Healthy Eating

[iamnikchick]

Anyone who spends any time at all reading this blog knows I love food. The very definition of an omnivore, I am not a picky eater. However, as I've gotten older and my metabolism has slowed and my body has started to pick up creaks and aches and things just don't work as smoothly as they did when I was 19, I've had to put a bit more thought into

Comments

[savageplanet]

Amen on the HFCS.

I can't find the link now but I remember a study that pointed to how the US overproduces corn, and in the 19th century the by-product was whisky (and a coresponding increase in alcoholism). With the invention of HFCS in the 70's, it's actually cheaper to put it in food than cane sugar, and now we've got the obesity and diabetes problem.

[righteousfist]

I have a mild but irritating HFCS allergy, and I too can attest to what a stone cold bitch it is avoid.

[savageplanet]

I'm actually attempting to remove HFCS from my diet and it's HARD. Unsurprisingly, the more "natural" (ie organic) the food is, the better chance it won't have that demon sugar.

Soybean oil...

[ktynes]

is in almost every prepared food in the grocery store. It was a migraine trigger for me. I'll never forget leaving the allergist office and going to the grocery store to pick items without soybean oil...Nope, no way, no how...it is in everything..even Campbell's Soup...all breads products..

Also learned that soybean oil and chicken are the leading triggers for migraines and other issues. You NEVER see that in any magazine. I feel un-American, since soybean are a major crop in the South, but you are better of with REAL BUTTER.

For the most part...

[anaka]

I'm right there with you. I've taken to buying organic whenever I can just because regardless of the actual organic nature of the ingredients, at least the products are not loaded with crap -- specifically HFCS and faux fats. I don't buy margarine, I buy butter. I buy olive oil and canola oil to cook with. I don't buy fat-free anything, just low-fat (or things that are naturally that way). I can tell a difference in how I feel, and that alone is worth it.

[codrus]

I prefer to do my own cooking rather than eat pre-packaged crap, because I get a better hint as to what I'm going to be digesting. Even if I know my diet should be better (e.g. more of those green veggies I loathe), the little things do help

[iamnikchick]

When I was a poor kid, one of my very favorite snacks was saltine crackers "sandwiches" spread with margarine. Hoo boy.

One of the up-sides of being a food whore is that eating the "good" stuff isn't too much of a chore, at least as far as taste goes. I like things that are good for me, so at least I'm getting some benefits along the way. :)

Mostly, it's sheer laziness that contributes to my worst eating habits. It's falling back on processed foods or cheap foods that I have to watch out for (that loaf of enriched bread that costs fifty cents is just plain old less good for me than the $3.25 whole-grain organic bread that doesn't have high fructose corn syrup or trans fats in it).

[codrus]

cheese and crackers (nuked) are still a snack I'll make when I just want something quick to eat.

And I understand the laziness problem. I mean, it isn't like I don't know all the good stuff I could be doing, and there's plenty I can eat that doesn't go against my Code Against Green Things (20 points), but I'm not always so good about doing it. :)

Of course, there's the other problem, which is that ice cream is SOOOOO good, but I'd rather die earlier than be without my ice cream! :P

deprived

[jadefc]

I am the Ice Cream Queen of the Midwest....and, for the next year or so, I can't have any, as my daughter is allergic to dairy products (I'm breast feeding). Needless to say, between breast feeding, restricted diet, and all the running around a new mother does, I've lost 60 pounds (and only 20 of it was pregnancy weight).

[hackard]

I can't believe you would do this to the corn farmers and fat merchants in this country. Think of their children!

Ah well, I'll just have to step up and eat all those nasty things the rest of you are shunning. It's a sacrifice, I tell you, but if it will help the downtrodden, I'll force myself.

If you'll excuse me, I hear a Twinkie calling my name.