Archive for July, 2006

Beware of Your Morning Cereal

I’m a terribly slow shopper. It’s not unusual for me to spend an hour just picking up a loaf of bread and a gallon of milk. It’s not that I have a thing for grocery stores but because I constantly read labels.

Every week there’s another food product that claims to help you achieve perfect health. The latest on the ever-growing list of healthy foods is cereal. Just take a stroll down the cereal aisle and you’ll notice the words “whole grain” are impossible to miss even if you’re not looking for a whole grain cereal.

It’s true that “whole grain” is an important part of a healthy diet: other ingredients such as corn syrup, corn starch, hydrogenated vegetable and palm oils negate any health benefits whole grains may add.

Beware of the wolf in sheep’s clothing. Cereal producers want you to believe your health is their top priority. Unfortunately, the ingredients in their products say otherwise. This is why it’s crucial to always read the list of ingredients on food containers.

60% of our population is overweight, 30% of these are considered obese. If that is not enough to make you set up and pay attention consider this. In the United States there are approximately one million teens with high blood pressure, high blood-sugar, and other conditions that put them at high risk of coronary disease and diabetes; at one time considered adult onset diseases.

Am I suggesting that if you eliminate cereals from your diet this will improve your health? No; the right cereals can be a very important part of a healthy diet. What I am saying is that ingredients such as corn syrup, corn startch, hydrogenated vegetable and palm oil oil can sabotage an otherwise healthy eating plan.

The next time you do your grocery shopping, take some time to read the fine print on your food containers.

Fats: Are They All Bad?

I have heard it said a piece of pie can not be sliced so thin that there are not two sides. There are many who would have you believe that any fat you consume is going to lead to obesity or possibly death.

It is true that there are certain fats you need to avoid such as hydrogenated and saturated fats. Hydrogenated fats are the healthy oils that manufactures have managed to change into trans-fatty acids, and saturated fats are found mainly in animal and dairy products. The exceptions are palm and palm kernel oils which are found in plants. Including these fats in your diet on a regular basis may lead to some health problems.

If these are the fats you should avoid, then what are the fats you should include in your diet? Many of you may be happy to find out that a piece of good quality dark chocolate occasionally is a good thing. The fat in chocolate is not particularly good or bad for you, but will boost your immune system. However, this does not give you a license to run out and buy all the candy bars in your local store.

I am sure that it comes as no great surprise that fish, especially salmon and albacore tuna are a great source of fat. At one time nuts, seeds, and avocados were thought of as taboos, but consider putting them back in your diet. Science is starting to rediscover what ancient civilizations knew: olive oil is tasty as well as healthy. History records that at one time olive oil was thought of as so important that it was used as currency.

Eliminating fat from your diet can be just as detrimental to your health as eating the wrong kind of fat. Fat supplies energy and essential fatty-acids, provides insulation and protection for the body, and aids absorption of the fat-soluble vitamins. Have you cut the fat out of your diet and wondered why you are not losing weight? When the fat is too low in your diet the body goes into survival mode and stores every ounce of fat. You will lose muscle and water but not fat.

With any of the foods that Mother Nature created with fat soluble vitamins she also added a small amount of fat. Why is it that we think we are smarter than Mother Nature?