RICE AND RESISTANT STARCH

Rice, Rice, Baby! Oh, that isn’t how the song goes? As a person with prediabetes, rice rarely makes it onto my menu. Chinese and Spanish dishes are some of my favorite meals, so I really miss them. Rice is a dietary staple for over half the world’s population, so changing the way we cook it could help tackle obesity and other diet-related health problems.

 Unfortunately, our usual choice of white rice has a high glycemic index, which means it raises the blood sugar readings two hours after eating and also can cause a swift dip soon after. This is because the way we usually cook rice and eat it prevents us from getting the benefit of resistant starch.

Glycemic Index of Rice Types: wild and brown rice are the lowest. White, instant, and sticky are the highest.
https://glycemic-index.net/glycemic-index-of-rice/

Resistant starch (RS) behaves more like dietary fibre than carbohydrate, as it is not broken down into simple sugars in the small intestine. There are several health benefits associated with resistant starch.

Resistant Starch is the starch which reaches the large intestine and then is fermented by bacteria. Therefore, RS is a type of fermentable fiber and could be considered one type of prebiotic, since it provides “food” for bacteria living in the large intestine. Fermentation of RS results in production of Short Chain Fatty Acids and a reduction in pH in the proximal large intestine.

Researchers using the traditional Sri Lankan cooking process as a starting point (40 minutes of simmering followed by oven drying for 2.5 hours), tested the effects of three other processing steps: adding coconut oil to the boiling water, refrigerating the rice for 12 hours before oven drying, and heating it up in a microwave after oven drying.

The results were interesting:

1. Adding oil to the water created ‘type 5’ Resistant Starch. The oil complexes with the amylose to form amylose-lipid complexes…this prevents the starch granules being attacked by enzymes,’ says Sudhair James, from the College of Chemical Sciences in Sri Lanka.
2. Chilling the rice after boiling increases ‘retrograded starch’ or ‘Type 3’ Resistant Starch when hydrogen bonds re-form within the starch, making some components less soluble.
3. The team found that both these processes led to an increase in Resistant Starch, which reheating the rice after oven drying did not appear to reverse.
4. In fact, the greatest effect, a 15-fold increase in Resistant Starch, was seen when all three treatments were used together. This translates to a calorie reduction of 10-12% in this particular variety, which James says could be ‘perhaps as high as 50 or 60%’ if the treatments were applied other varieties.

What we need to remember from this study is the metabolic response to food isn’t always predictable to what you get from an in vitro analysis.  “We as humans are remarkable at protecting our food intake and will compensate,” says Diane Robertson from the University of Surrey, UK, who has carried out similar studies investigating the resistant starch content of pasta.

She also points out global cooking practices are variable. While some cultures may boil rice for a long time and then dry it, as in this study, many only cook it for 10-15 minutes, which might lead to a more modest result in increasing Resistant Starch and reducing calories.

Some claim only Coconut Oil added to white rice is the “secret magical ingredient” needed to reduce your blood sugar by increasing the resistant starch in cooked, cooled, and reheated rice. Any healthy oil or butter will do the same thing, but keeping the amount to a tablespoon or less is important. More than that will just add too many calories.

Digestive System: from the mouth to the small intestine.

Resistant Starch acts like fiber because it’s digested in the lower colon, not in the small intestine. Consumption of resistant starch is associated with reduced abdominal fat and improved insulin sensitivity. Increased serum glucagon-like peptide 1 (GLP-1) likely plays a role in promoting these health benefits. In a recent study, participants typically received 10–60 grams of resistant starch per day. Health benefits were observed with a daily intake of at least 20 grams, but an intake as high as 45 grams per day was also considered safe.

We Americans typically get only about 5 grams of resistant starch each day, while some Europeans may get 3–6 grams, and the daily intake for Australians ranges from 3–9 grams. On the other hand, the average daily intake for Chinese people is almost 15 grams. Some rural South Africans may get 38 grams of resistant starch per day, according to a small study.

Nutrition Label: Prunes, note dietary fiber amounts as an equivalent for resistant starches.

Resistant Starch is defined as the amount of starch that reaches the large intestine. Since the FDA does not allow the term “resistant starch” on food labels, another a purified RS product (Ingredion), Hi-maize 260, is assayed instead for fiber content. This amount can be placed on the food label as the fiber content. Therefore, keeping track of your daily fiber intake is a good equivalent for Resistant Starch. For adults up to age 50, women should get 25 grams of fiber daily and men should aim for 38 grams. Women and men older than 50 should have 21 and 30 daily grams of daily fiber respectively, since they usually have reduced caloric needs due to reduced activity. You can find this nutritional information on the food package or on the internet.

Fibrous vegetables, whole grain breads and pastas, old fashioned oats, nuts, beans, legumes, and potatoes that have been cooked, cooled, and reheated are all good sources of resistant starches. We only need to remember to keep our “dressings light” and not to “eat twice as much, since we’re being so healthy.”

Various types of rice add color and visual interest to your plate and palette.

I enjoy black, red, wild, and brown rice. Long grain or Jasmine rice is better than short grain or parboiled rice. I cook my white rice with a tablespoon of butter added to one cup rice and two cups rice with just a pinch of salt added. I use a small pot with a tight-fitting lid and turn the heat on high. When the pot begins to boil, I turn the heat to lowest possible. I give the rice a stir, replace the lid, and set a timer for 30 minutes. Somewhere near the 30 minutes, I can smell the fragrance of the rice. I check the doneness of the rice by lifting up the rice grains, not stirring. Depending on the humidity, the rice may take longer than 30 minutes to fully cook. Likewise, if it’s dry outside, it could cook faster.

Whole grain, wild, and colored rices also take longer time and need a tad more water to fully cook. All rices increase in resistant starch if they are cooled for at least 12 hours and reheated in the microwave. Let’s get more resistant starch in our diets by consuming foods high in the nutrient or by cooking other starchy foods and letting them cool before eating them. We can do this, for it will bring a good food back onto our menu.

A few important tips as you increase your fiber:

1. Do so gradually to give your gastrointestinal tract time to adapt.
2. Increase your water intake as you increase fiber.
3. If you have any digestive problems, such as constipation, check with your physician before dramatically increasing your fiber consumption.
4. Also, remember, going whole hog into a new lifestyle isn’t advisable for anyone. Couch to 5K programs begin with short walks and gradually add distance and speed. Changing eating habits should follow suit. Add a new fiber source in place of a low fiber food for a week. Next week, take out another low fiber food and add a higher fiber food.

And share your Chocolate Cupcakes…

In my youth, I would wash down a dozen Twinkie’s with a Diet Coke in the dark, while standing on one leg, for I was certain this magic trick eliminated all calories from those billowy sugar pills. Like most heavily processed food snacks, a single Twinkie contains about 140 calories and 23 grams of carbohydrates, contributing to 8% of our daily calorie allowance. This includes 16 grams of sugars and less than 1 gram of dietary fiber.

Now I’m not good at higher mathematics, but 12 of these sweet treats are an overdose if consumed at one sitting. If we were to eat these cake treats, we’d make sure to close both eyes because if we can’t see it, it obviously never happened!! (Magical thinking is an eight year old child trait.)

When I gave up caffeine for Lent one year, I suffered bad headaches from caffeine withdrawal. This was when I was younger and was given to the “all or nothing” approach to life. Now I’ve learned the hard way the body doesn’t appreciate such insults. Only the mad or reckless treat their bodies with disrespect or dishonor. We should honor our bodies, for we are temples of the Holy Spirit and images of the living God.

My occasional offerings are with very dark chocolate

May you enjoy your food and know what you put into your body for better health and life.

Joy and peace,

Cornie

 

Simple cooking changes make healthier rice | Research | Chemistry World

https://www.chemistryworld.com/news/simple-cooking-changes-make-healthier-rice/8386.article?adre

Role of Resistant Starch in Improving Gut Health, Adiposity, and Insulin Resistance – Advances in Nutrition

https://advances.nutrition.org/article/S2161-8313(22)00641-X/fulltext

9 Foods That Are High in Resistant Starch: Oats, Rice & More

https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/9-foods-high-in-resistant-starch

The Glycemic Potential of White and Red Rice Affected by Oil Type and Time of Addition, by Bhupinder Kaur, Viren Ranawana, Ai-Ling Teh, and C Jeya.K Henry

Click to access glycaemic-potential-of-white-and-red-rice-affected-by-oil-type-and-time-of-addition.pdf

Should I be eating more fiber? – Harvard Health

https://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/should-i-be-eating-more-fiber-2019022115927

Glycemic Index of Rice Types:
https://glycemic-index.net/glycemic-index-of-rice/

Homemade Soup Day

Today is Homemade Soup Day, but I can eat this simple soup any day of the week! I often vary the taste by changing the spices. Today I’ve chosen to emphasize basil and Italian spices. Other times I’ll use a chili base or a rosemary garlic base. It just depends on the weather and my mood. I find having a basic form I can “riff upon” allows me to exercise my creative gifts in the kitchen. Also, I’m easily bored, so exact measurements are out. Experiment with “a touch of this” and a “little more of that,”

Simple Chicken and Vegetable Soup

Basic recipe for 4 servings:
Sauté 1/2 chopped onion and 1 clove chopped garlic in 1 Tbs olive oil
Add 1 package of frozen mixed vegetables (4 servings)
Add 12 ounces chopped breast meat (I use deli roasted chicken)
Add 12 ounces grape tomatoes sliced in half (I used multi colored tomatoes) Add enough water to cover the ingredients
Add 1 cube chicken bouillon crushed
Cook until vegetables are sufficiently done to family taste. (I don’t overcook mine, but I still have all my teeth.)

