Healthy Eating and Food Security
March is National Nutrition Month here in Canada, and this year’s theme is Ingredients for a Healthier Tomorrow. Given recent talk about diet culture, obesity, and body positivity, I thought I’d delve into this topic a little bit more.
Now, the actual theme for this year is looking at things such as food security, food policy, and combating misinformation. Each of these absolutely relate to healthy eating, healthy lifestyles, and transitioning the industry mindset to what healthy actually looks like. After all, without proper information, access to healthy options, and policies that enable all of this, we aren’t going to make much progress, are we?
I want to first start by explaining a little more about what is meant by food security and food justice. Food security consists of three key elements - access, availability, literacy. Access refers to affordability and how one obtains their ingredients (proximity to their home, transportation needs, etc.). Availability is more about what is on the shelf when you arrive at the grocery store, but can also mean what is grown locally and how much remains in the area. Often locally grown food is exported to other parts of the country or throughout the world. This is why supporting small farms is so important, because they don’t typically have the capacity to meet many of the criteria to participate in this large scale market (unless they’re only growing a single crop).
But the one that is almost always forgotten is food literacy. This means knowing what to do with the food you have available. One of the things that makes food security so challenging is that many of the cheaper nutritious options are ones that aren’t as well known, making it harder to make a meal out of it. Yes, it also includes having an understanding of how food labels work, but if you don’t know how to use something, you’re less likely to purchase it - especially if there’s a one pot meal option (i.e. prepackaged/highly processed) for a similar price.
I don’t think it’s much of a secret that maintaining a balanced diet is good for our overall health and fitness. Poor food choices can lead to a number of adverse health effects, including poor mental health, fitness performance, and sleep. So much of what we put in our bodies extends well beyond calories in and out!
Here’s the thing, the food we eat, and the choices we make are definitely important, but so too, is enjoying your life. A balanced diet includes a variety of items, some of which may be chocolate, potato chips, or any number of processed foods. Sometimes it truly is all we have access to. Sometimes we just want those items - maybe due to cravings, celebration, coping with life, or because it’s a Tuesday. Should we prioritize eating those items? No. Should we feel guilty when we do “indulge”? Also no. Are these better options than eating nothing? I would argue yes, but I am also not a nutritionist or dietitian. The preferences is on balance and moderation.
So let’s bring it back full circle…
We don’t all naturally love eating fruits and veggies. We must also remind ourselves that our taste preferences can change, so if we weren’t exposed to a particular food item as a child or we just didn’t like it growing up, we may find we enjoy them now. There’s also not just one food choice that is good for gaining whichever nutrient you are looking to consume - but we should focus on eating a variety of foods so that we don’t lose out. Cutting out an entire macro nutrient (carbs, protein, and fat) isn’t beneficial either. We need all three to be healthy!
But most importantly, remember that not everyone has equal access to healthy food, for any of the three factors that leads to food insecurity. We don’t need to comment on or judge someone’s purchases, because just like the factors that determine body weight, we don’t know the factors behind what’s in that cart. Maybe it’s a bad day. Maybe it’s something else that is out of their control. Either way, be grateful for what you can afford.
