Confused about what constitutes good nutrition? Yeah, me too. My wife and I have been interested in eating healthier and have been reading articles and watching documentaries. In our search to find a consensus, we found there isn’t one. In fact, the more we looked into it, the more questions we had. So I wanted to summarize what we’ve learned and how we’ve tried to piece together a diet.
First off… why is a personal finance blog talking about nutrition?
Well, our diet contributes mightily to our overall health. The obvious tie here is that by staying healthy, we stay out of the doctor’s office or off the surgeon’s table and thus reduce our health spending. And unlike our genetics, and to a lessor extent our environment, our nutrition is within our control. We can manage it, and change it as we need.
Further, nutrition is a large part of our annual expenses. For instance, we spent approximately $9,900 on groceries in 2019 in our household of four. Many spend much more. A shift in our diets can impact our income as much as our annual pay raises (or cuts!).
There is also the environmental aspect of our diet. The food we eat requires resources to be produced. Land for crops and livestock, fertilizer, water, feed, electricity, processing facilities, etc. Negative impacts to our environmental also result in health effects, and can increase our costs directly and indirectly.
So, with all this in mind, it makes sense to take a beat, or two, and be very intentional with what we are putting on our table, in our fridge, and in the pantry.
I think we can all agree that we should eat healthy food, that is reasonably priced, and sustainable to the environment, right?
But what is Healthy, Affordable, and Sustainable Food?
The spectrum of what people consider as healthy eating is wider than the Pacific Ocean. If you can think of a food, there is probably a diet out there that features it as healthy. I mean, there is the Cookie Diet. Seriously. The notion of healthy food changes faster than the shifting sands of the Sahara desert.
Just to pick on one food item, here are some of the statements made about eggs… in the last few years alone.
- Prior to 2000 the American Heart Association thought Eggs were bad.
- They revised their guidance in 2000 and now permit one egg a day
- Three or more eggs a week is bad – Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA)
- “You can eat at least 3 eggs a day” – Healthline article
Part of this confusion is based on our ever-evolving basis of knowledge. As studies are conducted we gain new data and thus, opinions change.
So, we should just stay up to date on the current thinking right?
Yes, but it is not that simple…
What Sources of Information Should We Trust?
I don’t know and here’s why. The issue is complicated by how studies are funded and run. Nutrition is big business. And if you are in the food business, it’s in your company’s best interest that nutritional science supports your products. Therefore, the food industry itself is responsible for funding many of these studies.
Do you really think a company will spend millions of dollars on a study, only to have it show their product has health risks? A bit of a conflict of interest, right? I mean, as an extreme example of this, the cigarette industry used doctors to promote the health benefits of smoking.
Further, there is often conflicting ideas being presented at the same time. Currently, there is a lot of discussion about the benefits of a plant-based diet. This is contrasted by the keto diet and sub-diet, the Carnivore Diet. On one hand, we are told to avoid all meat and the other we are being told to eat only meat… absolute polar opposites.
On the environmental side, there are detractors for eating meat due to greenhouse gas emissions and high water demands. Genetic modification and pesticides highlight a couple of the issues on the plant-based side.
We are Living in a Marketing Machine
The food industry spends big bucks on advertising. I mean it. In 2018, the U.S. food industry spent $5.18 billion on advertising and 2020 spending is projected to grow to $5.37 billion.
Marketing companies are always looking to find “an edge” or a differentiator for their client’s products. The health-focused consumer is one of the biggest targets of marketers. If you can make a consumer believe a food is healthy, they are much more likely to buy it. And we consumers are typically willing to pay more for foods we associate with being healthy or humane. But buyer beware, as consumers we need to be on the lookout for “health halos” and “greenwashing” that can make us feel good about the health aspects of a product that is actually not that healthy.
I’ll beat up on eggs again. Terms such as “all natural”, “hormone-free” sound great, but if you research the industry you will find that all eggs are all natural and hormones are prohibited by law. So… every egg carton could make this claim. “Vegetarian-fed” sounds great, until you learn that chickens are not naturally vegetarian. There’s more: “cage free” chickens may still be crammed into small spaces and prohibited from going outdoors and “free range” only means the birds have “access” to the outdoors, which might only consist of a small screened in porch. This article from Penny Hoarder provides an interesting summary of the what these terms actually mean.
So these terms sound great but they might not be as healthy and humane as you might think. We just recently learned about the truth behind the meaning of these terms. We had been buying “cage-free” eggs at nearly $4 per dozen for years when we could be buying “regular eggs” for $0.78 per dozen.
And Then There are the Lobbyists
One might turn to the government to seek regulation to curb these plays on healthy wording, but then we need to understand the lobbying dollars at play. In 2019 over $24 million was spent on food processing and lobbying sales, while nearly $22 million was spent on crop production and basic processing. Dairy and livestock also account for approximately $7.5 million and $3.1 million, respectively.
So if the regulations seem silly or reasonable progress appear slow… it might be because the industry is spending a lot of money to keep things that way.
This Is Kind of Nuts. What Can We Do Then?
To me, there is no clear path. There is a lot of rubbish out there intermixed with some nuggets of truth. The nutrition world is one of infinite shades of gray. Devotees of each diet can be entrenched in their ways, due to personal experience, peer pressure, or religious reasons. Also, it is possible that each person may react differently to different diets.
I recommend researching multiple view points on each food or diet you are considering. See what makes sense to you. Look up terms that you don’t understand. Try to set aside any pre-conceived notions and keep an open mind. Find someone who seems to be in great shape and ask what works for them.
What Kind of Foods Are In My Diet?
While I still have a lot to research to do, at this point, there are a few foods that I can confidently state that I want to minimize or eliminate from my diet.
- Added sugars (including sugar substitutes)
- Refined Grains – such as breads and white potatoes
- Fruit Juices
- Processed Seed Oils – such as vegetable oil, canola, soybean, corn, etc.
I am less confident in the foods that I that I want to include in my diet. But here is a list based on my current thinking:
- Vegetables – most kinds
- Legumes – such as lentils and beans
- Meats – with an emphasis on higher quality sources
- Eggs – preferably pasture-raised if available
- The occasional fruit
Generally, there is an emphasis here on minimally processed foods or “Whole” foods. The way I see it, most Americans (myself included) have grown so accustomed to eating high amounts of added sugars and heavily processed foods, that simply removing these foods will result in significantly improved health.
During summer months we plant a backyard garden, which allows us to control most of our produce during those months.
With regard to meat, I am willing to pay a premium, if I have a level of confidence that the health claims are real. As an example, we split a side of beef with family members once or twice a year. The beef comes from a farmer known to, and trusted by, the family. Additionally, I try to supplement the beef with wild venison once a year. You could also find local producers by checking out online databases, such the American Grassfed Association.
Back to eggs again one last time. If we see a “pasture-fed” egg at the store we will consider it. Cornucopia.com has a handy scorecard that reviews how organic egg producers grow and treat their chickens. If we can’t find a brand that we are comfortable with, then we will buy the low cost “regular” eggs, since we are done paying premiums for gimmicky and misleading marketing products.
So that is where I would like my diet to be. Sticking to it is another story! I will continue to read up on studies and health trends and will try to maintain an open mind to new information. I will also adjust as needed as I learn how my body responds to this diet.
Thanks for reading!
