Diary of a Naughty Dietitian III

I haven't posted anything in awhile and I thought I'd make a come-back with a diary entry.

I have been tracking my blog traffic more closely lately and I've noticed that my "diary" entries are some of my most popular posts!
This month, I am going to discuss one of the foods that I am most passionate and concerned with.

BEEF! Unlike many dietitians, I am pro-beef.....actually I'm pro grassfed beef.  I know this is controversial, but that's what makes me a Naughty Dietitian!  Read on.

OK, let's see if I can articulate my opinion.  

The beef industry is controlled by a small handful of huge corporations that control 80% of beef processing.  Just like any corporation, the main goal is MONEY.  

How do they make more money?  By processing as much beef as possible, as quickly as possibly.  Just like humans, cows fatten up fastest when they don't move around much and they eat a lot.  Fattening up the cows is done by putting cows in feedlots before they are "processed." (I'm going to use the term processed, instead of slaughtered to make myself feel better.)  Most cattle start their lives on a family farm, but are sent to a feedlot to gain weight faster, to be "processed" sooner. When cows are put in feedlots, they are in very close quarters, with no grass, lots of poo and are fed grain (primarily corn).  All of this cow-poo and filth equates to the release of methane gases into the environment, which are often blamed for ozone depleted and serious pollution.

Regardless of pollution, when you put a bunch of living creatures in close quarters, what usually happens?  They get sick.  In order to prevent this, cattle are given plenty of antibiotics and other drugs, in fact, the meat industry uses about 75% of the antibiotics in the U.S.!  But as we all know, medicine can't solve all problems and there is inevitable illness.  Although the USDA has strict food safety practices, beef can be contaminated, as history has shown.  The most commonly contaminated meat is ground meat, not only because it is more exposed, but it often contains meat from multiple animals.  Unless you have your meat ground at the butcher, it would be hard to guarantee that it was only from one animal and even harder to guarantee that all those animal were healthy.  In short, if you wanted to know where your pound of ground beef came from, it possibly came from Colorado, Texas, California, Arkansas, Washington, Oklahoma, Nebraska, etc.......all in one pack of meat.  But it's more economical for the beef industry to process these animals all together, in one huge plant.  It makes them more money. YIKES.

Food safety, however is not my main concern with the beef industry.  When cattle are fed grain (corn-based), they fatten up quickly, but it's not natural or normal for cows to eat corn.  Cows Eat Grass!  It is as simple as that!  Sure in their free range days, they may have ran across the occasional stock of corn, but it definitely wasn't a staple in their diet.  Now they are fed corn because it creates a product that makes the Beef Industry more money faster!  It also ruins the nutritional quality of the meat, promotes GMO crops, and is primarily fed in feedlots.

  

Let's compare the nutritional quality of grain fed vs grass fed beef.  Grass fed meat is:

• Lower in fat, therefore, lower in calories (one study I read said by simply switching to grass-fed meat, the average American would lose 6 pounds in a year!)
• Higher in Omega-3 fatty acids (heart healthy fats), 2-4x as much as grain fed.
• It's higher in antioxidants, like vitamin E and A

Not only is grass-fed beef nutritionally superior, but it promotes a healthier environment for humans and cattle!  It's truly a win-win situation, unless you are the beef industry, of course.  Grass fed cattle are on pasture or free range, allowing them to move around and breathe the fresh air, these two things alone could help prevent illness, therefore use less medicine.  Secondly, since they are moving, they can poop where ever they want to, instead of piling it up in the close quarters of a feedlot.  When they poop all over God's green earth (instead of in one spot), it is naturally composted back into the soil and doesn't release a fraction of the gases produced in a feedlot.  

Ok, so far grass fed meat equals:

• Better nutrition for us 
• Less antibiotics and other pharmaceuticals for everyone
• Less illness for cows
• Less pollution for Mother Earth

Now why in the world aren't we switching over to grassfed meat?  Well it's because the beef market is controlled by a handful of very rich corporations that want to make more money.  They don't want anyone else processing beef, so they make it practically impossible for the small-town butcher to commercially and legally sell meat.  So if you can find it, it's usually very expensive.  Most cattle ranchers have one choice and that's to send their cattle to a feedlot.  In general, small, independent slaughterhouses are safer and more direct.  

