From your Dietitian, Three Things to be Thankful for!
November 22, 2016With living in such a constant, fast paced environment often times we take modern things for granted. Or at least I know I do. Thanksgiving celebrations have been tracked back as early as 1621 where settlers would enjoy a harvest feast after autumn ended. It was President Abraham Lincoln who granted Thanksgiving Day a national holiday the last Thursday in November.
1. Better Prevention of Food Born Illness
Early in the 20th century, food, milk and water were highly likely to cause foodborne infections. A focus on hand washing, sanitation and refrigeration all started in the early 1900s. Did you know? Modern day Refrigeration was only started in the early 1900s that homes had refrigerators, toasters and gas stoves.
2. Mass Food Production Food Transportation
While people have been trading goods and foods for thousands of years, today trains, trucks, airplanes and ships make our food supply more bountiful than ever before in history. We have access to more variety of food than any other generation in history, but yet we are the unhealthiest. Try using this to your advantage this year and select some new items for your Thanksgiving table!
3. The Discovery of Vitamins and Minerals
The study of nutrition only started in the early 1900s when scientists discovered proteins, fats and carbohydrates were the major nutrients in the foods we eat today! Only a few years later did we realize there were nutritional deficiencies like rickets, scurvy and beri-beri in diets that lacked certain vitamins and minerals.
Remember, your health should be what you do between Halloween, Thanksgiving and Christmas, not what you do on the actual holiday itself. Enjoy! Have a happy and healthy Thanksgiving!