_ As I was making some turkey soup this weekend, I looked on the back of the bag of split peas that I was adding and noticed a recipe for “Vegetable Split Pea Soup” (can you believe this is the way I start a blog that I'd like people to actually read).  Then I noticed the first ingredient - a ¼ pound of diced bacon - trivial I know.  I was a little confused though (obviously it doesn’t take much).  I must just be too literal. 
 
With all the recent hype surrounding “Pizzagate”, this got me thinking that there seems to be some serious misinterpretation by Big Food about the true representation and nutritional claims of our food.

"Healthy", "Doctor Recommended", "Made with Natural Goodness", "Kid Approved" have all become common place sales pitches.  In Canada, food companies are permitted to make health claims pointing out the relationship between a low-sodium, high-potassium diet and reduced risk of high blood pressure; a healthy diet with adequate calcium and vitamin D and reduced risk of osteoporosis; a diet rich in fruits and vegetables and the reduced risk of certain types of cancer, as well as others.  With 50% of shoppers responding that they are motivated to purchase new food products because a product “seems healthy”, we leave the door wide open for Big Food to mislead us in purchasing less-than-optimal choices.

So, I decided to jot down some of the literal translations for the “code” that food manufacturers use in their attempts to make us buy.


“FREE” DOES NOT MEAN NONE! 

Neither does “zero...”, “contains no...” or “without...”.  It means it has a “negligible amount” according to whatever Big Food has worked out with policy makers (Canadian Food Inspection Agency - Canada’s version of the FDA).

Non- or –free.  Must have less than the following per serving: fat (0.5 gram), sugar (0.5 gram), cholesterol (2mg), sodium (5mg) or calories (5 calories).


“Reduced” IS RELATIVE.

Reduced.  Generally, the product must have at least 25% less of the given component (calories, fat, saturated fat, cholesterol, sugar, or sodium) than is typically found in that type of food.  Synonymous with “less...”, “lower...”, “fewer...”.


“LIGHT’s” OUT

Apart from being used to describe things like the color or texture of a food, for example "light brown sugar" or "light and fluffy” (as long as the label explains this (insert uproarious laughter here), this term indicates that a product has been changed to have ½ of the fat or ⅓  fewer calories than the regular product; or that the sodium has been cut by 50% (as in “Lightly Salted”)


THE “LOW” DOWN

Low Fat. Fat is a tricky one to monitor as there are “good fats” and “bad fats” (far beyond the scope of this blog), but as a rule when you see the term “low fat” it means that there is 3 grams or less of fat per serving.

Low Calorie.  Means that a product contains 40% less calories than the regular version. 

Low Sodium. Means that a product’s original sodium content is so high that to lure in the unsuspecting consumer, food manufacturers will label it “Low Sodium”.  Foods labelled such will have 140 mg of sodium or less in each serving, or for a pre-packaged meal (who defines this?) there’s 140 mg sodium or less in 100 grams of food.  “Very low sodium” means there’s 35 mg or less in a serving.


“MULTI-" GROAN

Not to insult anyone’s intelligence, but "multi" simply means more than one.  A product bearing this label can be made with many types of nutritious grains, such as oats and bran. But it can also stay true to its claims and be loaded with sugar, salt, and trans-fats, like many "multi-grain" muffins and cookies you find in coffee shops. And the grains these products contain may not be present in their whole-grain form, which is the most nutritious way to consume grains.


“WHOLLY” MOLEY

"Made with Whole Grains" is another label we see frequently since recent dietary recommendations include consuming more whole grains. Big Food loves a good marketing opportunity so milks this claim by adding small doses of whole grains to their product (preceded by enriched flour and sugar midway down a list of ingredients but just after water).


“ORGANIC”

If you thought that organic meant pesticide-free, you might be surprised to find that's not necessarily true. Canadian regulations prohibit the use of synthetic pesticides and fertilizers but allow the use of some natural pesticides to curtail pest problems but the prevalence of pesticides in our environment keeps any crop from being declared totally free of synthetic chemicals.

When a product bears the “Organic” the intended message is that 95 percent or more of the ingredients have to be grown to “organic certification standards” (in accordance with the Organic Products Regulations, which came into effect in 2009).  Although controversial, there is mixed evidence that organic produce holds more nutritional benefit for us than conventional agricultural products.

The claim “Made with Organic Ingredients” means that at least 70% of the ingredients must follow organic regulations, the remaining 30% don't have to be organic at all.

NOTE: The terms “Natural” and “free-range” do not necessarily mean organic.


