COMMON FOODS COMPARISON
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Find out how common meals, foods and snacks compare.
Nutritional Information Comparison for Snack Food
Saturday, November 14, 2009
16 Facts About Soft Drinks and Obesity
The UCLA Center for Health Policy Research has recently published a report entitled Bubbling Over: Soda Consumption and Its Link to Obesity in California [PDF]. In it are some real “gems” that the beverage industry likes to ignore or downplay. The data is based on research in the state of California, but it reflects on the entire country.
1. Over 10.7 million Californians over the age of one drink at least one soda a day (or other sugar-sweetened beverage).
2. 41% of children ages 2-11 drink at least one soda or other sugar-sweetened beverage every day.
3. That number goes up to 62% of adolescents ages 12-17.
4. Only 1 in 4 adults drinks pop though.
5. Adults who do drink one or more sodas or other sugar-sweetened beverages each day are 27% more likely to be overweight or obese.
6. The average American consumes 22 teaspoons of added sugar a day, vs the recommended 5-9. That 200-400% more than recommended.
7. If you think that’s a high number, just one 20 fl oz single use bottle of soda has 17 teaspoons of sugar.
8. Almost half of the additional calories growth in our diet since the 1970’s come from soda.
9. Each American consumes an average of 50 gallons of sugar sweetened soft drinks per year.
10. Soda is the #1 source of added sugar in the American Diet.
11. Two thirds of all High Fructose Corn Syrup goes into soft drinks.
12. The average size of a soda increased from 6.5 oz in the 1950’s to 16.2 oz today (149% increase!)
13. Milk consumption, on the other hand has decreased by 33% in the last 30 years.
14. Each additional daily serving of soda increases a child’s chance risk for obesity by 60%.
15. In the last 25 years, the obesity rate in California rose from 8.9% to 24.3%. That’s one in four Californians!
16. The cost in medical and health expenses to the state is estimated at $41 billion.
Gives some perspective on what the CEO of Coca Cola wrote in the Wall Street Journal about Coke not causing Obesity, doesn’t it?
What to do at the supermarket:
OK. Soft drinks in and of themselves are not evil, and there is room for them here and there as a treat, just like ice cream and candy. They can hardly be considered a daily staple, although that is exactly what they have become thanks to the efforts of the beverage industry.
But you can easily fight back. Just skip the beverage aisle at the supermarket on your next grocery trip. And the one after that. And the one after. In one year, you’ll have saved $500 for a family of four, AND most likely lost a few pounds too.
New: Calorie Labels on Snack Vending Machines
Over the weekend Congress (barely) passed the Affordable Health Care for America Act, or H.R. 3962. And while much media attention went to the abortion clauses that were put in / taken out, there were also several food and nutrition related provisions added to the new legislation.
Section 2572 [NUTRITION LABELING OF STANDARD MENU ITEMS AT CHAIN RESTAURANTS AND OF ARTICLES OF FOOD SOLD FROM VENDING MACHINES] will require 2 things:
1. Any operator of 20 or more vending machines will now be required to label the calorie count for each of the items on sale:
the vending machine operator shall provide a sign in close proximity to each article of food or the selection button that includes a clear and conspicuous statement disclosing the number of calories contained in the article
This is great, because it will help people snack a bit more mindfully. Especially important is the labeling of soft drinks and juices. Consumers pick up a vitamin water and are sometimes surprised when they’re told it contains 8 teaspoons of sugar and 130 calories!
2. Restaurant chains with national presence of 20 or more locales will now have to post calorie information as well. The information has to appear on menus as well as on the menu board and drive in menu board where applicable.
There have been calorie labeling efforts in several cities and states across the country in the past 2 years, but now they’ll all come under a single roof.
While calories are a great start, they certainly don’t tell the whole story of a product, so the bill further states that upon request, customers shall also be informed about level of nutrients such as fat, sodium, and cholesterol.
That’s nice in theory, but you can just imagine a scene where Fred is standing in line at a busy BK, trying to decide whether to go for a cheeseburger or whopper, and asking the Jack the cashier for the saturated fat content of each. While Jack is scratching his head and calling the shift manager who vaguely remembers some brochure buried in the stock room, the line behind Fred gets longer and more restless….
The National Restaurant Association supports the new menu requirement, and with good reason. Better have one single rule, than have each state or municipality come up with its own requirements, as California did.
We would have liked to see more sweeping legislation connected to food and nutrition in this bill. After all, much of our health problems are directly related to poor eating habits. But this will have to wait for another time.
Friday, November 13, 2009
Get Others Involved in Your Goals
Get Others Involved in Your Goals
Don't be a Weight-Loss Loner
-- By Mike Kramer, SparkPeople Contributor
Coaches, mentors, trainers, teammates, partners, fans. Even the greatest athletes in the world can’t do it alone.
People naturally perform better when others are on their side and helping out. Even in everyday nutrition and fitness, we’ve found that people who involve others and ask for help get much better results and stick to their programs longer than people who try to go the distance on their own.
Why is that? For starters, positive peer pressure can be one of the most powerful motivators around. It’s tougher to quit when someone else is counting on you. In fact, with a team that’s pulling for you, it’s less likely that you’ll want to quit.
