Welcome to another episode of Fresh Focus, I’m Sara your host for today. In this episode I want to take some time as a dietitian to talk about National Nutrition Month.

First, in case you are listening in and asking yourself what exactly is National Nutrition month. I want to provide you with a little bit of history. "National Nutrition Week," which was initiated in March 1973, was embraced by members of the American Dietetic Association (which is now called the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics) as a way to deliver nutrition education messages to the public while promoting the profession of dietetics. In 1980 (just before I was born actually!), in response to a growing public interest in nutrition, the week-long celebration expanded to become a month-long observance.

National nutrition month is celebrated in March and includes National Registered Dietitian Nutritionist day. Now that’s a bit of mouthful, even for me, so we tend to go by dietitians or RDN’s for short. RDN day was first celebrated in 2008 and commemorates the dedication of dietitians as advocates for advancing the nutrition status of Americans and people around the world. RDN day, which is celebrated each year on the second Wednesday in March, serves to recognize both RDNs and nutrition and dietetic technicians, registered for their commitment to helping people enjoy healthy lives.

The Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics (which is another mouthful and we tend to refer to it as just “THE ACADEMY”)’s mission is to promote optimal nutrition and well-being for all people by advocating for its members. There are more than 100,000 credentialed practitioners in the Academy, making it the world's largest organization of food and nutrition professionals. The majority of the Academy's members are RDN’s and nutrition and dietetic technicians, registered.

So essentially, RDN’s are the food and nutrition experts. We have specialized training in order to offer medical nutrition therapy and we work as part of the health care team or as we say in the VA-we work with your Primary Care Team in the treatment and prevention of disease. RDNs promote healthy lifestyle choices and create personal nutrition plans for individuals of all ages using a whole health approach. RDNs also empower and equip people to take charge of their health and well-being to live their life to the fullest. We are able to separate the facts from the fads and give you evidenced-based nutrition information that you can use. Because of this it’s important to consider working with a dietitian if you have a desire to improve your nutrition.

National Nutrition Month can be a good reminder for all listening that the VA has a dietitian in your area and it’s important to know how to contact with any of your nutrition related questions. You can do a number of things like: Call your local VA to schedule an appointment or ask your local VA about same day appointment availability. You can ask your VA PACT or health care team like your doctor/Nurse Practitioner or nurse for a referral and you can log in to MyHealtheVet and send a Secure Message.

Each year the Academy asks dietitians for input regarding the upcoming theme for national nutrition month. In 2021 the theme was “Personalize your plate.” Previous themes from past years have included “Eat right, bite by bite”, “Go Further with Food”, “Put you best fork forward” and “Savor the flavor of eating right.” Each theme presents healthy eating in a fun and helpful way to improve the health of all people. The purpose of the theme is to provide a general idea to build on when making changes to your diet and lifestyle. Dietitians may use these themes to get nutrition messages out to their patients and the general public.

Now, National Nutrition Month has always been an opportunity for dietitians to get creative and to find new ways to present healthy eating and lifestyle ideas to people in a variety of ways so stay tuned to your local VA and look for some fun activities planned for March every year! Since dietitians can be a creative bunch, many have been finding ways to deliver food and nutrition messages both remotely and in person. Other things we may do is use education materials at tables and booths in lobbies and grocery stores, social media messaging using Facebook/Twitter/YouTube, videos (including Healthy Teaching Kitchen videos on our VA site), podcasts, like this one, as well as providing extra classes on topics of interest in nutrition. The upcoming National Nutrition Month theme for 2022 is CELEBRATE A WORLD OF FLAVORS. This year's theme embraces global cultures, cuisines and inclusivity, plus showcases the expertise of RDNs.

As a foodie myself I am very excited about this year’s theme as I really enjoy eating cuisines from traditions other than those that I grew up with. In honor of this upcoming theme I would like to take some time to discuss how we can meet our health goals while engaging in new food traditions. Many people are familiar with specific diets that come from different regions such as the Asian diet or the Mediterranean diet but do we really need to follow just one diet? I believe that it is possible to take what you like from different global dietary patterns and incorporate them into your life in healthy, individualized ways. Afterall, what if you are allergic to fish or you don’t enjoy eating rice? Following someone else’s version of a healthy diet can feel foreign…because-well it is! We can still have our own personal likes and dislikes while taking what we enjoy from different dietary perspectives. Taste is personal and food is personal and we can respect differences while being open to trying new and exciting foods. A healthy plate can include foods from all corners of the globe.
Regardless of your food choices, try to follow these general guidelines when planning meals: First, make half your plate fruits and non-starchy vegetables, then save a quarter of the plate for protein, such as lean meat, poultry, seafood or beans, and the other quarter of the plate for starchy vegetables or grains, preferably whole grains. With each meal feel free to add calcium-rich foods such as fat-free or low-fat milk, yogurt, cheese or calcium-fortified non-dairy beverages like no sugar added nut, oat and rice milk. We’re lucky in the US as we have increasing varieties of food available making nutritious meals that can fit within any cultural preference. I thought that it might be fun to discuss some different global dietary patterns and foods today and talk about ways that anyone can incorporate them into their own diet.

