A troubling trend has developed in the US since the 1990’s, the replacement of sugar in processed foods with a chemically derived product of corn. This product, called High Fructose Corn Syrup (HFCS) has been widely adopted as a cheap and manufacturer friendly replacement for cane sugar products.
The taste is similar, but the processing and possible health affects are vastly different than cane sugar. HFCS is produced from corn through a chemical and fermenting process and results in a fructose-glucose product. Corn used in the process may be genetically modified, a fact that is troubling to many healthy conscious eaters.
HFCS is abundant and nearly impossible to avoid. After taking a no HFCS dietary position, I became aware of just how hard it is to eliminate. Try looking for bread or crackers that do not have HFCS. You will find that nearly 99% of the baked, fruit products, even spaghetti sauces on regular grocery shelves contain it. And probably the biggest culprit, soft drinks.
Most American made soft drinks list HFCS as the second or third ingredient, meaning that the beverage is composed largely of the corn product. HFCS is also lurking in a lot of other beverages, such as “fruit juices” that are marketed for kids. Start looking out for HFCS, I think you will be surprised too.
Why does this matter?
HFCS has been a hot topic in nutrition and health communities. Experts are still evaluating the dangers, but research has indicated that HFCS can contribute to obesity, osteoporosis, and metabolic disorders including diabetes, and has even proven to increase triglyceride levels which can result in heart disease.
What can you do?
Take a stand against this masquerading villain that can attack your health. Look for products that do not contain high fructose corn syrup (HFCS) and be sure to praise companies that do not go the way of cheap, unhealthy sweeteners.
If you have trouble finding products that are HFCS free, try visiting health food stores or looking in your regular grocery for the health food isle. If you can’[t find the products you want try asking your grocer to stock specific items for this reason. Also, don’t forget that groceries can be purchased online, a good choice for rural consumers who do not have access to health conscious retailers.
Showing posts with label healthy diet. Show all posts
Showing posts with label healthy diet. Show all posts
Monday, January 14, 2008
Tuesday, December 18, 2007
Holidays and Your Health
Holidays are often associated with stress (financial and family-related) and festivities. Both of which can have a negative impact on your overall health. Remembering to be on the lookout for those impacts can help you dodge the worst outcomes.
Find Time for Quiet
With all the bells and whistles of the holidays and people's demands for your time, it can be easy to get overwhelmed by stimulation. Taking a couple of moments to find quiet can refresh your psyche and help you avoid turning to other negative habits such unnecessary munching, smoking, having a cocktail, or keep you from screaming at innocent people.
Some ways to find a bit of quiet include:
1. Turning off your cell phone for 20 minutes. Very few calls are real emergencies, most can leave a message and wait for your return call.
2. Ride in your car without the radio on. This will give you a "stimulus" break that is both rare and soothing.
3. Take a quick stroll to get away. This trick serves your wellness on multiple fronts. You can grab a bit of exercise and have a few moments of down time all at once. Try to walk outside if you can and listen to the ambient sounds of your environment. Most background sounds will sooth you even if it is in the city.
Reducing Family-related Stress
Getting your family involved in something fun provides a great distraction from holiday stressors and can help your workload. Employee the help of others in the kitchen, in gift wrapping, and shopping. Be creative and turn normal activities into a game or contest. Who can wrap the prettiest package? Or consider throwing in a funny twist on holiday favorites. Let the kids make green and red mashed potatoes!
Getting the family outside for a walk is also a nice way to spend time together and to get in a bit of exercise. Cabin fever and being overfull from eating are major contributors to grouchiness!
Avoid Holiday Eating Guilt Disasters
A little advanced planning and conscious effort can reduce your post holiday guilt. See three easy pointers below.
1. Take a health dish that you like to a party. This will provide at least one healthy selection that you will enjoy eating.
