From the Lousy Advice Department: 'Everything in moderation'

from my guest blogger and husband, Mike:

Everything in moderation. It must be the most commonly doled advice on what constitutes a healthy diet- and it’s also among the worst advice. I hear it all the time, and I bite my lip. But now that I have my wife’s blog as an official platform to vent, let me tell you why I find this phrase so annoying. Let’s set aside for a moment the consideration that our society has lost all sense of moderation when it comes to diet - clearly our barometers are off. We should not trust ourselves to intuitively know what is 'moderate' consumption. But there is a better reason to ignore this trite expression- it’s complete BS. We should not eat everything in moderation. Nutritionists and scientists tell us that there are lots of foods that we'd be wise to avoid whenever possible, and others that we should eat in abundance. For example- fresh fruits and veggie’s in abundance, red meat scarcely (Cancer, Heart Disease anyone?), and Hot Pockets never.

So, what should we eat and how much? Fortunately, the folks at the Harvard School of Public Health have published a terrific tool to demonstrate what is worth eating lots of, and what it best avoided. Its called the Healthy Eating Pyramid. Basically, they have taken the FDA’s food pyramid and reworked it to reflect modern science and, more importantly, removed the influence of corporate lobbyists that has plagued the FDA’s recommendations. It rebukes much of the lousy nutrition advice we were taught as kids - from ‘everything in moderation’ to what constitutes a balanced meal. Probably just about anyone who reads this blog is already eating a healthy diet- but I highly recommend checking this out. At the very least it will give you a tool to reference the next time you hear someone suggest 'everything in moderation.'

p.s. Thanks to my lovely wife for inviting me to write this guest blog. And thanks for all the awesome meals! Without you, I would be living on PBJ with an occasional grilled cheese.

"Breasts: Food for Baby, Fun for Daddy"

This is from a bumper sticker I have...hubby begged me not to put it on our car, though, so it makes me smile every time I open the fridge instead.

On a more serious note--I feel my blog would not be completely addressing its goal (feeding your family in a healthy way) without mentioning breastfeeding. There is a great article on the benefits of breastfeeding in this weeks news. The study, here, found that billions of dollars and the lives of 900 babies would be saved every year if 90% of women breastfed for just six months. I've read alot of articles and blogs following this study arguing the reality of this breastfeeding rate. I realize there are many obstacles for women (time, workplace pumping, the push of formula...). But I also think the research is compelling, and hopefully it will act as a great springboard for increasing support for breastfeeding women in the hospital, the workplace, and public places.

"If a multinational company developed a product that was a nutritionally balanced and delicious food, a wonder drug that both prevented and treated disease, cost almost nothing to produce and could be delivered in quantities controlled by the consumers' needs, the very announcement of their find would send their shares rocketing to the top of the stock market. The scientists who developed the product would win prizes and the wealth and influence of everyone involved would increase dramatically. Women have been producing such a miraculous substance, breastmilk, since the beginning of human existence..."-- Gabrielle Palmer, in The Politics of Breastfeeding