I'm not a big fan of New Year's resolutions. They're silly. Besides, you probably have already broken yours. I strongly believe that if you need to make a change in your life, a date on the calendar wont help you. That change needs to come from within, on your terms, when you feel its appropriate, no matter what the date. Coincidentally, I made a serious change in my eating habits exactly 4 years ago. I cut out High Fructose Corn Syrup from my diet. Not my family's diet, just mine. I had to do it for myself. I became exactly what I despise in people....a hypocrite. See, I was working as the chef at Paragary's Bar and Oven, educating the front and back of house staff about organically grown produce, sustainable farming practices, meat raised without growth hormones or antibiotics, in essence, a healthier lifestyle. But on my way home from work EVERYDAY, I would stop at my favorite fast food restaurant and load up on burgers, tacos, sodas, etc. I would feel so guilty, that I ate everything before I got home and discard the trash elsewhere in order to hide my addiction.
Yes, addiction.
HFCS does that to you, it tricks your brain into thinking your not full, so you eat and drink more.
You crave it.
You need it.
You'll lie and sneak around to get it.
You'll beg your friends to get it for you.
It's the worst drug of all, and it is EVERYWHERE! Try buying a loaf of bread in the grocery store without HFCS. You know that box of granola bars? That yogurt? That box of "healthy" cereal? That gallon of O.J. in your fridge? All of those healthy items contain the poison known as HFCS.
Ever wonder why our nation has the highest rate of child obesity in the world?
Look no further than
H I G H F R U C T O S E C O R N S Y R U P ! ! !
So, that is where I started. I cut out HFCS from my diet. Gradually, it would diminish from the shelves of my pantry, and subsequently, from my family's diet. My main goal was to get rid of HFCS, not sugar. If an item had sugar in it, fine, at least it didn't have HFCS. Did you know that in one year's time, you will lose 10 lbs. just by omitting soda from your diet? That's it, just stop drinking soda, yes even diet soda, and BOOM 10 lbs lost! What's even better, substitute water for the soda you drink and lose even more weight!
It gradually progressed from one end of the spectrum to the other. From processed foods to foods raised or grown naturally, locally and organically. We have been eating 100% organic food at home for the past year now. All produce, meats, dairy etc....everything...100% organic. I cant begin to tell you how much better we feel. We have more energy, we naturally lost weight, my blood pressure went down, we laugh more and argue less, since eating organically requires you to cook, we spend more quality time at the dinner table together, the food tastes way better than non-organic food, grades have improved and my kids actually prefer organic food over processed foods.
So if you resolve to do anything this year, to make any changes at all, take baby steps and set your goals to eat organic food. It's food to live by.
Happy New Year!
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Good effort Chef. I did some research and part of the problem is that corn syrup, which is primarily glucose, is broken down further into fructose and the high levels of this fructose seem to trigger reactions that lead to obesity and diabetes. So even regular corn syrup is not the culprit as much as HFCS.
ReplyDeleteExtremely well written Scott. I need to enlist you to write my weekly commentary on current events.
ReplyDeleteYeah, addiction is so true. I was out of control one day in Nov. I hit Popeye's, Jack in the Box for tacos, and then Big Spoon Yogurt in Dixon within a three hour span. The Big Spoon was Marjorie from Ital's fault, she told me it was there, I was heading to Starbucks for mocha's and cookies.
Food Inc. really summed up the HFCS situation, frightening.
Another thing to look out for is the stealth HFCS type ingredients that hide in Zinfandel, they will make you fat as well. You know I check the ingredients on every bottle I drink and they just aren't there, yet my waist line grows.
Making changes in small steps is the only way. I'm back to the gym along with egg whites, oatmeal and protein shakes, just not six days a week.
I agree as well, organic is the only way to go. After watching Food Inc. If you don't change then you have to be an idiot. Just be careful on who you get organic from. One grocer who will remain un-named has contracts with growers and has the ability to determine just now organic they want something to be if you catch my drift. Same with the farmers market, allot of those guys are buying product in SF and just re-selling it. LIke yesterday on El Camino, strawberries in January?