Hey sugar, you sure are sweet.

As human beings, instinctively we crave sugar. Back when people had to forage for food, we knew that something with a sweet flavor usually meant it was ripe and okay to eat, while something sour tasting often meant that a food was poisonous or to approach it with caution. As a little girl, my mother rarely kept soda, junk foods or any type of snack that was extremely sugary in our home. She would pack my lunches with Hansen's Natural Soda, Newman-O's, (basically organic Oreos) fruit and a sandwich. Of course, as a kid I used to hate this because my friends were allowed to have Cokes and real Oreos, but I was allowed to have sodas and junk foods only on special occasions.

However, looking back I'm glad my mom monitored my sugar intake. I don't usually crave sodas and junk food and I believe this is because I wasn't raised eating them on a regular basis. I remember, every so often my mother would let me have Kool Aid. The recipe for Kool Aid is basically one cup of sugar and one packet of Kool Aid thrown together with water to fill a pitcher. My mom would always put half of a cup of sugar in the pitcher instead of the full cup because she knew what the recipe called for was excessive. I would get frustrated because my other friends could have Kool Aid the regular way but I was stuck with the not as sweet, (but still really sugary) version. Ultimately, I'm glad she did little things like giving me "fake" Oreos and watered down Kool Aid because I never needed all that excess sugar.

There is another side to sugar.
Though I am a proponent of moderate sugar consumption, by no means would I recommend people to avoid sugar in their diet. Sugar has been demonized as the main cause of obesity and diabetes problems in the United States, but sugar is just as important in our diet as any other nutrient. Sugars are what make up carbohydrates which should be about 45-65% of our daily food intake! The biggest problems that Americans are facing with sugars is the form that they are most commonly sold and consumed in.

High fructose corn syrup.

There is a commercial on television that you've probably seen, with the two moms talking at a kid's birthday party. One of the moms makes a comment to the hostess of the party about a drink she's serving to the children and says something like, "That has high fructose corn syrup in it, you know what they say about it?" Then the hostess responds, "Like what?" Confused, the mom is at a loss for words, so the hostess says, "That it's made from corn, doesn't have artificial ingredients and like sugar and is fine in moderation?" At the bottom of the screen when this commercial is playing, the Corn Refiners Association logo pops up, which makes a lot of sense when you think about who might want to boast HFCS as a healthier product than it is. The truth of the matter is, HFCS is an unnatural form of sugar made from almost exclusively genetically modified corn. The reason corn syrup is so prevalent in foods in America is because we heavily subsidize it. Farmers actually get paid by the government to grow genetically modified corn for refinement. The films King Corn and Food Inc. are two of the best nutrition movies out there to date and they cover the topic of corn subsidization thoroughly. The process of creating HFCS is long and arduous and I will try to put it in as simple terms as possible: The corn is grown, harvested and shucked. The kernels are then removed and steeped in warm water with sulfur dioxide to dissolve salts, carbohydrates and proteins, (yes, as in taking out some good stuff). The kernels are then ground up to remove the germ, separating the germ and turning it in a slurry. The slurry is washed and milled to remove the fiber, (look, they took out more good stuff) leaving behind some protein and starch. The starch is then split open and washed numerous times. The starch is then processed into chains of sugar molecules called dextrose through hydrolysis by treating it with mineral acid and enzymes. The product of this process is treated with glucoamylase which produces individual glucose molecules. Glucose isomerase then breaks down these glucose molecules into what we know as, high fructose corn syrup. 


I know. That was about as fun for you to read it as it was for me to write it.


As of last September, the Corn Refiners Association are petitioning the FDA to re-name high fructose corn syrup on labels as, "corn sugar".  It seems like just another way to confuse consumers who are becoming all too aware that HFCS is not a healthy sugar. 

And really? You guys have got to be kidding me. I don't know if the statement, "It comes from real corn" really applies to HFCS after knowing about the tedious process of producing it. I guess at some point in time it was corn... just like at some point in time we were all under 5 feet tall and thought the earth was flat.

Cane Sugar

Many people are excited about buying an item that is sweetened with cane sugar. There is a lot of advertising out there telling us that it is far superior to HFCS. Unfortunately, cane sugar isn't much better than corn syrup at all because it is also highly refined. The process is shorter and doesn't involve GM corn but it's still produced by a method that strips the sugar of it's natural vitamins and minerals. The procedure begins with cane stalks that are essentially crushed, pressed, crystallized, bleached, crystallized again and filtered to create a stable, purified chemical which never spoils. When the sugar is going through the bleaching process, it is most commonly run through cow bones to get that bright white color, (yeah, I know... gross). When you eat food sweetened with cane sugar, it dissolves immediately into your bloodstream shocking the pancreas into releasing a large amount of insulin. Cane sugar also creates an acidic environment in your blood, and to cope with this acidity, minerals leach out of your bones.