Grassfed beef could also benefit:

• The rancher
• The small businesses
• The consumer
• The community, creating jobs

So what's the solution?  We need to take baby steps backward in time...back to a time when we either raised our own meat or bought it from our neighbors.  We need to:

• Allow small businesses to process, resale and distribute homegrown, grass fed beef.   This would be an alternative for ranchers sending their cattle to feedlots ran by the beef industry. 
• Allow ranchers to free-range their cattle on public land.  If you haven't been on a road-trip across America lately (I just drove from Savannah, GA --> Scottsdale, AZ), we have lots of land and grass that is just sitting there!  We may as well put it to good use!
• Quit eating fast food, they are the #1 purchasers of cornfed, feedlot beef. They keep these the large, money-hungry beef corporations in business and in charge of your food supply.
• Quit buying beef from the grocery store!  If at all possible, buy local/grassfed or at least have the grocery butcher grind your meat for you.
• Buy meat local and support local farms.  The more you know about your food, the better. If you live in a city, consider buying in bulk from a farmer's market or local butcher shop.  If you live in the country, buy beef from local ranchers and process it at a local butcher.  You can even carefully shop online.
• Put MORE MONEY in the pockets of farmers and small businesses, not large corporations.

I know this plan is full of flaws, but if everyone did something little, like buy local, it could make a huge difference!  I know there are many other view points on this subject, including becoming vegetarian, but that's just simply not an option for me! :)  I think beef, especially local, grassfed beef, can be a part of every healthy diet and has many powerful nutritional qualities, including zinc, vitamin B12, iron and other vitamins/minerals.  I believe in a diet full of variety and I personally LOVE beef, it's my favorite meat protein source.
Because of monopolizing corporations like the beef industry, there are nearly 5 million fewer farms in the U.S. than there was in the 1930's, with about 330 farmers leaving their land each week.  Family farms are one of the most important things we can support as a culture.  They keep green space in the community and produce healthy foods and other goods without the chemicals or filth of industrial farms.  Start with buying meat local and work up to buying other things like produce, milk, and other items.
It took us 100 years to create the mess we are in with our food system, but with determination maybe we can reverse it in half the time!  What do you think?

Diary of Naughty Dietitian Part II

What better way to admit our flaws than through a New Years Resolution?  We can actually admit that we need to lose weight, eat healthier, spend time with loved ones or clean our messy house.
So what do I have to admit to you all during the first week of 2012?  I have had the same resolution every year for the past 10 years!  Surprisingly enough, it has nothing to do with my diet.  It has to do with my language, specifically my sailor mouth.  Try as I might, when I get worked up, those naughty words just slip right into my vocabulary, just like butter.
Once again, my resolution for 2012 is to clean up my dirty mouth and while I'm at it I may as well clean up some other "dirty" things I put in my mouth.  And by dirty, I mean the overly-processed, sugary, salty, and nutrition-less foods that sometimes slip into my diet -- Into ALL of our diets.  It's nothing to be ashamed of, if it happens rarely, but if things like soda (diet or regular), refined grains (bread/cereal that's not whole grain, crackers, tortillas), processed meats/cheeses (some deli meat, hot dogs/sausage, american cheese), sweets (cookies, candy, cake, mochas, granola bars...), and/or fast food dominate your diet, then it's time to make a change in 2012.  Take the first step.

Once I start letting these foods into my diet, it's like a downward spiral.  It can take over because these foods are everywhere!  They are at the coffee shop, gas station, restaurants, parties, and in our own pantry. If we all step back and take a look at these foods, what are they?  Most of them were "whole foods" at one point or another, for example, a hot dog was once a real piece of meat or anything with wheat in it was once a whole grain.  But our food industry has morphed our "real" food (meat, grains, etc) into something that resembles food.  In reality it's junk that has been processed until there is no nutrition left in it.  The only thing left is calories, carbohydrates and fat...which we all need, but not in these absurd amounts.  Much of our food is so heavily processed that nutrients have to be added back to them, this is called enrichment & fortification.  Take whole wheat for example, whole wheat has a multitude of vitamins, minerals, protein and fiber.  However, when whole wheat is processed to make white flour, most of this is lost and must be added back to it.

So it seems simple, right?  Take out the processed stuff and replace it with real food ... whole foods like fresh fruit, vegetables, beans, meats, whole grains, and dairy.  But we have been trained to like junk food, so this is easier said than done.  Junk food is notoriously high in carbohydrates and fat, two things that our body needs to survive.  From an evolutionary standpoint, we may be more attracted to these foods because they provide lots of calories and instant energy to help us fight off that wild beast that's trying to get into our cave and steal our mortar and pestle....or whatever caveman story you can imagine.
Maybe that's why we are so attracted to junk food, but in reality we rarely use our fight or flight response and can usually be found in front of a computer, steering wheel or TV.

