Fat Calories are Fatter –  How much Fat?

The FDA labeling laws make it much easier for consumers to assess the fats in food.  Fat content is now given by calories.  All you have to do is compare the total calories per serving with the fat calories.

The new Nutrition Facts label has to appear on all packaged food.  Don’t buy foods without it.  They are either illegal or have lain too long on the store shelf.

Look at the line near the top showing calories.  Divide the total calories (in this case 90) by the calories from fat (in this case 30).  If the answer is less than 5 (in this case it is 3), don’t buy the food.

The Healthy Eating chart provides the wonderful attributes of 50 of your favorite foods.

What is the Glycemic Index?

The Glycemic index (GI) is a ranking of foods based on their potential to raise blood sugar levels.  The higher the GI of a food, the faster the resultant rise in blood sugar after eating it.  And the higher the GI, the higher the body’s insulin response tends to be.  Why is this important?  High levels of blood sugar and insulin in the body have been linked to many of the health problems that are so common today: diabetes, heart disease, obesity, to name a few.

The glycemic index has been the subject of scientific research for over twenty years.  It was originally developed as a dietary strategy to help people with diabetes gain better control over their blood sugar levels.  Today the GI is widely accepted in Canada, Australia, and much of Europe, and its use has expanded to include roles in treating obesity, cardiovascular disease, and various other health problems.  Health professionals in the United States have been slow to adopt this revolutionary way of classifying carbohydrates.  However, this is rapidly changing as mounting evidence on the benefits of the GI make this a topic that can no longer be ignored.  The health effects of high-versus low-GI foods are summarized below:

The food mood record helps track you daily diet and symptoms that you feel throughout the day.....

1.      Please write out your daily diet. Fill out a diet record for at least 10 to 14 days. Include portion size and any supplements or  medications. Include time of day.

2.      Additionally, record any symptoms you feel during or after eating, such as drowsy, irritable, energized, and others.

The number you obtain for your BMI will tell you whether you are normal, overweight, or obese.  It is important that you know your BMI because overweight and obesity are serious risk factors for heart disease, stroke, and type-2 diabetes.

However, calculating a BMI can be confusing because the formula uses meters for height and kilograms for weight.  We believe everyone should know their own BMI; thus, we used some arithmetic to convert kilograms and meters to the more familiar pounds and inches.

BMI calculated by using the following directions is exactly the same as that calculated from weight in kilograms and height in meters.

Acid Foods Neutral Foods Alkaline Foods

Avoid These                                     Eat These                             Always Eat These

All antibiotics                                     Apples                                    Baking soda

All fried foods                                    Apricots                                  Blackberries

Artificial sweeteners                           Bananas                                   Broccoli

Beef                                                  Beans – fresh & dried              Cantaloupe