Reflect on How U.S. Dietary Trends Evoloved

Did you know the earliest human ancestors ate only fruits and leaves before transitioning to plants and animals around 3.5 million years ago. It's true! As bio-individuality suggests, dietary needs change over time. This idea seems simple, but in daily life, it can be easy to forget that what used to work well for us may no longer serve our needs. Let's take a moment to reflect on how far we've come and allow us to see the bigger picture. The human diet has continued to shift as people move through stages of hunting and gathering, settling and farming, cooking and consuming, and processing and buying. Early human ancestors lacked technology, such as heat and refrigeration. They were forced to survive on the food items they encountered in their day to day travels. These foods were fruits, leaves and insects. About 800,000 years ago the discovery of fire led humans to experiment with using heat to cook. This was perhaps the most important advancement in human food history. Cooking eventually lead to modifying the environment for food rather than being at the mercy of the environment. It depends on where are you call home but human agriculture, also known as farming, was introduced around 8,000 to 10,000 years ago. Early crops, such as chickpeas in the Middle East and rice in Southeast Asia, have remained staples even today. Another significant advancement came about 3,000 years ago when trade introduced new foods to diets around the world. This created new food cultures, such as modern Mexican cuisine, a blend of the Central American and European foods brought to Mexico during the Spanish conquest in the 1500’s. As technology advanced and began to evolve in the United States, so did our diet and lifestyles. During the industrial revolution which began around 250 years ago, there was an increase in farming and paved the way for the creation of modern food production methods including refrigeration, pasteurization, and canning for food preservation. There was also an increase in leisure time, which allowed people more opportunities to try different foods and food fads. Can you think about different foods you’ve tried over the years or food fabs? I’m sure we all can!

