What is Health Food?

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A little bit of history: In 1773, Captain Cook fed sauerkraut to his sailors to prevent scurvy, the disease caused by vitamin C deficiency. Was this the beginning of the health food movement? No one knows for sure. What we do know, however, is ever since then there has been a growing awareness of the relationship between diet and health.

Another historical figure, the Reverend Sylvester Graham, was so convinced of the benefits of whole grains he toured the country giving lectures on their merits. He also promoted the idea of cutting fats and meats from the diet. He is immortalized by the popular graham biscuit, which he invented in 1829.

Another early health food advocate was Sister Ellen White, a leader in the Seventh-Day Adventist Church and a founder of the Health Reform Institute in the late 1800s. A strong advocacy for vegetarianism emerged from this group. It may have been this movement that created the need for the first health food stores. The Adventists created the first meat analogs (meat substitutes with meat-like texture) in the United States.

Later, in the 1920s and 1930s, health food stores sprouted around the country. Some of the first foods sold were blackstrap molasses, brewer’s yeast, powdered skim milk, yoghurt and wheat germ. These foods were considered “powerfoods” and were particularly popular with the Hollywood crowd, who were searching for perpetual youth and vitality.

The industry was given a boost in 1950, when Jerome Rodale founded Prevention Magazine. This magazine, along with Rodale’s popular book on organic gardening, popularized the term “health food.”

It was during the 1960s and 1970s that the health food movement was truly launched with help from the ecology movement. At this time many people, from all walks of life, began to patronize health food stores. Since then, increasing awareness of the connection between health and lifestyle has moved health foods into the mainstream. Scientific studies now back up many of the tenets that were previously based only on anecdotal evidence. With the “baby boomers” moving into their elder years, there is more interest in remaining young and vital as long as possible.

Today, you cannot pick up a popular magazine without finding another story about new research demonstrating the benefits of certain phytochemicals, dietary supplements, or foods.

What foods are generally considered to be health foods? There is no true definition of the term health food, but most people who work in the industry would agree that health foods are foods that provide optimum nutrition or enhance the health of those who consume them. They would also say they are foods without significant amounts of substances known to be harmful to health.

There are other terms that may describe the types of foods you will find in the health food section of a store:

  • Whole foods are foods found in as close to their whole and natural state as possible. Generally, they have been minimally processed and have not had nutrients and fibre removed.
  • Natural foods are foods obtained from nature and do not have synthetic ingredients.
  • Organic foods are foods that qualify to meet the organic growing standards of the state where they are produced.

What qualifies a food to be placed in the health food section? These types of food vary from store to store.

Generally the foods in this section will have these characteristics:

  • Be less processed
  • Have fewer chemical additives, preservatives, and colourings
  • Contain less white flour and sugar
  • Have more organic ingredients
  • More than likely be grown locally
  • Be functional foods that will have specific effects on the structure or function of the body
  • Be specialty foods, such as sugar-free, wheat-free, milk-free, salt-free, additive-free and lactose-free
  • Be less likely to contain hydrogenated fats