Snap -- I Tripped and Fell in My High Fructose Corn Syrup

Up front. High Fructose Corn Syrup 

(herein referred to as HFCS) is bad.

Period.

 

You shouldn't be eating it at all, but damned if it isn't hard not to. I thought I'd been doing fine, but when a friend of mine whom I'm cooking for let me know that he can't eat any HFCS-containing foods, I started checking my labels.

And damn!!

There goes my favorite BBQ sauce. Syonara Sweet Baby Ray, it was sweet while it lasted. (And it's not just Sweet Baby. Virtually all BBQ sauces have HFCS.) For the record I'm trying Ann's Organic BBQ Sauce. Here's a list of some other BBQ sauces put together by BBQ Sauce Reviews.

There are even some BBQ Sauces out there that claim online not to have HFCS. Like Bull's Eye who claims that their BBQ sauce does not contain HFCS. Just check out their website here. But if you go to the store and read the label, it's the first ingredient mentioned. Thank God companies still have to mention at least some ingredients.

So why the frufru about HFCS?

Doctor Mark Hyman explains it better than I ever could in his not so very subtle article titled 5 Reasons High Fructose Corn Syrup Will Kill You. (Notice he didn't say can but used the very definitive helping verb will)

Some basic biochemistry will help you understand this. Regular cane sugar (sucrose) is made of two-sugar molecules bound tightly together– glucose and fructose in equal amounts.The enzymes in your digestive tract must break down the sucrose into glucose and fructose, which are then absorbed into the body. HFCS also consists of glucose and fructose, not in a 50-50 ratio, but a 55-45 fructose to glucose ratio in an unbound form. Fructose is sweeter than glucose... Since there is there is no chemical bond between them, no digestion is required so they are more rapidly absorbed into your blood stream. Fructose goes right to the liver and triggers lipogenesis (the production of fats like triglycerides and cholesterol) this is why it is the major cause of liver damage in this country and causes a condition called “fatty liver” which affects 70 million people.The rapidly absorbed glucose triggers big spikes in insulin–our body’s major fat storage hormone. Both these features of HFCS lead to increased metabolic disturbances that drive increases in appetite, weight gain, diabetes, heart disease, cancer, dementia, and more.

 He goes on in the article to give many examples of how the corn industry has propagandized HFCS

claiming that it's the same chemically as cane sugar. He shows where the industry has created their own fake news websites and have targeted doctors with information, even going so far as to vaguely promise that there will be consequences if they don't stop saying HFCS is bad for the human body.

But if you don't trust a medical doctor, then why not trust the master drill sergeant of all body coaches, Jillian Michaels of The Big Fat Loser fame in her article MYTH: High-Fructose Corn Syrup Is No Worse for You Than Table Sugar.  

In a recent study at Princeton University, researchers found that rats with access to high-fructose corn syrup gained significantly more weight than those with access to water sweetened with table sugar — even when they consumed the same number of calories. A second study they conducted monitored their weight gain over a period of six months and found that the rats consuming HFCS showed abnormal weight gain, significant increases in circulating triglycerides (which prevent the hormone leptin from telling the brain you’re full), and significant fat around the belly. Many health organizations link the increased use of HFCS in foods to the increased obesity rates in this country. Though nothing has been proven 100 percent, many studies point to these negative effects from HFCS.

 Summarized- You get fatter from eating HFCS in the same quantity as regular sugar. 

Oh, and there's chemistry involved. There will be a test. 

A study done at the University of Pennsylvania found that fructose does not suppress the hunger-hormone ghrelin the way that glucose (table sugar does). Women who ate fructose instead of glucose had higher ghrelin levels throughout the day, overnight, and into the next day. To put it simply, these women felt like they were starving all day, thanks to the fructose. In addition to making ghrelin levels rise, HFCS somehow tricks the body into not releasing the hormones insulin and leptin (the hormones released when your body feels full).

