We all know that Thanksgiving has been labeled the least healthy eating day of the year. If you are on a diet, you will most likely blow it, or make yourself crazy trying to stick with it. With Thanksgiving's tradition of eating until you're ready to burst, it seems pretty logical to be scared.
We have labeled Thanksgiving as the least healthy holiday. Well, like we all know, it doesn't pay to hang out with the wrong kind of people. Thanksgiving should just be considered another day in November as far as it's affect of our health, it just happens to be guilty by association. The association we give it to food, and lots of it. With this being the United States of America, we are free to do as we wish, furthermore, eat as we wish. Let's take a closer look at the major food components to Thanksgiving before we judge too strictly.
The first offender, Turkey, the centerpiece of our Thanksgiving meal.
5 ounces of Turkey (White Meat): Total Fat: 11.8g Saturated Fat: 3.3 Trans Fat: 0 Cholesterol: 107.7 mg Sodium: 89.3 mg Carbs: 0 Protein: 40.5g
Turkey does have a little bit of fat, no saturated or trans fats though, but healthy unsaturated fats. There is a very small amout of cholesterol, sodium, and no carbs. It has tons of protein, and protein from turkey is a great source because it is a complete protein with all of the necessary amino acids. It seems like turkey is not bad for us, but actually healthy. The jury says that Turkey is innocent!
Now for Sweet Potatoes.
Sweet Potatoes, Dark Orange, Fresh, 5" long, Total Fat: .1g Cholesterol: 0mg Sodium: 71.5mg Carbs: 26.2g Protein: 2g
It seems that sweet potatoes are fat free and cholesterol free. They are nearly free of sodium as well as protein. This vegetable, or root, has good carbs as well. These good carbs are complex, which means your body breaks them down slowly providing you with energy over time, instead of going straight to your hips or stomach as fat. It would appear that sweet potatoes are innocent also.
Now let's look at canned, sweetened cranberry sauce.
Cranberry Sauce, Sweetened and Canned, 3 slices: Total Fat: .3g Cholesterol: 0mg Sodium: 49.6mg Carbs: 66.5g Sugars- 64.5.g Protein: .3g
Well, it appears that cranberry sauce is fat free, please remember that the FDA lets food be labeled as fat free, preservative free, or trans fat free as long as there is less than .5g of the substance per serving. Please don't think that everything is actually fat free. Just think of it as .49g of fat per serving. Canned cranberry suace has no cholesterol and a very low sodium level. It does have 66.5g of carbs, 64.5g of those are sugar. Think of those 65g being pasted right to your belly, that's not a pretty sight. It looks like canned cranberry sauce is guilty!
Up next, stuffing:
Stuffing, bread, prep/dry mix 1/2cup Total Fat: 8.6g Saturated Fat: 1.7g Cholesterol: 0mg Sodium: 543mg Carbs: 21.7g Sugars: 2.1g Protein: 3.2g
Well, stuffing has a small amount of fat, but not bad fat. There is a limited amount of cholesterol and protein, but tons of sodium as with most boxed or canned foods. It has a little bit of carbs from the white bread mix, but it's not from sugar and actually has less carbs than a can of soda, so it seems like stuffing is innocent.
The jury is in, we've seen all we need to see. Turkey is not bad but healthy, sweet potatoes are not bad but healthy, cranberries are healthy, but the sweetened canned version is loaded with sugar, and stuffing isn't healthy, but isn't bad.
So, is Thanksgiving innocent or guilty? It's innocent. Think about it, if we eat a serving of turkey, sweet potatoes, cranberries (not the canned sugary kind), and stuffing, we actually have a pretty healthy meal made of real, natural food. For some, it would be the healthiest meal they have eaten in a while.
Now who do you think is actually guilty?
Well, that's obvious. The truth is, if you eat anything in excess, even the most healthy foods, you will gain weight. If you eat more calories than you burn, you will gain weight.
So what's the big deal? Thanksgiving has only gotten it's bad image because we overeat, and not only on the healthy stuff. We fill ourselves full of dinner and dessert. I know I don't have to tell you how bad dessert can be, so I'm not going to. Just take it easy.
Let's stop accusing Thanksgiving, and get real with ourselves. How about this year we take responsibility for ourselves and call it quits when we know we should. We won't feel guilty, or miserable and actually enjoy our time with family. This year let's be thankful for our family and that fact that we have so many leftovers.
