Healthy Living in Connecticut Blog

What's that again?

A study (yeah I know... yet another study) commissioned by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)  entitled "Sodium Intake In Populations: Assessment of Evidence" confirms that there is no evidence substantial enough to limit sodium consumption to less than 2,300 milligram daily for Americans. Researchers concluded that one-and-a-half to three tablespoons of salt per day is not detrimental to a person's health, contrary to past belief.

The report also discusses emerging debates about the proper level of dietary sodium intake. "Despite efforts over the past several decades to reduce sodium intake in the United States, adults still consume an average of 3,400 mg of sodium every day," the researchers wrote.

It often amazes me to see all of these studies published on the web or pitched in the media that persuade people to into choosing one food choice over another. Eggs are good for you with one particular study and then they are bad for you with another study. Many of these "Studies" are all part of the marketing machine and more times than not, aren't ground in truth. Personally I know that many foods out there can be good or bad for you based on the foods they are combined with.

But there are some foods no matter how you combine them that will have negative affects. Enough so that they are BANNED from most countries because of the ingredients they contain. It is one thing to try to determine if something is good for you based on studies. It is another thing when countries make foods illegal and charge hefty fines to the tune of hundreds of thousands of dollars per offense. I always knew that pre-packeged foods were not good for you because they were "processed". Do you know what they were processed with?

It's official, the American Medical Association now recognizes obesity as a disease.

This is troubling to me for a number of reasons. Some of my reasons might be biased as my sister suffered from anorexia nervosa, but I thought I would share why I think it's a mistake to label obesity a disease.

Someone recently asked me about how I stuck to eating so healthy and maintain my weight. She was saying that she has trouble staying with healthy foods. After a while the food gets boring to her. This was someone who did a wellness challenge... as you know I participated in two challenges last year. One thing I learned from the challenge is it's a lifestyle change, not a temporary diet. The only way to lose weight and keep it off is to incorporate the habits from the challenge into your daily routine, even after the challenge ends.

So many people will go back to the foods that got them overweight in the first place. I think one reason that it's hard for some people to keep a healthy diet is that they didn't find food that they liked enough to stick with. If you don't like the food you're eating, eventually you will give up and go back to your old style of eating. It's important to incorporate a large variety of healthy foods and be creative. If you hear of a food that has a lot of health benefits, try it and see if you like it.

I know fish is very healthy, providing essential nutrients and most important, omega 3 fatty acids. If you like it, you will enjoy all the health benefits that fish provide. But, some people just don't like the taste of fish and I happen to be one of them.

I was a picky eater as a kid. Not only did I not care for fish, I also didn't like sausage, bacon, etc... That's probably why I loved junk food so much. My mom did cook a lot of chicken, beef and turkey so I did get enough protein! There were a lot of foods I loved, Italian being my favorite and still is! I grew to love healthier foods, mostly on the vegetable side but still do not have much liking to seafood.