Over consumption of refined sugars cause long term problems.
Cane sugar, (also known as table sugar) and high fructose syrup are the versions of sugar that are dangerous to your body, and over consumption of them are hugely why so many people have type 2 diabetes. As I said before, when you ingest high levels of sugar in a short amount of time, your pancreas releases insulin in response to this to lower your blood glucose levels. If you continue to ingest cane sugars and corn syrup on a regular basis, you are at risk for your pancreas to become taxed, and your cells to stop responding to these insulin signals. Basically, your pancreas and cells get pissed at you from all the sugar abuse and they don't want to do the work for you anymore. Cane sugar and corn syrup also can cause high blood pressure and elevated fat levels in your blood.









There are other, better sugars. 
There are many different types of sugars that you can replace HFCS and cane sugar with. A few unrefined cane sugars such as, sucanat, rapadura and florida crystals are examples. Sucanat and rapadura are the most natural and unrefined dry sugars there are. They are the highest in nutritional value of all dry sugars because they are produced with the least amount of processing. Both rapadura and sucanat contain molasses and are a great substitute for brown sugar. Organic, unrefined cane sugar (otherwise known as florida crystals) is a good substitute for standard cane sugar. Florida crystals are unbleached, and contain more trace minerals such as calcium, iron, phosphorus and magnesium. Honey, agave nectar and pure maple syrup are great natural alternatives to wet sugars. All of these sugars are less likely to spike your blood sugar to dangerous levels when you ingest them. Raw honey has antioxidants and anti-bacterial properties that can improve your digestive and immune systems. Agave nectar is also anti-bacterial and anti-inflammatory, and pure maple syrup has natural antioxidants.

Consuming refined sugar can shock to your system and throw your insulin levels off, making you store  high levels of fat, while giving you no nutritional value. Stick to sugars in their more natural form, the way we are supposed to eat them, in order to avoid health problems.

Consuming natural sugar in moderation is part of a balanced diet, so stay away from high fructose corn syrup and cane sugar as much as possible, and then you can eat sweet guiltlessly.

If you can't read it, don't eat it.

Labels.
<---- Can you guess what type of food this is? I wouldn't be able to either if I hadn't already seen the packaging. You are probably familiar with some of the ingredients, such as flour, iron or cocoa, but these ingredients are not in their most natural state. For example, this label says, "Enriched flour (wheat flour, niacin, reduced iron, thiamine mononitrate {vitamin B1}, riboflavin, {vitamin B2}, folic acid)." Huh? It should really just say, "White flour that lost all of its vitamins and minerals during over-processing so we just synthetically stuck them back in." If you knew how unnatural and unhealthy these substances are to your body, you probably wouldn't want to eat them.

Let me enrich you.

Mmm that's how I like to take in my vitamins.
Reader's Digest

The first ingredient on the label above is flour enriched with a variety of vitamins and minerals. The more refined a food is, the more it's stripped it of it's natural nutrients, so it's pumped with supplements for the purpose of making it seem healthier than it is. You might be thinking, what's so wrong with that? Enriched foods are not the best way to receive your daily vitamins and minerals. People who eat copious amounts of enriched, processed foods can actually end up ingesting too much of these synthetic substances.  Toxicity due to supplements can lead to problems if the vitamins are fat-soluble. Vitamins A, D, E and K are fat-soluble and over consumption of them can cause damage to your cells and organs. All other vitamins are water soluble, so if you were to ingest too much vitamin C, you'd lose the excess in your urine. Ever taken a multi-vitamin and subsequently noticed a bright yellow color in your pee? Your body absorbed all of the water soluble vitamins it needed and then you passed the rest as waste. The label above shows niacin, iron, vitamin B1, B2 and folic acid (B9) enriching the flour. Luckily, there aren't any fat soluble vitamins in this food. Synthetic vitamins are made in laboratories with chemicals, and they have less antioxidants than vitamins and minerals from natural sources like fruits and vegetables.

Sugar
The next ingredient on the label is sugar, which tells me... well, nothing except there is some "type" of sugar in it. Fruit sugar, milk sugar, cane sugar? I have no idea. Following sugar on the label, is more sugar, particularly high fructose corn syrup, which is highly refined and contains genetically modified organisms.