So here's what all this means to me with the start of 2016. I'm going to go through my refrigerator and pantry (and our pantry annex) and get rid of everything with HFCS. It's going to be a lot of things. It's not going to be pretty. Then I'm going to concentrate when I shop and buy only those things HFCS free. I mean to do otherwise is kind of stupid, right?

I don't drink sodas or anything with artificial sweeteners (until they start artificially sweetening Chardonnay then I'm screwed), but I know I'm going to encounter this out in the wild (eating at restaurants). I just have to choose carefully and ask questions.

I promised there'd be a test, right? 

Okay. Here's the test. 

Do you want to continue eating HFCS and see how long you live? Or do you want to do away with it and see how long you live? My favorite BBQ sauce and ketchup isn't worth taking 5, 10, 15 years off my life. I can see you now on your final day. "I'm dying, but at least I continued eating X Brand BBQ Sauce."  

Yeah. 

Right. 

You're not fooling no one.

So seriously. 

WTF are you going to do?

How to Eat Healthy and Live Dangerously

Living Dangerously is all about rejecting the norm. It's about deciding you're not going to take the simple path. As Robert Frost would say, I took the one less traveled by. Is there danger with doing things other people don't do? Some people think so. To them the very idea of change is dangerous. I've been doing it for so long danger is the norm.

I need change.

I reject commonality.

I want to be different.

So as you noticed in yesterdays post, I explained how a 4 day vacation resulted in 4 pounds gained. Most people would lock themselves into a fall out shelter and eat oatmeal and smoothies the rest of the week. That's the easy way to lose the weight. The dangerous way is to confront the food. Eat well. Eat healthy. And exercise.

Here's my menu for the week:

Monday - Leftover cauliflower fried rice with leftover bbq pork ribs. That's like a double leftover meal. Served over steamed cabbage.

Tuesday - Scrambled eggs with onions, capers, white wine, garlic and fennel. Served with a sunburst tomato and mint salad. Yes, you can have eggs for dinner.

Wednesday - BBQ Chicken Salad with leftover bbq chicken breast, grilled corn, black beans, onions, lime, cilantro and low fat blue cheese dressing.

Thursday - Grilled Trout with Sardinian Couscous with steamed clams. I caught the trout but haven't made the couscous before. But I do have a recipe so we'll see how it turns out.

Friday - Farmers Market Pappardelle Pasta with Pan-seared Scallops. I love this pasta. Drizzled with a simple sauce of meyer lemon olive oil it's going to be fantastic. I might use shrimp instead if scallops are too expensive.

Saturday - Out for Dinner with a friend from out of town.

Sunday - Grilled Salmon with Cucumber Quinoa Salad. I love love love grilled salmon. I could have it every day. The cucumber quinoa salad is a nice bright fresh accompaniment.

Notice what you don't see. You don't see any beef or bread. You don't see anything premade or processed, which usually contain unholy amounts of sodium as well as other unsavory ingredients. You don't see anything cooked in butter. I'll use EVOO instead.

What's for breakfast? Usually coffee, yogurt and a piece of fruit.

What's for lunch? Either a salad, soup or leftovers. Small portion.

What's for snack? Fruit. We have 4 pineapples cut up in the house this week. I graze on that.

And of course, exercise. Yesterday I burned 600 calories by doing a spin class and lifting weights. Today I'll probably run and burn about 400 calories. It's important to exercise every day, if only just a little.

So what are you eating?

Are you living dangerously?

Or are you living safe?

Come on, live dangerously. I dare you!

Whoops! What Did I do? Need to exercise Quick!!!

We took a mini-vacation to Jerome, Arizona the last four days in celebration of yet another of my mother's 21st Birthdays. We had an incredible time, especially our stay at the Surgeon's House Bed and Breakfast. You know you're having a great time when you're still there and trying to figure out when you can come back. Yeah, it's that sort of place.

One of the Brekkies we had at the B&B

I managed to exercise only once during the four days by doing some stretching and yoga exercises as I stared across a thirty mile view. It was stupendous. 

