Have you ever heard the saying “you are what you eat”? Well, if you haven’t I’d probably call you a liar… but the bigger point here, is how often have we heard this yet don’t really take it for what its worth? I challenge you to take a good look at the food you are putting in your body and tell me if you think (honestly) that it’s all nutritious and devoid of preservatives, high fructose corn syrup, heavy metals, and other chemicals we can’t pronounce that are slowly changing the way our bodies utilize fuels and metabolize properly. Why do you think cancer rates continue to rise at such a fast and scary rate?
This idea always makes me think of those Breyer’s Ice Cream commercials that market themselves as having 5 ingredients all of which you can pronounce and are actual whole food ingredients. How did we get so caught up in thinking that chemicals in our food; that are in fact causing damage to our bodies but make our french fries taste just a little more flavorful are better for us than just plain nutritious and delicious real vegetables?!
It brings me to the reason for this post. As a sports trainer and studying health practitioner, diet is a HUGE part of your health and wellness. Our bodies are fine tuned machines that run most efficiently on the best sources of fuel! You wouldn’t put crappy oil and gas in your car to prolong its lifespan would you? Unfortunately, I think many of you reading this would second guess your answer to that question, but let’s reiterate; if money were no object, you would use only the best of the best and ironically using high quality over the long run will save you more money in the end as you’ll have preserved the wellness of your car… so you see where I’m going with this. Why would you compromise your own health and wellness now by putting crappy foods with no real whole food nutrition in them into your body, and risk not only feeling crappy, but it’s been linked with tendencies of depression, fatigue, and a higher risk & frequency for illness just to name a few.
Benji (my husband; who is also a trainer and nutritionist extraordinaire) just sent me this article from Consumer Reports on protein drinks and what exactly is in them. It’s a tough game, since these protein supplements are sold as “health food” at health food stores and approved by the FDA and many people use them as a convenient way to lose weight and get on a healthy diet regimen. It creates quite a contradiction! Here’s something healthy, but really were just poisoning you slowly… So, how do you really know what you are getting? Well, finding a good honest and trustworthy source is VERY important as well as informing yourself about the products you use. Especially considering the following stat; Food and Drug allows there to be a 40% difference between what is in the bottle and what is listed! Here is a link to the article; How About Some Heavy Metals With That Protein; & they aren’t talking about rock music!
For the full report:
http://www.consumerreports.org/cro/magazine-archive/2010/july/food/protein-drinks/overview/index.htm
& a quick reference of the formulas tested:
When shopping for supplements & protein, it’s nice to have sources you can trust & that have done all the research for you so you feel confident that you are getting a high quality source every time. The two following sites are my go-to sites for supplements of all kinds; they are both from highly informed professionals whose goals are to provide you with the information, the goods and the ease of knowing you have spent your money well!
Since we are on the topic of information and you are looking for good sources:
Till next time! Hope this helps and be well!
Erin
