I am not one to go to many extremes. I don't buy organic; Luke has always worn disposable diapers (though cloth is not that extreme, cloth diaper friends of mine!); I bought my baby food,as opposed to making it; I had Luke take all of his vaccinations, etc. However, I beginning to see myself shopping at a Whole Foods store or it's equivalent in the near future! (considered extreme in my old vocabulary). I am just getting sick of all of the junk that fills the shelves at Kroger, or Meijer, or Cub, or wherever you shop. Chris and I have been reading up on health lately, and I have been pulled out of the dark regarding High Fructose Corn Syrup. Did you know that HFCS was manufactured in the 70's? It wasn't even around before then! And our bodies are at a complete loss as to how to handle it. They don't know what to do, and instead of converting those calories into energy, they go straight to fat. I'm beginning to wonder if this is a big part of my problem. What's worse, HFCS is in everything. Just start reading labels. Ketchup, spaghetti sauce, cereal, bread . . . It's a cheap sweetner, so manufacturers love it.
We are also big whole-wheat fans around here, and I try to buy only whole-wheat products. But reading the labels on foods advertised as "whole wheat" makes me furious! If the word "enriched" precedes "whole wheat," you can forget about the value of the whole wheat. It's not much different than white bread. And try finding a truly whole wheat loaf of bread that doesn't have HFCS in it. Of about 5 or 6 that I looked at yesterday, I found one - for $3.17. Lots of people are attempting to be healthy these days, so manufacturers enrich wheat flour instead of white, and everyone's happy. And overweight.
I wouldn't have such a dilemma on my hands if I weren't on a budget and money weren't an issue. But there are some things in life that are worth the extra cost or effort, and I think that food is one of them. You know the old saying, you get what you pay for. It's too bad that the norm has lowered so much. To read what Wickpedia has to say about HFCS, click here.
Where do you like to do your grocery shopping? Do you buy organic? read labels? Do you have any consolation to offer me? :)
We are also big whole-wheat fans around here, and I try to buy only whole-wheat products. But reading the labels on foods advertised as "whole wheat" makes me furious! If the word "enriched" precedes "whole wheat," you can forget about the value of the whole wheat. It's not much different than white bread. And try finding a truly whole wheat loaf of bread that doesn't have HFCS in it. Of about 5 or 6 that I looked at yesterday, I found one - for $3.17. Lots of people are attempting to be healthy these days, so manufacturers enrich wheat flour instead of white, and everyone's happy. And overweight.
I wouldn't have such a dilemma on my hands if I weren't on a budget and money weren't an issue. But there are some things in life that are worth the extra cost or effort, and I think that food is one of them. You know the old saying, you get what you pay for. It's too bad that the norm has lowered so much. To read what Wickpedia has to say about HFCS, click here.
Where do you like to do your grocery shopping? Do you buy organic? read labels? Do you have any consolation to offer me? :)
12 comments:
Wow, thanks for the eye-opener about hfcs. I'm assuming it's an ingredient in convenience and prepared foods? I'm hoping we avoid it as I make a lot of things from scratch (mostly to save money). I usually go to at least 3-4 grocery stores each week for our shopping. Thankfully we have an AWESOME health foods market with the best quality and cheapest produce in town (and their deli has nitrate/nitrite free lunchmeat!). We can't afford it now, but I'd really like to buy organic hormone free milk. I've heard about how those hormones given to cows filter down to little girls and makes them develop earlier than normal.
Thanks again for the article link, I'll read that before shopping this week.
Have you heard there's a new trend in those "extreme" organic groups where they grind their own wheat? There was a faction of young families at our old church in Wisconsin (the griffiths' church) that ate all organic and ground their own wheat, raised their own chickens, etc. I've actually heard grinding your own wheat isn't that costly and that way you avoid all the extra junk. Just an idea!
Great post, Katie! If you get this worked up about HFCS, you should do reading on some of those other "extremes" you mentioned! (insert big toothy grin!) Are you by any chance reading Dr. Oz's book? That is a good one.
Isn't it amazing what we research once we have kids? Reading labels can be pretty scary, you're right. We are definitely NOT perfect when it comes to food (you'd find doritos and cake mixes and other junk at our house) but I've been slowly trying to get as close to unprocessed as possible - we're thinking of buying part of a cow this spring - we know the farmer and he doesn't use hormones. I buy the ingredients for a sauce I would have bought in a jar a year ago. We buy butter instead of margarine, have nixed the artificial sweeteners, have upped our fresh veggie consumption, buy better pasta (have you tried Barilla plus with omega 3's? YUM)
I'm thinking that I'll be looking for a bread maker at garage sales this summer - we don't eat much bread now - I have to keep it in the freezer so it doesn't mold but I'm sure we'll eat more as the kiddo gets older. My parents made bread my whole life, and they were definitely on a tight budget!! My biggest "hint" would be to try to find a health food co-op and do split orders with other families. You can really save by buying in bulk. It does take a little advanced planning budget wise, but it's worth it. I also buy my spices at GFS Marketplace. BIG TIME savings!!