Happy Thanksgiving
We have labeled Thanksgiving as the least healthy holiday. Well, like we all know, it doesn't pay to hang out with the wrong kind of people. Thanksgiving should just be considered another day in November as far as it's affect of our health, it just happens to be guilty by association. The association we give it to food, and lots of it. With this being the United States of America, we are free to do as we wish, furthermore, eat as we wish. Let's take a closer look at the major food components to Thanksgiving before we judge too strictly.
The first offender, Turkey, the centerpiece of our Thanksgiving meal.
5 ounces of Turkey (White Meat): Total Fat: 11.8g Saturated Fat: 3.3 Trans Fat: 0 Cholesterol: 107.7 mg Sodium: 89.3 mg Carbs: 0 Protein: 40.5g
Turkey does have a little bit of fat, no saturated or trans fats though, but healthy unsaturated fats. There is a very small amout of cholesterol, sodium, and no carbs. It has tons of protein, and protein from turkey is a great source because it is a complete protein with all of the necessary amino acids. It seems like turkey is not bad for us, but actually healthy. The jury says that Turkey is innocent!
Now for Sweet Potatoes.
Sweet Potatoes, Dark Orange, Fresh, 5" long, Total Fat: .1g Cholesterol: 0mg Sodium: 71.5mg Carbs: 26.2g Protein: 2g
It seems that sweet potatoes are fat free and cholesterol free. They are nearly free of sodium as well as protein. This vegetable, or root, has good carbs as well. These good carbs are complex, which means your body breaks them down slowly providing you with energy over time, instead of going straight to your hips or stomach as fat. It would appear that sweet potatoes are innocent also.
Now let's look at canned, sweetened cranberry sauce.
Cranberry Sauce, Sweetened and Canned, 3 slices: Total Fat: .3g Cholesterol: 0mg Sodium: 49.6mg Carbs: 66.5g Sugars- 64.5.g Protein: .3g
Well, it appears that cranberry sauce is fat free, please remember that the FDA lets food be labeled as fat free, preservative free, or trans fat free as long as there is less than .5g of the substance per serving. Please don't think that everything is actually fat free. Just think of it as .49g of fat per serving. Canned cranberry suace has no cholesterol and a very low sodium level. It does have 66.5g of carbs, 64.5g of those are sugar. Think of those 65g being pasted right to your belly, that's not a pretty sight. It looks like canned cranberry sauce is guilty!
Up next, stuffing:
Stuffing, bread, prep/dry mix 1/2cup Total Fat: 8.6g Saturated Fat: 1.7g Cholesterol: 0mg Sodium: 543mg Carbs: 21.7g Sugars: 2.1g Protein: 3.2g
Well, stuffing has a small amount of fat, but not bad fat. There is a limited amount of cholesterol and protein, but tons of sodium as with most boxed or canned foods. It has a little bit of carbs from the white bread mix, but it's not from sugar and actually has less carbs than a can of soda, so it seems like stuffing is innocent.
The jury is in, we've seen all we need to see. Turkey is not bad but healthy, sweet potatoes are not bad but healthy, cranberries are healthy, but the sweetened canned version is loaded with sugar, and stuffing isn't healthy, but isn't bad.
So, is Thanksgiving innocent or guilty? It's innocent. Think about it, if we eat a serving of turkey, sweet potatoes, cranberries (not the canned sugary kind), and stuffing, we actually have a pretty healthy meal made of real, natural food. For some, it would be the healthiest meal they have eaten in a while.
Now who do you think is actually guilty?
Well, that's obvious. The truth is, if you eat anything in excess, even the most healthy foods, you will gain weight. If you eat more calories than you burn, you will gain weight.
So what's the big deal? Thanksgiving has only gotten it's bad image because we overeat, and not only on the healthy stuff. We fill ourselves full of dinner and dessert. I know I don't have to tell you how bad dessert can be, so I'm not going to. Just take it easy.
Let's stop accusing Thanksgiving, and get real with ourselves. How about this year we take responsibility for ourselves and call it quits when we know we should. We won't feel guilty, or miserable and actually enjoy our time with family. This year let's be thankful for our family and that fact that we have so many leftovers.
Happy Thanksgiving
About the Author:
Klint Newton has unveiled his 7 Part Muscle Building Guide that you can recieve, if done before Thankgiving, for free. Klint Newton is a recognized expert in teaching others the best way to gain muscle. Get your copy of his 7 Part Muscle Building Guide Now.
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