In the mail this week, I enlightened myself by reading junk mail yet again – about a healthy lifestyle. Being February, it’s a heart-health month. Hello mailers from The American Heart Association (AHA) and the Alzheimer’s Disease Research – their Winter 2020 Research REVIEW newsletter intrigued me.
WHO knows best about what is a healthy diet to prevent or reduce dementia?
Not the WHO apparently – they just recently concluded that a healthy lifestyle may reduce the risk of cognitive decline. (It’s about *^&%ing time).
It is SAD that we don’t know and we keep eating the Standard American Diet that gives us wonderful things like,
- Obesity
- Diabetes
- High Cholesterol
- High Blood Pressure
- and Dementia
Is the USDA diet the one that will help us out of the mess we’ve eaten our way into?
- Recommending 300 g of sugar daily
- More than half of it from added sugar
- 50 % of which is processed carbs and whole grains (genetically modified by the way)
- Low-fat, of course, ‘cuz fat is BAD according to the WHO
- Limit junk food and sweets and margarine (finally margarine, DUH on the others)
Should we DASH on over to a diet that’ll enhance that SAD/USDA version of what is recommended for optimal health – consuming a decadent feast of sweet carbs/sugar!:
MIND you a diet like that may not be best for cognitive health, so maybe the MIND Diet may be the ticket to brain health?
Not unless it’s modified more to a Low Carb High Fat (LCHF) and switch out a few things, otherwise, essentially the MIND diet is the same message as the DASH which we should DITCH, especially the processed high-glycemic CARBS (Bananas, Pineapple, Orange Juice, Starchy Potatoes, Plums)!:
But wait, there’s more, all steamy hot, then I noticed the subtle ADdiet reference … hmm, not important enough to share the real data, just a link … hmm.
Where did that take me – nibbling a celery stick while heading down a rabbit hole that contains some real hope for decreasing dementia in it?
Are we finally looking to the ‘other’ experts who are realizing that we’ve been causing ourselves to get dementia by what we’ve eaten all these years!?
Excess sugar in our diets causes inflammation in the brain! DUH! Insulin Resistance anyone?
The experts doing research in a referenced article about the ADdiet (link here) seem to be WHO the WHO should be paying attention to.
But then, WHO would fund the SAD/USDA diet, WHO by the way funds the carb-age loaded diets that DASH us into a SAD state of ‘health’ indeed. Right from birth!
WHO funds WIC that provides SIMILAC for babies who aren’t breastfed. We start babies out on chemicals! (Check out this 2009 video/study where it talks specifically about obesity in 6 month-old babies due to being fed a formula containing corn syrup – Sugar the Bitter Truth Scroll to 1:19:23)
Meanwhile, I learned that my beloved Tostitos have upped their game and came out with a version that is
I haven’t tried them yet. I may return them to the store. I reach for the healthy (high fat, low carb) nuts instead.
I frankly have lost my desire to eat chips by switching my diet to meals like the one below instead, which by way is LCHF friendly. Avocado oil fried organic, grass-fed chicken thighs with skin on, and a cabbage salad that gives me crunch without the processed carbs.
But WHO cares?
I do.
I find it SAD that WHO doesn’t care about paying attention to the country’s addiction to sugar – I’d be HAPPY to see a recommendation to replace it with low-glycemic berries instead of fruit marmalade on bread for a start!
We ALL should care what we eat, it may just be our ticket to a SMARTer life by slowing down the prevalence of, or living life without Dementia and AD (Alzheimer’s Disease).
Post Inspiration – Linda G. Hill’s Stream of Consciousness Saturday – ‘cheek‘ (my interpretation is tongue in cheek).
PS – Happy Heart-Healthy February. I hope you’re finding love for your future selves by paying attention to the subtle changes in dietary recommendations. I wonder how long will it take for WHO to catch on? Did you eat some sweet low-glycemic berries for your Valentine’s celebration?
6 chips? That is not a serving. It takes more than that to make it worth opening the bag. Do they include the value of the salsa? I stopped using the cheesy stuff. I won’t say I’ve given it up, but I haven’t bought any since I started eating Tostitos again.
