Food Labelling Tricks

Food manufacturing companies spend millions of dollars researching consumer behaviour in order to develop tactics to make you to buy more of their products.

Sun Rice's brown rice is "cholesterol free" and "gluten free".

Be careful of tricks that food manufacturers use to entice you to think that the products have certain health benefits.

In the above photo, Sun Rice has “cholesterol free” and “gluten free” printed on the front of its brown rice packages, which basically is stating the obvious. Foods from plants do not contain cholesterol (all foods from animals contain some cholesterol) while gluten is a protein found in wheat, rye, barley, triticale and oats, not rice.

Other tricks food manufacturers use include:

• “Light” or “lite” may sound healthy, but it may not necessarily mean low-calorie or even low-fat. It may just be light in colour, taste or texture (for example, it may mean the olive oil doesn’t taste too strong or the chips are lightly salted).
• “No flavours added” doesn’t mean no MSG as it is a flavour enhancer, not a flavour.
• Reduced-fat does not necessarily mean low-fat as one brand’s reduced-fat could still have more fat than another brand’s regular. The best way to be sure is to compare the nutrition panels of both products.

The 70-30 Rule

If you’re serious about losing those unwanted kilos, then you need to follow the ’70-30 Rule’, which basically means that 70% of your effort should be spent on nutrition and 30% on exercise. And for most people it’s the 70% that’s the hardest.

Eating not only involves what you eat, but also how much you eat and your emotions play a big part as well. Here are five nutritional tips to help you achieve the 70%:

• Try drinking a large glass of water 10 to 15 minutes before a meal. The water will partially fill your stomach and may reduce your hunger levels. 
• If you find yourself eating chocolate or lollies in between meals, try eating a handful of unsalted nuts instead. While some nuts are relatively high in fat, the fat they contain is the ‘good’ fat that our body needs to stay healthy. 
• If you are a weekend food binger, plan your meals and snacks ahead so you have plenty of healthier snacking options in the house. 
• Use smaller plates to control the portion sizes as most of us will eat everything on our plates. If you are still hungry, wait 20 minutes before going for seconds. 
• When eating out, always choose the smallest portion size available and fill up with a side salad (preferably one without the creamy dressing).

Exercise For Your Body and Mind

We all know that exercise is good for us physically, but it can also strengthen the mind and improve our mood.

Research has found that:

• Exercise can improve a person’s mood and mental performance. 
• Active people are generally happier and are less prone to depression. 
• Active seniors suffer less cognitive decline than sedentary ones. 
• Aerobic exercise may make us sharper at any age. 
• When sedentary people become active, they get better at switching from one task to another, and their memories improve. 
• Besides improving circulation, exercise causes chemical changes within the brain, by boosting the activity of mood-enhancing neurotransmitters such as dopamine and serotonin. 
• Exercise triggers the release of endorphins – chemicals that blunt pain and foster relaxation.

Making the Most of Your Metabolism

The word metabolism is derived from Greek and simply means ‘change’ or ‘transformation’.  Human metabolism represents the sum total of all physical and chemical changes that take place within the body; the transformation of food into energy, the formation of new compounds such as hormones, the growth of bone and muscle tissue, the destruction of body tissues, and a host of other processes.

Metabolism aids digestive function as well as absorption of nutrients and is most affected by nutrition, hydration and physical activity.  Each of these factors is an imperative contributor to optimum metabolic health.  When any one of them is deficient, the metabolic rate decreases.  Consequently, weight loss and weight maintenance are directly related to healthy metabolism.

While lowering your kilojoules/calorie and fat intakes may be important components of weight loss, both decrease your metabolism, making it essential to stimulate the metabolic rate through other means such as routine physical activity.  It is not a good idea to skip meals or to reduce kilojoules/calories by a large amount, since decreased metabolism causes the body to burn fewer kilojoules/calories and less fat.  It may also cause your body to store excess fat in reserve, defeating the object of the lower kilojoule/calorie intake.

Human metabolic rate reflects how rapidly the body is using its energy stores and this rate can vary depending on a number of factors, the most influential one being exercise.

Simple ideas to increase your metabolism:

1. Always eat breakfast in the morning.  Breakfast is a great way to break the fast.  Whilst research has shown that breakfast causes only a slight increase in metabolic rate (mainly due to the energy cost of digesting and absorbing food), it does in fact help boost your energy levels and improve concentration.
2. Increase the amount of everyday activity.  As a person becomes fitter and gains muscle mass, they increase the amount of calories burnt at rest, plus they are more likely to use fat as a fuel source.  However, the energy intake needs to be sufficient to meet the demands of your exercise program.  If there is too little energy intake this imbalance may eventually reduce resting metabolic rate.
3. Start doing some resistance/weight training which will help to increase your muscle mass.  The more muscle you have, the more kilojoules/calories you burn regardless of how active you are or how old you are.  As we age our muscle mass decreases.  Adding resistance training to your workouts will help to maintain muscle mass.
4. Eat foods that contain capsaicin, such as hot chillies.  These types of food may elevate metabolism slightly and research has shown that eating them actually suppresses appetite, therefore reducing food intake.
5. Keep the fluids up.  Hydration levels are extremely important in the role of metabolism, as over 70 per cent of bodily functions take place in water, so insufficient water causes all of your systems to slow down.  Aim to drink at least two litres per day, increase this amount if you are exercising, especially in a humid environment.
6. Make sure you are getting enough sleep.  Regular sleep is important in maintaining optimal metabolic function.

The most important factor that can increase the metabolic rate in general is exercise.  Any physical activity will raise the metabolic rate, and will keep it slightly elevated post exercise.

Source: Australian Fitness Network