So just in case we all aren’t confused enough by the terminology and symbols being used by the food industry – now they want to change the name of High Fructose Corn Syrup to Corn Sugar?  And doing this name makeover will change the health impact?  Not neccesarily.   

The Corn Refiners Association is asking the FDA to let manufacturers use this “corn sugar” term instead.  Why?  Because they say current terminology is confusing for the consumer.  But could it be that the consumer is more educated on the potential harm from HFCS and therefore have been decreasing their consumption?   This change seems like an attempt to make the consumer believe that foods with this added, potentially-irritating ingredient aren’t all that bad.

High Fructose Corn Syrup is abundantly found in our food supply.  You’ve seen it in everything from sugary soda to whole wheat bread .  Because of the significant consumption of this added ingredient, by any name, the numbers of people suffering from obesity, diabetes and metabolic syndrome has reached an epidemic.  

To me.  Call it like it is.  Something we are familiar with, so can make well-informed choices.  Don’t trick me into thinking it is better.  And if you want to change something, remove it from your product.

Making lists – one of my daily activities.  Between the grocery list, to-do list, take-to-school list, at work list and my mom list – the burden is heavy.  Lists keep me organized. 

On top of that I need to maintain my figure, control my emotions, attempt to be in three places at once – all while keeping track of where that needle in the haystack is. 

To manage these “lists” better, prioritizing is essential.  Being a positive role model for my family while ensuring they receive the proper nutrition, ranks high on my priority list.

Being a positive role model – something most of us strive for in our daily choices and health habits.  As a dietitian and parent of two young children, I have seen the influence that surroundings have on what is consumed.  If it’s in the house, it will be eaten.  Would my family love to have most of the grocery store’s snack aisle in our kitchen?  Sure.  But like I said, if it’s in the house it will be eaten. 

Which brings me to one more item for my list – GateKeeper ExtraOrdinaire.  This GateKeeper regulates which food items are allowed in the house the majority of the time.  On the GateKeeper’s acceptable list – celery, natural peanut butter, string cheese, dark chocolate, avocadoes, apples and spinach to name a few.  Items not usually on the GateKeeper’s list – iceberg lettuce, white bread, boxed macaroni and cheese, fruit snacks, potato chips and donuts.

GateKeeper ExtraOrdinaire.    Make sure your list has one.

Typical cooler Sunday morning.  I wake up wanting a nice steaming cup of cappuccino.  Not a real cappuccino, but the “add the powder to hot water” type that you can get from a gas station.  And lucky me, I found a  mix in the grocery store that was SO good and I could have it at home to enjoy a cup whenever I wanted.  Which soon became a daily occurrence.

Enter in client who was also a lover of this cheap cappuccino.  Our mission - lowering her cholesterol.  After reviewing her excellent diet history, her 4 “from the powder” cappucino a day habit stuck out like a sore thumb.  She agreed to wean off these to see what difference it would make.   After 3 months of no capp, her cholesterol was down 40 points!!!!  We were thrilled. 

So was this enough for me to stop my once daily habit?  Not quite, but thought I would try watering it down some and now – no more in the house!  I’ve switched to green tea and have at least one daily.  Packing in those cancer and heart disease fighting anti-oxidants instead of the refined sugars and shelf stable fats.

But I must tell you it still calls my name…and I am trying not to listen.

If you don’t like the way you look in some of your clothes - don’t keep them.  This advice from an organizational seminar I attended last year.  Today as I worked on cleaning out my closet, I tried to follow this advice.  Donating the clothes that didn’t make me feel like I looked my best.

So if it works for clothes, what about food?  Remove those foods that don’t make you feel good.  Those foods that have over 10 ingredients or contain things you have never heard of.  

Replace them with wholesome, closer to nature foods.  Your goal:  Keep foods with less than 10 ingredients.  The less ingredients the better you will feel.

The debate…butter or margarine.  A sensitive, personal decision. 

Stick margarine is taboo because of the partial hydrogenation resulting in trans fats.  These trans fats go on to oxidize or damage cholesterol which helps to make it stick in vessels.  So use tub margarine, right?  But not one with those taboo fats.  What about the ton of other ingredients listed? 

After consuming trans fat free, tub margarine for years and using butter when baking, I am making some changes.  My decision?  When comparing pasteurized cream and salt vs a ton of ingredients.  I pick pasteurized cream and salt.

Have you seen the commercials for pet food lately?  Bragging about quality lean protein, veggies, and Omega 3 fats that their products contain.  Would you want to give your pet anything different?

But then look at your kitchen.  Is it loaded with quality lean proteins, veggies, Omega 3 fats, etc or is it a mix of processed convenience foods and bad fats? 

You deserve a high quality diet.  Don’t let your pet outdo you in the nutrition part of your life.

As manufacturers and consumers battle it out while trying to unravel the mystery of “what to buy” , there have been different labeling programs that have developed.  As a Dietitian, I get fairly frustrated with the added confusion this brings.  Ultimately it is designed to help the consumer (You) have an easier time picking out healthful choices in the store.   But does it make it easier or more complicated?  It seems, more complicated.

I am sure you have seen these labels on foods you would never think would be a healthy choice, like sugared breakfast cereal that is about 40% sugar?  Seems like something is mixed up.  Per the package – one cereal is supposed to “improve immunity” and another “lowers your cholesterol 4 points if you eat 3 cups of it a day”.  My question is 4 points?  What good is that.  And really is breakfast cereal the best choice to get you started in the day?  And 3 cups of it every day?   

Well, it is being noticed.  And I think it needs to be.  But where do we go from here? 

I think we need to find an answer to this and quickly. 

But wait – we have one.  Rely less on what the food labels says and eat foods that don’t come with a standard food label.  Natural, wholesome foods that have not been altered by food manufacturers. 

This remains our best choice. 

See more about this….http://bit.ly/1BjVWd

This past week I came across a link looking at the Top 10 Best-Selling Grocery Items, which is always intriguing to me.  In one of my favorite books by Patrick Quillin, he referenced the top 10 from a few years ago.  

From then on I am hooked and very curious.  Aren’t you curious to see what the best-selling grocery store items are?   

Well, take a look and find out. 

After looking over the list, review your Top 10  foods on your grocery list.  Are there certain things that you get all the time that you need to get less often?  Buying more whole foods I hope – things that are not so processed?  If not, take this opportunity to change it.

Make your Top 10 – a disease-fighting Top 10!

http://featuresblogs.chicagotribune.com/features_julieshealthclub/2009/10/the-top-10-bestselling-grocery-items.html

Since we are on the topic of processed foods, I wanted to see what someone else says about them.  So I spent some time recently reading Michael Pollan’s book, “In Defense of Food” where he discusses fortified processed foods.  Basically these food items are robbed of their original nutrients through processing and then fortified to contain whatever the trend is at the moment  - no trans fat or saturated fats, more omega 3 fats, vitamins, minerals, etc.  This results in a fortified processed food which is at times plugged as being a healthier choice than it’s original whole food?   Confusing! 

We see this many times throughout our TV commercials or shopping in our grocery stores.  When you go shopping, how do you decide which one is best?  We need to put less focus on specific nutrients, instead looking at the big picture of whether these food items are whole foods or processed foods.

So keep these little tidbits from Michael in your nutrition kit to help you choose wisely: 

 *Don’t eat anything your great grandmother wouldn’t recognize as food.

*Don’t eat anything incapable of rotting.

Here’s to the rest of your weekend filled with foods your grandmother would recognize!