LOL! I agree, 6 chips just doesn’t seem worth the effort. They are bigger than the bite-size ones, but still, I may just take them back. No, dang it, it doesn’t count the salsa either. Good for you for no longer eating the cheesy stuff. So the Tostitos helped you stop eating the cheesy stuff?! That’s interesting …!
I had given up Tostitos for Cheetos, but then they were making me sick-ish. I moved onto pretzels, but then the stores around here stopped carrying the ones I like. So it was back to Tostitos, but I decided to not start with the cheese dip. Even I realize that stuff can’t be good for you.
You’re a wise man, Dan!
I’m not sure about that. That bar is set pretty low 😉
But thanks!
I certainly think that you’re wise!
Thank you for this informative post, Shelley! “We ALL should care what we eat,…”, it’s so important!
Thank you, Amy – I appreciate you reading and sharing your comments. I’m still pondering photos to use for your intriguing prompt of “Narrow”! Your photos are great examples!
Wow. I’m seriously impressed you hung in there long enough to decipher all this info — I see why so many people throw up their hands when it seems like every health suggestion seems to contradict two others. Love that you’re committed to keeping your body and brain healthy!
Thank you, Laura. I agree – there’s a lot to decipher, let alone apply. Having experienced proof of feeling better, I think I’ll keep on this track. Considering that ‘health issues’ in later life, start when we’re young, I have lots of catching up to do! Thank you for sharing your thoughts. Oh, and ‘farts’ aren’t quite as prevalent with a change in diet ;-)!
Very informative post, Shelley!
Thank you, Janet!!
I desperately need the recipe for the chicken and salad … and I need it now before I do something unhealthy with the 5 chicken thighs in my frig that must be cooked b4 6 PM! The photo looks great …
I’m sorry I was too late to give you the recipe in time for your dinner! I trust you found a delicious alternative :-). Here’s where I found the recipe, I also updated the post to add the link on the picture. Crispy Chicken Thighs with Summer Coleslaw from FlavCity.
Information about dieting can be overwhelming, can’t it? Good of you to figure it out, but give the dietitians another month and they’ll change their recommendations again. Just to mess with your head, I figure. 🙄
Yes, indeed it can. LOL – yes, the ‘experts’ changing their minds happens – messing with our brains is maddening. I like the ‘brain health’ twist to your comment – you make me smile, Ally!
🙂 Great report, BUT strawberries blackberries all year round? Heresy!
In supermarkets you can find strawberries most of the year. In winter, they are mostly imported. They are produced intensively and very often above ground. After spending a few days in a cold room, in transport and between different traders and intermediaries these strawberries arrive on your stalls. These strawberries are cheaper than native strawberries because the cost of labor is lower. However, these large-caliber strawberries are often tired, full of water and not very tasty.
When to eat seasonal strawberries? In France, the strawberry season in the open field begins in April with the arrival of spring and ends in mid-June. We are in high season, take advantage! To eat strawberries that taste good, choose strawberries that have grown in the ground, produced locally and during the season. If you can, pick your own strawberries from the farm. This is the guarantee of unbeatable freshness!
As flowering takes place between June and July, the blackberry will be picked from August to September.
…, blueberries, raspberries, cranberries, cherries, grapes too.
So only frozen, dried fruits or pure juices in winter or oranges and red, purple vegetables ( red cabbage, red beet) could better choices!
Anne – thank you for sharing! I couldn’t agree with you more! And our plan is to do fresh picking coming this spring and freezing them so we’ll have them during the winter. We have local farms nearby with fresh strawberries, blueberries, blackberries, and raspberries. Hopefully our growing season will be better this year, last year it wasn’t so great. The strawberries in my pictures, even after washing them and letting them dry properly, went bad very quickly. We would’ve skipped them except they were part of the recipe – the sweet treat in the salad mix.
It’s very frustrating to want to eat better at this time of the year when produce is shipped to us from all over the world – mostly Mexico and Chili, etc. and is as you described – poor quality. Seasonal eating of berries is the best time to eat them!