“ALL NATURAL” DOES NOT MEAN UNPROCESSED

There are currently no standards on the use of the word "natural" when labelling agricultural products.  When applied to packaged foods the requirement is that those ingredients have to be identical to how they would be found in nature without added colors, artificial flavours, or synthetic ingredients.  But a product that contains "all-natural" ingredients isn't necessarily healthy – salt is naturally occurring as is sugar. Just because the amount of physical change has been minimal doesn’t mean the product is nutritious. This label in no way refers to the way an animal was raised, and indeed, animals raised in industrial barns can carry the label “natural.” The natural label also does not mean that an animal was raised without hormones or antibiotics.


Vitamin Claims

A claim may not be made for a vitamin or mineral nutrient unless a serving of the food contains at least 5% of the "Recommended Daily Intake" (RDI) or "Daily Value" (DV).

5%!?  That means you’d need to eat 20 servings to fulfil the daily requirement.

High, Rich In, Excellent Source Of. All designate products with at least 25% of DV per serving (except vitamin C which must constitute 50% of DV).

Good Source, Contains, Provides. The product must have more than 15% of DV per serving (except vitamin C which must constitute 30% of DV).
 

Thoughts to ponder:

How do these light, free, reduced products keep their shelf life and “full” flavours?  

A reduction in fat is often countered by an increase in sodium and/ or sugar.  Likewise with products toting reduced sugar, having increased sodium and/ or fat content.  Foods boasting low-calorie or low-sugar status often substitute chemical options for natural ones – hardly making them healthier alternatives.


Is that really a serving size?

Serving sizes on today's nutrition labels are unrealistically small, leading us to believe they're eating less food than they actually are.  64 percent of Americans eat the whole can of canned soup in one sitting which claims to contain 2 servings (of 1 cup each).  This means they eat 1,740 mg of sodium rather than the 870 mg printed on the label. 


Suggestions:
(please remember that these are suggestions based on the scope of this blog and do not replace professional nutritional counselling)

1.    Nothing beats common sense – I’d say “follow your gut feeling” but in this case I think we innately know what “good food” is.  Screw the labels, buzz phrases and flashy ad campaigns, go back to the basics.  You know you’re probably on the right track if:
     -     a product does not have a label or ingredient list (as of 2007 all
          pre-packaged foods are required to contain a nutrition label);
     -     based on look and taste, you can guess most of the ingredients without
          looking at the label;
     -     it tastes like desert, it probably has the nutritional quality of desert;
     -     a product won’t keep indefinitely without refrigeration.

2.    Check out the noted serving size and do some quick math based on how much you eat (we tend to under-estimate this value).

3.    Read the ingredients (if your grandma didn’t eat it – leave it, if you don’t know what it is or can’t pronounce it – leave it).

Oh,  I almost forgot :

VEGETABLE(i.e. vegetable soup) means it has vegetables, but may also have meat (apparently)

_ I had absolutely no intention of writing anything until the weekend, and even then I had only been toying with the idea of writing a proper introductory blog as I kind of got right into the heavy stuff on my first post.  You know, a blog to let potential readers get to know a little bit about me and what the purpose of these ramblings might be.  Then I landed upon two YouTube videos which got me thinkin’... FUCK I HATE WHINERS!  (sorry Mom)

Okay, there!  The elephant’s out of the room.  Any of my clients who read my first, and now this blog have just been waiting for me to drop an F-bomb – it’s a bit of a thing with me.

This first video was a preview for a book by Dr. Lee Lipsenthal entitled “Enjoy Every Sandwich”.  Dr. Lipsenthal was diagnosed with esophageal cancer in July 2009 and after a subsequent recurrence accepted his diagnosis, illness, and treatment.  He discovered that rather than fear, the realization of his own mortality actually brought out a calm reflection, one which enabled him to provide insight, aptly portrayed in the title of his book, he advises us to “Find the joy in the simplicity of life”.  I know... a bit heavy!

The second video was much lighter - a clip of Michael J. Fox playing Johnny B. Goode (yup, a re-enactment of Back To The Future, complete with red guitar) at his recent charity benefit held last Saturday (November 12th).

So... just how the heck did these two videos elicit that emphatic statement noted above?

Here’s two men, whose lives are dramatically affected by medical conditions.  How easy would it be for either of these men to pack it in, to simply say, “why bother, I’m dying”, or “I don’t think I can, I kinda got the shakes today”?  “Hmmm, I just don’t feel up to it today”?  No one would think twice.  Yet they’re not.  They’re at peace, they’re thoughtful, they’re raising our awareness, they’re helping, and they’re LIVING.  Even in death and sickness these two men are living - excuse free!!.

