Recent episodes: Had a crazy stomach ache this morning caused by both cramps and digestion problems! Gross.... Possible guesses as to the cause: dehydration, irregular eating habits. Inability to take birth control pills regularly... they're really not for me. Must investigate other options.
Immune system: Still sick with this virus that I've had for almost two weeks now... it has evolved into an intermittent cough.
Self esteem: low, but on the up... albeit slowly. I did some yoga yesterday, which was helpful in making me value myself more.
Mental health: still can't motivate myself to start working. Had a very frank chat with a friend/roommate yesterday night. Hopefully it will help clarify some things.
Strength and energy: Low. Sickness!
Sleep: very lousy last night. Didn't feel that sleepy until 5am.
Appearance: blemishes not overwhelming. One or two problem spots. A few on chest area worry me... must prevent reoccurrance. Cellulite more noticable than ever on front of thighs and knees. Although, a roommate did comment that it looked like I have lost weight.
Friday, February 4, 2011
Bitter Sweet...
Today: reading about the negative properties of refined sugar. Sometimes I make the choice to do something differently, but then, later, I can't remember why. That's a huge reason for having this blog - to help me remember the road I took to get to my decisions, and to hopefully prevent regressions.
Here's a link to the page I was reading on sugars. I say this about internet research : like a scientific theory, it's just a hypothesis until proven wrong. Especially when it comes to health related material, which is often very prone to bias. So, here is material which may help to form my hypothesis.
I am trying to re-evaluate the refined sugar/ sugar substitute question. I couldn't remember why agave nectar was supposed to be healthier as a sweetener. Here are a few gleanings I am going with for now: 1. It has a lower glycemic index, and gets absorbed into the body over a longer time, which means that it doesn't create so much of the "sugar highs" followed by the "sugar blues." Your system isn't as hard put upon to repeatedly create the insulin it needs to handle that much sugar, and so it helps reduce the long term risk of developing diabetes. 2. Agave is sweeter than sugar, so you need less... even though there doesn't seem to be a huge calorie difference. 3. It can be considered a vegan sweetener, whereas other sugars sometimes cannot, if they have been filtered through animal bone as part of the refining process (weird!)
Also on refined sugars: some sources suggest that sugar lowers the ability of the white blood cells to effectively eliminate threats to the immune system.
However, there are other sources that suggest that agave nectar is not so good. It does go through a refining process, so it's not really that "natural." Here was something that caught my attention: there's a suggestion that agave's very high levels of fructose interfere with copper metabolism which makes it difficult for collagen-elastin to form (this is stuff that makes your skin stretchy and young looking, among other things) and so it might be a useful piece of information for the war against cellulite.
So is agave really any better? Maybe not. Is it worse? Probably not but maybe. My only way of knowing is what my body tells me about it. It definitely makes sense to reduce my intake, if not eliminating it from my diet altogether.
Here's a link to the page I was reading on sugars. I say this about internet research : like a scientific theory, it's just a hypothesis until proven wrong. Especially when it comes to health related material, which is often very prone to bias. So, here is material which may help to form my hypothesis.
I am trying to re-evaluate the refined sugar/ sugar substitute question. I couldn't remember why agave nectar was supposed to be healthier as a sweetener. Here are a few gleanings I am going with for now: 1. It has a lower glycemic index, and gets absorbed into the body over a longer time, which means that it doesn't create so much of the "sugar highs" followed by the "sugar blues." Your system isn't as hard put upon to repeatedly create the insulin it needs to handle that much sugar, and so it helps reduce the long term risk of developing diabetes. 2. Agave is sweeter than sugar, so you need less... even though there doesn't seem to be a huge calorie difference. 3. It can be considered a vegan sweetener, whereas other sugars sometimes cannot, if they have been filtered through animal bone as part of the refining process (weird!)
Also on refined sugars: some sources suggest that sugar lowers the ability of the white blood cells to effectively eliminate threats to the immune system.
However, there are other sources that suggest that agave nectar is not so good. It does go through a refining process, so it's not really that "natural." Here was something that caught my attention: there's a suggestion that agave's very high levels of fructose interfere with copper metabolism which makes it difficult for collagen-elastin to form (this is stuff that makes your skin stretchy and young looking, among other things) and so it might be a useful piece of information for the war against cellulite.
So is agave really any better? Maybe not. Is it worse? Probably not but maybe. My only way of knowing is what my body tells me about it. It definitely makes sense to reduce my intake, if not eliminating it from my diet altogether.
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