Open Season for Sugar

Now we all know you shouldn’t take candy from strangers. But what about parents-of-kids-you-know who offer you candy? And what if you're old enough to know your mother will most likely be really annoyed that you’re eating candy at 9:30 at night? (especially when that same mother is about to arrive and has already promised to stop for ice cream on the way home to celebrate a recent academic achievement!) Maybe this sounds like something that only happens in fairy tales or Law & Order re-runs, but this actually happened to one of my children just a week ago! Sure, maybe I’m overreacting, but here’s how it went down:

I pull up only a few minutes late to pick up said child from the evening’s sporting practice. As I look in the door, I see my child crouched in front of a candy machine, reaching in to retrieve something. I think, “Gross, he’s grabbing for leftover candy in that filthy machine!” I spot said child’s friend leaving the practice with his father and wave at them, climbing out to go fetch my disgusting child who is now shoving nerds in his mouth as fast as possible and trying to look innocent.

Of course, I confront this child and he tells me that no, he wasn’t gathering leftover candy, but had purchased the candy himself. With what? I ask, knowing full-well that this child is flat broke. And he tells me that his friend’s dad who has just left, handed him a dollar and told him to go buy some candy. An avalanche of emotions rushed through me at this point. Anger, because who is this guy to think he can order my kid to eat candy? Embarrassment, because I know the motivation for this is that my child has claimed (more or less truthfully) that his mother never buys him candy. Frustration, because I’m sick of being the odd man out in nearly all parenting situations. Sadness, because apparently my devoted spawn feels deprived. And then back to Anger, because I had promised this little Einstein that we would stop for ice cream at Handels (where they make all the ice cream fresh every day from real cream!) on the way home that night.

This episode traveled with me for a few days. It’s silly. As much as I wanted to hunt this man down and explain to him why my child’s diet doesn’t consist of daily sugar loads, I resisted. I’m sure he thought he was earning brownie points with my kid (although for the life of me, I don’t understand why parents want to impress kids, their own or anyone else’s). And I’m sure he never gives the dangers of sugar a second thought. But I do.

Sugar is not good for any of us. As recent research is bringing to light, sugar, and not fat, may be the real cause of our collective health issues related to obesity. According to Dr. Robert Lustig, a UCSF professor of pediatrics and very eloquent and passionate anti-sugar advocate, Americans are consuming about 141 pounds of sugar per person each year.

He also points out that we weigh 25 pounds more than we did 25 years ago. His lecture, “Sugar: The Bitter Truth” can be found on You Tube. It’s fascinating and very convincing. He boldly states that sugar is a poison that is slowly killing us all. And after watching his lecture, I’m convinced that he’s on to something. We are eating more sugar now than we ever have. A 12 ounce soda (and Lustig points out that the “normal” soda from a machine these days is actually 20 ounces) has 8 teaspoons of sugar in it. How many sodas does the average person drink in a day? Sodas contain all that sugar to mask the huge amounts of salt in each can. I only pick on soda because it’s sited as the number one source of sugar in the American diet on several websites.

The USDA website which promotes the latest version of the food pyramid, labels sugar “empty calories” and has a chart explaining how many “empty calories” are acceptable in a typical diet.

Children ages 2-3 years: 135 calories

Children ages 4-8 years: 120 calories

Girls ages 9-13:  120 calories

Boys ages 9-13:  160 calories

Girls ages 14-18: 160 calories

Boys ages 14-18: 265 calories

Females 19-30: 260  calories

Males 19-30: 330 calories

Females 31-50: 160 calories

Males 31-50:  265 calories

Females 51+:  120 calories

Males 51+:  260 calories

The average soda (and I’m going to assume it’s only a 12 oz can, silly me) has 145-160 calories. All of which, would be empty. So there’s your day’s worth of empty calories if you’re the average kid. Hope you don’t plan to eat any other junk food or processed food today, cause you’ve already reached your limit. And if you’re hankering for a candy bar, you better divide it up between several days or you’ll blow 2-3 days worth of your empty calorie limit in one day.

