How much to you worry about what you eat?

[boom]

yes. if I could send a note back to my 29 year old self. I would tell myself to lay off the burgers and pizza, and giant burritos and eat the occasional salad or two.

and to stop drinking so much beer.

 

[caseydog]

I'm probably a 7 or 8. I have trouble with raw apples (and raw peaches, carrots, cherries, snap peas, other things). I think it's "oral allergy syndrome" (?) though I haven't looked into it much. Cooked (like in apple pie) is fine. Also I avoid dairy that has a lot of lactose. Most of this is easy to do since I control the groceries in our household.

I can't eat raw bananas, but cooked, I have no problem with them. Raw bananas make my mouth itch, and then make my stomach ache.

Probably the same thing as apples for you. Cooking apparently changes the chemistry in some way.

CD

 

[BAPyessir6]

The dh used to drink like 2-3 sodas a day, but now we've switched to something called Cirkul (which is flavored water). It's sweetened with sucralose, which might be bad for you as well, but I figure it's hopefully better for you than soda.

In addition I used to camel throughout the day (drink nothing), then complain how thirsty and tired I was at night, and drinking 8 oz in the whole day had nothingggggg to do with it. Now that we have flavored water, I drink like 80-90 oz daily. So. . .probably better in general? Hopefully?

 

[taxlady]

Any kind of artificial sweeteners have a risk of confusing your body and may contribute to insulin resistance. If all the sweet things you taste are sweet from naturally occurring sugars, your body knows what to do with them. It starts to associate "sweet" with sugars and will start to react when you get a sweet taste in your mouth. If the sweet taste comes from artificial sweeteners, then that spike of insulin that the body just produced, won't get used to handle the sugar that wasn't there. Your body now has excess insulin in your blood stream. If you keep doing this to your body, it will start to notice that "sweet" does not necessarily mean that there is sugar to deal with. Basically, it confuses your body, which previously knew how to handle sugar.

 

[pseudotsuga]

I can't eat raw bananas, but cooked, I have no problem with them. Raw bananas make my mouth itch, and then make my stomach ache.

Probably the same thing as apples for you. Cooking apparently changes the chemistry in some way.

CD

I'm mostly mouth/throat itch. Once I notice that I stop eating whatever it is and I don't think I've ever noticed stomach ache. It's so weird. I acquired this allergy at around age 30 I think. I used to eat an apple every day...

 

[Linda0818]

This is true! Goodness knows whenever me and the DH have kids, I will have neither the time nor the energy to care/investigate as kids take both.

dragn and boom are right. It's like I'm teaching my son with saving money... start now when it comes to diet and health. Don't wait until you have to do something about it. Trust us, it'll sneak up on you fast. If I could go back, there are a few things I would have changed to possibly prevent the health issues I'm now dealing with.

"Worry" about them now, not later.

 

[BAPyessir6]

What is good stuff though? I feel like a lot of health advice I hear in the media sometimes goes back on itself a few years later.

Like eggs: good or bad?
HDL vs LDL. (didn't the media say both were bad 10 years ago, but now say HDL is generally good while LDL is bad?)

I want to eat healthy (obviously vegetables and smaller amounts of meat are good, white/processed bread is less good as it's mainly sugar, healthy fats. . .). But is this all tried and true information?

I just don't wanna accidentally do something that's actually bad for my body and not know it until later. Though more veggies are always good.

Though I guess moderation is always the key to everything. 50 eggs a day is probably just as bad if not worse than a burger once a week.

 

[dragnlaw]

I think you answered your own question. Moderation if always the key.

Right now it is all about processed foods and honestly I think they're correct on that one.

 

[dragnlaw]

The dh used to drink like 2-3 sodas a day, but now we've switched to something called Cirkul (which is flavored water). It's sweetened with sucralose, which might be bad for you as well, but I figure it's hopefully better for you than soda.

