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Todays Foods

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gillyh

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Having found out that I have IBS as well as diabetes I have to monitor everything I eat closely to try and figure out what sets the IBS off. I have noticed that many foods say 'low in sugar' or 'low in fat' but on closer look they're not as low as you think. Even 'fat free' foods aren't as good as made out to be. Checking out these foods you'll find the 'low in fat' ones are high in sugar and vice versa. Why can't the food industry produce foods that are low in both fat and sugar?!
:twisted:
 
The foods that are low in fat and low in sugar are lean protein, eggs and vegetables.

The fats and sugars the food manufacturers use a lot of are refined vegetable fats and high fructose corn syrup. These are cheap and not healthy. They do however prolong the shelf life of products, taste bland/sweet and give higher profits than "real food".
 
SarahQ said:
Hi Gilly, the easy solution is to cook your own foods. That way you know exactly what's in it.
If you are pressed for time due to work comitments etc., then just bake/cook extra of everything and freeze for the following week.
Click to expand...

Thanks for that SarahQ. We, my sister and I, cook as much as we can from scratch. We grow some fruit and veg in our back garden and hope to increase range next year. So at least some of our fruit and veg is fresh with no chemicals etc. We try and stick to simple recipes and use fresh food or frozen fresh food. It's just that sometimes I fancy yoghurts, ice cream etc and feel let down by manufacturers. Don't you? :shock:
 
I believe that what the manufacturers tell you isnt the truth. They use cheap products, the nutrition tables are not evry accurate, the salt content of everything is too high. 'Health' foods are the worst culprits too!!!

I wish I could cook and had time to cook! If it takes longer than 30 mins incl prep time, I can't be bothered!

I wont buy readymeals much thougH!
 
Hi Gillyh,
One thing you need to beware of in "low-sugar" foods is that the manufacturers often base their claim on having replaced the sugar content (sucrose) with a sugar alcohol (sorbitol, maltitol, in fact anything that ends in "ol"). These are technically not sugars but they are often used to sweeten processed foods, but their biggest drawback is that they are very powerful laxatives - not something that you need with IBS!!!
 
HI gilly
the best thing is to cook from scratch. It doesn't need to take long and will cost less. Buy good ingredients and make simple meals. grilled meat and steamed vegetables will taste clean and fresh compared with most "ready" foods. If you don't know how to cook, look in the cookbook section of a bookshop. There are thousands to choose from . Some are eminently suitable for beginners.
 
To bonerp.
If you send me a private message, i can send you some superfast/supersimple recipes
Hana
 
I dont know where you get this idea that the food tables are innacurate. In the UK we use the gold standard of Mcance and Widdowson and they are continually working on them. I find big differences with tables I have found on the web - esp some from the states. I think this is because , esp with carbs, they deduct the fibre content!

The problem may be that when you have the analysis on the back of a pack they may be bending the truth - crips and oven chips are a good example. the analysis may be from raw ingredients when in practice the veg oil they use is not exactly unused!

So the ans is to cook from fresh - tastes better than using all those awful cook in sauces etc!
 
ally5555 said:
In the UK we use the gold standard of Mcance and Widdowson and they are continually working on them. I find big differences with tables I have found on the web - esp some from the states. I think this is because , esp with carbs, they deduct the fibre content!
Click to expand...
Hi Ally,
Couldn't agree more - I find the US tables often very confusing as some include fibre content, some exclude it, but most don't say which route they have taken! I presume the McCance & Widdowson work is "The Composition of Foods"? I've just looked at an extract from it and the level of detail it goes into is phenomenal.
 
yes it is - I have it on my laptop and a memory stick - couldnt survive without it . In the old days i had to do calculations from the book but now can do a food diary in 10 mins!
 
SarahQ said:
Hi Gilly, the easy solution is to cook your own foods. That way you know exactly what's in it.
If you are pressed for time due to work comitments etc., then just bake/cook extra of everything and freeze for the following week.
Click to expand...

That is exactly what me and m husband do for our teas!!!!! best system ever!!!!
 
Thanks for the advice everybody. We do cook most of our meals from scratch. We usually eat either fresh meat/fish (we buy several pieces and freeze them ourselves). then we add fresh vegetables. We do grow french + runner beans, tomatoes, rhubarb, apples and cherries in the back garden. More types of vegetables being planned for next year. So no excuse is there?
We do occassionally eat processed food when we haven't the time to cook ourselves. 8) 8)
 
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