Thursday, April 29, 2010

Body Image.

How our bodies look is a very important in the culture we live in. The importance of how we look to other leaves a definite marks on our own body image, whether we believe the standards of beauty derived by our culture or not. In North America, and many other places in the world, we are constantly surrounded by images of beautiful people (who have often been edited to look pretty unrealistic). It's safe to say many of us don't really feel like we are beautiful. Maybe it's just corporations creating and then playing on our insecurities to sell some make up or cosmetic surgeries or items we don't need to be healthy and happy.

The most extreme recent example I can think of, and probably you too, is of Heidi Montag's recent transformation into a completely different person. She had already had at least one surgery and then went about having 10 more at once:
I'm not sure why any plastic surgeon would argee to completing so many surgery's at once...but I guess that's another post all together.

Now what are we average looking people suppose to think when someone who looked like this (before ANY surgery):



...decides to have 10+ surgeries because she thinks she isn't beautiful enough! (Well, it makes us all feel like she's insane!!!!) I've talked to different people about her before and after looks. There seems to be mixed ideas about how good she looked before. I think she looked pretty fantastic and definitely like a real person, sometimes little flaws are what make someone look extra cute, it's something a little different...you know? Even though there is conflict over if she was very beautiful to start, everyone I know has agreed that she went waaaayy to far trying to reach her preconceived idea of beauty. She just looks a little strange now.

I wonder if she did all this just for publicity and money...but then I think, "she risked her health and whole life for that?". She is obviously a pretty mentally unstable person to go through all of this. But I do think this is a great example of how much pressure people feel, especially women feel, to be thin and "perfect" (according to our cultures standards).


Here are two more updated photos:







Wednesday, April 28, 2010

Regarding the last post.

I am about to stop posting for the night. I was tired a long time ago. But now that I have this blog I feel like I need to fill it up with information that interests me so that if someone does decide to read it one day they find something useful.

I was thinking about the Orthorexia video and how horrible it would be. Even as a nutrition major I do not think very much about what I eat. I think, but I don't worry about if it's organic or if it's dying....I take the appoach of not wasting...I don't want to waste this carrot, it's only got a day left or...oh the cheese is a little moldy I will just cut the mold off and eat the rest...(...is that gross?).

I think the society we live in has really taught us to see our bodies in a different way then our relatives were taught in the past. I feel that in the past our grandparents, or at least mine, would appreciate their bodies for the strong, healthy, energetic bodies that they were. Without health they would have no livelihood. There were less convenience foods and unhealthy foods available. I don't think our grandparents had the novelty of stoppping at a gas station and buying a dozen donuts. So obviously their environment was a little different. BUT I still feel we all need to learn to love our bodies for what they give us.

We need to treat them like we treat other things that belong to us: we need to take care of them, to nurture them, and to strengthen them the best we can. The better health we are in now, the healthier we will be if something (illness, disease, accidents) does happen in the future, and the easier it will be to recover.

Don't forget to enjoy life today. Go for a walk. Play in the sun. Use a swing set. Do something to use your body and remember how great it feels to have one that works as well as it does.

Orthorexia?

I had never heard of this until today. Thoughts?




Some of this seems a little reasonable. But once I got to the end I could hardly believe it. The stuff they said to stay away from was almost all good! Eggs? Really? Fruit? Really? Wow!

I think it's better to take a chance on eating less healthy foods then it is to starve your body of the calories and the nutrients it needs. Even if you don't get quite enough micronutrients, at least you'll get most of them.

I understand this is basically an obsessive compulsive disorder, but it is still frustrating for me to watch.

"You become what you consume. You consume dead food and death accelerates its presence eventually it takes over."

Well yeah, of course. Eventually we'll die! If this guy can get a nutrition job, why can't I?!

NOTE: Cooking certain foods in water can cause water soluble vitamins to dilute into the water...reducing the vitamins available. BUT many foods also require cooking so we can actually absorb some of the mironutrients.

Is sugar sweet enough?

Sugar vs. Sweetener.

I feel like we often become very dependent on artificial sweeteners, especially those of us to have dieted. We all probably know that the best way to decrease sugar consumption is gradual, ultimately resulting in whatever your goal is. Though we understand this we don't necessarily follow it and often rely on artificial sweeteners to satisfy our sweet tooth.

I believe that there is plenty of sugar we consume that we do not know about, so we shouldn't forget to look at the hidden sugar in our foods when trying to decrease sugar intake. But today I thought I'd take a little look at artificial sweeteners.

What we eat depends on who we are and what are conditions are. I generally believe that sugar in small amounts is much, much healthier then artificial sweeteners. But I understand that for some people using sweeteners could dramatically decrease their weight, especially if they are a avid pop drinker (though the pop should gradually be removed from the regular diet). But we cannot be perfect at what we do, including eating.

