FoodThink Decoder is a guide to what goes on behind the scenes in the food world around you. I believe that if you want to empower yourself, to control your own food & weight destiny, you must understand the food environment broadly, and your own food environment in particular.
When you see soda ads on TV, peruse a dinner menu, shop for groceries, glance at a billboard advertising a sugar-cereal for your kids, or hear about the latest nutrition research, there is a lot of deciphering to do. It doesn’t have to be a full-time job, but it does help to educate yourself and adopt a thoughtful, sometimes skeptical attitude as you make your way through the food world.
What’s the message, the sub-text, the motive? Who are the players that organized the food on offer, the size, the price, the appealing packaging, the chemistry used to manufacture it… even the brain chemistry it’s targeting?
Here are some items that are worth Decoding:
• slick nutrition labels on gussied-up junk food at that upscale grocery store that you love – can you read them accurately, and call a spade a spade if necessary?
• “protein” bars that pretend to be healthy but are actually a diabolical fat delivery system – need I say more? (OK, here you go!)
• bakery cookies the size of flying saucers – why does that seem like a regular serving these days?
• your fellow guests oohing and aahing over food at catered occasions – does that make it a mandatory over-eating event, even if the food is just OK?
• platters of food disguised as your individual dinner plate at many restaurants – what’s the cost-benefit of this to the restaurant chain? To you?
• flattery sizing at clothing stores that give you a quick high when the tag says you’re shrinking down, even as you suspect you may be slowly creeping up. Reach for the credit card, anyone?
FoodThink Decoder. You’ll need it.
