Earth Hour is a once a year event where people turn off all their lights for an hour. At 8:30 your local time, don't use electricity (or not much). No TV, no lights, no Nintendo--occupy yourself for an hour without our conveniences (yes, this means I'll have to put the computer down).
Link to learn more and register:
www.earthhourUS.org
Saturday, March 28, 2009
Thursday, March 19, 2009
Exercise
Well, I have decided to get off my lazy bum and work out. I complain about how things look, but I don’t do a stinking thing about it. I can’t complain if I’m not willing to work at it.
So, I got the 30 Day Shred DVD with Jillian Michaels from The Biggest Loser. Let me just say, that thing kicks my butt! It’s a two-minute warm up, followed by three six-minute circuits, and then a two-minute cool down, for a grand total of 22 minutes. Easy right? No, not easy. Not even a little easy. She mentions that you can’t expect to see results in a 20 minute workout if you’re not willing to push hard, and she makes you push. There is even a total of 60 seconds of pushups! PUSHUPS! I don’t do well with pushups, but the incredible thing is I’m already better than before.
Today was only day 2. The original plan was to do it every other day, but I’ve changed my mind. I’m going to do it everyday, or at least most days. I’m also going to run 3-4 times a week. The Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure is in Helena in May, and I want to do it. It’s only a 5k…there is no reason I shouldn’t be able to do that in 2 months. If my husband can train for an entire marathon in 4 months, I should be able to do 3 miles, right? ;)
So, I got the 30 Day Shred DVD with Jillian Michaels from The Biggest Loser. Let me just say, that thing kicks my butt! It’s a two-minute warm up, followed by three six-minute circuits, and then a two-minute cool down, for a grand total of 22 minutes. Easy right? No, not easy. Not even a little easy. She mentions that you can’t expect to see results in a 20 minute workout if you’re not willing to push hard, and she makes you push. There is even a total of 60 seconds of pushups! PUSHUPS! I don’t do well with pushups, but the incredible thing is I’m already better than before.
Today was only day 2. The original plan was to do it every other day, but I’ve changed my mind. I’m going to do it everyday, or at least most days. I’m also going to run 3-4 times a week. The Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure is in Helena in May, and I want to do it. It’s only a 5k…there is no reason I shouldn’t be able to do that in 2 months. If my husband can train for an entire marathon in 4 months, I should be able to do 3 miles, right? ;)
Monday, March 16, 2009
Ian 2 years, 7 months
I’ve been meaning to do this for awhile. My son does things everyday that crack me up, and I’m terrified of the day he doesn’t do them anymore and I forget about them. So I’m going to try hard to regularly write down (type out…whatever) the things he does that I really enjoy.
For example, he loves to talk on the phone. When he wants to say hi, he says over and over again “Eee-hi. Eee-hi”. No idea what the Eee part means, but he always puts that in front of the “hi”. His favorite movies right now are Jurassic Park and The Lost World, and he loves dinosaurs. He “roar!!!”s at things a lot, including the paper mache bear at the library. In fact, Jurassic Park is called “Roar!!”.
Bedtime is a pain. He never goes right to bed. He has figured out his “childproof” doorknob thing, and will sneak out of his bedroom as quietly as he can. His more common escapades include the bathroom to brush his teeth (with my toothbrush) or put on makeup (obviously, with my makeup) or lotion. He also enjoys Hazen’s “weight-room” (or laundry room, but whatever) and will lift the small weights until we catch him. Luckily he likes to leave lights on everywhere, so we can generally figure out he’s escaped pretty quickly.
His bedroom consists of a toddler bed and a glider. The glider is constantly dumped on its side, and the toddler bed has seen better days. He likes to jump on it and say “boing!!”. It’s not made for that kind of abuse, so last Thursday we ordered him a big boy bed—a full-size mattress set. It should be arriving by early next week. He also likes to take his vent out of the floor and leave it in random places (it’s not screwed down). I promise the child used to have furniture, a dresser and a bookcase, to be exact. That was until he pulled the drawers out of the dresser in a way that the tracks broke and the wood cracked, and until he pulled his bookcase over so his head was poking out of the cheap cardboard back. Now his nice furniture (his table and chairs and matching bookcase/storage unit) is in the living room.
