tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29235839.post6713858572763867213..comments2024-02-05T05:15:04.759-08:00Comments on Wandering Scientist: Weekend Reading: The Food EditionCloudhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09317847285050447789noreply@blogger.comBlogger14125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29235839.post-83290530101390412632011-04-27T03:18:24.280-07:002011-04-27T03:18:24.280-07:00Great articles, thanks! We survived the Easter can...Great articles, thanks! We survived the Easter candy onslaught with a tummy virus. Not really a fun way to avoid eating too much sugar, though. <br /><br />I don't eat meat anymore but I can't give up dairy yet. I buy organic to soothe my conscious a bit. Segue to the guilt thing, I don't feel guilty about my house cleaning or lack of cooking at all - amazing considering I am plagued by guilt in almost every other area. I do need to find a way to let it go and appreciate the choices I've made and the life I have. It is the only one I've got.mom2boyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00784436196685595115noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29235839.post-79419478832376999072011-04-25T21:40:25.260-07:002011-04-25T21:40:25.260-07:00It's amazing to me how much sugar we consume w...It's amazing to me how much sugar we consume without realizing it. As I've started paying more attention to labels, I've found it astounding. I haven't brought myself to read that NYT Magazine article yet (somehow, as I'm surrounded by Easter candy, it makes me feel even more guilty), but have been slowly trying to remove or limit processed sugar of all kinds from our diets when & where I can. But it's just *everywhere*.Gingerhttp://rambleramble.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29235839.post-36122822553261403802011-04-25T21:37:18.724-07:002011-04-25T21:37:18.724-07:00Thanks for all the yogurt tips, everyone! If I eve...Thanks for all the yogurt tips, everyone! If I ever get off my butt and figure out the best solution for me on that front, I'll let you know.<br /><br />And @TodayWendy- you are completely right about how context changes your feelings about things. I like to cook and love to bake. But not with an 18 month old screaming at my feet and a 25 minute deadline. (Thankfully, the deadline is easing up a bit now that Petunia is getting older and a slightly late dinner no longer completely screws with our night.)<br /><br />The idea of guilt substituting for frustration is interesting. I'll have to think about that....Cloudhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09317847285050447789noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29235839.post-32764292860016056232011-04-25T11:47:27.829-07:002011-04-25T11:47:27.829-07:00I'm a huge label reader (and take way to long ...I'm a huge label reader (and take way to long at the store because of this). I think a lot of food has way too much salt and/or sugar. I really like flavored greek yogurt but it's pretty expensive. I have found that I like to mix the plain greek yogurt (Fage is super cheap at Costco) and mix it with my own berries and a little honey. I've heard of people using Agave Nectar instead of honey too.Darethhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07099737108076204876noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29235839.post-20496767795995101912011-04-25T10:28:14.368-07:002011-04-25T10:28:14.368-07:00I read that NYT article about sugar, and watched t...I read that NYT article about sugar, and watched the Lustig lecture last week...and I'm definitely wanting to cut down on sugar as a result of it. I quit putting sugar into tea & coffee ages ago, and managed to convince myself that pop is evil, but I love baked goods and will never ever stop eating cookies. I really need to get with the "one treat a day" program that my husband & daughter are on...but I'm in the habit of eating sweets in the evening after she's gone to bed, as sort of a reward for all the horrid behaviour I've had to deal with in the evenings. I'm trying to drink herbal tea instead...but honestly it just isn't as good as a cupcake! And as my husband pointed out, our society likes to give gifts of sugar. It is tough. Especially when I'm thinking about how best to help my daughter develop a healthy attitude towards sweets, because she loves them. And denying things to small children usually makes them want to eat more of them as adults. I'm really working hard to explain why we eat what we do, but at 4 she's still not quite getting it.<br /><br />About the yogurt. Last week I bought 2 containers, one plain and one flavoured, and just mixed them together. That wound up being just about the right amount of sugar for me. Mixing in some honey is also amazing (and considered to be a dessert in some cultures).<br /><br />On the guilt front. I wonder if it is always about guilt, or if sometimes it is frustration about lack of time being channeled into guilt. I mean, if you happen to like cooking, love eating homemade food, but just don't have enough time in the day to do it, so instead you're eating a bunch of expensive prepared food, you're going to feel a bit guilty and a lot grumpy. Similarly if you like living in a clean house, but just can't pull it off (especially with all that extra assistance messing things up) then guilt is maybe an easier emotion to express than frustration over lack of time. Especially because you're not making any friends if you come out with "oh, I just love to cook and clean, but I simply cannot find the time for it!". Actually, in my case, I absolutely love to cook and bake - but only when I have enough time. When I'm exhausted it feels like a chore. When I've got the spare time it feels like fun.Today Wendyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03583682201977382593noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29235839.post-66470378553801570522011-04-25T08:30:01.658-07:002011-04-25T08:30:01.658-07:00"I think the guilt issue is one of the few is..."I think the guilt issue is one of the few issues facing working mothers where we can essentially fix it ourselves."<br /><br />Yes. It's called therapy and it worked for me. ;) I also stopped worrying about other people's choices and priorities (that is, besides those of my immediate family).<br /><br />I also think we (society) have a bizarre need to classify and categorize, and to overemphasize these strange types of identity politics that are so tied up to employment status and the material things we have. We need not buy in to all of that.hushhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05532820460835325762noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29235839.post-9103652975690372372011-04-25T07:03:30.954-07:002011-04-25T07:03:30.954-07:00Good post! The internet is a wonderful thing, but...Good post! The internet is a wonderful thing, but the capacity to spread misinformation -- even well-intentioned misinformation -- is dreadful. The problems usually seem to stem from the observation that people want a quick and easy answer ("natural" sugar = good, "processed" HFCS = bad) -- and of course it's a lot more complicated than that.SteveBhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00567643392292217763noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29235839.post-10049172962435350222011-04-25T04:07:44.515-07:002011-04-25T04:07:44.515-07:00On the yoghurt front - I tend to mix in a half tea...On the yoghurt front - I tend to mix in a half teaspoon or so of berry jam into a plain yoghurt if I ever feel like sweet yoghurt. It works quite well because the jam I use is really runny. Generally though, I eat it plain because that is how I like it!Zenmoohttp://Zenmastermoo.wordpress.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29235839.post-17533376892474011962011-04-23T19:20:57.643-07:002011-04-23T19:20:57.643-07:00I love these reading lists.
