Today was my rest day, and it was really nice to not have anything to do. I felt really tired today too. I'm planning on going to bed early and getting as much rest as I can out of this rest day.
I thought I'd take the extra time I had to work on editing some video for Against Malaria, but that didn't end up happening because I don't have Final Cut installed on this computer and I could not find the serial number to install it! Arg! I will hopefully get it figured out tomorrow.
I've been thinking a lot about high fructose corn syrup today and how it seriously is in EVERYTHING! I thought I had done so good last week and not had any, but then I realized that I had a few graham crackers. Dang! It almost seems like the high fructose corn syrup is targeting our kids, and pretending to be healthy as it does so.
I found a site telling about how great a snack fruit snacks are (My kids are obsessed with fruit snacks!). It even has this listed as the down-side: "None really, although it's not the snack for everyone." Then right after that, it lists the first four ingredients:
- Fruit (Grapes, Strawberries)
- Corn Syrup
- Sucrose
- Gelatin
Well, at least #2 isn't "high fructose" corn syrup, but shouldn't that at least be considered a down-side to the snack?
I just feel like we are being brainwashed into thinking things are good for us, when really they're not. The graham cracker box even trys to make it look like it's a healthy snack. Palease! Just because there are "5 Grams Whole Grain!" "Low Saturated Fat" and "No Cholesterol." Maybe we're trading a little fat for things that are worse for us. I used to not believe that was possible. I used to think, "What is worse than fat?" If it didn't have fat in it, how could it be bad for you? I used to think that getting Cool Whip instead of whipped cream was the healthy option because there is less fat. But really, does that make it better? I just recently realized that Cool Whip is mostly high fructose corn syrup.
When I first decided to stop eating as many processed carbs and to cut high fructose corn syrup out completely, I told Mindy that we weren't going to buy white bread anymore, and she had a little melt down. I think I broke her little heart, and it almost made me change my mind. Almost. Now, we have our bread that has no sugar and no HFCS in it, and she devours that almost as much, but I don't feel quite so bad about it. It's those empty calories that I worry about now.
Anyway, that's my rant for the day. I need to get back into training so I have something else to think about! :) I just want everyone to be aware of what they are eating. Nowadays, we don't always know what it is we are putting into our bodies. I don't think this is a good thing, no matter what it is. It's hard to get the truth, though. I've found some really anti HFCS sites, but then their site, Sweet Surprise, claims none of what the other guys say is true. It also explains why it is in everything. I'm not saying this makes it ok, but it answers some of my questions like, "why does HFCS need to be in crackers??"
I guess this is why you should always try to eat as near to the source as possible, meaning as unprosessed as possible. It's not easy, that's for sure. Glad to hear you are resting.
ReplyDeletetake care!
Hey Colleen,Thats so true.We end up eating stuff that is really bad for us.The worst part is we dont even realize what goes in the food products that we eat.In India we dont even have exhaustive Labels on food products like the ones in US.So its really a health risk.Thats why I always try to eat mostly natural and organic stuff and cut out the proccessed,pre-cooked and canned products
ReplyDeleteIt's always good to be aware of what you are putting into your body and it's good to try to make the healthiest choices that you can but I think the whole HFCS terror is way overblown.
ReplyDeleteIt reminds me of the MMR causes Autism nonsense.
I can't take a website seriously when this is part of their content:
"The pornographic underbelly of all this (and there always is one, it seems, where money and government and conflicting desires come into play) is that in laboratory tests High Fructose Corn Syrup causes male rats to never fully develop their testicles. And High Fructose Corn Syrup also causes the hearts of female rats to expand until they burst. Exit pornography, enter horror flick."
Really? Pornography? There is ALWAYS a pornographic underbelly? That is insane. I had to stop reading it.
Eating near the source and organic are really good ways to stay healthy I think. I've often heard about how if you just do your shopping on the outside isles of the grocery store you will avoid the pre-processed foods and unhealthy foods. This is mostly true I think, and I try to stick to the outside.
ReplyDeleteSun, I agree, that article was over-the-top! I had to stop reading it when I started thinking, "where is he getting all this?" It's not like he has any references either. That's why I had to post the "sweet surprise" website too so you could get both extremes. I don't think everything the anti site was saying is true, but I also don't believe the HFCS site that wants you to believe this is such a wonder food that we should be eating more of. I think I'll just be safe and try to eat less of it, but you're probably right that it's not as big of a deal as some people make it out to be. Including me sometimes. :)