How many of us...  how many people do we know are so consumed with excuses, rationalizations and justifications for their own suckiness that they can’t get out of their own damn way?  We search for any reason possible to justify our complacency, “I’m tired”, “I’m just really busy”, “You have no idea how difficult it is”, “Something just came up”, "But they're not doing it" (referring to someone else's lack of action). 

STOP IT ALREADY... seriously! 

Take a look around you.  For the most part we’re pretty damn fortunate (if you disagree, listen to the news).  Most of us have our health (and a choice of whether we take care of it or not).  We have a roof over our head, food to put on our table (and a choice of what to buy), and a cozy bed to climb in to at night.  The basics, right?  Choices, right?

Either we choose to get up off our asses and pursue our dreams and goals, or sit their drowning in our sea of excuses.  You pick! 

"Excuses are the nails used to build a house of failure." 
~Don Wilder and Bill Rechin

 
Suggestions

1/ W.I.N. – What’s Important NOW!  De-clutter your life and focus on the things that will really make a positive impact in your life RIGHT NOW!

2/ Lose the “buts” and “can’ts”.  Any explanation that begins with “But...” is simply an excuse, and “I can’t” just means that you don’t want to badly enough.  Lose them!  Remove these words from your vocabulary.  Either you want to or you don’t!

ONE LIFE!  ONE CHANCE!  NO EXCUSES!

(check this video out if you're still in doubt)

And maybe, just maybe embedded somewhere in this blog post is the intro I had thought about writing.  Maybe this explains that amidst my profanity and no bullshit approach there’s a simple desire to see people make a change in their lives and in turn, for them to help others. 

_So I visited my local Costco today and overheard what I thought was an interesting, yet oh so typical, exchange at one of the sample booths.

A lady approached and asked what was being sampled.  "Smoked oysters and (some type) of cracker".  The customer responded with "sounds delightful" and turned to walk away.  Now the lady working and the customer seemed to have some loose familiarity, and the 'sample lady' responded "Oh, you can't have that?", to which the customer appropriately stated, "Oh, I'm sure I COULD!". 

I only heard the exchange.  I didn't see either lady nor any non-verbal interaction, but thought, that although so simple, it was such an interesting and true statement (especially at Costco) that someone turning down such a "delightful" sample could only have a food insensitivity to explain them not joining the masses to indulge.  Also such a fitting response by the customer noting that they were quite capable of eating it but for some other reason was showing the restraint to not do so.

That said, 'tis the Season!  'Tis the Season to (over)indulge in those little treats that the rest of the year we seem to have less difficulty walking away from.  We're bombarded from every angle: advertising, peers, friends, family, free samples and parties. 

'Tis the Season to make excuses and revert to old habits.  Our list of excuses grows exponentially: "One won't hurt"; "Come on, it's Christmas"; "... but they're sooooo good"; "They'll be offended if I don't try one"; "It's a tradition!". 

You know what... you're probably right!  It is Christmas, and it may very well be a tradition.  Damn straight, they taste freakin' awesome and one probably won't kill you.  Someone might possibly get offended if you don't have one, but here's my thoughts on that:

It's Christmas DAY... not Christmas month!  And really, what should Christmas be all about (we've said what it's become)?  Traditions change all the time - start a new one!  Start a tradition of a healthy Holiday Season, enjoying friends and family.  Find new recipes with healthy alternatives that taste equally as awesome... they do exist! And to the person who gets their knickers in a knot that you won't try one of their chocolate-covered coconut cherry balls... flip the script... you should be equally as offended that they aren't supportive of the healthy changes that you are trying to make in your life. 

Strategies:
1/ Set your Holiday Season goals RIGHT NOW!  What would you like to be able to look back at on January 2nd 2012 and say "I DID IT!!!".  Create a challenge, Tara's #DontEatTheTreat is just one great thought process.
2/ Take a look at the traditions that you cling to and see if they're really a necessity.  Can you tweak them to model who you are RIGHT NOW as you read this!
3/ Start looking at recipes NOW!  December 23rd is too late.  Facebook your request.  Try them out in advance to see if they're up to snuff or if you can't tweak them make them even yummier.
4/ Come up with your standard "out" for when you're asked why you're not having any.  I tell my clients to use the "my trainer will kick my butt if he knew" excuse.  Second to this, plan an "exit strategy" if you know that things are about to go south.
5/ BE PROUD of what you are setting out to do never doubting the validity of that feeling!
6/ Enjoy the heck outta the holidays.  Take time to rest and relax.  Stay healthy!

Blog #1 and no profanity... I'm so proud of me!