OneHealthyGirl.com - Carla Golden's Get Healthier! Blog

Final Food School Post - Yay! You've Graduated!

No where will you find ANY wise lifestyle diet that encourages food with any of the following ingredients:

1. Partially or Fully Hydrogenated Oils
2. High Fructose Corn Syrup (HFCS)
3. Monosodium Glutamate (MSG)
4. Sodium Nitrites
5. Refined White Sugar
6. Refined White Salt
7. Artificial Food Coloring
8. Artificial Sweeteners

If you can avoid (and, yes, you can!) these ingredients, you will already be on a good path for a real, whole food diet. The only other things I may add to this list (which I won't do in detail) are refined white flour, white rice and pretty much anything that has become "white" because all its color has been stripped from its natural state during the refining process. 

OK, great. What's next?

This is where it gets really fun and why I have started my e.a.r.t.h.food series. Every day it seems I am asked these and similar questions:

• Should I eat meat?
• How much alcohol is ok?
• What about milk?
• Is soy good for me?
• I drink coffee. Is that bad?

These are not questions with black and white answers. If they were, we'd have it all figured out by now and we'd all be healthier. As I age and as I learn, I discover new shades of gray to life, and food is no exception. e.a.r.t.h.food is my attempt to address these gray food areas.

Stay tuned for my next installment of e.a.r.t.h.food when I dive into the gray area of drinking water. You never knew how simple or complicated choosing life's essential liquid could be. We all need it, we all prefer it to be safe and the earth needs us to drink responsibly.

Until then, live light, xo-C.

environmental.action.resulting in.total.health.food

FOOD SCHOOL: AVOID ARTIFICIAL SWEETENERS!

Thus far The Golden Spectrum Food School has covered reasons to: 

1. avoid Partially & Fully Hydrogenated Oils
2. avoid High Fructose Corn Syrup (HFCS)
3. avoid Monosodium Glutamate (MSG)
4. avoid Sodium Nitrites
5. avoid Refined White Sugar
6. avoid Artificial Food Coloring

This post will cover the reasons to avoid artificial sweeteners. If you are what you eat, why would you want to be artificial? ;o)

When dodging the harms inherent in consuming high fructose corn syrup and refined white sugar, opting for artificial sweetener is not a safe nor wise choice. The most commonly known and used artificial sweeteners in the US are:

1. aspartame - Equal and NutraSweet
2. saccharine - Sweet'N Low
3. sucralose - Splenda (not to be confused with "sucrose" which is common sugar)
4. acesulfame potassium - Sweet One

A brief tour around Google or Wikipedia will alert you to the many dangers of ingesting artificial sugar substitutes, like the ones above, linking them to the formation of cancer.

Not only are these chemicals toxic to the body, they also confuse the body and end up causing weight gain in the long term. Generally "foods" that contain artificial sweetener should be avoided for other ingredients also. Fake sugar rarely travels solo in a toxic vehicle. It is criminal to find artificial sweeteners in food meant for children as it can interfere with their developing brains.

While it is important to curb all sugar intake in order to reduce inflammation, diabetes and obesity, there are natural sugars which are relatively safe and smart choices when you must use sugar. 

Stevia has been in the news recently because Truvia and PureVia (Coca Cola and Pepsi promoted sweeteners) have hit the shelves. They claim to be derived from all natural stevia and, therefore, are a more natural choice. Yes this is true in the sense that Splenda is derived from sugar. One element is isolated, adulterated and replicated, but no longer resembles the original substance. It doesn't make it safe. I've written more about this topic here.

While shopping for Food School, I discovered these sugar substitutes on my grocery shelves:

PureVia:

   

Ingredients: Erythritol, Isomaltulose, Reb A (stevia extract), Contains 1% or less of Cellulose Powder and each Natural Flavor.

(Reb A is the isolated, adulterated component of stevia that no longer resembles stevia. And what's the other gunk?)

Ingredients: Xylitol, Dextrose with Maltodextrin and Sucralose for added sweetness.

(You get unbranded Splenda with your Xylitol. How sweet! NOT.)

