All the Food is Poison

This is a poem I wrote called "All the Food is Poison."

All the food is pasteurized
Processed, packaged, fortified
All the food is canned and frozen
All the food is maltodextrin
Mechanically separated
Ground and Formed
Reduced, Conditioned,
Refined and warmed
Factory farmed, hormone stuffed
Partially hydrogenated, patented, puffed
All the food is modified
Colored with carmine and yellow 5
T.G.S and T.B.H.Q.
Fructose, saccharin, and aspartame too
Corn syrup solids, sodium citrate
Whey protein concentrate
Gaur gum, xanthan gum, emulsifiers
Humectants and stabilizers
All the food is riboflavin
Artificial, synthetic and imitation
Mono-sodium glutamate
Manufactured on equipment that processes wheat

My poem takes its title from this clip from the Adult Swim show Tim and Eric, Awesome Show, Great Job.

Granola Part 2: Health Calculus

For a recipe see Granola Part 1.
Generally I think granola is a health breakfast choice. Oats are a whole grain. They will give you fiber and nutrients. From there it gets a little more complicated.

Even if you’re trying to lose weight, its a good idea to get plenty of calories in the morning. I’ve read eating when you wake up tells your body its time to start burning calories. It also prevents you from getting hungry mid-day and snacking from the vending machine or gas station. More specifically, its a good idea to get some protein and healthy (unsaturated) fat  in the morning, because calories from protein and fat will keep you fuller longer that carbohydrates. Go for nuts and seeds. 

Farming with Oxen

I just read an article in the New York times about farming with oxen. Apparently its coming back into use on a few farms. Farmers claim that, largely due to rising fuel prices, it is cheaper to farm with animals than tractors. Oxen are fueled by grass, a renewable resource. Plus you get the added benefits of the oxen hoofs aerating the ground, and oxen droppings fertilizing it. Isn’t it convenient how these little cycles work?

Some experts predict an oil crisis. A sudden crisis seems less likely than continuous decline in availability until prices are so high that it becomes cheaper to replace the burning of fossil fuels with other methods of transportation and production. Oh wait. Thats whats happening here.

Organic Foods and Household Items

I just read 12 Things You Should Definitely Buy Organic, and I recommend it.

The article mentions that it can be expensive to buy everything (from potatoes to sofas) organic and suggests that these items might be the most important if you have to make trade-offs. My tip is, don't rush out and buy all new glass Tupperware until your old ones wear out or get lost (unless maybe you're pregnant or have a newborn). That plastic hasn't killed you yet.

In fact, if you start choosing foods and toiletries that come in nice glass containers and saving them, you might find you don't need anything new. And check the thrift store! Forget recycle. Reduce and reuse.

What Makes You Fat

I just read this an article called Diseases of Affluence. The comments on the article are a discussion about whether it is diet or lack of mobility that makes you fat.
Is it diet or exercise? Is it what you eat or how much? Is it lifestyle or genetics? Are all calories equal or do some make you fatter than others. I often find myself in these discussions, and I find there are a lot of misconceptions.

Health Fads Part II: Trick of Treatment

I recently read Trick or Treatment: The Undeniable Facts about Alternative Medicine (Simon Singh and Edzard Ernst MD, 2008). Each chapter is about a different alternative medicine, its history, its uses, and all the information the authors could gather from large reputable studies about their effectiveness.
Usually when drugs or treatments are tested, some studies show that they work and other studies show that the same treatment does not work. There may be problems with the studies that the researchers do not realize. Before the scientific community comes to a consensus on something, a lot of studies have to be done. Then researchers do mega-analysis of those studies to come out with a verdict.

Health Fads Part I: The "Truth" About Beauty

There is a streak in me that longs to put aloe vera in my smoothies and mushed banana on my face. My interest in alternative treatments took off in late high school when I bought a book called The Truth About Beauty by Kat James.
The truth, Kat tells us, is that real beauty does not come from diet cokes and low-fat, low-carb, low-flavor highly packaging, highly marketed diet products as she once thought. Nor does it come from expensive cosmetics or prescription drugs. All these things are supposedly damaging. True beauty comes from a healthy diet of natural foods supported by high doses of vitamin and mineral supplements.

Diet Pills

Last Wednesday (2/2/11) the New York Times published the article “F.D.A. Fails to Approve Diet Drug.” The prescription diet pill Contrave will not be approved until a long-term study can prove that it dose not raise the risk of heart attacks.
In recent months the FDA has turned down two other weight-loss drugs. Now experts believe the decision will discourage drug companies from developing weight loss drugs. Several commentators expressed disapproval echoing that of by Morgan Downey, editor of the Downey Obesity Report,  that “the FDA has decided that the most significant threat to public health will not be treated by any drug.”

Nutrition by the Cup

One day while I was working at Starbucks, a customer asked me “What’s the skinniest thing you have?” Starbucks has several lattes made with artificial sweetener and skim milk that they call “skinny” lattes. I knew she was looking for something like that, but I couldn’t resist. “Black coffee,” I replied. She frowned, and said she was looking for something more “fun.” I relented and helped her pick out something more like what she wanted.

The marketing labels at issue here are a little misleading from a nutritional standpoint. There are four main elements that determine how healthy or unhealthy a coffee, tea, or espresso drink is. Antioxidants, caffeine, fat and sugar.