NUTRISPEAK by Vesanto Melina

You know that times are changing when you ask your daughter’s boyfriend what he’d like to drink and he replies “A soy chai latté.” In fact, when I started writing this column, Stefan said he would go on record as a construction and oilrig worker from Fort MacMurray, and former bouncer, who now drinks soy chai lattés.
I am accustomed to women being interested in and downright enthusiastic about health-promoting foods and beverages. In droves, females avoid alcohol and animal products, know the latest about transfats, and keep nutrition books handy as their favourite reading material. But men? Surveys indicate that about one-third of vegetarians are male. Yet for many of us, the “real man” stereotype includes the image of a gun rack in his half-ton truck, drinking coffee until noon, followed by beer or whisky for the remainder of the day, and when asked what he’d like to eat, he selects from the short list of chicken, pork, or beef, with nary a mention of a vegetable.
Lately, I’ve been having fun going on “beginner dates” with several men. These typically consist of lunch, or a movie and snack, or dinner, or a walk along the seawall followed by a warm beverage. Naturally, these situations bring up the topic of food choices. In the process, I find that I can no longer expect a “typical” man to be averse to tofu, or to avoid every vegetable other than potatoes.
Has there been a significant shift over the last decade? Are men’s perspectives on diet undergoing a transformation? Has the interest in nutrition, on the part of women and some men, caught on and spread? Are all of those teenagers that suddenly insist on being vegetarian creating a ripple effect? Are a great many of us affected by the heartbreaking evidence of the deaths of loved ones, from cancer and heart disease, deaths that are clearly related to diet and lifestyle choices? Are the occasional documentaries that we see on mainstream television about the environmental damage and animal cruelty implicit in factory farming having an impact?
Readers, I’d like to hear your stories and your views on this topic. Are you seeing similar changes as well? Please email vesanto@nutrispeak.com
This month’s column gradually took shape over several soy chai lattés at a few mainstream coffee shops in Vancouver and Langley. I was introduced to chai when I spent four years in India. Indian chai typically consists of heated cow’s milk, black tea, immense quantities of white sugar, and a variety of spices, including cardamom and cinnamon. In North America, the diversity of recipes for chai is endless. Like minestrone soup, it’s always good, but everyone’s recipe is different. So feel free to experiment, adjust a recipe to your personal taste, and call it chai.

Vesanto Melina is a BC-based registered dietitian and author of a number of best-selling books about food and nutrition. For personal consultations, call 604-888-8325 (Fort Integrated Health Clinic) or 604-882-6782 (home office, near Fort Langley) www.nutrispeak.com