Believe it or not, this is real advice from some real "nutrition coaches!"
One of our Eat REAL America members shared this story after a meeting she had with her "nutrition coach" where she was reviewing her journal of what she had eaten during the past week.
The nutrition coach saw cherry tomatoes on the list and said, "You really shouldn't eat those. Regular tomatoes are ok, but cherry tomatoes have too much sugar." Yes, she was totally serious! By the way, the coach also advised her not to eat clementine oranges for the same reason. Regular oranges? She said those are ok, but not the clementines!
I love telling this story and thought I would never hear something like it again.
But it happened!
After a recent cooking demo, one of the participants was talking about her and her husband's diet. She shared that they had received guidance not to eat cherry tomatoes! I couldn't help myself...my laugh just burst out and this led to a laughter-filled discussion.
Don't panic!
You can all breathe easy...there is no evidence we can find that cherry tomatoes are nutritionally inferior to regular tomatoes. All varieties of tomatoes are loaded with beneficial nutrients such as Vitamin C, Vitamin E, and antioxidants (especially lycopene)! Check out our coaching tip for more about the benefits of tomatoes.
And keep enjoying those clementines...they qualify as both healthy and delicious!
Looking back, I have to admit this makes me sad. This is another example of how we have overcomplicated what should be a joyful experience...eating healthfully and deliciously! It just shouldn't be that complicated, but - sadly - there are many reasons why it is and why a lot of people are so confused.
Solution to the Confusion!
Part of what we do at Eat REAL America try to anticipate and listen to your questions, and then provide coaching tips to help you navigate through all the confusion. Just a few examples of the questions you or people you know may be wresting with include:
Should I avoid high FODMAP foods?
Carbs are evil...shouldn't I just avoid bread?
What oil should I be cooking with?
How can I satisfy my snack and sweet cravings in a healthy way?
How can I eat a healthy breakfast when time is so limited in the mornings?
Is wine ok to drink or will it kill me?
Is grass-fed beef really worth the extra cost?
Are smoothies a good way to get my fruits and vegetables?
Entertaining perspective!
We also have some favorite people who we love listening to and reading their content, a couple of which include Mark Bittman and Dr. David Katz. Below are links to a couple of articles where the two of them provide an entertaining and informative perspective on healthy eating.
The Last Conversation You'll Ever Need to Have About Eating Right
The Last Conversation You'll Need to Have on Eating Right: The Follow-ups
We love their quote at the end:
"Cooking is the most traditional, honored, delicious, and healthy way to eat. If more of us spent time picking our own ingredients, the best we can afford, and cooked them ourselves, we'd be far better off."
Thank you to all the Eat REAL America members for all you do for yourselves, your families and friends...you are true champions!
Please keep spreading the message...
keep it simple and EAT REAL!
Zonya Says:
This story from Krista is all too common! The one I've heard countless times is, "don't eat carrots, they are high in sugar...especially baby carrots." Newsflash: carrots are not the cause of obesity in the world today! This thinking came from books like the SouthBeach Diet, The Zone, Sugar Busters, and Suzanne Somers Somercizing which focused on the glycemic index (GI) of a food. The GI is a measurement of how quickly 50 grams of carbohydrate worth of a food raises a person's blood sugar. No matter what the food is, the portion is always 50 grams worth of carbohydrate. (It's a scientifically "fair" test.)
Do you know how many carrots it takes to make a 50 grams carbohydrate sample? One and one-half pounds! A typical serving of carrots is 3 ounces. Therefore, the glycemic index reading should be divided by 8 for an accurate comparison to other foods. But because these books were written by non-nutritionists, they took the chart values at face value. Now the new terminology is "the glycemic load" which takes the portion a person would normally eat, into consideration. But you don't have to consult a chart to find which foods have a low glycemic load.
The answer is simple: eat unprocessed, REAL food!
Cherry Tomatoes and Clemantines – say it isn’t so. LOL – I am so glad we have you to debunk the myths out there!
Ha! Thank you, we appreciate the support and encouragement!