[AlwaysLearning] Effects Of Sugar On Mind And Body
Nanci Kuykendall
Our family does believe that refined sugar is very
harmful, mainly because it is a highly refined
chemical and not recognizable as a "food" because of
what has been done to it. Most people do eat WAAAAAY
too much of it, and it is causing health problems,
even if the article in question was alarmist and
extreme. In general, the more processing foods have,
the worse they are for your body.
But all the doom and gloom in the article talks about
corn syrup, refined sugars, fast food and "typical
American diets." These are not unavoidable horrors.
You can live in America, live a "normal" life, and
still avoid these things.
We don't eat fast food at all, partly due to it's
horrendous quality that none of us feel is worth our
money, partly because we have so many excellent
favorite restaurants locally, which serve delicious
and healthy foods, and partly because myself and one
of our sons have food allergies to preservatives which
makes eating fast food a very uncomfortable
experience.
We don't drink sodas very often, maybe a couple of
times a month, as we just don't like them much. We
use unrefined sugar for cooking, baking and table
sugar, which tastes identical to the bleached stuff.
We also use honey for cooking, baking and sweetening
drinks, and occassionally molasses or organic whole
maple syrup. All of these sweeteners are not hard to
come by, are infinately better for us, and taste a lot
better too.
We also don't buy a lot of pre-cooked, processed foods
for several reasons. Again, we have preservative
allergies which makes avoiding them a no brainer. I'm
a pretty good cook, and the pre-made stuff just is
disappointing when I think about what I could have
made with similar basic ingredients. When we are
shopping, we look for food options without corn syrup
or added sugars. With all the food allergies in our
family, we're definately label readers.
All this doesn't mean we are food nazi's, or that the
kids never get candy, or we never enjoy a burger. We
just try to make choices from the less toxic options.
Even the kids prefer the organic honey caramels to the
refined ones, or the granola with fruit to the sugary
cereals, or real juice to sugary punch drinks. They
just taste better, and they feel better to eat.
Nanci K.
harmful, mainly because it is a highly refined
chemical and not recognizable as a "food" because of
what has been done to it. Most people do eat WAAAAAY
too much of it, and it is causing health problems,
even if the article in question was alarmist and
extreme. In general, the more processing foods have,
the worse they are for your body.
But all the doom and gloom in the article talks about
corn syrup, refined sugars, fast food and "typical
American diets." These are not unavoidable horrors.
You can live in America, live a "normal" life, and
still avoid these things.
We don't eat fast food at all, partly due to it's
horrendous quality that none of us feel is worth our
money, partly because we have so many excellent
favorite restaurants locally, which serve delicious
and healthy foods, and partly because myself and one
of our sons have food allergies to preservatives which
makes eating fast food a very uncomfortable
experience.
We don't drink sodas very often, maybe a couple of
times a month, as we just don't like them much. We
use unrefined sugar for cooking, baking and table
sugar, which tastes identical to the bleached stuff.
We also use honey for cooking, baking and sweetening
drinks, and occassionally molasses or organic whole
maple syrup. All of these sweeteners are not hard to
come by, are infinately better for us, and taste a lot
better too.
We also don't buy a lot of pre-cooked, processed foods
for several reasons. Again, we have preservative
allergies which makes avoiding them a no brainer. I'm
a pretty good cook, and the pre-made stuff just is
disappointing when I think about what I could have
made with similar basic ingredients. When we are
shopping, we look for food options without corn syrup
or added sugars. With all the food allergies in our
family, we're definately label readers.
All this doesn't mean we are food nazi's, or that the
kids never get candy, or we never enjoy a burger. We
just try to make choices from the less toxic options.
Even the kids prefer the organic honey caramels to the
refined ones, or the granola with fruit to the sugary
cereals, or real juice to sugary punch drinks. They
just taste better, and they feel better to eat.
Nanci K.
Pam Hartley
----------
So can riding a horse.
So can keeping a 2 pound rabbit as a pet (death from infected rabbit bite).
So can eating organic food if I choke on it.
So can owning a computer if I am cleaning behind it and trip over the power
cord and electrocute myself.
So can breathing, because natural OR man-made pollutants can kill me dead.
And something is bound to kill me sometime anyway, no matter how well I read
the articles and do every single thing they say, to the letter.
I don't need articles that use at least a decent percentage of junk science
and scare tactics to tell me what I must do Or Else. Surprisingly, in this
world of extreme media, most of us have heard rumors that sugar is not the
healthiest choice for us. Heck, I heard it as a child BEFORE extreme media
came upon us.
