3 Little Things

Good evening everyone! Because my son is watching Blues Clues, I happen to have a few minutes of peace and quiet. Well, not technically peace and quiet. Zachariah is constantly giving me the play by play on what Steve and Blue are doing, and I am hearing the "Mail Time!" song... but its about as quiet as its going to get right now! :) So since I have these few moments, I have decided to grace the blog world with my presence.

You are welcome.

Today I thought I would start something new over here on That's What She Said. Over the past couple years Daniel and I have made an effort to eat healthier. Most of the stuff we have done seems like pretty common sense stuff, but before we started making a conscious effort to be a little healthier, they weren't really common sense to us at all! So, just in case you all are interested, once a week I am going to post three to five simple things you can do to extend your life expectancy!

Haha. That was a little joke there. Doing one of the random three things I post wont make you life 10 years longer or anything, but it WILL make you just a little healthier. And heck, if it DOES make you live longer, let me know. I will write a book.

Oh, and just as a disclaimer, I am not a nutritionist. I am not an expert in anything health related. I am a research freak and I am just sharing a few things that our family has found helpful in being a little more healthy!

1) Drink 100% juice. When purchasing juices, stay away from anything that is made from less than 100% juice. Those juices have unnecessary sugar and not enough nutrients. I just don't understand the point of buying a juice that is only 30% juice and the rest water, sugar and "natural flavoring". Why not just buy the real thing? It is better for you and it taste a lot better too! So next time you are at the grocery store try to stay away from the "fake" juices and look for the ones that advertise 100% juice! (I know that Great Value, the walmart brand, carries quite a few 100% juices and they are VERY tasty.)

* Honestly, it is best if you don't drink juices at all and get your daily servings of fruit from actual fruits, but we have not cut out juices in our diet, so I am not about to preach to you about avoiding juice. I did think I should mention the fact that eating an apple is actually better for you than drinking a glass of juice. :)

2) Cut out the junk food. You know what I am talking about. The Pringles, Doritos, Fritos, Chex Mix... all of the pre-packaged snack foods. As wonderful as they taste (mostly due to all the MSG), there is just no good that can come from keeping those items in your pantry. When we decided to stop buying the junk snack food we honestly thought it was going to be ridiculously difficult. But you know what? After a week or two we didn't even miss those things! Instead of bringing out a bag of chips to munch on, try a handful of blueberries, or a cup yogurt, some peanuts, or string cheese. They are healthier AND tastier. Chips (and other bagged snack foods) will fill you up and then leave you hungry again in a short amount of time (again, its the MSG), but the more natural foods will leave you more satisfied. Try it! I swear, if my husband can go from eating Doritos several times a day to eating yogurt and rice cakes (and loving it), you can too!

3) Eat fresh fruit. Canned fruit is probably the worst type of fruit you could eat. Well, chocolate covered fruit is probably a little less healthy than canned, but not by much. The syrup is very sugary and the fruit contains less vitamins and minerals. And quite frankly, it just doesn't taste as good as fresh fruit. Don't believe me? My husband swore up and down that he did NOT like peaches, until I gave him a fresh peach. And then he thought he died and went to heaven! Pretty much all he had eaten was canned peaches and he had no clue how wonderful the real things were! So when at all possible, go for the fresh stuff. But if you aren't always able to do fresh, frozen is the next best thing. (Zachariah eats frozen mango chunks for lunch almost daily!) It doesn't take long to thaw and the fruit still keeps most of its nutrients!

Ok folks! That about does it for today. Again, these are very simple things to do, and I feel a bit silly even posting about them, but if one person realizes that there is a difference between 100% juice and the juice they are purchasing, then I consider it a successful post! :)

Happy healthy eating (or drinking)!

FYI

I know quite a few of you will stop reading this post because it is *gasp* health related, but for those who may be interested, I am dedicating this post to giving some info about MSG. The fact of the matter is most people have NO idea how much MSG they are consuming. So I figured I would share a few things I have learned over the past few months!

I guess the most important thing to do is to define MSG (aka: Monosodium glutamate & sodium glutamate). It is sodium salt of the naturally occurring non-essential amino acidglutamic acid. It is used as a food additive and is commonly marketed as a flavor enhancer.

And I guess the second most important thing to do is share with you some facts I have come across. So here goes!

- MSG has been hidden in food ingredient list hydrolyzed vegetable protein, autolyzed yeast extract,soy protein isolate, and many other names

- It was once predominantly made from wheat gluten, but is now mostly made from bacterial fermentation.

