One-week Challenge!

We started Jorge Cruise's One-Week Challenge today.  Richard is joining me in this, so he measured his waist (which is, of course within the right circumference for his height).  We measured according to Jorge's recommendation, at belly button level, parallel to the ground, and sucking in as much as possible.  This is in contrast to the way I've been measuring which is with relaxed belly, and no sucking in, but still at belly button level. 


My waist circumference measured this way is 42 inches (my goal circumference is 33.5 inches - which is half my height in inches - the general rule of thumb for women is <35 inches, and for men is <40 inches).  I weighed in the morning at 203.4lb (so have lost a lb this past week.)


The One-week Challenge of the Belly Fat Cure is to eat 15 or fewer grams of sugar per day, plus limit our servings of carbohydrates to 6 each day.  One serving is 5-20grams, Two is 21-40g, Three is 41-60g.


We started our morning with Jorge's 8 minute belly flattening exercises, which we are adding to the challenge.  He prescribes belly toning exercises on Mondays, Wednesday, and Friday, upper body exercises on Tuesdays, and lower body on Thursdays.


Then we ate our delicious breakfast of a Mediterranean omelet (we used Egg Beaters since that's all we had on hand because a couple of the college boys were home for the weekend).  I am now used to cooking our eggs in olive oil (I've done this for over a decade) so did not cook them in butter as Jorge suggested.  I used kalamata olives, spinach, green onion, and garlic as the veggies (all "free" of countable sugars and carbs), as well as feta cheese (also no counts for sugar or carbs) and a couple fresh basil leaves from my herb garden.  One slice of Udi's Whole Grain Gluten-Free toast (1 gram of sugar and 1 carb count), drizzled with a tsp of garlic olive oil accompanied our eggs.  Richard makes the best stevia matcha lattes using matcha powder, unsweetened plain Almond Breeze (also "free"), and stevia to sweeten, in our cappuccino maker.  It's a good start!


So far, it's not that much different than our usual breakfast, except where we might have had two slices of toast, we agreed we'd have only one, considering the sugar/carb content, even though it's pretty low for that particular bread.  Also instead of using red peppers, which do count in the sugar and carb total, I used the "free" veggies: spinach, garlic, green onion.

Snacks that are free of sugar and countable carbs that I am going to implement today:  celery stick with natural (no added sugar) almond butter, and a whey protein shake mixed in with unsweetened chocolate Almond Drink. For lunch we plan to have tuna sandwiches on low-carb gluten-free bread, and dinner is going to be tuna steaks with a salad and healthy carbs (brown rice, etc.) as we have any allotted left.

We will likely go on our usual four mile walk into town and around the lake today, and have done a lesson in A Course in Miracles.  I am attempting to keep EFT in mind as or if any sugar cravings arise, so I can tap them out and move on happily.


Looking forward to feeling even better and better, and am excited to see how much sugar has been an issue, even with our pretty healthy current diets. 

To Great Health and an Energized Day! 

Belly Fat

Awhile ago my husband told me about a show he watched where Wayne Dyer was talking about an eating plan where you could eat only 20 g of sugar each day, along with other nutritional foods like protein, vegetables, and complex carbs, with the result of quickly losing extra belly fat.  I have kept this in the back of my mind since he told me about it, always thinking that 20 grams of sugar is not very much, and it must be pretty hard to stick to something like that.

As it turns out, it is The Belly Fat Cure, which allows only 15 grams of sugar, including the natural sugars in fruits and vegetables, so doesn't allow much extra anything in terms of sweets, unless one uses products with my favorite sweetener, Stevia.  I am aware that most of the world is already aware of this eating plan before I am  (even with Richard's knowledge of it) due to my lack of interest in commercial television and ads of any kind.  Suddenly I am aware of all aspects of the Belly Fat Cure because it seems like a reasonable path on which to experiment since one of my recent decisions is to cut any extra and hidden sugars from my diet.  I ordered three of his books that describe the eating plan, and so far, have been very impressed with Jorge Cruise's presentation of the data, and his ability to make it sound "simple".  In his book, The Belly Fat Cure: Discover the New Carb Swap System, I have enjoyed his visuals for foods and items that are good for your belly (those that help reduce belly fat) "Belly Good", and those that increase belly fat, therefore "Belly Bad".  Examples below: 