In addition I used to camel throughout the day (drink nothing), then complain how thirsty and tired I was at night, and drinking 8 oz in the whole day had nothingggggg to do with it. Now that we have flavored water, I drink like 80-90 oz daily. So. . .probably better in general? Hopefully?

I'd have to say... nope! Start cutting those drinks with plain water. Maybe 3 part your drink and 1 part pure water. In a week or two increase the pure water, keep doing that until what you have is 75 or 85% water with just a tad of flavouring. Hopefully you will be surprised how well it goes down and hopefully, should you have a swallow of that flavoured drink, you will discover that you don't like it undiluted!

Worked for me.

 

[taxlady]

What is good stuff though? I feel like a lot of health advice I hear in the media sometimes goes back on itself a few years later.

Like eggs: good or bad?
HDL vs LDL. (didn't the media say both were bad 10 years ago, but now say HDL is generally good while LDL is bad?)

I want to eat healthy (obviously vegetables and smaller amounts of meat are good, white/processed bread is less good as it's mainly sugar, healthy fats. . .). But is this all tried and true information?

I just don't wanna accidentally do something that's actually bad for my body and not know it until later. Though more veggies are always good.

Though I guess moderation is always the key to everything. 50 eggs a day is probably just as bad if not worse than a burger once a week.

What is good is a question. Follow something that makes sense to you is healthy. Pay attention to what your body tells you about the various foods you eat. Something can be healthy for one person, but unhealthy for someone else. I personally believe that you can learn to listen to your body and it will tell you when you are eating healthy and when you need to change something or things about your diet.

It is also a good idea to keep up on the science, but use common sense. The media often exaggerates or misunderstands what science actually said. There can also be cases of research paid for by someone who will profit by certain results.

 

[Linda0818]

I think you answered your own question. Moderation if always the key.

Right now it is all about processed foods and honestly I think they're correct on that one.

You know, when you said this about the processed foods, it made me think back to a time when we ate wholesome food without all the additives and preservatives and food dyes and this or that ingredient that most of us can't even pronounce...

TV dinners, for example, were a treat for my sister and me. We truly enjoyed them, since they were something 'fun' and different, only given to us on rare occasions, usually when mom and dad were going out and it was something easy that the babysitter could fix. But, for the most part, we always ate home cooked meals. We had a huge garden in the back yard and ate tons of fresh vegetables. Plus my mom would spend hours in the kitchen canning everything for the winter months.

I should add here that a good portion of our TV dinners were homemade TV dinners that my mom would make up with leftover food. She would always wash and save the aluminum trays that the store bought TV dinners came in so she could make 'homemade' TV dinners. We enjoyed either one we got.

Then, as I got older and on my own, I started eating crap. Fast food, frozen meals, whatever was easy and cheap. There was a period in my life, living on my own in an apartment, where I barely had any money left for food once I paid the rent and the bills. So I lived on Ramen noodles, pasta and Banquet pot pies. And once you get into these bad habits, it's hard to get back out of them.

Processed food is a huge problem and, even now, I find myself eating more of it than I should.

 

[taxlady]

I got lucky. In my early twenties, I read a book about the Macrobiotic Diet. It was my first introduction to the idea of choosing to eat a diet because it was healthy. For many years now, I disagree with most of what the book said. But, it got me eating whole grain rice and a whole lot of veggies cooked from fresh. It taught me to listen to my body to let it tell me what foods I need. I like healthy foods. I won't say I never eat ultra processed foods, but it isn't something I do often. I enjoy whole grains in bread, pasta, cakes. I almost always prefer the flavours of foods "cooked from scratch" to those that incorporate highly processed ingredients.

 

[pictonguy]

Any kind of artificial sweeteners have a risk of confusing your body and may contribute to insulin resistance. If all the sweet things you taste are sweet from naturally occurring sugars, your body knows what to do with them. It starts to associate "sweet" with sugars and will start to react when you get a sweet taste in your mouth. If the sweet taste comes from artificial sweeteners, then that spike of insulin that the body just produced, won't get used to handle the sugar that wasn't there. Your body now has excess insulin in your blood stream. If you keep doing this to your body, it will start to notice that "sweet" does not necessarily mean that there is sugar to deal with. Basically, it confuses your body, which previously knew how to handle sugar.

