MY BREAK UP WITH SPRAY BUTTER

By, Charlotte Snow

So I must confess, I’ve had an affair with Spray Butter over the last year and a half…yes..I am ashamed to admit that I have indulged in this delicious, buttery tasting…well…processed chemical. I don’t put it on EVERYTHING, but I definitely put it on quite a few of my meals throughout the day. Egg whites and avocado…a good 10-12 sprays of the pretend butter…leads to happy taste buds. So “why?”, you ask am I putting an end to this year long affair?

Let me start by saying that I have a certificate in Holistic Nutrition. I know without ANY shadow of a doubt that spray butter and other artificial foods are in no way healthy or beneficial to my body. When you assimilate artificial, chemical laden food, you send your body into a complete state of confusion. You see, when you eat an apple, your body knows exactly what to do with it. It breaks down the apple and sends the nutrients off to be used for energy, digestion, etc. When you consume “fake food” as I like to call it, your body has absolutely no idea WHAT to do with it. So what do you imagine happens? Well, a number of things could occur. You can feel extra sluggish because the chemicals are forcing your body to work overtime in a futile attempt to figure out what to do with this “alien” infesting your body. This can cause, bloating, headaches, muscle fatigue. But these are just minor side affects. There have been numerous studies conducted linking chemicals and preservatives found in artificial foods to very serious illnesses, including, but not limited to, many types of cancer and severe brain damage.

Knowing this, one would have to wonder why I would ever have begun consuming these products? For a long time you couldn’t have paid me to eat spray butter or anything artificially processed for that matter. What changed? When I started prepping for my first show and my diet was super restricted I saw what many of my friends were doing to “get through” if you will. I broke down. I thought, “well I’ll only use a little, that won’t hurt me”. It’s absolutely amazing what we can talk ourselves into believing. With all of the knowledge I had on the nasty effects of artificial, processed foods there was no reason whatsoever for me to be using this on a daily basis!

I was on vacation a couple of weeks ago visiting my family in NJ. I of course went grocery shopping so I could prepare my meals for the week. I didn’t buy spray butter on that trip. I would never bring that into my brother’s house because I would never want my teenage nieces to see me eating that and think it’s okay for them to have it too. (I also would never let any of my clients have this either!) Ironic, huh? Well as it turns out, I made it through the entire week without eating any spray butter…imagine that… I did notice how great I felt all week, but I attributed it to my being relaxed and having fun family time. It wasn’t until I returned home to Vegas, and started eating the chemical butter did it finally hit me. My stomach started hurting, I felt bloated, I wasn’t feeling as energetic in the mornings AND I noticed I started craving more and more of the spray butter with meals. Oh, did I forget to mention that many of these preservatives are highly addictive? Yes. Just another trick the food companies use to get you hooked on their products so you keep buying them!

One other interesting fact about this sneaky little product, the label claims to be calorie and fat free. Beware of tricky advertising folks. I decided to do a little research of my own. It claims to have 0 cals and 0g of fat, but that is PER serving. In actuality, 12 1/2 sprays holds 10calories and 1 gram of fat. The entire bottle contains a hefty 900 calories and 90g of fat, of which 15% is saturated! Still want to soak your super clean egg whites in this?

So it’s time to face reality. Just like with any bad relationship, I know better, I’ve stopped making excuses and I broke it off. There were no tears with this one…but the spray butter went in the garbage. It’s been only a few days, and amazingly my belly is feeling back to normal and I’m not left craving more food at the end of my meals. Listen, most things are okay in moderation, but you need to be real with yourself. Something you use daily is not moderate. I will still occasionally get my Americano from Starbucks with a little sugar free syrup it. I will always opt for the clear flavors as there are less additives and no food colorings. But I prefer to feel alive, and to be full of spunk and energy, and let’s face it, real, whole foods fill us with this vigor. So keep this in mind as you shop and prepare food for yourself and your families. If you have questions or are unsure about different products, here’s a general rule to remember…if there are more then a few ingredients, it likely contains some unhealthy additives or preservatives. You can search the Internet and do some research on unfamiliar ingredients. If you can’t pronounce it, it’s probably no good. And of course you can comment back to me with any questions you might have! I am more then happy to offer any help I possibly can! Until next time….have a healthy and blessed week! xo