It's "Food Friday":
"Those who fail to take the time to be healthy
will ultimately have to take the time to be sick."
~ Dr. James Chappell
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Makes you think, doesn't it?
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Five Foods That Should Never Be In Your Grocery Cart
"When loading up at the grocery store, steer your cart clear of unhealthy choices that can take years off your family’s lives. Here are 5 foods to always avoid.
Nearly 9 out of 10 Americans obtain the food that nourishes their family at the supermarket, spending $100 every week and almost $5,000 annually.
Last year, unwholesome heavily processed foods like salty snacks, frozen dinners and sugary breakfast cereals were among the top 10 bestsellers, with carbonated beverages ringing in at #1, commanding a whopping $12 billion in sales.
The items tossed in your grocery cart play a huge role in the health and wellbeing of your family. Today’s supermarket shelves are stocked with tons of healthy and unhealthy foods. You need to make the right choices when walking the aisles, steering clear of foods that can have disastrous long-term health consequences for your household.
Here are 5 grocery items that should never make it through the checkout line.
1. Simple Sugars or Carbs and Unhealthy Fats
Skip foods laden with simple sugars, also called simple carbohydrates. Sugary breakfast cereals, donuts, pastries, cookies, ice cream, cakes and soda are loaded with them. Often referred to as “empty calories,” simple sugars are rapidly absorbed, spiking blood sugar levels for an initial energy high. This triggers an insulin reaction, driving levels back down and creating fatigue. You’ll feel hungrier and crave even more sugar. Plus those rapidly absorbed extra calories are stored as fat, putting you at risk for obesity.
Make smart choices by selecting fiber-rich complex carbohydrates, including 100% whole grain bread, brown rice or steel-cut oats. Select whole foods such as fresh vegetables and lean meats. These all provide slow, sustained releases of energy for long-lasting fuel. If you do crave something sweet, head for the produce aisle and pick out your favorite seasonal fruits such as pears, apples, or blueberries.
Processed sweets and goodies also contain saturated and trans fats that clog arteries and stunt weight loss. Instead purchase items rich in heart-healthy monounsaturated fats, like avocados and nuts.
2. Meats High in Nitrates and Saturated Fats **
Processed meats such as cold cuts, bacon, sausages and hot dogs contain nitrates, chemical additives that preserve freshness. Nitrates have been linked to stomach cancer and other degenerative diseases. These fatty meat products are also full of unhealthy saturated fat that can raise levels of “bad” LDL cholesterol, a risk factor for heart disease and strokes.
Ditch preserved meats altogether or look for ones that are advertised as “nitrate-free.” Buy meats low in saturated fats such as chicken and turkey or eat more fish, like salmon or tilapia, rich in healthy omega-3 fats. If you must have red meat, choose organic lean cuts like sirloin or tenderloin.
3. Ingredients You Can’t Pronounce
Does ferrous sulfate, thiamine mononitrate or partially hydrogenated soybean oil sound appetizing to you? Follow this rule of thumb: if a food product is made of stuff you need a course in chemistry to comprehend – or —if you can’t pronounce the first 5 ingredients, don’t let it near your cart.
Stay focused on buying whole foods comprised of only 1 ingredient. Instead of snacking on neon-orange cheese curls, slice up some carrots or celery sticks. Invest in an air popper and enjoy fiber-rich popcorn. Make homemade veggie chips: cut up kale, thinly slice beets, sweet potatoes or yams, sprinkle them with herbs and a little olive oil and bake in the oven.
4. Fake Health Foods
Fake health foods are those deceptive foods, billing themselves as “low in fat”, like certain cookies, salad dressings or yogurt brands. Look closely at their labels. To make up for flavor, these items are inevitably high in sugar or salt. Other tricky foods include packaged breads and crackers with labels stating “contains whole grains.” This often translates into considerably less fiber than 100% whole grain products.
Again, choose real foods as much as possible. If it’s a sweet tooth you need to satisfy, buy tasty dried fruits, such as apricots or mangos.
5. Canned Foods High in Sodium
Eighty percent of our sodium intake comes from processed and canned foods. In fact, many canned foods are so chockfull of salt, they contain half or more of your daily recommended intake. A diet high in sodium is dangerous since it can lead to high blood pressure.
Instead of buying canned soups, try making your own simple versions, like a healthy cream of carrot soup or hearty lentil. If you don’t have the time to cook, purchase canned soups low in sodium.