Ingredients on labels have to be listed from top to bottom in order of their highest concentration. So, being that the first three ingredients are essentially, refined flour, some kind (?) of sugar,  and more sugar... we're not off to a good start.

Canola Oil

Look, a field of rape.

Next on the label is canola oil, which is a very popular fat used by many consumers in the United States. I hate to say it, but it's one of the worst oils you could use. Canola oil is modified from a poisonous substance. It's derived from a rapeseed plant, and it has high levels of eurcic acid. In large amounts, eurcic acid is linked to health problems, predominately in your heart. I find this ironic, considering that we are told specifically that since it is monounsaturated, canola oil is good for your heart. Canadian scientists were able to develop their own strains of rapeseed that were low in eurcic acid dubbing them, "canola oil." I guess they thought rape oil didn't sound very good. One might argue that since eurcic acid is found to be harmless in small amounts, the consumption of canola oil won't affect a person's health. I might agree with that if canola oil wasn't present in so many processed foods. Read some labels and see for yourself. Most of the canola oil in America is also genetically modified and get this... in many European countries, genetically modified foods are banned, meaning little to no canola oil is produced there.

More icky ingredients.

After rape oil, the label shows processed cocoa, cornstarch, which is a highly refined GMO containing thickening agent, and leavening agents to make the food "softer". The last 4 ingredients are a little more self explanatory: salt, more sugar, and my personal favorites, artificial color and flavor. 

What is it?

Divas Venus and
Serena stay fit by eating low
calorie junk food.

Wanna know what label you were looking at? It's was a list of ingredients for 100 calorie, Oreo Thin Crisps snack packs! Can I mention the fact that they are advertised as having 0 cholesterol? That's interesting, because real cholesterol only comes from animal sources, which I hope aren't in Oreo's. Also, ingesting cholesterol doesn't really raise your cholesterol, saturated fat does that. So, thanks for that unnecessary tip. Nabisco has a website with a, Diet Like a Diva section with a statement reading, "How do diva's do it? With smart style, fun and flair. And with Nabisco's 100 calorie packs." 

Umm, okay. So, you're saying I'll loose weight by dressing cute, partying and eating sugary snacks? Count me in! 

Let's look at one more label.

<--- I don't really have much explaining to do. You probably know what most of those ingredients are. You may be unfamiliar with florida crystals, which are essentially a less refined version of cane sugar, arrowroot powder, which is a natural herb alternative to cornstarch and xanthan gum which works as a natural food binder. This is a label for a cupcake from PCC made from scratch with natural ingredients. I want to point out too, that even though the cupcake undoubtedly has more calories then the snack pack, less calories do not equate a healthier food choice. We need calories to walk, talk and breathe and it's OK to get some of those calories from a tasty, low in refinement dessert.

So, what would you rather have? An over-processed, synthetic, sugary, genetically modified Oreo Snack Pack? Or would you like a cupcake made with fresh, natural ingredients?



FRANKEN-FOOD... NOM, NOM.

This picture makes me giggle.
www.deesillustration.com

When it comes down to it, if you don't know what most of the ingredients on your food labels are, you probably shouldn't be eating it. It would be more accurate for Oreo Snack Packs or t.v. dinners to be advertised as Franken-Food.

I hate over processed foods and you should too. When you take your next trip to the grocery store, turn the package around to check the ingredients list and remember: If you can't read it, don't eat it.

Why aspartame is lame.

Working as a server at a popular restaurant chain, people often ask me what the healthiest choices on our menu are. The other day a woman came in looking for a healthier food option. I recommended a salad that has walnuts, blue cheese and chicken. Pleased with my suggestion the woman responded, "Okay, I'll try that!... Oh, and I'll have a Diet Coke too." Cringe.

I'm not a big proponent of the average grocery store. I prefer natural food stores like PCC, Whole Foods or farmers markets, but I purchase a lot of my household items at stores like Fred Meyer. Just yesterday I was inside Safeway and I was listening to an advertisement about Diet Mountain Dew. The ad was boasting about how great it is because it's sugar and calorie free. I'm happy that people in the U.S. are trying to make healthier food choices, but the advertising industry has falsely led people to believe that sweet foods labeled, "sugar free" are good for you.


"Diet soda, I dislike you."