He has been counting to 3 for awhile, but on Saturday, March 14, he made it to 4! Today, Monday, March 16, he made it to 6! He also sang me the ABC song completely on his own last night (couldn’t understand all the letters, but the tune was perfect!). I also have a habit of reminding Hazen that he is two, and now when Ian is about to get in trouble he will turn around with his two fingers up and say “two”, like he’s reminding us “Hey guys, I’m only two”. It’s hard to not laugh.
I am setting up a page for Ian at http://www.totspot.com/. It's taking me a little longer to set up than I had planned, but I will post the link once it's ready for viewing, hopefully by the end of the week. :)
For example, he loves to talk on the phone. When he wants to say hi, he says over and over again “Eee-hi. Eee-hi”. No idea what the Eee part means, but he always puts that in front of the “hi”. His favorite movies right now are Jurassic Park and The Lost World, and he loves dinosaurs. He “roar!!!”s at things a lot, including the paper mache bear at the library. In fact, Jurassic Park is called “Roar!!”.
Bedtime is a pain. He never goes right to bed. He has figured out his “childproof” doorknob thing, and will sneak out of his bedroom as quietly as he can. His more common escapades include the bathroom to brush his teeth (with my toothbrush) or put on makeup (obviously, with my makeup) or lotion. He also enjoys Hazen’s “weight-room” (or laundry room, but whatever) and will lift the small weights until we catch him. Luckily he likes to leave lights on everywhere, so we can generally figure out he’s escaped pretty quickly.
His bedroom consists of a toddler bed and a glider. The glider is constantly dumped on its side, and the toddler bed has seen better days. He likes to jump on it and say “boing!!”. It’s not made for that kind of abuse, so last Thursday we ordered him a big boy bed—a full-size mattress set. It should be arriving by early next week. He also likes to take his vent out of the floor and leave it in random places (it’s not screwed down). I promise the child used to have furniture, a dresser and a bookcase, to be exact. That was until he pulled the drawers out of the dresser in a way that the tracks broke and the wood cracked, and until he pulled his bookcase over so his head was poking out of the cheap cardboard back. Now his nice furniture (his table and chairs and matching bookcase/storage unit) is in the living room.
He has been counting to 3 for awhile, but on Saturday, March 14, he made it to 4! Today, Monday, March 16, he made it to 6! He also sang me the ABC song completely on his own last night (couldn’t understand all the letters, but the tune was perfect!). I also have a habit of reminding Hazen that he is two, and now when Ian is about to get in trouble he will turn around with his two fingers up and say “two”, like he’s reminding us “Hey guys, I’m only two”. It’s hard to not laugh.
I am setting up a page for Ian at http://www.totspot.com/. It's taking me a little longer to set up than I had planned, but I will post the link once it's ready for viewing, hopefully by the end of the week. :)
Friday, March 13, 2009
Tentatively excited
I’ve probably gotten a promotion. It’s almost 100%, I just have to go through some silly hoops. All my supervisors want me in it, but since it’s a state position it requires me to actually apply and go through the process. We had the option of running the job in an internal ad for a week and allowing others to take a chance at it, or to give me a “temporary promotion” which would cause my pay increase to be delayed 20 days. Since my supervisor doesn’t think anyone in our department is more qualified for it, she thinks the best thing is for us to run the position for a week and have me apply so I can get my raise immediately. It’s scary knowing that theoretically someone else *could* get the job, but it’s very unlikely that will happen since I have my bachelor’s degree in accounting and now have almost 9 months of oil and gas leasing experience (woo-hoo!).
