What does food blogging and medical bracelets have in common you might ask? A whole lot especially if you have a family member with a food allergy. If that family member is a child then a medical bracelet, necklace or tag might be especially important when going back to school.

While I don’t have a food allergy I do have epilepsy. Even though my family members know this they aren’t often with me when I’m having one. Usually I’m home alone. Today my husband was present for the first time. He found me near the end of the seizure when I can hear what’s going on yet can’t respond. I could hear him say he was going to call an ambulance because he had no idea what was happening. Watching him freak out really got me thinking about what would happen if I should have a seizure when I return to school in September.

A medical bracelet might come in handy. It may not keep people from flipping out or calling an ambulance but at least someone would know what was happening when I’m not able to respond. Searching online I found a variety of companies that sell medical bracelets and necklaces. One really neat company is Lauren’s Hope. Not only do they have a huge variety of medical jewelry for adults but they have some great ones for kids including Velcro bracelets and backpack tags . Perfect for kids (or adults) with food allergies, diabetes, epilepsy or other medical conditions. While we can take precautions at home and with family or friends we won’t always be around people who will know what is happening. A medical tag can be a big help. Check out the Lauren’s Hope website:

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Did you ever really wonder exactly how much sugar was in some of the foods you eat? Talk about too much added sugar in our food and especially what we drink is becoming more common. That’s a good thing. But most of the time the talk is very general in nature.

Stop drinking soda because it contains a lot of sugar.

Don’t eat candy it contains a lot of sugar.

This food or that food is bad for you it contains a lot of sugar.

Well, how much is a lot? If you read the label and it tells you the food your about to eat contains X number of grams of sugar what in the world does that really mean? Visualizing grams of sugar is like visualizing a serving size. It’s hard to picture in your mind which makes it even harder to apply to everyday life.

One site however makes it a bit easier for you to see exactly how much sugar is in various food products. Check out Sugar Stacks. This site uses sugar cubes to represent the sugar content of different foods and drinks. Each sugar cube contains 4 grams of sugar which makes it a great visual tool. It’s mind blowing to physically see the sugar found in some products.

9 1/2 cubes of sugar in a 12 ounce can of regular Coke

4 1/2 cubes of sugar in a Twinkie….just one

3 1/2 cubes in a Nutrigrain bar

Check out the site. It’s amazing how much sugar is in some items. It might not stop you from eating them but at least you are now aware of what it contains which might make you think twice. That’s probably the most important thing…..being aware of what you eat rather then eating on autopilot.

I want to offer one word of advice regarding the vegetable and fruit pages. Don’t freak out! Yes there are naturally occurring sugars in fruits and vegetables. That does NOT mean you should avoid them. When you eat a whole fruit or vegetable and not the juice you are taking in very important nutrients such as vitamins, minerals, antioxidants and fiber. These nutrients are needed by the body as is the small amount of natural sugars present in the fruits and veggies.

Here’s a great use of the site. Compare the sugar content of one large apple with an 8 ounce glass of apple juice. The sugar content is almost the same. Does that mean you should avoid apples? Hell NO! Stop and look at it this way. How many glasses of apple juice do you or your kids drink in a day? One? Two? More then that? Besides the sugar and a few vitamins what else did you get with your juice? Not much else. If you ate the same number of apples you would get much more plus you would feel full. I’ve seen kids drink whole 48 ounce bottles but would they eat the equivalent number of apples in one day? Probably not.

It seems that some people wrote to the site owner and complained about showing the sugar content of fruits and veggies. To prove the same point that I was trying to make above the site now includes a small section titled Carrot Stacks. It compares the sugar content of several popular foods with the sugar content of carrots. Did you know that you would have to eat 3 pounds of carrots to get the same amount of sugar as one 20 ounce bottle of Coke? Now that’s putting things into perspective

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It’s time for the food pyramid to be updated in 2010. Here is the link to the Report of the Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee on the Dietary Guidelines for Americans, 2010. Right now they are in the process of reviewing and approving changes to the current pyramid which is shown above. Some of the changes suggested include eating more vegetables, beans, nuts, whole grains, fruits and seafood. They are also recommending increasing the amount of carbohydrates in your diet – not a wise thing to do for many pre-diabetics as well as type 1 and type 2 diabetics. Carbs need to be limited in order to help control blood glucose levels.

Personally some of the other recommendations will just continue to confuse the average person. Limiting “added” sugar sounds like a good idea right? It doesn’t really explain that there are lots of foods that contain “naturally occurring” sugar such as dried fruits that should be limited. Do you include natural sweeteners on that list such as honey or will people just think they are talking about white granulated sugar only? Hmmm…..there’s something to think about.
They are also recommending lowering the amount of salt, cholesterol and certain types of fat. How exactly will people work those recommendations into their current diet of highly processed and fast type foods? If the previous recommendations didn’t work before to help reduce obesity how will the even lower amounts work now?
Since all the past pyramids didn’t do much to help things why not do the one thing that really stands a chance at working – TEACH PEOPLE HOW TO COOK FOR THEMSELVES! 
We live in a time where food has gone mainstream with whole TV networks devoted to cooking yet fewer people actually seem to be cooking. Sure there is a segment of the population who watches Food Network and cooks but, from what I’ve seen, the majority think that cooking from scratch takes too long or requires difficult recipes. This is far from the truth.
The 2010 food pyramid isn’t officially out just yet. When I graduate from school it will still be in effect. I will be expected to use it as one of the many tools available for registered dietitians to use when counselling their patients. I’m very doubtful that it will be useful especially if people lack basic cooking skills. Pictures of pyramids and vague nutritional information won’t help. Real food (not processed/packaged junk) and cooking skills are the key.
How helpful do you think the new changes to the food pyramid be when it comes to helping people eat better? If you think it won’t effect things then what possible might help?

