I think I just made up a word in trying to decide what to title this article! So here it is: Newtrition! What’s my definition? I’m defining it as trends in nutrition for the New Year 2012. I’ve been reading a few New Year’s articles and wanted to share the highlights of what I’m seeing.
Diet Trends for 2012
The first highlight is from Environmental Nutrition: The Newsletter of Food, Nutrition & Health. They have 13 trends listed in their Jan 2012 newsletter, but I’m going to just highlight #13:
Fed up with nutrition misinformation.
“The information super highway may be a bog of myths, urban legends, and unscientific information on nutrition, but look for a growing new appreciation for science-based, practical nutrition information.”
I’d like to congratulate all of you regular readers. This is not a 2012 trend for you! It’s the reason I started writing articles. So many times I would have nutrition consultations or give a class and my clients were confused about the unscientific information on nutrition. Thank you for inspiring me years ago to provide good, science-based, practical nutrition information!
Image via Wikipedia
Start 2012 Off Right
The next highlight is actually 2 different ones from the Environmental Working Group (EWG). I like how they help consumers to make the connection between nutrition and the environment. This is often lost in our culture now where food is typically farmed away from us. Much of the time kids have no idea where food comes from!
I’ve shared before about the Shopper’s Guide to Pesticides in Produce. While there has not been consistent data linking organic foods to better health outcomes, many of my clients are interested in avoiding pesticides whenever possible. Who really wants to eat pesticides anyway?
Be sure to download the guide for your phone or to print and take with you to the grocery store. It tells you the 12 foods that are most contaminated by pesticides and the 15 that are least contaminated!
A Guide for Meat Eaters
I think the theme of my articles comes through pretty clearly. EAT MORE VEGGIES. i.e. eat less meat.
This highlight also comes from the EWG. They report that Americans consume 60% more meat than Europeans. And I’ve told you all before… on average, American’s eat twice as much meat as their bodies need!
Producing all this meat and dairy requires large amounts of pesticides, chemical fertilizer, fuel, feed and water. It also generates greenhouse gases and large amounts of toxic manure and wastewater that pollute groundwater, rivers, streams and, ultimately, the ocean.
Yuck! It doesn’t have to be this way. You can do something about it! Enter… the EWG’s Eat Smart: Meat Eater’s Guide. For those of you who do choose to include meat into your diet, this guide helps you choose the type of meat that has less negative impact on our environment.
3 Minute Office Workouts
This highlight is from AICR, my favorite place to go for evidence-based nutrition and cancer information!
They made this video with information on how you can get a 3 minute workout right at your desk! Awesome!
3-Minute Office Workouts from AICR on Vimeo.
My office mate and I just tried them out. They’re pretty good! Our tip is to make sure you’re not using a chair with wheels or you might be filing a worker’s comp claim!
I hope you enjoy these Newtrition Tips for 2012!
– Julie