I am very excited. I was getting so discouraged being in the position I’m in (basically data entry) with my expensive education and low pay. Logically I know that it takes time to gain experience and move up, but it’s still disheartening to know you’re worth more and you’re not getting it. This job, even if I’m only in it for a couple of months, will give me the opportunity to do real accounting, something I’ve been wanting to do so badly. It will get me experience in real accounting when/if the time comes to look for employment elsewhere. It will get me the pay raise that we so desperately need right now, and it will put me in a position that feels more “right” for the amount of education that I have. It’s very exciting.
I know my supervisor wouldn’t go the route that requires us to advertise it if she weren’t certain that I am the most qualified. But there is still the tiny bit of doubt that someone else will take it from me—I really hope that is not the case! Since I’m close with the ones hiring I should be fine, but the unknowns are scary!
I am very excited. I was getting so discouraged being in the position I’m in (basically data entry) with my expensive education and low pay. Logically I know that it takes time to gain experience and move up, but it’s still disheartening to know you’re worth more and you’re not getting it. This job, even if I’m only in it for a couple of months, will give me the opportunity to do real accounting, something I’ve been wanting to do so badly. It will get me experience in real accounting when/if the time comes to look for employment elsewhere. It will get me the pay raise that we so desperately need right now, and it will put me in a position that feels more “right” for the amount of education that I have. It’s very exciting.
I know my supervisor wouldn’t go the route that requires us to advertise it if she weren’t certain that I am the most qualified. But there is still the tiny bit of doubt that someone else will take it from me—I really hope that is not the case! Since I’m close with the ones hiring I should be fine, but the unknowns are scary!
Thursday, March 12, 2009
Acne--ugh!
A lot of my close friends know I have a bit of a problem with adult acne. I really don’t know what happened. It was mild from the time I got married to getting pregnant with Ian. It cleared up almost completely while I was pregnant and breastfeeding, but as soon as we weaned…whew! It is BAD and constant. I am not talking one pimple, I am talking complete breakouts along my jaw/neckline. It’s embarrassing, and painful, and just really irritating.
I made the decision to go see a dermatologist. But after reading some ambiguous language in my insurance coverage, I decided to try one more thing—Proactiv. I’ve been using it for almost a month, and things really seem to be improving. I plan to finish up the supply I have before I make any final decisions on whether it’s worth it or not. I have had experiences with other products (Neutrogena, AcneFree, AcneFree Severe) where they begin to work for awhile, and then seemingly stop. If this fails, I will be making an appointment for a derm, ambiguous language or not. This acne cannot continue.
I made the decision to go see a dermatologist. But after reading some ambiguous language in my insurance coverage, I decided to try one more thing—Proactiv. I’ve been using it for almost a month, and things really seem to be improving. I plan to finish up the supply I have before I make any final decisions on whether it’s worth it or not. I have had experiences with other products (Neutrogena, AcneFree, AcneFree Severe) where they begin to work for awhile, and then seemingly stop. If this fails, I will be making an appointment for a derm, ambiguous language or not. This acne cannot continue.
Monday, March 9, 2009
Confessions of a Working Mom
I suck at it. I mean, really, I am no good. Don’t get me wrong, I try to be good at both (working and being a mom) but there are just not enough hours in the day for me to feel good about the effort I put into either. And if I have a good “work day” or “mom day”, I can guarantee the other didn’t go so well.
My personality is a hindrance, I’ve decided. I have this horrible need to be fantastic at everything I do, so I put too much pressure on myself. I force myself to be this happy, well-organized, speedy employee. And I am all of those. But then I also force myself to be the one with the clean house, with the well-behaved child, with the smart child, with the well-adjusted child, who sends the Christmas cards, that handles the household catastrophes, that makes sure meals are prepared, groceries are shopped for, etc, etc. I am quickly learning it’s not possible to do everything. And then the things I allow myself to get “lazy” about (updating family with pictures, for example) seem to come back to haunt me...hence the three angry messages I received from my grandmother this weekend regarding pictures I’ve promised to send and never have. It’s not that I don’t want to, it’s that when I have the 30 minutes available to do it, I would rather do something else…like sleep. Or eat. Or nothing. Sometimes nothing is really good.
