Watch Out: Chicken Is Not Always Healthy!

Chicken is good for you if you read the label and purchase the healthy option.  Does your chicken label indicate that it contains Less Than 2% Retained Water?  If so, that is good news!  Your chicken is a good choice for a nutritious meal.

• Chicken has 31 grams of protein and only 148 calories in a one cup serving of cooked, boneless, skinless chicken breast (140 grams chopped, or 5 ounces). FatSecret  

• It is better for your cardiovascular health compared to beef because it has less cholesterol and saturated fat.  TasteInc  

• Chicken is included in many healthy diets such as the DASH (Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension) and Mediterranean. 

• Chicken breast has about 88 mg sodium in a 1cup serving (chopped).  FatSecret

If the label says Retained Water, that is okay.  The poultry is not injected with water, but some water is absorbed during cooling in a "chill-tank".  During the chilling process, turkeys and chickens will absorb some of the water, and this amount must be indicated on the label.  USDA

However, not all chicken is the same.  Be careful what you buy!  A lot of the chicken in the U.S. is “enhanced”.  LATimes  About one-third of the fresh chicken in the grocery store has been injected, using a needle to add water, salt and other additives. CookingLight  

Fresh chicken is injected with a solution of saltwater so it stays juicier and more flavorful.  The solution contains a long list of ingredients that can account for up to 15%, or more, of the chicken’s weight. Some studies have shown up to 30% weight.  PremierFoodsGroup

These chickens tend to have a spongy, mushy texture and artificial taste. CookingLight

A 4-ounce serving of  "enhanced" chicken can contain up to 440 mg sodium!  That's almost one-fifth of the recommended Dietary Guidelines for Americans for sodium (2,300 mg per day).  CookingLight  

Worse, it's 500% more sodium than is found naturally in untreated chicken. CookingLight

Injected chickens can have the words "All-Natural’" or  "Organic" on the label, as long as all the ingredients that they injected into the chicken are legally considered as natural or organic.  PremierFoodsGroup  The USDA and the FDA list water and salt as organic. 

For example, the label on Tyson chicken indicates that it Contains Up To 10% Chicken Broth, Sea Salt And Natural Flavorings.

The Kirkwood chicken label indicates it Contains Up To 15% Chicken Broth, Sea Salt And Natural Flavorings.

The Tyson and Kirkland chicken are not so healthy.  Make sure you are looking at labels before buying chicken!

You can also check for sodium content on the ingredient list.  If the chicken is truly natural, the sodium content won't be higher than 70mg per serving.  CookingLight

In addition to reading the labels for fresh chicken, beware of the sodium content in pre-cooked chicken such as Rotisserie and Pre-Grilled chicken.

A Rotisserie chicken from Costco has 460 mg of Sodium in a 3 ounce serving (about the size of a deck of cards. Stack

Tyson Grilled and Ready Breast Fillets has 500 mg Sodium in one serving (84 grams).  Tyson

"Eat This Not That" Top 10 Tips

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My sister gave me an interesting book for my birthday, Eat This Not That written by David Zinczenko with Matt Goulding.

The book is easy to read with a lot of photos.  There were many surprising facts I learned in this book.

This book taught me to always compare food labels in order to purchase the healthiest products. 



For example look at the big difference in fat, sodium and calories for two different brands of prepared eggplant.  (page 296)

Product	Product	Fat	Sodium	Calories
	Cederland Eggplant Parmesan	16 g	780 mg	320
	Celentano Eggplant Parmigiana	44 g	960 mg	660

Given below are additional tips that I thought were very interesting:

1.  Mission Wraps Garden Spinach Herb has 30 ingredients, with less than 2% spinach. (page 19)

2.   DiGiorno Traditional Crust Supreme Pizza has more calories, sodium and fat than any other frozen pizza.  (page 26)

3.  Red peppers have twice the Vitamin C and 10 times the Vitamin A as compared to green peppers. (page 42)

4.  The sulfur in garlic helps to expand blood vessels which can help keep blood pressure in check. (page 43).

5.  Watermelon has an amino acid (citruline) which relaxes look vessels which improves blood flow (page 100)

6.  Spinach is one of the best sources of folate which protects against mental degeneration and age-related sexual issues. (page 44)

7.  Potatoes have almost twice as much Vitamin C as tomatoes, and nearly as much potassium as a banana.  (page 81)

8. The amount of sugar in 1 1/2 cups Lucky Charms cereal is the same amount which is in a Peanut Butter Twix candy bar. (page 155)

9.  One pouch of Hostess Mini Blueberry Muffins has more calories and sugar than a Krispy Kreme doughnut.  (page 172)

10.  Cola contains 9% high fructose corn syrup. (page 318)

The book also includes healthy recipes for under $10.  I made the Chicken and Sweet Potato Stir-Fry, Poor Man's Steak, and Grilled Chicken Gyro.  They all turned out great and I will make them again.  The directions are straightforward and easy to follow.

