Do You Read Nutrition Labels?

Do you read nutrition labels? If you said, “Yes” are you expecting I’m going to whip out my hand to exchange high 5’s?

I really want to pat you on the back because I know most believe  label reading is important to your health but I’m going to beg to differ here, especially since we usually only look at the calories, fat, protein and carb content and completely ignore the actual ingredient list of what it is we’re eating.

When a food has a nutrition label on it, it usually is because it has a laundry list of ingredients…not always, but in most cases. The dyes, preservatives, artificial flavorings and sugars need to be listed as well as the actual food.

In a book I’m reading by Robb Wolf, he mentions an interesting correlation between pornography and our insatiable thirst for hyper palatable foods (like bacon covered maple bars or chili and sea salt chocolate). I know what you’re thinking here (like Melissa had lost it) but stay with me…

A little over a decade ago, scientists found young men in their teens and twenties that were suffering from…well let’s just say suffering from interest in “snuggling” with another human being. What was found is that these young men were taking advantage of all that’s available pornography wise on the World Wide Web and opening and viewing numerous tabs of pictures and videos, quite literally getting overstimulated by what they were seeing. So now, when it comes to “snuggling” with their loved one, it’s blasé…vanilla…boring!

We as humans are VERY interested in both sex and food. They’re both vital to our survival. So here we are making our food ridiculously overstimulating by combining sweet and sour, savory and salty and crunchy and buttery.

Overstimulation is everywhere and not going anywhere. Because of this, Mother Nature can’t compete and we need to take responsibility for ourselves and our family. A highly nutritious plate of salmon and asparagus is no match for a plate of ranch covered chili cheese fries. If you’re in the practice of eating the latter, you’ve ruined your tastebuds from ever enjoying a healthy meal that will help prevent disease instead of feed it. When working with people a big hurdle I have to help them overcome is thinking that “healthy” food tastes like cardboard.

Eat Foods that don’t need a nutrition label

Ok, off my soapbox…let me get back to the point I started with. Maybe instead of being a nutrition label reader, why not eat foods that don’t require a label at all? When I think of my own daily diet, nothing that I eat (except for my Shake) has an ingredient “list.” I eat foods with just one ingredient: eggs, spinach, tomatoes, beef, brussels sprouts, etc…

Give it a try for one week…eat food that doesn’t require a label. Repair your palate and I promise those foods you crave now will be too much later and you’ll enjoy real food just as Nature intended!

Plus, eating healthier food will naturally increase that libido and you won’t want to have anything to do with your computer!