The little bit of time I get with my son when I’m home at night is completely ruined by my wishing it was bedtime. I seriously spend the 2 hours I get with him waiting for him to go to sleep—it’s horrible. I’m dead tired by the time I get home and either want to watch some of my shows or just go to bed. I can’t do either with Mr. Crazy running around. And then of course I feel like crap for looking forward to bedtime rather than enjoying the precious few hours I get a day with my son. I try and make up for it on the weekends, of course, but I am not a weekend mom. I spend 5 days a week feeling guilty and like my priorities are “off”, but of course it’s necessary to our family that I work right now. I just didn’t realize how hard it would be to leave him for so many hours a day.
When I found out I got this job, I was so excited. I had just spent 5 years in college working towards this degree, and the first job I interviewed for, I got. It was really thrilling and kind of a boost to think that the time and money spent on the education was worth it. But as my start date got closer and the realization that I wouldn’t be home with my kid every hour anymore, it got less thrilling. Then I started and was busy and learning, and it was exciting again. The days went quickly, and Ian was always so happy to see me when I got home. But now, I’m not busy, I’m not learning, and I’m sitting here counting down the days to when I can be home again. I need some kind of happy medium, and this just isn’t it.
My personality is a hindrance, I’ve decided. I have this horrible need to be fantastic at everything I do, so I put too much pressure on myself. I force myself to be this happy, well-organized, speedy employee. And I am all of those. But then I also force myself to be the one with the clean house, with the well-behaved child, with the smart child, with the well-adjusted child, who sends the Christmas cards, that handles the household catastrophes, that makes sure meals are prepared, groceries are shopped for, etc, etc. I am quickly learning it’s not possible to do everything. And then the things I allow myself to get “lazy” about (updating family with pictures, for example) seem to come back to haunt me...hence the three angry messages I received from my grandmother this weekend regarding pictures I’ve promised to send and never have. It’s not that I don’t want to, it’s that when I have the 30 minutes available to do it, I would rather do something else…like sleep. Or eat. Or nothing. Sometimes nothing is really good.
The little bit of time I get with my son when I’m home at night is completely ruined by my wishing it was bedtime. I seriously spend the 2 hours I get with him waiting for him to go to sleep—it’s horrible. I’m dead tired by the time I get home and either want to watch some of my shows or just go to bed. I can’t do either with Mr. Crazy running around. And then of course I feel like crap for looking forward to bedtime rather than enjoying the precious few hours I get a day with my son. I try and make up for it on the weekends, of course, but I am not a weekend mom. I spend 5 days a week feeling guilty and like my priorities are “off”, but of course it’s necessary to our family that I work right now. I just didn’t realize how hard it would be to leave him for so many hours a day.
When I found out I got this job, I was so excited. I had just spent 5 years in college working towards this degree, and the first job I interviewed for, I got. It was really thrilling and kind of a boost to think that the time and money spent on the education was worth it. But as my start date got closer and the realization that I wouldn’t be home with my kid every hour anymore, it got less thrilling. Then I started and was busy and learning, and it was exciting again. The days went quickly, and Ian was always so happy to see me when I got home. But now, I’m not busy, I’m not learning, and I’m sitting here counting down the days to when I can be home again. I need some kind of happy medium, and this just isn’t it.
Wednesday, March 4, 2009
High Fructose Corn Syrup
I have not blogged in a long time. I have a lot to say, but no time to do it. So, it’s been suggested to me (Angelica) that I blog while at work…so being the productive employee I am, I’ve decided to give it a try.
Something that has been on my mind lately: High Fructose Corn Syrup. Is this the most important thing I’ve had on my mind and wanted to write about? No, not really. But it is the thing that I spend a lot of time reading and learning about because I seriously don’t have much else to do in my 8 hour day. So that will be today’s topic.
