Dear ,

I hope you enjoy the news I bring you twice a month to help you and your pets live a happy, healthy life. I always welcome feedback from readers, whether it's questions or suggestions for future topics. And of course, I love it when readers tell me that something I wrote made a difference in a pet's or human's life. This is a wonderful reward all in itself.

However, I also love it when something I write wins awards, and I'd like your help with winning another Pettie this year. Pettie Nominations are officially open. You can nominate once a day, every, day, through June 29. Each time you nominate (and of course, I'm hoping that you'll nominate The Conscious Cat for Best Cat Blog and Best Overall Pet Blog), you also get a chance to nominate your favorite shelter for a chance at winning $10,000! Nominating is easy, click here for details.

Conscious living means making conscious choices about everything in your life, and that includes making choices that help the earth. I have some suggestions for you on how to go green for a healthier pet and a happier planet.

We all know how important it is to read food labels, but sometimes, it feels like you need a degree in nutrition to understand what you're looking at. Woody McMahon helps us understand how to use food labels to make healthier choices.

Wishing you purrs and wags,      

by Ingrid King

Food Label Sticker Shock

   

 

By Woody McMahon  

 

By law, all foods must be labeled to show the ingredients and nutritional content. Food labels, also called Nutritional Information, are found on the side or back of all foods. They are a valuable source of information when you are trying to start a healthier eating plan. So whether you want to lose or gain weight, increase your protein and calcium intake, reduce excess sugar and salt or monitor fat, learning how to use the food label will be helpful in making healthier food choices. Let's explore some of the valuable information available right on the food label itself.

 Serving Size

 

Portions are the clear villain if you are having trouble losing or gaining weight. Fortunately, the food label has what is called Serving Size which gives you important information about food portions right on the package. The Serving Size, generally measured in cups, ounces or piece count, is the amount of food that is considered to be one serving. So as an example, a serving size of nuts will be listed as 8 pieces, crackers as 9 crackers and mixed vegetables as ½ a cup. Most people who are overeating will generally eat two or three times the recommended portion size and not really know it. Sticking to the serving size helps you easily balance your eating plan.

Calorie Density

Now you know that choosing healthier foods and controlling their portions is the best way to reach and maintain a healthy weight. The food label can also indirectly tell you about Calorie Density; a measure of the number of calories per portion. This number is not directly listed but you can
calculate it by looking at the portion and comparing it to the calorie content. So as an example, let's look at the Calorie Density of an apple and a piece of cake. Given the same serving size, the apple is less calorie dense than the piece of cake. This means that you can eat a much larger portion of apple for the same number of calories as the cake. This is actually true for most fruits and vegetables because of their water and fiber content. Eating more fruits and vegetables is not only good for your body; but the higher volume of food makes it easier to feel full at the end of your meal.

Sodium Content

Sodium content is another good food label value to monitor. Too much sodium has been shown to increase the risk of heart disease, high blood pressure and stroke as well as promoting overeating and loss of water from your body. Sodium along with chloride combine to form salt, a food
additive that is considered to be a flavor enhancer. Typically, processed and pre-prepared foods have higher sodium levels than other foods to make the food taste better. Of course, if the food tastes too good there is a good chance you'll eat more than is really needed. It is better to limit the amount of foods that have higher than 500mg per serving sodium content.

Fat Content

Eating the right kind of fat is important to good health. With the "low fat" craziness of the 1980's and 90's, fat was seen as a villain. But in fact, fat is very important for numerous body functions including rate of metabolism, satiety and healthy skin. The trouble is the fats that have many helpful functions in your body from maintaining a healthy cell wall, acting as precursors to most of the hormones, healing and weight loss are easily destroyed by light and heat. Today the research supports a balanced approach to fats in your diet. Keeping fats at 30 to 35% of your total daily intake is easy if you eat lots of fruits and vegetables at every meal.

Try using food labels as a simple guide to making better food choices and helping make healthier eating easier.

 Try these healthy lifestyle changes for 30 days. Feel what it is like to be a part of the health solution rather than a health burden. If you need additional suggestions and advice on living a healthier lifestyle, email or call Woody McMahon for a no cost consultation, at 703-628-2880 or email woody@sequoiahealth.com.