The ad really made me angry.
It started with me getting angry several years ago with the "get your folic acid" people. Yes, you need your folic acid/folate/vitamin B9, especially if you are pregnant, to prevent neural tube defects in the baby.
The problem i have is with the message that the best way to get the folic acid you need is through fortified foods and supplements.
Fortified foods are processed foods, and i don't want to eat processed foods. Supplements should be used to catch the bits of gaps in our requirements, not the main thing we rely upon to get the vitamins and micronutrients we require.
What ever happened to eating real food to get the vast majority of your needed nutrients? Folate can be found in leafy vegetables, many Asian vegetables, legumes, egg yolks, baker's yeast, sunflower seeds, and even in some quantity in many other fruits and veggies.
When i was pregnant, they were telling me to eat tons of processed grain that has been fortified to get my folate. More and more, we are seeing that even whole grain breads are not digested in such a way as to help us control our weight. For a great report on that, read Crabby McSlacker's latest post here.
Now i am hearing ads for a new supplement that is aimed at getting good omega fats into children. Call the 1-800 number and for just shipping and handling fees they will send you a month's supply of this supplement for your kids. (Of course, it probably works as all of these do, where they will automatically charge you for it next month and send it out, unless you remember to cancel, and the 30 day free trial starts today even though you won't get the stuff in the mail for almost a week, and it takes forever to get out of one of these programs, but that's another rant entirely.)
Not "get your kids eating more healthfully." Not "get your omega fatty acids from good, whole foods." No, now it is "buy this supplement because eating a healthy diet, with a bit of supplementation, isn't enough."
At least, that's how i hear it, and it makes me cranky.
If you raise your kids to eat good, whole foods (and mine voluntarily go to the salad bar at the football games where there is a ton of junk food available!) and yes, give them a good multivitamin/multimineral supplement to catch the fact that none of us eats a perfect diet, you really shouldn't have to buy every supplement that comes along to make sure your kids are getting what they need.
That goes for grown-ups, too.
Today is:
Batik Day -- Indonesia (UNESCO designated Indonesian batik as a Masterpiece of Oral and Intangible Heritage)
Buttering-Up Quarter Finals -- Fairy Calendar (I have no idea what this means, but anything to do with butter sounds good.)
Day of Appearance of the Primordial/Eight Great Netjers -- Ancient Egyptian Calendar (date approximate)
Gandhi Jayanti -- India
Go for a Stroll After Dinner Night -- because it's healthy
Guardian Angels Day -- recognize and thank your own Guardian Angel
Feast of Guardian Angels -- Spain (patrons of the police force)
Independence Day -- Guinea
International Day of Non-Violence -- UN, in honor of Gandhi's birthday
Mehregan -- Iran (pre-Muslim Zoroastrian festival of Persia to honor Mehr, which means friendship, affection, and love; also called Persian Festival of Autumn)
Name Your Car Day (and i hope you don't have to name it "Old Unreliable")
National Custodial Workers Day -- US
National Fried Scallops Day
Nobel Conference 48 -- Gustavus Adolphus College, St. Peter, MN, US (annual two-day science symposium)
Old Man's Day -- Braughing, Herts, England (in honor of a 16th-Century man's escape from premature interment; he left money for a street sweeping and celebration on this day which is still observed)
Phileas Fogg's Wager Day -- he made his famous wager, according to Jules Verne, this day in 1872
St. Leger's Day (a/k/a Leodegar; Patron of blind people, millers; against blindness and sore eyes)
World Dairy Expo -- Madison, WI, US ("Around the World of Dairy in 5 Days")
World Farm Animals Day
Anniversaries Today:
Redwood National Park established, 1968
Birthdays Today:
Lorraine Bracco, 1955
Sting, 1951
Annie Leibovitz, 1949
Donna Karan, 1948
Don McLean, 1945
Rex Reed, 1938
George "Spanky" McFarland, 1928
"Sheriff John" Rovick, 1919
Bud Abbot, 1895
Groucho Marx, 1890
Mahatma Gandhi, 1869
King Richard III of England, 1452
Today in History:
Saladin takes Jerusalem from the Crusaders, 1187
Jacques Cartier discovers Mount Royal (Montreal), 1535
Kazan is conquered by Ivan the Terrible, 1552
Jan Lippershey completes a prototype of the modern reflecting telescope, 1608
George Washington transmits the Bill of Rights to the States for ratification, 1789
The Texas Revolution begins with the Battle of Gonzales against Mexican troops attempting to disarm the people of Gonzales, Texas, and meeting with stiff resistance, 1835
J Osterhoudt patents the tin can with key opener, 1866
John Logie Baird performs the first test of a working television system, 1925
The "Prelature of the Holy Cross and the Work of God", commonly known as Opus Dei, is founded by Saint Josemaría Escrivá, 1928
Peanuts by Charles M. Schulz is first published, 1950
The anthology series The Twilight Zone premieres on CBS television, 1959
Thurgood Marshall is sworn in as the first African-American justice of United States Supreme Court, 1967
NATO backs US military strikes following 9/11, 2001
American Samoa joins the North American Numbering Plan, 2004
NFL plays first regular season game outside United States when the Arizona Cardinals defeat the San Francisco 49ers 31-14 in Mexico City, Mexico, 2005
Friendly Fill-Ins Week 443
14 hours ago
YES!!!
ReplyDeleteIt is as simply as eating the way our grandparents did huh?
real food. close to natural state. Done.
Yes! Eat real food. That said, the soil is so depleted in so many places that the nutrients we need aren't in the foods so supplements are a good back up. But, food, the real stuff, first and foremost.
ReplyDeleteI'm not a good candidate for touting the benefits of healthy eating, I'm sorry to say. Oh, well, nobody's perfect.
ReplyDeleteEven though I was working and supporting myself at the time, I felt I was too young when I got knocked up with Greedy Kid #2 (I was 19). I shamefully hid my pregnancy and did not get any form of medical care until I was 6 months along. This is horrific when I think back to it. I knew nothing about folate at the time and obviously didn't take any prenatal vitamins. There's so much info available right now to go out and do the right thing. Yet sadly, I don't think enough people do/will.
ReplyDeleteLOL! correction: it was Greedy kid #1 that I was knocked up with, not #2. LOL!
ReplyDeleteMiz, thanks for being part of the cheering section.
ReplyDeleteLeah, yes, soil is depleted. Some of the micronutrients, though, are only in the food, not supplements, so i think of them as back up.
Stephen, i think you are just fine the way you are. If you ever decide you want to change, you will do it for you, not anyone else. And if you don't, you are a great guy as you are.
Josie, you were young and scared, as are so many young mothers. You did your best, and i'm glad GK#1 didn't suffer any ill effects.
I love the fact that I share my birthday with Groucho, Ghandi and Annie L.! What a trio to share a day with. Now= onto eating right vs eating processed food- who wants high fructose corn syrup in their food? Not me-and that what we get these days if we aren't careful. Not to mention GMO's ...That's my rant!
ReplyDeleteWhen pregnant with #2 son I ate a 2 egg creamed spinach omelet almost every day- or at least the 10 oz frozen spinach packet made into creamed spinach....my kid was not born looking like Popeye but guess I needed that folic acid!