I’ve found many interesting blogs and articles on the subject, many of which I will link at the end so whoever reads this can do their own research, if they feel so inclined. I think it’s important to get subjective information on any topic rather than just believing everything you see/hear/read. That’s actually a blog for another day, though, considering passing along unfounded information is a huge pet peeve of mine…anyhow…
High Fructose Corn Syrup (or HFCS as I will refer to it from now on) is, I’ve decided, evil. There is absolutely no good that can come from this stuff, and as anti-conspiracy theory as I am, this has impure intentions written all over it. It’s one of those things that is about money for big companies, and screw the health of all those who choose to trust that their food is safe. This stuff is in EVERYTHING. Sometimes as a sugar replacement, sometimes in addition to sugar, and sometimes in things that have absolutely no need for sweetening (such as Saltine Crackers—I kid you not. Check the label). So why is it there? There are a few reasons that I’ve found:
It’s sweet, cheap, and easy to manufacture. Yes, manufacture. Despite what the Corn Refiners Association of America would have you believe (those responsible for the wonderful new ads touting the goodness of HFCS) it is NOT natural. Just because it comes from corn does not mean it’s “natural” or healthy in any sense…it just means it begins as corn, then goes through this extensive manufacturing process. It is Franken-corn (or Franken-sugar? It’s Franken-something…).
It’s used as a preservative. Not much to explain there…it’s all about increasing shelf-life.
This is the most sinister: it’s possibly addictive. I’m not certain on this one, but I’ve read some articles and it makes sense. As humans, we like things that are sweet. We crave it, even if we don’t consider ourselves a “sweets” person. So this sugary sweet junk is laced into all sorts of food we eat (I’ve found statistics that suggest it’s in as much as 80% of foods!) because we like it. And it makes us want more. So we continue to eat…which means we continue to BUY food. Which all goes back to the lining of the pockets of the big corporations, and at what expense? Our waistlines and our health.
So, why is it so bad? Because, despite it’s claims to be “just like sugar” or “almost exactly like sugar” it is not. The composition of the glucose and fructose is different than sugar. Don’t ask me to explain this…I’ve had to read a lot about it and it’s just starting to click. I’m not a scientist, so I’m not going to play one here, but from what I understand, natural sugars and HFCS are broken down differently in our bodies. The HFCS isn’t broken down as easily as sugar, and as a result, more of it is turned directly into fat. I’ve also read some things about it being processed in the liver like alcohol, but I’m not completely sure on this—definitely don’t quote me on it.
Since the introduction of HFCS 30 years ago, obesity has risen steadily alongside its usage. Coincidence? I’m doubtful. The use of processed and fast foods has grown incredibly, and obesity, diabetes, autism, heart disease, etc are all rising right along with it. I don’t think it’s any secret that making your own foods is healthier than buying the jarred/premade/deep fried version, but we are a nation of convenience. And food manufacturers know this.
One of my big diet “secrets” is everything in moderation. I don’t like the idea of dieting, and I don’t like the idea of depriving myself. If I want a cookie, I will eat a cookie. If I want ice-cream, I will eat ice-cream. I just try to do it in a way that I’m not constantly gorging on it. And if I can’t control it, I don’t buy it (I’ve been known to eat an entire box of Oreos in one day…or a pint of Ben and Jerry’s in a sitting). The problem with HFCS is that it’s in EVERYTHING. It has made it’s way into everything that people eat on a normal day—juice, bread, cereal, pasta sauce, fruit cups, “healthy” cereal bars, jam, bbq sauce, etc, etc. So my moderation way of life is very challenging with this stuff—I can’t moderate it. I can’t control how much of it I’m eating because even when I think I’m making healthy food choices, that stuff is making it’s way into my diet, and often in places I don’t expect it to be (like the Saltine Crackers mentioned above).