One thing I've d...I love these reading lists. <br /><br />One thing I've dropped the guilt about is that idea if school/daycare does something with my son that I like to do, it's a loss. For example, crafts - I always thought I would be the crafty mom. But no...he does so much of that while I work that I dialed it way back. It cuts down on mess too.Shandrahttp://www.warriorqueenmom.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29235839.post-66075636844594964172011-04-23T15:24:47.541-07:002011-04-23T15:24:47.541-07:00I know that look! Also shocked horror when I ment...I know that look! Also shocked horror when I mention that I'm fine with my house being a mess. I fight it with laughter. :) Though to be honest, I try to avoid people IRL who give me those looks if I can. If I can't, I let DH do the talking/playdates.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29235839.post-89402317371402920562011-04-23T15:07:07.942-07:002011-04-23T15:07:07.942-07:00@nicoleandmaggie- it is certainly true that the an...@nicoleandmaggie- it is certainly true that the anxiety is contagious- i.e., if I am around someone who is complaining/feeling guilty, I will find the guilt starting to rise in me. I find it hard to figure out how to fight that effectively, though, because generally when I tell people in real life that I don't feel guilty about sending my children to day care, or not doing all the housework, etc, I get a puzzled or (worse) horrified look.<br /><br />@Becky- I wasn't planning to make yogurt from scratch! No, I'm talking about buying plain yogurt and mixing in my own sugar and vanilla extract. That seems like a small time investment that I can handle!Cloudhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09317847285050447789noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29235839.post-84878106487195769842011-04-23T14:54:21.013-07:002011-04-23T14:54:21.013-07:00I've both written about this, as a reporter, a...I've both written about this, as a reporter, and worked for people who study the impact of different diets on our metabolism. And when anyone who does not study the interaction of diet/metabolism for a living tries to tell me what to eat, I roll my eyes. (FYI, I don't mean Taubes here, I mean people like an oral surgeon I consulted for wisdom teeth removal. He was one of those study of the week types who tried to tell me to eat more fish and chia seeds to reduce inflammation in my gums.)<br /><br />Personally, I think our ability, as scientists, to understand the complex interactions between food and body biochemistry is way behind that of other areas of biochemistry, for examples, drug biochemistry. In some cases, the technology doesn't even exist yet to do the proper analyses. But I don't doubt it will come, and will reveal very interesting discoveries along the lines of what you discuss, Cloud. Especially when paired with genetics and proteomics.<br /><br />I would also like to offer my unsolicited advice on making your own yogurt. It is so not worth your time! I am a stay-at-home mom, and it is still not worth the time. Even with a yogurt maker, you still have to heat up a vat of milk on the stove and have a packet of starter on hand, or use your favorite yogurt to get it going. <br /><br />To reduce the amount of sugar in my yogurt, I buy fruit on the bottom ones and don't stir before eating. It's still about the same volume of yogurt, there is also some sweetener in the unstirred part, but much less. And per Taubes' last big food bugbear, it is full fat.Beckyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02574083519389181797noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29235839.post-65243750856189923642011-04-23T07:15:36.219-07:002011-04-23T07:15:36.219-07:00p.s. I recently read Mindsets by Carol Dweck (aft...p.s. I recently read Mindsets by Carol Dweck (after the whole "Why I have it all" thing blew up), and I definitely think that anybody who does feel guilty and trapped about things would do very well to give it a read. I can see how it would be life-changing if you feel like your life can't change.<br /><br />In any case, it gave me a better understanding of Dr. Isis's reaction to our post.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29235839.post-52719459388814956882011-04-23T07:04:58.983-07:002011-04-23T07:04:58.983-07:00ITA agree on the genetic component. I have insuli...ITA agree on the genetic component. I have insulin resistance and cutting out/down refined carbs and sugars truly changed my life physically and emotionally. The same would not as be true for someone who doesn't have problems with sugars. I just wish I'd figured that out the first quarter+ century of my life.<br /><br />I also 100% agree with your assessment on guilt and so on. Having a growth mindset and changing what you can change is incredibly important. And it is easier for me because I come from a long generation of working women (which was the point of me adding that portion to the original post.)<br /><br />But I would add one more thing. That general acceptance of guilt and helplessness in books like the one Dr. Isis was reviewing, related articles in the NYTimes, and discussions in mother blogs, these perpetuate the general miasma of guilt in our culture. I roll my eyes at the message because eye-rolling is a shield against the suggestion that I too should be feeling guilty and I am only deluding myself that I'm happy and have everything I truly care about. After all, my house is messy and I don't care. Perhaps there's something wrong with me for not caring. I'm somehow not a real woman because I live in squalor and don't mind it. Maybe I need to find something to complain about so I won't seem so weird, different, superior etc. It's the gifted thing all over again.<br /><br />To sum: I think the ubiquitous complainings are themselves pernicious and add to a cultural message that makes it even more difficult for others to be liberated from guilt. And I reject that. Fight the patriarchy.nicoleandmaggiehttp://nicoleandmaggie.wordpress.com/noreply@blogger.com