Where’s The Nutrition Facts?
Cooking shows and celebrity chefs prepare mouth watering, delicious recipes in 30 to 60 minutes. Cookbooks and websites feature these recipes and 100s of satisfied home cooks preparing recipes high in calories, saturated fat and sodium.
One thing that is usually missing is nutrition information and for good reason. If people knew the amount of calories, fat, sugar and sodium were per serving in those recipes they wouldn’t make them unless they have little regard for their health or the health of their loved ones.
Many popular cooking shows, even shows on Public Television, are doing nothing to curb the epidemic of overweight and obese Americans which is being a world wide pandemic as we export an unhealthy American diet of fast and processed foods to the rest of the world. Cigarette sales are declining so lets export calorie laden sugary soft drinks and high sodium foods.
Who wants bland oven fried zucchini when you can have a 400 calorie serving of fried zucchini with 1000mg of sodium. For people restricted to 1500mg of sodium per day you do not want to obtain two-thirds of your sodium from one appetizer.
On one website a mother praised a fried zucchini recipe and patted herself on the back for getting her children to eat zucchini. As if the recipe wasn’t bad enough as is, she added high calorie, fat and sodium tartar sauce to entice her children to eat the fried zucchini. Is it any wonder why children are obese and developing Type II diabetes? This mother was actually proud of the fact in a comment she posted:
“OH Yuh-um! Made these and the kids devoured them. Aren’t I the sly one to sneak those Zucc’s into the meal. Made a little Tartar sauce to dip and I’m the AWESOME mom.” This mom needs nutrition counseling.
Eating a healthy diet is your responsibility. Fast food and processed food manufactures have washed their hand of being socially responsible. Television adds promote hamburgers loaded with bacon and cheese and pizzas with double cheese and meat. One brand of take-and-bake pizza promotes its better tasting pizzas made before your eyes but skips the fact one slice (10th of a regular pizza) can have up to 1,000mg of sodium.
Granted, healthier items are creeping into fast food menus and the amount of sodium is slowly declining. But these healthier alternatives are not promoted as heavily as their unhealthy menu items. Corporations answer to Wall Street analysist’s and the next quarters earnings report. If they don’t sell junk foods someone else will so they might as well make a huge profit selling them. It is the same mentality cigarette manufacturers had when they adamantly denied cigarette smoking was harmful let alone deadly.
You must take control and responsibility for your health. Beware of unproven health benefits for process foods, slick television ads showing pencil thin teens enjoying calorie laden fast foods, and over sized restaurant meals which can supply several days worth of calories, sodium and saturated fat in just one meal. Use the nutrition information provided by restaurants and food manufactures to make the best choices for a long, health life.