Put nutrients on your shopping list

We need to see food not as a commodity but as a way of getting vital nutrients into the body, says Dr Vanessa B Woods

Wed, 20 Jan, 2021 - 09:30

Clodagh Finn

CHANGING the way we write our shopping lists could have a major impact on what we eat, and ultimately our health. Instead of simply listing food items that need to be replaced, we should focus on the nutritional value of each of those foods.

That’s according to a science communications consultant Vanessa B Woods who says we should think about food not as a commodity but as a way of getting vital nutrients into the body.

She says we should shop with nutrients – such as amino acids, fibre, vitamins and minerals – in mind rather than thinking about replenishing our cupboard staples.

“We need to marry science, food and health,” the former CEO of Agri Aware says. And with that in mind, she has written a book to encourage science-based discussion on food nutrients, healthy eating and sustainability.

“ Irish Food, From A-Z,” Dr Woods tells Feelgood, “aims to deliver science-based messages to children, their teachers and parents by telling the story of sustainable and nutritious Irish food and its importance for good dental health, human health and wellbeing, via poetry.”

Beautifully illustrated by Béibhínn McCarthy and funded by FBD Insurance and others, the 26-page book is aimed at four to 12-year-olds. The poems, one for each letter of the alphabet, tell the complex story of the science of Irish farming, food and health, in memorable snippets.

For example, the entry under 'V' we learn:

V is for Variety

With lots of different food to choose

From meat, dairy, cereal, fruit and vegetables

The Food Pyramid, we should use

To guide us with the foods we choose to eat

Each and every day

We all want to keep healthy

In every possible way

Dr Woods chose poetry because growing up on a farm in Athboy, Co Meath, her father used to tell her poems which stayed with her for a lifetime. Now, she is using the same method to explain the movement of nutrients – from the soil under our feet into plants and animals and then humans – to a new generation.

“Our farmers grow quality, safe, traceable, sustainable and nutrient-dense Irish food at an affordable price for consumers," she says. "The work of Irish farmers is underpinned by world-class science as they seek to become more sustainable. However, not everybody is aware of this science. We have a duty to find better ways to lead consumers to knowledge.”

One of the first steps on that journey is to encourage people to see food, not as a commodity, but as a conveyor of nutrients.

A global study in 2017, published in The Lancet, showed that up to 11 million deaths in 195 countries could be linked to dietary risk factors. Some three million deaths were linked to a high intake of sodium, a further three million to low intake of wholegrains and two million to the low intake of fruit.

The study – 'Health effects of dietary risks in 195 countries, 1990–2017: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2017' – highlighted the need to improve diet across nations.

It’s a message Dr Woods wants to communicate to the next generation but in a digestible way, if you will pardon the pun.

She has a degree in microbiology from NUI Galway and a PhD in animal nutrition from University College Dublin but wants to make sure that the links between science, health and food are easily understood by everyone. To help to do that, in 2018 she founded Vanessa B. Woods Communications, a science communications consultancy with a mission to “communicate complex science simply”.

“Science, communicated simply, can eliminate confusion by presenting clear facts,” she says.

That has never been more important, particularly now as we try to negotiate a path through a global pandemic.

It is also the ideal time to focus on the link between science, health and food, Dr Woods says, adding that she’d like to see more collaboration between the departments of agriculture and health.

Everyone, though, would benefit from rethinking how they view food. Irish Food From A-Z aims to do that. Last November, it was delivered to school principals in over 3,200 primary schools around the country but pupils do not have to be in school to benefit from it.

Dr Woods says parents, teaching at home, might find inspiration for their daily lessons from its pages and explain the science of food to their children while cooking, walking in the park and gardening.