12. Diet Foods?

Enriched and fortified aren’t the only buzzwords that don’t live up to their claim. “Light”, “nonfat”, “low fat” and “diet” are also misleading. Don’t believe what it says on the package.  Don’t buy into the myth.  Basically, if the fat is missing, something has replaced it to make it taste “good”. It’s usually sugar. That sugar helps perpetuate a chemical imbalance in our bodies, not to mention that it depletes nutrients stored there. This only makes us crave more, because they contain what is called “excitotoxins.” (See wikipedia’s explanation here.)
What is healthy eating?
The fact is you need a certain amount of fat. Your body can’t manufacture enough essential fatty acids that it needs. You need to get them from somewhere.

Eating fat also actually stimulates the burning of stored fat in your body. It also satiates your appetite. But, it’s a fine line.

At no time in history have there been so many overweight persons in a single nation as in America today. It is estimated that over 55% of our population is seriously overweight.

At no time in history has a single nation consumed such a high percentage of refined foods and hydrogenated fats.

The empty calories of inadequate food require that we eat more. So, without realizing what we are doing, we eat more empty calories.  Get it?

If too little food or inadequate food is eaten, a meal is missed or the adrenals are exhausted from too little essential fatty acids, the blood sugar falls causing symptoms like tension, irritability, headache, fatigue, hunger and a craving for sweets. If you eat sweets or excessive carbohydrates at this point, sugar absorbs so rapidly that a healthy pancreas is over stimulated and produces too much insulin. The excessive insulin causes most of the sugar in the blood to be changed to storage fat, the blood sugar again falls and intense hunger recurs.

Overeating could very well be an unconscious urge to obtain nutrients your body needs.

So, now we know that eating whole foods is far better not only for your health, but for your weight. By consuming nutritionally superior foods, you’ll be able to eat less food and be comfortable doing so!