Food Pharma

I watched the new documentary Fed Up last night and I am absolutely blown away.  I loved every second of it.  I have been trying to tell people for so long that it's more than just what you eat.  

It's what you're eating is made of.

You can diet at a serious calorie deficit and technically be starving your body at 1000 calories and still be gaining weight. BUT WHY?

Because we're a "health" conscious country and we need to buy low-fat, no fat, reduced calorie, no calorie, and diet foods.  But you can't just take out calories or take out fat from foods without adding other ingredients to make up for the taste.

In Fed Up, it shows several obese kids struggling with their weight and their parents explain how they've helped change their kids' diet by buying high fiber, low fat, and no fat foods.  Let me be the millionth person in the real health industry to tell you…those words are MARKETING GIMICS and nothing more.

So here's a challenge: the next time you see a "research study" that says low fat highly processed foods are good for you, check who funded the study.  Typically, you'll see one of the Big Foods funding the study.

Why would you think that Hershey, Coca-Cola, or Pepsi (just to name a few) cares about our health?  The only thing these companies care about is M.O.N.E.Y. 

"Consider the Facts About Gluten

If you suffer from celiac disease or are naturally sensitive to gluten products buying gluten free foods is a no brainer. What about the rest of us? Are gluten free foods healthier for us? Not necessarily. Foods labeled as “gluten-free” can be just as high in calories, fat, and carbohydrates as conventional foods. The American Dietetic Association warns that gluten free products tend to be low in many nutrients including calcium, iron, zinc and magnesium, so if you are looking to embark on a gluten free diet you need to consult a physician or licensed nutritionist."

Have you ever wondered how the fat is reduced or removed from certain foods? Probably chemically and probably by over-processing the food down into some worthless heap of calories.

Have you ever wondered why the fat reduced foods still taste pretty dang close to the original full fat product? That’s because the manufacturers (which should give it away that it’s not actually food) stuff it full of refined carbs and added sugar.

So before you start eating that low-fat yogurt because you think it’ll help you lose weight, turn over the package and read the ingredients. 

Weight loss is not a one nutrient battle. Health is not a one nutrient battle. Every nutrient counts.

Just because a food has fat doesn’t mean it’ll make you fat. (Take that advice lightly)

What has good, healthy, make-you-skinny fat?

Avocados

Nuts

Nut butters

Flax seed

Salmon

"And then, there’s that pesky little fact that so many other places around the globe don’t even allow GMOs in their food: “GMOs have been partially banned by Austria, Bulgaria, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Japan, Luxembourg, Madeira, New Zealand, Peru, South America, Russia, France, Switzerland and Costa Rico, and are currently labeled in 62 countries. Despite this, factory farm animals throughout the world are still fed GMOs.” What are we missing in this country if so many other places seem to know the truth?"

http://www.onegreenplanet.org/natural-health/what-you-need-to-know-about-march-against-monsanto-2014/

Now why in the world would America not ban GMOs?..... 

We live in a politically correct YMCA world; everyone's a winner and no one should ever get their feelings hurt.  While obviously I agree that hurting someone's feelings is mean and unfair, our society has crossed a line where telling someone they're overweight or unhealthy is considered a hate crime and is abusive.

When I tell people they need to eat better or they might not be as healthy as they think they are, I'm not telling them to make myself feel better, I'm not telling them to put them down or hurt their feelings, I'm telling them to help them.  Why wouldn't I want everyone to feel as good and as healthy as I feel? That's the whole reason I want to be a Nutritionist!