Interesting Article

Hello all.   I've been MIA for a few months, but am reading the Board.  I get emails from a site called "SlimBody Coach".  Here's one that I find quite interesting.  Hope it gives you some insite: 7 Ways “They” Make You Fat It’s true... someone is getting rich off of your weight gain! And it's not just in America. Recent studies show that in countries where giant food chains are opening their doors, the people of those once-thin nations are also becoming overweight. In the 1940s, less than 10 percent of the American population was considered overweight, and less than one percent were considered obese. By those same standards, today over 80 percent are overweight, and over 50 percent obese! And just who is benefiting from this upward trend? The multi-billion dollar food industry, that's who. Here are some of the ways the food giants make you fat while making their own wallets fatter. 1. They infuse food with high fructose corn syrup. Over the last 30 years, the use of corn syrup to sweeten food has continued to rise. Conveniently for the food industry, HFCS is 20 percent cheaper than other sugars, has a longer shelf-life, is easier to transport, and is much sweeter, so less of it is needed. All of this works to boost their profits. But unfortunately for you, this chemically-converted, non-natural sweetener has a huge negative effect on your health. HFCS is metabolized into fat more than other sugars, contributing to the rising obesity problem and your own larger waist size. What's more, your body doesn't process HFCS like natural sugar and release leptin, the hormone that signals your brain that it's had enough. Without that signal to your brain, you keep on eating and eating, and the food industry gets richer and richer—literally at your expense. Your only defense is to read labels and avoid foods that contain "high fructose corn syrup" or the cleverly abbreviated “HFCS” or "fructose" or "corn syrup." 2. They pour on the soda pop ads. Thanks to the barrage of advertisements, soda pop has become the beverage of choice at ball games, movie theaters, restaurants, and even home barbecues. A recent study showed that mice got fatter—even when they ate fewer calories from solid food—when they drank high fructose-sweetened liquid, which is precisely what soda pop is. A better beverage choice is bottled water with a splash of real fruit juice. 3. They put man-made trans fats in food. Not only do trans fats contribute to obesity, but they also lead to heart disease, arthritis, diabetes, and cancer. Saying trans fats are a one-way ticket to death is no exaggeration; the National Institute of Health says more than 500,000 people die each year due to coronary heart disease alone. A trans fat is made when manufacturers add hydrogen to vegetable oil, a process call hydrogenation. The mega-wealthy food companies do this because hydrogenation increases the shelf life of food. The major culprits of trans fats are commercially-made cakes, cookies, crackers, pies, bread, margarine, and fried potatoes. Lesser amounts are in potato chips, corn chips, popcorn, salad dressing, and some animal products. The remedy to this is to read food labels and refuse to buy anything that contains hydrogenated or partially hydrogenated oil. Also manufacturers are now required to list trans fat on all their products. You will find trans fat listed on the Nutrition Facts panel directly under the line for saturated fat. But be careful... food manufacturers are allowed to say their food has “zero grams” trans fat if it has 0.4 grams or less per serving. Read the label and look for the word “hydrogenated” to see if trans fat is really there! 4. Their "low fat" snacks are deceptively high in calories. When fat is reduced or removed from a food, manufacturers may alter the amounts of remaining ingredients to make up for the loss of flavor or texture. For example, corn syrup (yep, that enemy again) is often increased. This doesn't help much for the person who's trying to cut down on calories. For example, a regular chocolate chip cookie has 49 calories, and its cousin of the same brand, the "reduced-fat" chocolate chip cookie has 45 calories but it’s actually smaller in size. That four-calorie difference is not going to help you lose much weight… especially if you eat more of them because you think they are “healthier.” Similarly, about twelve large potato chips have 155 calories, and the "reduced fat" version has 134 calories. Fifteen regular wheat crackers have 135 calories and "reduced fat" wheat crackers have 128 calories—again, a deceptively small difference. A better way to cut your calories is to skip the manufactured "low fat" foods altogether and opt for a nutrition shake or other healthy snack. 