stevia, or the FDA is ridiculous

i have a deep love/hate relationship with the internet. it's so hard to find blogs or websites you can trust. i've been searching for what are good replacements for sugar that aren't artificial. i don't want diabetes but i also don't want cancer. how do you avoid both of these things without abandoning sweetening things altogether?

i had NO IDEA that there was such a controversy surrounding stevia (pictured right). apparently the FDA has not approved it completely as "safe." it's allowed to be sold as a supplement, but you're not supposed to put it in food (i.e. food manufacturers aren't allowed to put it in stuff). the conspiracy theory is that their ban is purely due to powerful people in washington protecting sugar and other artificial sweetener companies. according to The Food Renegade (my main source for this post), the FDA began to sing a new tune about stevia once coca-cola and pepsi came out with their own versions of stevia (truvia and purevia). hmm...that sounds really fishy to me. we go from unsafe to safe as soon as huge corporations can make money off of it. south americans have been using this super sweet yet virtually calorie-free sweetener for literally centuries and plenty of other countries have had it approved, so there's a really good chance the FDA has ulterior motives for banning it until coca-cola came up with their version. according to NaturalNews.com the original studies that the FDA used to ban stevia have now been deemed unreliable. more recent and reliable studies have concluded that the negative effects are either inconclusive, insignificant or nonexistent. interesting. some research even points to it having great health benefits, such as curbing cravings, lowering blood pressure, and assisting with insulin production. and can we be real? surely it's safer than the pink stuff that definitely gives hamsters cancer. why has that not been banned yet?

so i find that the FDA is ridiculous and really annoying. and yet...can i really trust anything i just read on the internet? how are we REALLY supposed to know what's true and what's not? there seems to be a lot of evidence pointing to the ban being politically based and the studies about stevia in the last few years being reliable. but what information am i missing, if any? oh internet. oh america. i think i am sticking with the conviction that surely it's better than fake stuff. right?

i have decided to start experimenting more with stevia, especially for baking, and i plan to give up truvia; first out of principal because politics make me mad, second out of uncertainty surrounding the mysterious way they chemically get stevia to be in that granulated form, and third out of frugality, considering i can buy it in a liquid form or even grow it myself, which should save money as well as be the healthier, natural approach. i will share discoveries and mistakes i make along the way!

if this intrigues you, here are some sites to consider:
NaturalNews.com on the FDA controversy
The Food Renegade on Truvia
The Food Renegade's list of preferred natural sweeteners
EZ Gro Garden on growing your own stevia

1:365, or the 365 project

i have always been terrified to commit to anything as overwhelming as committing to blogging once a day. consistency of routine is not my strong suit. i would like to change that, though, and maybe, just maybe, if i have the accountability of the world knowing and expecting something, i will get better. maybe. here's my problem with blogging. i go two weeks without posting anything, then i have a day like yesterday and i blog for like 2 hours. i have got to find the middle ground. maybe this is it. maybe. there are a number of things i am trying to add to my daily routine, but as i wrote about with changing food/exercise, these changes have to be sustainable for longer than two weeks or even two months. i would write about some of those routines now...but i have to get to work and, besides, i need something to write about tomorrow, right?

low calorie high protein

i have really been struggling with being hungry all day. i'm also trying to cut down on calories. not the best combo, especially when you don't have a lot of extra time or energy in your schedule to be working out everyday (this is going to change, though, i have decided.) i have been on the lookout for high protein but low calorie foods. i found this list on livestrong.com and decided to share it. mostly because now i won't forget where i found it:


1. Seafood. This is a hit and a miss. But I'd like to add more fish to my diet not only for the low-cal, high-protein business, but also for all the nutrients it also has.
2. Cottage cheese. See...I don't know about this one. I haven't had it in a really long time, so I don't remember what it tastes like, but apparently I need to reopen this door in my life.
3. Eggs. Eating just the whites cuts down on cholesterol.
4. Chicken. 6 slices of the deli meat I have been eating for lunch is 98% fat free and only 50 calories. Word.
5. Soy. Edamame is cholesterol-free, too.

i will be looking for recipes for these 5 things soon.

lemons & blueberries

lemons and blueberries are two of my favorite things. ever. i only discovered this fact in the last couple of years, really, and i am trying to make up for lost time. the more i learn about them, the more i adore them, and now i am going to share with you why you should love them, too, if you don't already love the taste.

LEMONS

I keep reading different things about the warmth of water you should have before adding the juice. I've read articles that specifically say the water must be warm and nothing more, some articles say the water should be as hot as you can tolerate, and still others mention nothing about temperature at all. Certainly most of these benefits will not be null or void simply because of temperature, but I think I will vary the temperature throughout the day to help make sure I am getting all the benefits. here they are:

1. Wakes you up. A lot of people claim drinking it in the morning kicks the coffee habit. I as of yet have no desire to kick that habit, but it does definitely help wake me up in the AM. 