Bottom line: We’re all consuming way too much sugar. We drink soda like water. We eat candy mindlessly. Sugar is one of the primary ingredients in pretty much every processed food you buy. Don’t believe me, head for the grocery store and check for any of the following names for sugar on the ingredients list of your favorite cracker, prepared meal, frozen burrito, seasoning, dressing, or what-have-you. Just because it doesn’t say sugar, doesn’t mean it isn’t sugar:

• anhydrous dextrose

• brown sugar

• confectioner's powdered sugar

• corn syrup

• corn syrup solids

• dextrose

• fructose

• high-fructose corn syrup (HFCS)

• honey

• invert sugar

• lactose

• malt syrup

• maltose

• maple syrup

• molasses

• nectars (e.g., peach nectar, pear nectar)

• pancake syrup

• raw sugar

• sucrose

• white granulated sugar

Dr. Lustig’s belief (shared by many other doctors and researchers) is that sugar is the main culprit in causing not only obesity and dental disease, but diabetes heart disease, and host of other ailments, effectively poisoning us. Sugar has been linked to immune disorder issues, chromium deficiency, cancer, arthritis, and even learning disabilities. While sugar gives you a temporary “high”, very quickly your body crashes from that surge of false energy and you are left grumpy and tired. So what do you do? You crave more sugar.

Being a confirmed sugaraholic myself, I would never tell you to cut out sugar completely because you can’t. We get plenty of natural sugar from fruits, vegetables and grains. But the refined sugar we could do without. I might know this, but offer me a key lime cheesecake and I’ll take back everything I said. Sugar is a powerful thing.

Still, cutting out as much as possible might just be the best thing you could do for your health and your child’s. here’s just a few ideas for reducing the amount of sugar in your diet.

1. Read labels. If sugar (in any form, see list above) is one of the first four ingredients, but the package down.

2. As much as possible, cook from scratch. Make your own smoothies with fresh fruit. Most prepared foods have extra sugar and salt to mask the taste of the all the extra preservatives and additives.

3. Consider using Stevia, a natural sweetener derived from a plant, 300x sweeter than sugar with no calories.

4. Eat lots of fresh fruit and limit dried fruit which has considerably more sugar by proportion.

5. Cut out soda completely. You don’t need it and it is only damaging your health. Drink water or tea instead. It’s just a matter of changing habits.

6. Control the sugar added to what you eat. Buy your tea unsweetened. Buy plain yogurt and sweeten with fruit. Make plain instant oatmeal and sweeten it with dried fruit (those tiny, seriously expensive packets are more sugar than oatmeal!)

7. If you must drink fruit juice, buy only 100% juice with no added sugar.

8. Be very careful of “fat free” foods, many times the manufacturer compensates for the lower fat with higher sugar (and salt)

9. Start dialing back your sugar gradually. If you normally add two packets of sugar to your coffee, go for 1 ½, same with your kids oatmeal, cereal, etc.

10. Curb cravings with fruit. When the urge for sugar seems to overwhelm you, reach for fruit. It’s still sugar, but with some extra fiber and a few less calories. I keep dried cherries on hand for these moments. And distract your kids cravings by offering them fruit after a meal or as a snack.

Giving up sugar is not something I can claim I’ve done. I have been able to reduce my refined sugar consumption and it becomes clear very quickly that it improves my mood, energy level, and reduces the amount of sleep I need. But I’ll be the first to wrestle that chocolate out of your hand if you tell me I have to give up all my sugar forever. Not happening. This I do know: If I can reduce the amount of refined sugar in my children’s diet, I’ll be helping them to not only be healthier and avoid cavities, I’ll be helping them to think more clearly and handle their emotions more consistently. That pay off makes the battle worth fighting.

I still don’t know why that dad ordered my child to eat candy last week. But the next time I see his kid, I might just tempt him with some fresh, homemade, organic applesauce with cinnamon! So there!

Flaxseed Everywhere

What's all this fuss about flaxseed? Well, just in case you’ve been living under a rock and haven’t noticed the six million new products “with added flaxseed!” on the label, let me tell you. Flaxseed is one of the healthiest things you can add to your diet. And you don’t need to buy any of the fancy new (processed) food to get it. Before I tell you all the sneaky ways to dose your family with plenty of flaxseed, let me share with you why you should eat it in the first place.

