Theory is simple ...

now for the practical!

There are 3 things important to keep in mind when hunting for all those food items your kitchen is begging you for.

Sugar
White Stuff (like breads, pastas, potatoes)
& Salt.

What do you avoid? What do you buy? How do you choose?

Sugar

This little devil is often hidden.
Here is how to find it:

Look on the nutrition label under Carbohydrates, and you will find sugar.

No. of teaspoons = grams of sugar ÷ 4.

As a guide, the World Health Organization recommends 10 -12 tsp/day

EXAMPLE:
1 Cup Freshly Squeezed Orange Juice
Sugar = 20 grams
20 grams ÷ 4 = 5
5 teaspoons of sugar per cup
 

Fruits and Dairy have naturally occurring sugar that you do not need to worry about. These are ok and have additional nutrients we do need. If however, you decide to go with fruit in the bottom yogurt or chocolate milk there will be additional sugar present so do become aware of this. Yogurt is often something few shoppers would think of.

There are many yogurt choices out there that are lower in sugar. Often the lower sugar ones have sweeteners added aspartame or Splenda so just be aware of this when shopping.

A yogurt I recommend is Astro’s Naturally Vanilla Flavored. It is all natural with no added sugars or sweeteners present.

White Stuff

I am talking about that awful word ‘enriched’. Do not let the word 'enriched' fool you. Yes - this includes enriched white flour. 'Enriched' means that the nutrients, including the fiber and B-Vitamins, that once made the grain so great have been removed through a refining process. The manufacturers then try to put back some of these lost nutrients in the food but fail to make it like the original.

Something to think about ... If someone stole your wallet with all your cash and credit cards, and then, riddled with guilt, came back to you and returned your lipstick, would you feel enriched or absolutely ripped off? My guess would be the latter. And that's just how enriching food works. Except you don't get your lipstick back. . .

» White Bread

When shopping for grains, crackers, cereals and pasta look for ‘whole grain’ or ‘whole wheat’ in the ingredient list choices. If you see the word 'enriched', put it back.

Both foods high in sugar or referred to as enriched or refined are what we classify as high glycemic index foods. The glycemic index (GI) is a rating out of 100 based on how quickly the carbohydrates are broken down and how fast they increase our blood sugar level. In a nutshell, refined starches (like processed cereals hot or cold) and white bread or pasta hold a high GI value and cause dramatic blood sugar ups and downs.

The foods that hold a lower GI value include fibrous fruits, green vegetables, whole grains (breads, cereals, pastas and rice).

Food plans that consist of many high GI foods result in obesity, increased belly fat, insulin resistance, type 2 diabetes, high cholesterol and heart disease.

Things that slow the rate of sugars being absorbed into the blood are:

• higher fiber foods
• protein with all meals and snacks
• eating slowly
• raw fruits and vegetables
• little or no processing
• the acid content of the food

It is interesting to note that if you squeeze lemon or balsamic vinegar on your food you will lower the GI response.

So salads – get ready!

A great web site: glycemicindex.com

Salt

That beloved thing North America gets more than probably any other country – SALT. They have found the average amount of salt consumed by an American adult is 4000mg a day. There is no current RDA for sodium (AKA salt) as we all get enough of it without even trying to. It is estimated that adults need only between 250-500 mg/day which you can get from eating 2 slices of bread alone.

Our kidneys are responsible for regulating our fluid-electrolyte balance, which includes our levels of sodium, potassium and water. When we eat more salt – our kidney must get our body to hold on to more water to keep this ratio in exact proportion. What this gives you is a higher weight reading on a scale.

In order to go back down (or flush this water out) we must consume more water to wake the kidneys up to realize there is too much water and then flush it out with the excess salt This in turn can increase our blood volume (as more water is being held) and this increases our blood pressure. With a rise in blood pressure we increase our risk of heart disease and stroke.

References:

• THE GI MADE SIMPLE by Sherry Torkos
• Sodium: calorie-count.com
• Babies and Children: salt.gov.uk
• Salt: heartandstroke.ca
• wendys.com
• mcdonalds.ca