Looking at Food Labels

by   October 5, 2020 with No Comments

By David Freeze

I’m writing this on Thursday morning and just back from one of those glorious runs that really jumpstart the day. I watched the Yankees/Indians playoff thriller last night, slept three hours and hit the road just after 5 a.m. this morning. I had an air temperature of 50, no wind, light ground fog and a glorious nearly full moon that illuminated the road. Now my mind is racing with ideas to share with this column.

I serve as wellness consultant for a company out of Carson City, Nevada, and the September health topic concerned food labels and how to make sense out of them. One of the best topics we shared this month had to do with misleading food product labels and the inaccurate claims made that don’t coincide with the FDA information that’s required.

What we eat makes a lot of difference in our performance, but its just one part of the complete puzzle. But here are some things to watch for on food products as you shop. Yes, I’m one of those people who reads the label on anything I buy. This is a sure sign of caring about your body. That person you see in the grocery aisle reading the back of the container is making an investment in their future.

Here are some of the claims and a quick primer on the real facts as I see them.   

Low-fat

Something that’s low fat doesn’t mean it has fewer calories or that you can eat it without concern for weight gain. Be aware that any reduced fat is likely to have added sugar to salvage the taste. And a big benefit of good fat is that it makes us feel fuller longer, so it takes less to satisfy our hunger.

All-natural

Foods with this label want us to believe they are better for you and the environment. The manufacturers want us to believe we are doing something good for our bodies. All-natural foods are not organic and these foods remain unregulated. I bought a jar of peanut butter the other day with this claim and found no FDA label. There is no guarantee that the product has better ingredients or production that makes it better for you. Buy foods made with healthy and whole ingredients, locally produced if possible.

Vitamin-fortified

The manufacture wants us to think that we are getting extra vitamins in products labeled this way. Likely as not, we would be buying food that was stripped of essential vitamins in the process of making it, then some or others may have been added back in. Avoid as much processed food as possible due to this practice. Processed food, including nearly all packaged snacks, want the public to think of vitamin fortified as a way to forget the empty calories, excess sugar and unhealthy fats. Get your vitamins in the fruits and vegetables that should have them.

GMOs

Manufacturers want us to believe that GMOs are bad and a “no GMOs” label means the product is good for us. And that we should pay more for it that since it has not been genetically modified. There is conflicting research on this topic, and more coming daily with mixed results. Some suggest that GMOs help foods last longer, have higher levels of antioxidants or vitamins and likely will taste better. My suggestion is to read the complete FDA label for health benefits instead of focusing on the product claim.     

Organic

Possibly the most used term that wants us to believe that these products are healthier, safer and better for the environment. But the reality is that the USDA has strict guidelines that are hard to achieve, including those grown in soil that has been pesticide-free for three years, hormone- and antibiotic-free meats and raised in conditions that emulate their natural environments. Most often, these claims can’t be guaranteed. The organic label according to past Secretary of Agriculture Dan Glickman is a marketing tool rather than a guarantee of food safety, nutrition or quality. But I do believe that there is a certain added value in organically labeled products especially when purchased from locally known farmers or businesses.

Two actual running races are scheduled locally in October. Look for upcoming running events at www.salisburyrowanrunners.org .

My COVID Journey Part 2

by   October 4, 2020 with No Comments

By Ann Farabee

A journey can be defined as a long and difficult process of change that you travel through. To travel through means you go in on one side and come out on the other side.

I was on a journey.

I was in a process of change.

I was determined to travel through — and come out on the other side — of COVID.

From the very beginning of my journey, it was as if an enemy was attacking my body, trying to take away who I was by keeping my focus on my sickness.

The timeline:

Day 1 — Temp 99.0. Headache. Achy. Breathing problems.

Day 2 — Completely normal.

Day 3 — Temp 100.5. Headache. Achy. Weak. Breathing problems.

Day 4 — COVID test taken. Twelve hours later, results: POSITIVE.

My first words as I saw the results, “Oh no.”

Day 5 — A 10-day isolation order and a family quarantine order of 14 days began. Our grandchildren could not go to school. Charles and my son made sure all precautions were taken for our family, so they would not get the virus. But, my son got the virus on this day, but was well four days later.

With the restrictions, people we knew realized that getting needed items — food, groceries, medical, household, personal — would be difficult. God sent angels in human form to minister to our family during this time. We accepted it.

Day 6. There were daily calls, emails, or texts from the Get Well Loop, health alliance, or doctor’s office. Otherwise, I would have spent those long hours worrying if I needed a question answered. I was able to rest at home, had resources to do so at that point, and the ability to stay connected with medical professionals. They were my lifeline.

