Nutrition Frenzy

Recently on Oprah, self-proclaimed health guru Bob Green put his “Best Life Diet” stamp of approval on 8th Continent Brand soymilk.

Personally, I get the feeling ol’ Bob is just out to make a buck by endorsing products that may taste o.k., but are not the best option for the health conscious consumer. I also think we should take a second look at anything, endorsed by anyone, who associates his image with McDonalds, home of the heart attack.

Instead of using 8th Continent for your smoothies or cereal, I recommend WestSoy Organic Soymilk.

WestSoy is Organic, whereas 8th Continent is labeled “premium”. Huh? Until there are FDA standards for what “premium” is, I’ll choose organic products.

Here are the ingredients in Westsoy Unsweetened Plain Soymilk: filtered water and organic soybeans. Period. This is aligned with a great rule of thumb - the shorter the ingredient list, the more nutritious and less processed the product.

Plain Westsoy has 90 calories per cup, 4,5 g fat, 5 g carbs and a big 4g of fiber. Fiber count is especially important since it effectively “cancels out” the 5g of carbs leaving you with a net 1g of impact carbs. It also boasts only 1 g sugar, and 9 g protein. For you sodium watchers -only 30g per delicious serving.

Chocoholic? Go for West Soy Unsweetened Chocolate, made with pure cocoa. At 100 calories per cup, 4.5 g fat , 6g carbohydrate and 5 g fiber (again, net carbs come in at 1 g!), it is an outstanding way to make luscious smoothies without added sugar.

For an even sweeter sensation, I recommend adding a packet of all-natural Stevia extract (I like Sunlabel by Complete Earth Products) to make the perfect sugar-free chocolate smoothie.

Now the info on 8th Continent Plain Soymilk: 80 calories per cup with 3g of fat. Now be careful - although the fat content is lower than WestSoy, a serving of 8th Continent has 8g carbohydrate, ZERO fiber (no “cancellation” of those carbs), and 7g of sugar.

People, anything with more than 4g of sugar (we’re talking sugar sugar here, not just fructose which is sugar from fruit) per serving is bad news.

The sodium content of 160g is more than double WestSoy as well.

8th Continent Chocolate Soymilk is even worse ; 90cal, 13g carbs, ( again, zero fiber), 11g sugar and 190g sodium. Besides these not –so- hot stats, the thing that really weirds me out about 8th Soy is that the second ingredient listed on its label, righ after “soymilk”, is sugar. Sugar is followed by fructose, modified corn starch , sucralose( care for a tumor anyone?) and a substantial string of preservatives.

Another dietary landmine endorsed by Bobby Green ( I am wondering just how much of cut must he gets from this crap?) is the “Limited Edition” 8th Continent Smoothie. The jingle on this one is, “lose the blender”. A more accurate description would be, “lose the blender, keep the weight”.

I mean, come on Bob, for those of us battling the bulge the Chocolate- Strawberry Banana smoothie is positively gruesome choice and you know it! It contains – 100 cals, 18 g carbs, no fiber, 12g of sugar and 180mg sodium. Blech.

Much more respectable is 8th Continent ‘s “light” version. This one is 50 calories, 10g fat, 2 carbs and only 1g sugar. However, sugar is still the second ingredient on its label, and it has zero fiber, is not organic and contain preservatives.

I do think 8th Continent has pretty packaging. So, if you are interested in eating the nifty label and drinking great marketing, this is the soy for you. Aside from that, I am baffled as to how it could be a “healthy life” selection when there are much better options.

But, as always, the choice is really yours. Just don’t come crying to me when your ass still looks big as Texas in your Daisy Dukes this spring.

You know I love you, so try this smoothie recipe for a delicious treat that will keep you satisfied and gorgeous:

–1 C WestSoy Unsweetened Organic Soy
–1 C cold water
–1 Scoop Chocolate Whey or Soy protein powder
–1 TBSPN cocoa powder
–1 TBSPN chunky peanut or almond butter
–1 small frozen banana (or 1 C frozen strawberries or frozen apple or pear chunks)
–1 TBSPN ground flax seeds
–1-2 Stevia packets
–3 ice cubes

Blend and love!

Oprah, Bob Green, Best Life Diet, soymilk