Twinkie’s Challenge: No Sugar or Artifical Sweeteners!

This quarter, I challenge you to avoid processed Sugar and Artificial Sweeteners! (You can still have natural sugars found in Fruit, Vegetables, Agave Nectar, Raw Honey, etc). So why would I give you (and myself!) this Challenge?

The Harmful Effects of Sugar

Processed Sugar and Artificial Sweeteners are really bad for you. But how bad can it be?

•Raises insulin levels in the body, which promotes the storage of fats. By storing excess fats, it causes your body to gain weight, and Sugar has been linked to causing Obesity.

•Depresses the Immune System. If your body is trying to fight an illness, Sugar and Artificial Sweeteners are only going to make things worse for you by preventing your body to fight back whatever illness it is trying to get rid of. If you want to lower your risk of getting sick this Fall and Winter Season, avoid processed Sugars and Artificial Sweeteners!

•Diabetes. Though people don’t like to blame sugar as causing their Diabetes, they admit that “Sugar may have been part of the cause”. First of all, too many calories leads to weight gain, which causes Diabetes. If you are eating that many excessive calories to cause weight gain to cause Diabetes, I am taking a shot that you are probably consuming a lot of processed Sugars and Artifical Sweeteners in your diet, and I doubt you would be eating too many vegetables.  I will let you decide on this one.

•Cardiovascular Disease  is the leading cause of death for both men and women. There are many studies that show that Sugar is linked to Cardiovascular disease, but the FDA believes that processed Sugar has no harmful outcome other than Dental issues. No offense to the FDA, but I can’t believe that Sugar in the amounts being consumed today (2-3 pounds a week) is actually OK and not a “hazard” as they put it. Puh-lease…

•Stroke. There was a study published back in July 2002 in the Journal “Neurology”, and it showed how stroke victims who have High Blood Sugar were found to have a higher risk of death,  than the stroke patients with normal Blood Sugar levels.

•Blood Clots. Sugar can increase the blood’s platelet levels and becomes more adhesive, which causes not only Blood clots, but also strokes as well.

•Yeast Infection. Sugar feeds off of Yeast Infections! If you are trying to prevent or get rid of a Yeast Infection, be sure to avoid all forms of processed Sugars and Artificial Sweeteners.  An all natural yoghurt is really good for you since it has what’s called “Good Bacteria”. Just be sure to get the Plain Yoghurt that doesn’t have anything added to it (a lot of them have added sugars or artifical sweeteners that defeat the pupose of the youghurt in the first place).

•Depression. Large doses of processed Sugar causes the brain to slow down it’s production of endorphins. With the lack of endorphins, this causes anywhere from a minor to a major depression- depending on the person.

•Cavities. I think we have all known that Sugar causes cavities since we were all like 5 years old, but I thought I would mention it anyways. Sugar mixed in with Plaque Bacteria causes Cavities. If you go off of Sugar, you will notice your teeth tend to feel cleaner. If you eat a bunch of junk food, your teeth tend to feel dirty.

•Cancer is fueled by Sugar. If you have cancer and  can suppress the amounts of Processed Sugars and Artificial Sweeteners in your diet, build your immune system back up to fight it off, exercise – you would be so much better off. There is a difference between “trying to eat good”, and “be healthy”.

•Etc. The list goes on…

Ask yourself this…is that candy worth it? No!!!

How you can win this battle against processed Sugars and Artificial Sweeteners…

So now that you have had processed Sugars and Artificial Sweeteners, how do you get rid of the habit? You and I know very well how addicting Sugar can be, so how do we avoid it altogether?

Overcome Sugar cravings

Be sure to have plenty of healthy and natural sugar in your diet, such as fruit, agave nectar, and raw honey. If you are getting enough natural sugar in your body, you shouldn’t be craving the unhealthy processed sugars and artificial sweeteners that you are trying to avoid. It’s good to know that once you stop having processed sugars and artificial sweeteners, you stop craving it after awhile!

Plan meals ahead

Review what you are currently eating for your Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner, and Snacks. Read the labels, and think about every aspect of the meal (sauces, side dishes, etc), and see if you need to replace anything that has processed Sugar or Artificial Sweeteners in it.

