Wordy & What I Ate Wednesday

In every wellness or nutrition class I teach, there is always a section about how to interpret and assess health information. This is all about learning how to decide intelligently what you should believe and what you shouldn’t. We delve into why popular media may not be the best foundation for your lifestyle choices, and also look at the ways in which the media skews messages about health and products (and why anyone would do such a thing!).

Today, we watched this video in class. I would have embedded it here, but ABC News disabled that feature.

Food Label Fight

I’d be interested to hear what you think if you watch it (if you click on the link, it will open in a new window). Is it ok to promote things like Froot Loops as a healthy food choice or is it misleading? The “expert” makes an ok point—that if people are eating crap, adding vitamins, minerals, and fiber to junky foods is better than the junky foods without these fortifications. But if people think Froot Loops are actually healthy? I have an issue with that. They are 41% sugar.

Check out all the Daily Eats links at Peas and Crayons!

My Contribution:

Maybe this is a lot of food for one day, I’m not sure. I don’t ever count calories or anything like that. If I do that, I go insane and start eating too much when I don’t want it (just because I’m worried that I’ll have to regulate myself??). I don’t weigh myself either—I feel like (for me) if I look at my weight, it’s like focusing on a grade I want on a test instead of studying. So I just focus on getting quality nutrition in my day as much as possible, and eating for the right reasons, and stopping when I’m full. Not that I’m always good at that—but I try.

Do you count calories?

Do you focus on nutrients?

I’m still stuck on the video about food labels being misleading. I see the benefit in promoting baby steps (that’s my approach with clients)…but is it misleading to say that peanut butter with hydrogenated oil and sugary cereals are smart choices?