I am happy that you agree with me. I often don’t know what to eat except: beautiful multicolored carrots (violets, oranges, yellows), parsnips, butternut, sweet potatoes, pumpkin, small beets, red onions
Mango is a great winter fruit too.
Yes, I do! Thank you for sharing your suggestions. Your selections sound delicious. I don’t think I’ve ever seen multi-colored carrots in our grocery stores. I want to try beets again – we do have those. I remember my grandmother growing them and steaming them and serving with melted butter and salt! Yum! I do think we have mango available. Again all of it is shipped to us from some where – it’s 1 degree F today – there’s no fresh fruit or veggie available!! LOL!
Bravo! Great post!
Thank you, Laura!!!
Important stuff. Thanks, Shelley. Also, I think you might have a future in food photography–looking great!
Thank you, Rebecca! LOL – it is fun to take food photos, glad you appreciate my efforts to make the meals shine :-)!
So much information out in the great beyond – known as the internet – it’s hard to know where to start. I think it is great that people are starting to realize that diet and nutrition are more important as preventative health measures. Rather than waiting to treat a disease. I love your meal photos. Everything looks yummy.
One thing about baby formula – from someone who exclusively breastfed both kids for over a year, I’m a huge advocate of breastfeeding. However, be assured that the WIC program is a crucial supplemental program for many moms who either can’t or choose not to breastfeed. The formula does have chemicals of course, but the aim is to get as close to breastmilk as possible (as you highlight, the carbs are almost the same per ounce). With something close to the vitamins/minerals and the proportion of fat/sugar/calories that infants need that first year. Straight milk from any other mammal isn’t well tolerated and isn’t going to provide all the nutrition that human infants need during the first year. WIC does also support breastfeeding moms with food vouchers and, I think, breast pumps. Thankfully!
Ah, yes, indeed – and we (I) can easily be swayed one way or another about when to believe or not to believe. Yes, as you know, it’s about time for us to see nutrition as preventative instead of a means to the nasty end of diseases we can’t reverse. (Okay, yeah, I added that twist!).
I was a breastfeeding mom too and even I could’ve done better with my diet to provide my little ones with a better nutritional start in life. I agree with you too – the WIC program is a crucial supplementation for those who can’t or choose not to breastfeed, I didn’t mean to downplay their importance in that role. I feel for the moms and the babies who struggle to find help with life-sustaining food. As I’m sure you know, too, not all carbs are processed by the body the same. Natural carbs in breastmilk don’t make babies obese by six months of age. Added corn syrup in the formula does. And that’s mostly what maddens me about the ‘formula’ of formula. This is an older study, so I didn’t want to speak out of turn, but I looked at the ingredients in the referenced formula and it hasn’t changed much in 10 years. Check out this video at 1:19:23. High fructose corn syrup is being introduced into our babies’ digestive systems from birth and is putting them on the faster track to obesity, diabetes, dementia, etc. That’s scary in my opinion. We should be pushing WIC to fight for better ingredients to give our future generations a chance to avoid the addiction to sugar. WIC also supports vouchers for unhealthy carb-loaded cereals – the cereal aisle in the grocery store is frightening. Yeah … I’m on a soapbox, sorry. I value your opinion and agree that the WIC program serves a valuable role in supporting the efforts to feed our babies and help moms in need.
