My first thought is "Yet another thing to demonize! In 10 years we will be eating nothing but... AIR!" But as those of you who know us personally probably can guess that both hubby and I struggle with our weight, and have both been doing so since we were around 12 years old. We have done a good job of eating a LOT healthier in the past 10 years or so. We eat very little processed food, we cook almost every meal, many of them are heavy in veggies and are vegetarian or use meat as "seasoning." We use only healthily oils mainly expeller pressed, try to avoid GMOs, BGH, and BPA as we do HFCS (if you nodded at that sentence you understand how hard that is, and how all we can do is our best.) As you can probably imagine, most of our meals are organic, much of our meat is grass fed or pastured. But we have also tried every diet out there... At least those we can do without buying processed junk, we do not feel that chemicals are the answer... And we have noticed a few things. First, Atkins works. But no one can (or should) live like that. Second, when you give up sweets you crave them less. Third, when you stop eating foods with a lot of chemicals they can cause "effects" when you slip. Fourth, when we eat something that is artificially sweetened we CRAVE more sweets. So we know that the "modern" diet has a real effect on us. So what is a "Fat Farmer" to do? Maybe give up 90% of our sugar as well as HFCS? Read this article: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/04/17/magazine/mag-17Sugar-t.html And if that interests you take the time to watch this video, at 90 minutes it is long, but worth your time: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dBnniua6-oM&feature=player_embedded Let me know what you think...
Showing posts with label sugar. Show all posts
Showing posts with label sugar. Show all posts
Thursday, April 14, 2011
Bad Sugar?
Over the past few years our family has done a good job of eliminating HFCS (high fructose corn syrup) from our diet. But this week I read this article in the New York Times with the scary title "Is Sugar Toxic?" 
My first thought is "Yet another thing to demonize! In 10 years we will be eating nothing but... AIR!" But as those of you who know us personally probably can guess that both hubby and I struggle with our weight, and have both been doing so since we were around 12 years old. We have done a good job of eating a LOT healthier in the past 10 years or so. We eat very little processed food, we cook almost every meal, many of them are heavy in veggies and are vegetarian or use meat as "seasoning." We use only healthily oils mainly expeller pressed, try to avoid GMOs, BGH, and BPA as we do HFCS (if you nodded at that sentence you understand how hard that is, and how all we can do is our best.) As you can probably imagine, most of our meals are organic, much of our meat is grass fed or pastured. But we have also tried every diet out there... At least those we can do without buying processed junk, we do not feel that chemicals are the answer... And we have noticed a few things. First, Atkins works. But no one can (or should) live like that. Second, when you give up sweets you crave them less. Third, when you stop eating foods with a lot of chemicals they can cause "effects" when you slip. Fourth, when we eat something that is artificially sweetened we CRAVE more sweets. So we know that the "modern" diet has a real effect on us. So what is a "Fat Farmer" to do? Maybe give up 90% of our sugar as well as HFCS? Read this article: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/04/17/magazine/mag-17Sugar-t.html And if that interests you take the time to watch this video, at 90 minutes it is long, but worth your time: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dBnniua6-oM&feature=player_embedded Let me know what you think...
My first thought is "Yet another thing to demonize! In 10 years we will be eating nothing but... AIR!" But as those of you who know us personally probably can guess that both hubby and I struggle with our weight, and have both been doing so since we were around 12 years old. We have done a good job of eating a LOT healthier in the past 10 years or so. We eat very little processed food, we cook almost every meal, many of them are heavy in veggies and are vegetarian or use meat as "seasoning." We use only healthily oils mainly expeller pressed, try to avoid GMOs, BGH, and BPA as we do HFCS (if you nodded at that sentence you understand how hard that is, and how all we can do is our best.) As you can probably imagine, most of our meals are organic, much of our meat is grass fed or pastured. But we have also tried every diet out there... At least those we can do without buying processed junk, we do not feel that chemicals are the answer... And we have noticed a few things. First, Atkins works. But no one can (or should) live like that. Second, when you give up sweets you crave them less. Third, when you stop eating foods with a lot of chemicals they can cause "effects" when you slip. Fourth, when we eat something that is artificially sweetened we CRAVE more sweets. So we know that the "modern" diet has a real effect on us. So what is a "Fat Farmer" to do? Maybe give up 90% of our sugar as well as HFCS? Read this article: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/04/17/magazine/mag-17Sugar-t.html And if that interests you take the time to watch this video, at 90 minutes it is long, but worth your time: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dBnniua6-oM&feature=player_embedded Let me know what you think...
Tuesday, February 26, 2008
Add sugar to the list...
Sugar. I love my sugar. I will admit it. People who say they don't like it, have to be lieing in my mind.
I use organic cane in my coffee and day to day uses, but come Christmas time, jelly time, and other high sugar use times I buy it in bulk. Costco sells 10 and 25 pound bags of beet sugar from Michigan. I figure it's local for sugar, and I buy it.
Those days may be about to end and with them the pints of jelly given out like water and the hundreds and hundreds of cookies I use as standard Christmas fare (my cookie boxes this year each held 4-6 dozen cookies and I did 12, even before I had any for all the Christmas events and my husbands cookie habit.)
Am I getting lazy? Figuring that it is easier to buy a $15 dollar gift then give a box of laborious cookies (which have $10 in ingredients anyway?) No. Nothing that easy...
After a preemptive strike from the EPA of changing the allowable Glyphosate residue (Round-up) in sugar beets by 5000 percent (you read that right five THOUSAND percent) the stage is cleared for GMO sugar beets.
One of the problems with this is that beets are wind pollinated. Organic beet growers will need to be more then 3 miles (MILES) away from GMO sugar beets to ensure that their beets are not contaminated. Because containing any GMO genes (even accidental) means no organic certification. Plus Monsanto has a habit of suing people whose crops are contaminated by their genes, for usurping their intellectual property!
Then what about all the items I buy now looking for "sugar" instead of High Fructose Corn Syrup in the ingredient list. Breads, pasta sauces, jellies, sodas! ICE CREAM! Will I be forced to organic for all of these to avoid GMO, as now I buy organic corn products...
Then there is the issue of my bees. My poor bees. We feed them sugar water spring and fall to make up for the honey we rob from them. And WOW can bees eat sugar water, gallons a week. Natural beekeepers feed their bees sugar water instead of high fructose corn syrup (partially to avoid the GMO in HFCS) that the commerical beekeepers use. But now what? Feed the bees organic sugar? I guarantee you will not be able to afford the resulting honey. And some people have suggested that colony collapse disorder might be exacerbated by GMO foods, not to mention the increased herbicide (Glyphosate) load in the sugar which my delicate bees are now eating... This is a brave new world we live in. One where most people seem to be keeping their eyes closed!
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