5. They get you hooked on gourmet coffee drinks. Everyone knows coffee has zero calories (not counting the sugar and cream), but what about those fancy beverages that are so popular right now? According to Starbucks' own website, a grande caffé mocha has 300 calories, but if you add the typical whipped cream on top, it has 400 calories. Their very popular grande vanilla latte has 320 calories. And if you treat yourself to a white chocolate Frappuccino blended creme, you'll be drinking 610 calories. And that's before you add a biscotti or slice of pumpkin bread. If you pick up a gourmet coffee every morning on the way to work, and your beverage of choice averages 350 calories, in two weeks, you'll put on a pound of fat, assuming you don't also exercise a LOT more to burn off the extra energy. To keep that from happening, trade whole milk for skim milk, leave off the whipped cream, order a "tall" rather than the "grande," and make it an occasional treat rather than a daily habit. 6. They tempt you with fattening "time-saving" meals. It might seem convenient to hit the drive-thru and grab a quick bite. But take a look at the high calorie content of five tempting favorites: McDonald's Deluxe Breakfast has 1,220 calories. For a woman on a weight loss plan, that's pretty much a whole day’s calorie intake right there; and for men, it leaves just another 300 calories for the rest of the day. Taco Bell's Fiesta Taco Salad might sound healthy, but this salad bowl packs 860 calories. Poster-boy Jared says he slimmed down at Subway, and they do offer several healthy sandwiches, but the 6-inch Double Meat Classic Tuna has 790 calories, thanks to the cheese and mayonnaise, so be careful what you order. If you eat two slices of Pizza Hut's Stuffed Crust Meat Lover's Pie, you'll stuff yourself with 1,000 calories. Dairy Queen's Caramel Cheese Quake Blizzard scoops up 1,290 calories, even more than McDonald's Deluxe Breakfast. Planning ahead will help you manage a busy lifestyle and still eat healthy. If you prepare your own food for the week ahead of time, you'll eat healthier and save money, too. 7. They super-size your portions. You can pick the best thing on the menu and still go away stuffed to the brim if you eat the entire plate of food served in most restaurants. It's not unusual for a chef to pile on two or three helpings onto a single plate. They like to go for the "wow factor" when they set the plate down in front of you. It's about business, not your health. If you don't want to super-size your body, cut the entree in half (or a third) and take the rest home. Remember, a proper portion of protein is ½ cup; and a portion of carbohydrates is one cup. For additional calorie savings, skip the bread and butter as well. The best part of all this bad news is that the power to refuse and reject the fattening choices is all in your hands. No one forces you to drink 600 calories in a single cup or eat the equivalent of two and a half dinners at once. With knowledge as your shield and determination as your sword, you can defeat the onslaught of advertised bad food by simply saying NO. The joy of having a slim, head-turning body is well worth the effort.  Hope this helps in some way! Bren

Hiya Bren! I am glad to see you pop back in!  I agree with the article, except for one area:  HFCS has not been proven to be any more detrimental than any other form of sugar. Like usual, there are allegations, but UC davis, a fore runner in nutrition science has decreed that there is not much bang on that angle. Your body does not differentiate between honey or HFCS.  There is something to local honey helping with allergies, but past that, same diff to our bodies! Trust me I am NOT trying to defend products that have a high amount of HFCS - they tend to be things I cannot eat and do aggravate my hunger.  I'm just saying that if/when "they" remove all HFCS, the product will still be something I should not eat much of unless I am on a cross country trek!

It is so true that so many people today are overweight compared to years ago.  Interesting article.   Stick around girlie, we need ya! Brenda

Hi Bren,

Thanks for sharing that article. Interesting thoughts.

It's creepy how advertising of processed foods has increased their consumption and thus food industry profits.

When's the last time you saw an ad for lettuce? or tomatoes?

I love whole foods.  I do try and minimise processed foods- now I have a new ethical reason! To keep my money from the vultures.

Em