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You don’t have to be interested in any aspect of nutrition to quickly discover that there are an incredible number of views on just about every topic. Views that range from one extreme to another. Will we ever know who is truly correct? Most likely not. Personally I tend to think that the actual truth can be found in the middle of all the extreme views.

If the above makes no sense allow me to offer an example….high fructose corn syrup.

Those who are favor of high fructose corn syrup claim it is a natural sugar extracted from corn and is no more harmful then regular sugar. The manufacturing process uses an enzyme to convert the glucose in corn into fructose so making it doesn’t involve horrible chemicals or some type of terrible process. It’s a cost effective sweetener with a long shelf life which helps to keep food prices low.

Those who are not in favor of it claim that it’s an unnatural, chemically altered product that should be avoided at all cost. It causes a wide range of health problems including heart disease, obesity and diabetes. Naturally occuring sugars are the only way to go when it comes to sweeteners.

Both sides will do anything possible to discredit the other. In the end the truth is most likely in the middle. I’m not advocating high fructose corn syrup. Nor am I saying that ONLY naturals sugars are the best. Here’s the facts as I see them:

- People eat too much sugar. Period. Sugar offers NO nutritional value. Even natural forms of sugar such as honey have minor nutritional benefits.

- Sugar and other sweeteners are a source of calories no matter which form it’s found in….graunlated sugar, raw cane sugar, honey, corn syrup, molasses, etc. Calories are calories and too much of any one thing isn’t good for you.

- Sugars of all types can be found in a huge number of products from the ones you would expect (cookies, candy and other sweet treats) to the ones you least suspect (bread, salad dressings and even vegetables). If you find some form of sugar in a product that you wouldn’t normally expect to find it then that product is most likely high processed.

With that being said there is some information out there indicating that high fructose corn syrup is broken down in the body in a different way then other types of sugars. This is probably one of the better video’s that I’ve seen explaining how high fructose corn syrup is used in the body. It explain it in terms easy enough for most people to understand. Well worth the few minutes to watch it. I’ve also included the original video that the first one refers to. The second one is much longer but still worth watching if you have the time.

And here is the longer version. It is from a lecture titled “Sugar: The Bitter Truth” given by Dr. Robert H. Lustig.

Do I personally avoid HFCS at all costs? Not really. I believe that too much sugar is bad for you. As a family we attempt to limit the amount we eat on a regular basis. We also avoid processed foods and drinks which helps to limit the types and amount of sugar we eat. Making food from scratch is a great way to help control the amount of sugar you eat on a daily basis.

Do I think that people should avoid HFCS? I think that each person should gather the information necessary to make the choice that is right for them and their family.

***As a side note, after reading Gary Taubes’ book Good Calories, Bad CaloriesI’ve taken a second look at other information about HFCS and I think it is a much greater problem then I originally thought. Sugar is bad but high fructose corn syrup might actually be evil See this post for more information.

This post contains two videos. If you currently reading the post through a reader they may not come through. Please click through to get to the post so you can see the videos.

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Many people still falsely claim that type 2 can be completely taken care of (cured) if only the person with this disease would lose weight. They say people with typ2 diabetes got it only because they are lazy and over weight. What a complete crock of sh*t.

Yes type 2 diabetes is ASSOCIATED with obesity. More and more research is actually pointing to the fact that obesity is actually a SYMPTOM of type 2 diabetes. If obesity was the only cause then why are there many severely overweight people walking around who aren’t diabetic? Or how do you explain those who have a normal weight and exercise regularly yet become diabetic? The reason is type 2 diabetes is believed to be caused by genetics. Yes, GENETICS. I’ll talk more about that in the future because it drives me crazy to hear people constantly blaming those with the disease for being the cause of it.

For now I’d just like to point out that history, as well as type 2 diabetes, has a way of repeating itself. If you are not diabetic yet but have a family history of the disease you have a higher risk of developing it. You may even be pre-diabetic now and not know about it. Working as a nurse for 18 years has shown me the end result of long term, UNCONTROLLED, diabetes. The side effects are not pretty…..loss of toes/feet, ulcers forming due to poor circulation, neuropathy (nerve pain), eye problems, etc. Lots of issues that are very painful and, in some cases, can never be completely relieved.

If you have never heard of pre-diabetes but have a family history of the disease then you may want to take this short quiz to see what your level of risk is for developing it.

Diabetes Risk Test

The results of my test indicates that I am at high risk for developing type 2 diabetes. That’s something I already knew and one of the reasons for starting this blog. I may not be able to prevent my family history from repeating itself but I’d like to put it off and possibly prevent all the side effects if possible. If you take the quiz and find that you are at high risk now would be the perfect time to take some simple steps that could help you in the future. Also don’t forget to discuss the test results with your doctor during your next physical.

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