I recently hung out with some friends at a birthday party and we were talking about Health Starts Here. Most of them didn't really understand why I'm doing this or why it even matters. I had an extremely long explanation about making every calorie count, but it didn't really sink in.
When you are thrown a lot of information and all sorts of things, it's difficult to sort out fact and fiction. What I think is that you have to pinpoint the facts you can't argue with and make a change, but do it in steps.
The biggest step for teens in America is to quit snacking on junk food. I have been guilty of this myself (but because I don't eat anything artificial, I ate things like Newman-O's and those Kashi granola bars that have a thick layer of chocolate on top), but I'm committed to snacking on foods that are high in nutritional value now. You may know how to cook or your family may cook many meals, but when it's snacktime, you've got to fend for yourself. Most people walk to the pantry to see what kinds of granola bars, chips, sweets and popcorn to eat. This is exactly what needs to stop.
Think about potato chips. They are fried, so that means there will be a few grams of saturated fat. Potato chips are salty, so now you're eating a large amount of your daily value of salt. Potato chips are very starchy too, but since they don't have very many nutrients (especially when you smother them in oil and salt), those carbs aren't really doing much except giving you a bit of energy until dinner. Are there any vitamins in potato chips? Nope. You may be thinking, "Well that's what vitamin supplements are for!" I take vitamins myself, but most people only take a few specific kinds of vitamins. Vegetables and fruits have all sorts of vitamins and minerals that you probably don't take in your supplement and a lot that you do.
Once you eat those potato chips, you waste some of your calories for the day. Remember that as a growing teen, you body needs enough calories every day; don't undereat or overeat. But because you are growing and developing, those vitamins and minerals count even more.
The simple solution is to eat something high in nutrients. Have fruits and vegetables for snacks. They have lots of phytonutrients (phyto means "plant" and "nutrient" speaks for itself), vitamins, minerals, fiber, water and energy (sustainable carbs). Phytonutrients are created by plants for protection and survival. Phytonutrients also prevent disease and promote health in human bodies. Instead of having potato chips, you could have 2 fruits for the same amount of calories (if you follow the serving size on the potato chip bag, that is) while eating all of that good stuff that plants give you. Potato chips can't do that.
Another thing about phytonutrients is that the darker and/or richer the color of the fruit/vegetable, the more phytonutrients you'll eat. Instead of constantly eating iceberg lettuce, potatoes and corn to get your veggies for the day, you could eat plums, red chard, nectarines with bright yellow flesh, beautiful bell peppers, red cabbage, dark green kale, bright citrus fruits and rich red tomatoes. Plus, there are so many fruits to choose from that if you get tired of one, there's always going to be another amazing taste to try. The seasons bring in varieties of plants every three months so you won't get bored, too.
I love fruit and vegetables, but sometimes I don't feel like eating that. Whole grains are the perfect snack when you aren't in a fruit/veggie mood. My favorite whole grain snack is a rice cake with all-natural peanut butter (with no added oils; peanuts have so many naturally occuring oils that adding more is unhealthy). Of course, you could make homemade hummus and dip a whole-grain pita in that or make yourself a mini-wrap with a whole-grain tortilla.
Finding a true whole grain product is confusing, and most people don't know exactly what a whole grain is. There are three parts of a grain: the bran (the protective coating, which also contains most of the grain's minerals, including B vitamins and fiber), the endosperm (a concentrated energy source in the middle which contains a lot of the things you'll find on a nutrition label) and the germ (a small core that contains unsaturated fats, antioxidants, phytonutrients, vitamin E and more). When only a certain part of the grain is ground into flour, it is no longer a whole grain and is lacking many nutrients. To supplement for the lost nutrients, most flours are "enriched", meaning that the nutrients that weren't ground in get added back. To determine whether the product you're about to buy is a whole grain product, look for the red flags that tell you that it is a refined flour: bleached flour, unbleached flour, enriched flour and fortified flour. A sign of a whole grain is "cracked", "crushed" or "sprouted". Brands like Ezekiel 4:9 and 365 have a few types of whole-wheat pasta that are whole grain. You can also find lots of whole-grain breads at natural markets, like Dave's Killer Bread and certain types of Rudi's bread.
Information overload! I'll summarize so your brain can calm down. Make every calorie count and think about the vitamin, mineral, fiber, protein, fat, sugar and phytonutrient content of every snack you eat. Instead of going on Health Starts Here tomorrow, try ditching the Doritos for good and eating some fruits and veggies instead. Once that becomes a habit, make another small step towards health.
Ditch these...
And try these!
By the way, I got all of this information from the people at Whole Foods who are helping us out with the 28-Day Challenge. Thanks for all your informative packets and emails!
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