Much like everything in life, the average diet has changed over the years. People no longer eat today -nor should they- in the same way their grandparents ate. Most of the world ate differently 50 years ago, mostly because food and lifestyle were drastically different. The 21st century has an entirely different set of circumstances that have to be taken into account when planning a proper diet and learning proper eating habits.
How Did Our Grandparents Eat?
Back in the day, your grandparents most likely ate three full meals a day, very little meat, some vegetables, and a whole lot of carbs. There’s a reason that your grandpa constantly describes himself as a meat and potatoes man – starchy foods were just bout always on the menu.
Compare this to modern dietary guidelines, where we encourage people to eat between 3-5 small meals a day with plenty of snacking. Our portion sizes are different, and the foods that make up the basis of our diet are different as well.
What Is Different About Our Food?
In a very broad sense, our food is overall less nutritious than in our grandparent’s time. This is a result of a variety of factors, including the rise of processed foods and industrial farming. These two forces have worked together to lower the quality of our food.
Meat
When your grandparents ate meat, it wasn’t eaten every day. Meat was bought at a local butcher and was typically grass fed, free range, and organic. Our generation has to go out of their way to guarantee meat of this quality. And we have way more meat available, so our diets are easy to make unbalanced.
Carbohydrates
The biggest difference between the two generations of diets is probably carbs. Back in the day, people mostly only ate whole grains, which means that the grain had all of its nutrients. Once again, people have to actively look for whole grains because they’ve become harder to come by.
Fruits and Veggies
Fruits and vegetables have always been the most nutrient dense foods you can eat. 50 years ago, there was a lot wider variety of fruits and vegetables, which gave you more nutritional diversity.
A major reason that we have to eat nutrient dense snacks and smaller more nutrient dense meals is that the big meals we used to eat are no longer as nutritious.