But alas, with all the food and lack of exercise and wine -- oh boy was there food and wine -- I gained four pounds. One for each day, I suppose. Good thing I wasn't there for a week.

But no regrets. This was a vacation. You're supposed to enjoy yourself.

I don't regret the 12 oz NY strip.

I don't regret the almost pound of shrimp I had for breakfast one day.

I don't regret the 1/3rd pound venison burger or the heaping French Fries.

I don't regret the copious amounts of wine I drank.

You know why? 

Because I'm allowed to cheat every now and then.

But you gained four freaking pounds? What are you going to do about it?

I'm not going to panic. I know my body and I know how to exercise. Here's what I'm going to do for the next week-

• Limit my carbs
• No beef
• Watch salt content
• Eat yogurt for breakfast and take probiotics
• Increase fresh veggies and fruit intake
• Drink lots of water
• Daily Exercise

I mean, Who Can Say No to a Venison Burger

The last one (Daily Exercise) means I have to do something every day. For me, something constitutes at least 400 calories burned during a session. I have a Suunto Ambit 2 watch, so it tracks it for me.

Today I did a spin class and some bench presses, burning 600 calories. Tomorrow I'll probably do a long yoga workout. If my legs aren't killing me, I might run and then do a short yoga workout.

It's all good.

No reason to panic. 

I bet that I'll be 4 pounds lighter by Friday.

Easy Peasy Japanesey!

Bacon-infused Gastropub in Tucson - The Parish

Yvonne and I made our bi-monthly trek to Tucson yesterday to support their economy. We had about five stores to go to and usually plan on going to a different restaurant each trip, time permitting. I'd done a little research and found a little out of the way gastropub on Oracle called The Parish. What jumped out at me was the lamb chorizo flatbread. Then I saw the bacon popcorn, the goat cheese rellino and a dozen other dishes I'd eat in a second.

So about one in the afternoon, after going to three of the stores, Yvonne and I drag-assed to The Parish. First of all, it was smaller than I thought it would be. Still, we'd missed the lunch rush, so we easily found a table. I ordered a Gordon Brothers Chardonnay (buttery), and the waitress, who'd somehow recently lost thirty pounds in a restaurant that has bacon in every other dish, told us about the special. Let me just say that I thought of you, dear reader, when she told me about it. I knew that you'd want me to have it. Hell, I could hear you begging me.

These are the Bacon-shell Tacos

So good, it could be a poem

Goat Cheese Rellino

 The bacon-shell tacos are in the Top 10 Best things I've ever eaten. The red bean puree acted as a flavor balancer between the adobo pork and the bacon. The salsa, queso fresco, and cabbage not only enhanced the taste, but added a three-dimensional texture to the tacos. Seriously. It's three pieces of bacon that make up the taco. You have that many at breakfast. You have got to try this. It literally is a life-changing experience.

Next we had the goat cheese rellino with a balsamic reduction. It was tremendous. Although it tasted rich, it didn't cloy. It was fresh where it could have been dry. Just a fabulous appetizer.

Bacon and Eggs

Then it came time for us to order the main course. Steve, one of the owners came out, and apologized for the fact that they were out of the the Lamb Chorizo Flatbread. He said they'd had a record night the previous evening, and that they'd run out. They'd made new dough this morning, but it needed all day to set. Still, he brought out a cup of the lamb chorizo. After I pried it out of Yvonne's hands, I had a taste. Oh yeah!  I'll be back for that.

So for my main course, I decided something different. I'd have the homemade fries with white truffle aoli and the Bacon and Eggs appetizer, constituted of hollandaise, a fried grit cake, pork belly and a poached egg. The taste really was phenomenal. I loved every bite. I thought the pork belly was a little one note, but then again it's is pork belly and already succulent. I would have liked to see it marinated in something. If it had it would have put the dish over the top, for sure.