Our beloved Zevia soda is on the Belly Good side, all other sodas on the Belly Bad

Belly Good items include most of the items we have already switched over to, including gluten-free bread items

Belly Bad: all added sugars and artificial, man-made sweeteners; Belly Good: Stevia products

Healthier chip and snack items on the Belly Good side, and traditional, even Baked Lay's! on the Belly Bad side

 One of the books I bought is Jorge Cruise's 8 Minute a Day exercises specific to reduce belly fat.  Since this is the key area where I store extra fat, this plan seems to make sense.  I will continue my aerobic and cardiovascular workouts, but will add these toning exercises in. I can accommodate my wheat-free status with this plan, and my desire to decrease saturated fats (even though he doesn't emphasize this in his plan), and really become aware of the hidden sugars in everything I eat.  Our plan is to begin full force Monday and give the plan a whirl, the One Week Challenge, and meanwhile through the weekend, continue to observe and investigate the sugar content of the foods we eat normally, and decide how we are going to modify them further.  I am excited that there are more and more stevia-based products on the market from which to choose, and that this plan looks doable.  I will check in Monday morning with the stats (the main measurement for this is the waist circumference, but I will also be tracking my weight), and more of our plan.  We have prepared by doing our grocery shopping for next week to have on hand the food and items we will need to be successful.  Two of my boys will be home from college this weekend, and we want to remain flexible, food-wise while they are around.

It is pretty exciting to think that stevia is getting this amazing promotion.  This is one of the most exciting aspects of this discovery for me.

Stevia Syrups Have Arrived!!

I have been waiting for stevia syrups to replace the Splenda-sweetened syrups I'd been using in my coffee and almond drink lattes.  I haven't had many latts this summer because we finished up the syrups on hand, and I didn't want to order more, even if they were yummy.  I was also getting Splenda in my Joint Juice for a few months last fall, and quit Joint Juice for that reason, and take my glucosamin and chondrointin in tablet form.    I've also found a stevia maple-flavored syrup, which is still in transit, so I haven't tried it yet, it's traveling with Richard's stevia cherry-flavoring for his "cola" products.

I am sipping on my first Stevia Chocolate Raspberry (Almond) Latte at the moment, and I have to say... not bad!  I am really hoping that Sweet leaf or Now or someone will come up with a Stevia pumpkin flavoring as fall and winter approach.  That will be Heavenly!

Recipe: Stevia Chocolate "Milk"

Stevia Chocolate Almond Breeze

This is one of my favorite quick chocolate fixes.  It's filling, and satisfies the sweet and chocolate urges.

2 c. unsweetened chocolate Almond Breeze, shaken to froth

2 packets of stevia

Mix these ingredients thoroughly.  Add another packet of stevia for a sweeter drink.

Enjoy!

Recipe: Blue Cornmeal Pancakes

Blue Cornmeal Pancakes with Almond Breeze and Stevia

Ingredients:
3/4 c. blue cornmeal
1/4tsp.salt
2 packets stevia
1 c. boiling water
1/4 c. egg whites
1/2 c. unsweetened Almond Breeze
2 TBS canola oil
3/4c.whole wheat flour
2 tsp. baking powder

Directions:
1) In medium bowl, mix together the blue cornmeal, salt, and stevia.  Stir in the cup of boiling water until all of the ingredients are wet. Cover and let stand for a few minutes.

2) In a measuring cup, combine the almond drink, egg whites and canola oil.  Stir the almond drink mixture into the cornmeal mixture.  Combine the flour and baking powder, stir into the cornmeal mixture until just incorporated.  If the batter is stiff, add a little more almond drink until if flows off the spoon thickly but smoothly.

3)  Heat a large cast iron skillet over medium heat, grease it with a dab of oil. Use about 2 TBS batter for each pancake. When the entire surface of the pancakes are covered with bubbles, flip them over, and cook the other side until golden.  It's hard to tell when blue food is cooked through - so give them a few extra seconds if in doubt.

4) Serve immediately with maple syrup, fruit preserves, or agave nectar.

Serves 4.

