The way your Type 2 diabetes plays out is largely in your hands. You might be feeling afraid by both the diagnosis and responsibility but you can turn that fear into a determination to get your health back on track.
While food labels were put into place to inform the consumer on what the package contains, it is not a fool-proof system. The Food and Drug Administration, the governing authority on food labels, requires food labels to specify certain information, but there is also much information food companies are not required to divulge.
Take fat, for instance. Each label lists the amount of fat the product contains. But what exactly does that mean? Even if the food is labeled as either fat-free or cholesterol-free, it can still have some hydrogenated or partially hydrogenated oil in it.
Trans fats are no safer. A food label can depict zero trans fat as long as it is less than half a gram per serving. This is not encouraging news for those who have issues with cholesterol, or heart disease.
Another problem is found in some items advertised as "all natural". Just because it carries this title does not make it so. Foods are allowed to call themselves "all natural" and still contain preservatives, as well as additives. These foods can also be sweetened with man-made products such as high fructose corn syrup.
Sugar, or yet, sugar-free products can also be misleading. When products say "sugar-free", this may mean that they lack sugar, but the sweet taste has to come from somewhere. It comes from artificial sweeteners such as sorbitol. While sorbitol may be a tasty replacement for the real sweet stuff, the label will not inform you that sorbitol and other artificial sweeteners wreak havoc on the digestive system. They can lead to diarrhea and vomiting.
Food labels do not inform you as to what chemicals were applied to the ingredients while they were growing. There could be a whole assortment of chemicals, pesticides and poisons used in the growing process that you will never know about. You can wash fresh fruit and vegetables, but you can't do a thing about packaged ones.
You also have no idea where the ingredients for your food came from. Some countries have much higher governing rules about food quality, and the handling of it. Being able to pick your food from countries with stricter guidelines would be nice, if it were possible.
The process by which your food was made is also not available. Some foods are injected with:
* traces of other foods in order to heighten it's taste,
* make it last longer on the shelf,
* retain water more easily, or
* add weight to it.
None of these options are really good for you.
By Beverleigh H Piepers
While food labels were put into place to inform the consumer on what the package contains, it is not a fool-proof system. The Food and Drug Administration, the governing authority on food labels, requires food labels to specify certain information, but there is also much information food companies are not required to divulge.
Take fat, for instance. Each label lists the amount of fat the product contains. But what exactly does that mean? Even if the food is labeled as either fat-free or cholesterol-free, it can still have some hydrogenated or partially hydrogenated oil in it.
Trans fats are no safer. A food label can depict zero trans fat as long as it is less than half a gram per serving. This is not encouraging news for those who have issues with cholesterol, or heart disease.
Another problem is found in some items advertised as "all natural". Just because it carries this title does not make it so. Foods are allowed to call themselves "all natural" and still contain preservatives, as well as additives. These foods can also be sweetened with man-made products such as high fructose corn syrup.
Sugar, or yet, sugar-free products can also be misleading. When products say "sugar-free", this may mean that they lack sugar, but the sweet taste has to come from somewhere. It comes from artificial sweeteners such as sorbitol. While sorbitol may be a tasty replacement for the real sweet stuff, the label will not inform you that sorbitol and other artificial sweeteners wreak havoc on the digestive system. They can lead to diarrhea and vomiting.
Food labels do not inform you as to what chemicals were applied to the ingredients while they were growing. There could be a whole assortment of chemicals, pesticides and poisons used in the growing process that you will never know about. You can wash fresh fruit and vegetables, but you can't do a thing about packaged ones.
You also have no idea where the ingredients for your food came from. Some countries have much higher governing rules about food quality, and the handling of it. Being able to pick your food from countries with stricter guidelines would be nice, if it were possible.
The process by which your food was made is also not available. Some foods are injected with:
* traces of other foods in order to heighten it's taste,
* make it last longer on the shelf,
* retain water more easily, or
* add weight to it.
None of these options are really good for you.
By Beverleigh H Piepers
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