- Like the sodium salts of other amino acids, MSG is a stable colorless solid that is degraded by strong oxidizing agents.

- MSG is used commercially as a flavour enhancer. Although once associated with foods in Chinese restaurants, MSG is now used by most fast food chains (Burger King, Wendy's, McDonalds, Taco Bell, KFC, Chili's, TGIF, Applebees, Zaxby's, Denny's. The list can go on and on and on) and in many other foods, particularly processed foods. (For example: soups, chips, BBQ sauces, seasonings, salad dressings... just to name a few.)

- A report from the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology, on behalf of the FDA, concluded that MSG was safe for most people when "eaten at customary levels". However, it also said that, based on anecdotal reports, some people may have an MSG intolerance which causes "MSG symptom complex" and/or a worsening of asthmatic symptoms.

- MSG is added because the food being prepared for sale to the public is of low quality due to cheap ingredients or due to too long shelf life. (If the food is of low quality I probably don't want my son eating it anyway.)

- The FDA has set no limit on how much of it can be added to foods.

- It is an addictive substance, and because of that it is often referred to as "nicotine for food". You wonder why you cant just eat a few Doritos? Why you consume half the bag in less time than it takes you to say, "Man, these are good!" Its because they are covered in MSG. And MSG is addicting.

- MSG stimulates the pancreas to release insulin into the blood stream even when there are not any carbohydrates in the dish for the insulin to act on. Your blood sugar ends up dropping because of this flood of insulin, and then you end up hungry again an hour or so later. Does this sound familiar to anyone? Maybe when you eat Chinese food? Yeah. They use MSG in EVERYTHING they cook or even think about cooking.

Some results of MSG consumption:

Obesity

Alzheimer's disease

Migraine headaches

Insomnia

Cancer

Fibromyalgia

ADHD

- Food scientist Harold McGee states that "toxicologists have concluded that MSG is a harmless ingredient for most people, even in large amounts." Even if it is safe to eat in mass amounts, why on earth would I? Why would I intentionally feed my child something that has absolutely no nutritional value? Why would I feed my two year old something that would cause him to get addicted to junk food and possibly lead to obesity? Lets face it, if MSG is an ingredient, it can pretty much be classified as junk food. You don't see apples or carrots being fertilized with MSG do you? I know I am over-exaggerating a little bit, but I think you see my point.

Anyway, these are just a few things I thought everyone should know about MSG. We have tried to drastically reduce our MSG consumption in the Titus household. I don't know that we could ever COMPLETELY cut it out (I mean, there are times where I just NEED to eat some fast food), but we try our best to limit it. Buying real food as opposed to processed food is a good way to make sure MSG is not present. Eating at restaurants that do not use MSG is a good start too. But good luck, because as of a couple years ago there were only four restaurants in this town that do NOT use MSG in their food. (Chick Fil A, Sonic, Arby's and Hong Kong Cafe, if you wanna know.)

Go to your kitchen and start reading the ingredient list on things in your fridge and pantry. You might be shocked at how many things contain MSG. And if you want to reduce the amount of MSG your family consumes, start by reading nutrition labels at the grocery store. Paying attention to the ingredient list can make a world of difference.

Alright. Thats all the rambling I will do for now. If I stick around much longer I fear I will go off on my tangents about how dangerous artificial sweeteners and non organic milk happen to be!

Happy Wednesday everyone! Hope I didn't bore you to death. :)

High Fructose Corn Syrup

I saw a commercial the other day that just made my jaw drop to the floor. I don't watch much tv so everyone else has probably already seen these, but just in case I put two of the commercials down below. They are very short so it wont take you long to watch.











I don't get offended easily, especially by things I see on tv, but this actually offended me. I cant even express how angry I was/am that these commercials are on the air. The average person will believe ANYTHING they hear, and so now people are thinking that high fructose corn syrup is perfectly fine. News flash: ITS NOT. Whats next? A commercial that is trying to convince us that smoking actually increases your life span!! Grrrr.

Ok. I am going to take a time out and calm down a bit. While I am doing that, please watch these other two commercials I found. They are "spoofs" of the two ridiculous ones at the top of the post. They are obviously not "professionally done" but I liked them anyway. :)












High fructose corn syrup is not good for you, MSG is not good for you, food dyes are not good for you... the list could go on. Sure these things are not HORRIBLE in moderation, but they happen to be in everything we eat. So we cannot possibly eat them in moderation. I hate that most people think its ok to eat all this junk.