Recipe: Healthier Pumpkin Pie

I know that I am through with Pumpkin Pie for awhile, however I wanted to go on record with this recipe I experimented with and offered a taste comparison at Thanksgiving between it and the traditional sugar-laden, full egg and milk version.  My son thought that my stevia pie was the traditional, but my mother could tell the difference.  That being said, it worked out great, I was very pleased and am very excited to have a healthy alternative in the future.

Enjoy!


Healthier Pumpkin Pie

2/3 c. Stevia Extract in the Raw Cup for Cup
1/4 c. Organic, natural sugar
1/2 tsp. salt
1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
3/4 tsp ground ginger
1/4 tsp ground cloves
1/2 cup Egg Beaters
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
1 tsp cornstarch
1 (12 fl. oz.) can non-fat evaporated milk
1 (9 inch) unbaked frozen prepared deep dish pie shell (for even fewer calories consider graham crackers crumbs for the crust.


Directions:
1) Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.
2)  In small bowl mix Stevia Extract in the Raw Cup for Cup, organic sugar, salt, cinnamon, ginger, cloves.
3) In large bowl, mix Egg Beaters and vanilla, then stir in stevia spice mixture.
4) In small bowl, dissolve cornstarch in 2-3 tablespoons of evaporated milk.  Blend in pumpkin mixtre and stir in remaining evaporated milk.  Blend well.  Pour into frozen deep-dish piecrust.  Set on cookie sheet and bake at 425 degrees for 15 minutes.
5) Reduce oven to 350 degrees F and bake another 45-50 minutes or until filling is set.  Remove from oven and cool on rack for 2 hours.  Garnish with light whipped cream before serving, if desired.
6) Serve immediately or refrigerate up to 2-3 days.

Stevia as a Sweetener

While I continue to work on my memories lists, and devising my new plan, I share with you my thoughts and experience on sugar substitutes.  I have been using stevia as a sugar substitute for years now.  I steer far away from aspartame having been addicted to aspartame Diet Coke through the 1980's and 1990's.  I stopped all aspartame cold turkey the day I commenced my studies in Traditional Chinese Medicine in 2001.  Within days my mind came out of a fog, I had more energy, and was very glad I ended that relationship with Diet Coke.  Now that stevia finally can be (and is) incorporated into food products, as it has been since the 1970's in Japan, it is exciting to watch the possibilities unfold, including the availability of stevia sweetener packets at a few restaurants - I've always had to bring my own stash.  I am appalled that saccharin still appears as an option on restaurant tables.  This stuff has been long proven to cause cancer.  Our other option on the tables is Splenda, aka sucralose, which in larger servings than about a teaspoon cause severe intestinal angish, for me anyway.  Plus, it is not a natural substance like stevia.  Anyhow, I am creating a recipe book of my favorite stevia recipes and other healthy options. 

Below is a paper I wrote last year for our Pharmacy Management class.  This paper is an overview of the convoluted history of the natural sweetener, stevia, and the FDA. 

As reported on December 18, 2008, in the Wall Street Journal, the Food and Drug Administration declared a natural zero-calorie sweetener derived from the herb Stevia

rebaudiana Bertoni from the Compositae family to be safe for use in foods and beverages, which cleared the path for Coca-Cola Co., PepsiCo Inc. and other companies to market the herbal constituent in a variety of products.¹   More specifically, "no objection" letters were faxed for each of two GRAS notices to Cargill and Merissant (the companies that market the sweetener for Coca-Cola and Pepsi).² Technically, the FDA hasn’t granted approval for use of the stevia plant, rather it has affirmed that it will not object to companies using a component of it, rebaudioside A, in foods and beverages.

Rebaudioside A is a highly purified form of stevia, a plant that originated in South America and is traditionally known for its sweetening and herbal medicinal qualities. Only the constituent rebaudioside A has been given the “no objection” status, whereas foods and beverages made with whole stevia leaves continue to be banned from importation and from use as a food additive or sweetener in the U.S. ³  Proponents of the natural sweetener have been waiting a long while for an opening in the use of the plant.  The stevia plant is naturally grown, and is neither a drug nor a food, thus it has traveled a long and ambiguous journey through the regulations and shifts within the FDA.

