It’s Sunday August 22nd, 2021, and this evening we do some escaping… to the land of fairy tales…as we look at dietary fiber and the Cinderella story and see if we can find our way from Once upon a time to Happily ever after…
The story of Cinderella was not invented by Disney, but has evolved from hundreds of literary versions and folklore variations that trace back to somewhere between 7BC and AD 23 with the story of Rhodopis , a Greek slave girl whose sandals were taken by an eagle to the lap of an Egyptian king who saw it as a sign to search and find her and make her his queen…there’s a Chinese version from the 9th century and about 500 versions in European literature including the French one written by Charles Perrault in 1697 that most closely resembles the modern day version portrayed in the 1950 Disney animated film and written into the story books by the Brothers Grimm in 1812 with several revisions.
Like the royalty of these stories in search of the feet that will perfectly fit the glass slipper, human beings have long been scouring our earthly kingdom in search of that perfect diet that will magically transform our lives – often our focus is on weight loss, improved energy levels, better diabetes control and resilient immune systems…we have offered the glass slipper to many candidates over decades , filled with hope and promise each time , but too often disappointed by our inability to sustain the long term commitment and thereby benefit from any promised bliss…
Who remembers offering the glass slipper to the Grapefruit diet of 1971, the slim fast program of 1977 , the Beverly hills of 1981, the Jenny Craig of 1985, the liquid diet popularised by Oprah Winfrey, and in the nineties- the zone diet, the blood type diet and the subway diet, and then in the 2000’s came the Atkins diet , alongside the south beach diet, in the 2000’s – Nutrisystem, the apple cider vinegar diet, juicing, paleo and the keto!
There is one candidate who you may not have yet offered that slipper to, but whose name has appeared in numerous medical publications, discussions, conferences, and guidelines…and that is the Mediterranean diet…a dietary pattern that emerged in the regions bordering the Mediterranean sea in the 1950’s …a time of economic recovery from World war two when there was more produce available but before the climb in socioeconomic status introduced processed foods, industrialised food production and larger amounts of meat.
The traditional Mediterranean diet involves a relatively high consumption of vegetables, legumes, fruits, and unprocessed grains– with eggs and seafood eaten a few times a week, with low amounts of meat and meat products eaten a few times per month and the occasional sweet dessert. There is a preference for unsaturated fats coming chiefly from olive oil, fish, nuts, and seeds.
It has been shown to have numerous benefits including a reduction in obesity, heart disease and diabetes, improvement in cognitive and mental health and cancer prevention. But is our Geographic location in the Caribbean a hindrance or an insurmountable barrier to seizing these amazing benefits?
Or are we wise enough to notice that a key element of this pattern of eating is high fiber from diverse sources of vegetables and fruits? In 2020, the British medical Journal highlighted two randomised controlled studies that showed that the Mediterranean diet significantly altered the gut microbiome in favour of bacterial strains that reduced inflammation and insulin resistance and improved the markers of healthy ageing and cognition.
Just like the heroine in the Cinderella story, Dietary fiber has been quietly toiling away, doing the dirty work to reshape our gut microbiome into the ideal home of health and yet it does not receive the prominence and recognition for all this hard work… if you look at food labels , you will see that the macronutrients dominate the labels…I don’t want to refer to them as the wicked stepsisters of the story…but carbohydrates, fats and protein along with a calorie count is what tends to take precedence. If dietary fiber is listed, it will be lower down on the label and quite possibly a feature that you will ignore unless your focus has been fine-tuned to zone in on it.
Have you ever used any fitness and nutrition apps like My Fitness Pal or My plate or My Net Diary? You will observe again that the calories, carbs, protein, and fats are centre stage at the ball!
Between the food labels and fitness apps, Fibre is still in a state of oppression…
So, here’s this week’s homework challenge…are you ready to step in and be the FAIRY GODMOTHER that gets FIBER to the ball?
Are you ready to offer the glass slipper to fiber in your Caribbean version of the Mediterranean diet?
Are you ready to take the ONCE UPON A TIME and make it into a HAPPILY EVER AFTER?
I’ve enjoyed escaping with you and look forward to next Sunday when we reconnect on our journey to becoming heroes of our own health!
