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Eureka…Here’s an answer for all of us!

I promised that I would give you nine general guidelines on how to optimize food choices for health and here they are.

1. Remember the food chain & buy organic foods. If the animal or plant that we eat has been fed chemicals and drugs or sprayed with toxins, it is generously passed on to us. In the U.S., beef, pigs and poultry are fed genetically modified corn to get fat quick and are also fed antibiotics. Additionally, their foods often contain parts of other animals that sometimes include deadly viruses.

2.  Most natural ingredients are easy to pronounce. If you can’t pronounce an ingredient, be suspicious. To satisfy your suspicion Google the ingredient, and look for a site that describes the ingredient and lists both risks and benefits (if any). Look for an independent source, because Google also provides information from people who benefit from the sale of the ingredient.

3. Try to only buy prepared products that have no more than five ingredients.  Five is an arbitrary number, but few truly natural (forget FDA confusions about defining natural) products have a lengthy label.

4. Even if you can pronounce an ingredient, if it doesn’t sound like a food, Google it. Once again, look for a site that describes the ingredient and lists both risks and benefits (if any). Also, an independent source is best, because Google also provides information from people who benefit from the sale of the ingredient.

5. Healthy food does not need to be “enriched” with artificial  vitamins, or minerals and herbs. If the food you are looking makes specific claims of health benefits beyond the usual ones such as fiber is helpful for heart health, it is time for suspicion again. These additives are often of little or no value. If you eat healthfully and supplement intelligently, you do not require foods that are fortified with extra vitamins, minerals or herbs. For example, a number of products now list Echinacea as an ingredient. This herb provides immune support when taken correctly in sufficient quantity. We use an Echinacea compound supplement when we begin to feel under the weather. But, with daily use this herb loses its effectiveness. Some foods and vitamins that contain it are eaten daily and the value is only in the profits to the food processor.

6. If sugar, corn syrup, or another form of sugar is one of the top five ingredients, it is not a healthy product, unless it is a fresh or flash frozen fruit. Remember the average American is already eating too much sugar that is added in products that don’t really need it. I never figured out why table salt needs sugar added to it!

7. Opt out of anything that says  “No sugar added.” This phrase, on the packaging, is code for artificial sweeteners, which are much more dangerous than refined cane sugar. Check out the ingredients when you see this on the label. You will probably see Aspartame, Splenda, or a few other “non nutritive” sweeteners that are in fact also toxins. Many of these toxins accumulate in the body, so one dose will not harm, but 365 doses in you daily cola can ultimately have major destructive effects. there are healthy sugar alternatives and I talk about them in my e-book, “Eating For Energy”.  You  can get the book by clicking the offer in the top right hand corner of this blog.

8. Check out the “low fat” or “no fat” label. If a food is naturally low or no fat that is great.  If it has simply had some of the fat removed, that is probably fine, but some of these foods often have an ingredient called Olestra, or some relative of Olestra. These fat blockers supposedly provide taste associated with fat version of the food. In fact, Olestra goes through your body without the effect of fat. It does however have it’s side effects, such as interfering with the utilization of fat soluble vitamins (A, E, D &K). The result can be far worse than eating fat. Additionally, if you eat much of it, you will find that your bowel movements contain an oily substance and sometimes you may not be able to control the leakage of this stuff.

9. Learn the basics of what constitutes a nutritionally balanced diet. Your goal should be eat the appropriate balance of protein, carbohydrates, fats and fiber with the calories that you require. There are many diets that recommend different ratios, and in part it depends on the individual as to which is best. But except for some rare illness, all of the diets acknowledge the need for some balance.   If you are unsure of how a nutritionally balanced diet looks, ask me for help.

There is a new study out saying that eating organic foods provides no special health benefits. What it doesn’t say is that pesticide and chemically laced foods do provide known health risks! It ignores the studies that have shown much higher nutrient values in organic foods when compared to regular supermarket foods.
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Now, I ask the question again… Is it easier to pan for gold or find an honest natural food?
Beats me, but it makes a good question!
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If you want more information or explanation, just click on ASK SANDY.
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Be sure to come back in a few days for the next post, and if you are interested in our nutrition evaluation or strategies for finding healthy foods, just let us know.

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