The public safety concerns with the stevia plant have been controversial throughout decades, ranging from potential mutagenic properties from a portion of the stevia plant, steviol (which more recent studies have shown to been to be inaccurate in in vivo studies), to potentially reducing fertility in both female and male lab animals, and including the purposed political threat of the “newly discovered” sweet herb to the sugar producers and artificial sweetener manufacturers, such as saccharin and aspartame.  If there is a natural sweetener containing zero calories, with no known harmful effects, might that be a better choice for the American public than the consumption of refined sugars with their well-known, undisputed ill health effects, or the consumption of artificial sweeteners, such as saccharin, and especially aspartame, which have been shown to be carcinogenic and cause neurological problems, respectively?  

Since 1985, studies have shown the absence of harmful effects (no genotoxic activity) for both stevioside and rebaudioside A (both extracted components of the stevia plant).   There have been no reported harmful effects in over thirty years of use of the herb in Japan.  In fact, as more studies were required through the years and were done on the parts of the stevia plant, researchers began to find beneficial health qualities, such as the stabilizing of blood sugar in diabetics, and with helping to lower blood pressure in hypertensive patients.⁴  It was not until the larger soft drink companies responded to the public’s increasing health concerns about aspartame as a sweetener in their products that the FDA was convinced to not object to the use of the herb as a sweetener, and food additive, in products. 

Since the time of the Pure Food and Drug Act of 1906, herbal and natural remedies that were supplemental to the diet have been confusing to regulators, because these herbs were neither food nor medicinal substances and their main concern, especially originally, was to clean up the dangerous additives and preservatives that were rampant at the time in foods consumed by the American people.⁵   It wasn’t until the Delaney Clause of the 1958 Food Additives Amendment, that known carcinogens were prohibited in processed foods.   The controversial and eventual ban on saccharin in the 1970s was indicative of the country’s new awareness of the possibility of assessing the risks versus the benefits of a chemically produced product.  On one hand saccharin was proven to cause cancer in rats; on the other it was far cheaper to put into foods than sugar, and did not have the deleterious effects of sugar on one’s health in terms of weight gain, diabetes development, etc.⁶ It was this awareness of the health issues these artificial sweeteners caused that led Japan to greatly restrict the use of artificial sweeteners and turn to cultivating stevia as the main sweetener in their own products and consumption.⁷  

 In 1991, the FDA labeled stevia as an “unsafe” food additive and banned the import of the herb.  Protestors to this move demanded that the FDA was violating its own guidelines from the 1958 statement that natural substances used prior to 1958, with no reported adverse effects, should be classified as GRAS, as long as the substance was used in the same way and format as prior to 1958.⁸ More claims were made that the FDA was responding to pressure by the artificial sweetener manufacturers for their benefit. 

Then, in 1994, the Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act was passed, but had been opposed by all public health, medical and nutritional groups, because companies were permitted to market their “health” remedies with no safety testing or review by the FDA, which was akin to the exilir sulfonamide days.  The burden of proof fell on the FDA if a substance began to show “unreasonable risk of injury or illness”, and in an emergency involving one of these substances, the FDA is not allowed to remove it from the market.⁹ In 1995, the FDA was forced to allow stevia to be used as a dietary supplement, but the FDA still deemed it as “unsafe” as a food additive and companies were not able to sweeten their beverages and baked products and sell them to the public.  Stevia supporters, who wanted to have the choice to have the herb in their sodas and baked goods, did not have the financial means to move stevia through the FDA approval process.

By the 1990’s the FDA was requiring that all foods be labeled.  According to Hilts, the supplement companies, which by this time were often as large as the pharmaceutical companies, requested exemption from all the safety and effectiveness testing that was required of the drug companies, rather, they wanted a “more lenient standard.”  The supplement companies claimed the benefits of supplements and herbal remedies and the fact that they have been safely used for centuries.¹⁰ This is one of the same arguments that the stevia proponents have claimed about the stevia plant.  Scientific testing on the supplement and herbal products began and showed that in some cases, the argument that “centuries of use” was meaningless.  As further testing progressed more evidence was obtained proving the hazards and less evidence that the substances were actually beneficial.  While this was true for many herbal substances, it did not hold for stevia.

