Food is what makes life pleasureable-but lets face it, too much of a good thing often leaves you with too much in your bum. Here, we will discuss everything concerning food. Need help on your diet? Ask. Have a calorie question? Ask. Going out to eat? I will let you know what to avoid and still have fun! Not losing weight, let me evaluate how you are going about it and I will help design a plan just for you - and yes this is totally free! Email me at jensfoodienews@gmail.com!

Monday, February 5, 2007

Read Thy Food Label!!


Didja know that the average American consumes at least 4,000mg of sodium a day?! That is almost twice as much as the recommended maximum amount!!! Next question, what are we doing to ourselves by consuming this much??? Guys, its not pretty. Get ready to see what we are doing to ourselves by overindulging and not being aware of what we are putting into our bodies. Fingers a little swollen? Headaches a little more common? I am not surprised. Look at the list of the negative effects of too much sodium -

-Headaches (contributes to migraines)
-Swollen hands and feet (bloating related to retaining of water)
-Increased bone loss as too much sodium leads to decreased calcium in bones
-Increased blood pressure leading to to heart disease/stroke and kidney failure

Put down that table salt everyone. SODIUM IS PREVALENT in just about everything we eat unless it is specifically left out. Processed foods? Soups? Cured Meats? You got it. These guys are loaded with this chemical. Take a look at the content in some of our favorite eats. (Please note, these are average estimates and of course are different in relation to size/brand/type.)

Canned Soup - 1/2 cup - 490-860mg
Pretzels - 1oz - 500-700mg
Olives - 5olives - 1800mg
Angel Food Cake - 1 slice - 550mg
Grilled Bacon - 40g - 2000mg
Canned Ham - 1250mg
Hamburger - 660mg
Salami - 3slices - 1850mg

Soy Sauce - 1 pack - 660mg

Before you make your next breakfast,lunch, snack or dinner choice, READ THE LABEL. Know how much sodium you are taking in and be aware of how your health is doing. It is important to go to the doctor once a year and get your blood pressure taken to make sure you are not in a high risk category.

Being healthy is not just about fitting into those size 0,2,4 or whatever jeans. It is about making sure that you are getting the right nutrients and not overdoing it on certain ingredients.

Living in the U.S., we are privy to the most processed foods in the world. As it is nice to have options and some fun foods, we are also ingesting more then we should in quantity and in calories, fat, sodium and ingredients that we can not even pronounce! If you are a fan of these processed foods, get familiar with the nutritional label and know what you are putting into your body. Moderation guys, moderation! Too much of anything is not good... :-)

1 comment:

Unknown said...

Hi Jen - Currently I wear a size 4 in pants and I am really interested to find out how I can get more fiber in my diet. It's very good for women but oftentimes hard to come by. I also heard that it might help you lose weight. Any thoughts?