To lower your overall sodium intake, try seasoning foods with more herbs, both dried and fresh. You’ll rely less on table salt for flavor.
Learn more about the relationship between nutrition and lifestyle choices from Holistic Nutritionist Gillian McKeith, host of the UK's You are What You Eat and a guest on The Dr. Oz Show."
From: http://www.doctoroz.com/videos/five-foods-should-never-be-your-grocery-cart
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**More about Processed Meats
"Processed meats, such as hot dogs, deli meats, bacon, and pepperoni contain dangerous compounds, which put them squarely on the list of foods to avoid or eliminate entirely. These compounds include:
Heterocyclic amines (HCAs): a potent carcinogen, which is created when meat or fish is cooked at high temperatures.
Sodium nitrite: a commonly used preservative and antimicrobial agent that also adds color and flavor to processed and cured meats.
Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs): Many processed meats are smoked as part of the curing process, which causes PAHs to form.
Advanced Glycation End Products (AGEs): When food is cooked at high temperatures—including when it is pasteurized or sterilized—it increases the formation of AGEs in your food. AGEs build up in your body over time leading to oxidative stress, inflammation and an increased risk of heart disease, diabetes and kidney disease.
This recommendation is backed up by a recent report commissioned by The World Cancer Research Fund (WCRF). The review, which evaluated the findings of more than 7,000 clinical studies, was funded by money raised from the general public, so the findings were not influenced by vested interests. It's also the biggest review of the evidence ever undertaken, and it confirms previous findings: Processed meats increase your risk of cancer, especially bowel cancer, and NO amount of processed meat is "safe." A previous analysis by the WCRF found that eating just one sausage a day raises your risk of developing bowel cancer by 20 percent, and other studies have found that processed meats increase your risk of:
- Colon cancer by 50 percent
- Bladder cancer by 59 percent
- Stomach cancer by 38 percent
- Pancreatic cancer by 67 percent
Processed meats may also increase your risk of diabetes by 50 percent, and lower your lung function and increase your risk of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). If you absolutely want or need a hot dog or other processed meats once in awhile, you can reduce your risk by:
Looking for "uncured" varieties that contain NO nitrates
Choosing varieties that say 100% beef, 100% chicken, etc. This is the only way to know that the meat is from a single species and does not include byproducts (like chicken skin or chicken fat or other parts)
Avoiding any meat that contains MSG, high-fructose corn syrup, preservatives, artificial flavor or artificial color
Ideally, purchase sausages and other processed meats from a small, local farmer who can tell you exactly what's in their products. "
From: http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2011/05/30/top-7-supermarket-foods-to-avoid.aspx
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Do You Need a Visual Reason Not to Eat Processed Meat?
Mike Adams from NaturalNews.com provides some, um, interesting photos of processed meat in his Mystery Meat Macrophotography article.
"This photo shows a close-up of a pair of sharp tweezers grasping a blob of fat (or something else I cannot readily identify) found inside the Oscar Mayer wiener. Looks delicious, huh? Run down to your local Wal-Mart and you, too, can buy this stuff!"
More at: http://www.naturalnews.com/phototour_mystery_meat_1.html
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The Benefits of Healthy Whole Foods, WebMD Feature
What's the difference between whole foods and processed foods?
Healthy whole foods: you might know that you're supposed to eat them. But do you really know what they are?
"We live in a society that eats so much processed and manufactured food, that I think there's some genuine confusion about what qualifies as a whole food," says Tara Gidus, RD, a spokesperson for the American Dietetic Association. Even for the health conscious, the phrase gets tangled up with other terms. Whole foods might be organic, or locally grown, or pesticide-free. But they aren't necessarily. The definition of healthy whole foods is much simpler.
"When you eat whole foods, you're getting the food in its natural state," Gidus tells WebMD. "You're getting it intact, with all of the vitamins, minerals, and other nutrients that are in the food." Basically, it's the healthy whole food, rather than the bits that remain after refinement and processing. It's the difference between an apple and apple juice, or a baked potato and boxed mashed potatoes.
Healthy Whole Foods
Many studies have found that a diet high in healthy foods like fruits, vegetables, and whole grains are associated with a reduced risk of diseases such as:
- cardiovascular disease
- many types of cancer
- type 2 diabetes
So what's so good about healthy whole foods? For one, they're loaded with fiber, vitamins, and minerals. They also contain phytochemicals, the general name for natural compounds in plants. While thousands of individual phytochemicals have been identified, countless more remain unknown. They help in different ways. Some are antioxidants, which protect cells against damage. Examples of antioxidant phytochemicals are flavonoids, carotenoids, and lycopene.