In 2006, the World Health Organization (WHO) did a thorough review of the most recent experiments and determined that stevioside and rebA are not genotoxic, and it has been shown to have beneficial effects in patients with hypertension and type-II diabetes.¹¹  This significant step, along with the major soda companies finally taking an interest in developing and patenting a new form of sweetener for their products in light of declining soda sales, helped pave the way to the first sign of acceptance by the FDA of this herbal sweetener in 2008.

The first sign of a threat to American (and European) industry came when there was a big stir over the sweet South American herb.  Several promoters at the time were sure there was a fabulous market for stevia in the U.S., however sugar cane growers in both in Europe and in the U.S. in 1913 had become aware of the herb.  By the time stevia was presented in 1921 to the USDA by American Trade Commissioner potential U.S. companies were not interested.¹² It wasn’t until the mid 1980’s that the herb caught the attention of the American marketplace, and almost immediately, the FDA began its crackdown on the use of the herb, including actions taken against firms using stevia in their products, embargoes, searches, seizures of products and cookbooks listing stevia as an ingredient, and an “import alert” which barred stevia shipments into the U.S.  Unsubstantiated rumors of a “trade complaint” by the manufacturers of the new artificial sweetener, aspartame (NutraSweet), were thought to have been the impetus for the FDA to suppress the use of the stevia plant.¹³

Meanwhile, the artificial sweetener, aspartame, was in the approval process with the FDA, even though there were several scientific advisors that recommended otherwise, these advisors were eventually overridden by the FDA commissioner, Arthur Hull Hayes, in the Reagan administration.  Many ill effects came to be revealed by consumption of aspartame, including stimulating weight gain, neurological disorders, and addiction to the substance, and the FDA had refused to approve aspartame for more than eight years because of these health concerns. Aspartame's manufacturer, G.D. Searle, hired former defense secretary Donald Rumsfeld as its CEO in 1977, at which point he promised to get aspartame approved via political connections. In 1980, a public board again voted to keep aspartame off the market. That ban was eventually overruled by Arthur Hull Hayes, the new FDA commissioner. In 1983, the chemical was approved for use in soft drinks despite the continuing objections.¹⁴   According to Philip Hilts, this approval came at a time during the deregulation era of the Reagan administration.  Through the halt on new regulations and cutting of current regulatory agency budgets, the FDA felt the cuts deeply in terms of budget and staff to accomplish their goals.  There was much controversy regarding the long lag time of approval on drugs, as well as labeling requirements for patient information and Hayes experienced much political pressure to decrease the standards by which drugs were approved.  He held true to his beliefs in requiring clinical trials for all new drugs.  This struggle had some negative consequences in his ability to take action on the labeling in the Reye’s- aspirin danger because Bayer, a large company that manufactured aspirin, was able to squelch the information through the Center for Disease Control regarding the harmful effects of and likelihood of developing Reye’s Syndrome in children with viral infections who also took aspirin.  The CDC approached the FDA in hopes that Hayes could help.  At this time, Reagan’s Office of Management and Budget were greatly influenced by large corporations, and very little was heard from consumer or health organizations.¹⁵  Did this also hold true for Rumsfeld’s interest in G.D. Searle, and the approval of aspartame?

Proponents of stevia have complained bitterly that aspartame’s odd approval exemplified the forgotten chief lesson of the FDA’s creator, Dr. Wiley, “the principle that the right of the consumer is the first thing to be considered”, as the perceived corporate power was typified by the ascent of aspartame and suppression of stevia.¹⁶ One author’s statements, even though he views the “no objection” status of rebA as a great step forward, he is very clear how he feels about the FDA’s motives:

“The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has issued letters of non-objection for the use of a natural, zero-calorie sweetener it once sought to wipe out from the U.S. marketplace.  Following political pressure from powerful consumer product corporations (Coca-Cola and Pepsi, primarily), the FDA has once again fallen in step with the interests of Big Business and legalized a food and beverage ingredient that it once aggressively oppressed…”

“…Realize this crucial point:  The FDA’s decisions these days are based entirely on corporate profits and have absolutely nothing to do with science, safety or consumer interests.  So don’t be fooled for a minute into thinking that the FDA’s approval of stevia has anything to do with serving the People.”¹⁷

