Chemical Cuisine

Just another magic Monday! Although it is raining AND the worst day of the week, lets put a smile on! My class even got canceled this morning... did not find out till I got on campus... but I could always use that extra hour :D PLUS PLUS PLUS I have on my super sweet purple pants today! How was everyones weekend? The weather was okay for the most part. Kinda got chilly yesterday, but its February so that's okay, right? This is the first weekend in a while I wasn't completely stressed out with homework and man did it feel good! For what homework I had, I took a nice bike ride over to Sweetheart and read in my hammock. Talk about relaxing :D

Its just been one of those feel-good times in my life. I am learning to stress less and appreciate more. I think I have finally found a happy place and it just so happens to be with some awesome people. Cortney is finally home after about 2 months in the CF ward. I can not be happier, she doesn't deserve to be cooped up in the hospital. After all, her personality is WAY to big for that place! 


So with the help of my roomie and fellow nutrition major, Sarah, I would like to share with you something called Chemical Cuisine. Haha that name alone just sounds terrifying. When did it become okay to classify our food as 'chemical cuisine' and have an APP to educate us about what is going into our bodies? Well I cant hate on this too much-- BECAUSE if you are going to eat processed foods (which most of America is currently doing so) it is better not to be completely clueless.Thanks to the Center for Science in the Public Interest, we now have just this.

How many of you knew that the FDA and Center for Science in the Public Interest posted a glossary about food additives? ( <-- check it out!) Well, it is one of the most visited sections on BOTH websites. People are indeed become more interested in what they are consuming and with food allergies more prevalent, this glossary is pretty awesome. For the most part, food additives are safe if consumed in small amounts, but scientists have still flagged the ones that they think the public should avoid.  

"Chemical Cuisine was researched by CSPI executive director Michael Jacobson, who authored "Eater's Digest: The Consumer Factbook on Food Additives" and holds a Ph.D. from MIT in microbiology. CSPI led efforts to restrict or ban the use of such additives as sodium nitrite, sulfites, olestra, Violet dye 1, and others. A CSPI petition calling on the FDA to ban food dyes spurred the Food and Drug Administration to hold a recent advisory committee meeting on the impact of dyes on children's behavior." -- Center for Science in the Public Interest

So, if youre willing to 0.99 for this-- Id say go for it! 

Well have a wonderful day! If you would like a nice workout to this lazy day, come see me at Pilates tonight-- 5:30 :D

Stay Happy and Healthy !

Qnexa.

I more than likely have no right to write about this... simply because I am undergrad nutrition major with no pharm skills BUT, I know my stuff well enough to pick this apart and say, what I am about to write about not only scares me, but I would never recommend. 

Let me introduce you to the new and upcoming diet pill- Qnexa. This is the first diet pill to be approved since 1999 (Qnexa already shot down once by the FDA in 2010). Composed of two drugs, phentermine and Topiramate, the "cocktail" has much controversy. After a 20-2 decision to back the drug, an official decision will be made by April. "While effective at reducing weight, the drug, manufactured by Vivus Inc., was denied approval in 2010 because of its potential side effects. Before making its decision Wednesday, the advisory panel reviewed two years of data on the drug; when advisers last voted on Qnexa, only one year's worth of follow-up data was available."

Anyone remember that drug back in the late 80's/early 90's called Fen-Phen? Taken off the market because of possible links to damaging heart valves. Numerous patients with Tachycardia (increased heart rate) and elevated heart pressure-- caused from the release of catecholamines. Phentermine has the same effect on people as amphetamines, which stimulates the central nervous system, decreasing appetite. But, since it has been on the market for about 40 years now and already approved, testing does not have to be as substantial. "The NIH warns that the phentermine’s “anorectic” effects last only a few weeks, and cautions against increasing the dosage when the drug loses its effectiveness on weight loss." But... I mean if you were shedding 10% of your body weight, all the sudden plateaued, wouldnt you go to your doctor and ask for an increase in dosage? Only the sensible thing, right? But, let me tell you why this is NOT the answer.


