Food Choices

1. Food Choices Things you should know about food!

2. We are built to love the taste of sugar, fat and salt. • These things were hard to find as recently as a couple hundred years ago • Sugar – Quick, easy to digest energy • Fat – High calorie (need to eat less to get the energy you need) • Salt – Regulates body fluids, hard to find except in sea water (where plants/animals don’t grow) • Now that they are easy to find, we haven’t lost our taste for them and eat them in excess

3. Eating sugar releases dopamine (feel good) in the brain. • You really do feel good when you eat sweets • Ice cream after you’ve been dumped

4. You usually eat more when you are eating out than at home. • Restaurants have larger portions • We feel like we need to finish our plates • You don’t know what you are eating, so you are more likely to eat something you normally wouldn’t • Usually restaurants add salt, fat and sugar because it’s soooooo tasty!

5. Big portions when eating out…Claim Jumper Classic Cheeseburger Chicken Quesadilla Max Calories: 1800 to 2000 Max Sodium: 2400mg

6. Big portions when eating out…Claim Jumper Chicken Caesar Salad Organic Spinach Salad Max Calories: 1800 to 2000 Max Sodium: 2400mg

7. “Energy” drinks don’t give you energy. • Energy comes from calories…

8. “Energy” drinks don’t give you energy. • “Energy” drinks don’t have calories, they have stimulants • Red Bull has 115 calories • Monster has 100 calories • They make your heart beat faster • This increases blood flow (more oxygen) • Alters your brain chemistry • Usually naturally regulates its oxygen supply, but stimulants in the diet prompt the brain to stop

9. “Energy” drinks don’t give you energy. • “Energy” drinks don’t have calories, they have stimulants • Red Bull has 115 calories • Monster has 100 calories • They make your heart beat faster • This increases blood flow and makes you feel more awake because your brain is getting more oxygen… for a while.

10. Sugar is not healthy energy. • Simple sugars are enter the blood stream quickly • Pancreas releases hormones to stabilize blood sugar • Eating sugar frequently may overwork the pancreas • Leads to diabetes

11. Brown sugar is NOT healthier than white sugar. • Brown sugar = White sugar + molasses Long ago, some sugar was brown because it was less processed… it is still possible to find this “raw” sugar in some stores. • 1 teaspoon • 16.25 calories • 4.19 g sugar • 1 teaspoon • 17.47 calories • 4.46 g sugar

12. Corn Syrup is the most common sweetener used. • Soda, Candy, Cookies/Cakes, Crackers… • 1 teaspoon • 62.26 calories • 4.19 g sugar • 1 teaspoon • 16.25 calories • 4.19 g sugar

13. High Fructose Corn Syrup • Processed corn sugar (almost entirely grown using GMOs and pesticides) • Cheap to produce • Most common sweetener in products • Adults who drink one soda or more per day are 27 % more likely to be overweight • Evidence body processes it differently than sugar (more likely to store it)

16. Super Fun Exciting Video Time http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F10EyGwd57M

17. Has Vitamins ≠ Healthy • Almost all foods a little bit of vitamins • In some foods the amount is tiny • Depends of the ratio of calories to vitamins • High calorie, low vitamin (WORST!) • Low calorie, high vitamin (BEST!)

18. Skipping meals is BAD for your body! • Starving your body for part of the day will encourage it to store when you finally eat • Eat frequently but… • Eat smaller meals • Eat fewer calories than you burn

19. If you’re very hungry, you feel better as soon as food enters your stomach. • Hypothalamus triggers hunger & thirst responses • Release of stored sugar from liver • Perhaps because your body knows the store of sugar will be replenished

20. Slow down to tell how full you are and if you need to keep eating. • Hypothalamus triggers hunger & thirst responses • Food takes a while move from the stomach to small intestines where it is absorbed • They say it takes about 20 minutes for your stomach to signal whether or not it’s full • Eating quickly may give your body more calories than it needed! Slow down!

21. Just because it has fruit doesn’t mean that it’s healthy. • Many fruit products have sugar added! • Many “fruit” products have coloring added (to give the impression they have more fruit) • Some fruits do not have very many vitamins

22. Sugar-free is not necessarily better! • Regular Coke – 240 calories and 0 vitamins • Diet Coke – 0 calories and 0 vitamins

23. Sugar-free is not necessarily better! • Does not change diet habits! • Controversy over health risks of sugar substitutes: • saccharin, aspartame, sucralose, neotame, acesulfame potassium, and stevia • Some testing demonstrates increase risk of cancer and other disease in lab animals

24. Super Fun Exciting Video Time http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E_ewjop5Ias Sugar Alcohol: http://www.ynhh.org/online/nutrition/advisor/sugar_alcohol.html

25. Foods high in saturated fat and cholesterol can lead to blocked arteries and heart disease HDL Cholesterol and fat build plaques which block blood flow Heart attacks (and strokes) can result

26. Not all fats are the same: Saturated fat = hydrogen attached to every carbon in the chain Trans fat = technically “unsaturated,” however, doesn’t have the health benefits of unsaturated Mono unsaturated fat = one spot where hydrogen is not attached Poly unsaturated fat = multiple spots where hydrogen is not attached

27. Elaidic acid is the principaltransunsaturated fatty acid often found in partially hydrogenated vegetable oils Oleic acid is acisunsaturated fatty acid that comprises 55–80% of olive oil. Stearic acid is a saturated fatty acid found in animal fats and is the intended product in full hydrogenation. Stearic acid is neithercisnortransbecause it has no double bonds

28. Fat-free is not always better! • Does not change diet habits! • Controversy over health risks of fat substitutes: • “Anal leakage” as a potential side-effect • Decrease in the absorption of vitamins

29. Sugar – temporary spike in dopamine  Tryptophan – anti-depressant properties (slow the break down of serotonin) Turkey, chicken, chocolate, peanuts, pumpkin seeds, milk products Also makes people drowsy Protein – increases alertness (amino acid used in neural transmitters Foods can affect your moods!

30. Calories are necessary! • Calories are needed for energy • If you do not get enough calories your body will starve • During starvation the body breaks apart its muscles and organs to get the energy it needs

31. You lose weight when you eat fewer calories than you use. • Eating fewer calories and/or exercise • Exercise releases feel-good chemicals into your blood and increases well-being • Exercise builds muscle and increases bone density • Bone density can only increase through the early 20s, after that it decreases!

32. Eat when you’re hungry. • We naturally regulate our calorie intake • Evidence that processed foods decrease our ability to do this • High fructose corn syrup, soft drinks, salty snack foods • Don’t eat if you’re not hungry. • Snacking out of habit or boredom

33. Ways to improve your diet: • Vary your foods! • Decrease the amount of processed or pre-packaged food (including fast food). • SLOW DOWN when eating. • Decrease your portion size, especially when eating out – it’s okay to leave some on your plate.

34. Things to do to stay healthy! • Anything that touches Eyes, Nose, Mouth, or Genitals should be clean and disease-free • Wash your hands! • Take care of yourself • Healthy food • Exercise • Sleep • Happiness • Avoid Toxins (alcohol, harsh chemicals, etc.)