 

Ingredients: Citric Acid, Evaporated Cane Juice, Lemon Oil, Lemon Juice, Rebiana (Truvia brand sweetener from stevia), Guar Gum, Ascorbic Acid (Vitamin C), Natural Color.

(Rebiana is the isolated, adulterated component of stevia that no longer resembles stevia. 100% All Natural - excuse me??)

 

Ingredients: Dextrose, Maltodextrin, Natural and Artificial Flavors, Sucralose

(You'd hope to see coffee or chocolate on the list. Nope, just fake chemical junk.)

Ingredients: Dextrose, Stevia Extract (Rebiana)

(Rebiana is the isolated, adulterated component of stevia that no longer resembles stevia. This is mostly dextrose with some Rebiana on the side but is marketed as Stevia....huh?)

 

Ingredients: Inulin soluble fiber, Stevia leaf extract

Ah ha! Zero Calories. Zero Carbs. Zero Glycemic Index. Finally, real stevia. You can try some for free by sending in two packets of your current sugar substitute to SweetLeaf. Instructions here. Better yet, try growing a stevia plant and pinching off a leaf to sweeten your tea.

Or try raw, organic agave syrup.

To receive the benefits of agave, you must use the darker, raw, unrefined version. The lighter, more refined version is too much like corn syrup and will behave like it in the body.

Live Light, xo-C.

If you are reading this by email or social media and would like to comment and/or share one of your sweetener adventures, please click here to go to this post on my blog. Thanks! I'd love to hear from you.

FOOD SCHOOL: AVOID ARTIFICIAL FOOD COLORING!

Thus far The Golden Spectrum Food School has covered reasons to: 

1. avoid Partially & Fully Hydrogenated Oils
2. avoid High Fructose Corn Syrup (HFCS)
3. avoid Monosodium Glutamate (MSG)
4. avoid Sodium Nitrites
5. avoid Refined White Sugar

This post will cover the reasons to avoid artificial food coloring. What is food coloring and why is it in our food?

Setting aside first the health implications of ingesting artificial food coloring, it's important to question the use of these colorings to trick the eye and stimulate the palette. If the food in question were fresh, real, and nutritious, chances are it would not need any help in the color department. Usually the foods which have been colorized are processed foodstuffs (think colored cereal loops, gelatin desserts, iced cookies and electric orange cheese pasta) and the artificial coloring isn't the only item in the list of ingredients that ought to be avoided. 

So what are the health implications of ingesting artificial food coloring?

From the Pediatrics channel on About.com:

"Food coloring is used to make certain foods have a more uniform color, to simulate the color of fruits and vegetables that aren't actually in the food, and in many foods that are targeted at kids to make them more fun looking. 

Commonly used artificial food coloring agents include: 

Blue 1, a bright blue food dye that is commonly used in beverages, dairy products powders, jellies, confections, condiments, icings, syrups, and extracts 

Blue 2, royal blue food dye that is commonly used in baked goods, cereals, snack foods, ice cream, confections, and cherries 

Green 3, a sea green food dye that is commonly used in beverages, puddings, ice cream, sherbet, cherries, confections, baked goods, and dairy products 

Red 40, an orange-red food dye that is commonly used in gelatins, puddings, dairy products, confections, beverages, and condiments 

Red 3, a cherry-red food dye that is commonly used in cherries in fruit cocktail and in canned fruits for salads, confections, baked goods, dairy products, and snack foods - made from coal tar and could be carcinogenic

Yellow 5, a lemon-yellow food dye that is commonly used in custards, beverages, ice cream, confections, preserves, and cereals - made from coal tar, people with aspirin sensitivity made not tolerate it and is a bad choice for people with frequent asthma

Yellow 6, an orange food dye that is commonly used in cereals, baked goods, snack foods, ice cream, beverages, dessert powders, and confections"

Above are the artificial colorings which are permitted in food by the FDA as of 2007. They are often also used in cosmetics which are absorbed by the skin. Artificial food colorings are made from petroleum chemicals or coal tar and are not designed to be ingested by humans.

