Food Trends Unwrapped: A Parent's Guide to Smart Choices

Recently, while reading my pediatric professional journals, I came across an interesting article. The article was about helping parents understand food trends and decipher food labels to make truly healthy choices for their toddlers. While the paper was focused on very young children, the information they shared is really applicable to children and teens of all ages. For this reason, I thought I would use this article as a basis for todays show. 

Understanding nutrition is not as easy as it may appear. Everyday on commercials, on television, on Instagram, on Facebook, on the radio, just about everywhere, we hear nutrition information about calories, fat, sugar, carbohydrates, macros, eating for your body type, veganism, vegetarianism, keto, intermittent fasting, etc., etc., etc. Everyone seems to be an expert and has cracked the code on how to eat well and stay lean. Yet, obesity rates continue to climb, especially in our youth population. Diseases related to poor nutrition are claiming more lives every year. And people are feeling less and less confident about how to manage their own diet and nutrition within the constraints of modern life. Then, adding the responsibility of choosing meals and snacks for our little ones can feel overwhelming. 

So, let’s start talking about how to navigate food trends and food labels to make sound, scientifically based decisions for your modern family while providing the best nutrition for your kiddos. 

Transcript

Hello and welcome to another episode of Proactive Parenting. Remember, this is a judgement-free space to learn how to raise value-driven kids in a way that is right for your family, using the most current scientific research out there. 

I’m your host, Dr. Deanna Marie Mason. I’m a certified pediatric nurse practitioner, published author, and a professional who has devoted my career to studying and using child development to help parents manage childhood issues. 

So, grab a cup of tea or coffee and settle in to learn something new about your child because when we know better, we do better. 

Recently, while reading my pediatric professional journals, I came across an interesting article by Dr. Alok Patel and Certified Dietician, Kayla Bridges. The article was about helping parents understand food trends and decipher food labels to make truly healthy choices for their toddlers. While the paper was focused on very young children, the information they shared is really applicable to children and teens of all ages. For this reason, I thought I would use this article as a basis for todays show. 

If you are interested in looking at the original article, you can find it in the January/February 2023 edition of Contemporary Pediatrics. 

Understanding nutrition is not as easy as it may appear. Everyday on commercials, on television, on Instagram, on Facebook, on the radio, just about everywhere, we hear nutrition information about calories, fat, sugar, carbohydrates, macros, eating for your body type, veganism, vegetarianism, keto, intermittent fasting, etc., etc., etc. Everyone seems to be an expert and has cracked the code on how to eat well and stay lean. Yet, obesity rates continue to climb, especially in our youth population. Diseases related to poor nutrition are claiming more lives every year. And people are feeling less and less confident about how to manage their own diet and nutrition within the constraints of modern life. Then, adding the responsibility of choosing meals and snacks for our little ones can feel overwhelming. 

And, quite frankly, it is. Why? Because there is so much conflicting information. Information that is tainted by marketing to make you buy something. Information that is twisted by influencers who want to get kickbacks from sales linked to their brand. Information that is frankly false, but it worked for a very charismatic individual who is now sharing their personal story and making it seem like it will work for everyone. 

Furthermore, to complicate things, most medical doctors do not receive a lot of education or training in nutrition. So getting information from your health care provider may not be very deep or wide in breadth. That’s why we have certified dietians who are experts in the chemistry of nutrition as well as how our bodies use energy from food sources. And that’s why this article was so interesting to me because the authors are truely experts in what they are writing about. 

So, with no further adieu, let’s start talking about how to navigate food trends and food labels to make sound, scientifically based decisions for your modern family while providing the best nutrition for your kiddos. 

We all know that in a perfect world, moms and dads would have time to prepare all meals at home from natural foods with 3 to 5 servings of vegetables, 2 to 4 servings of fruits, 2 to 3 servings of protein and sufficient grams of fiber for optimal gut health. And, the typical picky toddler would gobble all these things up without any resistance. A true fantasy, I know. 

I was a working mom of two children going to graduate school full time with a 2 and 4 year old at home. I know the challenges of getting a wholesome meal on the table, that will be accepted by little ones, and can be made in a reasonable amount of time. I also know the monotonous chore it is to make 3 meals and 2 snacks every single day. So it only makes sense that working families frequently turn to read-to-eat processed foods that cut down on preparation time and the need to plan and shop for ingredients. 

We know that processed foods are the work of scientists altering food to extend shelf life and prevent spoilage AND to decrease costs. This means that food becomes genetically modified, fillers are added, preservatives are incorporated and shelf-stable fats like trans fats are added to products to assure they last a long time and stay fresh until the consumer buys them. 

