Below is part of a blog written by Carol Plotkin, MS, RD, CDN, ACSM-HFS (http://rochesternutrition.blogspot.com/2012/01/fallasy-of-moderation.html) on her website about Paula Deen’s 1 word summation of her strategy for healthy diabetes nutrition in the face of her new T2DM: MODERATION.
I don’t like just copying text from another source, but this blog is SO "RIGHT ON", that I couldn’t do as good in a million years...…so you know that I agree with it...…BUT you may NOT!!
THE FALLACY OF MODERATION
What does moderation really mean? Moderation is a word that has been used quite often when describing healthy eating and drinking patterns. Webster's Collegiate Dictionary defines moderation as avoidance of extremes or tending toward average. What does this really mean when we are talking about food? Does it mean one cookie a day or one less cookie than we usually eat? Perhaps it means that we don't eat the whole cookie jar? Does it mean once a day, once a week, once a month or once a year? The problem is that it can mean anything that we want it to mean.
This isn't good enough when we are talking about promoting healthy eating behaviors. To say "all things in moderation" to me seems like an excuse to maintain the status quo, which arguably is average.
Paula Deen announced this week that she has had type 2 diabetes for the past three years. Her announcement mentioned very little about following healthy dietary habits. Rather, she stated that she hasalways been a advocate for moderation (there's that word again). Deen's recipes are not known for being healthy and it must be extremely embarrassing for her to have developed a disease that has a strong tie to dietary factors.
Regardless of the cause of diabetes, diet and exercise are integral for its management. They are much too important to be passed off by the use of a non-specific word such as moderation. Deen's announcement this week motivated me to write this blog post, but this post is not about her.
The food industry loves the term moderation for the very reason that it is non-specific. Hershey's has created the Moderation Nation to help consumers find balance in their lives. Part of their message is that 100 calories a day of chocolate can fit into your balanced diet. That's fine, if you do not need to lose weight, but about one third of American adults are obese.
George Blackburn, MD, PhD, Chief of the Nutritional/Metabolism Laboratory, and Director of the Center for the Study of Nutrition Medicine, which are affiliated with the Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston, Massachusetts, reports that for a vast majority of obese Americans, as little as 200 calories a day prevents them from losing the 20-30 pounds necessary to gain significant health benefits(1). That is less than a small package of M&M's (240 calories). Often, that 100 calorie treat becomes a 200 or 300 calorie "nibble" especially when the whole package contains more than 100 calories.
The concept of moderation keeps consumers buying products, which is the primary concern of major food manufacturers and restaurants. In the case of Deen's Savannah, GA restaurant, it keeps the line of patrons circling the block waiting to be seated. Moderation promotes sales and keeps the customers coming through the door.
Questions for all of us PresentDiabetes bloggers:
1) How do all of you interpret "moderation"?
2) Do you think Miss Paula is spot on in using this as a diabetes diet strategy?
Mary Ann Hodorowicz, RD, CDE, MBA, Certified Endocrinology Coder
PresentDiabetes Author of MNT and DSMT Reimbursement Audio Lectures
Eat Well, Laugh Often, Love Much
Resource: 1. Blackburn, GL and Waltman, GA. Expanding the Limits of Treatment-New Strategic Initiatives. J Am Diet Assoc. 2005;105:S131-S135.
