at 7:00 p.m. at the Ohio Theatre, 3114 Lagrange
Street, Toledo, OH. Purchase tickets for $8 online at
http://ohiotheatretoledo.org/events/ or $10 at the door.
Information about National Nutrition Month
from the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics at
www.eatright.org. They also encourage you to
follow National Nutrition Month on the
Academy’s social media channels including Facebook and
Twitter using the #NationalNutritionMonth hashtag.
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