Diets for top performances and daily survival

Cabbage

Yesterday I visited a food shelf in South Minneapolis.  Like many social services, they have far greater demand than they have resources.  Later in the day I read a news piece from Minnesota Public Radio, Report: More children on food stamps, which noted there are now 500,000 Minnesotan's on food stamps, twice as many as there were in 2006.  The fastest growing group requiring food stamps are children. This is a disturbing trend.

While many children and young people struggle with simply getting enough to eat, others are focused on high performance diets. In the StarTribune an article, Top athletes believe diet is key to success, notes how many young people are giving up soda, and eating heathy foods to improve their athletic performances.  We got rid of pop in our house after our daughter's cross country coach let the runners know how bad it was for them.

I'm pleased to report that the Victory-Peace garden at our church has donated over 200 pounds of fresh vegetables to the local food shelf at PRISM.

Groomed to consume

Earlier this week, while running around the park, I noticed a young guy riding a large red plastic battery operated fire truck.  His grandmother was riding a bike nearby. I couldn't help but think about how this little guy was being groomed to be a passive consumer of battery powered gizmos.

The day before I saw a couple of boys, of about the same age, who were tooling around the park on bikes with training wheels.  How much better it was for them to be getting exercise, while also powering themselves in order to get to the places they wanted to go.

A story in the StarTribune, Lunchroom menus push healthy foods, noted how new school lunch menus were being developed for students that included more fruits and vegetables and fewer calories.  This is in response to an obesity rate of 17 percent among American children. What a good thing it is for children to be groomed to consume heathy foods.  While some adults fear that kids won't eat healthy foods, the nutrition director for the Minneapolis School District, Bertrand Weber, noted "Kids will eat the food if it's presented well, if it tastes good and if we keep reinforcing and keep doing it over and over again." Isn't it great that we might begin grooming kids in school to consume healthy foods?!

Healthy and not so healthy eating in China

Home made bread

I listened with great interest to a story on National Public Radio about the changing eating habits of people living in mainland China.  I've long been impressed with the health and vitality of most of the Chinese people I've met, here in the US, Taiwan and mainland China.

Seems that with financial prosperity overeating, soda and unhealthy foods are emerging and leading to problems with obesity and poor health.  I'm reminded of a story about Daniel, the prophet from the Old Testament, who recommended to the king a diet of vegetables and water rather than rich foods and wine for his servants. After just 10 days the healthy results of this diet impressed King Nebuchadnezzar. (Daniel 1:12-16)

For people with more than enough the challenge is to demonstrate self restraint in order live and eat simply, and assist others who are lacking.  I'm reminded of a slogan from the 70's, "Live simply, so that others might simply live." And paradoxically, through living simply the richness and quality of life is actually enhanced.

McDonald's and healthier choices

Seems McDonald's has taken a small step forward in offering healthier choices for kid's Happy Meals (Consumer Reports: McDonald's to slim down Happy Meals).  They are including apple slices and reducing the size of fries with theses meals geared toward children.

Sadly, they didn't address the biggest culprit of poor nutrition - sodas.  As noted in an earlier blog, there are plenty of reasons NOT to drink soda. If McDonald's was more serious about nutrition than profit, this would be a slam dunk for them to change.  Water or milk would be far more favorable to soda as the default drink choice for  children's meals.  However, as I'm becoming increasingly aware, PROFIT is almost the sole corporate motivator.  Even with this slight menu change at McDonald's, it appears PR is the primary driver, not nutrition.

Practicing good nutrition & active lifestyle

Skier at Theodore Wirth

With the start of the new year, Newark, New Jersey's mayor, Cory Booker, has publicly pledged to change his lifestyle in order to to lose 45 pounds.  As an Honorary Vice-Chair of the Partnership for a Healthier America he realizes despite the hectic schedule and daily stresses of his work he needs to take better care of his own health.  He then referenced the following story about Mahatma Gandhi. 

A woman waited in a long line with her son to see the Mahatma. When she finally got her audience, she asked him to speak to her son. You see, Gandhi was known to emphasize dietary discipline and her son’s health was deteriorating due to the amounts of sweets and sugar he was eating.

“Mahatma, would you please tell my son to stop eating sugar.”
Gandhi looked at her with sympathy and compassion, looked upon the boy as well, and then shook his head and said, “I will not.”

The woman protested, and began to ask Gandhi again, but Gandhi raised his hand interrupting her and said, “Please, come back in two months and ask me again.”
 Disappointed, the woman left

Two months later she returned with her son and made her plea again, “Mahatma, please tell my son to stop eating sugar.” This time Gandhi got up from where he was seated. He reached out his hand, touched the boy on his shoulder, and said, “My son, you must stop eating sugar.

The boy was obviously affected by the great Gandhi touching and speaking to him. The mother was overjoyed and profusely thanked Gandhi and then turned to leave. After a few steps, she stopped, turned around and said, “Great Mahatma, I am so thankful, but I am confused. Why didn’t you just tell my son to stop eating sugar two months ago?”

Gandhi looked at her kindly and said, “Because two months ago, I was eating sugar.”

Sledding sculpture at Theodore Wirth

He also reference the following observation made by James Baldwin: “Children are never good at listening to their elders but they never fail to imitate them.”

If you are interested in following Mayor Booker's progress, he will be posting it on his Facebook page, using the slogan from the White House's campaign "Lets Move!".  His first lifestyle commitment is not to watch television, unless he's working out on his stationary bike. 

You go Mayor Cory Booker!

Nutrition and cooking education needed

An interesting article in today's StarTribune about a University of Minnesota researcher who is on a mission to educate children and families about healthy eating habits. The need for Americans to improve their diet and exercise habits is extraordinary. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention figures that 34 percent of adults in the US are obese, while another 34 percent are overweight. Big gulp!

Maybe it is time for schools to teach nutrition and meal preparation.  Many, perhaps most kids don't know how to prepare a well balanced meal.  Isn't this just as important to their health, and the health of our nation, as reading, writing and math, which thanks to our testing systems have become the preeminent subject matters?

It is extremely difficult to change habits, especially when those habits are being developed and reinforced in the home.  Questionable eating habits are also feed by a corporate marketing machine that has encouraged us all to "super size".  Seems we have.  Perhaps they can now move on to a "down size me" campaign?

Thankfully many schools have been removing pop machines from their buildings, despite their roles as cash cows.  If only they produced milk ;-) 

Pictures from the garden, above and below