Why You Should Never Eat Weight Watchers Food.
Poor Nutrition, High-Sugar, Gross Representation of Health
I’ve written many an article on why I think the diet and weight loss industry manipulate our minds and sell an ideal that being thin equals happiness and that the way to get there is to follow their rules of a road paved with deprivation, guilt, boxes of their branded food-like stuffs and a hefty payment of your hard cash.I believe any industry that thrives and grows on you hating your body is one that doesn’t sit well with me and shouldn't sit well with you either.Weight watchers spruik happiness, joy and health as being a goal they have for you and what they sell – you being satisfied with yourself – yet, I don't believe that this company, seeing a revenue of over $2billion a year would be happy if you finally reached a point of being fulfilled with yourself.Do you? I call this type or marketing and selling an act of fraud against us. Where proof and truth do not equal the 'sell'. Although the main reason I would like women to stop purchasing weight watchers products is because it speaks volumes about how these women feel about themselves – fearful of not being enough, worthy, loveable, accepted – I also want women to stop buying Weight Watchers products because they are simply unhealthy, nutrient poor, food-like stuffs that offer no real nourishment except to the pockets of the shareholders and executives alike in the form of financial gain.Financial gain from your body hate.This article shows a perfect example of the giant con that is the 'food' side of the weight-loss industry.If you feel like noshing into a piece of chocolate because you have a craving or because well, chocolate, there are many brands that you can purchase made exclusively with real food. Greens brand, which is organic, can be bought in the supermarket and has five ingredients. Loving Earth which makes chocolate with nothing more than Organic Raw Cacao Nibs, Organic Evaporated Coconut Nectar and Organic Coconut.There are many more brands such as Pana chocolate that will satisfy a craving, give you a healthy balanced dose of the right fat and are packed with antioxidant and mineral rich superfoods.And then there are the Weight Watchers products.This is the Weight Watchers Chocolate Toffee BarHere is the description:
- The perfect indulgence for those moments that only chocolate can fix! Weight Watchers Rich Toffee Bars are a classic mix of toffee, chocolate coating and nougat with crisped cereal to satisfy your sweet cravings. These delicious treats are perfectly portion controlled so that you can enjoy at any time. Buy Rich Toffee Bar now and satisfy your sweet cravings. Plus have your products delivered to your door.
And here are the ingredients (plus a disclaimer)INGREDIENTS: Nougat (43%) {Polydextose (from Wheat), Crisped Cereal (33%) (Cereal Flours (87%) (Rice Flour, Wheat Flour, Malted Barley Flour), Sugar, Salt, Vegetable Oil, Emulsifier (322 from Soy), Raising Agent (500), Sugar, Water, Honey, Humectant (422), Egg White, Stabiliser (460), Emulsifier (471), Flavours (including Natural Butter Flavour)}, Compound Milk Chocolate Coating (30%) {Sugar, Hydrogenated Vegetable Fat, Milk Solids (12%), [Whey Powder, Skimmed Milk Powder], Fat Reduced Cocoa Powder (4.5%), Lactose (from Milk), Emulsifier (322 from Soy), Flavour}, Toffee (27%) {Polydextrose (from Wheat), Sweetened Condensed Skimmed Milk [Sugar, Condensed Skimmed Milk, Water], Invert Sugar Syrup, Butter Oil (from Milk), Salt, Emulsifier (471), Water, Flavours (including Natural Butter Flavour)}. THIS PRODUCT CONTAINS TRACES OF BEE POLLEN AND PROPOLIS WHICH CAN CAUSE SEVERE ALLERGIC REACTIONS. PRODUCT CONTAINS WHEAT, BARLEY, EGG, MILK AND SOY. PRODUCT MAY CONTAIN TRACES OF PEANUTS, NUTS, SULPHITES AND OTHER GLUTEN CEREALS. EXCESS CONSUMPTION OF THIS FOOD MAY HAVE A LAXATIVE EFFECT.
Let’s break it down.
Sugar
There are a minimum of 10 sugars in this bar, though we do not know the exact figure based on the types included. Starting with polydextrose. Poly meaning ‘many’ and dextrose meaning sugar. These many sugars are derived from wheat and are nutrient negative and this type of sugar(s) are typically used as a bulking agent.The technical description of polydextrose is an indigestible synthetic polymer of glucose.Following on there is malted barley flour (sugar flour essentially), 4 x different additions of sugar actually listed as sugar, honey (because there wasn’t enough sugars in there?), lactose = milk sugar, toffee made form more polydextrose (many-sugars), condensed milk = high lactose (milk sugar) content, invert sugar syrup (a mixture of glucose and fructose)
Image in my mind right now of Sarah Wilson Face-Palming
Hydrogenated vegetable oils
This is what the Livestrong.com foundation have to say about hydrogenated vegetable oils:
Hydrogenated oil is a man-made food substance that is used widely throughout the food supply for its cost efficiency and technical advantages. Also known as trans fats, these oils have become more known for their damaging health effects. Many scientists and health professional believe trans fats are so dangerous they should be banned from the food supply.