North American and US food traditions are really a mix of many other cuisines today. Many of the traditional north American foods are influenced by the Native Americans, French, Polynesians, Germans, Scandinavians, Eastern and Western Europeans as well as many others. There is definitely a “rainbow cuisine” here in the United States due to the migration of different people to the country. Some of the first traditions of this region are those of Native Americans. Diet staples include corn, beans, pumpkin, sunflower seeds and tomatoes. Many Native American cultures still harvest wild fruits and herbs, nuts and other plants. The 3 spices that are native to North America are allspice, vanilla and chiles. Native American food traditions include the very important aim to promote eating whole foods in a sustainable way. Food also can help to tell stories in many native American cultures and these stories may have lessons about how humans have nourished themselves across generations. Food often carries an emotional memory and an aroma or taste may take us back to a particular place or experience.

North American cuisine is influenced by the traditions of Native Americans, those countries that border the US and by those who colonized the area starting around 15th century. Traditions of Spain, Great Brittan, France and the Netherlands came with the people as did some of their fruits, vegetables and animals. As more people migrated to the US from other regions of the world so did their foods like German Spaetzle, French ratatouille, British fish and chips and Swedish meatballs. I myself grew up with Eastern European foods like pierogis, kielbasa, stuffed cabbage rolls and halushki (which is cooked cabbage and noodles). In traveling to Hawaii I was lucky enough to indulge in Polynesian fare like taro, poi, breadfruit and poke and these foods can be found on the mainland as well. Many African traditions are prevalent in the US and may include dishes such as Piri piri chicken, Koshari and Shakshouka with the use of staple foods like rice, lentils, potatoes and eggs being prevalent. Opportunities abound in many parts of the country and we are lucky to be able to get recipes and ingredients to make foods from nearly any global region in the US. Recipes can be found on the internet, recipe books are prevalent and many ingredients that are less common can often be found at international grocery stores. When looking for a new ingredient you may also find yourself in a new grocery store!

Traditions from Asia, which includes countries like China, Japan, Korea, India, Sri Lanka and Pakistan are also prevalent in the US. While white rice is a common staple food but they also use jasmine, basmati and black rice varieties. Commonly Asian cuisine includes rice and noodle stir fry’s using vegetables like bok choy cabbage, wood ear mushrooms and Japanese eggplant or soups and casseroles using spinach, high fiber beans like lentils and cauliflower. Common healthful spices that are common in Asia include turmeric, ginger, garlic, curry and cinnamon but can include hot spices like cayenne and hot peppers. It is fun to note that in many Asian countries hand-to-mouth eating is a time-honored tradition, and it’s often a reflection of a community’s hospitality and cultural identity. In India it is even customary to share food from each other’s plates.

Another common global dietary pattern found in the US is Mediterranean. Some of these countries include Spain, Italy, Greece, Croatia and Turkey. The common staple among these countries is fish, since they all border the Mediterranean sea. Each region has a unique take on the use of other staple foods such as olive oil, breads and grains, beans and legumes and cheese. Traditional dishes may be Paella with lots of seafood, pasta paired with tomato based sauces and proteins like traditional meatballs, Hummus with pita bread and Tabouleh. As with anything, we can choose to use low fat meats such as beef or pork for the meatballs and we do not have to deep fry meats like chicken (baking works just fine). Traditionally in many Mediterranean countries the start of the meal begins with a nice big salad loaded up with a variety of vegetables including artichokes, arugula, beets, Brussel sprouts and eggplant and topped lightly with a healthy dressing. Many communities in Greece and Italy will spend up to a couple of hours seated at a table enjoying each other’s company and eating a traditional evening meal.

A very common global food pattern found in the US is Latin fare from the Central and South American regions. This region includes countries like Mexico, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Argentina, Peru and Chile. The main crops native to this region are corn and beans but potatoes and avocados are prevalent as well. It’s very easy to make unhealthy choices for this global region’s foods but traditionally dried beans and legumes (specifically pinto beans and black beans), rice and avocados are all healthy options. It’s important to make choices that are not deep fried, to use lean meats and avoid fats such as lard which can be found in tamales, refried beans and some other dishes. Finger foods like tacos, burritos and tostadas are common as is taking longer mid-day to spend cooking and eating together as a family. Lunch time is traditionally the heaviest meal of the day in Latin America.

Today the traditional westernized American diet may include many things such as pizza, tacos and fried chicken but most people tend to associate the Hamburger with the US! Most foods when made and eaten at home can be done in much more healthy ways than if we get them away from home (especially from fast food restaurants). Key take-aways for us in the US are to try to make foods at home for ourselves more often in order for it to provide the best nutrition. It’s important to remember that restaurants, including those from any of these global traditions, only intend to make the food safe to eat and exceptionally tasty but they are much less concerned with good nutrition. Finally, while trying new dishes at home or out, it’s helpful to be open to new food experiences as you may find new ways to eat foods that you may otherwise never try. You may also create new food traditions like gardening your own vegetables, having longer meals together as a family or eating with chopsticks or no utensils at all!

During National Nutrition Month this March, take an opportunity to explore your own diet patterns and traditions. Look for opportunities while exploring different global cuisines and don’t be afraid to try new things. Food is as much a part of our culture as language, norms and values. There are so many fun and creative ways to eat healthy and share the experience of eating with others. I encourage everyone this year to reach out to a new tradition and lean into new experiences-variety is a spice of life after all! So, try a new food or recipe, try out a new restaurant that you have not been to or work to incorporate a new tradition (like gardening or learning to eat with chopsticks). We influence others with our actions and we can encourage others to try new things if we too are open to them. Please remember to subscribe to this podcast and leave a review. Thank you for listening!