I remember my sister and I staring at the television slack-jawed...were we really seeing what we thought we were?! The boy and girl sitting on the picnic blanket in the park, she pulls out an ice pop and offers it to the boy. I could not believe it when it turned into a Corn Growers commercial supporting High Fructose Corn Syrup (HFCS)!
Okay, so what is the real make-sense-to-me deal with the stuff? First off, it's a seriously altered product. Yes it's made from corn, but I kind of liken that statement to saying "yes, I was made by my great great great great grandfather's DNA". Yeah, it's that far off.
Take corn...and not the GOOD stuff that you eat raw in summer because you love it so... and make it into cornstarch (which is a large percentage glucose). First they treat it with an enzyme (a genetically modified enzyme made by bacterium) in order to break it down into smaller chains of sugar molecules called polysaccharides. Next another enzyme (this one made from by a fungus) breaks the polysaccharides down to make glucose. The last GMO enzyme messes with the glucose and converts some of the molecules into fructose so you have a little more than 40% fructose now and about 50% glucose. But we need more fructose!! So now the product is sent through a liquid chromatography step (complicated lab stuff) that brings the percentage of fructose up to roughly 90%! This almost pure fructose syrup is then blended with some of the less pure syrup to bring the fructose ratio back down to a bit over 50% (52-55%).
So how is it different to your body? And isn't fructose (aka the fruit sugar) good for us? Good question.
In studies, fructose has been found to not stimulate insulin secretion the way that other carbohydrates do. Fructose also doesn't need insulin to be routed into your body's cells! Fructose actually skips the normal carbohydrate/sugar metabolism step called 'glycolysis' and uses another pathway. So it sounds like a good way to get a sugar rush AND sneak around the body's sugar defenses, right? Well, except for the fact that we need an increase in insulin levels in order to let our brain know that we're full! Insulin isn't a bad guy, it's a regulator and transporter. So without the insulin release it ends up being much easier to over eat HFCS-filled candies than it would be to over eat regular sugar-filled candies.
The next not-so-hot result of eating HFCS laden goodies is that because of HFCSs odd-ball method of dodging the regular metabolic pathways, it ends up floating around in our system as acetyl CoA. Usually acetyl CoA is used to make ATP for energy, but when insulin isn't around to metabolize it this little guy goes directly to the liver to be made into fatty acids, triglycerides and is then stored in adipose (Fat) tissue.
This is my more simplified understanding of how this all works. So in the end, if you really want to eat a real cookie that you make at home instead of ripping open a back of ChipsAhoy!. You'll also make your house smell nice if you bake 'em up on your own!
Monday, February 23, 2009
Wednesday, February 11, 2009
Can boyfriends make you fat?
lol, in some cases yes! That is, if we let ourselves get carried away!
To give you some background, my boyfriend lives a good distance away so that we can only see each other on weekends. Over the summer his work took him far enough away so that I only saw him every 3-4 weeks or so. So this particular topic has just come up after my having gained a couple pounds of pure flab over the last couple months. The problem? THE BOYFRIEND! lol, no not really. I can only blame myself!
I was reading through some information online today when I stumbled across some interesting percentages. eDiets conducted a study to see how relationships affected weight. As is true for me, they found that an amazing 74% of those surveyed were more tempted to eat so-called bad foods when they were with their partner. And 75% found it easier to maintain their diet when they were single.
Oh yes, I can agree. I come from a family that used food for social events and gatherings. So even now I feel this tremendous urge to make things for him that don't exactly fall onto my list of health foods! I find myself thinking BIG along with DESSERT! Or when we go out I suddenly feel that it's okay to order what he's ordering...and eat it all! I have to wonder, where do our brains go when we sit down to dinner with our man? It must be somewhere decorated with chaise lounges for napping!
So what do you do when you realize that you've let this comfort food/comfort zone thing get a bit out of control? Just re-adjust. The benefit to having gained a few pounds is that I'm now VERY aware of what I do, and of what I shouldn't keep doing! So now, not to sound anal, I am planning our meals for this weekend. I'm looking at it as similar to planning to eat a snack before grocery shopping so you don't come home with cookies (even if they ARE Newman's)! One or two weekends of planning ahead will help me stay on track and keep me from feeling icky when Monday comes!
My goal is to break myself out of this pattern I've developed and start to bring it back to real life. MY real life in which I weigh a couple pounds less!
Another good point in the survey was that "roughly three-in-four respondents said their partner was supportive of their weight-loss efforts". YAY! And I have to say that is true for me and because it hasn't ALWAYS been that way (previous relationships) I know that unconditional support is a beautiful thing that is to be very much appreciated!
To give you some background, my boyfriend lives a good distance away so that we can only see each other on weekends. Over the summer his work took him far enough away so that I only saw him every 3-4 weeks or so. So this particular topic has just come up after my having gained a couple pounds of pure flab over the last couple months. The problem? THE BOYFRIEND! lol, no not really. I can only blame myself!
I was reading through some information online today when I stumbled across some interesting percentages. eDiets conducted a study to see how relationships affected weight. As is true for me, they found that an amazing 74% of those surveyed were more tempted to eat so-called bad foods when they were with their partner. And 75% found it easier to maintain their diet when they were single.