The Feingold Association has collected extensive research on the effects of artificial food coloring and believes that avoiding artificial additives, such as coloring, can reduce the incidence of behavioral and/or learning disabilities such as ADD (Attention Deficit Disorder), ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder), OCD (Obsessive Compulsive Disorder). Rather than medicating a child for hyperactivity and lack of focus, removing known irritants from the diet is a natural and safer solution.

In the store, look for more natural versions of the processed products you wish to eat which may use natural colorings instead of artificial ones. It's best if the ingredient label lists the actual natural colorings (such as caramel coloring, annatto, chlorella algae, cochineal(insect), betanin (beets), turmeric, saffron, paprika, or elderberry juice) rather than the ubiquitous "natural coloring" non-specific catch-all phrase. 

If you enjoy cooking with coloring, there are many sources for natural dyes such as NaturesFlavors.com. 

When you choose a real, whole food diet, most of these additives are naturally avoided. It can be particularly challenging with children in the house, but it is worth your extra effort to avoid letting these chemicals into their precious bodies and brains. The food industry has perfected the art of marketing to children and an inordinate number of children's food/foodstuff (think "fruit" chewies, superman ice cream, birthday cakes) contains bright colors which are particularly dangerous to their small, developing bodies.

I have witnessed (with horror!) my angelic daughter turn into a monster with the help of one red lollipop in about three minutes. It's all the evidence I needed to know that food coloring (especially combined with refined sugar or HFCS) is best avoided. 

Read your labels!! Live Light, xo-C.

If you are reading this post by email or social media, please click here to access this post on my blog if you wish to make a comment. I'd love it if you would! Do you have any stories about how you or a loved one has been effected by artificial food coloring or how that person's life is now different since avoiding the toxic additive?

FOOD SCHOOL: AVOID REFINED WHITE SALT!

Thus far Food School has covered reasons to avoid: 

1. Partially & Fully Hydrogenated Oils
2. High Fructose Corn Syrup (HFCS)
3. Monosodium Glutamate (MSG)
4. Sodium Nitrites
5. Refined White Sugar

The next item on the list of additives to avoid is common, refined, white table salt which is made up of 60-90% sodium chloride that may or may not be iodized. Salt is another one of those old world substances that has been processed beyond all nutritional recognition. 

Where refined salt tends to be most destructive to health is in the overuse as a preservative in processed foods like canned soups and other prepared (frozen, fresh, packaged) foods. Common salt in a shaker at home or in a restaurant also tends to get overused. 

The problem with common salt is that desirable minerals are stripped in the refining process leading to imbalance in the body. Whole sea salts have those important minerals such as potassium and magnesium still intact. The synergistic effect of over 80 minerals in whole, unrefined salt helps the body to stay in balance.

It is best to use one of many natural sea salts (gray, pink, course, fine, etc.) in moderation for all your salt needs. Always taste your food first before adding any salt. It may not need it! Additional herbs and spices can help you steer away from overusing salt. 

Remember, taste buds can be retrained in about three weeks time. What may taste bland now with less or no salt may taste deliciously adequate in just a few weeks. One's acquired salt tolerance can be coaxed back down the stairs just like it climbed up...one step at a time.

Live Light, xo-C.

Further Reading:

Salt-Foundational Elixir

Salt Your Way to Health

FOOD SCHOOL: AVOID REFINED WHITE SUGAR!

Thus far Food School has covered reasons to avoid: 

1. Partially & Fully Hydrogenated Oils
2. High Fructose Corn Syrup (HFCS)
3. Monosodium Glutamate (MSG)
4. Sodium Nitrites

Recently white refined sugar (processed from sugar cane or sugar beets) has made a come-back as the "healthy" sugar in comparison to high fructose corn syrup. While white granulated sugar may not be quite as toxic as HFCS, it is by no means a safe, more healthful nor a wise choice. All processed sugar is junk.

Sugar is granulated stress. If you could crystallize what being "stuck in traffic, late for work with a gas tank on empty" stress does to your body, it would look like refined white sugar. It is dietary stress and it wears down your system the same as situational stress. It feeds off your energy, ultimately depleting your reserves. It weakens your immune system, making you more vulnerable to disease. Sugar feeds cancer, decay, auto-immunity, obesity and inflammation. 