Meet the drug Topiramate. Something this currently haunts my medicine cabinet. This anti-convulsant drug is mostly known for memory-loss, confusion, tip-of-tongue syndrome (psychomotor slowing). "Topiramate also carries warnings for depression and mood problems, fatigue and “somnolence” (sleepiness). And then there’s that pesky “suicidal ideation”". Cant forget about the higher risk of giving birth to a child with cleft palate. THIS DRUG IS NOT EVEN APPROVED FOR WEIGHT LOSS? But, Vivus Inc. claims that when you mix it up with phen in the perfect amount, the results are dramatic. 
S I D E . N O T E-- I have been on this drug since I was a senior in high school, with my dosage increasing till I hit about 200mg (A VERY HIGH DOSE). When I was first prescribed this for my migraine headaches, my neurologist said I would have "decrease in appetite/weight loss"... he also said he doesn't like to tell people about side effects because they will demonstrate their own placebo effect?(haha okay? hmm...) Over the course of 3 years, I can honestly agree with him, I did not see any change in my appetite. But, recently I was noticing my memory was not as good and when I told my doctor about this, she immediately asked me how long I had been on Topomax (the active ingredient in Topiarmate). Responding, "3 years" she said we needed to immediately cut down my doses, explaining to me about the psychomotor slowing. Me being me, hating everything about medicine, decided I would just quit taking it. I'll let you know how migraines go from now on... but to be honest, I would rather not suffer from all the nonsense and risk having a baby with cleft palate, all so I could be migraine-free.


Back to Qnexa. "In the panel meeting two days ago, members discussed whether Vivus should conduct further studies before or after approval. The FDA is due to decide on Qnexa by April 17. For its part, Vivus is asking to start a four-year trial of the affect of Qnexa on cardiac health after the FDA votes whether or not to approve the drug on April 17th."... thanks again for the backward ways of America? This makes no sense to me to start clinical trials AFTER approval? Hello guinea pigs.


So anyways, thats my me on my soapbox. I think this is absolutely ridiculous and at the end of the day isn't diet and exercise the best weight loss tool. I understand it is case by case, but there are surely SAFER ways to go about losing weight.

Have a wonderful Saturday night!

Source 1

Source 2

Fruit and Nut Balls

Why hello! And let the week begin! I had the BEST weekend at home! It is always so nice to be with my family and of course the pups! My mom discovered this super awesome dog park... so we took the two crrraaazzy dogs! This place is literally huge... it has everything a doggie could ever want. Water, woods, other doggy friends, tubes to go through, and balls EVERYWHERE! My dogs were zonked out the rest of the weekend after that trip! 

I came home that night and decided to make Fruit and Nut balls! They are super easy to make and I think all of you should make them :D

2 cups of mixed nuts

2 cups of dried fruit ( i used cherries and cranberries)

a dash of cinnamon

crushed almonds (to roll the balls in at the end)

All you are going to do is throw everything in the food processor, grind it up, then put it in a bowl. Roll into balls and roll in crushed almonds. Enjoy :D

 So anyways... thats them! And you must try them! They are perfect for a snack at school! I on to study for my tests this week! Have a wonderful week :D BTW here is my sleepy pup after a fun day at the park! Stay happy and healthy!

if it is to be, its up to me.

haha what a week. All I can do is laugh at how AWFUL this week truly was. Between the tests, activities x434324, work, homework, the boy, and oh VALENTINES day... I'd say this week goes on the top of the list as pretty lame. But, I did get a twitter... as stubborn as I am, I FINALLY gave in! I hope yalls week was better than mine! And, I will be heading home for the weekend for some much needed relaxation :D Cant wait to see mom, dad, and the pups. They always cheer me up. The more I look around at room, it resembles what a week I had. I need to do laundry and clean the heck out of this. But, thanks to mumsie, I have these beautiful flowers to look at! (LOVE YOU!)

Cortney is still in the hospital, I call her as much as I can. She has been in there for at least a month now and I am not sure when she is getting out. Send her lots of love and some prayers too :D I admire her so much and I cant wait to go back and see her! 

I'm getting by lately with the help of my friends. People like Keonnie, my partner in SOAR who I can not say how much I adore. And Kat... she doesn't know it (well until now) that I LOVE HER TO DEATH. She was there for me this week as I was pulling my hair out in frustration. I think I need to step back and realize that I am 20 years old and still living life. I am such an independent person and all I want to do right now is worry about school! I have been blessed with the knowledge to move forward in life and the people to help me along with it. Now it is my turn to take full advantage of this and appreciate every second! I keep thinking about this quote in my management class, "If it is to be, its up to me." The future is MINE and I'm not stopping. What are you thankful for?

Have a wonderful weekend!