Oh yes, I can agree. I come from a family that used food for social events and gatherings. So even now I feel this tremendous urge to make things for him that don't exactly fall onto my list of health foods! I find myself thinking BIG along with DESSERT! Or when we go out I suddenly feel that it's okay to order what he's ordering...and eat it all! I have to wonder, where do our brains go when we sit down to dinner with our man? It must be somewhere decorated with chaise lounges for napping!
So what do you do when you realize that you've let this comfort food/comfort zone thing get a bit out of control? Just re-adjust. The benefit to having gained a few pounds is that I'm now VERY aware of what I do, and of what I shouldn't keep doing! So now, not to sound anal, I am planning our meals for this weekend. I'm looking at it as similar to planning to eat a snack before grocery shopping so you don't come home with cookies (even if they ARE Newman's)! One or two weekends of planning ahead will help me stay on track and keep me from feeling icky when Monday comes!
My goal is to break myself out of this pattern I've developed and start to bring it back to real life. MY real life in which I weigh a couple pounds less!
Another good point in the survey was that "roughly three-in-four respondents said their partner was supportive of their weight-loss efforts". YAY! And I have to say that is true for me and because it hasn't ALWAYS been that way (previous relationships) I know that unconditional support is a beautiful thing that is to be very much appreciated!
Tuesday, February 3, 2009
Good article...
I found an article today on msn.com that I liked, so I thought I'd pass it on to you too!
When I take a scan through the racks of women's magazines, I see headlines like, "how to make your butt firmer NOW," and "lose 10lbs in 5 days," and so on. Lately though there has been a new trend towards articles about how being overweight isn't your fault. Oprah has gotten alot of attention talking about her thyroid not acting properly. Let me tell you, I'm tired of these stories and I'm MORE tired of the proliferation of these articles! Come one, if I gain 10 lbs it's my own fault. (And we're not going to even discuss here whether or not blame should be part of this discussion at all. That's a topic all of it's own!)In then end, only I have the power to choose a cupcake over a cup of tea or doritos over celery.
What I like about this article is that it describes a condition that is common amongst people that are obese. Normally tasting food releases dopamine, which as you may know, makes you HAPPY!! Studies have shown that this reaction is blunted in obese patients. Therefore, it is more difficult for the obese patient to reach the same level of satisfaction from food as it is for the normal-weight patient.
HOWEVER! There's a however, which is the part that makes me like this article. It goes on to say that it is POOR eating habits (high-fat, high-sugar) that has stunted this satisfaction system in the first place. So while you chemically need more to feel satisfied, try engaging the LOGICAL portion of your brain to say, "I know that I have eaten enough food for this meal. I may FEEL that I need more, but i KNOW that I do not." Yeah, I know. Easier said than done. But practice makes perfect they say!
And while studies are being conducted regarding the reversal of this gland de-sensitization, they say to eat a clean diet. Work on changing your taste buds to enjoy and accept pure, clean flavors. That they know can absolutely be done!
So read the article, I liked it!
http://health.msn.com/weight-loss/articlepage.aspx?cp-documentid=100231212
PS should you feel a wave of "it's not my fault, maybe it's..." coming on, step back. Take a deep breath and think about how that doesn't matter an iota. Not really! If you think you can blame external forces then please google Sarah Reinertsen.
When I take a scan through the racks of women's magazines, I see headlines like, "how to make your butt firmer NOW," and "lose 10lbs in 5 days," and so on. Lately though there has been a new trend towards articles about how being overweight isn't your fault. Oprah has gotten alot of attention talking about her thyroid not acting properly. Let me tell you, I'm tired of these stories and I'm MORE tired of the proliferation of these articles! Come one, if I gain 10 lbs it's my own fault. (And we're not going to even discuss here whether or not blame should be part of this discussion at all. That's a topic all of it's own!)In then end, only I have the power to choose a cupcake over a cup of tea or doritos over celery.
What I like about this article is that it describes a condition that is common amongst people that are obese. Normally tasting food releases dopamine, which as you may know, makes you HAPPY!! Studies have shown that this reaction is blunted in obese patients. Therefore, it is more difficult for the obese patient to reach the same level of satisfaction from food as it is for the normal-weight patient.
HOWEVER! There's a however, which is the part that makes me like this article. It goes on to say that it is POOR eating habits (high-fat, high-sugar) that has stunted this satisfaction system in the first place. So while you chemically need more to feel satisfied, try engaging the LOGICAL portion of your brain to say, "I know that I have eaten enough food for this meal. I may FEEL that I need more, but i KNOW that I do not." Yeah, I know. Easier said than done. But practice makes perfect they say!
And while studies are being conducted regarding the reversal of this gland de-sensitization, they say to eat a clean diet. Work on changing your taste buds to enjoy and accept pure, clean flavors. That they know can absolutely be done!
So read the article, I liked it!
http://health.msn.com/weight-loss/articlepage.aspx?cp-documentid=100231212
PS should you feel a wave of "it's not my fault, maybe it's..." coming on, step back. Take a deep breath and think about how that doesn't matter an iota. Not really! If you think you can blame external forces then please google Sarah Reinertsen.
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