Sunday, August 22, 2010

Agave Noway



The first time that I remember hearing about agave nectar was when I worked at a tea shop in Chelsea Market. My boss there insisted that everyone used it as the new natural sugar. We had to endure plenty of customers complaining that we didn't have regular or artificial sugar. However, I was under the impression that agave was better for you! We were told at work that agave was a "natural" sugar that the body knew how to process better than other sugars. Unlike white or even regular raw sugar, the body supposedly knew what to do with agave, so that it wouldn't be stored as fat.

This is the type of marketing misinformation that is just ridiculous. Then there end up being plenty of people (myself included) who think that it's okay to have agave and that is better for you than regular sugar.

The problem with agave is that it has an even higher percentage of fructose than the dreaded high fructose corn syrup! It is also a myth that agave is unprocessed or "raw" although agave nectar is not AS processed as HFCS, it is processed to get it into the nectar state you buy in the store.

Also, I do understand that HFCS isn't much worse for you than regular sugar, so we should be just trying to avoid ALL processed sugar really, and the higher the fructose percentage, the worse it is.

Just as a reminder, these are the reasons why fructose in excess is so bad for you (weather is is in the form of regular sugar, HFCS, or agave) :
1) Fructose does not release the hormones insulin or lechten, which would normally tell the brain that you are full. Therefore if you are eating fructose you will continue to feel hungry even after you have eaten.
2)They raise your triglyceride levels and LDL cholesterol levels (all sugars do).
3) High fructose products are highly processed (including agave!)
4) Fructose is processed entirely by the liver whereas glucose is processed only 20% by the liver. This leads to the liver turning the fructose into fat cells and this not only leads to storing fat on the body, but also non-alcoholic fatty liver syndrome or gout!

So I'm sorry that it turned out this way, but agave is not better for you than regular sugar, it is actually worse for you, because it has a higher percentage of fructose.

If you are interested in learning more about this on your own, I got the information for this post from the Dishing Up Nutrition Podcast, a q&a with Marion Nestle, and Sugar: The Bitter Truth .

Thursday, August 19, 2010

Anti-Inflammatory minus the meds....Can it be done?

So yesterday I had some cavities filled!

Basically!
 So after the novocaine wore off, I noticed that if I tried to eat on the right side of my mouth, a shooting pain went through my gums! Oh no!



When I called the Dentist they said it MIGHT be normal, but I should come in Monday anyway. And then in the meantime I should just keep popping advil all weekend until it feels better! Of course to that I asked myself "is there a way I can get the anti-inflammatory benefits of taking pills nutritionally?" I figured that I couldn't get the anti-pain benefits but it wasn't that painful unless I actually tried to eat on that side. Of course I also understand that the inflammation that nutritionists talk about is probably chronic inflammation involving the whole body, not just a random tooth issue. But I still thought it would be worth it to talk about on here. 

This is what I discovered:
According to the Nutrition Diva (who actually has a book The Inflammation Free Diet Plan) foods that fight Inflammation also happen to be all of the foods that we should be trying to be a lot of anyway! Anything that is particularly high in anti-oxidants like berries and carrots fight inflammation (making sure you are eating these foods containing fiber is also a bonus for inflammation). Also, fish oil, nuts, olive oil, and basically all healthy fats are foods that fight inflammation.



What I found from an article in Natural Health Magazine is that inflammation can also be caused from processed food chemicals like nitrates and msg, sugar, and (I'm assuming they mean low-quality only) red meat and dairy.

Also many articles I came across mentioned turmeric as an important spice for its anti-inflammitory properties, something I have heard many times before.
 
The turmeric plant!


Since inflammation can be traced to MANY diseases, it is a good idea to pay attention to including foods that promote an inflammation-free body and excluding foods that cause inflammation like trans-fats, added chemicals, and so on. According to some sources, saturated fat can cause inflammation too. I have already made peace with saturated fat though, and since I don't think I have an inflammation problem, I'm going to go on with life pretending I never heard this.

Funny how all of the foods we already knew were healthy fight inflammation and those we knew weren't healthy, seem to cause inflammation!

Tuesday, August 17, 2010

Canned Sea Food and Evil Oils

So yesterday I was at Whole Foods with Dan and as usual I got distracted from the main goal (blue cheese) and started wandering around the isles. When I got to the canned fish area I paused and started investigating. First of all, I really like smoked oysters in a tin. They are really tasty and as I posted before, oysters are really good for you. Unfortunately I stopped buying them because I realized that they are generally in cottonseed oil.



