Food on the Oprah Show Wednesday

I don't know how many of you saw the Oprah show yesterday, but it was all about food, what we're eating and where it comes from. Michael Pollan, a journalist, who has written a number of books on food, was on the show. I'm not sure if he was just on to promote his new movie "Food, Inc." and book "Food Rules" but he had a few interesting things to say and I thought I would share my take on the rhetoric.

There is a legitimate concern in this country that we are buying more and more processed food, convenience food, that have too much sodium, fat and sugar, and lead to the increasing health problems of Americans, such as Diabetes, Heart Disease, and Obesity. Michael gave these statistics: "In 1960, 18% of national income was used for food while only 5% on health care. Today, we spend 9% of our income on food and 17% on health care." He stated, "The less we spend on food, the more we spend on health care." I found this very interesting. I think all of us are witnesses to the fact that when you buy foods such as produce, we tend to spend more. The alternative, processed foods, are much more affordable. We also have to spend more time preparing and cooking these foods so many busy families opt for the fast food or microwave options. He believes there needs to be a big shift in our thinking as we look at food and make decisions in the grocery store or elsewhere. His attitude is "Pay for real food now-or pay the doctor later."

Some of Michael's food rules:
1: Eat food.

2: Don't eat anything your great-grandmother wouldn't recognize as food.

7: Avoid food products containing ingredients that a third-grader cannot pronounce.

13: Eat only foods that will eventually rot.

39: Eat all the junk food you want as long as you cook it yourself.

My recommendation is to shop the perimeter of your grocery store for the most part which consists of the produce section, dairy, meat, eggs, and grains, (also frozen foods (choose "whole foods" here, limiting meal foods) as much as possible. Entering the aisles for rice, pasta, cereal, and other non-perishable "whole foods". I think with a little education, we can learn to cook quick, easy meals that are affordable but with "better" food choices. The point of this blog is to help you in that department. With that said, I think there are times when quick, frozen meals and fast food are lifesavers and can be part of a healthy diet but looking at our waist lines and the statistics ("Average American eats fast food 4x's a week."), we do it way too often!!

Something he pointed out as well, which I think is important to mention, is that food labels can sometimes be misleading. The front of a food item will tell you the item is fat-free but it does not state that it is calorie-free and that trips up people. Calories may be higher in the product because they've increased the sugar to make up for the lack of fat. Carbs and protein have calories too, not just the fat, so it's important to look at the back of your label.

If you want to get more information on the episode you can go to Oprah.com.

Oh, another part of the show was highlighting Alicia Silverstone's "The Kind Diet". I'm not going to say much other than it is a pretty strict vegetarian diet that I can respect but not recommend.