When asked, I will admit that I am more of a baker than a cook.  The day-to-day drudgery of putting meals on the table gets to me.  I have a cabinet filled with cookbooks and look at them periodically for inspiration, but on a typically day I’m scrambling to put dinner on the table.  My mother will probably be disappointed as she reads this, because she raised me with the skills to cook.  Yes, I know how to cook; I just don’t love to cook.

Which leads me to the topic of today’s blog – processed foods.  There is definitely an anti-processed foods movement out in the public these days.  In fact, a study done by the International Food Information Council found that 43% of consumers have a negative view of processed foods.  Only 18% of consumers viewed processed foods favorably.  I find this data fascinating, as I know few households that have no processed foods in them.

But it raises the point of how processed foods are defined.  Are frozen strawberries processed because they have been cleaned, de-stemmed and flash frozen?  Is marinating a pork loin at home different than purchasing one that has been pre-marinated?  All breads are made with flour that has been ground, cleaned and handled, which is mixed with leavenings and salt.  This is true whether they are made commercially or at home.  So is the store-bought bread processed but the homemade version isn’t?

It is true that some processed foods contribute significant amounts of saturated and trans fat, sodium and sugar to our eating habits.  But this isn’t all processed foods.

As a person who doesn’t love to cook, I try and think through a day of using no processed foods.  Would I have to make homemade cereals or granola for my son to eat before school every day?  Would I bake bread and whole turkeys (slicing and storing the meat) to send sandwiches to school with Jack every day?  For dinner, I would prepare the night before and marinade my meat and clean all my vegetables in preparation for the next day?

My point is that it shouldn’t be a discussion about processed vs. not-processed but more about the nutritional value and contributions to healthy eating habits that foods bring.  Agreed, frozen pizza isn’t the best choice every day.  But a rotisserie chicken and pre-cut stir-fry vegetables with instant brown rice is a solid meal consistent with healthy eating habits despite the fact that these foods might be considered processed.  And, as someone who doesn’t love to cook, it helps me get a healthy meal on the table for my family.

Visit www.nuval.com to evaluate the nutrition quality of unprocessed and processed foods.

I consider myself to be fairly up-to-speed when it comes to nutrition trends.  But a few weeks ago, I was out to dinner with a few nutrition friends, and was totally unaware of a trend they mentioned – drinking RAW MILK.

Most of the milk sold in the U.S. is pasteurized, which means the milk is subject to heating and then quick cooling to kill harmful bacteria in milk that can cause food poisoning.  Before the process of milk pasteurization became wide spread, up to 25% of food-borne illnesses were from milk.  Today, because of the broad use of pasteurization and laws requiring it, only 1% of food poisoning is linked to milk.

While the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) requires that all milk sold across state lines be pasteurized, they don’t govern what is sold within states.  Different states have different laws about the sale of raw vs. pasteurized milk, with about half outlawing the sale of raw milk.

Why do they outlaw it?  If you think about the anatomy of a cow, you’ll realize that milk and feces (yes, poop) come out of the same end of a cow.  So there is risk that harmful bacteria in the feces can get into the milk.  While pasteurization would kill these bacteria, raw milk isn’t pasteurized, so there’s the risk that people who consume raw milk may be drinking harmful bacteria. 

But proponents of raw milk say that the heat required in pasteurization destroys many beneficial components found naturally in milk including enzymes, vitamins C, B12 and B6, and good bacteria.  They suggest the heat ruins milk protein and lowers the vitamin content.  They believe that raw milk can reduce everything from allergies and skin conditions to rheumatoid arthritis.  They also like the idea of supporting small, local farms that are focused on ethical treatment of animals.  Other research suggests the nutrition composition of raw milk isn’t superior to processed milk. 