You may be wondering: What is wrong with cottonseed oil? The problem is that it is an industrially produced damaged oil that is just not good for you. There is a lot of processing involved for oils like cottonseed, soy, corn and so on so that just makes them unnatural unhealthy fats that will not support your body the way that natural fats will. As the Agriculture Society put it, "processing of oils like cottonseed and other industrially-produced oils causes the substance to become unstable, rancid, and are essentially trans-fats due to the nature of their processing. But you won’t hear the industries producing these products admitting these facts to the public."

Another big problem with them is that according to the San Fransisco Pesticide Action Network cotton crops account for 10% of the total pesticide use in America. That is a really large percentage when you think about it. I guess it's not as big of a deal for clothes (maybe) but we should generally try to limit the amount of pesticides we consume. Also, cotton, along with corn and soy is one of the most likely crops to be genetically modified. All together not something you want to be putting in your body.

So the good news for me is that I found a brand, Crown Prince that does not put its oysters in cottonseed oil, but puts it in olive oil! How great! Also, I bought mustard sardines. For those of you who don't think that you like sardines, maybe you would if you tried another flavor! It's worth a shot since they are so good for you!

Sunday, August 15, 2010

Lunch: falafel black bean cakes over a salad/ Why you should eat more fiber

Today after the gym I came home pretty hungry so this was a really great quick meal.

I took 1/4 cup of falafel mix with water added to make it mushy. Then I added 1/4 cup of re-fried black beans from whole foods. So simple, full of fiber, and really tasty! I split it into 4 little meatballs and flattened them into pancakes on the pan. Then I made a salad with avocado and carrot, topped with a dressing made out of the ricotta I got at the market yesterday, mustard, and balsamic vinegar. Really satisfying and flavorful!


Since I had this lunch that on it's own had 17 grams of fiber, I figured I would discuss the general benefits of fiber. According to the book I am reading, Good Calories Bad Calories, when fiber first started to be studied, scientists claimed that it had over-the-moon health benefits that turned out not to be true, like preventing colon/rectal cancer. Also, it turns out you can't just eat fiber along with tons of sugar and still be healthy (surprise, surprise). However, this does not mean that fiber is not great for you.

I for one notice that I am way fuller when I eat more fiber, because fiber is naturally bulky and non-digestible. According to The Nutrition Diva, who I also follow on Itunes, fiber slows down the entire digestive process, also inhibiting the amount of calories absorbed in the digestive tract. Sounds pretty good right? Another reason is that while people are out buying weirdo risky "cleanse" products at health food stores, they are forgetting that nature has provided us with all of the cleansing products our body needs: fiber. Every reputable source I have ever heard from has said that those cleanse products are a waste of time and money. Also, make sure that you get fiber from natural sources (sorry, fiber one) because the fiber found in added fiber processed food doesn't seem to be as effective (again, big surprise!). So get your fiber! I know I'm trying!

Photo from TheDailyGreen.com

Saturday, August 14, 2010

My day in food

So today was another fun food day. Last night we went to a really cool place in Dumbo Vinegar Hill House. It was really great, fresh food. BUT.... I forgot to take pictures, so I will focus on today.

This morning Dan and I went to one of my favorite places, The Lighthorse Tavern for brunch. The only thing you really have to look out for there is the live music they occasionally have has never ever been decent. We went an unusual route and got oysters to start, which is one of my favorites.

They are really tasty and high in iron and protein (31% and 6 grams respectively per 6 oysters) so I think they are a really great option for a healthy appetizer.

Then for my meal I got an omelette with house smoked salmon, feta, spinach, and roasted potatoes on the side. Had I know it came with toast I would have told them to hold it because it was totally overkill. I felt bad wasting food but I couldn't eat the toast. Overall everything was great though.


Later in the day, I went to the union square green market which was really hectic. But I got some really nice green beans and some fresh goat ricotta (made yesterday!) that I wanted to use tonight for dinner. So I made myself green beans and zucchini with a sauce I made with the fresh ricotta and basil (from my little window herb garden!) and I had it with a tin of sardines in water. It came out pretty nice, although next time I might leave out the onion I added. Despite all this healthy eating, (along with some fruit throughout the day) I still found that according to caloriecount.com I was STILL under in my protein. So annoying! So I heated up some edamame even though I wasn't particularly hungry. For the future, I need to figure out some high protein snacks to have on hand for situations like this!

Dishing Up Nutrtion Podcast: My Midwestern Dream

When I started to be interested in nutrition, part of how I got started was by listening to a few different podcasts. Out of all of the ones I have listened to, Dishing Up Nutrition is by far my favorite.



