Watching TV can make you Fat
Watching TV can definitely make anyone fat. No, not just because it is a sedentary activity, but because the information most commercials are giving is extremely misleading and really confusing, to say the least.
Most people who know me, know I am not a TV watcher. Actually, I don’t even have cable at home (A rare thing these days, I know.) Very often, I have no idea which show is the “latest craze” and which commercials are all the rave.
Last week the TV did catch my attention. I was at my parent’s house and my mom had the TV on in the background. I was helping her cook and I nearly chopped my fingers off because I couldn’t believe what I was hearing!
“Eat Cheerios to lower your cholesterol.” “Three or more glasses of skim milk a day are a great way to lose weight”. Then it got ugly “Splenda is just like sugar and is great for kids”.
The worst of them all (the one where my mother had to nearly restrain me from attacking the TV “There is nothing wrong with High Fructose Corn Syrup. It comes from corn and can actually be good for you.” I nearly passed out.
I can see why people are totally confused about healthy eating. I can also see why obesity, heart disease and Type 2 diabetes are at an all time high in this country and in many others as well.
After I was done hyperventilating, I decided to first turn the TV off (because my heart just couldn’t take anymore) and then write this newsletter to clear up a few misconceptions.
1. Cheerios biggest claim to fame is that eating them will help you lower your cholesterol. I am here to tell you that eating processed grains, especially in the form of cereal can actually make your cholesterol go up! The cholesterol study done showed how soluble fiber can help the body eliminate bad cholesterol from the body. Cheerios has 1 gram of soluble fiber per serving. Woop-dee-doo. Big deal. I can get 2 grams of soluble fiber from an apple, 3 grams from broccoli and carrots, and more than 4 grams from kidney beans. (Beat that Cheerio Man). Honestly, I don’t think there are many foods in a box that are healthy at all. They have to be highly processed to stay shelf stable, many times loading them up with chemicals and fillers that are making us gain weight. My recommendation is ditch the cereal and pick up some wholesome natural foods like fruits and veggies. Natural grains like brown rice, millet and quinoa are 10x’s better than any boxed cereal.
2. Milk does a body bad! That’s really what the commercial should say. Ok, that is not entirely true. Conventional milk does a body bad. If you have read the Dairy chapter in The Diet Solution Program, you know my stance on milk: Organic is a must and Raw Milk is even better. If you didn’t read my article on milk, you can read it here:
http://www.thedietsolutionprogram.com/articles.aspx?article=Is-Milk-really-Healthy?
But don’t go yet until you read #3.
3. Give Splenda to my children? Never! Splenda has not been out on the market long enough to show whether it is actually safe or not. Until then it is a public health experiment (No thanks, I don’t’ want to be your guinea pig). Being the organic chemistry nerd that I am, I know exactly how sugar is converted to Splenda. I will spare you the chem lesson but tell you that Splenda (or sucralose) is a synthetic compound stumbled upon in 1976 by scientists in Britain seeking a new pesticide formulation. Huh? Did you say pesticide? Yup. Many chemists believe this molecule resembles a pesticide much more than it resembles natural sugar. If this is still in debate, I will not be a test subject. I highly recommend you take yourself and your children out of this experiment as well. My tip: Stick to natural sweeteners like whole fruits, stevia and agave syrup and stay away from artificial sweeteners like Splenda, Equal and Sweet & Low.
I could probably go on and on. If I watched TV long enough (or if I actually purchased cable) I could probably find 10, 20, 100 more commercials that are giving us false info, all in the name of selling products.
Now, go shut the TV off will ya?
