My recommendations for new Canada Food Guide

This blog was originally posted on October 31, 2016

Health Canada is seeking guidance on how to revise its Food Guide. The most current research findings and the needs of a diverse population have to be taken into account. 

This is a tough job with a lot of stakeholder interest. Agribusiness and the food and beverage industry, lobby intensely to have their needs met. As a result, past food guides have been far from evidenced based and have not served Canadians well.

I teach people to eat well to age optimally. But compliance is difficult in an environment of around-the-clock access to poor quality processed food. 

Right now Canadians have the opportunity to promote change in our food supply.

The health of our body is a reflection of the health of the environment. Food production and delivery must be respectful of the soil,  wildlife, ambient air quality and the health and well being of farmers and consumers.

I am fully aware that every policy decision has an impact on the health of Canadians. Our living conditions (social determinants of health) matter. For example, having a good job and thriving economy materially impact health outcome.

But we need to inspire agribusiness and the food and beverage industry to deliver higher quality products sustainably - to prioritize the health of consumers and the environment - not just profitability.

Up until December 8th, 2016 we can have a say on the new Health Canada dietary guidelines. By completing this on-line questionnaire, expressing our informed thoughts and opinions, we can help promote constructive policy change.

I have taken the time to share the following.

20 Recommendations to include in Health Canada's revised Food Guide:

1. Consider Brazil’s new dietary guidelines as a base. Michael Pollan’s book “Food Rules” also has some great recommendations.

2. Use visuals. Show plates featuring healthy colourful foods, in the right proportion, for the right age bracket.

3. Add a colourful array of fresh, local, in season, organic or naturally and sustainably produced vegetables and some fruit, to every meal and snack. Consider Environmental Working Group's (EWG) dirty dozen and clean fifteen. 

4. Less emphasis should be placed on reading labels, and more emphasis should be placed on cooking at home with raw ingredients our ancestors would recognize.

5. Fat is not the enemy. Eat high quality fats like avocados; nuts and seeds; coconut oil for cooking; extra virgin olive oil; fatty wild cold water fish; and small amounts of pastured, antibiotic and hormone free animal fats.

6. If eating meat, don’t just eat the muscle, which in excess can cause inflammation. Bone broths and organ meats from clean naturally raised animals provide nutrients that support bone, joint and immune health.

7. Drink filtered tap water, herbal and other health promoting teas. Avoid sweet beverages.

8. If possible grow some of your own food. A window box will do. Even on a windowsill or counter, one can grow herbs, spices and sprouts. These foods will help one adapt to the local environment.

9. Eat some foods that have been pre-digested by bacteria and yeast. Active bacterial and fungal cultures help repopulate our gut with microbes that help produce vitamins, break down food, create nutrients that heal and seal the gut, detoxify, keep unhealthy bugs in check, and prevent inappropriate an immune response to harmless food proteins and pollens.

10. Grain and cereal is not a food group. If I ate as many servings of grains and cereals as the current dietary guidelines recommend for adults, I would have a lot of inflammatory belly fat, and I’m relatively active.

Drop refined grains and cereals enriched with synthetic folic acid. Stripping the grain of essential nutrients and then fortifying it with synthetic ones, makes little sense. While folic acid may help prevent reproductive women from having birth defects, it can be very harmful to a significant proportion of the rest of the population. [1] [2] 

11. Eat till 80% full. Adopt this Okinawan Japanese practice which they call "hara hachi bu". The Okinawan live long healthy lives. Many live well beyond 100.

12. Chew your food well to reduce the burden on your digestive system.

13. Eat at the table, preferably with others, mindfully and gratefully.

14. Like grains, dairy is not a food group. Not every one can tolerate it. There are better natural sources of calcium and vitamin D. 

15. Stop adding gluten to packaged foods and adding glues to meats and gluten free pastas, both of which have the potential to increase susceptibility to Celiac.[3] [4]

16. Use smaller plates and glasses at meal time.

17. Get safe sun exposure for natural vitamin D production in the spring, summer and fall. Consider cod liver oil supplementation, a natural source of vitamin D and other fat soluble vitamins that enhance its absorption, late fall to early spring.

18. Make family meals a priority. Teach children to recognize healthy food, to prepare it and to recognize that food can be the best medicine.

19. Avoid conventionally grown grains, cereal, sugar, canola, soy, factory farmed animal fats and “vegetable” oils. These are not healthy or sustainably produced.

20. Be active throughout the day. Prolonged sitting is detrimental to health. Fuel the active part of your day. Most people should avoid food consumption for at least three hours before bed.

Citations:

[1] Keum, NaNa et al.. Folic Acid Fortification and Colorectal Cancer Risk. American Journal of Preventive Medicine, Volume 46 Issue 3 , S65 - S72

[2] Lucock, Mark, and Zoe Yates. "Folic acid fortification: a double-edged sword." Current Opinion in Clinical Nutrition & Metabolic Care 12.6 (2009): 555-564.

[3] L. Day, M.A. Augustin, I.L. Batey, C.W. Wrigley. Wheat-gluten uses and industry needs. Trends in Food Science & Technology, Volume 17, Issue 2, Pages 82-90

[4] Lerner A, Matthias T. Possible association between celiac disease and bacterial transglutaminase in food processing: a hypothesis. Nutrition Reviews. 2015;73(8):544-552. doi:10.1093/nutrit/nuv011