7 Bits About Current Food Trends

You could exhaust yourself trying to follow every health trend that people are talking about today. Better Homes & Gardens ran a good article in its March 2015 edition that covers some of the hottest health trends, “What’s the Deal With. . .?” I’ve picked out the seven most-interesting food trends to share with you today. Here goes:

1. Sugar: Eat too much and risk weight gain and health problems. Pay attention to GRAMS of sugar in packaged foods. Eat foods that have only one kind of added sugar. Make sure total sugar < than total protein + total fiber.
2. Probiotics: Artificial sweeteners and antibiotics can throw off your gut’s probiotic balance. Good sources of healthy bacteria are: Yogurt, sauerkraut, miso, and kefir.
3. Juicing: If you don’t eat a lot of fruits and vegetables, juicing can be a good way to add vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants to your diet. Juiced food has lower levels of some nutrients, such as fiber. Also, be sure to count the calories toward your daily allowance.
4. GMOs: Some GMO foods, like enriched canola oil might actually be good for you. GMOs, though, can contribute to food intolerances, digestive issues, and other health concerns. You can completely avoid GMOs by eating certified organic foods.
5. Paleo: Eat like a caveman with this diet, but you might be missing out on some important nutrients, such as vitamin D and calcium. The paleo diet eliminates dairy, whole grains, and legumes. If you want to follow a paleo diet long term, you might have to tweak it a bit to get adequate nutrition.
6. Gluten-Free: Unless you are in the 1% of humans whose blood tests revealed celiac disease, or you are in the other 1% sensitive to gluten, it is not necessary to avoid gluten, and doing so can even be harmful to your health. Many gluten-free foods are high calorie and costly. Plus, by avoiding foods containing gluten, you’ll be missing out on the iron and vitamin B they contain.
7. Coconut Oil: A cooking ingredient and beauty salve, coconut oil is the “oil of the moment.” Although coconut oil contains saturated fats, they are of the good variety, and coconut oil has no trans fats. There’s some evidence that coconut oil can help lower cholesterol levels and prevent heart disease. Don’t use it for all your cooking, because even too much good fat is bad for you. As a beauty product, it is a great moisturizer and anti-inflammatory, and it can take some of the red out of skin. Be sure to purchase virgin or unrefined and use in moderation.

So, there you have it—seven bits of information about current health trends. Learn anything? I did. Plus, I’ve added coconut oil to my shopping list, and not as a recipe ingredient . . .

Ann Silverthorn writes about a wide variety of topics in numerous genres. She’s currently working on a biography of William E. Dimorier (1871-1951), a nearly forgotten poet and educator, who dedicated his life to the betterment of young people.