Brianna 

the "pink goo"

Bonjour! And it sure is a cold one out there today! What is going on out there these days? I never know how to dress! I feel like everyone is bound to get sick and I am trying to stay away from that 100%! School is going well! I had 2 tests last week, on top of my normal CRAZY week. I have yet another one tomorrow and well this one is going to be a little more difficult :/ Advanced Food Science... dreading this one for sure. SOAR is going FABULOUS, and Cortney (my bff in TX with CF) is holding up, she is back in the hospital... send her your prayers! Oh, and how could I forget, tomorrow is Valentines Day... I'll leave it at that. Shouldn't everyday be Valentines Day? :D

Okay so I wanted to share with you this delicious article I found about my not so favorite place in the world-- McDonald's. I mean I guess it is kind of a good article, since they are cutting out some things, BUT, why the heck were they putting these things in there to begin with!!!!? As of about 2 weeks now (This was published Feb 1st) McDonald's will stop adding ammonium hydroxide in the production of their hamburgers. MMMM I know that deeply saddens you but----- this is the stuff that's commonly found in household FERTILIZERS and even homemade BOMBS???! (Way to go Mickey D's.) Jaime Oliver featured this "Pink Goo" on his show Food Revolution, highlighting that meat scraps treated with ammonium hydroxide creates the "pink goo", extends the meat, and kills the bacteria. I mean yeah, technically/legally it sounds great... but I mean come on, who wants this in their body!? But, hey,  it's regulated by the U.S. Agriculture Department, which classifies it as "generally recognized as safe." Thanks again FDA, I absolutely LOVE putting fertilizer in my body!! 

Sorry, I know I can get a little fired up sometimes, but the stupidity of these companies just aggravates me so much! If you're interested to find out what else could be hiding in your food, read more here! I know my friend/coworker Kat is challenging herself to eat things with less than 10 ingredients! YAY KAT! This is so difficult today and I find myself reading every label! 

I love you all! 

Stay Happy and HEALTHY! :D

A Child's Right to Choose?

Good morning and happy Monday! I hope everyone had a wonderful weekend and esp a fun Super Bowl Sunday:) although it is not the most beautiful day here in Statesboro, I think we could manage a bum day like this! So, as I sit at Starbucks this morning enjoying my coffee and oatmeal, I'm giving thanks for today!


When I was reading my daily news this morning, I came across this article. Okay, so last semester I was in this class called meal management where we did all kinds of stuff (ntfs majors you get my drift). Well one of our projects was on school nutrition and how to properly plan a meal for all types of children. Let me just say, I never knew how much went into this. There are SO many guidelines those meals have to meet, and well we all know how picky we were as children. Putting what I would like (broccoli,asparagus,grapefruit,etc) doesn't really sit well with little kids. So, without a doubt a huge congrats goes out to the professionals who do this daily! Okay... So on to the article.

Last fall in Los Angeles, California, schools decided to cut back in school lunch. Cut back in the sense of eliminating flavored milk,chicken nuggets, and lots of other childhood favorites. So, let me start there-- flavored milk is pretty close to the worst thing they were handing our kids. It was like sugar water?! One 8oz carton contains up to 4 tsp of added sugar (64 calories of just sugar...)! If children drink those for breakfast and lunch, 5 days a week, for 180 days... Hmmmm according to Jaimie Oliver that equates to about 8 pounds of unnecessary sugar.

And well, I'm not sure if I want to start on the "chicken" nuggets. Well, I'm know the next couple of lines won't shock you... But the kids at LA schools were nothing short of furious with these changes. Word of a black market circulating on campus, full of candies and sodas, was in full force. Lesson here? Well kids like their refined sugar and dangit no one will take it from them.

The USDA implemented some new changes, that I'm stoked about! But, I have a feeling the kids will be upset. Eliminating 2% milk, Offering fruits and veggies at every meal, and having items such as pizza/tator tots highly restricted. The more I read in the article, the more I realized how skewed it was. The writers seem to be on the kids side. Which, yes, most of the time is the side we choose, but I'm sorry this is one time I cant do it. "Nationally, many schools have tried to demonize and ban processed foods, soft drinks, pizza and chocolate milk. Though such dramatic efforts can have rhetorical and emotional appeal, they are probably not achieving the goal of guiding children to better eating habits." WHAT!!!??? AHH!! This is what needs to happen... haha maybe not "demonize" (that sounds harsh) but SOMETHING needs to happened? Please correct me if I'm wrong? These kids are our future! What are your thoughts?

