This week, the Trump administration delivered a win for the health of everyday Americans by correcting the food pyramid. This change reflected a shift in how we think about what is healthy for Americans to eat, and it boils down to this: Eat real food.
Under the new guidelines, the FDA urges Americans to focus their diet on nutrient-dense protein foods like eggs, poultry, seafood, red meat and other plant-sourced protein. Healthy fats have also been recommended for consumption along with fiber-rich whole grains. They also advise avoiding highly processed, packaged, prepared and ready-to-eat foods.
For a while now, people have come to realize that the FDA has had the pyramid completely flipped. Turns out that whole foods like meat and dairy are more vital to a diet and should be consumed more often than grains. Protein is good for you and vital for energy, and our grains have been entirely stripped of nutrients. The Wonder Bread you buy at the store is not all that good for you. It’s been stripped of nutrients to increase the shelf life of the bread.
This shift sounds like a fad or another scientific trend. People critical of the Trump administration think this move is a political play to appease the MAHA / crunchy moms. But in reality, the administration is merely acknowledging what God has told us all along: Whole foods are good for you. From the creation of man, before and after The Fall, God gave man fruits, vegetables, and animals to eat. Grains were certainly part of ancient Israel’s diet, but they were baked into fresh bread that would go bad within a couple of days. Compare that bread with the one you buy at the store, which is usable for two weeks.
Who knew that God’s idea of how to fuel the body He created is what is truly best?
This change in guidelines is going to go a long way in improving the health of some Americans, but it is not going to fix the obesity epidemic in the near future. The government is not the reason you are fat. No one forced you to stuff Oreos in your face. And these foods and the preference for these processed foods are not going to just go away. It is inadvisable to ban Twinkies from the grocery store.
However, the changes can help us if we become more intentional about our food and cook more at home.
Processed foods and ready-made meals went on the rise at the same time women started returning to the workforce. Don’t get mad at me, working women. I’m just calling it from fact. When both the husband and the wife work 8-5, they come home with roughly three to five hours to make dinner, eat, help the kids with their homework, get the kids ready for bed, and spend time with their spouse. That’s not including any sports you may participate in at any season. So it’s a lot easier to pick up a loaf of bread at the store to make peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for the kids’ lunches than to spend two days making homemade sourdough bread. It is far quicker to pop in a Stouffer’s Lasagna than to spend two or more hours making a homemade lasagna.
There are reasons women started working, and frankly, I am not interested in any of them as I write this article. It does not address the problem at hand. Some women who work are still able to cook good, whole foods for their families' dinners. The majority are not. Most families do not have that kind of time. No matter the reason, whole food nutrition is not prioritized by women.
Every working mom acknowledges that you cannot do it all. Something has to suffer. Often, one of those things is providing whole-food meals for the family. When one does not have the time to cook or doesn’t prioritize it, the family must resort to processed foods and fast foods for nourishment.
I’m not saying this as the perfect stay-at-home mom. I make my own bread, yogurt, crackers and try to avoid boxed anything. But I have been known to use my Domino's rewards points before running to a baseball game or because I’m too tired to cook, even though I am capable of making a really good sourdough pizza.
But we need to acknowledge that, historically, this is what contributed to the decline in American health. Women, as the primary nurturers of the home, need to prioritize making nutritious meals for our families, whether you are working or not.
It is not as easy for working moms to spend hours chopping vegetables. I get that. It may require some extra preparation and planning. You may need to chop your fresh vegetables the night before and utilize a crockpot during the day. Sourdough is a great way to make bread because it has a downtime of several hours, so that you can work on it in the morning, evening and then the next day again. Sourdough is easy, offers many nutritional benefits, and can be used in more than just bread. A meat, a vegetable, and a slice of sourdough bread with real butter make a wonderful, nutritious meal. It may take some planning and preparation, but it is doable.
Good, whole foods are not always easy to make. But they are worth it. Your and your family's health is worth it. Let’s refocus our priorities, wives and mothers. Let one of your priorities be the nutrition of your home. Let this be the year you make the crackers you send for your kid’s snack and yogurt for their breakfast. Your family will rise and call you blessed.
Laura Clark is a wife, mother, and community activist. She currently serves as the interim president of Alabama Center for Law and Liberty, a conservative nonprofit law firm that fights for limited government, free markets, and strong families in the courts. Anything written by Laura for this publication does not constitute legal advice.
The views and opinions expressed here are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the policy or position of 1819 News. To comment, please send an email with your name and contact information to [email protected].
Don't miss out! Subscribe to our newsletter and get our top stories every weekday morning.
