April 10, 2009
How to Get Good Grades on Your Food Choices
The condition of your body today is the result of the sum total of all the food choices you have made in the past. The condition of your body in the future will be the sum total of all the food choices you make today. Most people take their food choices very lightly, not realizing that everything they eat has an impact on their physical condition.
Choose low-grade foods and you will have a low-grade body. Choose high-grade foods and you will get leaner, stronger, healthier, more muscular and more energetic. The problem is, how do you know what to choose? Which foods get good grades and which foods get bad grades? Label claims like “low cholesterol,” “low fat”, “30% less fat”, “all natural”, and “100% organic” grab your attention, and seem to scream, “Pick me!” First, you figure out what kind of “grades” you have getting now, and then you start working on improving your grades.
Before moving on to the actual grading system, here is a simple way to quickly and easily improve your food grades: Shop in a health food store, natural foods market, or a gourmet supermarket. You will find a must greater variety than you would in a regular market.
An example is an apple is an A-grade food. An apple is a raw food found in its natural state, un-tampered with by man. Now unsweetened applesauce is nothing but pureed apples, but still, it is not in its most natural state, so now it is a B-grade food. Turn it into apple juice and you are down to a C-grade food. Then if you add sugar (sweetened applesauce or apple drink), now you’re down to a D-grade food. Finally, if the apples eventually become an apple pie, you’re down to an F-grade food.
Now, click on the link below to view food grade chart and look at what kind of grades you are currently getting now.
So how did you do? Don’t worry, if your “grades” weren’t so good, it doesn’t matter. What’s in the past is done. What matters now is that you look ahead and make a concerted effort to improve your grades. Don’t feel like you just get straight A’s starting today. Just remember- everything you eat helps or hurts; moves you forward or backward. One of the few things in life you can always be certain of is change. Make sure your body is changing for the better.
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Filed under Blog, Nutrition Tips & Strategies, Weight Loss Strategies by Dr. Saman
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Comments on How to Get Good Grades on Your Food Choices »
7:43 pm
@I like this post Sam. Very simple yet super effective. All the science in the world can’t touch the basics that have worked for centuries on in.
Donovan “DFitnessguy” Owens
12:56 pm
@Hey Donovan,
I believe in keeping things as simple as possible. BTW, you killed it on Bedros’s blog. Congratulations you deserved to win.
11:06 am
@OMGosh Sam this was so simple yet very informative. I’ve learned so much from you in just 3wks, then I have in a life time of listening to other people. I’m so glad I made the committment to improve my over all health…
YOU ROCK!!!!
Delphina
1:56 pm
@Thank you Delphina. I appreciate that you also shared it with your Facebook friends.
8:36 pm
@Hey Sam–
As a Type 2 diabetic I find I must speak (write) up. For us, high glycemic foods are the enemy. A person is born with only so many fat cells. As we eat carbohydrates our pancreas secretes insulin. Only carbohydrates are glycemic, we can eat as much protein and fat without worrying about insulin spike, or conversion to fat.
When blood sugar spikes from high glycemic foods, insulin is produced which turns the carbs into fat. Insulin does not act on fats or proteins. Over time our fat cells reach their genetic limit and stop accepting the blood sugar to be turned into fat, and our blood sugar continues to increase (exercise reduces it) as does insulin resulting in insulin resistance diabetes (Type 2)
This is not to say that there are no other means by which substantial excess fat and protein can be converted to fat, its just more involved and does not rely on insulin, or spike blood sugar.
If we exercise and eat a low glycemic index diet, we lose weight and eventually our fat cells can get back to naturally controlling our blood sugar.
Thus, white rice, foods made with ground flour (bread, pasta, muffins, cereals ) and grains (corn, etc.; oats being the only exception) have high glycemic indexes causing spikes in blood sugar, and are a no-no to a diabetic. Even brown rice is moderately high, but still acceptable.
For oils, you forgot peanut and macadamia nut oil. Macadamia nut oil has a higher smoke rate (temperature tolerance), lower cooking temperature, and lower fat content than canola or olive oil.
In fact, most diabetes dieticians will tell you that the Atkins diet, comes the closest of the “commercial” diets to be of use to diabetics.