The problem is that public health experts are now noticing that processed food are contributing to chronic diseases - such as heart disease, high blood pressure, diabetes, and many more. Recently, the World Health Organization, also known as the WHO, issued a statement warning against the consumption of all artificial sweeteners, including those that come from natural sources such as Stevia. They noted that these artificial sweeteners did not help reduce obesity and were linked to other chronic health issues. 

Additionally, the American Academy of Pediatrics, also known as the AAP, has started to warn against the ingestion of certain food colorings, flavorings, chemicals, and food contact materials such as adhesives, dyes, and coatings because they are negatively related to child health. And, finally, there is significant data present in the literature on the risk of food contamination related to unsafe levels of heavy metals, like lead, pesticides, and other non-edible elements that should not be in food stuffs. Just to let you know, there is a program called the Clean Label project that provides certification after verifying certain potentially harmful ingredients are not in a food. 

The sad part is, all of the problems listed above often, but not always, go together with the degree of food processing. More food processing leads to a higher probability of the food including one or more of the harmful things we just talked about. 

To offset this negative information, a new term has come into the nutrition vocabulary - Clean Eating. While some see this as a term to focus on eating whole, natural foods others see this a mostly a marketing term. With nearly 50 million posts related to #cleaneating on Instagram - what we know is that the term is trending. 

So if we take the term and decide it means a return to whole, natural foods we should probably look at what that means. In a nutshell, it means that if our grandmothers or great-grandmothers read the label, they would know what every ingredient was. There are 4 different categories of foods: unprocessed, minimally processed, processed foods, and ultra processed foods. We will leave the processed and ultra processed foods for another podcast because we have briefly talked about their dangers earlier. However, it does make sense to take a look at what unprocessed and minimally processed foods are. 

Unprocessed foods are foods that are eaten just as they are. An example would be raw nuts or carrots that you have taken out of your own organic garden and eaten. There are very few things in modern life that we eat that are unprocessed. The US department of agriculture defines washing, cleaning and chopping as processes that move many whole foods, such as fruits and veggies, into minimally processed because they have gone through a process that has altered some part of that food, such as washing off the skins on carrots or potatoes or applying a wax onto the skin of an apple. 

Next are minimally processed foods. Minimally processed foods are foods that we eat in their natural state that may have had some process applied to them. This would include edible plants that have been washed and packaged, animal muscle that has been cut up, algae that has been packaged, cow’s milk that has been pasturized and nuts that have been roasted. These are whole foods in their mostly original state and have been minimally manipulated or processed. 

However, if we add processed ingredients to a minimally processed food, it becomes a processed food. An example would be adding extra virgin olive oil (which is a processed ingredient) to canned sardines (a minimally processed food) or adding sugar (a processed ingredient) to canned fruit (a minimally processed food.) What these examples are trying to show is that not all processed foods are absolutely horrible - it just means that reading the label is important. Canned sardines in extra-virgin olive oil are packed with heart healthy Omega-3s. And canned fruit can be a good substitute when fresh fruit is not available or too expensive. 

Then, if you continue to add artificial ingredients, like fillers or an emulsification agent to increase the flavor, texture, or shelf- life, then food transforms into an ultra processed food. Ultra processed foods have many chemical ingredient names on their food labels that are hard to pronounce or have ingredients with the names that start with capital E, and then a dash, and then a number, like E-323. These are the foods that have most global pediatric organizations worried because they are still unsure of their exact effect on the growing body and there is a clear correlation between these foods and health issues. 

So what does all this information mean for you, as a parent, about the clean eating movement. Overall, it means that terms and claims by themselves do not mean anything. There is no official definition for what “clean eating” means. If a product is labeled “natural” that means that it contains no artificial ingredients or added color and is only minimally processed. Additionally, any product that uses the term “natural” must clearly state the meaning - such as “no artificial ingredients” or “minimally processed. 

The Clean Label Project was launched to try to improve transparency in food labeling. Additionally, the organization is committed to minimizing avoidable levels of contamination. There is a compounding effect of food contamination across food sources. While one food source may have contamination levels low enough to pass the Food and Drug Administration’s tests, because they set action levels based on individual food ingredients and unavoidable contamination, a family may be eating many different foods that are individually contaminated and together these add up to create a level that is unsafe or unhealthy. 

What are the steps you can take to help with all of this? The first step is to look farther than the big, eye-catching label on a product in the grocery store. Those labels with “all-natural,” “Number 1 pediatrician recommended,” or “organic” are meant to make us think the product is healthy. All natural and organic foods can be filled with sugar and the pediatrician recommendation has absolutely no weight or value - it is a vague claim to give you confidence in the product. 

