Starling Fitness: Daily writings on Fitness, Diet, and Health

I’ve heard both sides of the argument. I’ve heard that High Fructose Corn Syrup (HFCS) is a benign sweetener that is less expensive for soda and snack makers to use to sweeten food. I’ve also heard that it is processed differently in our body than cane sugar, causing the so-called “obesity epidemic.” What’s the truth?

The Accidental Hedonist has a write up about the research and the controversy that sums it up pretty well.

• Accidental Hedonist – More on HFCS – Unanswered Questions

“The truth? Well, the truth is that we don’t know the truth. No one can say for certain that HFCS is better or worse than cane sugar. When we look to the Corn folks for information, all they point to is the fact that the FDA has allowed the use of HFCS, so it has to be safe, right?”

“Of course, that’s a bit disengenuous on the Corn folks’ part, because the FDA has NEVER tested HFCS, nor accepted any outsourced test results. The have deemed HFCS as “generally regarded as safe”, which essentially means that No one has been reputed to have died of the stuff.”

“Any excess of sweetener is a bad thing, whether it’s sugar or HFCS. The question that no one seems to be willing to answer is “Which is worse – Too much sugar or too much HFCS?” Until this question is answered, any indictment of HFCS is premature.”

Instead of checking to see whether your soda contains HFCS or cane sugar, limiting your intake of soda is probably the best bet until we are able to find the truth. Fill your glass with water and you won’t go wrong.

Via: Boing Boing: Is high-fructose corn syrup the devil? Yup.

When I saw this postcard on PostSecret, I realized the truth: every moment is an infinite moment. We only need to recognize it.

Next time you’re feeling down, remember. In this moment, you are infinite. You can achieve anything and you have the time to do it. Stop doing things that don’t matter to you. Stop wasting your infinity and start using it to create joy in your life.

You can do it!

PostSecret‘s beneficiary is the National Hopeline Network. It is a 24-hour hotline (1 (800) SUICIDE) for anyone who is thinking about suicide or knows someone who is considering it.

It appears that anorexia is just as hard to deal with as bingeing. This postcard from PostSecret reminded me that I’m not cured of my bingeing, I just manage it. Every Day…

PostSecret‘s beneficiary is the National Hopeline Network. It is a 24-hour hotline (1 (800) SUICIDE) for anyone who is thinking about suicide or knows someone who is considering it.

Fast Food Nation was the book that inspired Morgan Spurlock to go on his McDonald’s binge for 30 days. It is a non-fiction book that talks about the fast food industry.

Fast Food Nation has been fictionalized and a movie starring Greg Kinnear is coming out this fall. You can read more about it here:

• Fast Food Nation the Movie

I haven’t seen the movie, so I’m eagerly awaiting it. I know that I was offended by Morgan Spurlock myopic view of McDonald’s. In Super-Size Me, he didn’t even try to eat healthy. He says he ended up eating everything on the menu, but it looked like he concentrated on the most high-calorie items for the bulk of his meals. He was destined to gain weight with a diet like that.

Based on the movie trailer, it looks like Fast Food Nation has the same bias. I guess I just have to wait to see it.

Lisa Williams is another excellent person I met at the South by Southwest Interactive conference (SXSWi). She is currently training to do a Century Ride, which is a 100-mile bike race. She talks about it here:

• Learning The Lessons of Nixon » Century Ride

This inspirational entry talks about the training, how it has affected her dreaming and how she is able to escape from the stress of work using her bicycle.

“I don’t think they can run as fast as I can bike, however… Part of my ride involves a shortcut through a graveyard. So many Irish names, then as I dash south, they begin to be interspersed with Italian and Portuguese names.”

All of it boils down to her work and what she wants out of life. With 100 mile bike races on her mind, she wants her work to last 100 years. She has a plan to make her life’s work last a century.

“The only way to last a really long time is to build something useful enough that people will want to keep it going after you die, and to cultivate a sense of ownership in other people. In short: make good shit and give it away as fast as you can.”

I wish her the best of luck with both her website and her bike race. It seems that pushing our bodies beyond their limits somehow shows us how to push ourselves in the other facets of our lives.