Each serving is about 1 1/2 cups, plus I add 1 ounce of cheddar cheese to each bowl, and the whole is under 350 calories. Sometimes I vary the cheese, but I limit it to 1 ounce.

This recipe has 17 grams of carbs, 4 grams of fiber, plus about 38 grams of protein, not counting the cheese. A carb serving is 15 grams, so this recipe fits into a common diabetic meal plan. It has twice as much protein, so those who want more protein should enjoy this recipe. Protein keeps us satisfied, as do complex carbohydrates.

Simple, over processed carbohydrates, such as crystalline sugar, white flour, and juices will spike our blood sugar and lead to dips also. Those of us with glucose issues try to keep our levels as even as possible, neither high or low. Next time you get the “hangrys,” think about what you consumed two hours ago.

While some avoid all dairy, I keep the cheese for staving off hunger, since I try not to graze in between meals. A little bit of fat also helps keep a youthful skin as well as being necessary to dissolve certain vitamins.

On days when I’m busy, I’m glad Mr. Stove can reheat my meal quickly. Mr. Microwave gave up the ghost right before Christmas. I have his replacement in a box on my kitchen table, but my contractor has been busy with frozen pipe damage and hasn’t been by to install it. We’ve had yet another reminder of winter’s brutality here at the first of February, so I may be bereft until springtime. These are minor difficulties, however, since I live in a protected valley where nature’s underground hot springs seem to send all that dangerous weather around us.

The cold came instead, and I was glad Mr. Coffee kept perking and Mr. Stove and Mr. Oven were on duty. I even lost three pounds, but that might have been from shivering whenever I went outside! Try the soup, keep a positive attitude, and believe always God loves you and so do I.

Joy, peace, and hearty soups for all,

Cornie

Say Goodbye to the Intermittent Fasting Fad

The intent of the different intermittent-fasting regimes is to trick ourselves into lowering our calorie intake. Because we live in an obesogenic food environment where we can find affordable food 24/7 in forms we can consume almost instantly, no longer do we have to schlep out to the backyard shed, hack through the cobwebs, rescue the shovel from the pile of garden tools snoozing in the corner, and dig a potato out of the ground, much less find the axe to chop wood, make a fire and roast that spud before we can scarf it down.

One salad does not change your life or your body.

Obesegenic diets are SAD—Standard American Diets. Unfortunately, one third of Americans eat some type of fast food every single day. The average American individually spends $1,200 a year on fast food alone, which equals to around 10% of the income of the average American household.. That adds up to $110 billion dollars a year, an amount which could end world hunger for up to three years.

Mario E. Figueroa, Jr., aka GONZO247. He is the force behind some of Houston’s largest graffiti installations, including this one in EaDo at 1538 St. Emanuel as part of a mural brought about by McDonald’s Houston.

No wonder intermittent fasting became a craze, for it gave people a reason not to slide through the drive throughs and make obesience at the altars of grease. This diet program kept people from buying the giant bags of chips and tubs of dip, which they used to consume nightly before the television set. Intermittent fasting didn’t ever teach a wholistic view of nutrition or the pleasures of eating. It mostly focused only on restricting consumption of food.

As with other fad diets, the approach of intermittent fasting is dependent on long-term adherence, rather than short-term commitments. The Kitchen wags among us might say Intermittent Fasting is more like hooking up with food, rather than making a healthy, long term relationship with our eating behaviors. Oh, wait, I’m not even past the first page and I’ve already gone to meddling! My bad.

Perhaps we need to get a cup of your favorite brew and sit at the kitchen table for a while, so we can talk about the latest news. Science changes. This might be a new concept for some of you, but as we get more information, we sometimes have to change our conclusions. In math, 1 + 1 may always equal 2, but if we make a long term study with more diverse participants, we might get different data than a short term study that has only a limited group for a short term. One problem short term studies often have is a lack of women and persons of color. Since these two groups often have different hormones or food preferences than white men of a certain age (college students), the data might not be applicable to everyone.

It’s time to say “Sic transit gloria” to everything we’ve known to date about intermittent fasting. Forget what your fav celeb says about lemons or cucumbers in water or anything else that detoxes your liver in a fast. Your liver naturally detoxes itself unless you’re the victim of a Putin Poisioning. However, most of us aren’t coming into contact with dread dictators who send goons with poison pens to attack us for our food choices. Pass the hummus, please.

Treating one’s body badly, as if it were a prisoner of war.

The theory behind intermittent fasting is limiting calories by restricting the time in which a person consumes food. Most intermittent fasting diets don’t restrict the type or amount of food, but only the time in which it’s eaten. A common schedule is to skip breakfast, eat lunch and supper, and close the snacking off by 8 pm. This 8 hour window for eating “should” limit your calories, since you’d consume enough to be satiated and you’d sleep at least 6 to 8 hours of the possible 16 hours of fasting. That leaves only half the hours for actual fasting, during which you can drink any amount of noncaloric beverage of choice.

With intermittent Fasting, if you go to bed before 8 pm, you COULD eat cookies in bed. If you went to bed at 9 pm, the answer is NO! Early to bed means cookies, so you might get rewarded for catching up on your sleep.

When time restricted eating was studied in mice, the principle seemed to work. However in a large study among men and women, among patients with obesity, a regimen of time-restricted eating was not more beneficial with regard to reduction in body weight, body fat, or metabolic risk factors than daily calorie restriction. In short, even though the men were limited to 1,800 calories per day and the women 1,500 calories, restricting their eating to certain hours didn’t increase their weight loss, nor did it improve any other health factors.

Dreaming of Food

The bottom line, said Dr. Ethan Weiss, a diet researcher at the University of California, San Francisco: “There is no benefit to eating in a narrow window.” He didn’t want to accept this difficult conclusion, for he’d always been a proponent of time restricted eating and practiced it in his own life by skipping breakfast. He ate lunch and supper. He even asked the researchers to check their work four different times because he didn’t believe their conclusions. Finally, after getting the same answer time and again, he had to become a believer. He now eats three smaller meals per day, plus his family says he’s “nicer” to be with these days.

This emotion is known as HANGRY. It’s resolved by food.

The only reason I can see for anyone doing intermittent fasting is if you’re so distracted and discombobulated that you won’t spend any time on self care. In other words, you’re on the first stage of your journey to health and wholeness. You might be so busy caring for others, you’re not caring for yourself. If food is fuel and nourishment for your body, you’ll need good nourishment if you expect to have the strength for this journey.

With that said, being “too busy to eat” is a self defeating practice. If you think this activity gets you a reward for “strength or commitment to a cause,” you risk working until you’re so rundown you aren’t any good to anyone. If you think no one else can replace you, your loyalty likely won’t be rewarded. Business goes on and someone will need to take your place.

Carrying too many burdens on our journey

People who should not use intermittent fasting are those with an eating disorder or a metabolic condition. Restrictive eating isn’t healthy for anoxeria, bullemia, or persons with body dysmorphic disorders. Learning to see food as healthy, necessary, and appropriate, rather than forbidden is important for recovery from these distorted views of the self. Those of us with any form of insulin resistance—prediabetes, diabetes, PCOS—need to pay attention to how our bodies use carbohydrates. Exercise, stress, illness, and the types of foods we eat all affect our blood sugar. I have friends who manage their blood sugar with candy and sugared soda pops. I have others who won’t take their medication on a regular basis, and wonder why they have adverse symptoms.

I keep my food diary on my Fitbit app, but Nutritionix Track is another app that will separate your food choices into grams of carbs, proteins, and fats, as well as count your calories. They both have a great data base, plus you can manually enter a food and save it. This takes me all of five minutes at most, or about one television commercial, to do my daily entry.

Whole grains, lean meats, fish, vegetables, fruits, Greek yogurt, olive oil, and wine in limited amounts.

