The 20 Year-Old Twinkie

True Story:

A friend of mine was helping his parents move from his childhood home. He and his brother moved a bookcase out of the corner, and behind it was a piece of history from their young childhood: An individually wrapped Twinkie.

How it got there was that those two brothers had been playing football in the house with the Twinkie. My friend overthrew the "ball" and it landed behind the bookcase. It remained there until moving day, 20+ years later.

You might be asking, what did it look like? According to my friend, the Twinkie retained its color, and aside from being a little "shriveled looking" was mold-free and still relatively soft.

Now I don't know about you, but a shelf life that long and a product that was minimally wrinkled begs to ask the question, "Why can't someone make an eye cream that works this well?"

In all seriousness, I bring this up because the #1 question I get asked by people about health and fitness is NUTRITION.

Questions like:

"How bad is _______________ for you?" Or,

"What do you think about ___________ diet?" Or,

"How many calories should I eat?"

This is a HUGE TOPIC, so let's narrow it down today to packaged foods-this is anything-EVEN THE STUFF THAT CLAIMS TO BE "HEALTHY" ON THE LABEL.

Here's what you need to know: YA GOTTA READ THE LABEL-SPECIFICALLY THE INGREDIENT LIST.

Ya don't need to be a rocket scientist-ya just gotta use your common sense. Ask yourself:

"What's longer: the ingredient list or the Constitution of the United States?" lol-You get what I'm saying...if it takes you a half an hour to read the ingredient list-chances are it's probably not that great for you.
"Do I recognize all of the ingredients?"
"Can I pronounce all of the ingredients?"

If you don't recognize 'em, or can't even pronounce 'em--what do YOU think? Are they as healthy as they claim to be?

Back to the Twinkie...now obviously, it's doubtful that the cellophane wrapper on the Twinkie was able to achieve a 20+ year shelf life.

How was this possible then? You know the answer: chemicals and preservatives added to many packaged foods-ingredients you don't recognize and maybe can't even pronounce.

My intention is not to go off on a tangent or conspiracy theory about food companies.

My goal here is to EMPOWER YOU AS THE CONSUMER to take ownership of what YOU CHOOSE to put in your (or your Family's) body.

So now that we understand you can get a TON of info from simply glancing at the ingredient list, THE REAL QUESTION IS, "Is that something you want to put in your body?"

It all comes back to you and your goals-BOTH SHORT AND LONG TERM.

If "Health" is anywhere on your radar, you must remember that your body REQUIRES nourishment. Calories are one thing; nourishment is another.

You've got to supply your body with enough nourishment to make your body functions work and provide you with enough energy to accomplish your goals.

So when you're zipping through the store, or are eager to jump on a bandwagon of a product conduct your own due diligence and quickly read the label and compare what it says to your goals.

Til next time, Be Well and Fuel Your Engine Right!

The 20 Year-Old Twinkie

True Story:

A friend of mine was helping his parents move from his childhood home. He and his brother moved a bookcase out of the corner, and behind it was a piece of history from their young childhood: An individually wrapped Twinkie.

How it got there was that those two brothers had been playing football in the house with the Twinkie. My friend overthrew the "ball" and it landed behind the bookcase. It remained there until moving day, 20+ years later.

You might be asking, what did it look like? According to my friend, the Twinkie retained its color, and aside from being a little "shriveled looking" was mold-free and still relatively soft.

Now I don't know about you, but a shelf life that long and a product that was minimally wrinkled begs to ask the question, "Why can't someone make an eye cream that works this well?"

In all seriousness, I bring this up because the #1 question I get asked by people about health and fitness is NUTRITION.

Questions like:

"How bad is _______________ for you?" Or,

"What do you think about ___________ diet?" Or,

"How many calories should I eat?"

This is a HUGE TOPIC, so let's narrow it down today to packaged foods-this is anything-EVEN THE STUFF THAT CLAIMS TO BE "HEALTHY" ON THE LABEL.

Here's what you need to know: YA GOTTA READ THE LABEL-SPECIFICALLY THE INGREDIENT LIST.

Ya don't need to be a rocket scientist-ya just gotta use your common sense. Ask yourself:

"What's longer: the ingredient list or the Constitution of the United States?" lol-You get what I'm saying...if it takes you a half an hour to read the ingredient list-chances are it's probably not that great for you.

"Do I recognize all of the ingredients?"

"Can I pronounce all of the ingredients?"

If you don't recognize 'em, or can't even pronounce 'em--what do YOU think? Are they as healthy as they claim to be?

Back to the Twinkie...now obviously, it's doubtful that the cellophane wrapper on the Twinkie was able to achieve a 20+ year shelf life.

How was this possible then? You know the answer: chemicals and preservatives added to many packaged foods-ingredients you don't recognize and maybe can't even pronounce.

My intention is not to go off on a tangent or conspiracy theory about food companies.

My goal here is to EMPOWER YOU AS THE CONSUMER to take ownership of what YOU CHOOSE to put in your (or your Family's) body.

So now that we understand you can get a TON of info from simply glancing at the ingredient list, THE REAL QUESTION IS, "Is that something you want to put in your body?"

It all comes back to you and your goals-BOTH SHORT AND LONG TERM.

If "Health" is anywhere on your radar, you must remember that your body REQUIRES nourishment. Calories are one thing; nourishment is another.

You've got to supply your body with enough nourishment to make your body functions work and provide you with enough energy to accomplish your goals.

So when you're zipping through the store, or are eager to jump on a bandwagon of a product conduct your own due diligence and quickly read the label and compare what it says to your goals.

Til next time, Be Well and Fuel Your Engine Right!