Being More Conscious About Food

As I get older, one thing that I am being mindful of is what I eat and drink. I was looking at my credit card statement last month, and realized that out of the roughly 50 purchases that I had made on that card, over half of them were for food. Some food from restaurants. Others were food from the grocery store.

It is easy to pick up food when you are constantly on the go, but as a coworker, who is not a native of the US told me, that it is not culturally acceptable in some countries to eat on the go. Even if you get an ice cream and walk down the sidewalk, you would be frowned upon for doing so.

This combination of things got me thinking and paying more attention to the label. Especially with the number of food recalls that have occurred during the Spring and Summer 2024. Listeria, lead, mold, and other things that we know doggone well should have never gotten into the food are there and it is only after people get sick, or die, that someone says that something should be done to stop it.

Welch’s Juice Got Too Much Sugar

I recently had a small bottle of Welch’s juice. It was 10 ounces. When drinking it, it seemed to be excessively sweet. Initially did not think of it, but as I continued to drink, I decided to look at the nutrition label. The 10 ounce bottle of juice, had 32 grams of sugar, but an additional 33 grams. Those numbers, and according to the label, meant that I was drinking 66 percent of the recommended Daily Value of sugar.

That’s a lot of sugar for one drink. I saw a video that talked about the amount of sugar in drinks. Well, it is not really sugar, it is High Fructose Corn Syrup. The video talked about how most fruit drinks, like cranberry, apple, etc. have way too much sugar. More sugar than what the actual fruit would contained had you juiced it or put it in a blender. The suggestion was that if you are drinking one of these types of drinks, that you dilute it with water.

I did this with this Welch’s juice and while it was not as flavorful with the water, it was more palette-able because the sugar was not overpowering. Think going forward, that I will be doing this because all that sugar, is not a good thing.

I have heard repeatedly that the cause for various health issues, including diabetes, heart disease, stroke, and more is because of sugar or sugar substitutes in our diet.

2 Liters Per Day

There was a guy that I worked with, that would bring a 2 liter of bottle to work each day. For context, he only worked 4 days per week. Some of the days, he would finish the two liter bottle. Other days, he would get about half to two-thirds way through finishing the bottle. What made all of this stand out to me was that he was clearly not in shape. I would say obese, but not morbidly obese. He also would have a problem staying awake at work. While the job was not physically demanding, it did require a reasonable amount of mental focus. Ultimately he was fired, and I think his Dr Pepper habit had something to do with it.

Conclusion

Because I have a family history of diabetes and other diseases, I am starting to pay attention to what I’m eating and drinking now, instead of waiting until it is too late. One thing that I have been saying that I want to do, but have not done is get my garden restarted. That way it is less likely that my family and I end up with these food borne illnesses because somebody did not wash their hands after using the bathroom, or the food package was not sealed properly.