I’ve always thought…wouldn’t it be fantastic if the pharmaceutical companies that manufacture baby formula could replicate human breast milk? I would hope that’s their goal, but so far no success. As far as the carb source goes, I imagine they go with whatever is cheapest (unfortunately). I doubt the WIC program has much clout (again unfortunately) as it is subject to the whims of federal funding – and its policies are determined by the government as well. I understand what you’re saying about the cereal – and I agree especially if the cereals chosen are high in added sugar – however I see it as a lesser of 2 evils. What often happens is the child has cereal or no breakfast at all. I agree, not a good choice scenario and one I don’t particularly like (I guess there’s my soapbox LOL). Anyway, it is an important discussion to have. Your focus on a preventative action regarding childhood obesity is so timely. I wish more people were tuned in to that goal. I did watch that section of the video – very interesting for sure – and I plan to watch more of it when I get back from my trip to DC (which I need to get packed for!!). Thanks for finding my comment amidst the spam. Darn that WordPress. Have a great day 🙂
I rescued your comment again – Darn WP! Sorry! I agree that it would be awesome if the pharmaceutical companies could make a formula that replicated breast milk! The only way they’ll change things up is if they pay attention to the trend in childhood obesity that starts at birth, and admit the contents need to be modified. Sigh. Yes, public-funded programs don’t have much clout either. And, yes, the lesser of two evils for a hungry child is definitely a valid point. If we don’t as a nation focus on what we can change and prevent by modifying our diets, we’re not going to have enough funds to care for the people who have chronic diseases in the years to come. Baby boomers need to pay attention (aka, my soapbox!) – there is already a shortage of caregivers, the rapid increase in chronic diseases is expensive for our nation! Maybe while you’re in DC you can change their minds?! 😉 Thank you for sharing your thoughts. That whole video is long, but it is enlightening. I wish you safe travels!! I hope your camera is along and that you get some great shots to share!
Well they change the guidelines all the time – who knows what to believe? Coffee is bad, coffee is good – now this week they said coffee is good for your bones – go figure. I’ve been drinking coffee for decades and back when I was in school, I could drink black coffee at night to stay up to study, and still nod off with no jitters or sleep disruption.
LOL – yes they do. And now coffee is NOT related to high blood pressure. I remember when it supposedly was.
I could never, still can’t drink caffeine after 10 am. I’m impressed that you can. Good quality coffee is a nice way to start the day, in my opinion. 🙂
I remember that as well. Just last week, I heard about good orthopedic properties and that was the first I’ve heard that mentioned. We had a Starbucks in our office building before my boss/I moved – I would drink a robust roast in a tall cup and sip on that til mid-afternoon; never any issues with it. I did not buy the treat coffees though I like coffee, but I only use instant coffee for myself (Nescafe Classico which is robust).
Such an interesting post – I left a long comment yesterday. Did it not go through?
Thank you – oh, no, I’ll check my spam/trash folders to see!! Sorry, I’ll make sure your comment comes through!!
Wow. A lot of information. It’s hard to sort through the mis-information out there but you’ve done a great job. I’m glad to see you mention sugar addiction. It is a real thing although most people don’t believe it. I don’t understand that given the high rate of obesity in our country. Something else that’s always bothered me is that we have children (and adults) going hungry, yet half our population is obese. We need to fix that. Great post!
Theresa, thank you for sharing your thoughts. Yes, sugar (plain ol’ sugar and hidden sugar) addiction is real. I didn’t think I had it, but I did. I think you shared a great point – why do we have such an imbalance? Our nation’s prosperity has contributed to obesity according to some studies. Hmm …
I agree, there are a lot of things about how we eat in this country that need fixing. Those who fund the commercial food producers need to be on board otherwise it’ll continue on this dreaded life-altering course to chronic illnesses. We all can take charge of our own health, though. We also have to want to seek out alternative messages about what is healthy versus what our bodies indicate is happening. If we’re sick – altering what we eat is an easy first step. All it took for me was 10-day fast from all sugars to realize I was addicted.
Thanks again for sharing your thoughts!
Hi Shelley – just checking in to see if my reply comment I submitted yesterday got stuck in spam again 🙁
So weird!
Hi! Yes, it was stuck in the trash folder this time. Sorry – I’ll need to check that daily I guess. I rescued it and replied!!
This is some serious research! Reading this as an almost vegetarian and aspiring vegan makes me wonder about some things, but I know I can get rid of the sugar. Not eating a lot of sugar, I can feel the addictive pull. Years ago when I totally quit sugar, I was very moody for a month or two. I have a few days left to wean off of sugar for lent. Thanks for the reinforcement!
Thanks for reading, JoAnna! Yes, we’re doing lots of research. And we’re enjoying the results of the changes in our diets and in getting rid of sugar. We don’t miss it at all. Good luck for a successful lent. 🙂
Thank you! I am encouraged! 🙂
YAY!