I was thinking of something to blog about when my computer popped up with this email advertisement, “10 Foods That Sound Healthy (but aren’t) from Cooking Light magazine.  After reading the article I agree wholeheartedly with it. (If you want to see the article click here)

 

Some of the main points are exactly those that I espouse in my Vital Nutrition manual.  That is, whole, natural foods with no additives are best.  

 

The main point that I want to really get across, and the article does too, is that sometimes advertisers are clever and they tout great things about a food that is actually not so great.  A good example is “fat-free” cookies, cakes, or whatever.  Check the label carefully, “fat-free” might actually mean that in place of fat they have pumped the food full of sugar or sodium or other unpronounceable ingredients to ramp up the flavor.  

 

Other times whole wheat or whole grain doesn’t necessarily mean what it says either.  I once turned a package of whole wheat bread over and looked at the label and was astounded by the fact that there was a ton of sugar (in the form of high fructose corn syrup) in it and that they had used white flour not a whole grain whole wheat flour.  So check your labels.

 

I know, I know, you are busy, you don’t have time to spend hours in the store reading labels and sometimes you are tired and want to get take-out.  Just work on making a few better choices each time you go to the store.  As far as take-out food, just use good common sense, don’t get the fried chicken, get baked chicken.  Don’t buy fried rice, instead get the brown rice.  Add a side of vegetables instead of the macaroni and cheese or mashed potatoes.  Definitely don’t add the breadsticks, (you might as well just hang those on your thighs and get it over with) instead add your own whole grain bread when you get home.

 

And remember, I am always available to answer your food and nutrition questions. Just send me an email at dennis@vitalliving.co.nz .

 

Sincerely,

 

Dennis Croll

 

 

Why phytonutrients are important.

 

Phytonutrients are found naturally in plants and are often categorized based on color and are part of the chemical makeup of fruits and vegetables.  Recently there have been many studies on phytonutrients and researchers have found that they have many health-enhancing qualities.  Unfortunately, most people continue to fall short on fruit and vegetable intake. In recent surveys it has been found that less than 20% of Americans are consuming optimal levels of phytonutrients.

 

To help fix this phytonutrients gap try increasing your daily fruit and vegetable intake to 10 servings (instead of the 5 that are usually recommended) and diversify the types of fruit you consume by aiming for two servings from each color categories listed here.  Your meal plate should be considered a blank canvas, and you need to fill it with a rainbow of color. (more…)