When considering health vs. convenience, above statement becomes the biggest question of all... let alone nutrition and organic debate, there are challenges everywhere, aisles full of choices… then your taste buds are pressuring you, and if you have kids their preference for fast food … and all those advertisement trying to divert vulnerable buyers towards more attractive food, comes in to forefront, and then there is an ultimate need for quality for food which we should be providing to our bodies.
Is it really the food we want to consume? Or it is just the popular culture affecting our choices or their being convenient which get us hooked on some of them, more than their counterparts…
Then there is debate between organic and nutritious… if all nutritious things are organic? Or all organic foods are nutritious?… even if it is, our food experts always told us to follow food pyramid, which discourages any one type of food in more than suggested servings…. Even an important component like carbohydrate, will turn in to fat if used excessively….
There is information and then there is more of a cloud of information about nutrition and its importance, which surrounds us and sometime even blurs our vision, there is information every where to eat this or watch that , words like, nutritious, tasty, low calorie, two minutes, instant, convenient, low fat, protein, long shelf life, sugar substitutes, diet, calories, empty calories, Organic, Nutrition .Junk food, fast food, and processed food, are more familiar to us than they were to our parent’s generation, however question is if there is any benefit of all this? Are we really benefiting from all this information? …
Ideally we all want to believe that sixth grade nutrition class was enough for rest of our lives, however life is never been fair to most of us , and science studies keep giving us new challenges.
I have seen people who will go through life without even being bothered to once even read their ingredients; it is not every one’s forte to get in to details of your next meal…. Then what other way is to be wise about nutrition?
Nutritionally wise say that if you think reading labels in a grocery store is too much work,… or if it strains your eyes,( as with many above forty)… then stick to one rule… instead of reading your food labels measure your ingredients labels. …Shorter the list, safer it is! In other words it means fewer additives, less processing, so less damaging health effects.
Moderation, and simplicity is the key to a balanced diet and health… there are few tip to do smart and healthy decisions without much stress.
Buy grocery when it is less busy at store.
Go alone (avoid any hungry individuals as companion)
Stick to your balanced food /grocery list don’t give in to impulse buying.
Go after eating a good meal, will stop you from craving, buying fast food candy etc.
Look at the labels, consider their length(less word count is better in this case).
Consider distance as a warning, if food is prepared far from your city, country or even your continent most probably it has less nutrition and more shelf life… stay away.
Set a day or (if really a sweet tooth) two a week for desserts, instead of its being available in the freezer in weak moments of cravings.
Stock up on fresh carrots, reddish and dips to avoid sugar cravings before they reach their peaks.
Always eat on time, delaying meals leads to more craving for fatty and sugar rich foods.