There is nothing good to say about sugar other than it tastes sweet. And that's where the problem starts. Sugar is addictive. Sweet is yummy. Our early survival depended on our pre-programmed preference for sweet breast milk. Whole foods which are naturally sweet (apples, grapes, carrots, etc.) are our friends, but refined white sugar is definitely an enemy and no diet needs it. Less refined forms of sugar are acceptable in moderation when needed for recipes (consult this diagram).

This highly refined substance we call sugar is devoid of any of the essential elements necessary for its efficient metabolism by the organism. To compensate for this, the body borrows B vitamins from the reserves in the tissues. This weakens the nervous system causing hyperactivity in children and more involved disease problems for adults. (Blueprint for Health by Annabelle Lee)

Get sugar out of your diet. Period. Do not substitue artificial sweeteners. Beware of deceptive "no sugar added" foods.There are books, websites and blogs to help you break a physical or emotional sugar addiction. Sugar is a drug, not a food, and needs to be viewed and handled accordingly.

Without sugar coating my words, there is nothing sweeter than a life without sugar! 

Live Light, xo-C.

PS - On a personal note, I would like to pay tribute to the mother of PriorFatGirl.com who was tragically and accidentally killed while strolling her grandchild. My heart expands and embraces you, Jen, and your family during this fragile time. On the two year anniversary of Jen's amazing journey to lose 100 pounds, she lost so much more. 

FOOD SCHOOL: AVOID SODIUM NITRITES!

Thus far Food School has covered reasons to avoid:

1. Partially & Fully Hydrogenated Oils

2. High Fructose Corn Syrup (HFCS)

3. Monosodium Glutamate (MSG)

The fourth item to avoid in your daily diet is sodium nitrite, not to be confused with sodium nitrate, is used as a color fixative and preservative in meats and fish. As a food additive, it serves a dual purpose in the food industry since it both alters the color of preserved fish and meats and also prevents growth of Clostridium botulinum, the bacteria which causes botulism. 

There are natural, non-toxic ways to prevent the growth of botulism spores in meat, however, these natural methods do not offer the added color enhancement feature like sodium nitrite does.

From the book Hard to Swallow by Doris Sarjeant & Karen Evans:

Studies have suggested that nitrite on its own causes cancer. However, an even more serious cause for concern is its tremendous potential for causing cancer in the form of “nitrosamines.” Nitrosamines are formed when nitrites react with secondary amines which occur naturally in foods containing proteins. They are considered to be among the most powerful cancer-causing agents yet discovered. 

Experiments have shown that minute amounts of certain nitrosamines could cause cancer in animals. Dr. William Lijinsky, an internationally recognized authority on nitrites and cancer, told a US Senate agricultural committee that there is evidence to show that nitrites in meat are the most dangerous food additives today and that they are major contributors to cancer. 

He went on to say that one thousand people die from cancer every day in the US alone and that most of the deaths are due to the foods people ate thirty to forty years ago. He feels that the use of nitrate and nitrite in such meats as bacon, wieners, bologna, salami, pepperoni, sausages and ham pose a significant risk to children. He verifies that nitrosamines have caused cancer in twenty-four species of animals tested at the Frederick Cancer Research Centre. Other adverse reactions included miscarriages, fetal deaths and birth defects in laboratory animals."

From NaturalNews.com:

"You can find sodium nitrite in nearly every packaged meat product imaginable. It's listed right on the label of products like bacon, breakfast sausage, beef jerky, pepperoni, sandwich meat, ham, hot dogs, and even the meats found in canned soups. If you and I walked into any grocery store in America, I could show you hundreds of products that contain this ingredient right now. And I believe this sodium nitrite is the primary cause of pancreatic cancer in humans who consume even moderate quantities of processed meats.

