Eating Simple EQUALS Eating Better

Let’s kick off with a guessing game…

Read this label and guess what it is:

Soy Protein Nuggets (Soy Protein Isolate, Tapioca Starch, Salt), Peanut Butter Fudge (Corn Syrup, Invert Sugar, Peanut Butter [Peanuts, Sugar, Salt], Sugar, Palm Kernel Oil, Peanut Flour, Milk Protein Isolate, Soy Lecithin, Salt, Vanilla Extract, Xanthan Gum, Carob Seed Gum, Beta-Carotene), Chocolate Flavored Coating (Sugar, Fractionated Palm Kernel Oil, Cocoa Powder, Whey Powder, Nonfat Milk Powder, Soy Lecithin, Natural Vanilla Flavor), Corn Syrup, Acacia Gum, Fructose Syrup, Peanut Butter, Peanut Flour, Peanuts. Less than 2% of the Following: Glycerine, Soy Protein Isolate, Natural Flavor, Calcium Phosphate, Salt, and Vitamin & Mineral Blend (Calcium Phosphate, Ascorbic Acid [Vit. C], Magnesium Oxide, dl-Alpha-Tocopheryl Acetate [Vit. E], Niacinamide [Vit. B3], Zinc Oxide, Calcium Pantothenate [Vit. B5], Ferrous Fumarate [Iron], Pyridoxine Hydrochloride [Vit. B6], Vitamin A Palmitate, Riboflavin [Vit. B2], Thiamine Mononitrate [Vit. B1], Folic Acid [Vit. B9], Chromium Chloride, Biotin [Vit. B7], Sodium Selenite, Sodium Molybdate, Cyanocobalamin [Vit. B12]).

Did you figure it out?

It’s a Chocolate Peanut Butter Zone Perfect Nutrition Bar.

You’ll find it in the “Nutrition Aisle” at your grocery store. Chances are you’ve eaten something similar when you were tight for time and wanted to grab something “quick and healthy.”

Perhaps you even ate one as a meal replacement at lunchtime. But after you look at the sugar, chemicals, and weird ingredients in the label you must ask yourself, “Is this really food?”

And it’s not just the Fractionated Palm Kernel Oil. Do you see how many times the word “sugar” appears in this label? Sugar in all of its many sneaky forms is the death of a good diet. Sugar is nothing short of poison. It’s delicious, addictive, and toxic.

Sugar causes insulin resistance that can lead to diabetes, it is the primary cause for obesity, can cause liver disease, heart disease, cancer, Alzheimer's, and more. Just how nutritious do you think that nutrition bar actually is?

That’s the problem with the words “nutritious” or “healthy” or “organic.” They lure us into trusting the packaging and we stop doing the work. If you’re serious about improving your diet, you need to bite the bullet and read the labels.

And here's some really good news... that's what I’m doing the FREE 7-Day Eat Better Challenge.

Take the challenge and you may eventually find yourself going an entire week without eating anything that needs a label.

Imagine that! I mean chicken is just chicken. Spinach is just spinach and avocado is just avocado. You don’t need a label or a special set of instructions. One ingredient foods are the key to eating better.

Ask yourself if what you want to eat is man-made or nature-made. If it flew, grew, swam, or ran you’re probably good to go. If not, put it down.

Food that has one ingredient is almost always the most pure form of nutrition. And giving yourself over to clean, simple ingredients will set you on the path to a healthier diet.

Eating better doesn’t have to be complicated. Just following a plan to eat only food found in nature will get you most of the way there. If your grandma couldn’t eat it as a child then chances are neither should you. If you don’t see the ingredients in your own kitchen cupboard then don’t swallow them out of a box or a bag.

The recipe for eating better is simple because eating simple foods is simply eating better.