Come up with planned meals for the upcoming week (or two weeks, depending on how often you go to the grocery store). Make sure you read labels (I can’t stress this enough!). Buy foods that you love to eat, and will enjoy. This will ensure that you will stick to your planned meals throughout the week. Be sure to prepare enough food throughout the day, so you won’t be hungry and desperate for anything- including something with processed Sugars or Artificial Sweeteners. This is exactly what we are trying to avoid!

Read Labels,  and understand what they really are

The following are words you need to look out for, and avoid:

Sugar is the easiest label to read and understand, since it is just Processed Sugar

Brown Sugar is processed, and it is refined sugar with some of the molasses returned to it.

Sucrose is regular known as Table Sugar

Dextrose is Corn Sugar

Corn Syrup is not naturally created or possible, and must be processed. The only company who believes Corn Syrup is Healthy, is the ones who sell it and make money off of it.

High Fructose Corn Syrup is produced by processing Corn Starch to create Glucose, and then processing the Glucose to produce a high percentage of Fructose. Let’s just say, it is NOT natural, NOT considered a Vegetable because it was made from Corn (sad, but some believe it is actually healthy), and it has to be processed several times.

Fructose, considered to be a “simple sugar”, but since it is not found in natural forms of Sugar such as Vegetables and Fruit, you should avoid it.

Aspartame is also known as “NutraSweet” and “Equal“, and is an Artificial Sweetener, and not good for you.

Saccharin, which is also known as “Sweet ‘N Low“,  is an Artificial Sweetener, and not good for you.

Acesulfame-K, which is also known as “Sunette” or “Sweet One“, is an Artificial Sweetener, and not good for you.

Sucralose, which is also known as “Splenda“, and this is an Artificial Sweetener, and not good for you.

Beware of Marketing Traps

You will probably find a lot of things labeled as “All Natrual”, “Healthy”, “Sugar Free”, etc. I urge you to read the ingredients, and see exactly what is included. Most “Sugar Free” products have an Artificial Sweetener in the product (Splenda, Aspartame, etc.), and they are promoted as being “Healthy”, but in reality, they are not good for your body.

Even foods that you would have never believed to have sugar added (I found frozen vegetables with sugar added, for example), or Artifical Sweeteners (I found Wheat Thins with High Fructose Corn Syrup), you need to read the labels to make sure you are getting the real Health Food, rather than all of the scams out there.

Make it official

Tell someone else about it. Blog about it. Create a YouTube video about it. Post your goals on Twitter or Facebook. Just make it official however you do it, so you will stick to it. If you don’t, you will make it too easy to just let yourself off the hook. If you tell the world about your determination to live without Sugar (even if it is for just one month!), you will be more likely to stick with it, especially if you know people will follow up with you in the weeks to come.

Believe and Know that you can accomplish this goal

You have to believe you will accomplish the goal, and focus on the end result – to be Healthier. Know that this is a possible goal, and you can succeed! I know you can! Know that you aren’t doing this challenge all by yourself. I am here with you, every step of the way as your support group, and together we will make this happen.

Holidays are coming up

Tags: Artificial Sweeteners, Blood Clots, cancer, Cardiovascular Disease, cavities, Corn Syrup, Depresses the Immune System, Depression, Diabetes, Fructose, goal, Harmful Effects of Sugar, heart disease, High Fructose Corn Syrup, Hypoglycemia, marketing traps, processed Sugar, Raises insulin levels, read labels, Stroke, sugar, sugar free, Sweeteners, Twinkie's Challenge, video, Yeast Infection

Twinkie’s Challenge: Buy Organic

There are a lot of people still debating on whether they should buy Organic or not. Let’s set the record straight once and for all when it comes to Organic.

Definition

Organic food is grown, processed, and packaged without the use of agricultural chemicals, artificial colors or flavors, genetic modification, irradiation, or other synthetic ingredients.

Per the National Organic Program, here are some definitions that should help clear up their labeling:

“‘100 Percent Organic’ must contain (excluding water and salt) only organically produced ingredients and processing aids.

Products labeled ‘Organic’ must consist of at least 95 percent organically produced ingredients (excluding water and salt). Any remaining product ingredients must consist of nonagricultural substances approved on the National List including specific non-organically produced agricultural products that are not commercially available in organic form.”

Later, the National Organic Program addressed the term “made with organic ingredients”. They wrote:

“Processed products that contain at least 70 percent organic ingredients can use the phrase “made with organic ingredients” and list up to three of the organic ingredients or food groups on the principal display panel.”