Okay... so back to the "chicken" nuggets. Gosh I used to down these things as a child. #winning.Okay, so I know that schools are not serving McDonald's nuggets... but this is an example of what we are putting in our children's mouths. The addictive ingredients that is making them start a black market in the hallways of school. If you have never read the book An Omnivores Dilemma, please do so whenever you have free time. It is such an amazing book and I have taken the next two paragraphs straight from the book. Michael Pollan is a genius!

"The ingredients listed in the flyer suggest a lot of thought goes into a nugget, that and a lot of corn. Of the thirty-eight ingredients it takes to make a McNugget, I counted thirteen that can be derived from corn: the corn-fed chicken itself; modified cornstarch (to bind the pulverized chicken meat); mono-, tri-, and diglycerides (emulsifiers, which keep the fats and water from separating); dextrose; lecithin (another emulsifier); chicken broth (to restore some of the flavor that processing leeches out); yellow corn flour and more modified cornstarch (for the batter); cornstarch (a filler); vegetable shortening; partially hydrogenated corn oil; and citric acid as a preservative. A couple of other plants take part in the nugget: There's some wheat in the batter, and on any given day the hydrogenated oil could come from soybeans, canola, or cotton rather than corn, depending on the market price and availability.According to the handout, McNuggets also contain several completely synthetic ingredients, quasiedible substances that ultimately come not from a corn or soybean field but form a petroleum refinery or chemical plant. These chemicals are what make modern processed food possible, by keeping the organic materials in them from going bad or looking strange after months in the freezer or on the road. Listed first are the "leavening agents": sodium aluminum phosphate, mono-calcium phosphate, sodium acid pyrophosphate, and calcium lactate. These are antioxidants added to keep the various animal and vegetable fats involved in a nugget from turning rancid. Then there are "anti-foaming agents" like dimethylpolysiloxene, added to the cooking oil to keep the starches from binding to air molecules, so as to produce foam during the fry. The problem is evidently grave enough to warrant adding a toxic chemical to the food: According to the Handbook of Food Additives, dimethylpolysiloxene is a suspected carcinogen and an established mutagen, tumorigen, and reproductive effector; it's also flammable.

But perhaps the most alarming ingredient in a Chicken McNugget is tertiary butylhydroquinone, or TBHQ, an antioxidant derived from petroleum that is either sprayed directly on the nugget or the inside of the box it comes in to "help preserve freshness." According to A Consumer's Dictionary of Food Additives, TBHQ is a form of butane (i.e. lighter fluid) the FDA allows processors to use sparingly in our food: It can comprise no more than 0.02 percent of the oil in a nugget. Which is probably just as well, considering that ingesting a single gram of TBHQ can cause "nausea, vomiting, ringing in the ears, delirium, a sense of suffocation, and collapse." Ingesting five grams of TBHQ can kill."

Like I always say, dont be afraid of your food! It just helps to be aware of what is going into the most precious thing we have- our body. And especially when it is a young child! I hope everyone has a wonderful Monday! Come see me at Pilates! Tonight at 5:30

Stay HAPPY and HEALTHY!

Giving THANKS!

Where has the time gone? Its already February??? This semester is way more than I was expecting... between work, SDA vice president, SOAR, and school..... I honestly do not have time to breathe. Oh and trying to run?? HAHAHAHA what is time? But, honestly, I have no reason to be complaining, I love it!! This is what I love. Last night at our monthly group fit meeting I was taking a look at my planner... and wow that was a serious joke. It looks like a dictionary. Just filled to the max? (saddest part, I'm only taking 1 major class this semester and finishing up my core?) Hey, whatever... life could be worse. Ashley keeps telling me it will be worth it in the end when I apply to my internships. Yet, through it all, I've found such a H A P P Y and C O N T E N T place in my life. I can not get this smile off my face! 

I want to give a serious shout out to GSU for re-opening the Pickle Barrel!! I know you're asking, "What the heck is that??" So, now you can use a meal plan or just plain money to buy fresh produce on campus. Pineapples, herbs, veggies... I mean is this real life? I am so happy! Just last week I walked into Lakeside and paid $1.48 for an apple because I needed a quick snack. Not only was that my only option but it was $1.48!?!?! For an apple???? So, I am very excited for these new choices on campus to say the least. Way to go SGA/ GSU! A big thank you!

Superbowl is coming up this weekend and I know its like carnivore central... haha I read that 1.25 billion chicken wings will be consumed this Sunday... ? :(

TGIF! Have a wonderful weekend. Spinlates tonight at 5:30! Go O U T S I D E and enjoy this beautiful weather!

Stay happy and healthy!