Health is a vital part of a happy life. But when “eating healthy” focuses more on physical benefits of beauty, the wrong message is sent to millions of Americans. Calorie counting and complying to a certain quota each day does not necessarily equal healthy nutrition. Statements like "get your body summer ready" emphasize appearances more than actually listening to your body's needs. What would happen if we changed our focus from "get your summer body" to "take care of your body so it can be healthy years from summer 2k16"?
Calories are more than just a number; it’s the nutrients inside them that count. Basically, eating better has more to do with how you eat rather than what you eat. Of course, this is stating the obvious. But the dialogue many American consumers partake in ignores a third factor to healthy eating. If you are constantly concerned about calories and nutrition labels, are you really eating healthy? Even if your diet is very nutritional?
Eating healthy should be a mindset. Instead of focusing not only on what you are eating, enjoying your food (which is essential to a healthy diet) requires focusing on how you are eating.
Europeans are characterized by a signature quality of health compared to their American counterparts. By analyzing their eating habits, this difference appears very clear. Europeans tend to eat a bigger breakfast rather than a large dinner, leaving most of their nutrition for the day. This supplies their bodies for the physical demands of the day compared to Americans skimping on breakfast, depriving their day of nutrition, but then loading their stomachs late at night.
Specifically, Italians are known for their oily dishes filled with carbs. In the United States, an entrée like this would give health nuts palpitations. However, Italians are also famous for large families and celebrations. In his book, The Outliers, Malcolm Gladwell asked Italian families what good eating means. The vast majority said eating with good company constituted good eating long before saying "eating good, healthy food" like many Americans would reply. Interpreting these responses, Italians showed healthier weights, lower heart diseases, and much longer lives than Americans despite the oily, carbohydrate heavy Italian diet. Not only is Italian food enjoyable in the sense of savoriness, but meals are a community occasion meant to be shared with others.
The American manner of dining has reduced to eating whatever is convenient and often while distracted by our phones or television rather than focusing on our friends or family. So rather than focusing on calorie counting, to have a healthier nation, Americans need to rethink how they eat not what they eat.