Day 7. The symptoms that had already arrived still remained — and new ones continued to join them — a rash, a cough, sore throat, and I know it may sound weird — but vivid dreams.

Day 8. Medically, every avenue possible at this time had been set in place for me to get well while isolated at home, and using what I had been told to use: Robitussin, Mucinex, alternate acetaminophen and ibuprofen, along with two types of inhalers that I had begun a month earlier, due to breathing problems.

Oh how my heart longed for getting well while at home. But it was getting to be too much on me — and on my family.

The emotional, spiritual and mental all began to join in with the physical. I was starting to feel as if I was losing myself to my sickness. I was no longer watching TV while lying in my bed. I had stopped reading and paid little attention to my phone.

Blurry vision and watery eyes had joined the other symptoms and were making everything more difficult — and more scary.

It seemed as if the only prayer I could pray was, “Lord, heal me.”

Late that evening, Charles peeked around the door of our bedroom to check on me, thinking I may be asleep. As always, he was wearing his mask, but all I could see when we made eye contact were the tears in his eyes. It broke my heart.

I took a deep breath.

I closed my eyes.

Okay, Lord, I hear you.

I am not getting well.

I need to go to the ER.

We went.

COVID-19 was our enemy.

JESUS-2020 would be our deliverer.

Next week, I will be continuing to share my COVID-19 story. Thank you for reading or viewing it. If you have questions or comments, I would love to hear from you at annfarabee@gmail.com or annfarabee.com

One Step at at Time

by   October 3, 2020 with No Comments

By Doug Creamer

One Step at a Time

            I was heading to bed last Sunday night and thought I would like a little ice cream before I turned in. The ice cream seemed especially soft. I figured the refrigerator was just going through the defrost cycle; I could hear the fan running.

            I tossed and turned, thinking about what a terrible time it would be for the refrigerator to go. My wife was up doing a few last minute things before bed. She came in as I was dozing off and told me that things were defrosting in the freezer. I got back up and checked on things. The fan in the refrigerator was running, but the compressor was not.

            It was too late to do anything about it at that point. I returned to bed and tossed and turned some more. What were we going to do? I was up early for my online classes. The great thaw was continuing. I texted the pastor and asked if I could move some freezer things up to the church, since we weren’t currently having any meals there. He said yes, and we went through our thawing freezer and got things that were still frozen moved up to church.

            The pastor told me there was a dorm-sized refrigerator up at church I could borrow for a few days until I could figure out the next steps. We were thankful. We threw out things that were beyond saving and then went through the refrigerator, too.

            We went to the store to pick out our new refrigerator and were met with a surprise. There is an appliance shortage going on across the country thanks to COVID. There were two models the retailer could deliver in about a week, neither of them were right for us.

            We decided to shop around. Retailer after retailer told us the same story. There were no refrigerators in stock and we could be looking at a two month wait for what we wanted. There were a few models available; some were just a step above the dorm refrigerator we were borrowing from church. 

            I went to Habitat for Humanity with no luck. I then found a 40-50 year old refrigerator that looked like it had been through the war. I took a chance and spent two days scrubbing and cleaning it to make it marginally presentable. It does run and we are hoping it will keep running until we can get one delivered.

            To say it has been a stressful week is an understatement. I have been thinking about my Boy Scout days and the motto to be prepared. I used to have an old refrigerator in the garage. It died over a year ago and I decided not to replace it. My plan was to get a new one for the house and put the one from the kitchen out in the garage.

            I have been trying to figure out what God wants me to learn through this situation. I think God wants me to learn that living by faith requires small steps. Sometimes those steps don’t look like a good way to go. I can’t see ahead. I have to learn to trust God, especially when I can’t see the next step.

            When things are going crazy and your stress level is up, that’s when it can be really hard to hear from God. There are so many thoughts running around in my head, it is hard to quiet myself long enough to hear from heaven. God’s ways and His plans are always the best. They may not seem to make sense in the moment, but that is where faith and trust come in.

            I am not saying that I have this down. I am still struggling to walk and live by faith. God has assured me that He is well aware of our situation. My job is to lean on Him. I have many years of experience walking with God through troubled waters. I have to remind myself that He saw me through all the other times; He will see me through again. His arm is not too short. If He can take care of over a million people in the desert for 40 years, He can see me through this situation as well. My God will never fail.

            I want to encourage you that if you feel like you are in a difficult place trying to find which way to go, trust God. He will guide you one step at a time. It may not make sense, that’s why it requires faith to trust Him. He will not leave you alone. He will come through for you. Contact Doug Creamer at PO Box 777, Faith, NC 28041or doug@dougcreamer.com

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