Jennifer

I am a label reader when I purchase food and I attribute this to my improved health. There are of course other things that have helped me lose weight, but certainly label reading has brought me into The Know. But it was a buddy, Tatiana, this week who reminded me that we can always improve a little more. See I was buying the fat free unsweetened yogurt thinking that was good. But I was all confident and not reading the labels with that one product. Tatiana reminded me that cornstarch is one of those things that is a waste of money and I do not want it in MY yogurt. I have purchased the good on occasion, but have so often purchased the ones with cornstarch (filler…. NO NUTRITION !!!) The ones with just milk and bacterial cultures (all of them listed out) are the best. Very good. I now have in my refrigerator one that is 1% and one that is 3%. The fat will not kill me! Plus I am getting better nutrition for my money.

I often put back items that have sugar unnecessarily added to the ingredients (for instance in pasta/tomato sauce or soups…. though I love pea soup and do get Campbells Pea soup. NO MSG. AND I love it! Still a little added sugar and some naturally occurring sugar in the peas). If one loves something, sure, a treat. But sugars, fats and preservatives are listed, BUT WE MUST READ and make the informed decision.

I LOVE my complex carbohydrates!!! And fruit (simple sugar, but GOOD), but this junk listed below is not good eating. I just learned yesterday that the fructose in fruit is actually one of those sugars that is good for stabilizing blood sugars and make great snacks. Plus the Glycemic index of fructose is surprisingly low!!! The below list of sugars is not what I want to purchase, but fruit is good eating.  I am just trying to eat it by itself and savor is greatness.

So, this blog is just a little reminder to myself that I still have to pay attention. Sure I buy mostly whole foods, but I think this has made me a little slack with the label reading. Chin up, eyes open and healthy shopping….. ahh it is a jungle out there, but I do not have to rush and fill myself up with trash either. Nope, nope, nope……

What did I use to say, this BODY IS A TEMPLE AND NOT A TRASH CAN! Truly, truly, truly my buddies, what goes in REALLY REALLY does affect our health so much more then we really realize. Just because the effects may not be seen so quickly, does not mean that we are not being affected. Feed yourselves well. I work on this all the time. I am not always so wise with my choices and I pay! This month I am really working on making the best choices each meal. Whole. My goal is to develop new behaviors so that I do not even want the junk. Will this happen? I think so.

I am no longer as worried and crazed about how our society is really not going to be so healthy in the years to come when the toxins REALLY start to overwhelm our systems. Mostly I am aware that I will only be able to do so much and the rest is up to every individual. (it is the studying…lol Tis the reason I share….I care. ) Do my best and live a life that is filled with as much happiness a possible. But I would not be me or I would not be true to myself if I did not share that I think Whole is what we should purchase and the crap is only going to make us sick. I ate out this weekend and made a few errors. Yuck! Payed the price because I felt sick for a good hour after and had no energy. I did not fuel my body properly. I knew better, yet why? I was a slave to my taste buds and in the end it was not worth it.

SUGAR…. no matter the name……

• Corn sweetener
• Corn syrup, or corn syrup solids
• Dehydrated Cane Juice
• Dextrin
• Dextrose
• Fructose
• Fruit juice concentrate
• Glucose
• High-fructose corn syrup
• Honey
• Invert sugar
• Lactose
• Maltodextrin
• Malt syrup
• Maltose
• Maple syrup
• Molasses
• Raw sugar
• Rice Syrup
• Saccharose
• Sorghum or sorghum syrup
• Sucrose
• Syrup
• Treacle
• Turbinado Sugar
• Xylose

http://www.holisticonline.com/remedies/Diabetes/diabetes_type_II_diabetes.htmhttp://www.heractivelife.com/women/comment/nutrition-label-detective-part-one-the-words-that-are-harming-your-diet/

http://www.heractivelife.com/women/comment/nutrition-label-detective-part-one-the-words-that-are-harming-your-diet/

http://www.heractivelife.com/women/comment/nutrition-label-detective-part-two-but-what-does-that-mean/

http://www.glycemicindex.ca/glycemicindexfoods.pdf