Yvonne ordered the oyster po-boy. This was a little disappointing. Although the oysters weren't cooked through, which I don't mind, they had a heavy oyster flavor, which usually is the case when the oysters aren't rinsed before they're cooked. We won't order this again, still, we forgive them the error. With everything else terrific and still more than a dozen items to try on the menu, including bacon-wrapped frog's legs (poor legless frogs), bacon popcorn, Haitain pulled pork, and a blue cheese burger that'll make you wanna slap your momma.


We're going to go back to this place. We thought about not telling my parents, who live in Tucson, because they have a tradition of finding restaurants and not telling us. Seriously, they hide them like children, but we decided to be the adults and take the high road.


You an find them online here.

Their address is: 6453 North Oracle Road  Tucson, AZ 85704, (520) 797-1233


We'll be going back for sure. I highly recommend The Parish. Now get your hunger on and go there!

Living Dangerously Weekly - Inventing Science, Seafood, the U.S. Navy and Velcro Pimp

It's been a hell of a week. At the start I worked on the outline for the St. Martin's Press/Thomas Dunne Books project, SEAL TEAM 666. Now it's all tricked out and ready for prime time. Waiting to see what the editors think and keen to get contracts signed and deals sealed. In fact, I was on the plane over Mississippi with free internet, sitting in first class (free upgrade), when I finished all the edits and additions. Glad to put that baby to bed.

The rest of the week I spent working on Blood Ocean. I'm on track to finish this, but keep feeling like I'm behind. I'm at a technical part of the novel where I have to invent some science. Gotta love soft science fiction novels. I wonder if Mr. Murray from my H.S. biology class knows that I'm totally faking being a scientific expert because I actually learned more from my English teacher. Mr. Murray almost kicked me out of the class because I just couldn't get it. Still, back to writing the novel, the secret about inventing science is that it has to be about 90% accurate so that the reader will embrace it. The rest is bright lights and tinkly bells. On an interesting note that only serves to stress me the hell out, Blood Ocean is up for pre-order at Barnes and Nobles Online. I'm not even finished with it!

I did spend the week in D.C. The day job demanded that I genuflect at the seat of government power and do some serious work regarding intelligence training. I mostly came home exhausted, but still managed to plug a few pages of Blood Ocean away every night. Thursday night was a special night. My old friend Dave Lake and I went to The Wharf in Old Town, Alexandria, Virginia. This is my favorite restaurant. My favorite bartender was there as well, Brian Wallenius (aka Velcro Pimp). It was a grand meal that took four hours. We talked old times and new. We drank two bottles of wine. And we had incredible food. Check it out: Oysters on Half-Shell, Corn-fried Oysters over a lump crab and corn succotash, She Crab Soup, and perfectly prepared Rockfish stuffed with lump blue crab.  Mmmm Damn!  (If you're really hungry, have the same apps then order the Lobster and Shrimp Linguini. It comes with half a lobster in the pasta and the other half on top of the pasta)

Now for the really big news. My Daughter is in the NAVY!!! She's going to be an Aviation Ordinance Woman. She's going to have access to bigger guns, bombs and missiles than her dad. It's just awesome.

Last but not least, a word about Velcro Pimp. Brian Wallenius has made it to my short list of best bartenders on the planet. Not only does he remember things near perectly, but he has a personality to match. We got to talking and he really wanted me to create a psycho killer character for him. And you know what, I think I will. I've already decided that he's going to go by the name Velcro Pimp. I'll write it as a short story. So there you have it. If there are any takers for this story, let me know and I'll write it. But for now it's fermenting in the vats of my mind.

Lest I not forget. Shock Totem #4 is out featuring my story Playlist at the End. To my knowledge, it's the only horror story using an mp3 playlist as a narrative framing device. It was a load of fun and nasty as hell.

You can get this from the folks at Shock Totem or at Amazon- Shock Totem 4: Curious Tales of the Macabre and Twisted. The playlist is going to blow you away.

Until next week.