2. Eat a light meal before heading out to gatherings. This helps prevent you from getting famished and eating everything in sight. Something simple like an egg sandwich on whole grain bread and topped with greens is perfect as it will provide protein, healthy carbohydrates and fiber, all important to making you feel full.
3. Go light on the cocktails. Alcohol is loaded with calories and makes you more likely to turn into a grazing machine.
Financial Wellness
Just about everyone thinks about finances around the holidays. Holiday travel and holiday gifts can set your pulse racing and your bank account into withdrawal. Don't forget to set boundaries, doing this will keep you in the driver's seat for holiday spending. Emotion drives much of our decisions related to the holidays. Recognizing that spending more does not equate to loving more is an important step. A well thought small gift or just spending quality time with a friend is much more meaningful than a gift does not suit. Once you start to set the boundaries on the holidays others will follow suit.
A great example of this happened with my family last year. I recommended that we draw names to control holiday cost. While there were a few grumbles, the gifts were great and were really special because it gave you time to shop for one versus many. Afterwards everyone commented on how much less stress they felt because they did not go into debt and they did not feel pressured to shop for so many.
Wishing you a peaceful and renewing holiday season,
Dr. Kim Perry
Find Time for Quiet
With all the bells and whistles of the holidays and people's demands for your time, it can be easy to get overwhelmed by stimulation. Taking a couple of moments to find quiet can refresh your psyche and help you avoid turning to other negative habits such unnecessary munching, smoking, having a cocktail, or keep you from screaming at innocent people.
Some ways to find a bit of quiet include:
1. Turning off your cell phone for 20 minutes. Very few calls are real emergencies, most can leave a message and wait for your return call.
2. Ride in your car without the radio on. This will give you a "stimulus" break that is both rare and soothing.
3. Take a quick stroll to get away. This trick serves your wellness on multiple fronts. You can grab a bit of exercise and have a few moments of down time all at once. Try to walk outside if you can and listen to the ambient sounds of your environment. Most background sounds will sooth you even if it is in the city.
Reducing Family-related Stress
Getting your family involved in something fun provides a great distraction from holiday stressors and can help your workload. Employee the help of others in the kitchen, in gift wrapping, and shopping. Be creative and turn normal activities into a game or contest. Who can wrap the prettiest package? Or consider throwing in a funny twist on holiday favorites. Let the kids make green and red mashed potatoes!
Getting the family outside for a walk is also a nice way to spend time together and to get in a bit of exercise. Cabin fever and being overfull from eating are major contributors to grouchiness!
Avoid Holiday Eating Guilt Disasters
A little advanced planning and conscious effort can reduce your post holiday guilt. See three easy pointers below.
1. Take a health dish that you like to a party. This will provide at least one healthy selection that you will enjoy eating.
2. Eat a light meal before heading out to gatherings. This helps prevent you from getting famished and eating everything in sight. Something simple like an egg sandwich on whole grain bread and topped with greens is perfect as it will provide protein, healthy carbohydrates and fiber, all important to making you feel full.
3. Go light on the cocktails. Alcohol is loaded with calories and makes you more likely to turn into a grazing machine.
Financial Wellness
Just about everyone thinks about finances around the holidays. Holiday travel and holiday gifts can set your pulse racing and your bank account into withdrawal. Don't forget to set boundaries, doing this will keep you in the driver's seat for holiday spending. Emotion drives much of our decisions related to the holidays. Recognizing that spending more does not equate to loving more is an important step. A well thought small gift or just spending quality time with a friend is much more meaningful than a gift does not suit. Once you start to set the boundaries on the holidays others will follow suit.
A great example of this happened with my family last year. I recommended that we draw names to control holiday cost. While there were a few grumbles, the gifts were great and were really special because it gave you time to shop for one versus many. Afterwards everyone commented on how much less stress they felt because they did not go into debt and they did not feel pressured to shop for so many.
Wishing you a peaceful and renewing holiday season,
Dr. Kim Perry
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
