Search results matching tag 'sugar'

Natural born killer

bshubbard — Tue, 24 Mar 2009 10:09:00 GMT

Our cover story this month exposes the shocking revelation
that high-fructose corn syrup (HFCS), a ubiquitous sweetener used in
everything from cola to ‘healthy’ snacks, is heavily laced with mercury
that has inadvertently been added during its manufacturing process.

So widespread is HFCS, and so contaminated by mercury in the manufacturing
process, that most of us—even those consuming so-called
‘natural’ or ‘organic’ processed foods and snacks—could be ingesting
some 28.5 mcg of mercury every day. Indeed, the average American is
eating more than 42 lb (19 kg) of it every year.

What’s more, new evidence suggests that the use of HFCS may be behind the rise in
obesity in Western countries such as the US and UK.

Naturally, the corn industry, which was more or less saved from extinction by the discovery
in the 1970s of an enzyme that could convert the glucose in corn syrup to fructose, counters
that HFCS is ‘natural’—derived entirely from natural substances with no artificial additives
or ingredients.

But that begs the question of what exactly we mean by ‘natural’. Of the two types of highfructose
corn syrup being widely used, HFCS-55 is 55-per-cent fructose and HFCS-42 is 42-
per-cent fructose. The remainder percentages of each sweetener is largely made up of glucose
plus approximately 6 per cent of higher saccharides.

The manufacture of HFCS is an involved process. The first step is to extract the corn starch
from corn, which is then treated with the enzyme alpha-amylase, a natural enzyme present
in human saliva and pancreatic fluids but, in this instance, produced commercially from
bacteria. The resulting polysaccharides produced from the chemical interaction of corn
starch and this enzyme are treated with yet another enzyme called ‘glucomylase’—harvested
through a process that uses fungi from the Aspergillus family.

The third step in this process involves passing the mixture over a third enzyme called
glucose isomerase. This enzyme is entirely synthetic, and this is what is responsible for doing
most of the work—that is, converting part of the corn glucose into fructose so that the
resultant HFCS is 42 per cent fructose, 6 per cent other saccharides and 52 per cent glucose.
To produce HFCS-55, the HFCS-42 is put through liquid chromatography, which helps
manufacturers to separate out only the fructose, resulting in a liquid that is 90-per-cent
fructose. Then the HFCS-42 and HFCS-90 are blended together and the result is HFCS-55,
with a higher concentration of sweetness and the sweetener of choice for most soft drinks.
Some 90 per cent of the soft drinks produced in the US are made with HFCS-55.

In a number of plants (all of the HFCS plants in the UK and one-third of those in the US),
the manufacturing process exposes this ‘entirely natural’ product to caustic soda (sodium
hydroxide), which requires the use of mercury in the process.

This means that this all-singing, all-dancing, ‘natural’ substance is produced through a
three-stage enzyme-conversion process, including one totally synthetic enzyme and, in the
manufacturing process at some plants, exposed to a good deal of mercury, which mysteriously
‘disappears’.

All this mixing, dividing and refining may be why there is increasing evidence that this
sugar derivative could be causing massive weight gain. As with most food that is manipulated
in any major way, the body simply doesn’t recognize it or, indeed, know what to do with it.
I don’t know about your dictionary but, to my mind, HFCS is to natural sugar what a saline
implant is to female breasts—a weird approximation that can never be called an equivalent
to the real thing.

You can read the full report in the March issue of 'What Doctors Don't Tell You'. To begin your subscription, please follow this link:

http://www.wddtyhealthshop.com/products.asp?recnumber=246

Re: Prickling/itching skin

Brad — Tue, 16 Sep 2008 19:43:55 GMT

There may be, as others have noted, a sugar connection. Have you noticed and increase in symptoms with consumption of alcohol? Try avoiding all sugars and alcohol and see if that helps. A little essential oil of myrrh will help alleviate the itching (it smells good too). Instead of clawing at your skin with your nails try putting a little granular table salt on the affected area and lightly rub that around. That can also mitigate symptoms.

