Monday, June 1, 2009

Health Food Doesn't Mean Green Light

Just because it is sold in a "health food store", or is sold as a healthy food, doesn't mean that you should eat it all the time.

Generally speaking, I try to eat as few processed and packaged foods as possible. I find that my body deals with them better. Packaged foods have stuff in them we just don't need...sometimes even the ones sold in health food stores.

It may not be that the ingredients are not healthy, but we might be better off eating only small quantities of them.

I found that it used to be really easy for me to get in the habit of eating something because it came from the health food store, or all the ingredients were natural...and I would eat it like it had zero calories!

When buying ANY packaged or processed foods it is a good idea to read the labels. Even though I don't believe in forbidden foods, I believe just as much in conscious eating. That means you have to know what you are eating!

If you read the labels on some of the "protein" bars that are available they are closer to a candy bar than not! Some of them have such a high sugar content that it can be enough to trigger a carbohydrate craving in me!

So if you are going for health, be aware or what you are eating. You can eat whatever you want...I just want to eat healthy...and realistically.

2 comments:

Jennifer Herndon said...

Laurie,
This is so true, and yet so depressing sometimes. I often catch myself standing in front of the Whole Foods pastry counter thinking, "hey, it's Whole Foods, how bad could it be?" I know that the unfortunate answer is "very bad!" Thanks, I guess, for reminding me of this fact. I'm off to eat some wheat germ . . .

Jennifer

Laurie Tossy said...

Jennifer--
Try not to let it be depressing. I firmly believe there are no forbidden foods...the key is to be aware and make conscious choices about what we eat.

Having a pastry once in a while is not what packs on extra weight...it is the consistent habit of not making healthy choices that does it.

Remember food is to be enjoyed too...it is a fun part of life and can really add to our experience.

So once in a while have a pastry if you really want it...and then really, really savor every morsel!

Bon Apetit!