My guide to reading a food label and your new key to understanding nutrition terminology!

Do you want to not only lose weight, but feel revitalized in everything you do? Of course you do! No one wants to feel sluggish, but losing weight is hard to do! It looks so easy when other people do it, right? Well, I’m going to let you in on some tips and tricks that you can use to read food labels easier and learn to translate all of that nutritional jargon you hear all around.

Imagine if you were having a conversation with someone and they said, “You need to eat fructose, avoid trans fats and cholesterol, eat fewer calories, get more fiber, and eat nutrient dense foods.” You would probably step back and say, “Excuse me? Are we speaking the same language?”

One of the main reasons people are hesitant to start a diet plan or eat healthier is because they start it and are very excited, but then they are suddenly bombarded with all of these confusing and tongue-tying terms. With anything else, reading food labels and learning about nutrition gets easier with practice. First, I am going to show you an empty Nutrition Facts Label and explain it’s terms.

This is a very important tool in your nutrition toolbox. The Nutrition Facts Label is just another paper telling you what is in your food, and it is conveniently attached to your food item. Below is a filled in food label that I will walk you through easily and you will be a pro at the end of this article!

When I read a food label, the first item I look at is the serving size. This guides you on how much of the food item to eat at once. Sure, olives are healthy and everyone thinks you can eat as much of anything as long as it is healthy, but moderation is key with every food. According to this label, one half of a cup of olives is 90 calories. The whole jar has 4 servings, which means that it has 2 cups of olives. You take the serving size and multiply it by the number of servings in order to see the amount of the food in the container. Let’s talk calories. A calorie is actual a unit of energy that the food gives you. So calories are good! The average person needs 2,000 calories per day and each food label says that the percent values it gives you are “based on a 2,000 calorie diet.” We each have different caloric needs based on our height, weight, and energy expenditure. To maintain your weight, you want to stick to the amount of calories you doctor or nutritionist tells you that your resting metabolic rate, or the amount of calories your body burns at rest, equates to.

The percent daily value tells you where this food fits into your entire day’s diet. For instance, 4 olives provides you with 12% of the fiber you need in a day. You will get the rest of the fiber you need from other foods such as fruits and vegetables. Fruits and vegetables are powerhouses of fiber and carbohydrates. CARBS ARE NOT BAD! Your brain thrives off of carbohydrates and glucose, but these must be from nutrient-dense foods! A nutrient dense food is one that provides you with healthy and beneficial ingredients. On the other hand, calorie-dense foods are those that have “empty calories” and do not help you be healthy. They have more sugar and fat, while nutrient dense foods have fiber, carbs, protein, and healthy sugar. Sugars are those weird words with “-ose” at the end of them. Sucrose, fructose, and glucose are the main ones. Fruits do not have food labels, but they have fructose in them and are healthy! I use the phrase “Fructose is the fruit sugar” to remember this.

I am so happy you decided to begin a healthier lifestyle! That is a MAJOR accomplishment in itself. You now have so many new tools in your toolbox to implement. Use one or two per day and they will become second-nature and the pounds will fly off!

This amazing post was written by Rachel – she just graduated from Syracuse and is going to be getting her Masters in Nutrition! She is here for the summer and is hanging around with me (by her choice) to see how someone in this business works! I love this post and I am happy she chose me to hang around with this summer! Bravo girl, keep it up!

As always – Yours in Health –

Tanya Dolan-Guthrie

Not just another nutrition or weight loss blog?! YES, with a challenged attached!

Yea, sure! They are all the same! I don’t want to read more about health and nutrition! Give it up already, I want to eat junk food all day! Eating well is just too expensive! Your just being too obsessive over your food!

And the list goes on! These are all things people might say when someone else starts a blog about health, nutrition, food, weight loss, supplements, exercise, etc … Well, I think there is just NOT enough! If there were too many, we would have a lot more healthier people walking around, instead of a lot of sick people walking around!

The thing that makes the people who write about health and nutrition different is that we actually care! Yes, CARE a lot about our health, and that of our fellow people! We want people to be educated and to make better choices for themselves. We want people to strive to become a better them, most likely just how I have become a better me. I was not always as healthy as I am today. I used to eat junk foods, drink soda, and not care about where my food came from or what was in it. These times have changed for me, and I pretty much beg you people out there, to do the same for yourself!

The new year is right around the corner and many people start to think of their new year’s resolutions, and most people chose to lose weight, get back into shape, regain health, or eat better. They either pick 1 of these things or a few of them.