Read the Real Truth about Healthy Eating and Weight Loss and get started on your own fat loss and health goals right away.
i cannot believe what i just read and what i believe though is there is nothing called diet food all of them has bad thing for the body in and just because the commercial say it will help you lose weight or its good for you take for instance special K i tried didnt do nothing important to my body thant what? make me gain weight! ugh oh and this is like my first acrticle reading on this site and i am saying i totally agree with you beforee i go i ould like to say i dont really watch tv too. but the lil time i do watch (i dont have cable either lol) there are things like buy this smaller burger have less fast blah blah the facts to me still remains it make you gain weight am i right? plz reply back to me i would seriously appreciate it. =)
i totally agree about the lies they say on TV. Its rediculous how the tell lies to people and the TV producers actaully run that kindof stuff. I DO own a TV cause i have certin shows i watch on certin days (sounds like im fat, but im not). The reason im not fat is:
1.) im only 13 (LOL) watta i do haha
2.) i dont listen to the commercials, only the funni ones:)
3.) i exercise daily
i will continue to check out and read this website and links. Thank you for this valuable information for my future. Please respond:)
I have never thought about it that way but TV really does make you fat! It is a shame that large corporations try to bend the truth to a marketing standpoint of being “healthy.” How some of them don’t not get in trouble for false advertisement is beyond me. Over the past couple of years I have made a big switch from the processed “poplar” realm of food, over to a more healthy and sustainable one. After all, I want to be the one looking out for my health, not listening to what TV deems as “healthy!”
Has anyone ever tried the stevia sugar. It is absoluately horrible. I took it back to the store. Haven’t tried agave syrup. Please someone come up with something better.
Isabel,
Please research Agave syrup on the web.
It is at least as bad as HFCS, and probably worse.
It is a processed product very, very high in fructose.
It is promoted as “natural” but is not.
Fortunately, God has given us stevia.
Larry, I have done a considerable amount of research about agave, and I no longer recommend it as part of the Diet Solution Program. Thank you for your concern though. And you are so right about stevia!
This is very informative. We don’t eat splenda, but I did have concerns over the raw milk. Good article.
To Florence, my mom bought agave syrup at Costco a few weeks ago and it is actually really good. It has that kind of undescribable but familiar taste and I love it. The brand my mom bought is called Wholesome Sweetners. The syrup is 3 parts agave and 4 parts sugar. It’s made from a blue agave plant.
Try it, it’s AWESOME!
i used the agave syrup in coffee and it was good…sad to hear the stevia is horrible
You should stay clear of anything that contains High Fructose Syrup, Soy, Hydrogenated Oils or Fats, GM’s Produce or products, and any chemical that is not natural.
When you consume Splenda you are ingesting chlorine. The Splenda manufacturing process takes the carbon atoms out of the sugar molecule and replaces them with chlorine. As you should know chlorine is a venomous element that it is usually utilize and a disinfectant. Simply put chlorine is harmful to humans as well as to any living form.
As for soy, soy tends to effeminate men. Soy tends to increase estrogen levels! Also, I heard that it is an incomplete protein.
The best diet is no diet! Simply eat sensibly and never abuse food!
It is very informative article thanks for your guidance
I know right?! I’m fifteen and I only love commercials because of their hilarious ways of advertising everything. Some are not funny at all, though. They think it’s going to be funny, then they air it and I want to rip my eyes from my head, but what good would that do? The commercial is already in my head. (Lol) However, I never listen to these commercials about anything. Unless maybe some infomercials for like the magic bullet… I so want that! I make fun of the one’s that are full of lies. I feel that it helps me not want their food even more.
I’m vegetarian as well and that keeps me away from many commercials. At least I thought I was until it hit me this morning. I realized there was lard in a can of refried beans… Isn’t that like pig fat? I wanna cry every time I think about it, which has been like every second of the day so far…
Wow, I’m glad I stumbled on this site- you’re totally right! I get sick of TV commercials too (and magazine ads as well, what a bunch of BS!)
this is a brilliant idea no question and the fact that tv efectts youre whght and health
Biggest reasons I rarely watch TV: They lie, the news it horrible, and too many commercials. Plus I have better things to do with my time than sit in front of a TV set, work out, walk, clean the house, study, etc…
If one is going to sit in front of a TV, most likely they will eat, and most of that eating is, JUNK FOOD, that’s right JUNK!
I suggest instead of eating junk, have a couple 3# weights at your side to work out the biceps and triceps, stand and do calf raises while watching TV or do some stretching. Just a few to help burn calories.
Remember you need to expend those calories that you are consuming.