I have a small bite with coffee in the morning while I have coffee. Then I eat oatmeal for breakfast. I have lunch between noon and two o’clock. I eat a light dinner of Greek yogurt and fruit about 5:30 pm. Rarely do I need to snack before bed, but I check my blood sugar to make sure it’s above 100. If not, I have a snack bag of popcorn. In general, a diet which is rich in fruits, vegetables, and whole grains, and low in processed foods, saturated fats and red meat is beneficial for most people over the long term.

Joy, peace, and good health,

Cornie

The Flaw in Intermittent Fasting
.https://www.nytimes.com/2020/02/28/opinion/letters/intermittent-fasting.html?referringSource=articleShare

Scientists Find No Benefit to Time-Restricted Eating
https://www.nytimes.com/2022/04/20/health/time-restricted-diets.html

Calorie Restriction with or without Time-Restricted Eating in Weight Loss | NEJM
https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMoa2114833

Fast Food Statistics | March 2022 | The Barbecue Lab
https://thebarbecuelab.com/fast-food/

Scientists Find No Benefit to Time-Restricted Eating – The New York Times
https://www.nytimes.com/2022/04/20/health/time-restricted-diets.html

If I Bake It, They Will Come

In the middle of March, we finally had a real snowstorm here in south Arkansas. We haven’t had one in several years, so of course, the falling flakes brought out my inner child. Because I’m gimping about with plantar fasciitis, brought on by exercising in my cute shoes instead of my sensible shoes, I decided to engage in my second favorite snow day activity: baking cookies. My first favorite is tromping around in the cold and damp until I’m fully ready for a big mug of hot chocolate and the cookies my mom would be baking while we kids were outside having the rare and wonderful time of our lives.

Snow Day on the Lake

It’s almost the Spring Equinox, but the weather doesn’t seem to recognize this calendar moment. The daffodils have poked their sunny faces up above the drear ground and tiny wildflowers hug the new grasses. None of this is visible through the swirl of fat flakes outside my upper floor window. I can’t even see the other side of the lake, much less the mountain beyond it.

The weatherman said, “Look for 1 to 3 inches.”

I thought, “If I bake it, they will come.” And so it did!

If I want a good cookie recipe, I usually turn to the Joy of Cooking. This was my mom’s standby, and it’s never failed me. The newest edition is an ebook, which I find very handy. I modified the Sugar Cookie and the Chocolate Sugar Cookie from the original recipes, because I’m either terminally unable to follow directions or I find “creating variations on a theme” more my style. Feel free to make this your own, as adding chopped pecans would be a good taste too. I’d keep the regular flour at least 3:2 proportions (1 1/2 cup to 1 cup) to keep the rise and crunch the same.

Likewise, the original called for only 2 tsp vanilla, but why are people so stingy with this wonderful flavor? Or maybe as I grow older, my taste buds are less sensitive. You can back this down, if 2 tablespoons are too strong for your taste. I also increased the unsalted butter to 2 whole sticks, quite by accident, but the mix would have been really dry if I hadn’t done this. “Fortune favors the foolish,” in this case, or perhaps it was divine inspiration.

Chewy Chocolate Sugar Cookies, Before and After Cooking

I decreased the salt to 1/2 teaspoon from 3/4 teaspoon. People consume far too much salt and sugar, so we need to accustom ourselves to lower caloric treats.

CHEWY CHOCOLATE SUGAR COOKIES

About 24 to 35 cookies
Preheat the oven to 375°F. Lightly grease or line 2 baking sheets or cookie pans with parchment paper.

Sift together into a medium bowl the dry ingredients. NOTE: I double sifted these ingredients to get the fine texture.
2 cups all-purpose flour
½ cup almond flour
½ cup (40g) unsweetened cocoa powder.
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon. 1 cup sugar
1/2 cup Splenda

Melt in heat proof bowl in microwave at medium power:
2 sticks unsalted butter

Add and beat to combine:
2 tablespoons vanilla

Beat in:
2 large eggs

Add the liquid to the flour mixture and combine until the dough is smooth.

Add 41 grams white chocolate wafers (cut these in half if they’re large)
Add 30 grams dark chocolate wafers
Mix in the chocolates to the dough.

Portion the dough by the rounded tablespoon and roll into balls.
Place about 1 inch apart on the baking sheets, then flatten the balls with the bottom of a damp glass (prevents sticking).

Bake until set, about 8 to 10 minutes, switching oven racks and rotating the sheets halfway through. Let cool for 2 or 3 minutes on the sheets, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. Your cookie might fall apart if you rush this step. Best eaten warm.

That’s the recipe. You can read on for notes on cooking with artificial sweeteners. These are mostly important for people with diabetes and insulin resistance, since their bodies no longer metabolize carbohydrates well. Therefore, we’re all about the cutting of carbs, but no one I know is about cutting the taste, texture, or mouth feel of food.

Spires Vathis: Rainbow at the End of the Road, 2015

“We want our cake and we want to eat it too!” Why can’t this be a fulfilled wish, and not a delayed gratification? Cooking is both an art and a science, so we can bring the both to bear as we explore and experiment along the way. Use your imaginations and take a less traveled path. You can find new life and new joy, and maybe even the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow.

Chocolate Sugar Cookie Nutrition serving = 1 cookie

COOKING WITH ALTERNATIVE SWEETENERS

1. Saccharin (a.k.a. Sweet’n Low): Use it in baking but beware of the strong aftertaste. Not suggested for this recipe.
2. Sucralose (a.k.a. Splenda): Heat stable for baking; you can also replace half the sugar with Splenda or buy a blend of the two. Splenda also makes a brown sugar blend with 50% brown sugar, 50% sucralose. You can make your own blend by sifting together equal amounts of Splenda and sugar.
3. Aspartame (a.k.a. Equal or NutraSweet): Not recommended for baking; use this for sweetening beverages instead.
4. Stevia: You can swap many of the new stevia products for equal parts of sugar in most recipes (always check packaging).
5. Monk fruit sweeteners can be used in a wide range of beverages and foods like soft drinks, juices, dairy products, desserts, candies and condiments. Because they are stable at high temperatures, monk fruit sweeteners can be used in baked goods. However, a recipe that uses monk fruit sweeteners in place of sugar may turn out slightly different because in addition to sweetness, sugar plays several roles in recipes related to volume and texture, but this varies based on the type of recipe. Use just a tiny sprinkle in your coffee or tea or to sweeten oatmeal, frosting or dessert sauces.
   • Baking can be a little tricky since monk fruit is so much sweeter than sugar, so you’d use much less, and you’d have to make up for the structure that you’d lose by adding other bulk: additional sugar, nut flour, or ground fiber.
   • Lakanto Baking Blend (purple bag) combines monk fruit with other ingredients like tapioca fiber, chicory root, inulin, and erythritol to create a substitute that can be used as a one-to-one replacement for sugar without affecting the texture of what you’re baking.
6. Monk Fruit Baking Sweetener 1:1 Sugar Substitute | Lakanto
   • Dissolves effortlessly, retains moisture, can control cookie spread, and provides better browning for your desserts.
   • It’s Not Magic, It’s Next Level Baking: Mix of monk fruit extract and erythritol with tapioca fiber, chicory root inulin, and cellulose gum to bring your baking to a whole new level.
   • Matches the Sweetness of Sugar: Fill your kitchen with a healthy cup-for-cup replacement for ordinary baking and cooking ingredients. Contains zero net carbs, zero calories, and is zero glycemic; Perfect for baking cookies, cakes, and other sweet, sugar-free treats.
   • Lifestyle Friendly: Works with ketogenic, diabetic, candida, paleo, vegan, low-sugar, non-GMO, and all-natural diets.
   • Erythritol can cause digestive issues for some people, but it depends on the dose.
7. I always suggest using half real sugar and half alternative sugar because of the texture of your baked goods. There’s no sense wasting good ingredients on a nasty tasting product!

Bottom to top: Cake baked with granulated sugar, with Truvia, and with Swerve. Note the difference in rise!

Using sugar substitutes in cooking and baking
Sugar substitutes can be used in both cooked items and baked goods, but it’s important to realize that the end result may not be identical to the same product made with sugar. Sugar substitutes, while very sweet, don’t have the same properties or chemical composition as table sugar.

For these reasons, be prepared for the following issues:

1. A lighter color: Baked goods made with sugar substitutes tend to be light in color. Sugar substitutes don’t provide the same browning effect as sugar.
2. Flatter product: Cakes, quick breads, and muffins may not have the same volume when prepared with sugar substitutes.
3. Texture differences: Baked goods made with these sweeteners tend to be drier and denser (almost like a biscuit) than those made with sugar because the sweeteners don’t hold moisture. Besides being drier, products may become stale more quickly. Either eat right away, or wrap in paper towel and microwave on 50% power for 10 second bursts (cookie) or 20 seconds (cake slice).
4. Taste differences: Some sugar substitutes can impart an aftertaste; some people find this more noticeable than others.
5. Cooking time: You may need to adjust the time required to bake a cake or cookies made with sugar substitutes.