I believe it took the FDA an inordinate amount of time to not object to the use of the herb for common use in foods and beverages, especially as proven detrimental artificial sweeteners are still widely available and aggressively promoted.  As with every story, there are exaggerations, and deeper knowledge to gain as to motives and restrictions that are beyond the scope of this paper.  After reading the Hilts book, I can more fully understand from where these pressures might have arisen, and the need for the FDA to find balance between committing to the safety of the people and pressures from drug companies and corporate America.  However, the sheer length of time, and seemingly needless overt suppression and threats and the coincident approval process of aspartame, definitely causes me contemplate the possibilities of large corporate influence over the FDA’s “no objection” status.   Now that the FDA has recognized rebA as potentially safe and products can be created with the herb and present a potentially healthful and beneficial alternative to refined sugar and the artificial sweeteners that are already widely available, it seems that this resolution so far, does help protect the ordinary citizen, and will likely even benefit the ordinary citizen, and, at minimum, allows another alternative sweetener to be considered, one in which the benefits may be shown to far outweigh the minimal risks. In the event the conversation about sweeteners would arise in my pharmacy practice, I would discuss all of the sweetener options, providing as much unbiased information as I could, especially with patients I would counsel regarding their desires to lose weight and/or manage their blood sugar levels.

References:

1)      FDA Clears Use of Herb as Sweetener. The Wall Street Journal. December 18, 2008: B3.

2)      Food and Drug Administration website, available at: http://www.accessdata.fda.gov/scripts/fcn/gras_notices/grn000278.pdf, page 9. Accessed January 15, 2010.

3)      Food and Drug Administration website, Warning Letters, available at:

http://www.fda.gov/ICECI/EnforcementActions/WarningLetters/2007/ucm076475.htm.       Accessed January 15, 2010

4)      Food and Drug Administration, GRAS Notices website, available at: http://www.accessdata.fda.gov/scripts/fcn/gras_notices/grn000253.pdf.  Accessed on February 1, 2010 

5)      Hilts, Philip J.  Protecting America’s Health: The FDA, Business, and One Hundred Years of Regulation.  Chapel Hill, NC:  University of North Carolina Press; 2003; 280.

6)      Ibid: 202-206.

7)      Bonvie,  Linda, Bonvie, Bill, Gates, Donna.  The Stevia Story:  A Tale of Incredible Sweetness and Intrigue.  Atlanta, GA:  B.E.D. Publications Co; 1997:26.

8)      Ibid: 28.

9)      Hilts, Philip J.  Protecting America’s Health: The FDA, Business, and One Hundred Years of Regulation.  Chapel Hill, NC:  University of North Carolina Press; 2003; 288-289.

10)  Ibid: 280-284.

11)  The World Health Organization website, available at:

http://whqlibdoc.who.int/trs/WHO_TRS_952_eng.pdf.  Accessed on February 1, 2010.

12)  Bonvie,  Linda, Bonvie, Bill, Gates, Donna.  The Stevia Story:  A Tale of Incredible Sweetness and Intrigue.  Atlanta, GA:  B.E.D. Publications Co; 1997:25-26.

13)  Ibid; 27

14)  New York Post Online: Diet Soda Diatribe Posted: 5:10 AM, July 21, 2009 Last Updated: 7:02 PM, August 15, 2009.  Accessed February 1, 2010.

 http://www.nypost.com/p/lifestyle/health/item_FtTTER85xFjEBrQpgcwCMK

15)  Hilts, Philip J.  Protecting America’s Health: The FDA, Business, and One Hundred Years of Regulation.  Chapel Hill, NC:  University of North Carolina Press; 2003; 216-218.       

16)  Bonvie,  Linda, Bonvie, Bill, Gates, Donna.  The Stevia Story:  A Tale of Incredible Sweetness and Intrigue.  Atlanta, GA:  B.E.D. Publications Co; 1997:47. 

17)  Natural News.com:  FDA Approves Stevia, Ends the Era of Oppression of this Herbal Sweetener - UPDATE 1, December 19, 2008 Available at:  http://www.naturalnews.com/News_000626_stevia_Truvia_FDA.html.  Accessed on January 15, 2010.