Snacking on the Rise
by Shereen Jegtvig
According to a new report, Americans are snacking more often and that trend is going to increase. As it is, snacking isn’t good or bad, really, it depends on how you do it. Eating snacks can be bad if you choose foods high in calories with lots of sugar and unhealthy fats, or snacking can be good if you choose healthy snacks that can boost your daily nutritional intake. Of course, even with healthy snacking you’ll have to watch your calories if you need to maintain or lose weight. Adding a 250 calorie snack every day will also add about one extra pound of fat to your hips or belly every two weeks. If you snack, be sure to know how much you are eating and reduce the same number of calories from one of your regular meals.
Some people prefer to eat six or seven snacks every day instead of three full meals. Some people believe this practice helps keep blood sugar level because you avoid the natural rise of blood sugar due to eating carbohydrates and fall of blood sugar due to the increased production of insulin. Other people just feel it is easier to control their calorie intake if they just nibble snack size meals all day. The key is to not let small snacks turn into full meals, which will lead to too many calories and weight gain. Read more
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Tapping into the Bottled Water Debate
In the past thirty years, bottled water sales have grown faster than those of any other beverage worldwide. In 2008, US bottled water sales topped 8.6 billion gallons (about 29% of the total bottled beverages sold in the US). The year before, Americans spent over $15 billion on bottled water, with over 100 different brands available in the US (ISU, 2000; Finewaters.com, 2009; Lighter footstep, 2008). Why are we paying so much for something that, literally, falls out of the sky?
To start with, bottled water is convenient. Central to its success, however, are consumers’ worries about the quality of water from municipal or private supplies. Industrial by-products, agricultural chemicals and bacteria may make their way into water sources if proper care is not taken. Copper and lead were/are often used to make the pipes that carry water to our homes, and residues of both products may have toxic effects if consumed. In addition to health concerns, these factors can also affect the taste and color of our drinking water, making tap water a less appealing option (EPA, 2005).
So what’s the problem? If you can afford it, why shouldn’t you buy bottled water? Read more
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Are Organic Foods Worth the Cost?
by Shereen Jegtvig
There’s a lot to think about when you buy foods at the grocery store. Does the food offer good nutrition? What kind of additives and preservatives are present? How many calories are there? And so on…
So here’s another question to consider. Is your food organic, and does it really matter?
If your main concern about the food you buy is good nutrition, then whether food is organic or not doesn’t really enter into it. A recent study looked at the research and concluded that organic food really isn’t any more nutritious than regular commercially grown food. An organically grown orange has pretty much the same amount of vitamins, minerals, fiber and calories as a regular orange. Same thing goes for other fruits, berries, vegetables, meats, dairy and grains. Read more
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Part 2 – Recession Trends: Fresh Food on the Chopping Block
In part one, we discussed the impact of the recent economic downturn on our dietary habits: Americans are eating out less, and turning to takeaway and processed foods instead of fresh produce.
In one 2004 paper, Dr Drewnowski, director of nutritional studies at the University of Washington, Seattle, noted that obesity in the US is a socio-economic issue (Drewnowski, 2004). Highest rates of obesity occur amongst low-income populations, who often lack money, time, access to fresh produce and information to make healthy food choices. Dr. Drewnowski found that high-income earning women have the healthiest diets, with more nutritive value for every dollar spent.
Since the recession, as incomes plummet and stress increases, it seems more and more families, especially those in lower-income demographics, are making further cuts to their eating expenditure – often opting for quick, filling, discounted products which are marketed heavily as “super savers” or “value meals”. What shoppers may not be looking for is nutrition value, hidden additives, and portion size relative to the cost of the product.
While I’m not going to delve into the intricacies of economics, or the inner workings of the human psyche (phew!), you can basically narrow down the reasons for these alarming statistics to two factors: Read more
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