You could keep your calorie intake at a "normal" level by eating a fast food hamburger and fries, and even adding a medium Coke or juice drink. That's about all you could consume for the day, plus a snack or two, if you wanted to stay within a 2,000 calorie diet. With this kind of diet, I would say you need 20 Capsules of Juice Plus+® Fruit AND Vegetable (each) to help make any difference in what you're missing in good nutrition (and that's still going to leave you deficient!). There are news reports out about how children are consuming less calories if there is caloric information on the menu. That good news, in some ways, in that kids will be consuming less calories and therefore be more likely to avoid becoming obese. Here's one reference to the report from Businessweek.com --
When nutritional information is available on fast-food restaurant menus, parents are more apt to pick lower-calorie foods for their kids, new research finds. Often spurred on by legislation, many U.S. restaurant chains are now posting nutrition information about their menu items. But whether this information would translate to healthier eating was unclear.
The new study, conducted with McDonald's menus, suggests that it does.
"When parents are provided with calorie information they chose about 100 calories less [per meal] for their 3- to 6-year-old child compared to parents who didn't have that information," said lead researcher Dr. Pooja Tandon, a graduate fellow in the department of general pediatrics at the University of Washington in Seattle.
"One hundred calories over time is actually a significant amount in terms of weight gain, given the rates of fast food consumption and childhood obesity in our country," she added. The report is published in the Jan. 25 online issue of Pediatrics.
For the study, Tandon's team surveyed 99 parents of 3-to 6-year-olds about the foods they selected for their children at fast food restaurants. The parents were given pictures of McDonald's menu choices and asked which items they would pick for themselves and their children. Half of the menus had calorie information for each item and half did not.
Choices included sandwiches, salads, dressings, side items, beverages, desserts and children's meals.
The team found that parents given menus with calorie information picked items with an average of 102 less calories for their children than did the parents whose menus didn't have the calorie data. (source)
But...and there's always a but..what about the quality of the food that is being consumed? We recommend Juice Plus+ because most people don't eat enough fruits and vegetables. I hate to say this, but if you're not eating any fruits and vegetables, and you're diet consists of only "fast foods", then Juice Plus+ may not make any difference in your health (unless maybe, and this is a big maybe, you consumed the quantity mentioned above!).
The point is that we can't just focus on calorie intake, we've got to be more concerned with WHAT it is that we're choosing for our children and ourselves. Let them eat as many fruits and vegetables as they want all day, everyday, then make sure they get one healthy portion of protein each day and I can almost guarantee you're kids will NOT be overweight, and will be VERY healthy! Show me one child whom eats too many fruits and vegetables each day who is overweight? You won't find one. (This does leave out the healthy fats and complex carbs that are important each day, but I'm not sure that it's possible to avoid those - everyone has bread in some form everyday...the healthy fats may be another story).
So watch what you're eating more than you watch and count your calories. Get to 9 servings of fruits and vegetables (1/2 cup is a serving) every day, and after you've been doing that consistently for a few weeks, then you can start to take the next step and be more concerned with calorie counting. I'm willing to bet (A LOT!) that if you get to that 9 servings/day level consistently - for a few weeks - you will feel great and even drop weight if you need to. And until you do get to that # of servings / day, as I always suggest, add Juice Plus+® as it has nutrients from a variety of fruits and vegetables, which will help support your effort to be healthier.
The Health & Wellness Institute
Official Juice Plus+® Independent Distributor
This product is not a treatment or cure for any health condition, nor is the information here to be used to diagnose to treat or provide advice for any health condition. The reference for 20 Juice Plus+ capsules isn't a recommendation, but is only a hypothetical example to make a point. Please consult your physician for any changes to your diet.
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