Yogurt, The Today Show & Artificial Sweeteners

I find myself often disappointed by the Today Show health updates. This morning was particularly frustrating. Watch the clip and then read my comments. It's not that what Joy Bauer is saying is WRONG per se, it's just that the information is not very fresh, new/current and there is so much research out there showing that most of what she is saying is not necessarily right anymore. For many reasons and factors that play a role in today's farming and processing.

You'll see what I mean...just keep reading...

1st, Joy believes yogurt to be the BEST source of calcium, "HANDS DOWN". I don't believe yogurt is the best source of calcium {a harvard health study also demonstrates this}. It might be the easiest to actually consume {because most kid and adults don't like the taste of say, spinach} but because it's DAIRY it's not necessarily the BEST absorbed by the body, nor is it DIGESTED properly, which is HANDS DOWN the key to absorption and utilization of minerals and vitamins.

In fact, high calcium consumption can possibly interfere with calcium absorption, resulting in weaker bones, and cause calcium to be deposited where it is not wanted. Earl Staelin's research shows that "people who consume the highest amounts of calcium experience higher rates of osteoporosis and fractures." {WellBeing Journal, Nov/Dec 2010, pg 27}

Not to mention, the dairy can be full of unwanted ingredients {see below, I discuss this in further detail}; factory farmed milk is becoming more and more void of nutrients, including calcium. 

2nd, "you have to buy non-fat or low-fat", according to Joy! This simply isn't a true fact in my mind. Fat isn't what is making us fat. It's the non-fat stuff that is making us fat. Fat helps slow down the digestion of the sugars. Also, saturated fats are NOT as bad as everybody makes them out to be. "Artery clogging" comes from the way in which these fats are restructured/denatured when overly processed, heated and cooked. In fact, saturated fats, when eaten in a natural state, is GREAT for us. Dr. Mercola {I know, he's controversial himself} talks about this in an article he recently wrote.

And Donna Gates, from the Body Ecology Diet, discusses this same topic in a very informative article as well, explaining that "as a result, since the early 1970's, Americans' average saturated fat intake has dropped considerably, while rates of obesity, diabetes, and consequently, heart disease, have surged."

3rd, the artificial sweeteners that Joy suggests as an alternative for those trying to lose weight or for diabetics is actually NOT GOOD FOR ANYBODY - not even diabetics. Diabetics need to eat NO sugar at all and the only way for them to do that is to get rid of the sugar cravings. Eating artificial sugars will not help get rid of cravings or the sweet tooth, but only enhance their desire for it. 

In a 2004 study, when rats were fed artificially sweetened liquids, they lost their ability to moderate their intake of foods containing real sugar. 

Others speculate that artificial sweeteners have helped set the American diet at too high levels of sweetness. { time.com, 6/11/2006, www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1200762,00.html }

Not to mention, most artificial sweeteners are toxic for humans and animals in any amount.

James Bowen, M.D., a physician, biochemist, and survivor of aspartame poisoning, warms about sucralose. "Sucralose is simply chlorinated sugar; a chlorocarbon...common chlorocarbons are all deadly. Chlorine is nature's Doberman attack dog, a highly excitable, ferocious atomic element employed as a biocide in bleach, disinfectants, insecticide, WWI poison gas and hydrochloric acid...Just like aspartame, which achieved marketplace approval by the FDA when animal studies clearly demonstrated its toxicity, sucralose also failed in clinical trials with animals. Aspartame created brain tumors in rats. Sucralose has been found to shrink thymus glands (the biological seat of immunity) and produce liver inflammation in rats and mice...Synthetic chemical sweeteners are generally unsafe for human consumption."

{WellBeing Journal, November/December 2006, pg 33}

4th, I like that she promotes "natural" but she's right - it's not always the best choice. That's why I always recommend buying PLAIN yogurt and sweetening it YOURSELF so that you can control the amount of sweetener and the TYPE of sweetener. If you have sensitivities to SUGAR and are trying to lose weight, are diabetic, OR are on a candida cleanse {wink} then you could try xylitol or organic erythritol. Just a little to get yourself used to eating yogurt  PLAIN!

5th, KIDS YOGURT!!!!!!!! She gives her favorite options. My suggestion - stay away from it! Again, buy organic goat yogurt that is plain, and add your own sweetness like bananas and/or apple sauce and/or a touch of honey or agave. Just a touch. 

6th, greek yogurt is goat or sheep yogurt, at least usually. It does have twice the protein. And true, "but all greek yogurt is NOT created EQUAL." Many of them are full of sugar, just like any of the other cow yogurts. But, I have to disagree with her on the whole 'saturated artery-clogging fat' issue again. She thinks that by extracting the fat {the "artery clogger"} makes it healthier or less 'artery-clogging'?

There is a much bigger picture here. We need saturated fats in our diets. Healthy ones, that is. Dairy fat in moderation is fine. I suggest in fact that you eat yogurt in it's most natural state - fat an all!! Ice cream is "artery clogging" because of the source of the dairy, the excessive processing, the added sugars, and the fact that you eat it AFTER a huge steak dinner. All of that combined makes it a big diet killer. 

Dairy isn't necessarily terribly bad for us. Moderation is the key. Raw milk is the key {recently banned by the FDA}. And I'll say it again, I'm not trying to promote veganism. It is just a huge issue the way in which our cows are milked. I'm not talking a humane issue, but rather a health one for us humans - a cancer / obesity / heart disease issue! Because the cows are being milked when they aren't ready, or when it's not an optimal time, we now have a huge human health issue on our hands. It's the animal's health, the added antibiotics, the added hormones {even small amounts that the FDA says are okay}, the stress the cow is under when trying to produce milk when it's not ready, the amount of puss in the milk, the amount of toxins, etc. which are all totally naked to our eyes and tastebuds! 

The result of factory farming: an epidemic health problem here in the US. But we're totally blind to it because again, we can't see or taste it. We also don't typically hear about it {because Joy doesn't talk about it - wink}

Sorry! Hope that didn't just ruin your breakfast. Quick, eat something else. Try some goji lime krunchies with almond milk. 

Remember - I'm just sharing information with you - to wake up your Monday brain and get it ready for another long week ahead. Most importantly, enjoy your yogurt and ice cream. 

And if you're in SD - enjoy the RAIN, too! I know I am. 

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