So how do I deal? I now check the labels of EVERYTHING. I mean literally EVERYTHING. Have I cut HFCS out completely? Not entirely (I have a tub of caramel sauce in my fridge with HFCS as the first ingredient…although I didn’t expect that stuff to be healthy anyway), but we have made some large changes in our house. I can honestly say that less than 10% of what you will find in my house contains it, and it’s probably significantly less than that. We’ve gone to buying organically when we can, checking labels and finding the labels with the healthier alternatives, switched from pancake syrup (which, I’ll have you know, contains no maple whatsoever—it’s purely HFCS, sugar, and water) to organic honey, Yoplait to organic yogurts sweetened with fruit juice, etc. We do have the advantage of being healthier eaters to begin with. We don’t drink pop (often), only 100% juices (rarely), and we try to do our own healthy cooking. So the “transition” hasn’t been as tricky for us as I imagine it would be for a lot of people, but I do think it’s something that can be done for anyone. It just involves a little more diligence when it comes to grocery shopping, a little more planning ahead when it comes to meals, and a little less willingness to put things into our bodies that are toxic (or, at the very least, not proven to be safe).
In the coming weeks, I will continue to blog about food and health related issues. Watch for aspartame (possibly even worse than HFCS!) and sodium nitrites (doing more research on this one…but so far it ain’t pretty). I hope that by doing this I can help not only myself become more educated about our bodies and nutrition, but hopefully help some that might not have known otherwise. And again, I will always back my blogs up with links, both positive and negative on a subject, so that others can do their own research.
http://www.benefits-of-honey.com/health-benefits-of-honey.html
http://blogs.consumerreports.org/health/2008/10/high-fructose-c.html
This is a site by the same people responsible for the "it's good for you ads" the Corn Refiners Association or something. I'm adding it because it's a very biased site since they have something to lose if HFCS goes away, but I'm trying to give all perspectives, so here it is:
http://www.sweetsurprise.com/
Interesting blog:
http://www.thefitshack.com/2007/03/15/what-is-hfcs-and-why-is-it-so-bad-for-my-body/
Article on mercury being found in HFCS:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/01/26/AR2009012601831.html
Something that has been on my mind lately: High Fructose Corn Syrup. Is this the most important thing I’ve had on my mind and wanted to write about? No, not really. But it is the thing that I spend a lot of time reading and learning about because I seriously don’t have much else to do in my 8 hour day. So that will be today’s topic.
I’ve found many interesting blogs and articles on the subject, many of which I will link at the end so whoever reads this can do their own research, if they feel so inclined. I think it’s important to get subjective information on any topic rather than just believing everything you see/hear/read. That’s actually a blog for another day, though, considering passing along unfounded information is a huge pet peeve of mine…anyhow…
High Fructose Corn Syrup (or HFCS as I will refer to it from now on) is, I’ve decided, evil. There is absolutely no good that can come from this stuff, and as anti-conspiracy theory as I am, this has impure intentions written all over it. It’s one of those things that is about money for big companies, and screw the health of all those who choose to trust that their food is safe. This stuff is in EVERYTHING. Sometimes as a sugar replacement, sometimes in addition to sugar, and sometimes in things that have absolutely no need for sweetening (such as Saltine Crackers—I kid you not. Check the label). So why is it there? There are a few reasons that I’ve found:
It’s sweet, cheap, and easy to manufacture. Yes, manufacture. Despite what the Corn Refiners Association of America would have you believe (those responsible for the wonderful new ads touting the goodness of HFCS) it is NOT natural. Just because it comes from corn does not mean it’s “natural” or healthy in any sense…it just means it begins as corn, then goes through this extensive manufacturing process. It is Franken-corn (or Franken-sugar? It’s Franken-something…).
It’s used as a preservative. Not much to explain there…it’s all about increasing shelf-life.
This is the most sinister: it’s possibly addictive. I’m not certain on this one, but I’ve read some articles and it makes sense. As humans, we like things that are sweet. We crave it, even if we don’t consider ourselves a “sweets” person. So this sugary sweet junk is laced into all sorts of food we eat (I’ve found statistics that suggest it’s in as much as 80% of foods!) because we like it. And it makes us want more. So we continue to eat…which means we continue to BUY food. Which all goes back to the lining of the pockets of the big corporations, and at what expense? Our waistlines and our health.
