March is National Nutrition Month, and this year’s theme, “Discover the Power of Nutrition,” invites us to look beyond calories and diet trends to instead focus on how food truly shapes our health and wellbeing. Despite much of the media being focused on food as a weight loss strategy, nutrition is far more powerful than that. Optimal nutrition preserves muscle, protects bones, stabilizes blood sugar, supports cognitive resilience, and reduces long-term disease risk. The power of nutrition does have a kryptonite though, and that is the increasing dominance of ultra-processed foods in our daily diets.
Today, ultra-processed foods (aka UPFs) account for nearly 60% of total calorie intake for U.S. adults, according to national dietary data. Sometimes known as “frakenfoods”, ultra-processed foods go further than a can of pre-cooked beans. They are food-like formulations made of refined starches, added sugars, emulsifiers, flavor enhancers, isolated proteins, and synthetic stabilizers. Originally designed to be inexpensive and convenient while shelf- stable and hyper-palatable, ultra-processed foods have become the norm for daily eating and this is coming at a cost for us as consumers.
In order to understand the power of real foods, we need to first understand the dangers of ultra-processed foods. Much research has been done on this category of foods in recent years and results have shown higher intake of ultra-processed foods is correlated with significantly increased risk of obesity, type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, depression, many cancers, and all-cause mortality overall. In addition to these metabolic conditions, consistently elevated intake of ultra-processed foods is also linked to reduced microbiome diversity, lack of satiation from eating, and systemic inflammation due to being devoid of fiber and many antioxidants. For aging populations, these patterns carry additional risk since metabolic instability and chronic inflammation are closely related to sarcopenia, osteoporosis, increased fall risk and hastened cognitive decline.
The solution to the ultra-processed food problem is complex and there is no one right answer. While minimizing ultra-processed foods is the goal, that may not be realistic for many who live on a budget, live in food deserts, are not independent enough to shop or cook their own meals, or who simply live busy lives and rely on convenience eating. Your wellness center dietitians propose, rather, to focus on what you can ADD to your diet to enhance the power of nutrition. From preschoolers to seniors, we advocate for three main areas of nutrition focus: fiber, protein, and real food ingredients.
1 . The Power of Fiber
The average American consumes approximately 15 grams of fiber per day, well below the recommended 25–38 grams. Fiber is crucial for a healthy functioning gut and for satiation. Because of it’s ability to slow digestion and to promote healthy bacterial growth, fiber also plays a central role in metabolic and cognitive health. Higher fiber intake is associated with improved blood sugar regulation, lower LDL cholesterol, reduced risk of cardiovascular disease, enhanced gut motility, enhanced gut diversity, lower risk of many cancers, and more. The minimum daily dose for these benefits is 25g, which looks like 5 cups of plant foods. If you eat 2 cups of plant foods at lunch and at dinner, that’s only one more cup you can eat for a snack, mix into your scrambled eggs or blend into a smoothie. Try to think outside the box too – eating plants doesn’t have to mean raw salads all the time. Roasted broccoli is a fan favorite, and salted pumpkin seeds happens to be an incredibly high fiber snack. Beans, lentils, berries, leafy grains, whole grains, nuts, seeds and all veggies – they all count toward that daily fiber goal.
- The Power of Protein
Protein intake is another overlooked factor, particularly in aging populations. Many older adults consume insufficient protein, especially at breakfast. When protein is consumed adequately, we see better muscle mass, maintained bone density, better balance and strength, and improved quality of life. Muscle mass is directly tied to fall prevention and independence. Loss of muscle accelerates disability and increases hospitalization risk. While the recommended daily need is 1.2-1.6g/kg body weight per day, a helpful target for many adults is 20–30 grams of protein per meal, spaced throughout the day. Eggs, Greek yogurt, cottage cheese or protein powder work great for morning meals. Canned fish is one of our favorite recommendations for lunch proteins since it is so easy. And dinners can be anything from steak or chicken, to tofu or lentil soup. What’s great about protein (and fiber as well) is that they are so filling that meeting recommended guidelines often goes hand in hand with less intake of ultra-processed foods without even trying.
- The Power of Real Ingredients
This one is easy and there are no equations to remember. Just read ingredient lists on packaged foods and stick to the rule that it should read like a recipe and not like a science experiment. If the ingredients are items you might see in your kitchen or at least on a recipe somewhere, you can usually bet it’s made of real food and is not ultra-processed. On the other hand, if the ingredients are unrecognizable and sound like something you’d find in your high school chem class or, worse yet, in your garage bin of chemicals, maybe look for an alternative.
The Power of a Dietitian
The above advice will take you far, but there may be instances where you need to dig a bit deeper into your nutrition profile to really make sweeping change. For instance, if osteoporosis is a concern, you may need to do a comprehensive evaluation of your intake of vitamin D, calcium, magnesium and protein. If diabetes is not being managed well, we may want to do some continuous glucose monitoring to pinpoint where blood sugar spikes are consistently occurring. This is where professional nutrition guidance becomes a powerful tool. Our dietitians here at the Wellness Center have two unique consultations services that can help to narrow in on real food strategies to improve whatever health risk might need more dietary changes than the foundations outlined above.
- Comprehensive Nutrient Analysis: By entering your daily food intake into validated software, we can identify nutrient gaps, from fiber and protein to micronutrients like calcium and magnesium. This allows for your dietitian to give incredibly personalized, guided recommendations to hone in on food sources that are particularly valuable to you and your health.
- Continuous Glucose Monitoring (CGM) Interpretation: CGMs generate real-time blood sugar data, but interpretation is key. We help clients identify patterns from their 24/7 data in order to reduce glucose variability for improved metabolic health, and optimize meal timing and composition. This is a fantastic option for those with pre-diabetes or insulin resistance to make data-driven changes and prevent accelerating into diabetes.
Sometimes we simply need to focus on real food strategies like fiber, protein and ingredients to get truly valuable outcomes for our health. Sometimes deeper dives are essential to turn the tide of condition management and that’s where professionals are invaluable. Whether working on the basics through education offerings or getting into the nitty gritties with personalized services, discovering the power of real food nutrition is a powerful (and delicious!) strategy for long-term health outcomes.
