40 days and 40 nights

Well it has been 40 days since Chad and I have started eating all natural food. It's kind of ironic because today is Ash Wednesday, now is the time people start giving up things for Lent, which is 40 days. I guess Chad and I are just ahead of the game :)

This experience has taught Chad and I how to prepare, shop, plan and explore natural foods. My husband has lost 15+ pounds and has motivated him to get back into the gym. Eating this way has also pushed me into other healthier choices, my co-worker and I have started to work out every morning at 6am before we go into work. Never would I have thought I would actually enjoy this but I do. Now that I am working out so early I am also mindful of getting enough sleep. I guess you could say that there is a domino effect in starting healthy habits. Plus doesn't take 6 weeks to make or break a habit? I think Chad and I will continue our efforts in eating clean but will cheat for convenience sake here and there.

Actually I have already cheated this week! I gave myself the permission to get some pizza for lunch on Tuesday. My rationale? It was fat Tuesday!

Sugar Sugar

 As I walk through the grocery store I see more and more foods that are considered sugar reduced or sugar free. They are being advertised as healthy too. These products all are "healthier" because synthetic sweeteners are being used in the products. These sweeteners have all been chemically engineered to out smart our bodies that they are in fact not sugar or our bodies simple can't metabolize them. Surely there are consequences to these chemicals we put into our bodies.

 Here is an article I found online going into more detail about specifics on sugar substitutes and which are "safer" and the ones to stay clear of.


Sweet nothings.
David Schardt

 And remember: real sugar is hardly a toxic chemical. The problem is the large amounts that Americans eat. The U.S. Department of Agriculture has suggested a limit of ten teaspoons of added sugars per day for people who eat a 2,000-calorie diet. That's 40 grams, about as much as you'd get from one 12-ounce soft drink or two six-ounce fruit-on-the-bottom yogurts.

Here's a scorecard showing which artificial sweeteners are safe...and which are questionable. With that in hand, you can check our "Sweet vs. Sweet" chart (p. 11) to see which sweeteners are in which foods.

Safe SUCRALOSE

Also known as: Splenda.

What is it? Sugar (sucrose) chemically combined with chlorine. Its "made from sugar" label slogan is technically true, but misleading.

Why it's low-calorie: Our bodies can't burn sucralose for energy.

Safety: Sucralose passed all safety tests in animal studies.

Comments: There is no reason to suspect that sucralose causes any harm.

NEOTAME

What is it? A synthetic derivative of a combination of aspartic acid and phenylalanine, the same two amino acids that are used to make aspartame. The bond between the amino acids is harder to break down than aspartame's, so neotame is more stable.

Why it's low-calorie: Our bodies can't metabolize neotame, and only tiny amounts are needed to sweeten foods.

Safety: Unlike aspartame, neotame isn't broken down in the body into the amino acid phenylalanine, which is toxic to people with the rare disorder phenylketonuria (PKU). Animal and human studies have raised no safety concerns.

Comments: Neotame is so new that it hasn't yet appeared in any foods. It's always possible that once millions of consumers start eating neotame, some people may turn out to be sensitive to it.

Safe, but large amounts can cause diarrhea SUGAR ALCOHOLS

Also known as: sorbitol, xylitol, mannitol, maltitol, lactitol, isomalt, erythritol, hydrogenated starch hydrolysates.

What are they? Sugar alcohols aren't sugar and won't make you tipsy. They're made by adding hydrogen atoms to sugars. For example, adding hydrogen to glucose makes sorbitol.

Why they're low-calorie: Some sugar alcohols are absorbed better than others. Erythritol, which is largely unabsorbed, has virtually no calories, while maltitol and hydrogenated starch hydrolysates are absorbed enough to provide three-quarters the calories of sugar.

Safety: Too much sugar alcohol traveling unabsorbed through the intestinal tract can cause bloating, gas, and diarrhea. Unfortunately, the FDA only requires a "laxative effect" warning notice on labels if consumers could ingest 50 grams of sorbitol or 20 grams of mannitol from the food in a day. But just 10 grams of sorbitol, for example, can cause GI distress. (If sugar alcohols have made you sick, send a letter to CSPI--JE, Suite 300, 1875 Conn. Ave. N.W., Washington DC 20009. We'll forward it to the FDA.)