I read about flaxseed over a year ago when my hubby’s cholesterol was reaching levels that were kind of scary. The doctor was on the brink of putting him on drugs for cholesterol and implored him to change his lifestyle. Now, let me tell you about my husband’s lifestyle – he’s thin (he prefers the term “lean”), doesn’t exercise enough but splits wood and rides his bike on occasion, doesn’t like sweet food, and eats most of his meals here at our house where his crazy wife won’t buy processed foods and is always coming up with another new “healthy” recipe. Since I can’t convince him to give up his coffee or beer, there wasn’t much we could do about his lifestyle. So I began adding flaxseed to everything I could – pizza crust, bread, cookies, and just about anything baked. I couldn’t get away with putting it in anything where it’s pasty texture would be noticed, but if it went in the oven, it had flaxseed in it. Guess what happened? At his appointment, approximately six months after I began the flaxseed assault – his cholesterol was just fine. The numbers that were supposed to be low, were low and the numbers that were supposed to be high, were high. So there. That’s enough proof for me to spout off about the benefits of flaxseed for you!

But just in case you don’t trust my personal case study, here’s what the experts say:
Mayo Clinic Nutritionist, Katherine Zeratsky, R.D., L.D., says: "Flaxseed is high in fiber, omega-3 fatty acids and phytochemicals called lignans. Flaxseed is commonly used as a laxative (to improve digestive health or relieve constipation). Both flaxseed and flaxseed oil have been used to help reduce total blood cholesterol and low-density lipoprotein (LDL, or "bad") cholesterol levels and, as a result, may help reduce the risk of heart disease." The docs at WebMD added that flaxseed can help reduce the risk of heart disease, cancer, stroke, and diabetes. It can also reduce inflammation and hot flashes. It can be good for arthritis, depression, constipation, and Chrohn’s disease.

Flaxseed comes from the flaxplant and has been around for centuries. In fact, King Charlemagne, back in the 8th century ordered all his subjects to eat it because he believed in its health benefits. Somehow, we lost the King’s memo, but mark my words, you’ll be seeing a lot more fields of flax in the near future. Fields of flax will be beautiful too – the flower is a pretty blue color with delicate little petals on long stems.

Flaxseed contains three ingredients that make it such a phenom:

1) omega-3 essential fatty acids - I know you’ve heard about these and their heart-healthy effects. Each tablespoon of ground flaxseed has about 1.8 grams!

2) Lignans – these are antioxidants and flaxseed contains 75-800 times more lignans than other plant foods

3) Fiber – both soluble and insoluble

The experts say the optimal dose is 1-2 tablespoons a day. I have to warn you that eating it straight could be tough. You can buy flaxseed oil, but it doesn’t have all the benefits of the straight seed. It’s best eaten in a ground form (flaxseed meal) and even then can make some foods feel pasty in the mouth. That’s why I find it easiest to bake it in to everything. In each loaf of bread I add ¼ cup of flaxseed meal. You’ll have to experiment and figure out how much is too much for your family. Flaxseed does make things moister, which is wonderful for cookies and dough. Store it in the freezer so it stays fresh, especially if you buy it ground.

Ever since I decided to post on flaxseed, I’ve been seeing information about it everywhere. Kind of like when you buy a new car you think is uniquely you, you start seeing the exact same car everywhere, even the same color. No one drove a Pilot until I got one, truly. One tip I read suggested putting flaxseeds in to a spice grinder (like you use for pepper or salt) and grind some in to whatever you are cooking. The idea being that if it’s handy, you’ll be more likely to use it. Clever. I might have to try this. At the feed store yesterday they were selling big bags of flaxseed to feed your chickens so their eggs will be higher in Omega 3’s. Made me wonder if chicken flaxseed is the same grade as flaxseed for humans (it was a bit cheaper, but I decided not to test out the idea). Then I came upon a recipe in Body and Soul Magazine that sounds awesome and mega healthy. I’m all out of quinoa, so I didn’t get a chance to try it first, but I’m taking their word for it and putting it in this post:

Spiced Nuts and Seeds
(Body & Soul Magazine)
Mix 3 ups whole nuts with ¼ cup each flaxseeds, quinoa, and sunflower seeds. In separate bowl, whisk 2 egg whites with 2 tablespoons honey, 1 ½ teaspoons coarse salt, and ¼ teaspoon each cayenne, cumin, and cinnamon. Toss with nut mix. Spread in a single layer on a baking sheet; bake at 325 until dry, stirring occasionally (about 30 minutes). Scrape from pan while cooling, to avoid sticking.