So what’s the bottom line on raw milk?  Who wins the pro/con debate?  While we tend to view them as organizations that put all kinds of rules in place, the role of government entities like the USDA is to protect the consumer, which is the case with milk.  From my perspective, you can’t just hop on the band wagon of drinking raw milk because it’s the latest trend.  You have to do your homework and get educated, intentionally choosing a farm to buy it from that has safety measures in place to prevent the contamination of the milk and to test the bacteria levels in the milk.  If you’re going to pre-empt the role of the USDA, you have to assume the role yourself. 

The other point to consider is whether you are looking at raw milk as a silver bullet, believing it will cure all that ails you and perfect the nutrition of your eating habits.  There are many things we can all do to improve our eating habits, and I don’t know that drinking raw milk is at the top of the list.

Visit www.nuval.com to see scores of the overall nutrition quality of milk in all its varieties – skim, whole, with chocolate, soy and more.

My husband, Dan, is definitely much hipper than I.  He’s always up-to-date on pop culture, the latest buzz, trendy text language, and all the rest.  When it comes to nutrition, though, I can hold my own with the best of them as to the latest buzz words.  Here’s a list of what’s trending right now in the food and nutrition world:

Local:  Buying local.  Thinking about the miles that are on your food before you buy it, and the cost of all those miles and the impact on the planet of all those miles.  Farmers’ Markets and CSAs drive against this trend, too.

Eco-friendly: Foods (and other products, too) which claim to inflict little or no harm on the environment.  It’s not legally defined, so food companies can define it however they choose, and most often it is used as a marketing claim. 

Meatless Meals/Meatless Mondays:  Anything Oprah does gets noticed, and Meatless Mondays is one she is driving.  After her segment on veganism , she recommended Meatless Mondays as a “vegan light” option for those who enjoy meat too much to give it up.  Going meatless one or two nights a week can sometimes save money, sometimes be more nutritious. 

Ancient grains:  It’s not just about wheat, corn and rye anymore, but food products with fascinating and interesting grains are available on supermarket shelves everywhere.  Amaranth, quinoa, buckwheat, millet and teff are gluten free, which might be part of the reason they are showing up more frequently in products.  Spelt, kamut, einkorn, triticale, and emmer are also considered ancient grains, defined as having been around for thousands of years.  While some believe these grains are more nutritious (think omega-3s, protein, antioxidants), the nutrition of each grain varies just as the various fruits and vegetables vary in nutrition content.  Choosing whole grains is what’s most important.

Nutrient Rich:  Finally we are moving beyond just talking about the negatives in food (think saturated fat, sodium, added sugar), and looking at all the positives foods supply.  We’re also choosing foods that are more packed with nutrients for their calories (think fiber, omega-3, calcium, vitamin D), and working to navigate away from foods that have calories only, and no beneficial nutrients. 

SoFAS.  This acronym stands for Solid Fats (think saturated and trans fat) and Added Sugars, and is a key theme in the 2010 Dietary Guidelines for Americans.  This buzz word draws attention to these nutrients that are leading to the major diseases in our country (think obesity and heart disease), and are nutrients that absolutely need to be limited in our daily eating habits.

Minimally processed/Whole Foods/Close to nature:  Chose the phrase you prefer, but it’s all about choosing foods more often that are less processed, closer to their original food state. The belief is that driving in this direction leads to healthier eating habits overall.

What other food and nutrition buzz words are a part of your conversations?

Visit www.nuval.com to view scores that penalize SoFAS, honors nutrient rich foods and those closest to nature, and helps you make the most nutritious choices on Meatless Mondays.

It’s an interesting question, and one colleagues of mine debated recently at a meeting.

On the one hand, you could say that the nutrients the human body needs to be “healthy” and to live for years is consistent for everyone.  The human body, after all, needs glucose to fuel the brain, beta carotene and vitamin A for eyesight, vitamin C for collagen development and maintenance, and vitamin D to absorb the calcium bones need to develop and stay strong.  The body itself, when looked at without outside influences, has specific needs in order to function properly.