Cakes Baked Without Sugar Using Only LABLED Substitute Sweetener

Health Concerns

Monk fruit and stevia sweeteners are generally safe for people with diabetes, but always check the labeling to ensure that the manufacturers have not added sugars or carbohydrates. For those who count their carbs, sugar alcohols are a type of carbohydrate. While they’re an alternative to sugar and contain fewer calories, sugar alcohols can cause gastrointestinal side effects, such as gas, bloating, and diarrhea. Examples include:

sorbitol
xylitol
lactitol
mannitol.
erythritol
Maltitol

Enjoy the cookie or cake, but don’t eat everything you baked. Share with your neighbors and friends so everyone has an opportunity to delight in the feast of the day. This way you get celebrated by many people also, and who doesn’t love them some compliments and hugs? Anyway, I’ve always thought the Psalmist was on the mark when he or she wrote in Psalms 34:8—

“Taste and see that the LORD is good;
blessed is the one who takes refuge in him.”

Joy, peace, and cookies,

Cornie

https://www.foodnetwork.com/holidays-and-parties/packages/holidays/holiday-central-how-tos/baking-with-sugar-alternatives

https://foodinsight.org/everything-you-need-to-know-about-monk-fruit-sweeteners/

Monk fruit vs. stevia: Which is the best natural sweetener?
https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/322769

Swerve Sweetener: Good or Bad?
https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/swerve-sweetener

Modified From Original Recipes in:
Joy of Cooking
Irma S. Rombauer, Marion Rombauer Becker, Ethan Becker, John Becker & Megan Scott
https://books.apple.com/us/book/joy-of-cooking/id1454471417

THE PUMPKIN PALOOZA IS HERE

🎃 PUMPKIN 🎃 SPICE LATTE SEASON IS UPON US

Of course now we ask, “What’s in a pumpkin spice latte?” If you frequent this Kitchen, you already know the answer: Sugar. Of course it has sugar, both the naturally occurring type, but also the added type. Those of us who watch our carbohydrate intake for health reasons have to be aware of the hidden sugars in foods.

First thought on first fallen leaf: pumpkin palooza

It’s not autumn without a Starbucks pumpkin spice latte, the various pumpkin patches, and the harvest items, which remind me of slow moving tractor pulled hay rides under full moons during the autumn equinox. Once these tokens of fall arrived closer to October, but now they sometimes show up unexpectedly in late August, much like house guests who made good time on their travels.

“Oh! Hello, I haven’t finished cleaning my house yet,” we say as we open our door to this early bird.

“Silly potato, I came to see you, not your house. Give me a hug.” These words of grace are a blessing from the angels who enter our homes.

Made according to standard recipe

Whenever I visit my favorite Starbucks, I now look up the ingredients of my favorite takeout items. Their mobile app makes this possible. I no longer order the drinks with huge amounts of sugar in them, for even if those pumpkin spice lattes are delicious, the drink is pretty much just a dessert disguised as coffee. With my prediabetes and need to take off some weight, my doctor and I have agreed I’d limit my calories to 1500 and my carbs to 150 grams. This won’t fit into my food plan. I need to stick to nutrient dense foods, not empty calorie drinks.

Recipe for Pumpkin Pie Spice

According to Starbucks, a grande (16-ounce) pumpkin spice latte made with 2 percent milk has 390 calories and a staggering 50 grams (about 12 teaspoons) of sugar. The Starbucks label doesn’t break out how much of that is added sugar. About 22 grams of sugar probably comes from the natural sugars in milk, giving the pumpkin spice latte about 28 grams of added sugar. The American Heart Association recommends no more than six teaspoons (25 grams) of added sugar a day for women and nine teaspoons (36 grams) for men.

Pumpkin pie

Much of the sweetness in a pumpkin spice latte appears to come from the pumpkin spice sauce. The first ingredient is sugar, after all, followed by condensed skim milk, pumpkin purée and some additives. The whipped cream topping also contains sugar, in the form of a vanilla syrup.

If you’re trying to cut sugar, there are still ways to enjoy a pumpkin spice latte. A regular grande pumpkin spice latte has four pumps of pumpkin spice sauce as well as whipped cream. If you want to cut back on the sugar, skip the whipped cream and try it with just two pumps of sauce next time you order. You’ll get pretty much the same flavor and cut out more than half of the added sugar. This still gives the grande drink 38 grams of carbohydrates, which puts it into the drinkable sugar category.

As an alternative, another way to cut the calories is to order a “speciality” drink at the coffee shop. If you’re special, and I have no doubt that you are, this are the recipes for you:

Iced Pumpkin Spice Latte:
Grande iced coffee (order a Venti cup if you want extra ice)
1 pump spiced pumpkin sauce
3 pumps Sugar free vanilla
Extra pumpkin spice sprinkled on top
Light cream = half and half

Hot Pumpkin Spiced Latte:
Tall blonde American coffee in grande cup
1 pump spiced pumpkin
3 pump sugar free vanilla
Almond milk steamed
Extra pumpkin spice topping (omit whipped cream)

Pumpkin Pie Spice

You can also make your own fancy pants pumpkin spice latte drink at home. The Food Network’s recipe (link below) for homemade pumpkin spice lattes includes espresso or strong coffee, milk, canned pumpkin purée, vanilla, pumpkin pie spices and one tablespoon of sugar (as well as sweetened whipped cream). But you can play with the recipe to cut even more sugar or use a sugar substitute if you prefer.

Bears eat everything in sight before hibernating

While we’re at it, let’s think about why certain weathers and seasons cue our minds to seek out certain foods. Are we primordially primed to “pack on weight” for the long winter, just as bears and other hibernating animals do? Or do we just find the decreasing daylight depressive, so we eat to soothe our feelings? If you find yourself “carb loading” but not getting ready to run a big race, it might be time to look inward at what else you’re “stuffing down.”

Remember what the sainted Mother Theresa said:

The world today is hungry not only for bread, but hungry for love; hungry to be wanted, hungry to be loved.

Joy, peace, and pumpkins,

Cornie

https://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/food-network-kitchen/pumpkin-spice-latte-3363265

OH REALLY? But is this a HEALTHY idea?

The angel debates the devil

Scientists say “Eating dark chocolate may reduce depression risk.”

I’m all over this idea! My first question is, “How much chocolate and how often?” Then I listen to the better angel on my other shoulder, who whispers, “You know the cinnamon and blood sugar connection? A sprinkle of cinnamon doesn’t move your sugar in the right direction. It takes large amounts—like a horse pill’s worth!”

That horse pill is 1 gram of cinnamon, which if taken for 30 or 60 days in a controlled double blind trial, still had no effect on blood sugar for persons with type II diabetes. Other studies using 2 grams of cinnamon per day did lower blood sugar. Cinnamon used as a food ingredient, sprinkle, or taste enhancer is generally regarded as safe to use, but it doesn’t lower blood sugar. I still sprinkle my Greek yogurt and fruit with cinnamon every morning, but that’s because I like the taste.

Greek yogurt with cocoa and cinnamon

If you want to begin taking cassia cinnamon supplements, talk to your physician if you have liver disease, diabetes, or you’re pregnant. Cassia cinnamon has the potential to interact with a variety of different medications, including those used to control diabetes.

I can hold out for a magic potion and keep the fanciful notion of one simple pill to cure my ills, or I can accept diabetes and metabolic syndrome as complex conditions that are affected by my genetics, the food I eat, the quality of my sleep, my life stressors, and even the exercise I get daily. In truth, I do want a magic potion, but I’d really like magic Twinkie dust: why can’t my condition just be wiped away? I need a fairy godmother, one who’ll bring the dark chocolate in buckets when she comes to visit.

Magic Chocolate Cupcakes

As a personal experiment, I’ve tried Twinkie Dust in the form of chocolate cupcakes. When I was in grad school, I can attest if an afternoon Hostess Chocolate Cupcake made me happy, having one for breakfast and dinner made me really happy, or at least it did for several days. After five days, the thought of another chocolate iced cupcake with cream filling inside began to make my stomach churn and my lip curl. After choking down one small cake for breakfast, and looking inside the box to count the number still left, I wondered if I’d gotten my money’s worth. That is, could I toss these ever expanding treats in the trash and not feel bad? My frugal angel was debating with my don’t waste food angel. My frugal angel won—I kept hearing my parents saying, “people are starving in China.”

I’m happy, how ‘bout you?

A recent study at the Nutrition Resource Center claims individuals who ate dark chocolate appeared less likely to exhibit clinically relevant depressive symptoms, according to findings recently published in Depression & Anxiety.

“Previous studies have not adequately controlled for variables that may potentially confound the association between chocolate and depression, such as socioeconomic status. Moreover, previous studies have not examined the association with depression according to the type of chocolate consumed,” Sarah E. Jackson, PhD, CPsychol, of the department of behavioral science and health at University College London, and colleagues wrote.