Now that there’s an understanding of the beginnings of the U.S. diet, let’s examine how the food landscape has evolved over the past century and then some. In the 1900’s, throughout most of the Victorian Era, being well fed was a symbol of wealth and status. If you had a well rounded body type, you conveyed the message of wealth. Diets were high in meat and sugar. The biggest diet trend during this time was masticating, or chewing your food many, many times before swallowing. Something we should be doing today! Do you chew your food until it’s completely mush? This helps increase digestion tremendously. In the 1910’s, processed foods began to appear, probably one of the worst things to ever happen to us, including Oreo cookies and marshmallow fluff. And with the rise of processed foods comes food labels that focused on proper weight calculations, and calorie counts. Self-service markets, similar to today’s grocery stores, began to appear, rather than have someone fetch or hunt food for you. Calorie counting also began during this time. Let’s jump into the 1920’s, the Roaring Twenties, where an influx of wealth began and allowed many people the convenience of buying appliances for their homes. These appliances included toasters, refrigerators and gas stoves. Prohibition was in effect from 1919 to 1933, so less alcohol was consumed. As people migrated to speakeasies for their enjoyment, owners of these establishments conceived finger foods as an easy way for people to eat while drinking. The rise of cigarette companies inspired the slogan “Reach for a Lucky instead of a sweet,” since slender is in for both men and women. Looking back at that now seems so bizarre. In the 1930’s, the Great Depression began, which meant this decade had less money for food. People couldn’t afford to eat out and meat based dishes were significantly reduced. The most popular meal during this time period was “one-pot wonder” meals. Diets followed suit by embracing simplicity. The Grapefruit Diet first made an appearance, and the Banana and Skim Milk Diet became popular. Let’s head into the 1940’s. Wartime rationing means people have limited access to meat, sugar, butter, milk, cheese, eggs, and coffee. However, due to the lack of these provisions, the government encouraged household gardens. Food companies respond to the lack of certain foods by developing ready-made and convenience products that needed few ingredients to prepare, for example, cake mix. In the 1950’s, being American meant being able to buy the things you want. Mass distribution of processed foods meant food during this time was nothing out of the ordinary. It was the food people had been eating since before the war, nothing too fancy or foreign and lots of foods found in cans and pouches. Processed and fast foods began to gain popularity as women stayed in the workforce after the war, so TV dinners became extremely popular. Also hamburger chains started to multiply. For those who wanted to lose weight, the Cabbage Soup Diet and Pray Your Weight Away was one of the more popular diets back then. Heading into the 1960’s, jet travel was invented in the latter part of this decade. People vacationed around the world which influenced their taste when they returned home. Julia Child brought French cooking to American taste buds, especially those in the middle class. Hippie culture brought unprocessed, fresh foods and vegetarianism back into the spotlight. The 60’s also brought Weight Watchers, artificially sweetened diet soda, a low carb precursors to the Atkins diet, and diet pills. Lots of food became available in the 1970’s and there was a boom in immigration from Asian countries, which meant Asian foods became popular such as, Chinese, Vietnamese, and Korean. The microwave made its way from commercial kitchens to residential use and TV dinners became even easier to eat. While foods have been labeled since the early 20th century, this decade saw a rise in what we now know as nutritional label. The Grapefruit Diet made a come back and the Sleeping Beauty Diet (when people were sedated rather than eating) gained popularity. Because of the evolving nightlife and freedom people had, other diets started to hit the market as society focused more on appearance. These diets included the Hollywood Cookie Diet, Slim Fast, and the Pritikin Program (high-carb, low-fat, low-sodium) Have you tried any of these diets mentioned so far or know anyone who has tried them? There has been so many diets along the way and still today more diets appear. Let’s step into the 80’s. What came to be during this period of time? The Scarsdale Diet (low-carb, Mediterranean) became the most popular diet of this decade. Also, there was a continued interest in international cuisine, branching out from Asian dishes to TexMex and Ethiopian cuisines. Dietary guidelines for Americans were published for the first time. The excesses of the 1980’s came to a screeching halt with the recession in the second half of the decade. People began indulging in more comfort foods, which prompted the Beverly Hills Diet, Jenny Craig, and Fit for Life (which emphasized food combining). These diets became very popular at this time. In the 1990’s, globally, obesity levels started to rise significantly in both children and adults. In the United States, low fat products increased as more individuals began limiting their fat intake. The dietary guidelines published in the 1980’s recommended less fat consumption, which encouraged processed food companies to replace fat with sugar. The Atkins Diet became popular in 1992, whole foods came back into focus in the mid-1990’s, and by the late 1990’s, the Blood Type Diet and Zone Diet had become popular. The Scarsdale Diet also remains popular and the Internet made finding recipes easier than ever. In the 2000’s, the ease of finding Internet recipes increased. Different food cultures, including diet culture, also increased. The South Beach diet and baby food diet became popular. Bacon, cupcakes and juicing increased in popularity as well. The obesity epidemic continued to rise. People started to watch what they ate at fast food restaurants, thanks to the movie called Super Size Me, which showed the health effects of too much fast food. The consumption of organics began in the mid-2000’s with a renewed focus on local and sustainable foods. While the obesity crisis continued to grow in the 2010’s, public awareness increased around the connection between diet and health. The American diet transitioned to a focus on the latest health trends, which were Paleo, plant-based, Whole30, gluten free, vegan, kale and Keto. Wellness has become an industry and people are more focused on what they are putting into their bodies and where it’s coming from. Avocado toast became a popular food item in this decade along with food experiences. Any food that looks and tastes good can be enjoyed in pictures by its beauty long after its been eaten. Pop-up restaurants and cafes provide eating experiences for Instagram influencers. This has become a major trend and people continue to post on social media for everyone to see and enjoy.

Now that you have an understanding of the food trends over the past century, ask yourself which of these diets have you tried and how did you feel during the time on these diets. Did you feel moody, hungry, irritable, or maybe energized? Believe me; I’ve tried a few of these diets back in the day. When I look back, I think to myself, “why was I so hung up about trying fad diets?” Now I think to myself eating healthy and respecting your body enough to feed it properly should be the main focus. If we eat healthy, give our bodies the food that best serves us, we can still reduce our chances of obesity, heart disease, diabetes and all the other health issues that we desperately try to avoid. Although we are faced with ultra-processed foods and fast food restaurants on a daily bases, there are still plenty of places that offer us healthy options. You just need to know where to look and resist the temptations to eat the unhealthy stuff. I love when I find cafes that offer farm to table, organic foods and earth friendly action. Health is a journey and I want everyone to get on this path with me because life gets better when you eat your best. You will feel your absolute best too!