Thanks for all of your great insight. I’ll never look at tv the same again.
thanks for this very informative and helpful information. im 16 and im trying to change my lifestyle to a more healthy one and tv would have to be something on my list to cut down after reading this ! if you would please respond to me that’d me awesome because i need all the advice i can get to achieve changes involving my lifestyle.
Stevia CAN be good… but tends to get bitter if you use too much… it has the sweetness of about 10 times as sweet as sugar, so you have to do the math… or at least be conservative. The best advice is to learn to appreciate foods that are not covered up with sweetners… iced tea, cereals, etc… use fruit on your cerial… honey in your iced tea (but less sweetness)… and appreciate the “real food” you’re eating.
Admire the information published.its really informative and innovative keep us posted with new updates. it was really valuable.
Thanks Joey for this info. It’s scarey, what & who do you believe anymore. I myself don’t eat processed foods. I try to stay away from all processed things. It’s true, TV has so many food commericals & it implants that thought in your head & before U know it, your nibbling on junk. That’s when the fruit comes out for me, & the sweetness satisfies me. It’s not a habit of mine to eat after dinner. I rather keep it that way!
Love Ya Joey!
Actually i’m doing the ceerios diet and i already lost 5kg in one week…
Just kidding!!! Before you guys have a heart attack! haha
Thanks for the info, they were really helpfull.
I don’t watch tv as well.
It’s full of false info and bad news. %$#$ that.
Take care guys and have a great weekend.
Cheers,
I use stevia in my coffee every morning. I had to try a few different brands before I found one I really liked. What I did find was that the stevia in the powder form was WAY better than the liquid form. The brand I use is called Herbal Select. I’ve never used it for anything other than coffee, or oatmeal, so I don’t know how it would be in large quantaties, or if you could use it to bake with etc.
Hope this helps!
While TV is probably the worst because the greatest number of people see it (and while in a zoned-out state where any nonesense goes straight to the unconscious), the epidemic of bad info and ridiculous assumptions is everywhere. Magazines. Internet. Even fairly good websites. People are being taught that they have to eat cereal to be healthy. Breakfast is the most important meal, and what does it consist of??? Cereal!!! I’m also horrified by this sweetener controversy. The best solution is to train ourselves to like foods that don’t taste sweet, or that only have the sweetness that the natural fruit or whatever contains. I read in what was supposed to be a good book by a medical expert that stevia will make you sterile (not that I care at my age, but others surely would).
Best options of course, less packaged food, less sweet food other than fruit.
I almost go through the television every time one of those HFCS commercials come on. The way they cut and paste half truths to make their product sound “safe” sickens me. And Splenda… oh, don’t get me started about that stuff! I’m finding more and more that I have to read labels more than usual because sucralose (a.k.a. Splenda) will show up in just about anything.
My sweetener of choice: dates. Those lovely, sticky, sweeter than sugar ovals of happiness… I love em up! If I’m dying for something sweet, I’ll have one or two and my sweet tooth is happy. I’ll also grind them up with raw nuts for a treat. Yum.
And now, my personal rant: Soy will not effeminate men or render women infertile… Asians have been eating soy for thousands of years with no problems. BUT they’re not eating it in the forms that we in the West do. You’ll never see soy burgers, soya cheese or even soy whipping cream in the Asian diet – their soy is the non-processed stuff and one of the many proteins they eat, not their only protein. I love soy and eat unprocessed soy with no fear but it HAS to be unprocessed – I won’t eat soy that’s been processed beyond recognition.
I also totally agree that TV commercials are full of bs. They are there to sell something and make some money, only. They do not care what it is as long as they get paid for putting it on the air.
Personally I would never take an artificial sweetener like Splenda or Aspartame. I am willing to bet that 10 years from now these artificial sweeteners will be proven to cause cancer. I would rather take real sugar or better yet none at all. The tv definitely has a lot of misleading commercials; consumers have to do their own research and make intelligent decisions in regards to which products deliver as claimed. And for those who insist on watching tv; do lunges or exercise watching it. It’s better than laying inactive on the couch.
So sad to learn that some people are advertisers of these harmful foods commercially called ‘healthy foods’. Wondering while food authorities are closing their eyes. Isabel, why can’t the government do something about these deceptions and lies.