Let's go!

I have so many people who ask me many questions ... all the time ... and I love it. I love sharing about eating healthier foods. As my header says, "Don't dig your grave with your own knife and fork." That English proverb spoke to me many years ago and still does today.

Let's talk about what is good ... fresh or frozen fruits and vegetables, even canned ones, if you're careful about BPA in the lining of the cans. BPA from dietary sources, mainly cans, accounts for the vast majority of human exposure. A 2,517 person study published in Environmental Health Perspectives found that 92.6 percent of people had traces of BPA in their urine. Canned food is thought to be one of the main sources of BPA and is responsible for 6.6 micrograms per person per day of BPA exposure. This falls into the FDAs 2014 acceptable dose limit of 23 mcg per pound of bodyweight. But some research has found that exposure to BPA can cause harm in even smaller doses than what is considered "safe." (Taken from this site).

What else is good?

• Grassfed and Grass-Finished meats and Pasture-Raised Poultry
  • ​Why? When compared to food from animals that were fed grain and raised in confinement, food from animals raised on pasture has better fat quality and increased levels of essential vitamins and nutrients. Since first published these materials in 2019, the case for pasture-raised food has only gotten stronger. (Taken from this site).
  • Grass-finished beef is 20% lower in calories than grain-finished beef and has higher levels of Omega-3 fatty acids, CLA's (Conjugated Linoleic Acid — an essential fatty acid that fights cancer and inhibits body fat), and Vitamins A and E.
• Wild-Caught Fish
  • Why? While farmed fish may grow faster and larger, wild-caught species are still more nutritious. It’s also important to consider when it comes to considering farm-raised fish vs wild caught, fishing still is the dominant industry in many coastal economies, and there are entire communities that depend on wild-caught fish for their livelihood. New policies also seek to allow habitat restoration, by limiting the area and scope of fishing. (Read more here.)

OK, confused yet? There is so much to learn and who has the time for that? Here are a couple easy ways to start eating healthier:

• Reduce foods with empty calories
  • ​soda, chips, cookies, crackers
• Limit artificial sweeteners
  • ​think back to when saccharin (Sweet 'n Low) came out ... then aspertame (Nutrasweet®, Equal®, and Sugar Twin)... then sucralose (Splenda) ... then stevia (Truvia) ... then erythritol ... when will the madness stop! Limiting your REAL sugar (unless you are a diabetic) is the only way to go. Did you know artificial sweeteners may be linked to dementia? The jury's still out but do you really want to take the chance?
• Limit processed foods
  
  • Especially lunch meats, bacon, ham, etc.
    
  • Most anything that comes in a box
    

Need some ideas for meals? Try for more variety; even I get tired of the same old slab of meat and a veggie.
Breakfast:

1. Veggie omelet; whole grain toast (I like Ezekiel 4:9) with real grassfed butter like KerryGold.

Lunch:

1. Tuna or salmon salad sandwich (with a bit of olive oil or olive oil mayo, dill relish, on lightly buttered bread)

Dinner:

1. Grilled or baked chicken thighs, steamed broccoli or other green.

Snack:

1. ​string cheese, raw nuts

Remember ... when you eat meat, poultry, and fish, you eat what they have eaten.

Did you know? ​Truvia is a brand of stevia-based sugar substitute developed jointly by The Coca-Cola Company and Cargill. It is distributed and marketed by Cargill as a tabletop sweetener as well as a food ingredient. Truvia is made of stevia leaf extract, erythritol, and natural flavors.

Did you know?While food processors must list all of the ingredients on a food label, flavor manufacturers do not have to disclose their ingredients. They can add synthetic solvents, preservatives, emulsifiers, carriers and other additives to a flavor that qualifies as natural under current regulations. Natural flavors allowed for use in certified organic foods are subject to a different, far more restrictive set of regulations. They cannot contain a long list of ingredients, including synthetic solvents, carriers and emulsifiers or artificial preservatives, said Gwendolyn Wyard, the Organic Trade Association’s vice president of regulatory and technical affairs. They must use non-petroleum-based solvents, cannot be irradiated and cannot use flavor extracts derived from genetically engineered crops.