Alright. I think that is enough video footage and ranting for today. Just... PLEASE don't believe everything you see on TV. Do your own research.

Random Ramblings

Hey everyone!

Sorry I have been blog slacking the past couple days. I am probably going to blog slack the next couple of days too. I am spending my "free time" (aka: nap time) researching stuff here recently. I get on these kicks every now and then, so you may have to be patient with me.

I have been doing more research on eating healthier and trying to find new recipes and all that jazz. Its exciting, but discouraging at the same time. I cant afford to eat healthy and even if I could my husband is a picky eater. So that makes things a bit more difficult. But I am hoping to find a way around his picky eating habits. I will keep you posted on how that goes. :)

While we are on the subject of healthy eating... am I the only one who day dreams about eating organic food? Oh how I would love to buy nothing but organic things. Produce in particular. I hate that we are putting harmful chemicals into our body on a regular basis. And milk! I am disgusted that I am still drinking regular cows milk. Zachariah drinks nothing but organic milk, but Daniel and I have not made the switch. You know why? Because organic milk costs a booty load more than regular milk with hormones, pesticides and pus in it. Sorry. Everyone should know what they are drinking though, right? :)

You know what? I think I am going to do a post on milk. It is really fascinating to see the link between dairy products and illnesses such as heart disease, breast cancer, prostate cancer, obesity, autism and other illnesses. Seriously, I am going to do more research and get back to you with a post on this. I know, I know... you are thrilled. Try and contain your excitement though.

Ok. And now I am going to bring this post to an abrupt stop. First off, because I am boring you to tears. Secondly, because I am about to give myself an anxiety attack thinking about all the horrible things I am putting into my sons body. And thirdly... my son has been in his crib for over an hour and a half and is STILL not asleep. So I must depart from this post and go take care of that. :)

Ta ta for now!

Yogurt

Last week I bought a whole tub of organic plain yogurt. I had no clue why I decided that I needed this, but I plopped it into the shopping cart and went on my merry way.

The day after I bought it, I put some cut up fruit in the yogurt and gave some to Z. I had hopes of him saying "Mmmm! Dishis!", but he hated this stuff. Apparently the plain yogurt taste was still too strong. He definitely preferred Daddy's yogurt with all the preservatives and junk. Of course.


So there it sat, a tub of plain yogurt, with no one to eat it. Seriously folks, who eats PLAIN yogurt? Blegh.

Not more than a day after I had convinced myself this yogurt was going to rot in the fridge, I read a post that MckMama wrote. It gave a recipe of how to "make" your own yogurt using (drum roll please) ... a tub of organic plain yogurt! WOOHOO! (Click here to see the recipe.)

I was pumped. Seriously, Zachariah and I made that sucker about an hour after I read the recipe. And it was SO EASY. Luckily I had all the necessary ingredients on hand (yogurt, honey, vanilla, strawberries, blueberries and banana). We just threw them into a blender and whabam! We had a huge container full of yogurt that Zachariah will actually eat.


Doesn't it look yummy??

MckMama's looks more pinkish. I think I may have skimped on the strawberries. But at that point, I didn't too much care. I am just glad that tub of yogurt did not go to waste. I would have never heard the end of it from my hubby.

:)

Additives

In my book that I am reading, I came across a section about additives. It was scary to say the least. After reading this chapter, I immediately ran to the pantry to check the Nutrition Facts on all of our food. Sure enough 90% of what we eat has at least one of these additives. I promptly picked up the phone and called Daniel to let him know that we are going to die.

Since then I have calmed down a bit... but it doesn't change the fact that we eat some pretty nasty stuff. So I have included a list of additives that Sharon Broer has listed. She claims that she will not buy ANYTHING that has a single one of these additives in it. That's a bit overboard for a food junkie like me... but I am starting to read Nutrition Facts more closely.

Additives

MSG (Monosodium glutamate): Used to intensify meat and spice flavorings

• reported complaints: headache, chest pains, numbness, irritability and depression
• Brain damage and memory loss
• Baby food companies removed this from baby food. (But why was it there to begin with??)
• Listed under other names: hydrolyzed vegetable Potemkin (HVP)
• "Natural Flavorings"
  

Aspartame: Used in NutraSweet and Equal, contains the following ingredients:

• Methanol- a neurological poison that cannot be made nonpoisonous. It can cause headaches, blindness and permanent brain damage.
  
