Mindconnection Brainpower Informational eNewsletter 2024-11-03

During a break between exhausting climbs recently, my climbing buddies and I had a short conversation during which I updated them on my feline companion. I said adding Stevia to her food resulted in her doing the clean plate thing. One of my buddies asked whether Stevia is safe. I said it was used in the Andes for thousands of years to no ill effect. But there's been a lot of bad press on it. The bad press came from the sugar industry, I opined. Then I mentioned an article I read stating not to eat spinach or beets, because of the oxalates. This was met with incredulity. I also noted I read another article stating that broccoli can give you cancer due to its natural toxins. See my Brainpower article above, noting the Hill's Science Diet scam.

The point of the preceding is that vast amounts of "health" information is simply wrong. Not just the idiocy spewed by the CDC, the FDA, and death-dealing corporations like Hill's Science Diet, but also idiocy and semi-idiocy spewed by alternative press, bloggers, supplement sellers, and promoters of various whacky diets.

Over the years, we've been bombarded with idiocies such as eggs are bad, butter is bad, carbs are bad, fat is bad, and so on.

An example of word misuse

Recently, I read that honey is no better than table sugar because it's mainly fructose. Is honey basically sugar? That depends on how you define "honey". Two friends of mine from the electrical industry are beekeepers. They have one definition of honey. It's the stuff you extract from the honeycombs of bees that make it from natural food sources. It's not homogenized, pasteurized, clarified, filtered, heated, "enhanced", or adulterated in any way. It's so dark that you can't see through it. You do not find this honey on the typical grocery store shelf.

Then there's the common definition, and it applies to a highly processed product that has been stripped of its nutritional value down to the point where just about all that's left is the fructose. And there's a newer definition, and it refers to a substance that does not even come from bees. It's high fructose corn syrup with "honey flavoring" (petrochemicals) and artificial coloring.

What's wrong with real honey, from a physique-building standpoint, is it is calorie-dense. This means if you want to enjoy a jar of honey, you need to dole it out over time and time when you dole it out. I recently opened a jar, and most mornings I drip a teaspoon of it over what I am eating for breakfast. Sometimes at night, to help me sleep, I will dip a banana into that jar and then eat it (sooooo delicious). I also compensate a bit for the extra calories by slightly reducing certain other foods. For example, I have smaller portions of rice. When a jar of honey is gone, my weight has not budged from what it was the day I opened the jar. I don't get the insulin rush or endocrine modification I would get from either of those fake honey products.

How to sort fact from fiction

One thing I don't do is waste my time evaluating the various specious claims for veracity. There are just too many. My approach is to understand the principles and basic facts related to sound nutrition. Anything outside of those, I know I can disregard. For example, the latest revision on "eggs are bad for you" is it's OK to have up to one egg per day. I don't bother evaluating such nonsense, because it's based on the ignorant idea that your blood levels of cholesterol are dictated by the amount of cholesterol you eat. It's a basic fact that cholesterol does not survive intact through the stomach, and it's another basic fact that the cholesterol in your blood is all produced by your liver.

Below are twelve basic facts and principles. How many more can you list? Take a few minutes and see, you may surprise yourself!

"If it's made by man, I don't eat it" -- Jack LaLanne.
Eat whole foods, or ones only a few steps from whole. If it comes in something that has a label, it is probably not good for you.
"Old school" foods are good for you. These include the "old" fats that you get from butter, olive oil, avocadoes, and eggs.
"New school" foods are bad for you. These include low-fat yogurt (the fat is replaced with an emulsifier, which is basically detergent), oleo, and "lite" versions of anything.
The more robust an oil tastes, the better it is for you.
Flavorless oils (canola, safflower, etc.) should not be consumed by humans, dogs, cats, or horses. Check the label on any canned or kibbled foods.
Your body can't process a lot of protein at once without overloading your kidneys and without converting the excess protein to fat. So spread your meals out to five or six per day.
Always have a fair amount of protein as part of your breakfast.
The three major grains (corn, wheat, soy) are frankengrains, so don't eat them.
Variety is not only "the spice of life", it's a key concept in meal planning. Rotate new foods in and other food out, on a regular basis. If you make a particular dish frequently, make a different variation almost as frequently.
A banana is the ultimate convenience food. Well, maybe an apple is.
Organic foods are almost always a better choice.

Mindconnection eNL, 2024-11-03

1. Good News: Where the Intel is Good

2. Product Highlight

3. Brainpower tip

4. Finance tip

5. Security tip

6. Health tip/Fitness tips

7. Factoid

8. Thought for the Day

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