It is an actual radio show broadcasted weekly from St Paul Minnesota and features nutritionist Darline Kvist who has been a nutritionist saying the same wonderful things for over 20 years. It then generally rotates other nutritionists that she works with depending on the topic. These ladies are adorable and really know their stuff. They are always reporting the latest research and since it is a radio show, they can actually take callers and answer people's questions (which are often the same ones I have). If you are only going to listen to ONE nutrtion podcast, this is for sure the one that I would go with.

Darline Kvist of Dishing Up Nutrtion

The other great thing about these ladies is that they also see patients and due to the popularity of their show outside of their area they will also do phone consultations if you feel like you need a 1 on 1 with a nutritionist. Even if there is nothing particularly wrong with you it seems like it would be a really good experience. If you are interested in this, the website is www.weightandwellness.com where you can also find links to recipes, lean more about the nutritionists, and sign up for the newsletter.

Here are the top 5 things that I have leaned from Dishing Up Nutrition that I try apply to my daily life:
1) Eat REAL fats including animal fat, dairy fat, olive oil, and coconut oil (which I have yet to try). Most vegetable oils (corn oil, cottonseed oil, soybean oil) are damaged and not as good for you as the American Heart Association wants you to think.
2) Sugar is the devil (in all forms)
3) Make sure you get plenty of animal protein to support your body
4) Make sure you get plenty of Omega 3 fish oil for brain/mood health
5)Many problems that people pop pills for every day for can be solved nutritionally

So start twideling those dials and listen to Dishing Up Nutrition!

Friday, August 13, 2010

My day in food

Today was somewhat easy because I was able to prepare all of my meals myself.

Here was the end result:

I am happy if I get 100grams of carbs in a day. I know that calorie count.com thinks that anything under 120 does not support cell repair (not sure what that means exactly) but I am really going to try to go a little more low carb and especially refined carb since I am trying to lose weight as well.

Dinner was a bit experimental today! I tried making quinoa with mushrooms, kale, and nutritional yeast to give it a sort of cheesy flavor (nothing against cheese, but Red Star nutritional yeast has more fiber). It came out a little strong, but I would do it again just with a little less of it. All I did was mix it in towards the very end of cooking! There was also a lot of garlic and some butter involved. The chicken I made was simple pan seared with some garlic and paprika. It was a little bland so I had it with some of the fig spicy jam from Peck in Milano.

Thursday, August 12, 2010

Review: Ray Job Bob Ray Ray Jay Whey Protein

I have been tracking my food intake for a while now, and I have noticed that I have not really been getting enough protein. So I decided to get some good solid animal protein from GNC.

I walked into the store and when the guy asked me what I needed, I told him that I wanted to get some Whey protein, but I have never bought it before.

He directed me to the GNC brand protein, and sold it pretty well! It sounded great, a full Ameno acid chain and a high potency for 60$ (but it was a big tub) So he was already asking me what flavor I wanted and I asked to see it. I looked at the ingredients to find that there was SPLENDA (surcalose) in it! What crap! The guy looked a little annoyed and surprised when I said "oh, I really don't want splenda," and told him I was going to walk around the store looking for something else.

Eventually the product I settled on was this:
 
This was the ONLY one I could find that had stevia instead of splenda! It also had remarkably fewer ingredients than all the other ones (only whey protein, lechtin, stevia, natural flavor, and xanthian gum.  The only problem is that I had in in a smoothie today with apple sauce and banana and it was GROSS. So I will have to try to find something to do with it that isn't so overwhelmingly vanilla sweetness.


So I guess the jury is still out on this. I'll have to find other smoothie options and it would be great.

A quest for the truth!



So this is my first (and hopefully not my last) blog post. I am starting this blog not only to help me in my weight loss. But also to organize my thoughts and instigate my way to the truth about nutrition.

It is amazing how far science has some and yet how little people are able to agree about nutrition. Even the most basic of principals that we all grew up hearing seem to be up for debate. I plan to investigate those, as well as post what I am eating, what foods I find, and how my weight loss is going.

A little background: I have always been a mostly healthy eater with a bit of a sweet tooth. I KNOW what is healthy (or at least I thought I did) but eating out has been my weakness the past few years. I have always been a overweight despite eating pretty much healthy. Now lately I have been on a nutrition kick, listening to podcasts, reading some stuff, and I STILL am confused about a lot of things about nutrition! It's amazing how much there is to learn, and how much false info is still out there. I hope this Blog will be interesting, entertaining, and also help me to figure it all out!

So here I go on my mission as a food detective!