Easter Sunday -
April 4, 2010
"Acceptance and surrender move us forward on this journey. Accept present circumstances and yourself. Watch the change and growth it brings in you."
What journey? The journey of life. The journey of your new dietary lifestyle change. This is the first lifestyle change in a pyramid of 7. Why seven? Think of the other 6--exercise, addiction, meditation, self esteem, anger/resentment and self love. I know I am spending a lot of time on dietary lifestyle changes but this is the largest at the base of the pyramid. It is the foundation in order to move forward. I have a journey. It is ever changing. Sometimes it seems that my journey gets disturbed. But this is part of it too. I try to get back on track as soon as I can. Try to do the same...please.
The United States Food and Drug Administration is the FDA. The FDA requires that most foods bear nutritional labeling. How many of you take time to read nutrition labels? It is always a good habit to check the label. It is sometimes very small so carry a small magnifying glass in your bag.
This is how you will find out the hidden ingredients in the foods you buy. The lable provides nutritional facts, serving size, an ingredient list and an allergen warning. The serving size is provided for a single serving. I said a single serving, not three or four. To find the nutritional value of something you are eating is easy. For example, if one serving size = 5 crackers which is 80 calories and you consume 20 crackers, how many calories did you consume? That is easy-- 20 crackers divided by 5 is 4 servings, so 4 times 80 equals 320 calories. Obviously, the more crackers you eat, the more calories you will consume.
The nutritional facts can get confusing. Before the % daily value, it lists the total fat, cholesterol, sodium, total carbohydrate and protein content. This is always based on a 2,000 calorie adult diet and is calculated for a single serving. I doubt many of you knew that. Remember the amount of calories any individual should consume varies from one person to another.
I want to tell you about net carbohydrates-- which is not on the label. This was Bob Atkins' pet peeve. For example, the total carbohydrate content is 24 grams. That is a lot, but what is the net carbohydrate count? Under total carbohydrates is the dietary fiber, and sometimes sugar alcohol such as sorbitol (as used in many Atkins Products). If the dietary fiber is 5 g and the sugar alcohol (not absorbed ) is 4g , then you must subtract 9g from 24g and the net carb count would then be 15g of carbohydrates. You must do this especially with the protein bars on the market. Calculate in your head the net carbs before you buy a protein bar. If the label states 3 grams of sugar that is not the same as sugar alcohol. If the total carbohydrate count and the sugar are the same and there is no dietary fiber, and way too much sugar. I would put it back on the shelf.
A good example food is Kashi 7 Whole Grain Puff Cereal. The amount of total carbs is 15g, dietary fiber is 1g and sugars 0 grams. The net carbs is 14g, but there is no sugar in this product. It does contain 2 grams of protein. You will add protein when you add unsweetened soy milk or almond milk to the cereal. It is made with buckwheat and long grain brown rice.This is a good breakfast for someone who is trying reduce the gluten in their diet. Very different from Captain Crunch or Wheaties. The next step is to read the ingredient list. Many processed foods have high fructose corn syrup which you will want to avoid. The ingredients are listed in order of amount from greatest to least. Always check that!! Most products also contain soy lecithin.
The last part of the label is the allergy warning. An example is: CONTAINS WHEAT AND SOY INGREDIENTS. I look for CONTAINS WHEAT, YEAST etc etc.
I want to tell you about net carbohydrates-- which is not on the label. This was Bob Atkins' pet peeve. For example, the total carbohydrate content is 24 grams. That is a lot, but what is the net carbohydrate count? Under total carbohydrates is the dietary fiber, and sometimes sugar alcohol such as sorbitol (as used in many Atkins Products). If the dietary fiber is 5 g and the sugar alcohol (not absorbed ) is 4g , then you must subtract 9g from 24g and the net carb count would then be 15g of carbohydrates. You must do this especially with the protein bars on the market. Calculate in your head the net carbs before you buy a protein bar. If the label states 3 grams of sugar that is not the same as sugar alcohol. If the total carbohydrate count and the sugar are the same and there is no dietary fiber, and way too much sugar. I would put it back on the shelf.
A good example food is Kashi 7 Whole Grain Puff Cereal. The amount of total carbs is 15g, dietary fiber is 1g and sugars 0 grams. The net carbs is 14g, but there is no sugar in this product. It does contain 2 grams of protein. You will add protein when you add unsweetened soy milk or almond milk to the cereal. It is made with buckwheat and long grain brown rice.This is a good breakfast for someone who is trying reduce the gluten in their diet. Very different from Captain Crunch or Wheaties. The next step is to read the ingredient list. Many processed foods have high fructose corn syrup which you will want to avoid. The ingredients are listed in order of amount from greatest to least. Always check that!! Most products also contain soy lecithin.
The last part of the label is the allergy warning. An example is: CONTAINS WHEAT AND SOY INGREDIENTS. I look for CONTAINS WHEAT, YEAST etc etc.
Get a label out and give it a close look. When shopping always look at a label. This may seem trivial and not important but it is.
The moon is in the second house and Jupiter aligns with Mars. Then we will have the guidance....In the Age of Aquarius-- Remember the play Hair--and the song Let the Sunshine In. This is an early day needlepoint given to my brother-in-law, Michael. I think it may be one of the first twenty I did. It hangs in his posh Los Angeles condo.
Photo credit:Michael Byrd
All have a blessed day
Until tomorrow...
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