I cannot tell you enough how much better I feel every day since I changed my attitude to food. I see food now not just as something delicious that will satisfy my hunger, but for the nutrients it will provide to my body, and that is the basis for what I choose to eat, and what I choose not to eat.
The following is an article by Dr Joanna McMillan which appeared in the November 2013 issue of her monthly Newsletter:
Are We Fat & Malnourished?
With two thirds of Australia overweight or obese, it's little wonder that our Government health policies tend to focus on reducing our over-consumption of food and drink. But it's entirely possible to be overfed and still malnourished. What I mean by that is you can be getting more than enough kilojoules, with the surplus stored as body fat, while not meeting your needs for essential nutrients. Are we becoming a nation of malnourished fat people?
A just-published study from Europe analysed the intake of 17 vitamins and minerals in people living in Belgium, Denmark, France, Spain, Germany, the Netherlands, Poland and the UK. Out of those 17 nutrients, 9 were found to be low. Vitamin D was found to be the most extreme, but across all ages and gender, people did not consume enough iron, calcium, zinc, thiamin, vitamin B2, vitamin B6 or folate. Yet all of these countries have rising obesity levels. I fear this is a universal trait mirroring the trends in our food consumption. Increasingly we choose convenience, fast foods, eating on the run, snacking through the day rather than eating real meals, drinking our kilojoules and so on. All of this leads to an increase in the energy density of our foods, and a lowering of nutrient density. The European data illustrates that across the continent traditional diets are shifting towards a Western processed diet. It's not a good shift from any angle.
If you imagine a vase representing your nutritional needs. If you fill that bottle with kilojoules that do not come with many nutrients, you either have to overfill the vase to meet your nutrient needs - and where do those extra kilojoules go? Or you stay at a healthy weight by only filling your vase to the top, but are deficient in several nutrients.
A healthy diet is not just about weight control - in fact you can be metabolically healthy at many sizes and nutrient intake remains key. It's imperative that we give our bodies the nutrients it needs to function optimally. That doesn't mean resorting to supplements (although they can help in some cases) but ensuring you eat a broad range of nutrient dense foods. If you think of filling your vase at least 80% full with fresh, nutrient dense, fabulously healthy foods. Then the remaining space can be filled with whatever you fancy.
Ref: Mensink G.B.M. et al. Mapping low intake of micronutrients across Europe. British Journal of Nutrition, October 2013
Dr Joanna McMillan
You can subscribe to Dr Joanna's monthly newsletter via her website: http://www.drjoanna.com.au/ or click here: http://www.drjoanna.com.au/sign-up-to-our-free-newsletter/
~ take every opportunity to put the good stuff in ~
This blog is about me, what I'm doing, what's working for me, and what's not. It includes my experiences and opinions. It is for general information only and is in no way intended to replace the advice of a health care professional.
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