Eat This, Don't Eat That...

Our assignment this week is to talk about our "cooking culture" and to identify the main differences between the dietary guidelines we are taught at the Institute of Integrative Nutrition versus the recommendations provided by our respective countries.

Well, let me tell you about my cooking culture, or background. My mother is a Canadian-Italian, she did pretty much all the cooking at home. My dad is a French-Canadian from Alberta, he cooked eggs and served whatever else he could find in the fridge when mom was away! (but they were the best soft-boiled eggs my 3 siblings and I ever had!) Mom would make large (3 or 4 course) meals that included plenty of meat, pasta, bread, rice, veggies, fruits and dairy. We ate food that was pretty typical at the time. 

I grew up thinking:
 1) you need meat (protein) at every meal and if you don't have it, you'll be anemic (I have a genetic blood disorder called thalassemia minor and iron deficiency is a constant concern in my family)
2) drink your milk if you want to be big and strong
3) there is nothing wrong with white flour
4) desserts are fine (if you eat your supper!)

The IIN says:
1) Most people eat way too much meat! We only need about 40-50 grams of protein daily and non-animal sources are better for us given we are able to combine foods in order to make complete proteins (as opposed to incomplete proteins). Meat IS a good source of heme iron (the most easily absorbed form of iron in our body) but plenty of non-animal foods also have nonheme iron (beans, pumpkin/sesame/squash seeds). So mom, I'm going to stop feeling guilty if I don't eat meat at every meal!;)

2) The IIN recommends eliminating dairy completely from our diet. I will not go into details on this topic right now, we'll save this controversial one for another day! As for other calcium sources...there are plenty!

3) White flour is just like table sugar, i.e. junk. I'm discovering a lot of interesting grain alternatives such as quinoa, amaranth, barley, teff flour, millet, buckwheat, many kinds of dark rice...etc.

4) Excessive sugary desserts are like poison and are often filled with hydrogenated fats and preservatives. But they taste so good...I know! I'm working on that one!;)

Here is the latest version of Canada's Food Guide:

Canada's Food Guide says women aged 19-50 years of age should have 2 servings of Milk and Alternatives daily. I suspect this will change soon, considering how controversial dairy is becoming. It also suggests 6-7 servings of Grain Products, but does not specify "whole grains". Has anyone read "Wheat Belly" by Dr. William Davis!? There is a HUGE difference in nutritional value between, say, white bread and brown rice!

This being said, I really like the fact that the IIN put "career, physical activity, spiritual practice and relationships" on their plate, because food alone doesn't make someone healthy and balanced.