It's Not About the Calories

Posted by Lee-Anne Moore on 21 January 2010 | 0 Comments

Increasingly, too much value is being placed on calories & not enough value on the quality of the food itself. Why is there so much focus on counting calories & losing weight at the expense of our health? It's ironic, don't you think?

It's becoming more & more common that diets have whole, natural foods removed from their list of recommended foods because of their higher calorie count. Then they substitute these healthy foods with chemicals, artificial ingredients & modified foods that are supposed to have less calories! And this is supposed to be healthy? Crazy!

Most of us find it very difficult to sustain these diets & keep the weight off long term. Does anyone actually feel alive, positive, truly healthy, & with high energy when on these diets?

Eating sugar substitutes or low/no carbohydrate 'foods' does not make us healthier!

The truth is that our bodies are chemically stressed when chemicals, artificial ingredients & modified or processed foods are consumed! When we deprive ourselves of vitamins & nutrients that are found in whole, natural foods our bodies are stressed even further, not to mention starving! This has a huge impact on our health.

Sugar itself is not the cause of diabetes & carbohydrates alone don't make you fat!

Let's think about the effect that stress really has on our body. Stress causes blood sugar to increase to provide energy to our body to escape 'danger' - this is absolutely necessary! However, if this stress (chemical, emotional, physical) is prolonged (anything more than a few seconds to 2 minutes) our body remains in the 'fight-flight' stress response & our blood sugar levels remain high. This becomes a precursor to diabetes & other increasingly common diseases, as it has a flow-on effect on other organs. Is it any wonder that chronic stress can lead to diabetes & many other diseases?

We need to look at the quality of the food we eat. For example, most of us are aware that refined sugars are unhealthy for us, but are you aware that artificial sweeteners, cutting out carbs altogether or the meal-replacement diets are even more harmful & stressful to your body? Sugar & carbohydrates in their natural state, such as those in whole foods like fruit, honey & raw sugar cane, are necessary for energy & are full of vitamins & nutrients. It's all about balance & variety, true nutritional value & whole, natural state of our food.

If you need to use sugar in cooking, try 'rapadura' sugar (especially organic), available at good health-food stores. This is evaporated cane juice - not heated or processed - it's better for you & a whole lot more tasty! Remember, however, moderation is the key! Good quality (especially organic) fruit & whole grains may be high in carbohydrates but they contain bucket-loads of nutrients & vitamins that our bodies need & crave!

So, next time you find yourself going to grab the 'sugar-free' item or check the calories on the label, rather read the ingredients & consider the quality of the food in your hand. If you are tempted to start a low calorie, low carbohydrate or meal-replacement diet, think about whether you will be compromising on the nutritional value of the food or the natural, whole state of the food.

Enjoy - Lee-Anne