But take vitamin D.  In certain countries, people get a lot more sunlight than they do in Canada for example.  So Canadians need more dietary sources of vitamin D than people in sunny locations.  And look at obesity vs. malnutrition.  Is the nutritional need in the three countries with the highest rates of malnutrition – India, China, and Bangladesh – really the same as in the three countries with the highest rates of obesity – United States, Mexico, United Kingdom?   Spinach doesn’t have the same health implications in both sets of places.  Neither does a hamburger.  Rates of diabetes are higher in some ethnic groups than others – is it genetics, environment, culture?  It may be hard to say.  But it definitely impacts their nutritional needs.

From my perspective, while the human body in general has the same design and in theory should have the same nutrient requirements, I find it nearly impossible to separate culture and many other unique differences that we each have from our nutritional needs. 

Visit www.nuval.com to see a system that believes nutrition is culture bound, and in its scoring process, includes the relationship of nutrients to disease, the prevalence and seriousness of certain diseases in our country.

When you look at a product package, you’re likely to see colorful bursts making claims such as “low fat,” “reduced sodium,” or “high in fiber.”  While you may look for some claims (think low fat) as a designation of better nutrition, other claims may turn you off (think low sodium) as they may affect the taste too much.  Some people are turned off by all of these claims, always purchasing the regular version of the product.  The bottom line is that some people believe taste and good nutrition can go hand in hand, while others don’t agree.

Food manufacturers are always interested in the opinions of people who buy their products.  They do surveys, conduct focus groups, and offer contests to get feedback about their products from consumers.  Because of this, they understand the dichotomy of consumer choice as it relates to health and claims on the front of the package.

Enter Stealth Health.  This new term coins the momentum by manufacturers to gradually over time improve the nutrition quality of their products without shouting it on the front of the package.  For example, Campbell Soup has been slowly and gradually lowering the sodium in their soups.  The same product 20 years ago had much more sodium.  By making the change gradually, they’ve allowed consumer taste buds to adjust to the reduction in sodium. 

Behind the scenes or communicated upfront and bold, changes to make food products more nutritious are a good thing for consumers. 

Visit www.nuval.com to see scores that get higher as improvements in a product’s nutrition are made.

I’ve always been a bit of a trend watcher, looking to see when the “tipping point” will hit for an idea that we didn’t see coming.  In all honesty, I’m fascinated by tracking forward and backward, with a focus on taking a step back and assessing the landscape to see what will be next.

So, of course, I read with interest the article published in The Atlantic this week highlighting the 10 biggest food stories of 2010.   After all, looking at the past year can speak volumes about what’s coming next.  Here are the ten stories the journalist claims are the big hits from this past year:

1. Our obsession with meat
2. Frakenfish, the idea of GMO salmon
3. School food reform
4. New York City, and how they’re changing policy to make healthier food more readily available
5. The egg recall
6. Food trucks
7. Foraging for naturally grown foods like mushrooms
8. Passage of a new food safety bill
9. Italian food is “IN”
10. America’s foodie-in-chief, Michelle Obama

In looking at this list, the one that strikes most relevant for me is New York City.  In this year alone, the city has tried to prevent use of food stamps for sugar-sweetened beverages, launched an initiative to reduce the amount of sodium in the food supply, and seen national legislation to require labeling in restaurants, an initiative that NYC has been behind for quite some time.

While I’m not necessarily in agreement with everything that New York has done, what the city has proven is that projects and initiatives can start small, and turn into something bigger than life.  They have proven the point that what starts as a small health coalition can gain momentum in changing the landscape of health.  In essence, every individual can make a difference, especially when we come together around common goals.

It all reminds me of a quote I have hanging in my office:

Almost always, the creative, dedicated minority has made the world better.

– Martin Luther King, JR

So as we look back at the past year and forward into the new year, it’s a good time to think about what change each of us can impact for improvement in our own health, the health of our loved ones, the health of our communities. . . and then, who knows where it will all go.

Visit www.nuval.com to use a system that’s all about making change for the better, one food choice at a time.