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Friday, February 19, 2016

The One About Gluten And Salt and Sugar Oh My!


As it turns out the college has a library!!  When I pass by the library on the way to or from classes what I see is computer stations.  Rows and rows and rows of computers.  I've used study rooms in the library, still didn't see actual books.  

Last week I asked the attendant if they have books and if so where are they?  She directed me to a "back room" dimly lit.  Scary!! 

With a bit of trepidation I walked down the hall into the rows and rows of books.  Not seeing a card catalog or computer to look up a catalog, I roamed the aisles of books.  When it dawned on me, the card catalog is on my phone!!   

Without hesitation I look up "Nutrition" and nearly sprint to the row of books!! Ceiling to floor!! What?!?!  It must have looked like books were flying off the shelf!!!  Text books,  best sellers, books I've wanted to read, books with interesting titles.  I took a stack up to the desk and then asked how many I could check out and how long! 

Here are the titles: 

1. The Gluten Lie by Alan Levinovitz 

I read it in less than a week. Its a really good book about why we still cling to food myths and where they came from.  Very eye opening about science and how it has or hasn't shaped the Western Diet.  The Main Theme is to relax, stop letting headlines dictate your meals.  

A few quotes that stood out: 

For the true believer, the myth will always be more sacred than the evidence. 

Science Fiction is still Fiction.

Anxiety about what you eat can produce precisely the same symptoms linked to gluten sensitivity. 

People will worry that you have an eating disorder if you say 'I'm afraid I'm getting fat,' but they don't bat an eyelash if you say you're Paleo or gluten free. 

You can show the brain any reward - sugar, alcohol, sex, a movie - and it will light up.  That says noting about things being addictive. (regarding "sugar addiction"). 

'Every food is a potential demon...' Talking about food this way is harmful.  It creates neurotic eaters who see foods as pure or impure, natural or processed, good or evil.  

With every so-called superfood, it's always the same story; overhyped, under researched, superstitious nonsense, hidden under scientific rhetoric. 

2. Food Rules. An Eater's Manual by Michael Pollan

I didn't realize I picked this up, I actually intended to check out a different book.  This is a small book; less that 200 pages and is nicely illustrated.   I like this book.  It's simple and funny and talks about food in a sane way.   It's broken up into three sections.   What Should I Eat? (Eat Food)  What Kind Of Food Should I Eat? (Mostly Plants)  How Should I Eat?  (Not Too Much) 

A few quotes that I especially interest me as a dietetic student: 

People who get off the Western Diet see dramatic improvements in their health.  We have good research to suggest that the effects of the Western Diet can be rolled back and relatively quickly.  

Avoid food products that make health claims. 

Avoid foods pretending to be something they aren't.  I.E.  Margarine, non fat cream cheese, artificial sweeteners. 

Eat only foods that have been cooked by humans, rather than corporations. 

Drink Your Spinach Water. 

There is no such thing as a healthy soda. 

Don't eat cereals that change the color of the milk. 

Food is a costly antidepressant. 

 
I follow a few dietitian blogs: 



Both of these ladies philosophy is to enjoy food, eat well, and relax! Practice mindful eating.  Have a healthy relationship with food.  

3.  The Mindful Diet by Ruth Wolves, Ph.D., Beth Reardon, M.S., R.D., L.D.N. and Tania Hannan. 

Will be reading it this weekend!!  

4. The Industrial Diet.  The Degradation of Food and the Struggle for Healthy Easting.  By Anthony Winson 

5. Whole.  Rethinking the Science of Nutrition.  by T. Collin Campbell, PhD with Howard Jacobson, PhD 

I have two more weeks to read the books!  If I don't get through them, I can add 3 more weeks.  :) 

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