The (Mis-)Adventures of Eating
I have polycystic ovarian syndrome, which causes me to be very cautious about what I eat--my body doesn't seem to tolerate certain things well (sugar and chocolate are two main culprits in my life). And when one's body doesn't tolerate things well, it causes one to be more circumspect in what one shoves down one's gullet. ;0
So this adventure starts with a post on a bulletin board for women with PCOS and takes me to a site which (ordinarily) I would have tossed with the "fanatics" and "food police." Only, I don't--because their information on soy is *right on the money.* You see, soy is a product which is VERY not good for me (the phytoestrogens are physically dangerous to my system). So when I see information that is accurate with my own research on the topic of soy, I am more apt to give the benefit of the doubt to the rest of the site.
Which is what I did. Because I trusted what this site said about soy ingestion, I actually read most of the site (it's very text-heavy). And what I read freaked me out and grossed me out (completely) at the same time. :p
I read about milk production and this site's Campaign for Real Milk. And it made me actually want to do something that would (ordinarily) be completely out of my character: to buy milk from a farmer and try it, unpasteurized and uncooked. Apparently, when milk is heated (for the pasteurization process), enzymes change and the natural fats, which are "good fats," change to "bad fats." And the milk becomes inherently less healthy for us. In fact, most "milk allergies" are an allergy to the things that come with the pasteurization process--not an actual allergy to milk per se. Fascinating stuff! I have a few leads on farmers in my area that may be willing to sell me some raw milk and I'll post my results (and the family's judgment) on it in a few weeks. :)
~~~
Sort of in the same vein, I was also researching oils and fats. And apparently, what we've all been told since the mid-80s (that saturated fats are bad and unsaturated and polyunsaturates are good) is bogus. Hooey. Complete fiction! What we thought "researchers" were telling us in the 80s, never came from researchers. It came from the marketers of vegetable-oil manufacturers and no one else. :( So the American public bought in to a bunch of junk, and it's been costing us our health. :( :( This has lead me on a chase to figure out which oil I will switch to (liquid "cooking oil")--I dislike the taste of olive oil, but other than that or sesame oil, I don't have a lot of options. So I either find a VERY mild tasting olive oil (read: almost no taste whatsoever), or I use sesame oil. And on the topic of solid cooking oils, I just procured a sample of "virgin, centrifuged coconut oil." Coconut oil is supposed to be very good for you, and this stuff is supposed to be very mild in flavour (i.e., my eggs won't taste like coconut). Now if I could figure out what to do about shortening for baking....!
~~~
I have more information that I found fascinating (but will save for the next posting) about peanut allergies and the seeming ubiquitousness of said allergies. Absolutely fascinating stuff! Who woulda thunk that I'd jump on the "natural foods" bandwagon? I only recently decided I wouldn't spontaneously combust if I went in to a Whole Foods Supermarket....! ;)
So this adventure starts with a post on a bulletin board for women with PCOS and takes me to a site which (ordinarily) I would have tossed with the "fanatics" and "food police." Only, I don't--because their information on soy is *right on the money.* You see, soy is a product which is VERY not good for me (the phytoestrogens are physically dangerous to my system). So when I see information that is accurate with my own research on the topic of soy, I am more apt to give the benefit of the doubt to the rest of the site.
Which is what I did. Because I trusted what this site said about soy ingestion, I actually read most of the site (it's very text-heavy). And what I read freaked me out and grossed me out (completely) at the same time. :p
I read about milk production and this site's Campaign for Real Milk. And it made me actually want to do something that would (ordinarily) be completely out of my character: to buy milk from a farmer and try it, unpasteurized and uncooked. Apparently, when milk is heated (for the pasteurization process), enzymes change and the natural fats, which are "good fats," change to "bad fats." And the milk becomes inherently less healthy for us. In fact, most "milk allergies" are an allergy to the things that come with the pasteurization process--not an actual allergy to milk per se. Fascinating stuff! I have a few leads on farmers in my area that may be willing to sell me some raw milk and I'll post my results (and the family's judgment) on it in a few weeks. :)
~~~
Sort of in the same vein, I was also researching oils and fats. And apparently, what we've all been told since the mid-80s (that saturated fats are bad and unsaturated and polyunsaturates are good) is bogus. Hooey. Complete fiction! What we thought "researchers" were telling us in the 80s, never came from researchers. It came from the marketers of vegetable-oil manufacturers and no one else. :( So the American public bought in to a bunch of junk, and it's been costing us our health. :( :( This has lead me on a chase to figure out which oil I will switch to (liquid "cooking oil")--I dislike the taste of olive oil, but other than that or sesame oil, I don't have a lot of options. So I either find a VERY mild tasting olive oil (read: almost no taste whatsoever), or I use sesame oil. And on the topic of solid cooking oils, I just procured a sample of "virgin, centrifuged coconut oil." Coconut oil is supposed to be very good for you, and this stuff is supposed to be very mild in flavour (i.e., my eggs won't taste like coconut). Now if I could figure out what to do about shortening for baking....!
~~~
I have more information that I found fascinating (but will save for the next posting) about peanut allergies and the seeming ubiquitousness of said allergies. Absolutely fascinating stuff! Who woulda thunk that I'd jump on the "natural foods" bandwagon? I only recently decided I wouldn't spontaneously combust if I went in to a Whole Foods Supermarket....! ;)
posted by Sue | 3:23 PM
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