Comments: Sugar alcohols don't raise blood sugar as rapidly as sugar does, yet they're as bulky as sugar. So they can be used tablespoon-for-tablespoon to replace the sugar that's been removed from lower-carb foods. But while they may have a minimal impact on your blood sugar, they may have more than a minimal impact on your waistline and hips.

TAGATOSE

Also known as: Naturlose.

What is it? A "mirror-image" form of sugar that's manufactured from milk sugar (lactose).

Why it's low-calorie: Unlike sugar, tagatose can't be digested by enzymes in the intestines. Most passes through the body unabsorbed.

Safety: Because tagatose isn't well-absorbed, consuming large amounts can cause flatulence, rumbling noises, bloating, and nausea. Studies have raised no other safety concerns.

Comments: Tagatose is so new that you're only likely to find it in one food--Diet Pepsi Slurpees sold at 7-Eleven.

Probably safe, but certain people should avoid ASPARTAME

Also known as: Equal, NutraSweet, NatraTaste.

What is it? A synthetic derivative of a combination of the amino acids aspartic acid and phenylalanine.

Why it's low-calorie: Only tiny amounts of aspartame are needed to sweeten foods.

Safety: People with the rare disorder phenylketonuria (PKU) can't metabolize phenylalanine, so they should avoid aspartame.

Whether aspartame causes headaches is unclear. An industry-funded study of people who complained of aspartame-induced headaches concluded that it doesn't. But an independent test in 1994 of 26 similar people found that the sweetener was linked to symptoms in the 11 who were "very sure" they were sensitive. That suggests that some people react to aspartame, though fewer than the number who believe they do.

The most serious charge--that aspartame increases the risk of cancer--has never been proved. Among the many animal studies on aspartame, only one hints at an increased risk.

There's no foundation to claims floating around the Internet that aspartame causes everything from Alzheimer's disease to multiple sclerosis.

Comments: Clouds hang over both aspartame and acesulfame, but researchers have done more--and better--studies on aspartame. Even so, because aspartame is used in so many foods, the FDA should err on the side of caution and require non-industry-funded studies to resolve any questions about aspartame's safety.

People who believe they suffer from headaches or other symptoms after consuming foods that contain aspartame should avoid the sweetener.

INADEQUATELY TESTED ACESULFAME

Also known as: Sweet One, Sunett, acesulfame potassium.

What is it? A synthetic chemical.

Why it's low-calorie: Our bodies can't metabolize acesulfame.

Safety: The safety of acesulfame (pronounced ace-SULL-fame) rests on three animal studies conducted in the mid-1970s. The first was inconclusive because it found a variety of tumors both in mice fed acesulfame and in control mice fed acesulfame-free diets. The second was so plagued with sick animals that the FDA tossed out the results as unreliable.

In the third study, female rats fed acesulfame were twice as likely to develop breast tumors as control rats. While most of the tumors were benign, there were some malignant tumors--one in the 60 control rats, two in the 60 rats given low doses of acesulfame, and three in the 60 rats given high doses of acesulfame. The sweetener's manufacturer argued that acesulfame seemed to cause more tumors only because the control rats happened to remain unusually tumor-free. The FDA bought the company's interpretation and refused to require more safety testing.

Comments: Acesulfame should be better tested. Until then, try to avoid it.

STEVIA

Also known as: Sweet Leaf, Honey Leaf.

What is it? An extract from a shrub that grows in Brazil and Paraguay.

Why it's low-calorie: Our bodies can't metabolize stevia.

Safety: When male rats were fed high doses of stevioside (stevia's active ingredient) for 22 months, they produced fewer sperm and there was increased cell proliferation in their testicles, which could cause infertility. And when female hamsters were fed large amounts of a derivative of stevioside, they had fewer and smaller offspring. That--combined with the absence of other animal studies that are normally required for food additives--led the FDA, Health Canada, the European Union, and the World Health Organization to conclude that stevia shouldn't be allowed in food.

Comments: Stevia can't be used as an ingredient in food. But it can be sold as a supplement, since safety rules for supplements are looser than for foods. Stevia is promoted by the health-food industry as a natural alternative to synthetic sweeteners like saccharin, aspartame, and sucralose. But "natural" doesn't automatically mean "safe."

UNSAFE SACCHARIN

Also known as: Sweet 'N Low.

What is it? A synthetic chemical that was discovered in 1879 when a researcher at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore noticed that a compound he spilled on his hand tasted sweet.