Here’s a few ideas of foods you can add flaxseed meal to:
Cookies, breads, bagels, pancakes, waffles, pizza crust, muffins, chili, meatloaf, meatballs, soup, oatmeal and casseroles. If you’ve got some other great ideas or recipes, please pass them along. I’ve posted my cookie recipe in the post “To Pack or Not To Pack” March 2009, which includes flaxseed meal.

Hope you’re convinced and already on your way out to buy some flaxseed. Here’s to your health!

A Superfood above all Superfoods

Coconut Oil is a superfood above all superfoods. It’s one of the best things you can eat. I discovered this in my efforts to learn more about foods that help the immune system. When my son was first diagnosed with Alopecia Areata I had never even heard of coconut oil. If I ever ate it, it was by accident. I never liked coconut much because of the texture, but I never knew about coconut oil and coconut milk. Now I find all kinds of ways to sneak coconut oil in to our diet.

Coconut oil is nature’s best source of lauric acid, an essential fatty acid that boosts the immune system and protects us against viruses, yeasts, parasites, and other pathogens. Lauric acid is used to make baby formula. It also occurs naturally in mother’s milk. It is a fatty acid with antifungal and antimicrobial properties. Here’s what I read in the book Nourishing Traditions by Sally Fallon:

Demographic indications are that countries whose populace consumes large
amounts of coconut have very low incidences of coronary diseases. In one study
of two groups of Polynesians, those consuming coconut oil as 89% of the fat
intake had lower blood pressure than those whose coconut oil intake was only 7%
of fat intake. In Sri Lanka, a major coconut producing and consuming nation, the
1978 rate of heart disease was 1 per 100,000 contrasted with a rate of 18 to 187
in countries with no coconut oil consumption.

As heart disease surpasses cancer as the leading cause of death in this country, we might all be wise to find ways to add more coconut to our diet. The more I’ve read about Coconut oil the more convinced I am that it can have a huge impact on our health, and not just the immune system. Here’s another tidbit from Fallon’s book:

Coconut oil protects tropical populations from bacteria and fungus so prevalent in their food supply; as third-world nations in tropical areas have switched to polyunsaturated vegetable oils, the incidence of intestinal disorders and immune deficiency diseases have increased.

Here’s a partial list of other benefits found in medical research and clinical observations (if you're already sold on the benefits of coconut oil and want to skip to the recipes below, feel free):

- Kills viruses that cause mononucleosis, influenza, hepatitis C, measles,
herpes, AIDS, and other illnesses
- Kills bacteria that cause pneumonia, ear ache, throat infection, dental cavities, food poisoning, urinary tract infections, meningitis, gonorrhea, and dozens of other diseases
- Expels or kills tapeworms, lice, giardia, and other parasites
- Provides a quick boost of energy
- Improves insulin secretion and utilization of blood glucose
- Helps relieve symptoms and reduce health risks associated with diabetes
- Improves calcium and magnesium absorption and supports the development of
strong bones and teeth
- Helps protect against osteoporosis
- Relieves symptoms associated with Crohn’s disease, ulcerative colitis, and stomach ulcers
- Relieves pain and irritation caused by hemorrhoids
- Reduces chronic inflammation
- Supports tissue healing and repair
- Supports and aids immune system function
- Helps protect the body from breast, colon, and other cancers
- Is heart healthy; does not increase blood cholesterol or platelet stickiness
- Helps prevent heart disease and stroke
- Helps prevent high blood pressure
- Helps prevent periodontal disease and tooth decay
- Helps to protect the body from harmful free-radicals that promote premature aging and degenerative disease
- Is lower in calories than all other fats
- Supports thyroid function
- Promotes loss of excess weight by increasing metabolic rate
- Applied topically helps to form a chemical barrier on the skin to ward off infection
- Reduces symptoms associated with psoriasis, eczema, and dermatitis
- Prevents wrinkles, sagging skin, and age spots
- Promotes healthy-looking hair and complexion
- Is resistant to oxidation so has a long shelf life
- Does not form harmful by-products when heated to normal cooking temperatures like other vegetable oils

Wow! If only half this list holds water, then we all need to be consuming more coconut oil. I’m sure you’re already headed out the door to get your own case of the stuff, so here’s a few things you should know. Coconut oil is pretty expensive, about as expensive as good olive oil. It’s worth every cent. Look for coconut oil that is non-hydrogenated, otherwise you’ll lose out on some of its benefits. Good quality coconut oil tastes like coconut. It is semi-solid in cooler weather and liquid oil in warmer weather. Here’s some ways to get more coconut oil in your diet:

Use coconut oil in cookie recipes and other baked goods.