All fad diets work for a reason. Sometimes it’s because they lower your calorie intake by limiting your food choices. Other times its because they promise results so strongly that the placebo effect takes place.

What fad diets have you tried?

For how long did each one work?

What made you finally give them up?

What will you do in the future to evaluate whether another diet is simply a fad diet or a healthy way of eating?

The Question of the Week is meant to be an Inner Workout for you. Find some time during the week and allow yourself to write the answers to the questions posted. You can write them on paper, on a word processor or here in the comments section. Whatever works for you as long as you do it.

Keep writing until you find out something about yourself that you didn’t know before. I’ve also heard that it works to keep writing until you cry, but that doesn’t really work for me. Whatever works for you. Just keep writing until it feels right.

I know you’ve heard it because I’ve heard it so many times that I almost believed it a little bit. They told us that green tea has anti-oxidants in it. It does, but does that mean that green tea will help keep your heart healthy? The FDA says, “No.”

• FDA Denies Green Tea Cardiovascular Health Claim

So many times food manufacturers try to play off the supposed health benefits of food. They try to create green tea extract, green tea pills and green tea candies that are supposed to heal you. Don’t fall for the propaganda. After looking at over 100 studies, the FDA has stated that there is “no credible evidence” that green tea is “heart healthy.”

Drink green tea because you like the flavor, but don’t depend on it to keep your heart strong. To do that, make sure you exercise and eat healthy. There is no substitute for that.

Via: Consumer Health Digest, May 16, 2006

Laura,

So many have the symptom of feeling cold after losing weight but no one has said why this happens and what they have done to fix it.

My friend just lost close to 200 lbs and is suddenly feeling cold and doesn’t know how to get warm. Any suggestions.

Marie

Marie,

I bring a sweater or cardigan wherever I go. I even bring it during the summer because so many places have the A/C blasting. REI (or a sporting goods store) has some jackets that fold up in a tiny little envelope that you can take out of your purse and wear if you suddenly get the chills.

I’ve stopped saying “It’s cold” when I’m feeling cold because everyone else argues. Instead, I say, “I’ve got the chills.” Everyone seems to understand that.

Good luck, Laura Moncur

GamerCycle says that it’s building healthy kids, but does it really?

• GamerCycle – Building Healthy Kids

They describe how it works here:

“The premise is simple – as long you keep pedaling, the television screen is “ON”… stop pedaling, and the TV screen goes blank. Go from 100% sedentary time to 100% exercise time! Need a break? Hit pause, then resume the game when you are ready.”

The first thought that came to my mind was, “They’ll just unplug the thing,” but GamerCycle has thought about that:

“Video lock box prevents unplugging of the cable from the GamerCycle.”

This idea might actually work if you have a child who loves video games or television. If they feel ambivalent toward TV or games, then the extra effort isn’t worth it.

This would do nothing for me. I can already play video games while I’m riding my bike on the trainer. What I want is a bicycle that controls the game. Then my performance on the game is dependent on how well I ride the bike. I want to go faster in the game if I turn up the resistance and I want it to feel like real life. I know that’s a lot to ask from video games and equipment. I just wonder why none of the big companies are seriously devoting programming and development time to this.

The Utah Better Business Bureau cited UltraLife Fitness, Trugenix and Trugenix Hoodia as websites that have been scamming people.

• Better Business Bureau of Utah

They were using the popular method of giving people “free” diet pills and then charging them for a “membership” in a club in which they send pills every month. We’ve talked about this method of scamming people before:

• Starling Fitness » Steer Clear of the Free Diet Pills

Now, that the BBB of Utah has singled them out, they have gone underground. Their websites are offline and they are no where to be found. If you thought you could get your money back on that “money back guarantee” you’re out of luck because they’re gone.

That’s how it works for most diet pill scammers. They set up shop, sell a bunch of pills and then disappear when the FTC or BBB come knocking on their door. Don’t let yourself be a victim. There is no pill out there that will help you lose weight without diet and exercise. If you have to diet and exercise anyway, do it without the pills.

To see some of the responses people have given Truegenix Hoodia, see Rate The Offers:

• Rate The Offers.com – Offer Ratings – TruGenix Hoodia

Via: Consumer Health Digest, May 9, 2006