When you involve others, you have access to more knowledge, more ideas, more enthusiasm, and more resources. Bicyclists and race car drivers are finding out that they need teammates looking out for them if they have any chance at all of winning. You can take advantage of the same benefits.
Finally, having other people help out just makes weight loss a heckuva lot more fun. Especially for social exercisers, trying to lose weight and exercise alone can leave you bored out of your mind.
Your weight loss goals are every bit as important as those of a world-class athlete. This is why SparkPeople emphasizes meeting and getting to know other members. We’ve seen the Spark that happens on the Message Boards, when members rally behind someone who’s struggling, or congratulate the latest success.
Business people draw on a team of accountants, lawyers, financial advisers, headhunters, board members, etc. Together, they form a team of specialists that open up possibilities to that businessperson and his/her business goals. You can build a similar team around your weight loss goals. People that can help with your journey are all around you. You can do this without making a lot of demands on anyone’s time. Some possible ways to build a strong team by only asking one thing of each person:
:Ask a friend to check with you once a week to see how you’re doing.
:Ask your significant other to be there when you need to unload.
:Ask a co-worker to keep you upbeat.
:Ask your kids to help you find active ways to have fun.
:Ask your brother-in-law to pass along inspirational reading and interesting health news.
:Ask your photographer sister to take "before" and "in-progress" pictures.
Better yet, why not ask someone to join your healthy lifestyle quest? Going through and succeeding with a new program with a friend or buddy can create a bond that carries over into other areas of your life.
Insomnia Can Hinder Your Weight Loss
Insomnia Can Hinder Your Weight Loss
Sleepless Nights Stop Progress
-- By Laura Bofinger, Staff Writer
So you already know that a well-balanced diet and a regular exercise program are keys to your weight loss plan. But are you listening to that other recommendation you’ve heard more than once in your life? Get plenty of sleep. Recent medical studies show that sleep loss can increase hunger and affect your body’s metabolism in a way that makes weight loss more difficult. So if you’re making a good effort in your nutrition and fitness plans, you still might be able to improve your success with better sleep.
How Sleep Loss Affects Weight Loss
1. Hormone function affects the way fat cells respond to the food we eat. Cortisol is a hormone that is commonly released in response to physical or emotional stress. When we are deprived of sleep, cortisol is released at an increased level and makes us feel hungry even if we are full. As a result, people who continue to lose sleep on a regular basis will tend to experience hunger even when they have had an adequate amount of food.
2. Sleep loss results in less deep sleep, the kind that restores our energy levels. Losing deep sleep hours decreases growth hormone levels. Growth hormone is a protein that helps regulate the body’s proportions of fat and muscle in adults. With less growth hormone, we reduce the ability to lose fat and grow muscle.
3. With a loss of sleep, your body may not be able to metabolize carbohydrates as well, which leads to an increased storage of fats and higher levels of blood sugar. Excess blood sugar can lead to insulin resistance. Insulin resistance means that the body has trouble disposing of glucose in the liver and other tissues. It is a trigger for serious health problems such as obesity, cardiovascular disease, and type II diabetes.
4. A lack of sleep goes hand in hand with a lack of energy – not a new concept, but perhaps you’ve grown used to your daily levels of energy and don’t notice that you could gain more. Not only do we accomplish less with less sleep, we also don’t burn as many calories. The body’s reaction is to hoard calories as fat, making our weight loss goals more difficult than they need to be. Sleep is starting to sound pretty important now, isn’t it?
Why Are You Losing Sleep and What Can You Do About It?
Don’t add this information about sleep and weight loss as a stress factor in your life. Take charge and examine why you are losing sleep so that you can do something about it.
Some people choose to live with fewer sleeping hours simply because they think they can stretch more hours of activity in their day. If this is you, remember that a better night’s sleep may actually increase your productivity in a shorter amount of time throughout your day because you have more energy and can think more clearly than when you are tired. For others, sleep loss is a result of already being overweight, which has brought on sleep apnea, lower back pain, or depression and anxiety. There are many management options for such problems, some of which might require medical attention. Check out the following tips first. They are simple enough for anyone to try to help themselves improve their sleep.
Do’s
Eat a healthy diet. A good SparkPeople reference is right here.
Establish a regular exercise routine of 3-4 times per week, and do it well before bedtime.
Try pre-bedtime rituals that relax you – warm baths, light reading, listening to calming music or recorded nature sounds.
Create a peaceful sleep environment. Adjust the darkness to what works best for you. Make sure the temperature of the room is set to your comfort level.
Give yourself sleep hours instead of trying to squeeze more activity into one day. Adequate sleeping hours will increase your productivity during waking hours.
Don’ts
Don’t go to bed hungry, but don’t eat a big meal right before bedtime. Eating high protein food close to bedtime makes your body think it should be active and therefore keeps you awake.
Don’t nap in the daytime if you have sleeping problems at night.
Don’t take in caffeine, nicotine, or alcohol from the late afternoon and beyond.
Don’t lie in bed agitated if you can’t sleep. After a half hour, move to a different room and do something relaxing until you feel sleepy again.
Realize that you need to listen to your body in determining how much sleep is right for you. Too much sleep can be just as unhealthy as too little sleep. Recognize that the sleep you get each night is just as important as the choices you make in eating and exercising as you achieve your weight loss goals
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