| Veggies to Go - The Right Snacks Might Save Your Life |
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By Carol Crenna Dr. Robert Hatherill, Ph.D., a noted researcher at the University of Santa Barbara, states that 60 percent of all cancers are caused by food. Neglecting to eat the right foods is as damaging as eating the wrong foods. Snacking is an inevitable part of our fast-paced lives. Nearly 75 percent of Canadians snack at least once a day and 16 percent prefer snacks to meals. The right snacks, those that include whole vegetables and fruits, and not the guilt-inducing variety, are part of a healthy diet. They keep blood sugar levels stable between meals, strengthen the immune system, thwart disease and dramatically delay the effects of aging.(1) Who Says Health Has to Be Hard Work?
Poor planning and indiscriminate eating habits can ruin even the best health and fitness intentions. When stocking up on snack foods, make sure that choices contribute to your overall well-being. Between meals, choose foods that will help you add five to ten servings of vegetables to your daily diet. Eating on the run can be simple: toss a few left-over cooked vegetables with a salad dressing, grab precut, organic raw fruits and veggies, pack food bars that contain only vegetables and fruit, or choose dried organic fruit trail-mix. Food for Thought Our vocabularies have evolved to include the terms 'phytochemicals' and 'antioxidants' yet we may be losing sight of the simple fact that our body has the ability to take care of itself, provided we nourish it with the same nature-made staples that our grandmothers believed in. Few of us make a consistent, diligent effort to regularly choose a wide variety of vegetables and fruits, though our quality of life depends on it. Only 20 percent of North Americans eat an adequate daily amount; most eat only 3.5 servings. The Canadian Cancer Society, The Canadian Diabetes Association and the Canada Food Guide all recommend five to ten servings. It is vital to consume a rainbow of green, red, orange, yellow and purple fruits and veggies, to obtain all essential nutrients. Caloric needs decrease with age, yet some nutritional requirements actually increase as we age, because our ability to absorb nutrients declines as we get older. Low calorie, nutrient-dense snacks can fill the gap, helping us to get the vitamins, minerals, proteins, complex carbohydrates and essential oils that our bodies need in fresh supply every day. It is also important to eat raw foods daily, to obtain enzymes vital for digestion and to ensure we get the vitamins that are destroyed by cooking. The Energy Bar Debate Many active people are choosing energy bars or sport bars as an easy way to refuel. However, the majority of these bars are high in sugar, fat, calories, overly processed ingredients and preservatives. Bars can be divided into four categories:
According to the well-respected Tuft's University Health and Nutrition Letter, these energy bars don't build muscle or boost energy more than any other food; they just supply calories. They are designed for athletes needing a quick source of energy (calories) during training.
An Ounce of Prevention a Pound of Cure The American Cancer Institute estimates that eating five or more fruit and vegetable servings per day, and not smoking, can reduce cancer risk by up to 70 percent. Eating your veggies also lowers risk of premature heart attack (by 30 percent), controls Type II diabetes, lowers blood pressure and reduces obesity. Adults eating eight or more servings are shown to have 25 percent fewer strokes than average.(2) International studies suggest that 95 percent of colon cancers are diet-related. People that eat six or more servings of fruits and vegetables have a 38 percent lower risk of fatal colon cancer.(3) A plant-based diet dramatically reduces the incidence of breast, ovarian, uterine and lung cancers, and drastically diminishes menopausal symptoms and osteoporosis.(4) In some Canadian cities, 50 percent of the population is overweight, not surprising since the average North American adult now weighs eight pounds more than 15 years ago. Beyond the hype and hysteria of liposuction, liquid lunches and fat-fighting pills, there are safe ways to reduce weight, and one of them is snacking. The right snacks balance blood sugar levels. Not eating for long stretches can cause blood sugar to ricochet to unhealthy lows; snacking helps to prevent the hunger pangs that often result in bingeing on calorie-rich foods. Weight Gain Is a Symptom Excess weight is the result of a number of possible factors, including poor diet, poor digestion, under-active thyroid, food intolerance and lack of exercise. Successful weight-loss depends on a change in attitude - focusing less on outer appearance and more on rejuvenating and rebuilding what is underneath, to produce outward results. This means learning what foods are right for your body, choosing foods that pack the most nutrients with the least amount of calories and understanding the vital role of fibre in weight reduction. Fibre has cleansing qualities that reduce weight and prevent obesity, lower cholesterol levels, alleviate gastrointestinal problems, and prevent hypertension and disease. Dieters often neglect to eat the variety of high-fibre vegetables and fruits vital to maintaining a healthy weight. Studies reveal that many female dieters are deficient in life-saving essential nutrients including calcium, iron and folic acid, which are all abundant in fruits and vegetables. Organic vs. Non-organic Produce Become a more discerning produce shopper. Chemicals from produce grown with pesticides, herbicides and fertilizers accumulate in our bodies, resulting in lowered mental and physical performance, immune deficiency, sexual dysfunction and disease. Studies on health effects have been completed for less than 100 of over 650 common agricultural chemicals. Eight of the most common are known to cause cancer in laboratory animals; 20 have been found to cause neurological damage. An estimated 138,000 cases of pesticide poisoning are reported annually to US Poison Control Centers. The FDA studied hundreds of samples of store produce and found over 30 types of pesticides and herbicides on vegetables and fruit. Fifty to 75 percent of produce (and only three percent of organic produce) was found to have detectable residues that did not wash off with water.5 Certified organic produce must comply with strict growing, harvesting, production and storage standards to ensure there is no pesticide, herbicide or fertilizer contamination. Organic produce is harvested ripe, at its nutritional peak, and cannot be genetically modified. Non-organic Fruit Leathers as Snacks: Good or Bad? Dehydrated fruit leathers and dried fruits and vegetables highly concentrate all ingredients. It requires eight to ten pounds of fresh fruit or vegetables to make one pound of leather. During the process, only water is removed, not the herbicide, pesticide or fertilizer residues. Therefore, if it's not certified organic, there is an eight to ten fold increase in chemical residues in the final product. Making Sense of the Snacks You Eat Do a little research and discover why your favourite vegetables are nutritionally important. Try a new fruit each time you shop for groceries. Try organic produce (it's less expensive when bought in season). Compare labels of supposed 'health food' snacks to determine whether they contain added sugars, fats or highly processed ingredients, and if they are organic. It's worth investigating what you eat. The more informed you become, the better prepared you will be to take an active role in your health. References 1. EarthSave International 2. Dr. Margaret Nowotarski, Ph.D, Synchronicity Magazine, November 2001 3. “The Colon Connection�, Environmental Nutrition 1995 4. EarthSave International (references for cancer data listed www.earthsave.org) 5. Steinman, David and Michael Wisner, Living Healthy in a Toxic World, Berkley Publishing Group, 1996. and Chase, Jayni Blueprint for a Green School, Scholastic Trade, 1996 Carol Crenna Carol has been a lifestyles journalist for 20 years. She is also a certified nutritionalist. She has written for publications in New York, San Diego, Seattle, Montreal, Calgary and Vancouver, including nine years as columnist for The Vancouver Sun. Carol would love to hear from you! This article has appeared in, and is supplied courtesy of VISTA Magazine |
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(NC)—With the cost of food on the rise, there's no better time to start growing your own organic herbs, fruits and vegetables. The best part about incorporating edible items into the garden (aside from the taste and health benefits) is that you don't need to be an avid gardener or have a large garden space to get started.
