It's all about the food

I love this article, which talks about new research showing that when it comes to getting nutritional bang for your buck, it's food itself rather than supplements, vitamins, etc. that holds the key.

The article refers to recent studies that have looked at whether ingesting specific nutrients--B vitamins and beta-carotene--can prevent heart disease, cancer, and other ailments. All of these studies so far have shown no value, or even a slight negative value, to the supplement approach.

These researchers argue that it's the food, not what's in it, that's good for us. Sitting down to a plate of steamed kale with olive oil and garlic is an entirely different matter, nutritionally, than dosing yourself with B-vitamins, iron, etc. This follows along with conclusions from a 1970s study showing that when you enjoy what you're eating, you actually get more nutritional value from it. Shocking!

Here's the money quote in my book:

[Researchers] focus on the concept of food synergy - the idea that more information about the impact of human health can be obtained by looking at whole foods than a single food component (such as vitamin C, or calcium added to a container of orange juice).

Just as some of us have been saying all along, food is medicine.

So on this Thanksgiving week, lift a fork in honor of the pleasures and privileges of food. Say thanks to your body, a splendid machine that knows how to make use of food, and to your taste buds, which let you enjoy it.

Then dig in.

Finally, someone with some common sense about fat

And that would be a research team from Penn State University, warning that parents should not deprive their children of fat, despite all the hysteria about obesity.

"The authors said, 'Sufficient fat must be included in the diet for children to support normal growth and development.'

The authors said dietary fat recommendations are higher for children aged four to 18 (25 to 35% of energy) compared with adults (20 to 35% of energy)."

Gee, I could have told you that.

Interestingly, the only news articles I could find on this were published across the pond, in the UK. Hmm. Could there be a reason why this isn't being plastered across CNN?

Read all about it yourself at http://www.inthenews.co.uk/thebigissue/news/health/psu-researcher-sufficient-fat-needed-$1123529$1123528.htm. (Sorry, this remote blogging thing doesn't let me post links. Bummer. Anyone out there know how to fix it?)

And yet another Leaden Fork award goes to . . .

Reader's Digest, for its well-meaning but shamefully one-sided advice on how to avoid compulsive overeating. In fact, this could be a primer for how to induce an eating disorder.

Blog reader Deborah Lee brought this to my attention, and points out a couple of items on this top 10 list that really bugged her:

"3. Never, ever buy a snack at gas stations, drugstores, or discount chains.

4. Never, ever stop at a food store just to buy a snack."

Writes Lee, "While I understand the sentiment in these statements, and it may be sound advice in principle, this sort of black-and-white, all-or-nothing thinking is what eating disorders thrive on, and is completely unnecessary."

I'm with you on this, Deborah. Of course Reader's Digest is just one of many media outlets that get this way wrong. Especially in this season, when the default assumption is that we're all trying to lose weight and need "tips" like these. Open just about any women's magazine right now and you'll see headlines like "How to Stick to Your Diet,""Want to lose weight? Be sure not to skip breakfast," and a host of other ridiculous headlines.

I'm looking forward to a year that started without a lot of advice on how to lose weight--and focused instead on creating a healthy and joyful relationship with food, exercise, love, work, and all the other pleasures of being a human being.

How about it?