The Calorie 1
Tonight as I sit at my computer, I feel that the world is obsessed with “the calorie”. Walk down any snack aisle in any store and I bet you will find several choices of ‘100 calorie’ packs of this or that. You might find yourself thinking, “Should I choose the round cheesy poofs or the chocolate flavored biscuit treats?” I want you to step back and think, “Is this actually food? Fuel for my body? Will this nourish me?”
Don’t get me wrong, I think the measurement of the energy value of foods (calories) can be helpful. But it is not the full story. Let’s say you want to drop a few pounds, so you settle on the consumption of 1200 calories a day. What are those 1200 calories made up of? Can you pronounce each ingredient on the package? Can you tell me what each ingredient is and if it is beneficial? Can you explain to me the nourishing value of each ingredient? Are you starving yourself or nourishing yourself? And in the end, are you skinny and undernourished or slim and healthy? Do you understand my point?
I feel we can become so distracted by only counting calories, that we forget the nourishing aspect of food. We forget that food grows and lives and has naturally occurring vitamins and minerals. It doesn’t come in shiny, tiny, over-priced mylar bags…
FOOD FOR THOUGHT.
