Why our blessings are more obvious right now

This holiday season will be different. In a year already plagued by cancelled plans, some of the most disappointing cancellations are those lying ahead — our traditional get together with loved ones. We’re in for holidays that will be more solemn for sure.

This year has been tough, but food can be our reminder of how lucky we still are; nature’s bliss as well as human ingenuity, labor and love compactly combine into the dishes that nourish and delight us. Getting enough food used to be a daily struggle for most of human history. The reason most religions and cultures pray before meals is because having enough food was rare, took great effort, and was greatly appreciated.

This year, food gratitude is again easier to sense. Food insecurity was already rampant before the pandemic: 14% of American households were food insecure at least part of the time in years past. Undernourishment — lack of access to adequate and healthy food — was already widespread. The presentation of undernourishment is often, paradoxically, obesity, as highly processed calorically dense foods are cheaper and more accessible than a whole foods diet rich with fruits and vegetables. This hidden hunger has now been overtaken by visible depression-era lines in food pantries.

A recent article in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition warns that “food insecurity during the COVID-19 pandemic could have serious and long-lasting health consequences” — lack of nutritious foods may lead to dramatic rises in the rates of heart disease, type 2 diabetes, hypertension and early death. While food lines are painfully apparent, their long-term chronic disease consequences will be witnessed only much later on.

Food insecurity affects health in three pathways, the authors explain: household stress, behavioral, and through inflammatory pathways.

Not having enough food is a major stressor that can lead to sadness, shame, guilt, anxiety and hopelessness, and this stress can even build up to depression, violence and abuse.

Food insecure individuals engage in behaviors that undermine their health, such as involvement in risky ways to earn money, they may skip necessary medications and treatments, and consume cheap, calorie dense highly-processed foods.

And finally, food insecurity activates inflammatory pathways in our body, and this state of chronic inflammation promotes disease. Food insecurity is a powerful stressor, this stress, and high intake of pro-inflammatory foods typical of the diet in food-insecure households, is associated with inflammation.

Food gratitude

This year was a stark reminder of the frailty of human health and the fragility of our food supply chain. We no longer assume the things we used to take for granted, and as we sit at holiday meals, even if we’re fewer, even if it’s simpler, or over Zoom, let’s give some thought to the wonders of what made our meal possible.

Food, especially healthy food, is a poignant reminder to be grateful, this holiday season, and every single day, for the nourishing gifts we receive. Growing plant foods — veggies, fruits, grains, legumes, spices, herbs — takes the accumulated knowledge of humankind, the graces of the sun, blessed rain, dew and irrigation, pollinators, and the labor of a whole chain of people, from the farmer who sowed the seeds to the cook that crafted the dish. As to animal foods: Animals’ very lives were sacrificed for it.

And if you have plenty, this is the time to share.

Wishing you a happy, healthy holiday season

Dr. Ayala