They reviewed National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey between 2007 to 2008 and 2013 to 2014 and Public Health Questionnaire-9 scores from 13,626 adults 20 years of age and older to fill in this research gap.

Chocolate helps elevate the mood

Jackson and colleagues found that 11.1% of those that were studied reported eating any type of chocolate and that 1.4% reported consuming dark chocolate.

“Individuals who reported any dark chocolate consumption had 70% lower odds of reporting clinically relevant depressive symptoms than those who did not report any chocolate consumption.”

In addition, analysis showed that after adjusting for dark chocolate consumption, those who reported eating the most chocolate — between 104 g (3.67 ounces) and 454 g (16 ounces) a day — had 57% lower odds of depressive symptoms than those who reported no chocolate consumption.

When I read this statement of how much dark chocolate the 1.4% (191) of the 13,626 adults studied were consuming, my first thought was, “How much chocolate does the average American eat per year?” After all, 4 ounces seems high, but a pound of chocolate is humongous.

Americans consume 2.8 billion pounds of chocolate each year, or over 11 pounds per person, or 14.67 ounces per month. The Swiss, the world’s top consumers, eat 8.8 kilograms of chocolate each year (19.4 pounds).

Death by Chocolate

This amount of chocolate the small group of super consumers in the aforementioned study eats is (slightly less than) 4 ounces to 16 ounces daily. A normal serving of chocolate is 28 grams or 1 oz.

Fortunately, the median lethal dose for humans is 1000 milligrams per kilogram of body weight. That means that an 80 kg (176 pounds) human would have to eat 5.7 kg (12.6 pounds) of unsweetened dark chocolate at one sitting for it to kill them (going by a theobromine content of 14 milligrams per gram of dark chocolate, although it varies).

Two day Survey

Another fact was the researchers only recorded for this study the participants’ food intake for two 24-hour periods. It’s easy to argue that this might not reflect someone’s standard food intake over a week, let alone across months or years.

I wonder if some yahoos in the group were goofing with the information: “You want to know what I eat?! Ha! How bout a pound of chocolate!” Of course, not one of Cornie’s Kitchen peeps would ever do any such silly or sophomoric thing in a scientific study. Of course you wouldn’t!

Chocolate as a Mood Booster

Chocolate is a Mood Booster

“The present results are in line with the majority of experimental studies, which have shown benefits of chocolate consumption for mood, at least in the short-term,” said the researchers.

Individuals who ate dark chocolate appeared less likely to exhibit clinically relevant depressive symptoms, according to findings recently published in Depression & Anxiety.

Of course, it’s also not realistic to make a 1% sample represent the masses. After all, if this were true in real life, we common folks would all vacation at Martha’s Vineyard and the Hampton’s, rather than camping on Lake Hamilton or in our backyards.

Benefits of cocoa

Antioxidant effects of cocoa may directly influence insulin resistance and, in turn, reduce risk for diabetes. Cocoa can protect nerves from injury and inflammation, protect the skin from oxidative damage from UV radiation in topical preparations, and have beneficial effects on satiety, cognitive function, and mood.

As cocoa is predominantly consumed as energy-dense chocolate, potential detrimental effects of overconsumption exist, including increased risk of weight gain. Overall, research to date suggests that the benefits of moderate cocoa or dark chocolate consumption likely outweigh the risks.

Where else can you find flavanols?

Dark chocolate and cocoa are not the only foods that contain flavanols. Many fruits and vegetables are rich in flavanols, including apples, red grapes, broccoli, cherry tomatoes, beans, kale, and onions.

Perhaps it’s no coincidence that a healthy diet is typically one that is high in fruits and vegetables and, as a result, high in flavanol content as well. However, studies examining the relationship between specific fruits and vegetables, dietary flavanol consumption, and brain function have not yet been performed.

Overall Wellness Recommendations

Remember, not all chocolate is the same. Dark chocolate and cocoa have high flavanol levels, while milk chocolate and white chocolate have much lower levels. In addition, many types of chocolate are high in sugar, fats, and calories. So, even if dark chocolate turns out to be good for the brain, it’s unlikely that doctors will recommend a Godiva bar a day.

As for preventive measures, the best recommendations are those your doctor would make anyway, such as regular exercise, choosing a healthy diet, maintaining a normal blood pressure, not smoking, and drinking only in moderation.

Tim Allen School of Personal Experience

Also, from the Tim Allen school of personal experience, I can guarantee an occasional cupcake is preferred to a dozen per week, or even a daily cupcake. The same goes for chocolate! I get my fix from 5 grams of cocoa stirred into my yogurt in the morning. Moreover, when we read these scientific studies, we can dig a little deeper to see if we should get excited about their conclusions or if they seem a tad exuberant for the results.

If you have feelings of hopelessness, a sadness that doesn’t go away, or difficulties with daily life or relationships, ask for a referral to a counselor from your family doctor. Talking about your feelings is better than keeping them bottled up inside.

NOTES:

Dark Chocolate and Depression

https://www.healio.com/family-medicine/nutrition-and-fitness/news/online/%7Bbe1d2457-ae6f-41a1-9d8d-c5636a7a0016%7D/eating-dark-chocolate-may-reduce-depression-risk

Chocolate

Hasanzade, Farzaneh et al. “The Effect of Cinnamon on Glucose of Type II Diabetes Patients.” Journal of traditional and complementary medicine vol. 3,3 (2013): 171-4. doi:10.4103/2225-4110.11490

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3924990/

Death by Chocolate

Death by chocolate

Cocoa and Chocolate in Human Health and Disease

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4696435/

Is there a link between dark chocolate and depression?

Tim Newman

https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/325944.php

Your brain on chocolate

Robert H. Shmerling, MD

https://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/your-brain-on-chocolate-2017081612179

IS COGNITIVE DECLINE INEVITABLE?

My mind goes often to this non planet

If I knew where my mind was, I’d be able to find it. 

My mind goes to Pluto at the drop of a hat. 

What did I come into this room to get?

And where did I park my car?

As we age, we lose brain cells. That’s my story and I’m sticking to it. My mother claimed we kids were responsible for the early grey in her hair and its white was the result of the loss of brain cells, which she attributed to our wild ways driving her crazy. Neurons in the brain do die every day, but the brain grows new ones into a person’s seventies. 

Previous research suggests cognitive decline doesn’t begin before the age of 60, but this view isn’t universally accepted by scientists, much less the common public. We all have met people who’ve quit growing intellectually in their 30’s, while some have flexible minds and continue to learn new ideas and adjust their previously held thoughts when new information is presented. Some people’s capacity for memory, reasoning and comprehension skills (cognitive function) can start to deteriorate from age 45. 

Happy Birthday—Don’t return the favor.

This is why 40 was once considered “over the hill,” but folks today think of 50 as that apex. When my brother decorated my desk with dead plants and black balloons for my 40th birthday, I’m sure he meant it with tongue in cheek. However he might have been also alluding to my well known “space ranger” wandering mind. I don’t think I had cognitive decline; rather mine was more imaginative daydreaming, also known as “not paying attention.”

When I was 60, I watched a program on dementia and cognitive decline. The difference between forgetfulness and cognitive decline is the first happens occasionally and the latter affects your daily living negatively. On my recent vacation I forgot to bring toothpaste. I bought a tube at the grocery store. Cognitive decline is when you forget how to brush your teeth, you get cavities, and don’t make dentist appointments anymore. Then you lose the teeth and get dentures. Most likely someone also has to remind you to use the bubble cleaner on them and rinse them before they go in your mouth again. 

Since understanding cognitive aging will be one of the challenges of this century, especially as life expectancy continues to rise, we have to ask, what can we do to for our whole health? 

As easy as popping a pill sounds, a large recent review of studies found no solid evidence that vitamin and mineral supplements have any effect in preventing cognitive decline or dementia. The whole internet is full of health claims for this and that supplement, drink, bar, or detox tonic. While B vitamins; beta carotene; vitamins C, D or E; zinc, copper or selenium may be needed in your diet for other reasons, none of these have proved effective in preventing cognitive decline. 

How can you prevent cognitive decline? Try this combination strategy:

Four steps can improve your mental skills, even as you age—

1. following a healthy diet, 

2. getting regular exercise, 

3. socializing, and 

4. challenging your brain.

The results of the Finnish Geriatric Intervention Study to Prevent Cognitive Impairment and Disability (FINGER), which is the latest and most impressive study, goes a step further by suggesting that if you follow all four practices, you may even reverse lost mental capacity. The FINGER study indicated those who did so not only kept cognitive skills from declining, it also improved their reasoning skills and speed in performing mental tasks.