2. Boosts immune system. High in vitamin C. Also helps with antibodies which fight infection.

3. Balances pH. Apparently your pH levels have a lot to do with your body's susceptibility to disease, even cancer. It's also going to help with your acid levels.

4. Helps with weight loss. Lemons have pectin fiber, which apparently help fight cravings. I need to research what other foods have this fiber. I have really been struggling with a lot of hunger recently. 

5. Aids digestion, especially your liver. This concerns me most because efficient digestion limits heartburn, which I get a lot. 

6. Gets rid of toxins. It's a diuretic, so you are going to, well, go more often, but that helps purify your body!

7. Clears skin. I had no idea, but vitamin C helps with wrinkles and blemishes. Also, since lemon juice gets rid of toxins, it helps clear bacteria from yo face.

8. Cleans your mouth. Helps with breath, plaque, toothaches, and gingivitis. It can also affect your enamel, though, so be careful. 

9. Relieves respiratory problems. Phlegm is reduced by lemon juice. It apparently helps asthma and allergies, too. 

10. High in potassium. Potassium apparently aids in a lot of things, but the things that really caught my attention were brain/nervous system health as well as heart health. It lowers blood pressure and helps with anxiety. Potassium also helps with dizziness and nausea. Who knew?

11. Dilutes uric acid. This acid has to do with arthritic pain. 

12. Stops internal bleeding. Have a nose bleed? Stick some juice on a cotton ball.  (Note: I only read these facts; I have not tried them.)

13. Relieve burns. Apply juice to a burn. (Note: Again, I only read this; I have not tried it.)

14. Hydrates lymph system. Drinking lemon water in the morning helps keep you from dehydration and adrenal fatigue. All of this affects stress, digestion, and energy (among a million other things).

15. Tastes so good! I have found that I am much more likely to drink water if it has lemon juice in it, especially at meals 

BLUEBERRIES

Now I began really getting into blueberries for two reasons: the whole superfood trend and their taste. I have fallen in love. (Have I mentioned I love lemons and blueberries?) I have read a good bit about lemon juice, but I have yet to really read that much about blueberries, so I am here learning with you as I write. Let the research begin! I think with blueberries there are aspects of their benefits that you can get from just juice alone, but, as with pretty much all fruits/veggies, there are some benefits that require you eating the whole thing.

1. Fiber. Fiber helps digestion and reduces risk of heart disease.

2. Vitamin C. I should just do a whole blog post on how awesome vitamin C is. 

3. Antioxidants. These little guys help protect your cells from damage. They also help protect from disease. Like vitamin C, antioxidants do a lot and probably deserve their own post. Apparently blueberries are packed with more antioxidants than any other fruit or veggie!

4. Brain health. Everywhere I'm reading, blueberries help yours brain A LOT, even helps keep you from things like Alzheimers and Parkinsons. I don't think that is actually conclusive, but blueberries help keep the brain really healthy. Research with animals showed an increase in motor skills. 

5. Protect vision. Blueberries boost lutein. I don't know what that is...but it helps your vision.

6. Prevent cancer. Yeah...I like that fact.

7. Heart health. I don't understand a lot of what I'm reading...but it's good for your heart. Even better than red wine. 

8. Gastrointestinal health. Who doesn't want help down there?

9. Catechins. Tonight is the first time I am hearing about these things. These guys activate fat-burners, especially in the abdomen.

10. Age well. Blueberries help with things like wrinkles and brain degeneration. 

11. Fight allergies. Apparently they can help with the development and/or severity of allergies. Thank you, please. 

12. Pain killer. Blueberries have salicylic acid which thins the blood, like aspirin does. 

13. Anti-inflammatory. Especially for the brain.

14. Dopamine. Blueberries help with your body's production of dopamine, which is a neurotransmitter.

15. Taste awesome! Especially with lemons. 

sources:
Align Life
La Jolla Mom
New Nostalgia
FitSugar
Vixi
LiveStrong
The Sneaky Chef
Girl Get Strong
Advanced Health Concepts

well...i spent way too long on this post when i should have been prepping for tomorrow, but hopefully this post will help me stay committed to two awesome superfoods as well as help educate the masses on these two great things, which i think go best together. but that's just me.

healthy choices

well, here we go again. i want to be healthy. it's not all about losing weight, either; although, i would like for that to happen concurrently. it's not about starting a diet or some phenomenal 30-day challenge. the change needs to be sustainable and allow for new developments along the way. i want to start eating and living the way in which i want to teach my children to eat and live. it's really hard sometimes to keep out of the mentality of "well, is eating that going to help me lose weight?" when considering a new food or beverage to add into my routine. i'm so guilty of thinking about health only in terms of weight or in energy levels. i think i get super overwhelmed when i start trying to think beyond those two things and onto the ideas like bone support, heart health, cancer prevention, etc, and, therefore, i pretend that those things don't exist, like i'll just have to deal with those things when i'm older. my goal is to learn what my body needs long term for the upmost performance and health, not what i need to eat or not eat to gain, lose, or sustain weight. my hope is that i will learn things, blog them and then actually live them. so, without further ado, here we go.