I have choices and don't need anybody to scare me or shame me into making
them the direction they'd like me to go. I have the choice to do the things
that I enjoy (some seal-of-approval "healthy" and some frowny-faced
"unhealthy") and take my chances, or I can try to force myself and my family
towards what we don't enjoy in the name of possible better health and
possible lesser risks. Refined sugar isn't an immediate cause of death and
poor health for many people, nor is it an inevitable one for many people.
Those who don't care for refined sugar and preservatives should definitely
exercise their free will and not eat them. Those who do should not be
lectured on how we eat too much of it, it causes health problems, and told
the natural stuff tastes way better. I faithfully promise not to badger
anyone to eat my homemade chocolate chip cookies, made with white AND brown
sugar, if I can just be allowed to decide for myself what tastes good to me
and how my body does or does not react to it.
I think healthy eating causes all sorts of unpleasant things, including the
"do it my way or you and everyone you love is DOOMED DOOMED DOOOOOMED!"
article copied to this list.
Live. Let live (even if you don't agree with how the other person's living).
Don't worry. Be happy.
Pam
>From: Nanci Kuykendall <aisliin@...>Riding in cars can kill me.
>To: [email protected]
>Subject: [AlwaysLearning] Effects Of Sugar On Mind And Body
>Date: Wed, Dec 31, 2003, 11:19 AM
>
> Our family does believe that refined sugar is very
> harmful, mainly because it is a highly refined
> chemical and not recognizable as a "food" because of
> what has been done to it. Most people do eat WAAAAAY
> too much of it, and it is causing health problems,
So can riding a horse.
So can keeping a 2 pound rabbit as a pet (death from infected rabbit bite).
So can eating organic food if I choke on it.
So can owning a computer if I am cleaning behind it and trip over the power
cord and electrocute myself.
So can breathing, because natural OR man-made pollutants can kill me dead.
And something is bound to kill me sometime anyway, no matter how well I read
the articles and do every single thing they say, to the letter.
I don't need articles that use at least a decent percentage of junk science
and scare tactics to tell me what I must do Or Else. Surprisingly, in this
world of extreme media, most of us have heard rumors that sugar is not the
healthiest choice for us. Heck, I heard it as a child BEFORE extreme media
came upon us.
I have choices and don't need anybody to scare me or shame me into making
them the direction they'd like me to go. I have the choice to do the things
that I enjoy (some seal-of-approval "healthy" and some frowny-faced
"unhealthy") and take my chances, or I can try to force myself and my family
towards what we don't enjoy in the name of possible better health and
possible lesser risks. Refined sugar isn't an immediate cause of death and
poor health for many people, nor is it an inevitable one for many people.
Those who don't care for refined sugar and preservatives should definitely
exercise their free will and not eat them. Those who do should not be
lectured on how we eat too much of it, it causes health problems, and told
the natural stuff tastes way better. I faithfully promise not to badger
anyone to eat my homemade chocolate chip cookies, made with white AND brown
sugar, if I can just be allowed to decide for myself what tastes good to me
and how my body does or does not react to it.
I think healthy eating causes all sorts of unpleasant things, including the
"do it my way or you and everyone you love is DOOMED DOOMED DOOOOOMED!"
article copied to this list.
Live. Let live (even if you don't agree with how the other person's living).
Don't worry. Be happy.
Pam
[email protected]
In a message dated 12/31/03 1:44:41 PM, pamhartley@... writes:
<< So can owning a computer if I am cleaning behind it and trip over the power
cord and electrocute myself. >>
Marty was shaving his face (and blaming me, just because I had said I thought
his beard was cute) and then he dropped his electric razor in the toilet.
(It's cordless, but it was still exciting.)
-=-I think healthy eating causes all sorts of unpleasant things, including the
"do it my way or you and everyone you love is DOOMED DOOMED DOOOOOMED!"
article copied to this list.
-=-Live. Let live (even if you don't agree with how the other person's
living).-=-
Well on a sugar-free-diet list, go to down about doom.
On an unschooling list, don't let people live a restrictive mean-mom
schoolish life without commenting, at least, on potential doom.
Sandra
<< So can owning a computer if I am cleaning behind it and trip over the power
cord and electrocute myself. >>
Marty was shaving his face (and blaming me, just because I had said I thought
his beard was cute) and then he dropped his electric razor in the toilet.
(It's cordless, but it was still exciting.)
-=-I think healthy eating causes all sorts of unpleasant things, including the
"do it my way or you and everyone you love is DOOMED DOOMED DOOOOOMED!"
article copied to this list.
-=-Live. Let live (even if you don't agree with how the other person's
living).-=-
Well on a sugar-free-diet list, go to down about doom.
