13 Steps Towards Healthier Eating

It's a toxic world out there! 

The chemicals in the stuff we call food are slowly killing us, folks.  The food industry is a powerful force in D.C. that has the FDA safely tucked into their collective billfold.  The FDA's policy:  If it doesn't kill you in 24 hours, it's fine to sell it to you as food.

And we wonder why the incidence of diabetes, auto-immune diseases, infertility, cancer and other chronic illnesses has skyrocketed in the past 10 years?  Please.

Here are some steps you can take right now towards healthier eating for you and your family.

1. Switch from margarine to butter.  Back in the 60's, when they were saying butter causes coronary artery disease, they were wrong!  Back in the 70's when they were saying all cholesterol is bad, they were wrong again!  It's the stinkin' trans fats that's guilty.  (And we may find out that they're wrong about that, too, but I'm going with it for now.)
2. Switch from vegetable and canola oil to olive oil. (See #1)
3. Eat only cage-free eggs.  A little more expensive; a whole lot healthier.
4. Ditto organic milk.  Those antibiotics and hormones
5. As much as possible, use only feta and goat cheese.  It's great in salads, sandwiches, omelettes, etc.
6. USE ONLY NATURAL SWEETENERS!!!  Toss the yellow, blue and pink packages in the trash and go with sugar.  Artificial sweeteners can actually cause you to gain weight quicker than the calories you get from sugar. 
7. Use honey whenever possible. (Local honey helps fight allergies!)
8. STOP WITH THE STINKIN' DIET SODAS!! They are poison! (See #6)
9. Ditto anything with aspartame.  Aspartame converts to a formaldehyde-like substance when it reaches body temperature.  Think about that for a second. 
10.  Read the label!  If you don't know what it is or you can't pronounce it, do you really want to put it in your mouth!?!?  I mean, really!
11. Say no to GMO's!  Genetically modified foods can often be identified by their PLU numbers. (Look at the sticker on your produce.)  If it is a 5-digit number beginning with an 8, it is GM. However, you can't always trust this system.  Not all foods will have a PLU identifying it as such, because PLU labeling is optional in the U.S. and Canada
12. Switch to sea salt.  It has no chemicals, flavor enhancers, additivies and is not iodized.  Hence, it's healthier.
13. Avoid pork products. I'll give you a link on this one. There are turkey and beef alternatives to sausage, bacon and ham that will serve you just as well. 

There!  That should give you a great start towards healtier eating!

This has been a Thursday 13 post.

Comments

[harriet]

Good info.
Funny how ideas change over the years.

[Tamy ~ 3 Sides of Crazy]

Awesome info post!!!! My step dad and I have this argument regularly. He's a chemist for Nestles and he tows the company line all too well even now into retirement. He whole heartedly believes in all those chemical alterations whereas I thank God everyday for the Rhuematologist who passed on the real info and saved my life.

[SHerri Murphy]

I've been using butter since I saw someone on TV about 20 years ago say that margarine was the equivilent of consuming plastic! That never left my thoughts. (Plus butter tastes SO much better!) I have sea salt, but don't use it often, but will start doing so . I love honey, and use it in many foods to sweeten (as well as my tea). I buy organic products, but not consistantly. We purchased a 1/2 side of grass only fed beef that had been given no antibiotics and I must say, not only did it save us money in the long run, it was THE best tasting beef I had ever eaten. Very lean also.
Thanks for the tips. There's a couple on there I will add to my list of things to start using. (egg and cheese)

[Susanne]

These are really good Carol and easily incorporated in everyday eating. We follow a lot of them but one that really surprised me was that info on pork. I had no idea about that.

[Nicholas]

What about margarine that has "Zero Trans Fats" on the lid? We have eggs so seldom, switching to cage free will be no problem. I used to eat only those in England (known there as "free range"). I have always been uneasy about the anonymity of GM foods here, because they have to be labelled as such in Europe. I will avoid diet sodas forever, no problem, because I can't stand them. Unfortunately I can't stand honey either, but no one is perfect!

[Andrea]

Or I could eat what I want and die happy :) Totally true about diet sodas, but I'm a soda junkie and could drink a whole 12 pack in a day of the sugary stuff...so I'm better off with diet.

[Kim H.]

Great post! Actually I think I'm doing pretty good out of your thirteen. I just need to keep my family on the bandwagon!

And butter pretty much rocks anyway! Who'd want anything else?!.... :)

[Screwed Up Texan]

I ate at Chipotle this last weekend and discovered that they dont use dairy products that come from cows that have been fed growth hormone. That goes for the meat as well.

I atually prefer real butter to fake. I keep a tub of margerine in the fridge for occasional use, but have discovered over the last year as I have begun buying butter, that our butter consumption now outweighs our margerine consumption. I prefer to cook with it, bake with it, and use it as a condiment.

We also only use white sugar, brown sugar, and occasionally more natural sugars. I steer clear of Splenda, aspartame and the other fake sweeteners. A natural sweetener that we use is called stevia. We use the white powdered substance. Just a very small pinch sweetens drinks. A whole jar will last a year or longer.

[Musings of a Housewife]

AMEN AND AMEN! It drives me nuts to see people drinking diet soda and using artificial sweeteners and margarine and thinking it's BETTER for them.

Now I'd like to know about it making you gain weight faster than real sugar???

Now I do love my pork. I'm afraid to read that link. :-)

[Carol]

You people rock! You're already making steps towards healthier eating. Now to get rid of all those packaged foods...heh.

For those who asked, artificial sweeteners trick the body into thinking there's been a rise in sugar intake. Insulin is released. Now there's too much insulin, so you experience a carbohydrate craving and...well, we usually feed those cravings. So you may have saved a few calories on the drink, but you'll ingest them in another form - usually one that doesn't burn off as quickly as caffeine-laden sugary sodas.

[Alana Gray @ Gray Matters]

We strive for all the things on your list . . . I'm curious about #5 dealing with cheese. Is your concern mainly dealing with the treatment and raising of cows?

[Carol]

Hi, Alana. Actually, no. #5 is more about what is healthier for the human body. Goat cheese, sheep cheese and feta cheese are much easier to digest and...another reason that I forgot because I'm not an expert; I'm just someone who made these changes years ago and can't figure out why everyone doesn't do the same.

Thanks for dropping by She Lives

[PamperingBeki]

Eeek! I think I break every one of these rules.