The volunteers were randomly assigned to two groups. One set of participants—the study group—received personal nutritional counseling, exercise instruction from physical therapists, and cognitive training. They also underwent seven medical exams during the study period. They frequently met in groups for cooking classes, cognitive training, or exercise instruction. The other participants—the control group—had three medical exams, during which they received general health advice. Both groups were given mental function tests again at the end of the study.

Dr. Scott McGinnis, a neurologist at Harvard-affiliated Brigham and Women’s Hospital and author of The Harvard Guide to Coping with Alzheimer’s Disease, says “Healthy lifestyle behaviors can benefit people of all ages. But to have the greatest impact on late-life mental function, get started early.” 

The FINGER study’s results should offer additional encouragement to pursue a healthy, active, engaged lifestyle with regular exercise, a Mediterranean diet, and challenging mental activities because these can help preserve your mental acuity. Moreover, the FINGER study reminds us it not only helps to combine these practices, but it also helps to enjoy them as we do them. 

This wasn’t a quick fix, either. The FINGER program lasted for two years and the participants stuck with it because they were enjoying themselves. They also had become friends with others in their training groups. Although the experiment was demanding, only 12% of participants dropped out. Plus, these folks worked at their exercise—attendance was over 85% at training sessions, which included three to five exercise sessions a week, as well as 10 to 12 sessions of nutrition counseling and 144 cognitive training sessions over two years.

If you’re having trouble making healthy changes, a cooking or exercise class may help you get started and open a new circle of friends. Volunteering as a tutor, joining a community choir, or working on a political campaign can offer new intellectual challenges and social engagement. The key to making lifestyle changes is in finding a way to enjoy making them—and that is often among a group of companions who are striving for the same goal. 

Fresh vegetables and Chicken breast in Olive oil

We all make a choice in our lives. If we want good health, but don’t want to give up our television programs, we either need to pick an exercise time outside of our favorite TV shows, or hit a gym with screens. For instance, I still eat fried chicken, but only on my vacation. I eat uncured bacon on Saturdays rather than every day, and pancakes once a month. I haven’t given up my favorite foods, but I’ve put a limit on the most unhealthy ones out of respect for my body. This gives me some room for when I feel the need to self medicate with two scoops of ice cream, as when my computer died last month and I had to replace it. Making a big decision is definitely an ice cream moment for me, but I don’t need it every day anymore. 

One of my goals at Cornie’s Kitchen is to learn new skills and information to benefit the majority of persons in our world today: half of Americans and 30% of the world’s population are obese or overweight, and the cardiovascular diseases associated with obesity are increasing worldwide also. Since our children are also impacted by this health risk, we have to change our way of looking at food, exercise, time, stress, life, work, and our means of balancing the competing and complex needs in our world. 

If I can’t wave a magic wand over you, say a magic spell, or cast a potion of power over you, then at least I can help you burn through a few brain cells. They’ll grow back. Grey hair is a sign of power and wisdom.  

Joy and Peace, 

Cornie 

Sources:

https://www.bmj.com/press-releases/2012/01/05/cognitive-decline-can-begin-early-age-45-warn-experts

https://www.health.harvard.edu/mind-and-mood/how-can-you-prevent-cognitive-decline-try-this-combination-strategy

Vitamin or Mineral Supplements Don’t Prevent Dementia   https://nyti.ms/2DTKsJm?smid=nytcore-ios-share

HALLOWEEN SPECTERS

HALLOWEEN COSTUMES
Have you readied your costume for the annual Trick or Treat event? I saw folks shopping for costumes as early as mid September, for both adults and children. Most of these garbs aren’t scary at all, unlike the one worn by the ghosts and ghouls of ancient lore, by which I mean my neighborhood companions and I.

19th Century Spookiness

We protect children today from such horrors, but back in the 1950’s, ritual exposure under adult protection was considered part of growing up. A very small child dressed as a ghost with a pillowcase over her entire body. Only the eyes and mouth holes were cut out, plus a slit in the front for holding the basket of treats. The shifting nature of the pillowcase was part of the plan—the child couldn’t race to the next house in the dark or the eyeholes would slip and then they’d slip too. I never realized how cunning my parents were.

1950’s Neighborhood Ghost Costume

LET THE HARVEST FESTIVALS BEGIN
Halloween is the official beginning of the harvest festival season in America.
First is the Chocolate Candy season, also known as Trunk or Treat in the church. Then 22 days later is Thanksgiving, a day given over to cooking and eating, with leftovers for a week afterwards. For the next month until Christmas, cookies and homemade treats roll out of our kitchens as if we were our grandparents. Once the New Year arrives, even if we make a resolution to stop this madness, we get an invite to a Super Bowl party on February 3rd, 2019. This is all happening in less than one hundred days (95).

We do this in addition to our regular lives, of course, for we don’t let anything go. No, we merely pile stuff higher and the wonder why it collapses. It’s called the Western Life Style.

TEEN COSTUMES

LIFESTYLE POSTER CHILD
The main negative features of this lifestyle include stress (long-term and continuous, psychological), positive energy balance (excessive energy intake and low physical activity), low-quality food (both high fat and energy dense, and at the same time poor in micronutrients), and disruption of chronobiology(insufficient sleep). What toe have I not stepped on yet? As my old congregations used to say, “At first you were preaching, but now you’ve done gone to meddling!”

WESTERN LIFESTYLE DEADLY
As countries around the world adopt the Western Lifestyle, rates of metabolic syndrome and diabetes are also increasing. For 2017, the International Diabetes Foundation estimated there were 451 million (age 18-99 years) people with diabetes worldwide. These figures were expected to increase to 693 million by 2045. Almost half of all people (49.7%) living with diabetes are undiagnosed. Moreover, an estimated 374 million people are likely living with impaired glucose tolerance (IGT) and almost 21.3 million live births to women were affected by some form of hyperglycaemia in pregnancy.

In 2017, approximately 5 million deaths worldwide were attributable to diabetes in the 20-99 years age range. The global healthcare expenditure on people with diabetes was estimated to be USD $850 billion in 2017.

DISTURBANCE IN THE FORCE
“An acute disturbance in any of the physiological regulatory systems evokes reactions that tend to reestablish equilibrium. When the stimuli, even of moderate magnitude, tend to be repetitive or chronic, change and allostasis in one system impact on the other, and vicious cycles are created and reinforced.” The plain language translation is our bodies tend to seek equilibrium. If we lose weight, our bodies try to regain it. The vicious cycle many of us are most familiar with is losing the same amount weight over and over again.

Homemade Pizza Costume

THE FOOD WE EAT
Does what we eat make a difference? Every day a new diet fad comes down the pike, or at least a new packaging of an old one trots out for us to ride it for a while. Then we fall off that horse and look for another, with more appeal (cookie diet, anyone?).

Our food choices interact with our genetic, metabolic, and environmental factors. In obesity and metabolic syndrome, often dietary patterns are considered of central importance. In these, attention has been focused over calories, amounts, and proportions of macronutrients, and their effects on the energetic balance by themselves, and through metabolic regulators. You recognize this in the shorthand “calories in/calories out” slogan.

However, obesity, metabolic syndrome, insulin resistance, and diabetes are way more complex operations than mere subtraction. A calorie isn’t just a calorie. That is, not all calories are created equal, although all whole foods have nutrients. Only recently have the acute effects of food ingestion, taking into consideration the type of food, and the specific effects of some nutrients, namely, fatty acids, began to be studied in relation with obesity and inflammation.

INFLAMMATORY ROLE OF FATS
Total dietary fat and saturated fat are associated with insulin resistance and high blood pressure as well as obesity-related inflammation. An immediate postprandial increase in plasma inflammatory markers after a high-fat meal had been shown in abdominally obese men. Consumption of a saturated fatty acid-rich diet resulted in a proinflammatory “obesity-linked” gene expression profile, whereas consumption of a monounsaturated fatty acid-rich diet caused a more anti-inflammatory profile. This means carnivores eating well marbled steaks every day aren’t doing their bodies long term good, but of course they’re too busy being important to have a real doctor test their blood. And they “feel fine.”

MUFA’s are foods and oils with higher amounts of monounsaturated fats, such as Nuts, Avocado, Canola oil, Olive oil, Safflower oil (high oleic), Sunflower oil, Peanut oil and butter, and Sesame oil. Everyone needs some fat in their diet, for it keeps our skin smooth, our hair lustrous, and our appetite satisfied. We don’t need fried foods or animal fats on a daily basis.

LIVER AND FAT STORAGE
The liver has two functions that directly impact the formation of excess fat: metabolism of carbohydrates (sugars) and digestion of lipids (fats). When we consume carbohydrates, our blood sugar rises, triggering a rise in insulin. That rise in insulin signals our liver to begin storing the excess glucose within its own cells. When the liver is full, it begins storing the excess carbohydrates as fat in our body fat. Sometimes that fat begins to accumulate in the liver cells, and the liver becomes fat.

