Nutrition Inspiration at the Zoo!

Yesterday, I went to the Zoo with my family. Two ads I saw throughout the day made me think a lot about food and health. First, I saw a poster. The poster had a picture of animals grazing. Then, there was the info...Animals graze on natural food found in their environment. It is good for their health and the environment. The second was a photo in the newspaper I was reading in the car of an old advertisement with Uncle Sam and Garden Vegetables. The ad was from World War II and the caption stated that 40% of all produce was grown at home during that time.

These two posters put together a chain of thoughts for me that have been brewing for a few weeks. Of course, the low carb vs low fat diet war is constantly raging in the media. Lately, the argument has really bothered me. What a healthful diet comes down to-- when you really listen to both arguments-- is exactly what those posters pointed out. If you listen to the top diet experts on both sides, they agree that the best foods are those that are found whole in nature, in backyard gardens, or if you want the convenience at your local farmers markets.

If you look at both sides of the argument low carb vs high carb, there may be some slight variations but there is definitely a common theme that they do agree on. We need to eat MORE VEGETABLES! We DO NOT NEED more starchy vegetables like corn, peas, & potatoes. What we do need is more vegetables that are rich in vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, and other phytochemicals that protect our hearts, blood vessels, and brain. We need more leafy greens, onions, peppers broccoli, cauliflower, radishes, cucumbers, celery and cabbage. We need more radishes, mushrooms, green beans, eggplant, zucchini and tomatoes.

If each one of us took time to focus just on eating more of these natural foods instead of something processed we could become healthier as individuals, as communities, and as a nation. Since the farmers markets are now open, it is the perfect time to make an effort. I challenge each of you to swap one processed food (anything from white bread to pepperoni) in your diet everyday for one of these vegetables! It is a small change, but if you continue and stick with it, you will be much healthier in the long run.