Hello everyone, I hope you all are having an amazing day! In this blog post, I thought it would be fun to try something new and share my knowledge to you all. This past semester, I was able to take a Consumer Nutrition class and I learned so much about food, what is in it, and how it affects our bodies. Note: I am not a nutritionist, these are just some information that I learned in my class. So, I thought this would be a great idea to put together a blog post about 10 facts everyone should know about food!
1) The real deal about sugar
Keep on the lookout for added sugars and substitutes for sugars. Like, Stevia, glucose, and fructose.
Maltose (malt sugar)= glucose + glucose
Sucrose (table sugar)= glucose + fructose
Lactose (milk sugar)= glucose + galactose
Most added sugars are in products to not only taste better, but to enhance texture and have a longer shelf life.
Also, you should be intaking 50 grams of sugar daily.
2) Healthy carbs vs. Unhealthy carbs
There are three types of carbs: starches, fibers, and sugars.
Starches:
Complex sugars, provide vitamins and minerals.
Takes body longer time to break them down.
Examples: beans, fruits, vegetables, whole grain products.
Fibers:
Complex healthy carbs.
Body cannot break down fiber; aids digestion.
Examples: beans, fruits, whole grains, nuts, seeds, vegetables.
Sugars:
Naturally occurring sugars found in fruit and milk.
Added sugar found in sweets, canned fruit, juice, soda, etc.
Dextrose, glucose, sucrose= NO. These sugars are 200 times more sweeter than sugar!
Healthy Carbs:
Fruits and vegetables should be consumed 2-3 cups per day.
Lentils, nuts, beans, low dairy products, and whole grains.
Stick to all natural foods.
Try to incorporate oats in yogurts, smoothies, muffins, or homemade granola. Add chickpeas to salads or make your own hummus. Eat nuts by themselves, or add them to salads, trail mix, smoothies, and much more! Just be aware of added sugar or sodium. Add Greek yogurt to smoothies, granola, fruit, or eat it by itself.
Unhealthy Carbs:
Sugary drinks--- soda, juices
White bread--- "fake" bread
Pastries, cakes, cookies--- high in sugar; should only be consumed once a week.
Ice cream
Candies and chocolates--- Except for dark chocolate.
French fries, potato chips--- alternatives: veggies and hummus.
Stay away from refined sugars, added salt, sugary syrups, and artificial dyes.
3) It is super important to read all nutrition labels
This helps you make the right choices and know what you are actually consuming.
You should read how much fiber, iron, sugar, salt, vitamins, and much more you are consuming.
4) The more amount of calories it is, the more filling it is
The higher amount of calories the product contains, the more full you are.
5) Dark chocolate is actually really healthy
Believe it or not, dark chocolate has many health benefits and is really good for you!
Dark chocolate contains many minerals such as zinc, phosphorus, and magnesium.
Nutritionists advise people to only have one square daily.
Healthiest percentage of dark chocolate is 70% or more.
To be considered dark chocolate, it has to contain 60% or more cacao.
Dark chocolate has less sugar and contains antioxidants.
Cocoa vs. Cacao
Cocoa is processed at higher temperatures and contains milk and sugar.
Cacao is made from fermented beans that have not been roasted, essentially the purest form of chocolate.
6) Supplements can never replace real food
Supplements help you gain lack of nutrients, but that doesn't mean you should be consuming most of your diet with vitamins.
The true way you will gain nutrients is through healthy eating; fruits, vegetables, carbs, proteins, fibers, etc.
7) Stay away from processed foods
Do your best to stay away from processed foods. Yes, it is perfectly okay to eat ice cream, cookies, and chips every once in a while, but you shouldn't be consuming these daily.
8) There is no such thing as a healthy energy drink
Energy drinks contain an unhealthy amount of caffeine as well as can increase the risk of heart diseases along with other health issues.
There is a high amount of sugar as well as fake sugar (sucrose).
There is also added vitamins that are really not supposed to be in there in the first place.
Overall, stick to water or tea.
9) Organic, low-fat, gluten-free, etc. does not mean it's a healthier option
These misleading labels on products are false and you should always be reading the nutrition labels.
Though it may contain less fat or contain no gluten, you have to be careful of the other ingredients that they put into the product.
10) Juice isn't any different from sugary soft drinks
Did you know that the number one cause of obesity in the United States is from sugary drinks like energy drinks and juices?
Juices often contain tons of added sugars that do not need to be there in the first place.
Some alternatives to juices are water, tea, homemade smoothies, milk, and coconut water.
Thank you all so much for reading this post! This was something new and exciting that I wanted to try and I hope you all will take away something from this and learn to make healthier choices. I have so many new and exciting posts coming soon that I cannot wait to share with you all! Please follow me on Instagram and Pinterest @helpfulinspiringblog. Also, if you need to contact me, please email me at: helpfulinspiringblog@gmail.com. I will see you all very soon!
-Sonia