1.     Eat more Plant foods specifically Vegetables, Fruits, Legumes, Whole Grains, Fruits, Nuts. In fact, at least half of your meals and snacks should be comprised of plant foods.
Why: For decades, Americans have failed woefully to meet national nutrition recommendations that are directly associated with health. Almost 90% of us don’t eat enough vegetables; 80% of us don’t eat enough fruit; and 98% fall well below recommendations for whole grains. Meanwhile, about 75% of Americans exceed the recommended intake for refined grains (white bread, white rice, and pasta) meat, poultry, and eggs. 

Research shows that people who eat higher amounts of healthy plant-based foods—such as leafy greens, whole grains, and beans— have lower risks of heart disease, diabetes, and stroke than people whose diets comprise mainly refined grains, potatoes, added sugars, and red meat. What’s more, when people replaced refined carbohydrates in their regular diets with vegetables and fruits, they lost more weight and maintained that weight loss long term, when compared to people who didn’t change their eating habits. 

From a planet perspective, eating a plant-based diet can reduce greenhouse gas emissions from food production by 30% to 55%. Remember—just as we have only one body, we have only one earth, which is heating up fast. (Life is not a dress rehearsal!) Humans are omnivores, designed to eat plant and animal foods. We don’t all need to become vegetarians (although a potentially healthful diet). Rather, as a population, we need to cut back on animal-sourced food while increasing more plant-based foods each day. 

Unfortunately, there are plenty of highly processed packaged foods that claim to be healthy, plant-based options, such as imitation meat burgers and veggies snacks. Whole plant foods are the most nutritious and have less of an environmental impact. 

How: To help increase vegetables, fruits, legumes, whole grains and nuts in your diet, consider the Meatless Monday campaign, the Mediterranean Diet, the EAT-Lancet Planetary Health Diet, and/or the DASH Diet (particularly helpful with high blood pressure.)

2.     Limit Processed & Ultra-Processed Foods

Why: Food processing is a spectrum of technologies from basic milling or freezing, to the addition of salt, sweeteners, fats, artificial flavors, colors, preservatives, etc., to mechanical pulverization that extrudes a fraction to be used to manufacture a food product. 

Unhealthy saturated fats, added sugars, and excess sodium are ingredients used widely in the production of highly/ultra-processed foods and have become markers of poor diet quality due to their effect on heart disease, obesity, and high blood pressure. It is thought that many of these highly/ultra-processed foods are designed specifically to increase cravings and that habitual consumption of these foods will increase their purchase. 

Many highly processed foods have been stripped of nutritional value and fiber such as sugary drinks and luncheon meats. A regular diet of processed foods displaces consumption of more nutritious, whole plant foods that can contribute to undernutrition and micronutrient deficiencies. When considering a plant-based meat alternative, recognize that it isn’t intrinsically healthier if it’s ultra-processed. Instead of avoiding animal foods altogether, consider moderate portions of sustainably raised meats and poultry products that are both better for the environment and animal welfare. 
How:  • Choose foods closest to their original whole, natural form, or those that have been minimally processed. • Read the ingredient lists on packaged food; the longer the list, the more processed the food. 
• Pay attention to excess packaging in some food ultra-processed foods, such as a large plastic tub for cheese curls…many plastics aren’t recyclable.

3.     Buy Local - Eat Local

Why: Research shows that fresh food harvested and stored for long periods of time to endure transport over long distances lacks the nutritional quality and flavor when compared to food that is eaten soon after harvest. (If food lacks flavor, why eat it?) Moreover, the energy and environmental costs are significant when we consume food grown across the country, or across the world. Consider the status of food and supplies during the COVID pandemic. When we buy locally grown food, we are supporting the livelihoods of our neighbors and the economic strength of our communities. 

How: • Know where your food comes from! • When possible, buy locally from regional food producers. • Seek out farms, markets, and other local food producers in your community. • Even in the coolest climates, many farmers freeze berries, vegetables, meats, and poultry at harvest for winter purchase. • Plan a vegetable garden so it’s ready to go with the warmer seasons.

4.     Limit Food Waste

Why: About 40% of all food grown and produced goes uneaten. This occurs all along the food chain from production, distribution, storage, retail, and with us, the consumer. Think about the amount of food you buy each week, the average cost, and then estimate how much of that food goes uneaten. Aside from your wallet, there’s quite an energy and environmental expense incurred to get food from the farm or manufacturing plant to your kitchen. In addition, most discarded food ends up in landfills. Decomposing food waste produces methane, a strong greenhouse gas that contributes to global warming. 

How: • Consider a meal plan ahead of shopping instead of impulse purchases. • Choose fresh vegetables and fruits you’re confident you’ll use before they perish, typically within a week .• Frozen and canned produce are also healthy options that can be kept on hand. • Some food waste is inevitable. Consider home compositing or a local/municipal service that collects food waste. 

 5.     Eat Mindful — Listen to Your Body
Why: Mindful eating focuses on being aware of your physical and emotional senses so as to encourage food choices that will satisfy and nourish you. Being mindful about your food and eating behaviors discourages judgement and increases gratitude. 

Consider the many reasons why we eat from hunger to boredom to stress to unintentional stimulation (for example, walking by a fragrant bakery.)

If you typically eat meals and snacks while watching a television or computer screen, or perhaps while driving, recognize that you are asleep-at-the-meal. This distraction contributes to eating fast, often too much, and can leave us feeling both emotionally and physically stressed.

How: • It takes 15-20 minutes for your stomach to signal your brain that you are physically full. • Practice listening to your body’s hunger and  fullness cues. • Take the time and a place at the dining table when you eat.  • Consider how your food was grown or produced, and all the efforts and energy it took to make this
food available for you to enjoy and nourish you.

Finally, The Healthy Living Guide from the Nutrition Source at the Harvard School of Public Health is an especially good resource for eating well and living well. 

~ Wishing you (and the planet ;) a bright, healthy, and happy 2022!