Nutrition From The Ground Up

March is Nutrition Month, and even with the month almost over, there is still time to talk about it. The theme for this year is "Nutrition From The Ground Up" which I think is the perfect sentiment. Nutrition has been one of the top talkers lately. Not only in the blogosphere but also in the news, television shows, and among friends. The attention put on our rising obesity rates have also broughtto light the fact that some people are still in need of help when it comes to understanding good nutrition. Part of the problem is all of the confusing and overwhelming information that bombardes us on a daily basis. It seems like each new month brings along a new 'superfood' or nutritent that is the key to health. A key vitamin or supplement drink. Maybe the new fad is to follow a low fat diet or to stop eating carbs. It's confusing een for those of us who pay close attention.

Part of the reason why I've really taken to the ideas of Michael Pollan is because of all this confusion that abounds about nutrition. I mean, really, how can we go wrong eating whole natural foods that people have been eating for centuries? Yes, today it's better to eat organic foods in some cases, but even then, if it comes out of the ground, it's most likely going to be much healthier than anything that started its life in a manufacturing plant.

In honor of nutrition month, I think we should all strive to adopt one new healthy eating habit. This doesn't mean completely revamping how you eat, but at least one small nutritious change. Perhaps it means going to a local farmers market to purchase produce each week instead of the grocery store, eating fewer processed surgary snacks, having fish for dinner one night a week, or having green tea instead of sugary drinks. Just one nutrious change may cause a domino effect as the health benefits are realized. Yes, it's important to get all the necessary vitamins and minerals, but by focusing on eating a variety of well balanced meals, those will come naturally. The way I see it, there isn't so much of a need to get hung up on one certain thing, unless that thing is fresh food!

As a side note, did you catch the first episode of Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution on ABC last night? I'm really looking forward to this series and I can't imagine how hard it must have been for him to tackle such a big project. As the first episode explored, the majority of the people in the town were against him coming in, with camera crew in tow, to change the way they eat. Through government studies, Huntington, WV was found to be the unhealthiest city in the country. To Jamie's defense, he has done a great deal in Great Britain to revolutionize the school food program there and has changed lives of many kids putting them on a path to better health and jobs in the food industry. When they showed the kids eating pizza and drinking chocolate milk for breakfast, my heart sunk. Woody and I were terrified to then see that chicken nuggets were on their plates at lunch. Seriously, there is something wrong there. And that school district is not alone, they were technically following the rules and regulations set by the FDA. I have a feeling that this will be a very interesting series but I do hope that it's regular time slot is not Sunday night at 10pm, because I have a feeling that isn't the highest watched time slot and people really need to see this.

For more information on Nutrition Month, check out http://www.eatright.org/

Did you see Food Revolution last night? What was your reaction?

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Workout Stats:
7.05mi elliptical
100 crunches
2x10 dbl leg & arm extensions
planks - trad & side
3x10 bicep curls
3x10 lat pull downs
stretching