I'm really looking forward to teaching my kids about healthful eating, and there is something very satisfying about being informed about what goes in your body. We're definitely taking baby steps, but hopefully it will help us all in the long run. (sorry this is so long!!)
Alicia: It's in too many foods - not just prepared it seems. I guess the word "extreme" is relative. I don't know that's I'm far away from grinding my own wheat. Molly's told me about it - I don't think it's that difficult. I don't know that I mind buying the whole wheat flour in the store though. I don't mind paying for convenience; my issue is the health and content, ya know? I had a friend in Lou. that mentioned that hormone thing in cows milk to me - she has a little girl too.
Jenny, aka "toothy grin": I've never read Dr. Oz' book; not sure if I've heard of him. Right now I'm reading The Abs Diet by David Zinczenko.
I'm still using disposable diapers and getting my kids vaccinated at the normal schedule. Baby food - I considered it and have a book about it; I just never took the time to do it. :) Maybe next baby.
Dr. Mehmet Oz, "You On A Diet" it sounds like the same basic principles.
I must say that I laughed out loud when i read your post. Why? Because I have been dealing with this issue for almost 4.5years!! Nathan is allergic to Cane Sugar (IN EVERYTHING!!) Corn (AKA HFCS) Barley, etc... All of whick is in every type of food out there. I remember shopping for groceries right after we got married and crying in the grocery store b/c i had no idea what we were going to eat. Seriously!! I took hours reading label after label ( to this day i still find myself wandering through the spaghetti sauce isle.:)
You're right, It is maddening!! The best thing to do is shop the outer aisles of the grocery store - Those are the "whole foods" locations - fruits, veggies, meat, seafood, dairy all border the stores. Anything in between is processed. Atleast that is what I have found, generally.
I wish we had a breadmaker. maybe we will look this summer. Sugar is in everything -mayo, ketchup, juice, canned fruit, yogurt, bread, crackers!!!
Garden of Eden anyone! :)
I feel your pain! :)
I was oblivious to this sort of thing until I got to Germany, now we buy almost everything from a Natural Foods store, 'cause that's how John did it when I married him. Also, bread is always fresh from the bakery. Germans are really sensitive about this stuff. They even outlawed American meat for some of it's preservatives. In a round about way, I'm grateful.
My question is this. . .How DO you afford the $3.00 bread? It is true that buying healthy IS more expensive, so what changes do you make that don't cost money when money IS a factor? I don't even know where to begin on eating healthier, but I know we need to!
wow, overwhelming if you ask me. what were they thinking inventing HFCS back in the 70's...
you probably don't remember the days when mom and dad used to be on a hard core all natural health kick. those carob cookies were disgusting... do you miss the goats milk?
:) Researching health is definitely eye opening AND maddening!
I have done a few of your "extremes";) and people still laugh at me about things. But my son is very healthy and so I don't think the results can be argued with.
And I will say the 1st (and ONLY) time I ever tasted goat's milk was at your house! (I do not remember why I was over? but your dad made sure I had some.)
here is the bread we love
http://www.naturalovens.com/Shop/Bakery/Breads/index.html
I keep it in the freezer and take a few pieces out as we need it.
Great post, Katie! Like you, we are working on taking baby steps toward eating more healthy. We try to avoid hydrogenated oils and I need to start reading more labels to avoid the HFCS, as well. I also make most of our bread--haven't tried grinding my own wheat yet, though. But I use all King Arthur flour, which is pretty good stuff. I've started buying Oakhurst milk (not sure if that is available nationwide, as it is a Maine company), because their farmers don't use the antibiotics or growth hormones. Unfortunately our local health food store is very tiny and expensive; there is no Whole Foods or anything similar closer than 2+ hours away. We've talked about maybe taking a trip there every few months to stock up on stuff . . . if we can afford it.
Some of our future goals are to have our own garden (hopefully this year!), and maybe raise chickens and cows for eggs and meat. We will see! I always said I did not want to have chickens--it just seems like such a dirty job, for some reason--but the thought of knowing what's in our food and where it came from is sounding more attractive. :)
BTW, belated happy birthday! Sounds like you had a really nice day!
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