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Follow me, or better yet join me as I journey into my sixties... enjoying my grandchildren... trying to stay healthy and fit... maybe some traveling and whatever else tickles my fancy.

Monday, January 17, 2011

Reading Food Labels

Taking more responsibility for your health involves knowing what goes into your body. It's either good for you or it's not. It involves reading labels and knowing what to look for and what to avoid.
Avoid anything if on the label it says "Hydrogenated" or Partly Hydrogenated".  These are Trans-Fats, even if it says 0 Trans-fat on the label, if it lists Hydrogenated, it has Trans-Fats... the government allows companies to say zero trans-fats if it's less than .5 grams per serving, so companies decrease the serving size on the label to get around that.

Sugars are another thing to avoid and they have many disguises on the labels... usually if an ingredient ends in "ose" or "itol" it's most likely a sugar. Avoid foods with these things on the label:
  • corn syrup
  • high fructose corn syrup
  • sorbitol
  • maltitol
  • isomalt
  • maltodextrin
  • dextrose
  • glucose
  • fructose
  • maltose
Avoid Sodium Nitrates  
BHA (butylated hydroxyanisole) and BHT (butylated hydrozyttoluene)
Food Colorings: Blue 1,2; Red 3; Green 3; Yellow 6 (all have been linked to cancer)

 This is just a partial list, if you educate yourself I'm sure you'll find more... all the above items are responsible for promoting Heart disease, cancer, diabetes, etc...
There's an easier way to eat healthier than studying labels and learning to pronounce 25 syllable chemicals. Stick to meat that came from farms, not factories.
Wild fish, not farmed fish
Eat only 100% Whole Grain foods. The label must say "100%"
Eat dark green leafy vegetables and other FRESH vegetables every day. (French Fries are not vegetables)
Stay away from as much processed food as you can. If it didn't grow, walk or swim, it's probably not good for you.

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