Food labels can be tricky!

SO WHAT IS A "HEALTHY DIET???????

FYI: According to MyPyramid, a Healthy Diet is described as one that:

- Emphasizes fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and fat-free or low-fat milk and milk products

- Includes lean meats, poultry, fish, beans, eggs, and nuts

- Is low in saturated fats, trans fats, cholesterol, salt (sodium), and added sugar

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TIPS:

- Whole Grains: Always check the food label on food products. Look at the ingredients list, usually located below the nutrition information. In breads, the first ingredient should be "Whole Grain Flour." If it claims to say "Whole Grain" on the package, yet the first ingredient is something like "Bleached Four", etc.... then just say no. Examples of whole grains:

[whole wheat, whole oats, brown rice, bulgar, graham flour, oatmeal, whole grain corn, whole rye, wild rice]

Example:

Check out the first ingredient "wheat flour." This almost always means "white flour" (which you want to avoid!), otherwise it would say "whole wheat flour". If the label doesn't say the grain is "whole" you can assume it isn't... tricky little labeling people!

- Added Sugars: Check the food label for things like corn syrup, fruit juice concentrates, honey, molasses, etc. on their ingredient list. Other names for added sugars can include:

[brown sugar, corn sweetener, dextrose, fructose, glucose, high-fructose corn syrup, invert sugar, lactose, maltose, malt syrup, raw sugar, sucrose, sugar, syrup]

Example:

Ingredients are listed from the highest amount included to the lowest... this means that cokes are mostly carbonated water... and a WHOLE LOT OF HIGH FRUCTOSE CORN SYRUP!

- Fats: Avoid foods with anything "partially hydrogenated." These suckers contain stinky trans fats! booooo...

Example:

Those Tricksters :(

This label says "No Trans Fatty Acids" (Trans Fats) but STILL HAS PARTIALLY HYDROGENATED CONTENTS!

-partially hydrogenated oil that CAN'T be manufactured without creating trans fatty acids.

-FDA regulations allow rounding to zero any ingredients that account for less than 0.5 grams per serving... So what do they do? They make the serving size super tiny so it looks like they contain no Trans fats when really they do... WHAT ARE THEY THINKING?!?!? Lame...

THINK ABOUT IT:

Know anyone who has had a heart attack? It's a real risk... and unfortunately, the American Heart Society states that "obesity is now recognized as a major risk factor for coronary heart disease, which can lead to heart attack."

Notice the plaque buildup...

Saturated fats, trans fats, and cholesterol tend to raise “bad” (LDL) cholesterol levels in the blood, which increases the risk for heart disease. (If the plaque builds up too badly, it can block blood flow to the heart, causing some big problems: Last time I checked, we need blood pumping through the heart to live!)

Stay away from these...

Your decisions now REALLY DO AFFECT your future.

Why decrease your lifespan over potato chips and frecnh fries?

If you ask me, it's simply NOT WORTH IT.

Grow to be healthy again!

You are beautifully and wonderfully made! Talk to you again soon!

-Katie