So what does the 2012 version of a human need to be healthy?  The same thing the caveman needed.  We need a variety of foods like fruit, veggies, meats, dairy, beans....we just need some more than others. Flash back to the caveman, he had a regular intake of thing like berries, veggies, grains, beans from gathering, plus the occasional meats from a successful hunt.  Let's also pretend that cavemen had cows/goats/sheep and had milk!  Plus, the caveman also ran across the occasional honey pot and whale blubber and he splurged because he couldn't help it!!! ;)
So there you have it, eat more fruit, veggies, beans, dairy, plus a modest amount of meat and the splurge occasionally.
It takes time to retrain your mind & body.... it's an ongoing process.  I struggle as much as the next person.  Be patient, be kind and be positive.  Evolution will come back to you.
And that's my sick-twisted diary entry for the New Year.

Enjoy the good life in 2012.
Cheers.
Dana, the "Naughty Dietitian"

PS. I have been practicing as I preach since Christmas and I feel like a million bucks.  You will too. Just do it!

Diary of a Naughty Dietitian (Part I)

If you have been reading my blog, you may have noticed that I'm not perfect when it comes to nutrition.  There's a very misleading notion that all dietitians follow a strictly healthy diet.

When I first meet someone and I tell them that I'm a dietitian, they usually get a little look of guilt in their eyes, like, "Crap, I bet she knows that I had a Snickers bar for lunch! I'm such a bad, naughty eater."
Then I get a feeling of judgement, like, "I bet they are worried about what I think about their diet."
Well the truth is.... I don't judge.  I don't judge because I am naughty too.  Just because I became a Registered Dietitian, studied nutrition for 7 years, and have a Masters degree in nutrition doesn't mean I am exempt from the everyday struggles of eating a healthy diet.

I binge on cookie dough & cake batter when I'm cooking sometimes.
I skip lunch.
I don't always eat enough fruits & veggies everyday.
I love red meat.
I drink too much coffee.
I eat a lot of carbohydrates.
I have sweet cravings that I'm pretty sure could move an 18-wheeler.
I don't drink enough water.
I am comforted by food.
I probably drink too much wine. ;)


And this list could go on and on.  Being a healthy individual has so many parts.  It's not just eating healthy.  It's emotional, psychological, physical and social.

Although I don't have a perfectly clean diet, I am 100% happy with my health.  Being too extreme will lead to unhealthiness and unhappiness.  Being on too strict of a diet plan will eventually lead to failure.

For example, a young man, "Joe," decides that he's going to be on a RAW diet.  So the only thing he eats is fruits, veggies, legumes, raw milk.....you get the picture, his diet is extremely limited.  His girlfriend & friends begins to resent the new diet because they never get to go out to dinners together, have casual dinner parties or football takeout on Sundays.  Joe's family finds his diet odd and is offended when he doesn't come to family affairs that involve food.  They question him when he does show up and it usually leads to a heated conflict.  Joe's co-workers notice that his mood has changed and he's pre-occupied with food.  Joe is obsessed with the number on the scale.

An opposite example, portrays the same issues related to extreme food habits.  A middle aged mom, "Carrie," has entirely lost control of her diet.  She is stressed with work, school, kids, and family.  Carrie has given up on eating a well-balanced diet because she doesn't have the time or effort left.  So she skips meals, gulps soda/coffee/etc. all day and binges at night.  She overeats at dinner because she hasn't eaten all day, then snacks all evening on cookies, cake, chips, and drinks.  Carrie's family is concerned because she has no energy to play with them and she her attitude is always very short.  Her friends are concerned because she is losing her self confidence and is no longer excited about their monthly "girls night out."  Carrie has steadily gained 10 pounds per year in the last 5 years and is carrying around an extra 50 pounds.

It's simple, food is social and relationships are affected by how we chose to eat.  If your diet interferes with your relationships, it's just not right.

So how do you find that happy place that allows you to be confident and happy?  It's all about balance.  This is the only way I have found to be content with my diet.  My main goal is not to create the perfect diet, it's to find a perfect balance.  I strive to create synergy between my splurges, my life, my exercise patterns and my true nutrition needs.  In the big picture, we should be meeting our dietary needs most of the time.  I follow The 80/20 Rule.  I make an earnest effort to eat well 80% of the time and the other 20% I allow myself to eat the foods I crave, socially drink, & try new things.

Variety is the spice of life, right?

By following this simple rule, I make my body and mind happy.  When I first began studying nutrition, I tried to have a very clean diet.  Everything was low-fat and my meals were all planned out.  I found that the stricter I was on myself, the more I craved food for comfort.  It led to overeating and feeling terrible.
I slowly learned that the occasional splurge was just what I needed to stay on track.  So nowadays I exercise "most" days and I eat healthy "most" days.  And on those off days, I don't feel bad about it.

I love being a naughty dietitian because I feel like a real person.  I don't judge and I can relate.

This new area of my blog is going to discuss my outlook on nutrition.  Being healthy doesn't have to be difficult or extreme.  I want to take on a variety of topics here.  I look forward to hearing your comments & suggestions.

Cheers, D.