Friday, July 15, 2011

Pet Peeve: Bad Reporting in 'Health' Magazines

Article from 'Health' Magazine.
One of the things that really pisses me off is when magazines or publications supposedly devoted to health and nutrition provide inaccurate information for readers. 


I picked up a copy of 'Health' magazine today and found an article titled, '8 under 80 calories'. The article is about 8 treats under 80 calories. They have chosen popcorn, a corn dog, cotton candy, Salt Water taffy, Italian ice, dry-roasted peanuts, french fries and root beer as the snacks that are supposedly healthy, and all under 80 calories each. 


What annoys me about this article is the fact that none of the choices are natural by any means. It's not just about calories. It's about choosing food that is as unprocessed as possible and that has vitamins and nutrients. The corn dog, cotton candy, salt water taffy and french fries are so processed no health magazine should be promoting them, ever. Yes, they are okay as once in a while indulgences but people turn to this magazine for information on how to be healthy! And these are the options they provide you with? It seems so ludicrous to me. Articles like these are one of the reasons people are struggling with weight in our country. 


What do I recommend? I wish at least one or two of the choices were more natural. Maybe a piece of fruit or even a salad (lightly dressed). Yes, I realize that the article is about smart snacking on the boardwalk but maybe don't snack on the boardwalk (if all your options are so unhealthy) and bring healthy snacks with you, instead! What an idea! 


Fries and root beer are not good snacks!
And I'm sorry but any magazine that is supposed to be about health that tells you Diet Root Beer (with zero calories) is a good snack is clearly misguided. Haven't they read the latest research that says that soda, even diet soda, promotes weight gain? Grr, makes me angry! 


I'm sure you'd find that half the products they promoted are actually advertisers in the magazine as well. Frustrating, but true. So don't be fooled! You know what is healthy and what isn't. Don't let some 'health' magazine convince you otherwise. 

2 comments:

  1. People are on the lookout for tips and tricks, and fast fixes. They're not interested in "lifestyle" choices, and it's difficult to convince everyone (even myself!) that you ARE what you eat and that healthy, natural food makes you feel great and LOOK great. I would love to know if you had any ideas for challenges we could do to realize how great we feel with natural food. Not like a liquid cleanse, but something along the lines of "Cut out this for X days and notice how different your skin/hair/mind/body" feels type thing. I've heard a lot about different types of diets and how they change the way you look and feel, but if you had any experience with a particular food that strongly changed a specific aspect of your life (be it clearer skin, more energy, etc.) I would love to hear it!

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  2. Thanks for commenting! Honestly, cutting out dairy is a big thing for a lot of people. I personally have never felt better since cutting out animal products. I have more energy and feel less sluggish after eating. I would recommend experimenting. Cut out maybe something you eat too much (cheese? meat? alcohol? white starches?) for a week and see how you feel. You should even notice a difference after three days. Good luck and let me know how it goes!

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