Lost in the Market

An interesting thing happened to me today: I was out with a friend at Target and she kept asking me about the rows and rows of food in front of her. The same question kept coming up: "is this good for me?" What a difficult question. What determines what is good and what isn't? Should different people look for different things in the foods they are picking? I found myself contradicting myself over and over. One of the cereal boxes was incredibly high cal, while the other was a little too sugary. Which is the "right" choice? I remembered some of the concerns that came up at a health expo I went to with my dad:

     1) Sugar spikes your insulin. Insulin spikes are directly connected to weight gain and obesity...but what if the sugary cereal is satiating and you eat a lot less of it?
     2) High-calorie foods are not your enemy. If the food is dense and contains "good" ingredients, then we are talking about a great option here...but you don't want to go overboard with the calorie intake.

I guess it really depends on the kind of eater you are and what you are looking for. A sweet bite or a filling bowl? Picking what you feed your body becomes a trade-off.

I can go on forever about all of the controversies in our society about what's actually good and what the box says is good, and I probably will in later posts, but the point of this blurb? Don't be quick to judge & to listen to, well, everyone. Look at food holistically, and take what you learn and apply it to your decision-making. This is a constantly changing sector - be proactive in your education!