Tricky Food Labels

Should we be reading and trusting our food labels more often? How many times do you go to your grocery store and actually read the labels to see how much fat grams,total calories, cholesterol, sugar and additives the company has put inside. Even after it took a while to get the FDA to make this a mandate , many of us are still whimscally ignoring labels. But, that just may be what the food industry is hoping for.

In a morning talk show on NBC several prepared "diet meals" were investigated for their calorie amount and determine whether it was consistent with the actual amount in them by having them checked by a nutritionist.

Healthy Choice(HC), Lean Cuisine(LC),and Smart One(S1) were the primary meals that were focused on. What was found was shocking. First of all the GMA Grocery Manufacturing Association doesn't find it a problem for food makers to have great disparity in the amount of calories labelled on a box and the actual amounts inside them.The head of the GMA felt is was irrelevant essentially to the customer and that wide ranges of calories was OK.

If that wasn't enough that government agent that "protects" the citizens with discrepancies , the FDA, actually allows food companies to have a discepancy in calorie labels up to 20%!

First the good news. There were some meals that had less calories than that which was stated on the food lable.

Examples of this were :

1)HC Roast Beef Merlot it was actually 17% lower in fat calories than it's fat label

2)LC Primavera was 19% fewer calories than it's food label

3)LC Rose Marie actually had 60 % less fat than its package label

But, now for the bad news:

1)S.1. Shrimp Marino had 10 % more calories than its label

2) HC Lobster Cheese Ravioli had 17 % more fat than its label

3)LC Primavera was also higher in calories

4) S.1. sweet and sour chicken actually was 11 % more in total calories but , get this, it had 350 %(percent) more fat

Susan Roberts, a nutritionist at Tufts gave her opinion about this practice and felt that this may be the cause of how"sneaky" calories get into our diet and cause overweight and obesity and also when many of us are thinking our "diet" meal is helping us lose weight, it actually may be causing you to gain weight!

Latest studies show today that less calories particularly fat and that from red meat can extend both quality and the length of life by preventing heart disease, and cancer. Higher fiber diets in oats, bran, green leafy vegetables and fruits can combat cancer and diabetes.

Tomatoes have lycopene that helps men protect the prostate. Pomengranate and Grape Extract have antioxidants that can help fight against chronic disease and premature aging.Almonds and fish with more omega oil are considered smart foods that help the brain.Broccoli helps with reducing bladder cancer, watermelon helps lower blood pressure, papaya helps fight gall bladder disease because of it's high amount of vitamin C. Fermented soy may help fight against breast cancer and bone loss.

These choices along with exercise by simply walking can help reduce your risk of heart disease, cancer and diabetes.

Dr. Marcus Wells is a previous NIH Clinical Associate at the National Heart, Lung & Blood Institute. Dr. Wells served in the US Health & Human Services, US Public Health Service, US Commissioned Corp and holds a Master's degree from Emory University.

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Promote Your Metabolism Based on Your Metabolic Type

It has been assumed by many commercial and even academic dietary experts that all diets and dietary agents are universal. That is to say that when a new diet or dietary supplement comes out it is as if that "one" method can be utilized the same by everyone.

Thermogenix has proven that this isn't true. Our clinical and academic studies as well as numerous supporting data show that there are at least three(3) main metabolic types with several sub-types.

Before we get into the three primary metabolic types , we need to understand a little bit about metabolism. Metabolism is the system that unifies all other systems in the body( neurological, cardio-vascular, pulmorary, GI etc...). Without understanding how metabolism works we can't use it properly to effect the changes and maintain the balanace our body needs.

The cell is the basic unit of metabolism where it houses the engine of metabolism called the "mitochondria". These powerhouses churn out energy by a Thermodynamic electronic processes in the face of oxygen that can produce 18 times more energy when your food is delivered into the cell! They are able to do this because there are numerous biochemicals (supplements) that boost energy in a cellular "turbo" called the TCA. If those "Nano-Nutrients are utilized in a combustive process with adequate oxygen, more energy is derived.

This is a Thermodynamic process that follows similar laws of physics. Every individual has a different metabolic rate based on the quantity of food and the quality of nutrients they consume along with balancing energy with activity. This is energetics.

Here is a parallel of how it works. You don't put the same type of fuel in a Volkswagen "bug", a Mac truck or a Ferrari , do you? Nor would you do the same for a weight lifter, a diabetic or an eighty year-old grandma. The same analogy is drawn with us in our daily lives when it comes to different metabolic types and the specific fuels they need.

There are three (3) basic metabolic types. These include the fast metabolizer who oxidizes foods rapidly, the slow metabolizer who burns calories slowly and the mixed-variable type whose metabolism is almost totally "out -of-whack".

The fast metabolizer can burn foodstuffs so fast that they feel hunger and symptoms of hyperglycemia rapidly. They may sense light headidness, dizziness, and fatigue just after eating. Because of this rapid rate of metabolism they will require more dense calories and perhaps boost snacks inbetween. Dense calories are not just meats. They also include protein sources from soy, whey, casein, brown rice, lentils,beans and lacto-proteins(dairy).

The slow metabolic individual is seen often in the diabetics with type II diabetes or those with the metabolic syndrome( insulin resistance, heart disease, high blood sugar, over-weight or obese). They tend to accumulate calories (anabolic-type). Control of appetite and focusing on more calories from complex carbohydrate sources such as fruit, vegetables and fiber becomes more important for this group.

The 3rd group with "mixed-variable metabolsim" are what the majority of us in our "fast food -fast paced" culture probably fit into. These are people who work the grave-yard shift or more than one job, doctors on-call for 36 hours straight, partiers and students who do " all-nighters" and let's not forget those who get the majority of their calories from fast foods, junk foods, genetically modified, irradiated, canned, smoked, herbicide-insecticide-herbicide treated, estrogen, growth hormone, aspartame laden, HFCS, MSG, artifically dyed, chemically preserved, PAH, HCA,high trans fat, acrylimide laden foods.

To add to that , the mixed -variable type doesn't have as much time to let the body rest, sleep, eat properly , get "Nano-Nutrition", leisurely exercise, has short lunch breaks and longer work hours.

A kind of "toxic-culture" is developing out of this third group and it is here that Thermogenix wishes to make an impact along with the other two as well.

Supplements are the biochemicals that are utilized in the cells engine, called mitochondria. The "turbo-boost" inside the mitochondria called the TCA -cycle can generate a lot of energy for us who are victim of this "toxic- food culture" and for those that have lowered immune resistance. Biochemist and botanist have known this for years it's nothing new. The supplements we do not take time to know about replenish us so that we can stay balanced, it makes sense!

Thermogenix is the paradigm shift that chooses to see health as all related in a more holistic paradigm not just sub-compartmentatlized. Metabolism is the system that unifies all other systems of the body. It is about time we start taking care of ourselves by going back to nature. Trying more organic and greener foods and Bio-fuels will help keep you balanced. Why, because Life is Energy!

Dr. Marcus Wells MD, MPH is a previous Clinical Associate from the National Institutes of Health at the National Heart, Lung & Blood Institute. He holds a Master's in Public Health from Emory University. He has also served in Health & Human Services(HHS), Public Health Service(PHS), and the Commissioned Corp.



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