Watching the news on CBS This Morning brought to mine and the world's attention that another formula has been introduced to the public to help one decide whether a food item at some markets is healthy or not. The NuVal system ranks foods from 1-100 with 100 being the best score. During the segment, there were pros and cons raised about yet another scientific way to determine whether certain foods are healthy or not. Some argued that the way the NuVal system is calculated remains a mystery and doesn't deserve the credibility those behind it seek. NuVal says it is very necessary for the health of the general public so they know what they are getting when they purchase food that is put into some sort of container. Why is yet another formula necessary? It's not. Try not to eat foods that come in containers is a great way to ensure healthy eating. Making healthy eating simple is what is necessary. I think the First Lady has it right by speaking about growing your own ingredients and having healthy options available at places like Walgreens, which makes me wonder why she doesn't get nearly enough of the press she deserves...
Why doesn't healthy eating get enough press? I am not talking about Lean Cuisines and Healthy Choice meals; I am talking about Farmer's Markets and roadside stands. Whole Foods has the image as the epicenter of healthy eating but the fact that they sell Tropicana orange juice that has a TON of sugar in it, in my humble opinion, destroys their credibility. If they only sold oranges and/or fresh squeezed orange juice then they would earn some credibility as an institution that cares about the health of its customers but they really don't. They will sell whatever they can, according to their misconstrued guidelines, to keep building a masked image and really fancy stores. I wish I didn't go there but I still do. Whole Foods has the best produce and the best fish in Chicago but I certainly don't think any of those do-gooder hipsters working there have a clue of how the machine works. If they did; they might not work there or they would at least bathe and lose the attitude.
The only formula the consumer needs is: how many ingredients are in the product I am purchasing? The smaller the number the better! According to the NuVal system a box of Post Healthy Classics Shredded Wheat and Bran has more nutritional value than an avocado. Does this make sense? A food that comes in a bag in a box is better for you than something plucked off a tree...Sure, avocados have fat in them but it is monounsaturated fat that is important for the body to prevent diseases like cancer and heart disease (for more on the explanation of fats see The Big Book of Health and Fitness by Dr. Phil Maffetone, Chapter 4). The ingredients in the cereal didn't just come off the stalk and into the box.
Also, the fat in an avocado has a richness that makes you feel full. Cereal in the morning never worked for me as an adult. I was always hungry a half hour later, even if I ate a huge bowl. Just like anything marked low-fat or non-fat doesn't work well for me, because it takes FOREVER for me to feel full! Give me a couple scoops of full-on-fatty yogurt and it will only take a quarter of the amount to feel satisfied compared to that low or non-fat nonsense. The good fats in yogurt help the active body recover and make the stomach feel satisfied. Trust me, I was 225 lbs less than a year ago...
Another point in the healthy formula nonsense is the guidelines for eating. If you are overweight your stomach has expanded. A few ounces of almonds aren't going to do much for one attempting to make a change. The stomach has to shrink and this doesn't happen overnight. Cutting down what was once considered a normal eating habit over time as one attempts to eat healthier and exercise is better than starving oneself. A gradual process is better in the long run than quick fixes. Trying to get someone to eat skimpy portions after a long road of making unhealthy choices is setting someone up for failure. For me, the process worked well as I made gradual adjustments over a long period of time. Add some patience to common sense and you have the best formula for improving overall health.
Trusting the source of your information when building your common sense is very important. I trust Dr. Maffetone. His writings determine my thought process when it comes to making purchases at the store, the farmers market, or the roadside stand. I cannot wait for Farmer's Market season! How come the oranges at roadside stands in Florida aren't as pretty as the ones in Whole Foods (yet they taste the same)?
Eating healthy can be a pain in the butt and expensive but a few extra coins and scrubbing a few pans should be well worth the long-term benefits. I think NuVal, like other nutrition agencies, has good intentions but I wonder who funded their research. So much bad is masked by corporate advertising and fancy colored packaging that it is often difficult to make the right decisions, especially if the consumer is under time restraints. A vet once told me that makers of certain dog foods pay to have other vets say how beneficial their products are to the health of pets. Imagine how bad it must be in the human world where greed and the almighty dollar determine most decisions...If the consumer uses their own brains to make healthy choices when purchasing food our nation would be a lot better off and we wouldn't need politicians telling us what size drinks we can purchase.
Eat healthy a pass it on to the next person!
Check it out the information for yourself: http://www.nuval.com/
The most interesting fact CBS reported is that the NuVal system is only available to retailers for a price, making healthy eating, in the grand scheme of things, even more expensive than it already is.
No comments:
Post a Comment