I have found while doing my health research that food company websites can be a useful source of information. I’ve found several that have their own ‘diets’ which in a lot of cases are quite well designed. Obviously, they lean toward using their own products, but still have some merit. In one of my previous posts, I mentioned the Dole Company 5aday website.
I’d like to use one as an example of what to look for. I have a bookmark for Quaker Oatmeal’s What’s New webpage. I fully support eating oats to help keep you full, blood sugar even and to help lower your cholesterol. I try to eat old-fashioned oats at least 3-4 times a week. It’s a great breakfast.
This page links to articles about weight management, health information and even information for parents of toddlers. There are quite a few articles and worth spending time reading. The reason I linked to this page is that it mentions some new products. They sound pretty good. But you need to navigate and read the ingredients list on some of their products.
Their old fashioned oats contain.. Oats! Their instant oatmeal, which has a bit less fiber but still worth eating, has.. Oats! On this page they promote Take Heart Instant Oatmeal. This page is Quaker’s promotional information on it. Click on the word ‘Blueberry’ and you get to a page showing the ingredients. The ingredients list is much longer than just.. Oats. Some are added vitamins and minerals. But things to watch out for are:
- high fructose corn syrup (sugar)
- sugar
- dextrose (sugar)
- partially hydrogenated soybean and/or cottonseed oil
- yeast extract (possible source of msg)
So basically, take a great multivitamin like Alive! Whole Food Energizer Multivitamin and eat Quaker Old Fashioned Oats or Quaker Instant Oatmeal. You’ll get the benefits without needing to ingest all those things you don’t need in your body.
I don’t mean to pick on the Quaker Oats people. While I support eating plain old oats, with all their wonderful health benefits, I know that Quakers oat products, no matter what, are better for you than eating bacon and fried potatoes and ham for breakfast. I just want to show you that you do need to read labels and know what to look for and what to avoid.
Barbara