Anybody who knows me well is aware of my disdain for diet soda. Diet soda contains one of the most typical artificial sweeteners, aspartame, which turns into formaldehyde in your body (yeah, like the stuff they preserve dead bodies with that's really stinky) inhabiting your cells, staying there for years. Aspartame is almost 200 times sweeter than sucrose, (natural sugar) and is the most popular artificial sweetener there is. Chemically, it is very different from natural sugar. If you drink diet soda, buy foods that are sweet tasting and labeled, "sugar free" or you sweeten your iced tea with the little colored sugar packets, you are likely ingesting aspartame.





Quick Chemistry of Aspartame.
To put it simply, when you digest aspartame it releases aspartic acid. Aspartic acid is naturally occurring in your body and it is used by brain neurons as an excitatory neurotransmitter. If you are ingesting a lot of aspartic acid, it will cross the blood-brain barrier and build up to high levels.

Methanol is another ingredient of aspartame. Highly toxic to the human body, just 2 teaspoons of methanol can kill a person. Once consumed, it turns into formaldehyde and formic acid (also toxic) entering the brain and central nervous system at high levels.

What will the toxicity of aspartic acid and methanol do to me?
Let me be clear when I refer to aspartame as toxic. If you drink diet sodas, you obviously won't keel over  with overwhelming symptoms and die. If you consume it regularly or in large amounts, you are likely to be at risk for many symptoms that you may be unaware of. High levels of aspartic acid, formaldehyde and formic acid in your body can cause severe headaches, fibromyalgia, leg numbness, cramps, memory loss, anxiety attacks... the list goes on. Artificial sweeteners might be to blame if you are enduring any of these health issues. I have a few friends that talk about how they rely on diet soda daily to avoid severe headaches. They've told me that nothing, not even coffee or aspirin will fix this problem, which tells me that it's not the caffeine they are addicted to, it's the aspartame. So, not only can artificial sweeteners give you headaches from ingestion, but aspartame can give you withdrawal headaches as well.

I saw it with my own eyes.

Last year, in my Biochemistry lab, we dedicated an entire experiment to studying the amounts of methanol in aspartame. We studied aspartame in it's purest form, in a diet drink and in an aged diet drink. Our findings expressed that the diet drink turned partially into methanol when metabolized in the body, and the aged diet drink turned into methanol directly inside of the bottle. It's true. I saw it with my own eyes. Why would you ingest aged aspartame? Aspartame has a very short shelf life and it can turn tasteless in 3 months. In the time it takes for diet soda to be shipped and purchased by you in your local grocery store, the aspartame could have already aged enough to change some of its composition into methanol. So, after your body metabolizes this aged aspartame drink, you're not only taking in excess methanol, but you're creating even more of it inside your body.

What should I use as a sugar substitute then?

A Stevia Plant.

It's likely you've heard of stevia, which is gradually gaining popularity in the America. Stevia is a plant that has leaves 30 times sweeter than natural sugar. It has all the properties of artificial sweeteners that people love, (no calories, no spikes in blood sugar) and personally, I think it tastes almost identical to aspartame. I'm excited about stevia because it's 100% natural and it is a fantastic substitute to aspartame. Truvia is a brand that sells stevia and it can typically be purchased at any local grocery store.






Artificial Sweeteners, well... they suck.
I hate diet soda and you should too. It's not good for your body. Let's not forget that we, as human beings are meant to be eating and drinking from the earth. If you're a diabetic try stevia, or stick with natural sugars like honey, because as it turns out... artificial sweeteners aren't so sweet.

Breast is Best

Mother’s milk is one of the most miraculous things a woman’s body can create. It is widely known for being high in nutrients, and breast feeding is a fantastic way for you to bond with your baby. There are many things that people don’t know about breast milk, and it’s important for mothers to learn about the advantages of breast feeding. In fact I like to ask myself, is there anything breast milk can’t do?

Breast milk has flavor.

I’m sure you’ve heard about some of the benefits of breast milk. It has antibodies that build up your child’s immune system and all the vitamins and minerals they need for healthy growth, but did you know that breast milk has flavor? The flavors of everything you eat gets transferred into your breast milk. If you have a varied diet then your child will be exposed to different foods from an early age and will be more likely to enjoy those foods when they are exposed to them in solid form at a later age. If you eat green beans, per se, your milk will taste like green beans. Baby formula however, has only one, bland flavor and it can perpetuate children into picky eating habits.

Breast milk can be a substitute for foods.