If sodium nitrite is so dangerous, why does the food industry use it? Simple: this chemical just happens to turn meats bright red. It's actually a color fixer, and it makes old, dead meats appear fresh and vibrant. Thus, food manufacturers insist on using sodium nitrite for the simple reason that it sells more meat products. Consumers are strongly influenced by the color of grocery products and when meat products look fresh, people will buy them, even if the true color of the months-old meat is putrid gray."

It would be best to avoid the foods commonly known to contain nitrites, including cured fish like smoked salmon, unless you buy a specific brand which cures their meats without the use of nitrites and labels thus on their packaging, such as McLean Organic Foods.

Live Light, xo-C.

FOOD SCHOOL: AVOID MSG (and all its disguises)!

So far, since bringing Food School to you, I've covered reasons to avoid:

1. Partially Hydrogenated Oils

2. High Fructose Corn Syrup

Today I'll explain why it is so VERY important, especially for children, to avoid the excitotoxin MSG and all its many disguises. Monosodium Glutamate, otherwise known as MSG, began its popularity as a food additive to encourage the elderly to eat rather than waste away in nursing homes. The additive which is a "flavor enhancer" is used to basically make food addictive.

From TruthInLabling.org:

• There is evidence that MSG causes retinal degeneration, kills brain cells -- leading to behavior disorders, learning disabilities, reproductive disorders,  obesity, and more.

• There is evidence that MSG causes  reactions like irritable bowel, heart irregularities, asthma, and migraine headaches. 

• There is evidence that the young are at the greatest risk from ingestion of MSG. 

• There is evidence that industry-sponsored studies used to substantiate the safety of MSG are so badly flawed that they are worthless. 

• How many MSG-sensitive people might there be?  Look at the epidemiological studies. Maybe 50% today?

What is so frustrating about MSG is that there are so many other ingredients that contain MSG, but are not required to be labeled as MSG and can be labeling as benignly as "natural flavor" or "seasoning."

Here are several "other" ingredients which contain high levels of MSG:

Gelatin
Calcium Caseinate
Hydrolyzed Vegetable Protein (HVP)
Textured Protein
Monopotassium glutamate
Hydrolyzed Plant Protein (HPP)
Yeast Extract
Glutamate
Autolyzed Plant Protein
Yeast food or nutrient
Glutamic Acid
Sodium Caseinate
Autolyzed Yeast
Vegetable Protein Extract
Senomyx (wheat extract labeled as artificial flavor)

Some of those sound familiar, huh? Read your labels!! There are other ingredients that contain some level of MSG. Review that list here.

The best way to avoid MSG is to avoid processed food and fast food and READ YOUR LABELS. Print out a list of MSG and alternates to keep in your wallet for quick reference at the grocery store. 

Watch the 60 Minutes (1992) review of MSG:

Live Light, xo-C.

Additional Resources:

MSGmyth.com

TruthInLabeling.com

FOOD SCHOOL: AVOID HIGH FRUCTOSE CORN SYRUP!

If you subscribe to my blog posts by email, I'm afraid yesterday's post didn't distribute. It was about partially hydrogenated oils and you can read it now here. Hopefully you will go into your pantries and read the labels, if you don't or haven't already, and set aside anything with hydrogenated oils. 

The next Worst of the Worst Ingredients to avoid is partially hydrogenated oil's evil cohort: high fructose corn syrup. Often the two arrive in the same processed foodstuffs, but not always. What hydrogenated oil is to fat, high fructose corn syrup is to sugar: adulterated, highly refined, toxic food additive.

Many of OneHealthyGirl.com's readers already know what to avoid, but I am reviewing the fundamentals for anyone new or anyone needing a reminder as I bring Food School to you! Below is a chart to illustrate for you a hierarchy of worst to better choices when it comes to sweeteners:

I have reported before about high fructose corn syrup (HFCS) here and revisit it again because it is one of the top WORST FOODS to eliminate from your diet ASAP. I hesitate to even call it food. It is dangerous in that it serves no positive purpose in the diet and appears in foods such as candy bars, soft drinks, chips, fruit juice, peanut butter, soups, ice cream, jams, jellies, yogurt, ketchup, crackers, cookies, fast food, and many breads. It's rampant. Labels must be read and HFCS must be avoided. 