Something good to know: If you use the USDA Organic seal on your products that are not produced or handled within the National Organic Program’s regulations, you can have a civil penalty of up to $11,000 US Dollars. Ouch!

Just so you know, products labeled as “Naturally Grown” are not regulated. Some smaller farms who can’t afford to join the National Organic Program to be labeled as “USDA Organic”, can label their products as “Naturally Grown”. Since it isn’t regulated though, there are no guarantees on what you are really getting with this label.

Organic Farms

Having an Organic Farm is a strict business, and as you now know, you can’t just mark up your products as “USDA Organic” just for the fun of it. Organic farms do not use synthetic chemicals or drugs. They instead treat their soil, plants, and animals with natural products, which are a much safer alternative. They have surprise inspections by Inspectors who test the water, soil, plants (or animals) to make sure that everything is within USDA Organic standards. Once they do this, they review receipts from anything from feed to other records of reports and tests. This takes time and money, done twice a year, and the organic farmer pays for the fees involved to be able to label their products as “USDA Organic”.

Nutrition

The debate on whether Organic is really worth the usual additional costs seems to boil down to the common question, “Is Organic healthier for you?” or “Is Organic more nutritious?”. The answer to both of the questions is a simple “Yes”.

According to Virginia Worthington MS, ScD, CNS, in her article “Nutritional Quality of Organic versus Conventional Fruits, Vegetables, and Grains” in the Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine, she found in her studies:

“…the vitamin C content of an organic fruit or vegetable is 27% more, on average, than a comparable conventionally grown fruit or vegetable.”

She also found from the various produce she studied, that  you can, on average, find about 21% more Iron, 29% more Magnesium, and 13% more Phosphorus. You will find about 15% less Nitrates. This is all very good news for your body, and more reason to stick to Organic produce.

The Nutrients come from the soil, which then in turns feeds the plant what it needs to produce healthy good-for-you produce which we get to enrich our own bodies with. If the soil is infested with pesticides and harmful chemicals, it will be lacking in nutrients, and the produce will in turn be depleted of nutrients.

Keep in Mind

When you do see “Organic” Chocolate bars, for example, it doesn’t mean it is all of a sudden it will be considered “healthy” or even “low calorie”. It still is sugar, candy, and not to be considered as food. Organic Candy is still Candy! Keep that in mind while you are in the grocery store, and try to stick with foods in its natural form. For example, choose fresh Organic Pears versus Canned Pears.

Your body deserves the best, and it deserves Organic.

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Tags: best, Blog, body, Diary, Fruit, growth hormones, harmful chemicals, Healthy, Lose Weight, natural, nutrients, Nutrition, Organic, pesticides, Skinny, soil, stay active, Twinkie, Vegetable, Weight Loss

Twinkie’s Challenge: Throw away your Microwave!

What exactly is a Microwave?

A Microwave is an “electromagnetic energy” that affects the molecules in your food. Food has positive and negative electrons in it (think North and South Pole!), and when touched by the wave energy from the Microwave, there is a polarity change, which means the negative electrons become positive, and positive electrons becomes negative. By this movement, heat is created with these waves, which is how our food gets cooked. My changing the polarity of the molecules in your food…there are some scary side effects that just don’t make the convenience of a microwave worth it anymore.

Nutrition depleted

Vitamins and Minerals are made useless when heated in the Microwave. Isn’t this the whole point of eating in the first place? Yes, I think foods should taste great…but we are supposed to feed our bodies with beneficial nutrients- Vitamins and Minerals. Knowing that the Nutritional value is depleted when using the microwave just makes me rethink using the microwave for its “convenience”.

People have found that when using the microwave for their fruits and vegetables, they are having a harder time digesting their foods. The microwave kills the nutrients found in the food which help your body digest it.

Harmful Effects outweigh the convenience

I have heard many studies confirming the harmful effects of using a Microwave on the foods and beverages we consume. Some of them are listed below.

-Create cancer-causing agents in not only most food containers you cook with, but also in the food itself. In many cases, it can cause intestinal tumors -anyone ever heard of Colon Cancer?

-Hormonal balances in both men and woman become destabilized or altered.

-Negatively affects your metabolism. If you are trying to lose weight, another reason to stay away from the microwave.