It can also be used to sauté if you keep the temperature from getting too high. I suppose what you use it in depends on how much you love the taste of coconut oil. I substitute half the butter for coconut oil in all my cookie recipes and my kids don’t notice it. When I used it to cook their eggs, they turned up their noses (although I happily ate all the eggs they didn’t!).

We use it in waffles, pancakes and breads and nobody knows the difference, except that they taste REALLY good and seem really decadent.

You can also use coconut milk in soups and cooking dishes.

I love, love, love the recipe for coconut rice found in the Nourishing Traditions Cookbook and also Cooking Light’s Coconut Shrimp. Those recipes can be found below. There is also a recipe for a Coconut crust in Nourishing Traditions that I haven’t tried yet, but think would be divine as the base for a banana cream pie.

The last thing I’ll say about coconut oil is it is a great for your skin. When I finish scraping out a jar for cooking, I use my fingers to gather what’s still in there and rub it in to my arms and hands. I wouldn’t waste an ounce of that precious stuff. I once had a health professional tell me that if I used coconut oil on my skin every day, I’d look 10 years younger. I don’t know if that’s a comment on how powerful the stuff is or how old I look for my age!

Enjoy these recipes and consider developing some of your own!

Coconut Rice
(adapted from Nourishing Traditions)

2 cups long-grain brown rice
2 Tablespoons butter
2 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
3 cardamom pods (critical – don’t leave this out!)
2 Cups Chicken Stock
2 Cups Coconut Milk
½ teaspoon sea salt

In heavy pan, melt butter and olive oil. Open cardamom pods and add seeds to the pan. (Note: I open cardamom pods by rolling my rolling pin over them a few times). Saute rice in butter and oil, stirring constantly, until rice begins to turn milky. Pour in liquid, add salt and bring to a rolling boil. Boil, uncovered, for about 10 minutes until water has been reduced to the level of the rice. Reduce heat, cover tightly, and cook for about 45 minutes or until done (you can cook longer, the original recipe calls for cooking up to 3 hours!).

Spicy Shrimp in Coconut Sauce
(Cooking Light)

½ Cup coconut milk
1 T fresh lime juice
1 t bottled minced ginger
1 t low-sodium soy sauce
1 t honey
½ t cornstarch
½ t chile paste with garlic
½ t bottled minced garlic
¼ t salt
2 t canola oil
1 ½ lbs large shrimp, peeled and deveined
2 T chopped green onions
½ t crushed red pepper
2 cups jasmine rice (I serve this over coconut rice – WOW!)

Combine first 9 ingredients in a medium bowl – set aside.

Heat canola oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add shrimp and sauté 2 minutes. Add green onions and red pepper; cook 1 minute. Add coconut milk mixture to pan; bring to a boil. Reduce heat, and simmer 1 minute or until shrimp turn pink. Serve immediately over rice.

Yield: 4 servings (1 cup shrimp mixture and ½ cup rice), 310 calories per serving

(Latest Version of) A Little Bit Healthy Chocolate Chip Cookies

½ cup butter
3/4 cup coconut oil
1 cup sucanot (or 1 cup white sugar)
1 cup brown sugar (or 1 cup rapidura)
2 teaspoons vanilla
2 eggs
1 cup organic white flour
2 cups whole wheat pastry flour
1/3 cup almond meal (optional)
¼ cup ground flax
1 teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt (I use celtic sea salt and increase it to almost 1 teaspoon)
2 cups grain sweetened chocolate chips (or use a good chocolate chip like Ghirardelli’s – cheap chips cheapen the cookie in ways other than price)

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 375.
2. Cream butter, oil, and sugars. Add vanilla, eggs, and flaxseed. Beat well. (If it’s cool out and I’m using coconut oil it will be kind of hard, so I beat it much longer than if I do when it is warm to ensure that it is evenly spread through the batter.)
3. Mix together flours, almond meal, baking soda, and salt with whisk. Add to batter. Beat until mixed well. Add in chocolate chips.
4. Use mini ice cream scoop or melon baler to drop small tablespoons on to pan.
5. Bake for 8-10 minutes, depending on the size of the cookies and whether you heated the pans. It also depends on your oven, so watch your cookies carefully the first few times.