Similarly, when we consume more lipids that the body can use for energy, the liver stores the excess lipids in body fat, and this excess of lipids can begin to accumulate within the liver as well. Whether the excess of food is made up of carbohydrates (sugars) or fat (lipids) —the liver stores the excess energy for future use. Often this results in excess fat accumulating in the liver itself. This is known as Fatty Liver, the first stage of NAFLD and should be viewed as a warning to change unhealthy lifestyle habits and adopt a low carbohydrate and low fat diet that is high in fresh vegetables and lean proteins.

TAKE OUT BOX
We need to eat enough quality nutrients to lose weight. Starving ourselves won’t do it, since this messes up our metabolism. Eating the good food, complex carbohydrates with fiber, for instance, and lots of vegetables full of water (spinach, zucchini, mushrooms) will help us meet our nutritional goals. Foregoing fried foods, highly processed foods, and fast foods will also improve our health. Exercise every day, if just to walk around the block. I sometimes fail on this. But I find a way to move more around the house or do big muscle chores.

Cornie’s Batgirl Costume

Time—we all have the same amount of it. What we do with it is the important thing. If I add an event to my schedule, something else has to go away. I’m not Wonder Woman. I’m not God. I might be Batgirl. I can’t do ALL things through Christ who strengthens me, but I can do all the IMPORTANT things Christ calls me to do in his power.

MORE SCIENCE
Below I’ve made some notes on the role of obesity, free fatty acids, and insulin resistance if you want more information. The link below has an excellent paper if you want to dig deeper. Low grade inflammation and free fatty acids are both implicated in NAFLD, non alcoholic fatty liver disease, which occurs when fat is deposited in the liver.

OBESITY AND INSULIN RESISTANCE
The reason why obesity is associated with insulin resistance is not well understood. Obesity is a condition characterized by an increase of body weight beyond the limitation of skeletal and physical requirements, as the result of excessive accumulation of body fat.

NOT A ROCK BAND
Free fatty acids (FFA) cause both insulin resistance and inflammation in the major insulin target tissues (skeletal muscle, liver and endothelial cells) and thus are an important link between obesity, insulin resistance, inflammation and the development of T2DM, hypertension, dyslipidemia, disorders of coagulation and ASVD.

FAT TISSUE: FACTORY AND WAREHOUSE
Adipose tissue not only stores and releases fatty acids but also synthesizes and releases a large number of other active compounds. According to this concept, an expanding fat mass releases increasing amounts of compounds such as FFA, angiotensin 2, resistin, TNF-α, interleukin 6, interleukin 1-β and others. Some of these compounds, when infused in large amounts, can produce insulin resistance.

However, any substance, in order to qualify as a physiological link between obesity and insulin resistance, should meet at least the following 3 criteria:
0. the substance should be elevated in the blood of obese people;
0. raising its blood level (within physiologic limits) should increase insulin resistance and
0. lowering its blood level should decrease insulin resistance.

So far, only FFA can meet these 3 criteria in human subjects.

Plasma FFA levels are usually elevated in obesity because
0. the enlarged adipose tissue mass releases more FFA and
0. FFA clearance may be reduced

Moreover, once plasma FFA levels are elevated, they’ll inhibit insulin’s anti-lipolytic action, which will further increase the rate of FFA release into the circulation.

The liver is more insulin sensitive than skeletal muscle.

FAT PILLS ARE REAL
Nevertheless, there is convincing evidence that physiological elevations of FFA, such as seen after a fat rich meal, inhibit insulin suppression of hepatic glucose production (HGP) resulting in an increase in HGP (1).

Acutely this rise in HGP is due to FFA mediated inhibition of insulin suppression of glycogenolysis or releasing glucose from carbohydrates.
Longer lasting elevations of FFA, however, are likely to also increase gluconeogenesis, or making glucose from non carbohydrate substances.

Chronically elevated plasma FFA levels, as commonly seen in obese diabetic and non-diabetic individuals, also cause insulin resistance.

GENES AREN’T OUR DESTINY
We know there’s a genetic component linked to the UCP3_HUMAN or mitochondrial uncoupling protein 3 and 2. Healthy pancreatic β-cells are poised to respond rapidly and efficiently to acute changes in circulating nutrient availability to maintain metabolic homeostasis.

CHRONIC EXPOSURE TO OVERNUTRITION
However, it is well recognized that chronic exposure to overnutrition, such as what occurs in obesity, results in a blunting of the insulin response to an acute stimulus.

INFLAMMATION
Whatever its origin, be it or not obesity the main initiator, the chronic low-grade inflammatory condition that accompanies the metabolic syndrome has been implicated as a major player in both the installation of the syndrome and its associated pathophysiological consequences.

WEIGHT LOSS HELPS INFLAMMATION
In good agreement with this interpretation of things, weight loss of obese patients is repeatedly verified to be associated with a decrease of inflammation biomarkers accompanied by improvement of metabolic parameters, namely, insulin sensitivity.

Monteiro, Rosário, and Isabel Azevedo. “Chronic Inflammation in Obesity and the Metabolic Syndrome.” Mediators of Inflammation 2010 (2010): 289645. PMC. Web. 11 Oct. 2018
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2913796/

Diabetes Impact on World
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/29496507

Bananas are the Best!

Some people avoid bananas like the plague. “Too many carbohydrates and my blood sugar gets out of whack!” I even quit them for a while, due to this reason, with bad results. I ended up with headaches and low blood pressure. Bananas help these conditions with the potassium and magnesium they contain. They also have good amounts of fiber.

A study published in 2012 found that competitive cyclists performed better on long rides if they consumed either a banana (plus water) or a sports drink, compared to water alone.

Now a follow-up study, recently published in the journal PLOS One, concluded that bananas are even better than sports drinks at helping these athletes recover from extreme exertion.

Natural chemicals found in bananas help aid recovery from intense, prolonged exercise better than electroyle drinks. For replenishing energy and electrolytes, bananas can be more effective than sports drinks.

In this newest small trial, twenty cyclists rode in 75-kilometer time trials while ingesting a set amount of carbohydrates from either bananas or a six percent sugar beverage every 15 minutes.

However, bananas appeared to have added metabolic benefits above the impact of the sports drink alone, in that the banana’s serotonin and dopamine improved the athletes’ antioxidant capacity and helped with oxidative stress, improving their performance overall.

Ingesting carbohydrates from either source reduced inflammation compared to water alone, and improved the rate of metabolic recovery from this intense and prolonged exercise.

While this study did not test whether other fruits would work as well, it does lend support to the idea that components of whole foods interact to provide the best health benefits in the body.

One way to modify a banana’s impact on our blood sugar is eat only 1/2 serving at a time. Just because it comes in a neat package doesn’t mean we have to eat it all. We don’t inhale an entire pineapple (or at least I don’t!) in one sitting. Then what do we do with the other half? We can slice it up and freeze it. Oh, my! These frozen circles are wonderful for yogurt in the morning, for banana “ice cream” and for baking.

When my bananas go all ripe all at once, I cut them up and freeze them in circles. I weigh 60 +/- grams out into the bowl in the morning and add another 1/2 cup of fruit to the Greek yogurt and protein powder. I add a bit of peanut butter to have some fat to have this stick to my ribs and slow down the glycemic effect.

Another way to reduce the glycemic index of the bananas is to eat them when they are less ripe. A bright yellow banana with brown spots has more sugar content than a pale yellow one with light green streaks. A solid green banana is not ready to eat!

https://www.nutritionletter.tufts.edu/issues/14_9/todays-newsbites/Bananas-Beat-Sports-Drinks_2450-1.html

WHY IS FAT SO POPULAR?

TRUTH!!

Why do we choose the food on our plates? Some of us eat traditional foods from our childhoods, our cultures, or our homelands to connect us with our history and our stories. Others of us may choose alternative menus, to change our story line or to rewrite a troubled or fraught past. In this way, “what we eat proclaims who we are,” even as it nourishes the person we are becoming in the flesh.

Yet the extreme carnivore fat shamers have no problem what so ever in singing the praises of a huge, fat riddled hunk of ribeye steak, preferably rare, and eagerly devoured as a testimony to their peak powers and dominance traits. They often mention bitcoin’s luster or their own wellness ventures if the conversation goes much past hello. I’ve often wondered if the inanimate aspect of the slab on the plate allows them to connect more deeply with their food than they can with an actual human being, who has feelings and might speak back. Better to devour both of these, and stay unaffected by the outer world’s complexities.

However, the world always intrudes. We find no sanctuary, for we tear down the very walls which we build about ourselves. If we choose the extreme course, we’re on a path to self destruction, unless we change our lives. The ancient Greeks were wise to say, “The middle path is safest and best.”