There is a story about a lawsuit back in 1991 in Oklahoma. A woman names Norma Levitt had hip surgery, and was killed by a simple blood transfusion when a nurse “warmed the blood for the transfusion in a microwave oven”. Now, if you do some research, you will get mixed answers as whether this story is actually true or not. Here at SkinnyTwinkie.com, I try to be as honest and open as possible. I really don’t know if this story is true or not. What I do know is this…I am not willing to risk using a Microwave on my Organic foods…or any other food for that matter.

Throw away your Microwave!

If you are the least bit concerned you might just use your microwave anyways, I suggest getting rid of it now. Before you get all sad thinking “my convenience is going away!” think again about what you are doing for yourself by using an Oven or Toaster Oven instead of a Microwave.

First of all, your food will not only have a better texture when it is baked or toasted, but it also tastes better! Who wouldn’t want that? No one that I know of! Second of all, it is much healthier for you , and all you have to do is wait a little while longer. Well worth the wait, especially if you understand the purpose of consuming Organic foods! Another reason to toss your microwave is that it is so much more fun to make popcorn on the stove (with a clear glass lid, of course)!

Still keeping your Microwave anyways?

Ok, Just because you might keep it…doesn’t mean you have to use it, right? And if you do use it anyways…use it to clean dirty sponges that were used for cleaning dishes! That’s right, the Microwave kills everything you put in it, so when you put a dirty sponge in the microwave for 15-30 seconds (depending on what setting you have it on), it kills all of the bacteria on the sponge! I actually tested this out myself with a sponge that didn’t smell all that great…I used the microwave, and smell was all gone. Sweet. Ok, so maybe there is one good thing it can be used for? Still…I don’t believe it is worth keeping around with the possible temptation of cooking your food, plus you might as well just buy another sponge for your kitchen anyways.

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Tags: cancer, cancer-causing, cancerous, convenience, digestion, electrons, energy, harmful, metabolism, microwave, minerals, negative, Nutrition, nutrition depleted, organic food, positive, radiation, thow away, thow away your microwave, vitamins

Twinkie’s Challenge: Say “No Way!” to Fried foods

If you can do one thing for your health..stop eating fried foods.

What is considered  ”Fried foods”?

Anything cooked in a lot of grease or oil, at very high temperatures. Fried foods are things like french fries, most potato chips, onion rings, doughnuts, and in most cases, anything with the word “fried” in the title (though many products can be sneaky with their names!).

Why try to give up Fried foods?

Fried foods have little to no nutritional value, and if you have learned anything from my posts, your body needs good-for-you-fuel to survive and function properly. Those fried onion rings? Not helping you in any way. Fried foods are drenched in unhealthy oils-most commonly used are Canola, Vegetable, or Peanut oil-that are not good for your body. These oils become even more harmful for you when they are heated at such high temperatures to cook your food. Adding your food-whatever you may decide to fry- just decreases the nutritional value, and actually making things worse for your body. How bad can it be? Ever heard of the obesity epidemic? I guess fried foods fuel one thing-obesity. Fried foods not only cause obesity, but it also has been found to cause heart disease, clogged arteries, cholesterol, high blood pressure, and the list unfortunately goes on. Nothing good can come from frying your foods- nothing!

What are my alternatives to Fried foods?

Steaming, Baking, or Toasing your food! Trust me, not only will you be preparing better-for-you foods (you know, the ones where your body can actually benefit from what you are eating), but you will enjoy a variety of benefits from not frying your foods.

I believe your food will taste better. You will consume much less calories! Your body won’t feel so sluggish, and you should experience more energy (more noticable for those who eat fried foods on a regular basis and then suddenly stop). You can feel better- an excess of fried/greasy foods always made me feel really sick- literally. It was my body’s way of telling me “No more Fried foods”, and that it just wasn’t benefiting my body in any way. I finally wisened up, and avoid Fried foods.

Twinkie’s Challenge

My challenge for you: No more Fried foods! Take it one day at a time. If you are used to eating Fried foods on a regular basis, it may take a little bit of time to get out of the habit.  When you go grocery shopping, don’t buy fried potato chips or doughnuts. When you go out to eat, don’t get fried chinese food or don’t get the french fries at the Burger joint. Your body will thank you.

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Tags: avoid any fried foods, bake, clogged arteries, doughnuts, fats, french fries, fried foods, heart disease, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, less sluggish, less tired, monthly challenge, obesity, onion rings, potato chips, steam, unhealthy oils