Those who pay attention to this sort of thing know that the government’s new Dietary Guidelines were released earlier this year. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) determined that about half of all American adults– that’s 117 million people – have one or more preventable, chronic diseases, many of which are related to poor quality eating patterns and physical inactivity. By all accounts, this can only get worse, given the rates of obesity and diabetes among today’s youth. The good news is that we can reverse this costly trend with lifestyle changes alone.
What Are Kids Eating?
Healthy habits start young, so it’s in our best interest to teach our children the proper way to eat from the start. Given a choice of healthful, natural food, children can self-select a healthy diet. But walk down the supermarket aisle and you will surely notice that most of what is available did not come straight from the farm; more likely, it’s from the factory. And even more frightening, it’s engineered to trick us into wanting and eating more of foods that have very little nutritional value.
A healthy diet is simple. No reputable health professional would claim it’s easy, but it’s not complicated. One could follow the advice of Michael Pollan, whose sensible suggestions could solve the current public health crisis, and, “eat food, not too much, mostly plants.” Perhaps this seems too vague. Should we instead say, “eat real food, not some product that was designed in a laboratory, but something that resembles its original, natural state”?
The CDC says six in 10 children did not eat enough fruit from 2007 to 2010. And nine out of 10 children failed to consume enough vegetables. Of those vegetables eaten, nearly 20 percent were French fries or potato chips (although I’m not quite sure this should be classified as a vegetable). Less than 9 percent of American adults consume the recommended 2-3 cups of vegetables per day. With statistics like that, optimal health is out of the question.
Veggies Rule
All food groups are important: each contributes a somewhat unique set of nutrients essential to the growth and function of our body. But vegetables give you the best nutritional bang for your calorie buck. They are high in nutrients – vitamins, minerals, fiber and phytonutrients, those sub-chemicals that science has been unable to put in a pill yet – and generally lowest in calories by volume. Children should eat a variety of colorful vegetables prepared in healthy ways. Children need not eat vegetables they despise – although I highly recommend giving it several chances prepared in different ways – because there are so many options! With more than 400 types of vegetables available, failure (a.k.a. “I don’t like vegetables!”) is not an option.
There’s a simple solution to this crisis of health. Make half your plate vegetables. I know, I know, the government has been saying this for decades. Still, perhaps they need to repeat it until we take heed. Our kids have a great opportunity ahead of them. We have all the science. Despite weekly “breakthroughs” in the field of nutrition, the evidence continues to point toward a plant-based, whole foods diet as the healthiest diet on the planet. Ignore all the noise, the fads and the gluten-free aisle at the supermarket (unless your child is diagnosed celiac, of course), and follow this one piece of advice. Even young children who cannot read or do math can understand “make half your plate vegetables” if you demonstrate in pictures or on the plate.
In practice, the half plate method works because it’s flexible and clear. No measuring required: pile those vegetables as high as you wish (as long as they’re not fried) on their half of the plate. Then include a sensible portion of protein (plant or animal) and grain or starchy vegetable on the other two quarters. With a strategy this easy, even a child can do it!
Part Time Vegetarian
If you’re already making half your plate vegetables, why not go the extra 50 percent and include more meatless meals in your repertoire? It’s good for you, your children and the environment. It’s a win-win-win! Participating in Meatless Monday is one strategy, but it can be any day(s) of the week. Check out the website at meatlessmonday.com for tips and scrumptious recipes like Chocolate Avocado Smoothie and Hearty White Bean & Millet Soup.
Elisa Bremner, MS RD CDN, is the campus Nutritionist for the Pleasantville Cottage Schools, where she frequently encourages children and adolescents to make healthy choices using the half plate method and hopes to convince residents that not every meal needs to have meat.