HFCS has been implicated in the rise of childhood obesity, ADD/ADHD and the increase of Type 2 diabetes. It is so common in so many foods that avoiding HFCS can easily eliminate a third of a grocery store as buying options if you're looking to avoid it. If you are avoiding hydrogenated oils AND high fructose corn syrup, the common grocery store's choices could easily be reduced by half. While that may sound like bad or unwelcome news, know that by avoiding these dangerous chemicals in your food, you are sparing your health of unwanted complications down the road.

I will address artificial sweeteners in greater depth in a future post, but I include it in the above chart as to be clear that they are not a smart substitute for any sweetener on this chart. You are doing your body a disservice by using Nutrasweet, Sweet'n Low, Splenda, Truvia or Purvia. These chemicals are completely manufactured and those products which have been on the market long enough to have received sufficient study have been shown to be toxic to human health. Splenda, Truvia and Purvia are newer products and you are the experimental guinea pig by using them. No one knows for sure what long-term harm they may cause.

Live Light, xo-C.

PS - Be sure to check out the new food documentary for kids and by kids at OneHealthyKid.com!

Additional Resources:

Mindful Eats: Why Sugar and Sweeteners are Bad

Food Renegade: Are Natural Sweeteners Good for You

Modern Forager: Real Sugar vs. Artificial Sweeteners: Which is Better?

OneHealthyGirl.com: Aspartame is Poison. Period.

FOOD SCHOOL: AVOID PARTIALLY HYDROGENATED OILS!

Hydrogenation is a process that makes liquid vegetable oils solid at room temperature so that products can have longer shelf-lives without going rancid. All beneficial essential fatty acids are destroyed in the process, and much-maligned trans fatty acids are created.

Huh? What does that mean?

It means simply that all hydrogenated (fully or partially) oils are bad for you! Avoid them!

Partially hydrogenated oils are found in thousands of processed foods such as many breakfast cereals, cookies, chips, crackers and candy and are proven to cause heart disease and contribute to obesity. Restaurant and fried food, especially from fast food chains, often serve food loaded with trans fats. You MUST read the label on any processed food in order to avoid hydrogenated oils!

Potential consequences of a diet high in trans fats include:
    * increased inflammation
    * decreased immune function
    * decreased fertility
    * arthritis
    * cancer
    * elevated blood pressure
    * free radical production
    * heart Disease
    * interferes with neurological & visual development of fetus
    * liver damage
    * obesity
    * osteoporosis
    * Type 2 diabetes

Here is a chart that shows you an overview of the worst kinds of oils & cooking fats (bottom) to the best (top):

There are a lot of other available oils not on this list, but this covers the most common. Here are a couple of great videos that discuss oils, particularly about which are better for cooking and why.

What's most infuriating is that companies are legally allowed to lie about small amounts of partially hydrogenated oils being in processed foods. How so? Read up here:

The "Zero Trans Fat" Deception - Buyer Beware!

(Image from Ethicurean.com)

Avoiding hydrogenated oils is a must if you wish to be healthy and prevent disease. Once you start reading labels you will be AMAZED by how common it is. 

Live Light, xo-C.

PS: One-on-one custom nutritional counseling in person (local) or by phone is available for $60/hour by contacting me here.

FOOD SCHOOL COMES TO YOU!

Wanna know how you can tell that I genuinely care about your improved health and avoidance of disease? 

1. I make my blog available to you for free. There are no fees or associated costs to access all areas of my blog.

2. I do not sell any advertising from my site. I personally view advertising as endorsement and I've yet to be approached by any companies that I truly respect.

3. I do not sell any products from my site and I no longer openly endorse any proprietary (ie: MLM, retail) products. Nothing turns me off faster from good advice than the suggested solution being a product the advisor sells. Plus, I believe that great health is not dependent on vitamins, supplements or super foods that arrive in a UPS box. There's lots of great stuff out there, you just don't HAVE to have it to be healthy. An optimal diet of wholesome food rarely needs supplementation.

4. I do not benefit financially from any books that I recommend from my site. I still believe in independent book sellers, I generally try to link back to a book's publisher or author and I leave it up to you where you make your purchase. Who am I to tell you where to shop?