Next, look for products based on whole food ingredients - words that you know and recognize. Ingredients are listed in the order of quantity. So the first ingredient on the food label is the largest quantity in the product. Additionally, parents can look for products that have been certified by a third-party requiring strict, evidence-based standards, such as the Clean Label Project certification. If for cost or accessibility reasons, purchasing tested foods is not possible, try to purchase a variety of brands or sources to minimize cumulative exposure. Another thing that helps is to reduce the use of foods known to be at high risk for contamination, such as: 

·Crisped or puffed rice products, brown rice, and rice cereal ·Fresh carrots
·Fresh sweet potatoes

·Spinach (rotate with other greens) 

Risks can also be lowered by minimizing the intake of foods with multiple ingredients that are likely to be created from high- risk GMOs or genetically modified organisms. These include:
·aspartame (Equal)
·sodium citrate 

·artificial flavorings
·high-fructose corn syrup
·lactic acid
·corn maltodextrin
·mono sodium glutamate (MSG or flavor enhancer) ·textured vegetable protein
·xanthan gum 

It’s so confusing when a product can be unprocessed but be full of pesticides or heavy metals, or it can be heavily processed but organic and “clean.” As a consumer, the key is to know what factors affect our children’s health and well-being and use this information to make food choices that reduce risk. Don’t give up learning more about this topic because our little ones are eating for health and well-being. The more that we can do to help them find the best source of nutrition will set them on the right path for a healthy future. 

I have placed a number of scientifically-based resources at the end of the transcript of this podcast in case you want to learn more about this evolving and important topic. And, as always, be sure to talk with your health care professional for more information. 

This has been a big topic today, but I’ll wrap things up here. As always, I welcome your comments or questions about this episode. Nutrition is a complicated subject and often leads to more questions than answers. Please don’t hesitate to connect with me at deanna@proactiveparenting.com. And if you want to find out more about who I am and what I do, please take a look at my webpage, www.proactiveparenting.com. 

You can also go to Facebook and Instagram to connect with other parents just like you. Find me by searching for my name - Deanna Marie Mason. Finally, if you would like to purchase any of my books, online courses, such as Newborn Care or Breastfeeding Bootcamp, or audio courses, you can find all those resources on my webpage, again that is www.proactiveparenting.com 

Thanks so much for listening, I hope you found this episode useful and interesting. If you did, please leave a comment and tell a friend so they can become a Proactive Parent too! 

Well, that’s all from me for right now. This is Dr. Deanna Marie Mason signing off. I look forward to seeing you again soon. Until then, take care and be well. Bye! 

Label term: Certified Non-GMO
Oversight organization: The Non-GMO Project (Nonprofit organization)
Summary of requirements: Tested by 3rd party to verify minimal GMO risk ingredients, where GMOs are plants, animals, or microorganisms with laboratory-modified genetic makeup through use of genetic engineering or transgenic technology Website: https://nongmoproject.org 

Label term: Clean Label Project Certified
Oversight organization: Clean Label Project (Nonprofit organization)
Summary of requirements: Tested by 3rd party via ISO-accredited analytical chemistry partner laboratories to verify minimal detectable amounts of over 400 impurities such as pesticides, plasticizers, and heavy metals
Website: https://cleanlabelproject.org 

Label term: Certified USDA Organic
Oversight organization: USDA National Organic Program (Government) Summary of requirements: Must be organic or 100% organic
Website: https://usda.gov/topics/organic 

Label term: Certified Plant Based
Oversight organization: Plant Based Foods Association (Trade/Industry association)
Summary of requirements: Raw foods, dietary supplements, or animal-derived ingredients ineligible; Synthetically derived ingredients (e.g. chemical or enzyme synthesis) and fillers allowed if under 10% of product Website: https://plantbasedfoods.org 

Label term: Vegan Certified
Oversight organization: BeVeg Vegan (Certification company/ISO-accredited industry organization)
Summary of requirements: No animal-derived ingredients (e.g. lactose, honey), genes, molecules, or cross-contamination with such during production; No animal testing (e.g. US infant formula ineligible because of FDA testing requirements); Must be cruelty-free
Website: https://beveg.com 

Label term: NSF Raised Without Antibiotics Certified
Oversight organization: NSF International (Nonprofit organization)
Summary of requirements: Addresses humane handling or raising of animals and contribution of antibiotics to the rise of superbug infectious bacteria; Encompasses USDA-regulated products: meat, poultry, seafood, fish, dairy, and eggs Website: https://nsf.org