Hydrogenation and Trans Fats
Hydrogenated oils are vegetable oils whose chemical structure has been altered to prevent rancidity in foods, which increases shelf life and saves money for food manufacturers. The process of hydrogenation involves the addition of hydrogen atoms to the oil's available double bonds. As the level of hydrogenation increases, the level of saturated fat increases and the level of unsaturated fat decreases. The hydrogenation process converts what are known as “cis” double bonds to “trans” double bonds. This is where the term “trans fat” originates. Hydrogenation also has the technical advantage of making foods solid or partially solid at room temperature.
How Trans Fats Harm the Body
Trans fats work against the body in many ways. They increase bad cholesterol --low-density lipoprotein, or LDL -- and decrease good cholesterol -- high-density lipoprotein, or HDL. Furthermore, they block the production of chemicals that combat inflammation and benefit the hormonal and nervous systems, while at the same time allowing chemicals that increase inflammation. This means that trans fats promote inflammation and negatively impact cholesterol levels.
Health Effects of Trans Fats
Natural health doctor, Stephen Gangemi, contends that hydrogenated fats are “poisonous” and that even small amounts can cause damage to the body, resulting in illness or premature death. Harvard School of Public Health notes that trans fats promote immune system over-activity and inflammation and are linked to heart disease, stroke and diabetes, among other chronic diseases. One 2006 article published in the “New England Journal of Medicine” noted that at that time the average person (American) consumed nearly 5 grams of trans fat per day -- an amount that increases the risk for heart disease by approximately 25 percent.
Avoiding Trans Fats
To avoid hydrogenated oils you must not only ready nutrition facts but also ingredients labels as well. Many foods advertised as “zero grams trans fat” do, in fact, contain trans fat. If the amount is less than 0.5 grams of trans fat per serving, FDA guidelines allow the manufacturer to list “zero grams trans fat” on the nutrition label. This is where reading ingredients comes in. If the ingredient list contains the words "hydrogenated" or "partially hydrogenated," the food contains trans fat. Foods that often contain trans fats include baked goods, snack foods, deep-fried foods and some margarines.
Soy
This is what Dr. Nat Kringoudis has to say about soy products:
Soy is a strong source of a group of phytoestrogen called isoflavones – a naturally occurring compound found in plants that acts like oestrogen in our body. Even a small amount of isoflavones can have a remarkable affect on your precious bod. The problem lies not so much in the soy itself, but sadly that it has made its way into almost all packaged foods, breads, baby formula (yikes), sauces and as a result we are consuming extremely high quantities like never before. Oh and lets not forget soy milk – it has become a common stand in for many as an alternative to milk. The consumption of minimally processed soy products like temple and tofu for many has also increased in western cultures over recent times.Science tells us that the oestrogen mimicking component of soy can interfere with hormone function extending to growth and sexual organ abnormalities, as well as decreased fertility. Soy also affects breast tissue according to several studies, linking it to breast cancer (confused yet?). Because of its influence over oestrogen it can affect women going through menopause too, since menopause is a result of lowering/changing hormone levels. This becomes an issue due to the influence of the isoflavones on the hormones. Oestrogen can’t easily decline when influences like soy are topping it up frequently.
And then...
Then there are the multiple preservatives and additives of which we look at two here via the MBM, both listen in the ‘red’ (danger) zone of additives.
422
Humectant and sweetener; oily colourless alcohol; derived by decomposition of natural fats with alkalis; usually as a by-product of soap making using animal fat or vegetable oil; can be obtained from petroleum products sometimes synthesised from propylene or fermented from sugar; used in flexible coatings on sausages and cheeses, also in crystallised and dried fruit, liqueurs and vodka, marshmallows, soft drinks, desserts, confectionary, tooth paste, etc. "Glycerine has been shown to protect against DNA damage induced by tumour promoters, ultraviolet lights and radiation, presumably via free radical scavenging"; large quantities can cause headaches, thirst, nausea and high blood sugar levels.
471
Synthetic fats, produced from glycerol and natural fatty acids, mainly from plant origin, but also fats of animal origin may be used. The product generally is a mixture of different products, with a composition similar to partially digested natural fat. For use in baked goods, all types of dairy foods, margarine and ice cream. No known adverse effects. The body metabolises the products as any other fat. The individual components are also produced normally in the body when digesting normal fat. Although mainly vegetable oils are used, the use of animal fat (incl. pork) can not be excluded. Several groups, such as vegans, Muslims and Jews thus avoid these products. Only the producer can give detailed information on the origin of the fatty acids. Chemically the fatty acids from vegetable or animal origin are identical.
Please women, educate yourselves on ingredients and be aware and conscious of fraudulent and dollar driven marketing.
Buy and eat real food because you love yourself, not fake food like ‘stuffs’ because you despise yourself.
You are beautiful and worthy and you are worth so much more than that.
How do you feel about this ingredients panel and the way these products are marketed towards women? We welcome your comments below.