Eating In America - It's Sweet, Salty And Done Outside The Home

American Nutrition - The Foreign Perspective

By Kia Edwards

I took the opportunity to ask a couple of dashing young gentlemen and lovely ladies about the state of American nutrition.  Why would I care about their opinion you ask?  Because they’re all foreign- representing the UK, Belarus and Taiwan.  To me, there’s nothing like hearing from people who are going through a good culture shock to learn about the habits we could improve.  From unnecessary practices to weird indulgences, these people gave me a lot to think about.  Here are my favorite responses.  

Question: When you got here, what was your biggest culture shock with regard to food?

Alesia (Belarus):  There is a lack of (leafy) vegetables in the diet here.  Corn is not a vegetable, a potato is not considered a vegetable.

Evana (Taiwan):  My friends here put whipped cream on peaches when they’re already sweet.

Theo (UK):  The food is similar to Britain, but the portion sizes were a big shock for me.  

Nick (UK):  The kitchens are quite a notable thing in a flat.  People do not cook for themselves, which is just bizarre.  People must eat takeaway most of the time.  My housemates looked at me like a right weirdo for making myself a meal. 

Overall, these answers seem as though we’re in a sort of vicious cycle.  We don’t cook  often, (according to MSN money, restaurants such as The Cheesecake Factory saw an increase in profit despite the sluggish economy) and when we eat out, our portions are large and disproportionately focus on starchy carbs and protein.  Combine this with unnecessary, but all too regular indulgences such as whipped cream on fruits, or more often than not, cake and/or ice cream and we can see the issue here.  

Tip:  Cooking can be a daunting task if you’re constantly comparing yourself to Martha Stewart or Barefoot Contessa.  There are quick meals that can be made if you prepare ahead of time, and by that, I mean grocery shopping.  A chicken can be baked in the same amount of time it takes to get dressed, travel, wait and finally sit at a restaurant.  This allows you to control the ingredients you can put in your food and ultimately in your body.  As far as dessert, who doesn’t love a little sweet treat?  Most of us do, myself included, but too many indulgences can have a negative effect on your health.  You can try slightly healthier choices such as angel food cake (instead of the 1500 calorie slice of cake in the restaurant), which is lower in calories since ingredients such as butter are minimal if not completely avoided.  A fruit with a bit of whipped cream or Nutella isn’t terrible, but anything done in excess is going to have some undesirable effects on your figure.

Organic Food:

On a whole, all participants agreed that organic food is far more expensive here.  Alesia stated that the food is bigger here (for example, our massive strawberries) but there is no taste.  This could be one of the reasons for overeating- less taste means less satisfaction and more eating.  It could also explain the mysterious habit of putting whipped cream on fruits!  However, the organic food that comes from local farms in the UK or Belarus tend to be quite affordable.  This is not the case in the USA where the price of organic food can run anywhere from 33-50% more than regular food.  What can you do to combat this?  Well, there are farmer’s markets during the summer, which are tasty, affordable and support a good cause.  During the rest of the year, you can stick to this list of “dirty dozen” foods to buy organic as often as possible due to high instances of pesticide residue:  Apples, Cherries, Grapes (imported Chili), Nectarines, Peaches, Pears, Raspberries, Strawberries, Bell peppers, Celery, Potatoes, Spinach

Other observations:

Nick: The same food brands contain more salt here than back home.  I made soup with 2 cubes of bouillon.  Same brand, same measurement and my soup came out horrifically salty.   

Evana:  Americans fry everything!  They fry Oreos and pickles! 

Theo (in response):  They taste incredible though.  

Theo: If you go to the stores here, there are lots of things that look like water, but aren’t water.  They have some hint of fruit or juice, and I’m thinking that’s not water.  Another one is a weird nutrition water and that’s not water either.  They hide the real water in the back.  

Overall, we have a ways to go before we, as a country, become as healthy as we should be.  We definitely have an excellent variety of foods, but the downside is that they are designed to sell, not promote our health.  A fried Oreo or pickle can be fun…if it’s done every few months.  We also need to be aware of the differences in food quality.  “American food tends to be saltier and greasier,” is a statement all participants agreed upon.  Most also agreed that the food “tastes great”.  If we try simple tricks such as eating out a bit less and being more aware of the ingredients in our products, we could go from being one of the largest countries, to “still the best”. 

American Nutrition: The Foreign Perspective

Kia Edwards is a certified personal trainer and nutrition specialist who lives in New York City. She studied French and Economics at Colgate University, spent 15 years as a high-level competitive gymnast and 6 years as a gymnastics coach.  Her business, La Fortesse At Home Fitness Training, helps clients get healthy with simple at home exercises and nutrition counseling. www.LaFortesse.com