On an unschooling list, don't let people live a restrictive mean-mom
schoolish life without commenting, at least, on potential doom.
Sandra
nellebelle
>>>>So can owning a computer if I am cleaning behind it and trip over the powercord and electrocute myself>>>
I recently gave myself a shock while plugging in the electric mixer. I accidently had my fingers touching the metal part. It was weird. I felt the shock go right up my arm to my chest.
Guess I better ban electric mixers from my house <G>
Mary Ellen
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
Nanci Kuykendall
>Riding in cars can kill me.So we wear seat belts and drive defensively, a
reasonable level of precaution. The same applies to
all the other examples you gave. Of course, a person
can kill themselves taking a bath, or doing any number
of innoccuous other things. It follows that we take
reasonable precautions to these dangers (like non-slip
bath mats.)
There was no need to be defensive. I was simply
saying that there is a more reasonable approach to
avoiding these things if one wishes it, rather than
the histrionics in the article. I was rebutting the
article's (which I did not post) doom and gloom and
sensationalism with a little common sense. I
certainly was not trying to lecture to anyone and I
certainly was not suggesting anyone follow that
article to the letter, as I was in disagreement with
it's method, and a lot of it's content. I don't
generally follow any propaganda, nor do I believe
everything I read.
Obviously (by my firm belief in an unschooling
lifestyle) I am a believer in free choice. I respect
the choices of my children and of other people. I
don't tell people what to eat or how to live. I was
merely saying that a more reasonable approach (than
that of the article) was certainly possible, and
explaining how we do it. I was trying to point out
that this does not have to be an all or nothing issue.
There does not have to be a defensive division that
always seems to arise over this issue.
When I said some things tasted better, I meant of
course to US. I cannot say what tastes better in
anyone else's mouth. We feel that they taste better.
I do believe that many people eat way too much sugar,
and that probably includes my family, particularly
this time of year. It was not a statement to shame or
badger anyone in any way. We refuse to "do guilt" in
this house. It's just good to recognize excess, even
if you in no way want to reduce it, in my opinion.
I was merely presenting a more reasonable approach to
a desire to avoid processed sugars, something we
attempt.
Nanci K.
Pam Hartley
In my opinion, using some qualifiers does help -- there were few to none in
your original post.
"to us", "I believe", "in my experience", tend to make all the difference
between sounding like we're sharing information versus delivering Universal
Truth proclamations. ;)
Pam
----------
your original post.
"to us", "I believe", "in my experience", tend to make all the difference
between sounding like we're sharing information versus delivering Universal
Truth proclamations. ;)
Pam
----------
>From: Nanci Kuykendall <aisliin@...>
>To: [email protected]
>Subject: [AlwaysLearning] Effects Of Sugar On Mind And Body
>Date: Sun, Jan 4, 2004, 11:18 AM
>
> When I said some things tasted better, I meant of
> course to US. I cannot say what tastes better in
> anyone else's mouth. We feel that they taste better.
Nanci K.
> In my opinion, using some qualifiers does help -- there were few tonone in
> your original post.difference
>
> "to us", "I believe", "in my experience", tend to make all the
> between sounding like we're sharing information versus deliveringUniversal
> Truth proclamations. ;)It's the sticky universe of the internet to blame again for
>
> Pam
miscommunication. I have been on this list for so long that I forget
that no one really knows me in person, except Mary Ellen and maybe
one or two others, if they are still around. It's definately in
character for me to make impassioned statements of my beliefs, or
ehthusiastically share our dreams with people. It's definately OUT
of character for me to be dishonest in any way. That includes going
around and delivering Universal Truth Proclamations, as I don't
believe there to be any such thing as universal truths, and to claim
to have them is a lie, even if you yourself believe it, as you would
be buying your own bullshit.
It's a good reminder for me to always approach every email as if
written for strangers, and phrase my statements for total
understanding (or as near as possible) by people who have no
knowledge of me as a person. Thanks Pam.
Nanci K.
Pam Hartley
Hey, as someone who occasionally (well, maybe more than occasionally <g>)
struggles with remembering to add that pesky little, "I think", believe me,
I understand! ;)
Happy New Year,
Pam
----------
struggles with remembering to add that pesky little, "I think", believe me,
I understand! ;)
Happy New Year,
Pam
----------
>From: "Nanci K." <aisliin@...>
>To: [email protected]
>Subject: [AlwaysLearning] Re: Effects Of Sugar On Mind And Body
>Date: Sun, Jan 4, 2004, 11:54 AM
>
> It's a good reminder for me to always approach every email as if
> written for strangers, and phrase my statements for total
> understanding (or as near as possible) by people who have no
> knowledge of me as a person. Thanks Pam.