Usually, the term whole foods is confined to vegetables, fruits, and grains. But any dietitian will agree that eating a skinless chicken breast is preferable to eating processed chicken nuggets.
One problem with processed food is that, during manufacture, many healthy nutrients are removed."
More at: http://www.webmd.com/diet/features/the-benefits-of-healthy-whole-foods
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What's a whole food vs. a processed food?
"Nutrition by Natalie explains. Whole foods can help your health and help you lose weight. Processed foods like fast food can make you fat and cause health problems. A whole foods diet will ensure you get the nutrition you need."
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Fast Food Secrets & Food Processing, Nutrition Austin
Info about the why and how of food processes.
You’re watching Fast Food Secrets & Food Processing, Nutrition Austin.
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Gateway Arch completed, Oct 28, 1965:
"On this day in 1965, construction is completed on the Gateway Arch, a spectacular 630-foot-high parabola of stainless steel marking the Jefferson National Expansion Memorial on the waterfront of St. Louis, Missouri."
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Yesterday:
Misty and I got in the Puddle Jumper to go get Jay. Click! Click! No start! The battery has to be replaced. So I hoisted Misty up into the van so she still had her walk-about down there at Jay's and sniffed her 'hellos' to little Maddie, the Yorkie.
As always, if it isn't one thing, it is six others!
Jay was working on the 110v. electrical, while Ray was working on the outside of the cargo trailer, and we were going in and out of the house, too, but the door from the house to the workshop got left open, and the one going from the house to the porch where Prime was. Both workshop doors were open to the outside.
Suddenly I couldn't find Prime, so we all stopped what we were doing and started looking for her. We looked high and low, inside and out, all armed with flashlights. I was fearing the worst, and hoping that she wouldn't wind up as a bloody spot on the main road behind my house.
Prime was good though, she didn't go through that open door, she finally sleepily came out of the cabinet under the porch sink, wondering why every one was calling her. Whew! I'll make sure that all cats are on the right side of closed doors before we start work .
Then a big water company truck came down the road towing a trailered back hoe, stopped four houses down, and started digging. There was water running down the street from there. I had to go in the house for something, and the TV was out, so I looked at the internet modem and it was out, too. The water company had cut the line, so now we had no water, TV or internet.
It started to drizzle, so we stopped work for the day, but it wasn't the deluge we had hoped for, and hardly got the pathways wet.
Finally, an hour later, we got some dirty water out of the faucets, they must have got mud in the water lines. As soon as it clears up, I'll have to clean the faucet strainers.
When I first moved on this hill, every time they had a water break, the water would drain out of the water heater here in the house, and burn up the element. So now I have back flow preventers in the water lines to the house and the guest house. I started putting one on my RV for the same reason.
After three hours, I called the cable company and asked when they were going to send someone out to fix it. NO ONE had called them, not even the water company, so they didn't know about it, and said they would send someone out tomorrow - (today). Their monitors showed that 11 households weren't using their modems, but that could be because the people weren't home, not necessarily an outage. I am so glad that I called.
So that meant I had to get my laptop on dial-up again. But for some reason it would not stay on line. But it was my error, I had a splitter in the line, and when I took that out, it worked, so at least I could tend to some emails. This desktop was on Live Writer, which doesn't need the internet until it comes time to 'Publish".
The cable company called me back on my cell, and said that they were going to send someone right out, I suppose someone else called it in, too.
When the repair man arrived he showed me that the water company had left the two cable ends sticking up 18" out of the ground, for all the world to see, so they knew what they had done!
But this repair man didn't do 'maintenance' as he called it, he just repaired to the lines to, and in, people's houses, so we had to wait for a Maintenance Man to drive from Montgomery.
Finally, he showed up, and after 5 hours, it all came back on again.
This was the first time we had plugged in the cargo trailer, but at first, it didn't have any power. I had taken a picture of the inside of the breaker box, blown it up and printed it, so Jay saw his mistake. He moved two wires, and we had power to all the circuits, except one. The little fridge and the air conditioner worked just great.
Now we just have to see what's is wrong with that last circuit another day.
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