CONVENIENCE WAR
It’s time to pick a side in the great nutritional tug-of-war.
Your goal: To nourish your body in a way that improves your overall health and energy levels, and decreases your risk of cancer, stroke and heart disease. The food industry’s goal: Maximize profits by making food using the cheapest products and the longest shelf life possible. Clearly, these two goals cannot coexist. Perhaps our 16th president, Abraham Lincoln put it best when saying, “A house divided against itself, will not stand.” Similarly, combining your goal, with that of the fast food industry can only produce contradicting, negative results. The chemicals and products used by the food industry have proven detrimental effects on your body.
The question then becomes, why do you continue to trust these places to nourish you? One word: convenience. The higher-ups in the food industry know that we are a society on the go. These fast-feeding, assembly line establishments provide an easy meal. But at what price? By using high fructose corn syrup and partially hydrogenated oils, the drive-thru and chain conglomerates have hit a homerun. Products are cheap, and used to mass produce processed foods. Unfortunately, these are the same products that have led to an increase in obesity, diabetes and heart disease.
I urge you to trust only yourself to nourish your body, not a stranger with a stock room of toxic ingredients. Know where your food comes from and what goes into it. This approach requires a little more work and a little more money, but isn’t the long-term health of you and your family worth it? Here’s a list of ways to get started:
- Go natural. Fruits, vegetables, meats, nut butters, dairy, whole wheat flour, and whole grains. Let the earth provide your nourishment, not a factory.
- Pack your meals. It takes only a few minutes a day. Or spend Sunday evening preparing the meals you will need during the week. Make your refrigerator your new fast food stop.
- Get creative. You don’t need fancy recipes. Throw your favorite lean meat or fish on the grill and steam some vegetables for dinner. Use the leftovers for a whole grain wrap or salad for lunch the next day.
- Don’t buy processed food products. Get into the habit of reading food labels. Throw out and avoid any product containing either high fructose corn syrup or partially hydrogenated oil. If it isn’t there, you can’t eat it. Buy organic snacks, or make snacks using fresh fruit or veggies with natural peanut butter or organic yogurt.
- Eat out less. Stop relying on restaurants to feed you. They don’t have your health in mind. Get to know your kitchen and have the kids help you make a healthy meal. The money saved by foregoing the crowd can go toward buying better food at home.
What about microwave meals like Lean Cuisine?
Overall, these are fine meals in a pinch. The “healthy” ones are usually low in calories and fat. However, the long ingredient list can contain some items that aren’t really natural, and the preservatives and addition of “flavors” limits the meals’ overall nutritional benefits. The preference is obviously home-cooked meals with fresh produce and fish or lean meats, but if you’re short on time, and you don’t rely on them regularly, enjoy.
Any tips for eating at restaurants?
With moderation in mind, no one should completely give up eating out. It’s a great way to sample food you wouldn’t ordinarily make, enjoy the company of family and friends and eat great without the clean-up.
Try not to stray too far from your domestic cuisine. You should avoid fried foods at all times, but in restaurants, these are worse as they reuse their oil. Frying days’ or weeks’ worth of food in their vats prior to changing the oil increases the dangerous, oxidized products in the oil and thus, your food. Oxidized products contribute to inflammation and irritation of the body’s cells.
It isn’t easy, but you should also part ways with the white potato sides. Ask for a sweet potato or an extra serving of vegetables instead. Share a meal with your partner and skip the guilt over enjoying dessert, but split that as well.
