I agree that grains should certainly be addressed in a show about healthy eating – with the caution that they are over-consumed and not generally prepared in such a way that our bodies can utilize their nutrients! While 10,000 years may seem like a long time, it is really a “blink of an evolutionary eye” as Dr. Stephen Wangen writes in his book, Healthier Without Wheat (2009). He explains: “For approximately 2 million years humans consumed little grain and virtually no wheat. It is only in the past 10,000 years that humans have begun to cultivate and eat most grains.”

I did not discover my celiac disease until my 30s and only then because of several other serious health complications that cleared up with proper nutrition. I’ve been impressed and amazed at stories of people who made great health strides by limiting or removing grains from their diets. I hope that new research on gluten and grains in general can encourage us all to put grains lower on our eating priority list, celiac or not.
.-= Jessica Claire Haney´s last blog ..Review of new PBS show on "healthy" living =-.

Dr. Ettinger

http://www.pbs.org/teachers/lunchlab/episodes/

I hope the show staff will take this critique and look for ways to improve the show. I do think Jessica’s concerns about gluten intolerance are well worth taking under advisement!

Ms. Haney argues that PBS’s new web-based show is “tech-focused” and “plant-free”. She ridicules the show’s purpose and compares it to the encouragement of someone running laps around a factory spewing toxic waste into the air – which frankly, seems a bit over the top.

Everyone is entitled to their own opinion, I suppose, but before harshly criticizing a website that is working to diminish childhood obesity, Ms. Haney should have researched her facts…or at least watched more than one five minute episode before passing judgment on the direction or mission of Fizzy’s Lunch Lab.

If you click on the “Parents” link at the bottom of the page, you are taken to the “PBS Parents” page. Here, PBS has clearly outlined episode descriptions for each of the 10 months it will air. Yes, “Month One” happens to be about Whole Grains – and since humans have been eating them for 10,000 years – it’s likely an important and relevant topic to cover.

Since Ms. Haney didn’t bother to do so, let me share with you what’s written on the parent webpage:

Month 1 – Whole Grains (Visit a bakery)
Month 2 – Balanced Meals (Visit a school – what kids bring for lunch)
Month 3 – Veggies (Visit a local farmer’s market)
Month 4 – GOOD FAT AND BAD FAT (Visit Organic Community Farm)
Month 5 – Hydration (Visit a cranberry bog)
Month 6 – Family Meal (Visit a neighborhood family as they prepare for dinner)
Month 7 – Fruits (Visit fresh produce market)
Month 8 – Protein (Visit a seafood restaurant)
Month 9 – Exercise (no mention of running around factories and/or spewing toxic waste – just a school playground and recess choices)
Month 10 – Carbs and Sugar (Visit apple orchard)

Surely, Ms. Haney, you don’t teach your son to judge a book by it’s cover. Before writing a highly critical article, it’s best to check the facts….

Kate Smith
mother and teacher

I’m not eating well, but my eating has improved since I was pregnant with my daughter and I’m eating more fats now than I was then. Despite the unhealthfulness of much of my diet, I’m a lot saner than I was then. Just the feeling better part tells me I’m on the right track. It’s not a change in hormone levels; I was really moody before I got pregnant too. Just telling people to ignore the bad advice about saturated fat might be enough to halt some disease processes in their tracks, or at least get people off of Prozac or Lexapro or similar.