Harlem Word: Dr. Isobel Contento shares her ideas for healthy eating

Dr. Isobel Contento is a Professor in Nutrition Education in the Department of Health and Behavior Studies at Teachers College Columbia University. She teaches Master's level nutrition students about becoming food educators so that they give people practical advice about how to eat healthier. Read about her tips for healthy eating below!

Q: Do you have any suggestions on how people can eat healthy?

A: You should eat food that really makes you feel full, like whole grains [1], fruits, and vegetables.  They make you feel full, but at the same time they tend to be a little lower in fat and have the right kind of fat.  You also need to be careful not to eat too much meat.  Finally, it's important to have dairy in some form. If you are lactose intolerant, you should eat soy substitutes that are calcium fortified, rice, almonds, vegetables (especially dark, leafy greens), and legumes, which have the same nutrients as dairy like calcium. The main tip for healthy eating is to cook it yourself because then you know what's in the food you eat.

Q: What are some of the best ways to for people to learn about eating healthy and getting nutritious food?

A: I think it's important for people who teach about nutrition [2] to be very motivational and give people the basic skills they need to eat healthier. For instance, most educators only give people information, like how to read a label or understand the food guide pyramid, but they need to focus on the specific actions that people need to take. For example, the action could be "Eat Breakfast" and the educators should show what food to eat for breakfast. They should focus on a specific action that people can do, be very clear, and really motivate them on why to do it and how to do it.

In order to do this, food educators should raise awareness and concern about healthy or unhealthy foods.  For example, they can count out how many teaspoons of sugar are in a 20 oz. bottle of soda. There are 17 teaspoons in there and the recommended daily value is 12.5 teaspoons! Another thing that food educators should do is talk with people about the positive and negative results of changing food-related and eating behaviors. Next, food educators should work with people to identify any barriers to healthy eating and how they can get past these barriers. By addressing all these issues, food educators can teach people what they need to do to eat healthier and how they can make the changes. We need to motivate people and get them excited about why they should change their bad habits.

To learn more about the Nutrition Program in the Department of Health and Behavior Studies at Teacher College of Columbia University and nutrition programs offered in Harlem, contact Pamela Koch, EdD, RD, the Executive Director for the Center for Food & Environment at pkoch@tc.edu [3].

Harlem Word is a series of interview with community health experts written by HHPC and approved by our Health Advisory Board.