Ok, so here is my serious talk….

I have been thinking lately that my family needs to be eating healthier. Now I don’t feed my kids junk food like donuts, chips, cookies, etc on a daily basis, but even things that we “think” are healthy sometimes aren’t. Let me give you an example. I bought 100% Cranberry juice at BJs and as I was looking at the label last week, once I decided to start on this venture, and I saw that it has High Fructose Corn Syrup (HFCS). HFCS is not good.

In a study at Princeton University, when Rats had access to HFCS, they gained quite a bit more weight than those rats that had table sugar available, even when their total calorie intake was the same. All the rats that were eating HFCS were becoming obese, even at levels that were less than those in sodas. Weight gain is not the only concern with HFCS, there is “abnormal increases in body fat, especially in the abdomen, and a rise in circulating blood fats called triglycerides. For more reading on this study, see the link below.

So, I have started to look at labels not only for the nutritional content, but for the ingredients. Many of us only look at the fat, calories and carbohydrates in food. There are so many other ingredients in foods that we should be avoiding, such as artificial colorings, artificial flavorings, artificial sweeteners, Benzoate Preservatives (such as BHT, BHA, TBHQ), Brominated Vegetable Oil, MSG, Olestra, Shortening, Hydrogenated and Partially Hydrogenated Oils. The list can go on.

One way to avoid all these additives is by eating raw foods (fruits, vegetables, nuts) and by cooking meals from scratch instead of buying prepackaged meals. I know that in our day and age not everyone has the time to cook from scratch. But I have made it a point to try. It won’t always happen, let’s be honest. I know that when we go out to eat or go to friend’s houses we can’t help it, but at least at home, we can do our best.

My reason for doing this is my kids. My husband asked if he has to participate. I told him he doesn’t have to, but the food that we will be eating at home will be based around this “healthy” eating. I’m thinking he will be joining us around the table for meals.

I hope this was informative for at least one person!!! Have you thought about how your family eats? What have you been doing differently to eat healthier?

I would love to see what you are doing! Please comment and share…._____________________________________________________________________________________
Princeton University Study:
Ingredients to Avoid:
100 Days of Real Food Pledge:
http://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/The-100-Days-of-Real-Food-Pledge-Sign-up-for-the-10-day-pledge/111437015567316http://shine.yahoo.com/channel/health/9-ingredients-to-avoid-in-processed-foods-1268429http://www.princeton.edu/main/news/archive/S26/91/22K07/