For those of you who don't know much about artificial sweeteners there are many different types. Most people are at least familiar with Aspartame and Splenda (which is actually a brand name).

Here is a little overview of some of sweeteners (at least that I am familiar with)

1. Aspartame (Equal) - I think this may be one of the most well known sweeteners, it was introduced to the market around 1980. There has been a great deal of controversy over whether it should be on the market or not. Mainly because of concerns regarding the initial research completed in the 70's on safety. But alas, it still is on the market. I would personally limit aspartame consumption because I believe the research that says byproducts of aspartame breakdown cause alot of harm.

2. Sucralose (Splenda)- This is the MOST SWEET sweetener. Surcralose is rather new on the market, or it would seem that way. It was certified for the market in the early '90's. But, I think it has gotten to be the dominant sweetener on the current market. I imagine you all remember the initial (fairly recent) commercials for Splenda, they were very homely and showed mothers and children. The main benefits is it is very strong so very minut amounts are needed to increase sweetness. Sucralose is just sucrose (table sugar) with a chlorine atom replacing a hydroxy group (hydrogen + oxygen). So in theory is it was broken down to the subsequent parts it should be safe because we consumed sugar and chlorine daily. I personally believe this is one of the safer sweeteners on the market. But...not as safe as sugar (in reasonable amount of course)!

4. Acesulfame potassium - Typically blended with other sweeteners because it can have a bitter after taste. You see this in diet pop often with aspartame. There are safety concerns over this sweetener, and on top of that it is mixed with another sweetener that could be bad for us!? Some have suggested it may be a carcinogen...which basically means it can cause cancer. Animals studies have suggested that acesulfame potassium can affect insulin secretions in rats. Which is pretty strange if you think about it. I do not feel comfortable taking in something that will affect my insulin levels...I am happy with my insulin levels thank you.

5. Saccharin (sweet'n'low) - Just another example of a sweetener that has always had differing opinions on whether it was healthy or not. If the FDA is not sure if it is healthy why was it ever legalized for use?....

6. Steviol glycoside (Stevia)- Heat-stable, pH-stable, and does not ferment, does not induce a glycemic response when ingested - sounds like a miracle! Too bad it may be a mutagen...which is exactly what it sounds like - it might mutate your DNA causing cancer.

7. Sugar alcohols - These are not as sweet as sugar and contain less calories. I guess they do not really fit in the with the group listed above because they are nutritive...they give calories and I don't think they are created in a lab. I believe that they have less calories largely because we cannot properly digest them in our bodies and so we pass them more or less intact. When they reach the intestines still intact water moves into the intestines causing -OOOPSY - some watery stool. Have you even noticed that diet pop gives you diarrhea? These little buggers could be why!

So that's just a little overview of some of the sweeteners. I did not really go into as much detail as I would like. But I am getting a little sleepy! So I will just outline my main issues with sweeteners and then be off:

1. Health concerns - Basically all of the sweeteners mentioned (and probably most that haven't been) have been suggested to cause some kind of harmful health effects. The ones that don't, like splenda/sucralose, simply may not have been on the market long enough to see long term effects. We have to remember that everyone is out to get a buck, and sometimes other people ultimately pay the price. Do we really trust the people who are deciding what products are allowed on the market?

2. Calories - How many calories are we really saving?...Is the risk of health concerns worth it...or would you rather teach yourself to enjoy sugarless tea?

3. Cost - Should we be willing to drop an extra few dollars for sweeteners to bake with instead of sugar?...Or could I just find a new recipe that uses half the sugar? Or uses applesauce?...

4. Where are these sweeteners coming from? Typically I think they have been created in labs...it is weird to eat things that are not natural at all?...


I guess there is plenty of competition in the food industry...so who knows what is true and what is a smear campaign. I am by all means not covering all the artificial sweeteners out there, and some of my information may be a little off....so don't quote me on anything. But I really do feel it is important to think about what it is we are putting in out bodies. Why is it such a big deal if people splice genes of fish into fruit, but we're completely fine with eating items that come from a lab that are basically poison?

Just a thought.

Who is this girl?

Greetings!!

I decided to create this blog to document some of the nutrition info I come across. I don't know if anyone will actually want to read this since there are so many excellent nutrition blogs out there by much more qualified people. I am a new graduate from a nutrition program at a Canadian university. One of the courses I took was called nutrition education. We had to complete about 2 assignments over the semester and she gave us for to choose from. One was a nutrition blog, which I regretfully did not do.

As of now I am unemployed and currently looking for full time work within the nutrition field, hopefully in some type of counseling. I thought that having a blog might help to discover which areas I am most interested in and keep me busy.

I plan to eventually apply to internships to become a registered dietitian. My hopes are high, but maybe not as high as my grades were...

I think that is enough explaining. I want to get down to the good stuff.

I'm not a writer, so ignore any back grammar/spelling in the future.