In American culture, we are accustomed to breast feeding until our babies are about 6 months old, but most of the world breast feeds until early childhood. The World Health Organization even recommends breast feeding up to 3 years old. It might sound like a long time, but as long as you’re continually pumping milk, your supply will never run out. If you happen to have a picky toddler, why not continue to give them the nourishing drink that has sustained their lives as babies? Many mothers who choose to breast feed into the toddler years opt to pump their milk as to wean their child from their breast. Breast milk can be a great substitute for foods if your child is hesitant to eat foods containing all the nutrients they need for healthy development.

Breast milk is tasty.

Okay, breast milk is probably not very tasty to us. If you and I took a swig of human milk we’d probably be a little grossed out, but if your baby has been raised on your milk then he or she will undoubtedly love the taste of it, and that is one food you can count on for nutrients and hydration. 

Breast milk is always changing.

The nutrients and texture of breast milk is continuously changing to suit your child’s nutritional needs, which are constantly evolving as they grow older. The initial milk produced for a newborn is referred to as colostrum and it is thick, especially nutrient rich and high in antibodies as to coat your babies sterile gastrointestinal tract keeping it from becoming ill. A few days after birth, breast milk becomes thin and watery and it is suitable for a young baby, but as time goes on, the milk becomes thick and fattier, better suiting a toddler’s growing hunger. You might be wondering, what if I’m breast feeding two of my children who are different ages? You always want to breast feed your youngest child first and your body will produce milk adequate for consumption by both children. 

Breast milk... it’s alive!

I said before that breast milk is filled with antibodies that are important in building a strong immune system. Babies are born with literally no immunity and they are reliant on you, the mother, to give them the nutrients they need to thrive. It is a myth to think that if you breast feed when you are ill, you will pass on this illness to your child. In fact, when you’re sick, this is the best time to breast feed because all of your cells fighting your illness are producing even more antibodies than usual, which get transferred to your baby via milk keeping them from getting sick. A 2001 government report states that if 50% of mothers in America breast fed for the first 6 months of their baby’s lives, an estimated $3.6 billion dollars would be saved each year on medical and health costs. 

Breast milk can prevent allergies.

Children that are breast fed are far less likely to develop allergies or food sensitivities as opposed to children who are formula fed. Antibodies in breast milk play a defensive role against new foods that are introduced into a child’s diet, and they keep kids from developing specific allergies. Children that are later introduced to cow’s milk, for example, are seven times less likely to develop an allergy to it if they were exclusively breast fed the first 6 months of their lives. Allergies are a massive problem in the United States, and if more mothers decide to breast feed, the more likely they are to save their children from a lifetime of struggle with food intolerances. 

Moral of the story: breast milk is the most nutritious, delicious and cheapest, (hey, it’s free!) food to keep your child healthy. Give your child the milk he or she was meant to have because it truly is... the breast.

Recipes for Mommies

Strawberry Apple Sauce

A food that both mother and baby can enjoy, this apple sauce contains fenugreek, which is spice known to help lactating mothers produce breast milk.

Ingredients

6 strawberries, frozen and sliced

1/2 apple, cubed

1 tablespoons orange juice

1 tablespoon succanat

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1 teaspoon fenugreek, ground up fine

2 tablespoons water

1/2 teaspoon allspice

Directions

Combine all ingredients in a sauce pan and heat over medium to low heat stirring occasionally. 

When sauce forms and is slightly thickened, remove from heat and serve with french toast or ice cream.

Preparation Time: 10 minutes

Makes 2 servings

Original Recipe by Brittany Rigas, 2010

Ginger Soy Halibut

Fish is a great source of omega fatty acids, which are essential for your child’s brain development. 

Ingredients

1 small piece of fresh halibut about 1 inch thick

1/4 cup minced cilantro

3 tablespoons tamari

Juice from 1/2 lime

1 tablespoon sesame oil

Juice from 1/8 cup grated ginger

1/4 cup water

1/2 cup sliced shitake mushrooms

Directions

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

Combine all ingredients in a small baking dish and leave to marinate about 20 minutes.

Lightly oil a baking sheet and place fish on it.

Bake fish for approximately 6 to 7 minutes until tender and slightly undercooked.

Take leftover marinade and strain it into a small pot. Remove mushrooms from strainer and add to pot. 

Cook the mushrooms in the marinade on a stove top on medium heat. When mushrooms have tenderized, remove marinade from heat.

Pour a small amount of the mushroom marinade over the fish and serve with a cold grain salad.

Preparation Time: 30 minutes

Makes 1 serving

Original Recipe by Brittany Rigas