If I could go back four years with this knowledge, I would not have changed much. I already watched Food Inc. in ninth grade and I already knew that the food industry was unsafe. I have always eaten healthy since the day I decided to lose weight and I never looked back. Now I eat healthy because my body feels better when I do not eat unhealthy. I may not be able to afford all organic products and I may not be a vegetarian, but moderation is a good strategy in staying healthy. Too much of anything is bad for you so I at least have an organic meal here and there or I indulge every once in a while to prevent myself from binge eating.
I guess one thing I would change is my label reading. Too many labels are put to waste because people forget they exist or purposely ignore them in order to not feel guilt in what they eat. I have always had a sugar problem and if I would have paid more attention to labels, I would not have consumed as much sugar over the years. I am grateful for not having food allergies, but I am glad that I have the right to know what is in the products I consume, though the labels are often manipulated.
Organic products were not as big of an industry before, but if I had known about organic products, I would have tried my best to eat more organic products. I love home grown plants and I would encourage more people to plant their own vegetables. Tomatoes grown in your back yard are so much better than those bought at the store with the flavor washed away by scientific experimentation. Home grown vegetables can be eaten by themselves without spices or salt because they are not drained of their natural composition.
I guess to conclude, I must say that I have had a pretty healthy lifestyle in terms of eating. I eat a lot of organic foods and fruit because they are the least subject to manipulation. Everyone should moderate their consumption of meat in general and check labels before blindly consuming products that have more sugar in them than any other ingredient. Being aware and taking action has always been a part of my diet and will stay that way.
I really like that fact that you brought up the truth about reading labels, but the problem is that a lot of them are misleading. Most of us don't bother reading labels because we are already accustomed to consuming the same foods we always buy. When we do decide to try a new food and move away from the ones we usually eat, it is sometimes caused by new labels promoting how "healthy" the food is. For example, last year we went to the grocery store and decided to try out a new cereal, "Cheerios Protein". It looked like a healthier version of the original Cheerios, but it actually wasn't. A couple weeks after trying out the new cereal, we saw on the news that the new cereal had way more sugar than the original one. The protein one had 17 grams of sugar, whereas the original only had one gram. I am sure many other people have sugar problems as well, but they probably have no idea where its coming from when companies mislead us.
ReplyDeleteA lot of people don't really bother to read labels and I can fall in that category. The only time i actually read labels is when I eat certain type of sweets or Asian food because I have nut allergy which encourages me to actually look at what I'm eating. Most people just eat what's in front of them without considering what they truly are putting into their bodies. Eating organic is a lot healthier than most foods because it doesn't have the high sugar contents that most food in the grocery stores have. But organic food isn't always good you. I noticed that growing your own food or buying from a farmer's market is the best choice when you're trying to be healthy. I use to think eating organic was the right way to be healthy, but while doing my research project I found out that local food is the best choice. I agree with what your saying about growing our own produce. I believe it will benefit our health and change the way we eat.
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