• Aspartic acid- similar to MSG, it has been known to overstimulate neural cells, causing cell death. This is why it is called an "excitotoxin". It literally kills brain cells.
  
• Phenylalaninie- causes permanent brain damage if concentrations are high enough

Nitrites: Used to give that "pretty pink color" to cured meats, bacon, bologna, hot dogs, ham, Vienna sausages, and luncheon meats.

• Nitrites combined with natural stomach acids create nitrosamines, powerful cancer-causing agents.
  
• Baby food manufactures voluntarily removed nitrites from baby food in the early 1970's.
  
• In 1977, Germany banned nitrites and nitrates, except in certain species of fish.
  

Olestra or Olean
These are the "fake fats" introduced in 1996. Preliminary studies found that Olestra caused tumors in laboratory animals. Possible side effects include cramping and loose stools.

Monoglycerides and Diglycerides: Synthetic substances made for emulsifying and defoaming agents.

• Used in bakery products to maintain "softness"
• Used in beverages, ice cream, shortening, margarine. chocolate, whipped toppings and cosmetic creams.
  
• This is on the FDA list of food additives to be studied for possible reproduction effects.

BHA (butylated hudroxyanisole): A preservative used in many products, including beverages, ice cream, baked goods, potato chips, and breakfast cereals.

BHT (butylated hudroxytoluene): a preservative used in the same type of products as BHA.

Aluminum

• Frequently used in food additives, cosmetics, and antacids
• Can aggravated kidney and lung disorders
• Aluminum deposits have been found in the brains of Alzheimer's patients

Aluminum Sulfate

• Used in producing sweet and dill pickles
• Used as an antiseptic, astringent and in detergents and deodorants
  
• Moderately toxic by ingestion and injection
• May affect reproduction

Artificial Flavoring

Hydrogenated or partially hydrogenated oil: Used in margarine or Crisco-type products. Very "cheap" oils used in chips, crackers, cereal, peanut butter, snack cakes, bread and many more products.

Other oils to avoid

• Cottonseed oil
• Palm kernel oil
• Corn oil

Recommended oils

• Regular use- virgin. cold pressed olive oil
• Occasional use- good, old fashioned organic butter
  

And now for a poll:

New Book!

For the past few days I have been reading a book called Train Up Your Children in the Way They Should Eat, by Sharon Broer. Its not a bran new book that just hit the shelves... in fact it was published back in 1999. BUT it is a very interesting read. It has opened my eyes to all the junk that we are all putting into our bodies. So as I read, I will be posting to enlighten everyone on a few of my discoveries. :)

This book addressed many issues... the first of which is trying to keep our kids healthy. It states that the leading cause of death in children, next to accidents, is cancer. Many kids are diagnosed with asthma, obesity, allergies, attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder and other types of learning disabilities. Sharon Broer suggests that what we are feeding our children is playing a vital role in the demise of their health. And after reading half of this book, I am almost positive that she is right.

In Chapter 2 she gives a list of foods kids should avoid... and the first four on the list she says they should NEVER consume in their lifetime. So here it is, straight from the book.

"Top Ten List"
1. Pork and all high-fat luncheon meats. They are loaded with nitrates, artificial dyes and chemicals; they can also cause parasite infestation.
2. Shellfish: lobster, crab, oysters and clams. They can contain abnormally high levels of arsenic, led and mercury.
3. All hydrogenated oils, including margarine and shortening products. These increase the risk of heart disease and cancer. Use organic butter or olive oil instead.
4. Aspartame (Nutra Sweet). Never use these artificial sweetener products.
5. "Junk foods," all high-fat, high-sugar, chemically processed snacks.
6. High-fat dairy products. Goats milk is fine.
7. Olestra, the "fake fat." This product inhibits the absorption of fat soluble vitamins.
8. Caffeine. Limit your intake of caffeinated products.
9. Chlorine and fluoride. These chemicals are found in treated water supplies. Use reverse osmosis or steam distilled water.
10. Alcohol products. Alcohol destroys brain cells and increases the risk of pancreatic cancer, alcoholism, liver cancer, breast cancer, osteoporosis and cirrhosis of the liver.


***NOTE***
I realize that some of you are going to think all this is ridiculous... but remember, this is only one woman's opinion. I encourage you to do your own research to better form your opinion on the facts that she gives. :)