Friday 30 December 2016

New Year, New Nutrition Changes!

New Year, New Beginnings (including the start of this blog!). Welcome to A Dietitian's Intuition! I am really looking forward to relaying information on popular nutrition topics, recipes, and other nutrition tidbits to you all during 2017 (and beyond...). 






Currently, I am experiencing some unexpected flight delays during holiday travel and unfortunately did not pack any snacks to hold me over until I arrive home. I turned to the airport food vendors to make a selection (ideally a healthy one) and was reminded how challenging it can be to eat healthy on the go. 


Fortunately, beginning January 1st, 2017, Ontario will become the first province to implement calorie counts on menus, helping us make more informed decisions when eating out. Larger food service operations (with 20 locations or more) will be required to publish the calorie content of each food item and beverage on their menus or food tags. These establishments will also be required to provide consumers with educational statements surrounding what a calorie is (aka how much energy we require each day), what the average caloric intake is (~2000 calories per day), and what factors can influence an individual's caloric need (age, activity, gender, etc). 


Will the caloric content of these on the go food options at restaurants, convenience stores, movie theatres, etc., influence the choice you make? Will the calorie content of these foods surprise us and increase our awareness of what we are really eating when we are away from home?

Hopefully, positive changes will stem from this change. Until then we will have to wait for 2017 to find out!

Happy New Year!