Who or what literature said this, it's not true taxlady. Diet pepsi or any other diet drink contaiing 0 calories isn't going to cause insulin resistance or spike insulin.

 

[taxlady]

Who or what literature said this, it's not true taxlady. Diet pepsi or any other diet drink contaiing 0 calories isn't going to cause insulin resistance or spike insulin.

Really? I don't remember where I came across that, but in my memory it is tagged with "reliable source", but no further detail. It wouldn't really surprise me if there was some newer information about this. Have further studies been done on this? BTW, it wasn't saying that if you gave someone a drink with artificial sweetener, that their blood sugar would skyrocket. It was what happened over time to people who consumed a lot of artificial sweetener.

 

[Linda0818]

Really? I don't remember where I came across that, but in my memory it is tagged with "reliable source", but no further detail. It wouldn't really surprise me if there was some newer information about this. Have further studies been done on this? BTW, it wasn't saying that if you gave someone a drink with artificial sweetener, that their blood sugar would skyrocket. It was what happened over time to people who consumed a lot of artificial sweetener.

I've actually been hearing the same thing for several years now, that even if you consume 0 sugar beverages, it tricks the body into believing it's getting actual sugar which, in turn, makes you crave more sweet stuff. And that's what supposedly messes with your blood sugar levels.

I've only consumed diet sodas for many years and have never had this issue. But they say some people do.

*shrug* <----- this is where we need a 'shrug' emoji, harping on needing a bigger emoji database again, lol.

 

[taxlady]

You know, when you said this about the processed foods, it made me think back to a time when we ate wholesome food without all the additives and preservatives and food dyes and this or that ingredient that most of us can't even pronounce...

TV dinners, for example, were a treat for my sister and me. We truly enjoyed them, since they were something 'fun' and different, only given to us on rare occasions, usually when mom and dad were going out and it was something easy that the babysitter could fix. But, for the most part, we always ate home cooked meals. We had a huge garden in the back yard and ate tons of fresh vegetables. Plus my mom would spend hours in the kitchen canning everything for the winter months.

I should add here that a good portion of our TV dinners were homemade TV dinners that my mom would make up with leftover food. She would always wash and save the aluminum trays that the store bought TV dinners came in so she could make 'homemade' TV dinners. We enjoyed either one we got.

Then, as I got older and on my own, I started eating crap. Fast food, frozen meals, whatever was easy and cheap. There was a period in my life, living on my own in an apartment, where I barely had any money left for food once I paid the rent and the bills. So I lived on Ramen noodles, pasta and Banquet pot pies. And once you get into these bad habits, it's hard to get back out of them.

Processed food is a huge problem and, even now, I find myself eating more of it than I should.

Because I had gotten interested in the Macrobiotic diet, I had a very different set of foods that I used in living paycheque to paycheque situations were healthy choices. Back then, my must have staples were: brown rice, tamari, sesame seeds, sea salt, soy oil, cabbage, celeriac, and onion. There was usually some other root veggie too. Those were cheap and you could make a meal out of that. To this day, If I don't have those staples at home, I get antsy. Nowadays, I would add eggs, milk, and a bunch of other stuff that keeps fairly well.

 

[pictonguy]

Really? I don't remember where I came across that, but in my memory it is tagged with "reliable source", but no further detail. It wouldn't really surprise me if there was some newer information about this. Have further studies been done on this? BTW, it wasn't saying that if you gave someone a drink with artificial sweetener, that their blood sugar would skyrocket. It was what happened over time to people who consumed a lot of artificial sweetener.