After you have been off of sugars for a while you might try using agave nectar as a sweetener.

i am interested in hearing if any of these suggestions worked for you.

How to Get Fat - Not!

Annemarie Colbin — Wed, 06 Feb 2008 10:12:00 GMT

So many people are worried about their weight! It’s either the look, or the health, or the concern about what other people may say about them, or the bullies in school – all the messages from society are that being chubby, overweight, zaftig, or plump is not OK. At the same time, the common foods we find in cheap restaurants, fast food outlets, snack bars and the like all contribute to that extra weight.

Not everybody is overweight; some bodies have a fast metabolism that burns everything. But others are not so lucky, and need to be more attentive. Here are some of the foods or aspects of food that are likely to put weight on susceptible bodies:

Sweeteners: sugar (including “organic evaporated cane juice”), high fructose corn syrup, “natural sweeteners,” as well as artificial sweeteners (it’s not the calories, it’s what they do to the insulin system).
White flour, which is refined and stripped of its nutrients.
Milk, cheese, ice cream.

While each one of these may have an effect, it is the combination of the three that is the worst. The sweetener, the flour, and the high-protein cow’s milk products all together seem to produce the most noticeable weight – so, having a meal of pizza, ice cream, and soda is a superfast way to put on weight. Also, the consumption of soft drinks, both regular and diet, is part of this problem.

How to make changes?

Replace all soft drinks with a combination of bubbly water (seltzer or mineral water) and natural juices (apple, cranberry, orange, etc), in a 50-50 proportion, or just the bubbly water with lemon or lime slices.
Eat as many fresh vegetables and salads as possible.
Replace cow’s milk with coconut milk
Replace bread with rye crackers
Replace ice cream with frozen bananas, sherbet with frozen grapes.
Finally, whatever you eat, CHEW IT WELL. Chewing will perforce make you cut down on calories without counting them, as you will be satisfied sooner. It will also help with digestion, and more than anything, it will get you in touch with what you are really eating, so changes may come much more easily.

While getting rid of excess weight is a good thing, it should, however, not be an obsession. Sometimes the body wants to be at the weight it wants to be, and fighting with it is counterproductive. So chew, enjoy your meals, and live your life!

Annemarie Colbin, Ph.D.

ANNEMARIE COLBIN, Ph.D., CHES, is an award-winning leader in the field of natural health She founded Natural Gourmet Institute for Health and Culinary Arts (TM) in New York City in 1977, and is adjunct professor of nutrition at the city’s Empire State College. She is the author of four books, including The Book of Whole Meals (Autumn Press, 1979; Ballantine Books, 1983), The Natural Gourmet (Ballantine Books, 1989, 1991), and Food and Healing (Ballantine Books, 1986, 1996). Her website is: www.foodandhealing.com

Beating the blues through diet

Annemarie Colbin — Thu, 01 Nov 2007 13:12:00 GMT

In the early sixties, I got what I eventually recognized as “the blues”. I had a series of low level jobs, and at times had brief fantasies of sweeping everything off the tables and making a mess. These feelings surprised me, as they were new.   I associated the feelings with the German expression “weltschmerz,” or “pain about the world.” Mostly, I felt sorry for myself and didn’t like how I felt. Life sucked, as we would say today. I ascribed it to the state of the world and my understanding of how people messed everything up.

As I recently looked back on those days, I realized that those feelings of nameless despair had long ago disappeared and never returned, regardless of my personal circumstances of trouble or happiness in the ensuing 40 years. What was it that had made the difference?

First of all, diet. Early on I found that the food most clearly associated with the “blues” is sugar.   My late friend William Dufty, whom I knew well and saw often during the late ‘60's and early ‘70s, knew what he was talking about when he called his book Sugar Blues. About 8-10 days after I quit eating sugared breakfasts (coffee with sugar, donuts), as well as desserts, the gloomy feeling lifted completely. In other words, if you are sad, blue, mildly depressed, sighing about the miseries of your life - the first thing to do is to quit eating refined cane and other sugars. And I mean ZERO sugar. No sweetened cereals, no breads or bean salads with sugar in them, no muffins, no cookies, no jams, no desserts. This means careful label reading, as well as very conscious eating – none of this shoveling food into your mouth without noticing what it is.