If you are interested there is an "Eat This Not That" internet site which includes links to a podcast, nutrition articles and a magazine subscription.  https://www.eatthis.com  Check it out!

Link to book at amazon https://amzn.to/2sNyZ7o.

Good and Bad Fats

Several years ago I was focused on counting the number of fat grams in my diet.

I diligently read food labels and only purchased low fat products.  I ate a lot of carbohydrates but I was always hungry and tired.   I did not eat meat, nuts or peanut butter and only ate a tiny bit of cheese.

Since then I have learned that some fat is good for you.  Fats are important to give your body energy and to support cell growth. They also help protect your organs and help keep your body warm.   Dietary fat article




There are three types of fats:

• Unsaturated 
• Saturated 
• Trans 

While all fats provide 9 calories per gram, unsaturated fats (monounsaturated and polyunsaturated) can have a positive effect on your health when eaten in moderation and used to replace saturated and trans fats.  They can help lower cholesterol levels and reduce risk of heart disease.

Saturated and trans fats can negatively effect your health by raising bad cholesterol levels (LDL) in your blood.  

Trans fats are made using vegetable oils and added to foods like cakes, icing, biscuits and popcorn.

• Unsaturated - olive oil, avocados, salmon, walnuts, sunflower seeds, tofu and soybeans
• Saturated - red meat, milk, cheese, coconut oil and added to processed foods
• Trans - being phased out in US starting June 18.  FDA Trans Fat Article

I was curious about the amount of fat in salty snacks.

Given below is a table showing the amount of fat, saturated fat, calories and sodium in some of my family's favorite snacks.

	Fat (g)	Saturated Fat (g)	Calories	Sodium (mg)
Lays Oven Baked Potato Crisps, Original, 18 chips, 1 oz	2	0	120	135
Ruffles, Oven Baked Cheddar and Sour Cream, 11 chips, 1 oz	3	0.5	120	140
Lays Potato Chips, Classic, 15 chips, 1 oz	10	1.5	160	170
Better Made Original Potato Chips 17 chips	11	3	160	170
Tostitos Oven Baked Scoops, 16 chips, 1 oz	3.5	0.5	120	240
Tostitos Tortilla Corn Chips, 7 chips, 1 oz	7	1	140	115
Cheetos Puffs Cheese Flavored, 23 pieces	7	1	140	300
Fritos Original Corn Chips, 1 oz bag	10	2	180	170
Doritos, 11 chips, includes MSG	8	1	140	210

I didn't realize that Baked chips had a significant reduction in fat as compared to the original versions.  

Since completing this chart now I understand why my husband usually purchases the baked version of potato chips.

I am going to really reduce the amount of Tostitos I eat because even though the baked version has less fat it has a lot more sodium than the original version.

I was also surprised about the amount of calories in Fritos and the amount of sodium in Cheese Puffs.

This link includes additional snacks:  Chips Ranked

Caffeine Free Life

Is it possible to live without caffeine?

I always thought the answer was no.  I did not think I could get up early and go to work every day.  I didn't think I could contribute and be energetic at work.  I thought emotionally I would feel blah and need a nap.

Well guess what?  I did it!  I do not drink diet coke, coffee or any other caffeinated drink.   I have been caffeine-free for three years and feel great!  I am still functioning with lots of energy.

My body feels better, not as achy.  I am more alert.  My mind is still going a mile a minute but I am able to focus.

I have noticed that now I can readily fall asleep in the car or on a lazy Sunday afternoon.  I could never do that before because my heart was always racing due to the caffeine.   I have also noticed that  I am more sensitive to caffeine, for example if I have a handful of chocolate chips I cannot sleep at night because my heart is racing.

Caffeine itself in coffee does not adversely impact your health at moderate consumption.  http://www.coffeescience.org/caffeine-coffee/

However, there are several types of caffeinated drinks that are not healthy.   Soda and coffee blends  have other ingredients like aspartame, sugar and sodium which are not heathy.  See table below: (based on 12 fl ounces)

Type of Drink	Caffeine	Aspartame	Sugar	Calories	Sodium	# of Ingredients
Mt. Dew	54 mg	No	46 grams	170	60 mg	10
Diet Coke	46 mg	Yes	0	0	40 mg	8
Starbucks Caramel Frappuccino Blended Coffee	75 mg	No	50 grams	315	188 mg	24
Starbucks Dark Roast Coffee	195 mg	No	0	5	10 mg	1

Aspartame has been linked to headaches, nausea and depression  https://www.prevention.com/food-nutrition/a20467118/aspartame-health-risks/

Sodum is also not good for our bodies.  It is probably one of the contributors to high blood pressure.  another-reason-to-skip-the-soda-high-blood-pressure

Why don't you try to go caffeine free?

You can do it!