Yeah, nutritional science is really not understood very well and very very confusing and I'll just say that when I hear the term "reliable source" it's referring to an editorial piece, basically someones opinion. A true scientific study that has the power to show cause and effect never use this descriptive type of dialog, it's just not the language of actual scientists, and generally just the basic language of epidemiology which easily translates into multiple conclusions depending on the variables used, basically just nonsense and exaggeration of the facts most of the time, not always but most of the time.

Personally, and I've been engaged in studying and researching nutritional science now for over 20 years, mostly for personal reasons and this subject is quite familiar to me and I have to say that what your saying has never shown up in any of the scientific literature I've read, ever, although I have read and heard it in a few published editorial pieces talking about artificial sweeteners, diabetes and insulin resistance which is not the same thing.

In order to create an insulin spike we need to actually consume calories and specifically calories from carbohydrates before an insulin response can even take place and it is this increase in insulin spiking multiple times a day, year after year, decade after decade before insulin resistance or diabetes manifested itself and also before the era of "Ultra Processed Foods" pre 1980. Diabetes then was called "adult-onset diabetes" because it took that long before it was diagnosed in the general population and where excess alcohol consumption was also a major factor, now children have IR and diabestes which was unheard of in the 70's, literally.

Anyway I think what they're talking about is called cephalic phase insulin release (CPIR) where it's primarily triggered by the taste, smell, or sight of food. It does effect the pancreas and releases a very small amount of insulin from our beta cells but it represents about 1 or 2% of what would be considered an insulin spike. Basically we could look at something sweet like a dessert or smell something sweet and the same response happens and I've used CGM's a few times over the years and I've tested pretty much every food I've put in my mouth and diet pop doesn't elicit an insulin response big enough to show up on the app and any literature I've come across shows that calories are needed to actually elicit an insulin response and has never been in doubt, at least any of the research papers I've read.

 

[Linda0818]

Because I had gotten interested in the Macrobiotic diet, I had a very different set of foods that I used in living paycheque to paycheque situations were healthy choices. Back then, my must have staples were: brown rice, tamari, sesame seeds, sea salt, soy oil, cabbage, celeriac, and onion. There was usually some other root veggie too. Those were cheap and you could make a meal out of that. To this day, If I don't have those staples at home, I get antsy. Nowadays, I would add eggs, milk, and a bunch of other stuff that keeps fairly well.

Way healthier than what I ate, for sure. I did also eat a lot of potatoes, though. They were inexpensive. At least then. Not anymore. I can't believe the cost of potatoes these days. Typically around $5 for a 5 lb bag. Ridiculous.

 

[rodentraiser]

Remember when you could get 5 pounds for 99 cents?

I don't worry too much about what I eat because I am such an emotional eater. I eat when I'm happy, I eat when I'm sad, I can eat right through any horror movie. So the food I grab to eat isn't as important to me as why I grab it. I'm trying to find some balance in my life, but I seem to always find myself under some stress. I do know if I eat sugar, the urge to eat simply goes berserk so I try to keep as much sugar out of my life as I can. That's sort of hard when everything has HFC in it. And of course, all I eat is processed, fattening, and expensive food.

I'm going to try something a little different in January though.

 

[Linda0818]

Remember when you could get 5 pounds for 99 cents?

I don't worry too much about what I eat because I am such an emotional eater. I eat when I'm happy, I eat when I'm sad, I can eat right through any horror movie. So the food I grab to eat isn't as important to me as why I grab it. I'm trying to find some balance in my life, but I seem to always find myself under some stress. I do know if I eat sugar, the urge to eat simply goes berserk so I try to keep as much sugar out of my life as I can. That's sort of hard when everything has HFC in it. And of course, all I eat is processed, fattening, and expensive food.

I'm going to try something a little different in January though.

I don't remember 99 cents, but I do remember when they were much cheaper than they are now.

I'm the opposite when I'm sad or upset about something. When I'm sad or upset, my appetite goes right out the window. I'll skip whole meals if something is bothering me. I have to be 'at peace' in order to eat.