Archive for the ‘soda’ tag
Dump HFCS, and other Sugar from your Diet
The Corn Refiners Association (CRA) seemingly takes exception to any suggestion that High Fructose Corn Syrup (HFCS) is in any way to blame for the increase in Child diabetes in the United States.
The CRA loves to quote the American Medical Association (AMA) as saying that HFCS doesn’t appear to contribute more to obesity to other caloric sweeteners (such as regular sugar, for example).
However, The AMA also recommends a daily limit of 32 grams of such sweeteners. The average can of soda contains 40 grams of HFCS.
So even if HFCS in itself does no more harm than other sweeteners, we can’t get away from the fact that the average American consumes far more sweeteners of all kinds than is recommended by the AMA – over 500% more. As practically all processed food products contain HFCS, it is a major contributor to obesity, and diabetes in the USA.
The best way forward is to cut out processed foods altogether. Eat fresh fruit, vegetables, meat, pasta, diary, beans and whole grains. Check anything in a carton, box, or packet though to be sure of what you are actually eating.
Cutting out processed foods, and sweeteners, including HFCS, cannot do any harm.
Fat Kids
Have you heard “Oh, it’s ok, it’s just baby fat!” ?
Well, baby-fat turns into ‘puppy’ fat which turns into adult fat. Kids that are overweight, are more likely to turn into adults that remain overweight.
It can sometimes be traced to genetics, but it’s more often down to too much food, particularly junk food, and too little exercise.
Kids used to play in the street, or at the park, and more and more now sit in front of the computer, TV, or games console for hours on end instead.
Kids don’t need to be put on fancy diets either. That can often promote unhealthy ideas later in life, and give kids the impression that they need to be picky and fussy about what they eat. It’s good for parents to lead by example. No good telling junior they shouldn’t eat candy or fast food junk and should exercise if they frequently see you snacking on chocolate or pizza while not moving from the couch all day.
It’s no going to work if you suddenly decide to go on a healthy eating regime, and expect them to follow along without protest either.
Just stop buying one or two items. Cut back on chips. Let them have one bag a week, not three bags a day. The same with soda. It works best for ourselves, and for kids too, if we’re gradually weaned off the junk.
Try and make time to sit at the dinner table and eat, not at the TV. It promotes family conversation too, and gives you an opportunity to show enthusiasm for healthy options, by talking about them. Educate kids about what is best for them, but don’t ban them from junk totally or they’ll simply rebel and go buy it with their allowance behind your back in any case.
Often too, it’s good to cut back on portion size. Remember that your body takes about 20 mins to tell your brain that’s it’s full, so try and eat more slowly. Make it more of a family event, rather than the latest TV episode. You’ll all enjoy your food more, and less food will be more filling, and without feeling stuffed and bloated afterward.
New Study Shows Women At Risk From Soda
Researchers at Chicago’s Loyola University have found that women who drink more than one can of sugar-laden soda each day nearly double showing signs of developing kidney disease.
The study involved a national sample of over 9,000 men and women, and one interesting find was that the same signs were not shown in men who drink a similar amount.
It could be the excess of high fructose corn syrup (HFCS) found in most sodas, or given that mercury has also been found in HFCS, in other similar studies, this could also be a factor.
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