Food Connections at the Table
March is National Nutrition Month®! This year’s theme is “Food Connects Us.” While I try to offer you food and nutrition tips all year, March is a time when registered dietitians really like to reinforce the importance of a healthy diet and lifestyle. There are many aspects about health and nutrition that are more nuanced and often overlooked however.
The Emotional Connections of Food
The emotional aspects of eating and enjoying food are important too. The term “emotional eating” may bring up negative thoughts, but food can offer emotional connection in a variety of ways. Think about the foods you grew up with, the food your grandmother made, or the food traditions you created in your own kitchen. Food connects us to our cultures, our families and our friends.
Cultural food traditions can bring good emotions to the table. “Healthy eating” is more than simply including this or avoiding that. Food can nurture. Food is an important aspect of many cultures. Cultural traditions bring people together and help form community and fellowship. Food can bring up nostalgia too. The sweet smell of an apple pie or the sound of cereal being poured into a bowl may transport you to a fond memory.
Food Safety and Health
The ingredients used to prepare a family dish or how the food is prepared aren’t the only factors to consider when seeking health. There is so much misinformation about food ingredients these days, online and on social media, it can be confusing to know what to eat or what is most important in choosing foods for health. Being overly anxious about ingredients, or worrying about eating enough “healthy food” every day may negatively affect your health.
Despite what you may hear, the food supply in the United States is very safe, and well regulated. For instance, concerns and myths about pesticides persist, even though they really pose no hazard. In addition, if you avoid some foods or entire food groups based on something you heard on TikTok, you may miss out on a lot of important, accessible nutrition. Avoiding a specific ingredient, choosing “only organic” or avoiding foods with artificial coloring is not really going to have a big impact on your health. There’s much more to it than that.
Positive Vibrations
Rather than anxiously scour food labels, consider what you can add to your plate, not what you should take away. There is lots of good evidence supporting the positive health benefits of including 4-6 servings or more of fruits and veggies into your day. Yet just about everybody is short on fruits and vegetables. Focus on adding more to the plate. Sometimes it’s the duration of the meal and not just the menu that impacts fruit and vegetable intake. Simply adding ten minutes to the family meal experience positively impacted children’s diet and eating behavior.
Sharing a meal is an opportunity to embrace memories and traditions. This spring, begin to block some time off every day to prepare a meal with people you enjoy. I promise that gathering around the table with bring some positive vibrations.