Down Off the Green Smoothy Cloud, Part 2: Adelle Davis and the history of Nutritionism

Really bogged down on this Green Smoothy topic, haven't I? Have versions of other posts I thought I'd have put up by now waiting in the wings. Don't know if I'll even get them finished now.

I think I started this diet change at the wrong time of year. Not only does the cold make it difficult but my finances are extra low now too and although they say it's not an expensive diet, for me it is. A green smoothy takes enough greens and fruit for three or four normal meals. That's of course what gives it such a powerful nutritional impact. And if you buy organic produce it's even more expensive. And other changes go along with it that can also get expensive as you get deeper into the dietary requirements. It would be nice to be able to give it a serious try, but it isn't going to happen for me right now. Maybe some other time.

As I've been reading about the Raw Food Diet of which the Green Smoothy is a big part I've also been getting into the general Health Food lore, and was reminded of Adelle Davis who is really the grandmother of the whole alternate nutrition world. There were a few faddist health food places in the 40s and 50s -- I know because I had an aunt who was into them. I remember going with her to a health food bar as a child and getting a carrot juice. But Adelle Davis gave all that a big boost and now there are health food stores in every town, and the big market chain Whole Foods. It's become quite the industry and Adelle Davis should get a big share of the credit. I read at least one of her books back in the late 60s - early 70s and was enough of a follower to use her advice when I was pregnant. Gained WAY too much weight packing in the protein and vitamins her idea of healthy eating required.

As I've been reading along about these things it's struck me how these days some nutritional ideas that are going out of favor with the Health Food people are ideas she originated, although these are not attributed to her but to the evil "food industry" or the evil "medical profession" or the evil FDA -- the nutritional enemy of the day whatever it happens to be.

For instance, protein is no longer the big deal she made of it. I don't really know why it was in her day either. If the American diet is low in anything it's not protein. We've always been a bunch of meat eaters and milk drinkers too -- it's why Americans were known even in the early part of the 20th century to grow taller than others around the world. But Adelle carried on as if Americans were suffering from protein malnutrition, and just like all Health Foodists blamed the "food industry," whatever that is, or some other favorite boogyman. Her nutritionist heirs have picked up the blame habit although now they may be complaining about something she actually originated and not know it.

For instance, now saturated fat is making a comeback after years of being regarded as bad for health, but who gets the blame for that assessment of it? The "soy industry," or the evil "medical profession" or some such, when it was Adelle Davis who started that notion, the nutritionists' own Great Lady. She had a recipe for mixing unsaturated oil with butter to cut down on the saturated fat in the butter. It was a big thing with her. And if the "food industry" or the evil "medical profession" picked up on that and made it the staple of a "heart-healthy" diet, it's because of her and those who followed her lead. I remember Davis talking about certain oils as if they were poison itself because they are saturated fats, the very same oils you may find recommended along with the Green Smoothy diet these days, coconut oil for instance.

Also, in some areas soy is going out, some even calling it a "poison" after years of its being considered a great health boon. Guess who started the soy bean craze? No, not the "soy industry," Adelle Davis -- because of her protein mania, soy being supposedly this wonderful cheap source of protein. The soy industry was created as a result of the clamoring of those who followed Davis' and other health-foodists' advice, just as the unsaturated fat industry was created from the same influence. Specially advertised unsaturated fats started appearing in the supermarkets in the late 60s or early 70s.

So did yogurt start getting big about that time, another Adelle Davis favorite (as was milk in general with her, which now is rejected by the Raw Foodists). Of course Americans had to have yogurt sweetened, so it was only a compromise and plain yogurt has remained a low seller by comparison. But business gets created where there is a market. The market first of all caters to habits and to taste, that's why we get SO much sugar in everything. People LIKE it so it sells. But nutritional information also has an impact, and Adelle Davis was probably the biggest influence on that market for years. Organic foods were pushed by nutritionists and most big stores now carry them. Now I think I see signs that the Raw Food diet may be catching on as well.