It is my intention to equip you - those of you who are interested in making authentic changes and improvements to your diets - with knowledge. You don't need me, however. There are so many great books, videos, blogs and websites that can teach you all I can. You can even enroll in school and get your own nutrition degree. You don't need me to get healthy.

But I am a determined, relentless voice for authentic health freedom. I have sifted through hours upon hours of information to present to you what I believe to be solid, sensible eating advice. Knowledge is power and the ultimate tool to set you free. When you understand the reasons behind smart food choices, you can eat well wherever you buy food. I aim to give you that knowledge.

Sooooo...it's time for Food School to come to the blog! I like to start with a chart to illustrate what I mean by The Golden Spectrum:

Starting from the bottom (SAD: Standard American Diet) going up, you can see that any diet including processed food is less desirable than any diet containing whole food. As you and I both know, most diets include some of each, but many tend to lean more to one than the other. Whole food is always preferred.

• Omnivore: Meat, animal by-products and plants
• Vegetarian: Plants and Animal By-products (milk, cheese, eggs)
• Vegan: Plants only (fruit,vegetables, plant oils, nuts, seeds)

I eat a vegan (no tofu, no pill/tablet supplement) diet for many reasons and while I'd like to convince all my readers to adopt a vegan diet, I know the real odds are slim. But I would like to encourage you to eat real, whole food even if you are including meat (preferably from a small, local farmer). A whole food omnivore diet is preferable any day over a junk food, processed vegan diet.

Junk food vegetarians and vegans give these approaches to eating bad reputations. One can eat chips, candy and drink cola and still be considered a vegan. Just because a person says they are vegan (or vegetarian) doesn't necessarily mean they are eating a healthy, wholesome diet. The Wonder Bread in my cabinet (which hasn't molded yet) is an example of a vegetarian JUNK food.

The above chart illustrates the wide variety of many eating approaches from the SAD diet to a raw, vegan diet and everything in between. This chart simplifies reality and there are many shades of gray in between not included. The Golden Spectrum encompasses exclusively whole food and it is in this range where I would like all my readers to fall on the grand spectrum of eating.

If there are two things that I can stress to you, they would be FIRST: Eat a whole food, real diet and SECONDLY: Read your labels.

Real, whole food is food that is recognizable as it exists in nature: fruits, vegetables, nuts, meat, eggs...food with little or no processing. Preparing meals from scratch, while it takes extra time, generally employs wholesome, preferable ingredients. 

Making your own marinara sauce is better than buying pre-made. Yet buying organic pre-made marinara is better than buying microwaveable frozen marinara pasta in a plastic dish. Making your own granola is better than buying pre-made. Buying pre-made granola is better than buying conventional sugared flakes. 

See how these choices all fall on a spectrum of better and best rather than good and bad? Food is relative. It's important to determine where you are, where most of your food choices land and aim to bump up a notch or two in the spectrum. 

The way you do this is by knowing the contents of your food. The best foods (like apples, broccoli and walnuts) rarely have labels, but a lot of the foods we buy do have ingredient labels and I will show you what to look for and what to avoid. By avoiding the worst of the worst ingredients you will be reducing the amount of processed foods in your diet while improving your health. Eating well encompasses the addition of better foods and the elimination of worse foods.

In the next post I will explain what is trans fat or partially hydrogenated oil and why it should be avoided at all costs. 

If at any time you would like personal consultation in your home (local readers) or private phone consultation, I offer my services at $60 per hour to help customize your approach to making smarter food choices. You can also hire me at the same rate to do research on any specific issue you are aiming to overcome nutritionally. All I have to offer you is knowledge....free as a blog reader or at my hourly rate (same as a massage) for one-on-one custom coaching. 

Support my work and personally benefit from the knowledge - hire me! Catch me before I secure my PhD because my rates will go up, up, up (though my message will probably be mostly the same)!

Live Light, xo-C.

Ps: Be sure to join OneHealthyGirl.com on Facebook. It's where I share helpful articles written by other passionate health advocates!