So, here is my challenge to you: PICK ONE AND START DOING IT!

Do not wait, start now, start with small changes every day. Not ready to do that, well, OK why not pick just ONE thing to do until the new year starts, then we can work on the rest!

If you are not ready to make the plunge yet and you would like to wait to the new year, no problem! The program I run at my office called New Year, New You will begin on Monday, January 5, 2015. This will be a day that I start helping many people regain their health. I will have a few different programs you can chose from to start your new life and lifestyle. I know we are far away from January and sure you might be saying, well, Tanya I am ready to start NOW! Well, OK then contact me and let’s get started!! No one ever has to wait!

Even if you have health and nutrition based questions, please feel free to contact me whenever!! I am here to help you!

Yours in health,

Tanya Dolan, Nutritional Consultant

Incledon Chiropractic, Boynton Beach, Florida

Cell: 561-389-7803

Cholesterol … The OTHER big “C” word!

1st off, cholesterol is super important to the body. If we did not have cholesterol we would not be able to repair or protect our body. Also, about 80-90% of your cholesterol is produced by the body. So, lets really look into this, why do people seem to have high cholesterol? I can assure you it is what people are eating. Most people assume that it is only linked to red meat and eggs or shrimp, or even some fats, well think again everyone! It is not solely from these types of foods, it is SUGAR!! The other horrible word in the diet and nutrition world! We are eating more and more foods that are prepacked, processed, fried, breaded, and not in their natural states. Not to mention all of the sodas, juices, energy drinks etc … that we consume each day.  All of these foods and drinks are laden with sugars and salts. Some research shows that we eat up to 56 tablespoons of sugar per day! How could one not if they eat “The Typical American Diet”. It is way easier then you think. Just read the labels of the foods you eat. The recommended daily allowance of sugar depends on male, female, and child, however, if we just average that out 30g would be the daily allowance. A can of Coca-Cola has 33g of sugar and a can of Sprite has 39g of sugar. Those drinks take the place of our WHOLE daily allowance.

Now, do not go thinking diet or sugar free is better because it just is NOT. It is fake sugar and your body can not even process it properly. So, in essence you are not doing your body any favor by consuming a product that is fake or a slew of chemicals.

“Elevated blood cholesterol is the result of the body producing more in response to a need (damage repair, cell formation, hormone production, etc …” (Judith A. DeCava).  This is why we need cholesterol and why our bodies produce it! If someone is battling a disease and even at certain points of a women’s menstrual cycle, their cholesterol with will be higher. Now, when someone consumes healthful foods like; vegetables, fruit, whole grains, nuts, seeds, legumes, unrefined oils, unaltered fats, clean meats, poultry, eggs, and seafood (no hormones/antibiotics) – they can balance their cholesterol! However, this is a process, and one must understand that it will not happen over night. However, it can be done without statin drug medications.

What exactly does a statin drug do? Well, it is in fact a cholesterol lowering drug. This is widely prescribed to people, and is at the top of the list of medications people are currently taking. Understanding now that cholesterol is VITAL to our body and to repair issues internally with our body, does it make sense to take a drug that will literally make us void of cholesterol — I think NOT! Statins literally inhibit the liver enzyme that creates cholesterol (DeCava). It also hinders the amount of CoQ10, which is ANOTHER issue in and of itself! People who have a deficiency of CoQ10 tend to be depressed, have hair loss, loose teeth, frequently feeling tired, and much more. Not to mention that when one takes statins they could have many side effects, some are: Sexual dysfunction, abdominal pain/diarrhea, lowered immune system function, memory issues, muscle weakness, and most of all LIVER DAMAGE — plus the list goes on!!!

I have a much different philosophy on lifestyle, food, nutrition, and the like. I try to feed my body nutrients with the foods I eat. I do not eat food like items, but rather food, food that is from nature and natural. I sincerely believe that if everyone alters their eating they will decrease their need for medications drastically. I will also go as far to say that if people change their diets to where it becomes a constant and is now their lifestyle, accompanied with exercise they will also drastically reduce their chances of getting many diseases and health issues.

If you do your own research, you too will find that food is really the root of the problem with our bodies. Plus, the amount of medication some people are on just to exist. There has to be a correlation somewhere … just think about it people. Start repair yourself today and start to make better choices.

As always,

Yours in Health,

Tanya Dolan, Nutritional Consultant, Incledon Chiropractic, Nutrition, and Massage, Boynton Beach, FL (561) 389-7803