Define: Natural Eating
Posted by amy in Episodes, Fitness Attack, News
… only 15 days until the book release!
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DEFINE: EATING ALL NATURAL
Over the last several years, you’ve probably noticed all sorts of food and diet trends. In addition to eating low calorie, low fat and low carb, you may recall one of the most recent fads: eating “all-natural.” Unlike many diet gimmicks, however, eating all-natural has some strong support behind it.
Let’s start with a definition of what is a “natural” food? A natural food should be minimally processed and should be as close to the original state as possible. Easy examples of natural foods are fresh fruits and vegetables because they have not been processed nor do they contain preservatives. Regardless of what the government says, french fries do NOT count as fresh vegetables!
One of the obvious benefits of eating naturally is that you eliminate many of the processed foods that have become standards in our diets. Studies have actually indicated that there may be a link between the increase in processed foods and the skyrocketing obesity rate in the US over the last thirty years. Unfortunately, it is oftentimes difficult to find foods that aren’t enhanced, processed, or pumped full of additives. In order to get you started, I’ve put together five quick tips to help you navigate your local grocery store:
1. One easy way to tell if you’re eating a “natural” product is to look at the list of ingredients on the package. If you can read everything on it and know what the ingredients are, then you’re off to a good start. If there are words you’ve never seen or heard before, or you can’t pronounce something that is listed, then you should question whether it’s natural.
2. When you’re doing your grocery shopping, try to stick to the outside aisles. Generally, the perimeter of the store is where you’re going to find your fruits, vegetables, dairy products and fresh meats. This is a good starting point to judge what is natural.
3. I realize I just told you to buy fresh produce, but buying canned or frozen is a great way to cut cost and waste. Just be sure to check the labels and make sure that the manufacturer isn’t putting in any additives.
4. Because of the trend towards eating naturally, you will find that a lot of labels on cans and packages will let you know that it is 100% natural. This is a great way for you to get started and to sort through the brands and foods you like.
5. If you really want to make sure that your produce is all-natural, then try growing your own. A home garden not only ensures quality control, but will help cut costs!
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Amy Mac’s 2nd book Fitness Made Too Easy is going to be released on Halloween 2010! That’s right, 10/31/10! It will feature 101 easy tips to help you live a healthy and fit life! 91 of those tips will be released right here, starting today and going through the launch date. The last 10 tips are EXCLUSIVE to the book so if you want them, you’ll have to buy the book! We are also working on lots of bonus material to overload the book!