So, why is it so bad? Because, despite it’s claims to be “just like sugar” or “almost exactly like sugar” it is not. The composition of the glucose and fructose is different than sugar. Don’t ask me to explain this…I’ve had to read a lot about it and it’s just starting to click. I’m not a scientist, so I’m not going to play one here, but from what I understand, natural sugars and HFCS are broken down differently in our bodies. The HFCS isn’t broken down as easily as sugar, and as a result, more of it is turned directly into fat. I’ve also read some things about it being processed in the liver like alcohol, but I’m not completely sure on this—definitely don’t quote me on it.
Since the introduction of HFCS 30 years ago, obesity has risen steadily alongside its usage. Coincidence? I’m doubtful. The use of processed and fast foods has grown incredibly, and obesity, diabetes, autism, heart disease, etc are all rising right along with it. I don’t think it’s any secret that making your own foods is healthier than buying the jarred/premade/deep fried version, but we are a nation of convenience. And food manufacturers know this.
One of my big diet “secrets” is everything in moderation. I don’t like the idea of dieting, and I don’t like the idea of depriving myself. If I want a cookie, I will eat a cookie. If I want ice-cream, I will eat ice-cream. I just try to do it in a way that I’m not constantly gorging on it. And if I can’t control it, I don’t buy it (I’ve been known to eat an entire box of Oreos in one day…or a pint of Ben and Jerry’s in a sitting). The problem with HFCS is that it’s in EVERYTHING. It has made it’s way into everything that people eat on a normal day—juice, bread, cereal, pasta sauce, fruit cups, “healthy” cereal bars, jam, bbq sauce, etc, etc. So my moderation way of life is very challenging with this stuff—I can’t moderate it. I can’t control how much of it I’m eating because even when I think I’m making healthy food choices, that stuff is making it’s way into my diet, and often in places I don’t expect it to be (like the Saltine Crackers mentioned above).
So how do I deal? I now check the labels of EVERYTHING. I mean literally EVERYTHING. Have I cut HFCS out completely? Not entirely (I have a tub of caramel sauce in my fridge with HFCS as the first ingredient…although I didn’t expect that stuff to be healthy anyway), but we have made some large changes in our house. I can honestly say that less than 10% of what you will find in my house contains it, and it’s probably significantly less than that. We’ve gone to buying organically when we can, checking labels and finding the labels with the healthier alternatives, switched from pancake syrup (which, I’ll have you know, contains no maple whatsoever—it’s purely HFCS, sugar, and water) to organic honey, Yoplait to organic yogurts sweetened with fruit juice, etc. We do have the advantage of being healthier eaters to begin with. We don’t drink pop (often), only 100% juices (rarely), and we try to do our own healthy cooking. So the “transition” hasn’t been as tricky for us as I imagine it would be for a lot of people, but I do think it’s something that can be done for anyone. It just involves a little more diligence when it comes to grocery shopping, a little more planning ahead when it comes to meals, and a little less willingness to put things into our bodies that are toxic (or, at the very least, not proven to be safe).
In the coming weeks, I will continue to blog about food and health related issues. Watch for aspartame (possibly even worse than HFCS!) and sodium nitrites (doing more research on this one…but so far it ain’t pretty). I hope that by doing this I can help not only myself become more educated about our bodies and nutrition, but hopefully help some that might not have known otherwise. And again, I will always back my blogs up with links, both positive and negative on a subject, so that others can do their own research.
http://www.benefits-of-honey.com/health-benefits-of-honey.html
http://blogs.consumerreports.org/health/2008/10/high-fructose-c.html
This is a site by the same people responsible for the "it's good for you ads" the Corn Refiners Association or something. I'm adding it because it's a very biased site since they have something to lose if HFCS goes away, but I'm trying to give all perspectives, so here it is:
http://www.sweetsurprise.com/
Interesting blog:
http://www.thefitshack.com/2007/03/15/what-is-hfcs-and-why-is-it-so-bad-for-my-body/
Article on mercury being found in HFCS:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/01/26/AR2009012601831.html
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