After eliminating sugar, the next step for me was replacing all refined carbohydrates with whole grains: brown rice instead of white, steel cut oats instead of farina, wholegrain bread instead of white, even whole grains instead of potatoes. That made another big difference, as it gave me a sense of strength and groundedness.   For many, that means also avoiding wheat products and dairy foods, as mild allergies often manifest in emotional states.

Insuring that I got enough protein was another step for mental health, and especially for avoiding sugar cravings. I found that some animal food in each meal (not much, one egg, 4 oz meat or fish) was a great help for insuring steady moods.

Eating only fresh, home cooked foods (instead of frozen meals or canned vegetables), was a major aspect. This is not a new idea, nor is it an airy-fairy notion of the counterculture. More than 30 years ago, in the 1977 report of the Select Committee on Nutrition and Human Needs of the US Senate, chaired by then senator George McGovern, there was an extensive discussion of the dangers of relying on frozen and highly processed foods. Mention was made of prisons where inmates stopped complaining about the food and throwing their meals against the wall when they were again fed properly cooked meals.   Mary Goodwin, a Montgomery County public health nutritionist, was quoted as saying “if you eat enough precooked, frozen, reheated foil-and-plastic packed lunches out of machines, part of you will starve to death.” (Dietary Goals for the United States. Printed for the use of the Select Committee on Nutrition and Human Needs, United States Senate. US Government Printing Office, Washington: 1977)

So the dietary approach to getting out of mild depression includes the following:

no cane sugar (white, brown, or organic); no corn syrup, molasses, high fructose corn syrup, regular fructose (refined), or artificial sweeteners (which confuse the blood sugar regulation system and so can affect moods)
eating sufficient protein (meat, fish, organic chicken, organic eggs) daily
choosing only freshly prepared foods (nothing canned or frozen)

And finally, if food is not enough, look into therapy, acupuncture, energy healing or soul retrieval. We humans are very complex beings.

Annemarie Colbin, Ph.D.

Super-immune kids: four tips for the new school year

Annemarie Colbin — Tue, 28 Aug 2007 09:21:00 GMT

Here are my four top tips for helping your children to stay healthy and avoid illnesses in the new school year.

The foods that make kids the sickest are sugar and dairy.

1. Avoid dairy

If you can possibly raise them without milk products, you will prevent the most common mucus conditions, especially colds and ear infections. Milk is a great mucus producer; bacteria love living in it, and casein, the protein in milk, is commonly used in laboratories to set up bacterial cultures. Cheese is just as much of a problem, and yogurt is little better. And it’s not because of the fat – in fact, butter does not bring on infections, according to my observations – it is the protein and the calcium, which in cow’s milk are intended to help baby cows become big cows (or steer), and are excessive for humans.

2. Don’t reward them with sugar

If you can avoid giving your kids sugared foods – including sugared breakfast cereals, cookies, cake, candy, and ice cream – you will allow their immune systems to do a better job of keeping them healthy. Sugar is known to depress the immune system, and what is worse, it is really addictive. According to a recent study at the University of Bordeaux, France, it appears to be more addictive than cocaine. I know that we tend to reward the children with sweet goodies, but that habit is perhaps best reconsidered – crayons, balloons, comic books or nuts and raisins might be a better idea for rewards.

3. Give them lots of protein

To keep the kids healthy, they also need to eat sufficient protein (some in each meal, such as fish, chicken, meats, or beans and legumes), with lots of vegetables both cooked and raw, as well as good quality fats (extra virgin olive oil, coconut oil, organic butter). See my post on protein breakfasts for more advice.

4. Make sure they get plenty of rest

Most importantly, they need enough sleep and rest, which will allow their bodies and their brains to recuperate and restore, as well as grow. Lack of sleep is one of the major causes of stress and illness.

So there you have it: feed them well, keep them off the ice cream and sweets, and make sure they sleep enough, and they will avoid many illnesses.

Annemarie Colbin, Ph.D.