Why it's low-calorie: Our bodies can't metabolize saccharin, and only tiny amounts are needed to sweeten foods.

Safety: In 1977, the FDA tried to ban saccharin because animal studies showed that it caused cancer of the bladder, uterus, ovaries, skin, and other organs. Bowing to pressure from the diet-food industry and dieters, Congress intervened to keep saccharin on the market, though with a warning notice on the label. (At the time, saccharin was the only high-potency sweetener.)

In the late 1990s, the Calorie Control Council--which represents the low-calorie food and beverage industry--convinced the FDA and the National Institutes of Health (NIH) that the main health concern about saccharin was bladder cancer in male rats, but that people didn't develop bladder cancer through the same mechanism as the rats. In 2000, over the objections of a number of scientists, the NIH removed saccharin from its list of carcinogens and Congress removed the requirement for warning notices.

Yet last year the National Cancer Institute noted that one of its own studies--the best human study of saccharin use ever done--had found "some evidence of an increased risk of bladder cancer" in heavy saccharin users, "particularly for those who heavily ingested the sweetener as a table top sweetener or through diet sodas." "Heavy" meant "six or more servings of sugar substitute or two or more eight-ounce servings of diet drink daily."

Comments: Just because saccharin no longer carries a warning doesn't erase the evidence that it may cause cancer in humans.

Schardt, D. (2004). Sweet nothings.Nutrition Action Health, 31, 8-11.

But the packaging said it was healthy...

The FDA has certain restrictions on how food can be labeled. This helps protect consumer from being manipulated into buying what they think could be healthy but in fact is not. Below is an article I found on companies misusing the word "Fresh" on packaging. (Bold emphasis added by me.)

You can find more information on FDA labeling restrictions at FDA.gov

Several food manufacturers removed the word "fresh" from their products this spring, marking advances in FDA's on going effort to enforce its rules on proper food labeling.

The first two products targeted by FDA, Citrus Hill Fresh Choice orange juice and Ragu Fresh Italian pasta sauce, are both heat processed. The juice is reconstituted from concentrate, while the pasta sauce contains tomato paste. Labeling the products "fresh" is misleading, FDA said.

On April 26, the manufacturer of Citrus Hill, Procter & Gamble Co., of Ohio, agreed to change its orange juice label and remove the word "fresh," after FDA inspectors, accompanied by a U.S. marshal, seized a shipment of the product on April 24 from a warehouse in Minneapolis, Minn.

FDA had repeatedly warned Procter & Gamble to amend the labeling, but the company refused to comply. Since 1963, FDA has not allowed the term "fresh" on commercially processed orange juices. In 1969, it ruled that "fresh" could not describe any food that had been heated or chemically processed.

"The food label must be truthful," said FDA Commissioner David A. Kessler, M.D., when he announced the seizure. "We have taken firm action on the use of the term 'fresh' on the food label.

"The use of the term 'fresh' on this product is false and misleading, and it is confusing to consumers," Kessler added. "Today's action will send a clear message that the FDA will not tolerate such violations of the law."

Following this action on May 2, after months of negotiations with FDA, Ragu Foods Company of Trumbull, Conn., agreed to change its Ragu Fresh Italian pasta sauce trademark to Fino Italian pasta sauce. It will also change the ingredients list to include tomato paste.

FDA said consumers need not return Citrus Hill or Ragu products to stores or discard them, since there was no reason to believe that the products pose any health risk. FDA's actions related to Citrus Hill and Ragu were truth-in-labeling issues, not health safety ones.

FDA Consumer; Jul/Aug 91, Vol. 25 Issue 6, p2.

Black bean salsa

Came across this recipe online at Allrecipes.com and loved it. I bought 100% whole wheat pita bread and the two together were great. I though about puree this a bit  next time too that way you could use it as a sandwich spread or make it into a bean burrito. Great source of protein and easy place to squeeze more veggies into your diet. Delish!

Black bean salsa Allrecipes.com
Created by Ehmer, Wednesday, 30 June 2010

1 can black beans - (15 oz), drained, rinsed

1 small onion, finely chopped

1 small bell pepper, finely chopped

1 ripe tomato, peeled, seeds removed and chopped small

1 Tbs red wine vinegar

1 Tbs olive oil

1/2 tsp sugar

1 pinch Freshly-ground black pepper, or to taste