Our choice of menus, diets, or eating plans is also a form of tribal signaling, as we send out signs for others to recognize and to respond accordingly. Fat shaming is a negative form of signaling by those who overvalue outward appearances. Those whose bodies are overly generous in size need to disregard this crowd’s disgust. Instead, discovering their personal value and worth is more important so they can be proactive about their own health. To enjoy life, to live as well as possible, and to be a blessing to our family and the community, is important for each of us.

WHAT IS TRUTH?

With all the competing claims out in the world today, how can we know what is truly healthy for the long haul? Since anyone can get on the internet and make any claim they want, until someone gets hurt and the legal process shuts their scam down, how do we sort out these “Truth Claims?” The accepted way is a RCT, or randomized controlled trial, which enrolls a large number of persons and follows them over many years. This is the “gold standard” of science, rather than “I use it and it works for me, plus listen to these testimonials!” In between is the single paper, not published in a major journal, with only a small sample of 50 to 100 subjects studied for a brief period. (If someone still believes “all these truths are equal,” I may know a friend with a friend with seashore property in Arizona to sell you, but I’d recommend a lesson in logic first.)

The Lancet Public Health Journal, August 18, 2018, published a major prospective cohort study and meta-analysis of dietary carbohydrate intake and mortality. The study followed nearly 16,000 adults in 4 different US communities for 25 years and they added in published research results from 7 multinational prospective studies. They did some big number crunching, so if you want to read the whole paper, the link is at the bottom of the page. It is a real RCT study, and deserves space for commentary.

MORTALITY AND FAT SOURCE

As the wag says, “men live longer if they don’t mention the extra weight their sweet cake is carrying on her hips.” It must be true–Neil DeGrasse Tyson’s photo is connected to this quote (meme worthy, for sure!).

When my mother made meatloaf, it had breadcrumbs and an egg to bind it together. She laid two strips of bacon on top of the loaf in the pan so it would get extra flavoring. Today people wrap the entire meatloaf in two pounds of bacon before they grill it on the outdoor BBQ pit. That pork fat goes into the food we eat and stays in the arteries to clog those vessels. We might be able to live higher on the hog than our parents, but we won’t live longer, not even with a good medical plan.

LIFE EXPECTANCY AND INCOME

Fifty years has passed: we eat worse, exercise less, and we our life expectancy has quit increasing. Back in 1966, men and women could live on average to age 67 and 73. Now those numbers are 76 and 81 in 2016. Back in 1933, men could expect to live to age 61 and women to 65. At least we aren’t going back to those “really good old days” when life was harsh, medicine lacked modern advances, and sanitation was poor.

Today poverty often impacts life expectancy due to food deserts in neighborhoods, lack of health insurance, and low incomes. The wealthy live longer. The poor in some cities — big ones like New York and Los Angeles, and also quite a few smaller ones like Birmingham, Ala. — live nearly as long as their middle-class neighbors or have seen rising life expectancy in the 21st century. But in some other parts of the country, adults with the lowest incomes die on average as young as people in much poorer nations like Rwanda, and their life spans are getting shorter.

CHOOSE YOUR FAT WISELY

This Study of Dietary Carbohydrate Intake and Mortality explored how the source of fat affected deaths in the group. The more meat fat a person ate, the more it impacted their life span for the worse (table 2).

The low-carb group was split into two separate groups:

1. The plant-based low carbohydrate dietary score was associated with higher average intake of vegetables but lower fruit intake (appendix p 11).

2. By contrast, the animal-based low carbohydrate dietary score was associated with lower average intake of both fruit and vegetables (appendix pp 9, 10).

3. Both low carbohydrate diets were associated with higher fat intake in exchange for carbohydrate, although the plant-based low carbohydrate diet had higher average polyunsaturated fat and lower saturated fat intake compared with the animal-based low carbohydrate diet (appendix pp 9–11).

ANIMAL FATS VS. PLANT FATS

People choosing an animal-based diet had an overall, higher, total protein intake. Five foods differed most significantly between the highest and lowest quantiles of animal-based and plant-based low carbohydrate dietary score (appendix p 9):

1. The animal-based low carbohydrate diet had more servings per day than did higher carbohydrate diets of beef, pork, and lamb as the main dish; beef, pork, and lamb as a side dish; chicken with the skin on; chicken with the skin off; and cheese (appendix p 10).

2. The plant-based low carbohydrate diet had more servings per day of nuts, peanut butter, dark or grain breads, chocolate, and white bread than did higher carbohydrate diets (appendix p 11).

3. Both low carbohydrate diets were lower in average regular soft drink intake (appendix pp 10, 11)

DEATH BY GIANT RIBEYE STEAK

Exclusionary diets, unless for medically necessary reasons, are not the best choice. Just because we want to jump off a cliff doesn’t mean we should do this! Someone who wants to eat only white food, as my child did for a time, is going through a phase. An adult who won’t eat anything white is missing out on some food groups, or doesn’t want to spend the time learning about food. If we have time saving machines all around us, why don’t we have the time to care for our embodied selves in this spare time? Do we value our work more than the worker? This devaluation of people is a slippery slope to other ills, not only to self harm but to disparagement of others or outright hatefulness.

1. In the ARIC cohort and in meta-analysis, increased consumption of animal-based protein and fat instead of carbohydrate was associated with a significant increase in all-cause mortality (table 3). Eat more animal fat and die sooner.

2. Alternatively, increased consumption of plant-based protein and fat instead of carbohydrate was associated with a significant decrease in all-cause mortality (table 3). Trade animal fats for healthier plant fats from nuts and seeds, such as olive oil. Use in moderation.

3. The animal and plant-based findings were consistent for cardiovascular and non-cardiovascular mortality (appendix pp 3, 4). Both heart disease and other diseases are made worse by animal fats. Let’s eat leaner, greener, and add more plants into our menus.

4. Similarly, in the meta-analysis, mortality increased when animal-derived fat and protein were substituted for carbohydrate, and decreased when these substitutions were plant-based (table 3). Eating more plants would do us better.

THE SWEET SPOT

The model for carbohydrate caloric intake is about 50% of total calories per day. It seems to be a sweet spot for life expectancy. In the diabetes world, most of us work to control our blood glucose readings by diet, so many of us will reduce our carbohydrates until they’re minimal at best. We may get good readings on our glucose meter, but what about our heart health? We don’t have a home health test for this. Since people with diabetes also have high rates of heart disease, we need to think of our whole body as one interconnected system, and not focus only on one symptom. We are complex and wonderful, so finding a balance for our finely tuned instrument is important.

ALL CARBS ARE NOT EQUAL

What carbohydrates we choose are another factor. If we think a bag of potato chips is equal to a baked potato in calories and nutrition, we have another think coming. Learning to read nutrition labels might cure us of this delusion. In the meantime, avoiding the snack aisle at the grocery store can keep us from bringing this ersatz food product into our home.

In “Dietary Fats and Cardiovascular Disease: A Presidential Advisory From the American Heart Association Clinical,” the trials that used polyunsaturated fat to replace saturated fat reduced the incidence of cardiovascular disease. In contrast, trials that used mainly carbohydrates to replace saturated fat did not reduce CVD.

CHOOSE CARBS WISELY

However, the types of carbohydrate-containing foods were often unspecified and typically included sugar and other refined carbohydrates to maintain energy balance. When carbohydrates from whole grains replace saturated fat, evidence from prospective observational studies indicates reduced CVD. The two best interventions for menu modification are DASH and the Mediterranean Diet.

LIFESTYLE MODIFICATION

The other way we can help keep our blood sugar in range is lifestyle modification. This is the most difficult of changes most of us have to make. Exercise, meditation, journaling, adjusting recipes, cooking meals, making menus, and setting a bedtime or wake up schedule all seems like too much at once. Of course it is! And if it were easy, everyone would be doing it, no one would blog about it, and there’d be no great 25 year long studies to tell us not to wrap two pounds of ground beef in two more pounds of fatback bacon.

Actually, Aristotle, the Ancient Greek philosopher, spoke about the “golden mean.” Moral behavior is the mean between two extremes: at one end is excess, and at the other deficiency. Find a moderate position between those two extremes, and you’ll be acting morally, or rationally. This was his goal in life.

If we were to pick only one of these lifestyle modifications per week to work on, then in the next, do another one the best we can, and do on in the following weeks. Soon we’d all be more comfortable with the routine, and all of us would be doing them all without even realizing it. This is how you sneak in your learning! Before you know it, you have a transformed life. No one waved a magic wand over you, but you grew into your grown up shoes slowly but surely.

Best wishes for a better life, with more exercise and more joy!

Love, Cornie.

The Lancet Public Health Journal, August 18, 2018

https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lanpub/article/PIIS2468-2667%2818%2930135-X/fulltext

Dietary Fats and Cardiovascular Disease: A Presidential Advisory From the American Heart Association | Circulation

https://www.ahajournals.org/doi/10.1161/CIR.0000000000000510