Cravings and Binges Lead to More Craving Binges

 Fuhrman has a new book on children's eating habits, so I ordered it. I can get this heart book to you for a couple dollars. Email me at greg.jackson.edlp.gmail.com (initials stand for Every Day Lutheran Prices - Trademark)

No one was more surprised than I to discover than a very large bowl of spinach could be delicious, satisfying, and quite nutritious. I always liked fresh spinach from the garden but the Rambo rabbits here get it first. 

Store spinach is pretty good at WM, and $5 worth lasts a long time, maybe five very large bowls in five days. The equivalent in Bacon Egg Cheese biscuit is $25.  BEC is a triple fat product with too much salt. Fuhrman has argued that not only bacon and cheese are fatty/salty but eggs and milk are too.

I am changing the joke about my email address - greg.jackson.edlp@gmail.com. It now stands for Every Day Lutheran Prices - for the e-books and inexpensive printed books.

The reason why Americans continue to eat the wrong and least nutritious foods is simple - craving begets craving and more binge eating. We get used to a combination, acquire a habit of over-eating it, and then develop a mild or even wild addiction to it.

I plead the Fifth on donuts, but they are nothing more than white flour, sugar, grease, and icing made of more sugar. I told Christina when we first dated that bread donuts were made with eggs in the batter, so they were nutritious. Unfortunately, she asked my father how many eggs per donut, and that became an endlessly repeatable joke, even unto this day.

Avoiding donuts is easy now, because every brand is simply wretched, loaded even more with sugar and grease, but also with the lowest possible quality. My students told me that one outfit (which closed down near us) shipped in frozen raw donuts to be cooked in the shop - so dry and tasteless that no one wanted them. 

Here are some simple rules:

1. Milk products, meat, cheese, and eggs are very high in fat, so the chances of having a good weight with those foods are zilch. Colorful ads and gushing recipes make us want to eat a lot from the fat group, which are best at making us fat and craving even more.
2. Sugar formulations (including zero sugar fake sweeteners) are very expensive, just like the fat products below. Both groups provide some lift but also a big let-down and desire for more. Buying a bag of hard candy and devouring it - that is the pancreas calling for help and asking the addict to wise up.
3. Wacky, extreme, cleverly named diets (Keto, Opti-Fast, Mediterranean, Paleo, Atkins, Lo-Carb, Vegan, and Water diets) skip essentials, overdo certain ingredients - such as lots of eggs. They force people into short reductions in weight and fast rebounds like the lady who asked for Diet Coke, Diet Pepsi, diet any soft drink - and settled for six chocolate cream-filled Berliners. An old tradition is finishing a radical diet with binge eating, even more weight gain than before, and self-flagellant remorse. 

I have learned that many foods, packed with all kinds of nutritional benefits, are delicious and satisfying and prone to develop cravings that are good rather than bloating.

 Which is more complicated and effective - a Creation cluster wedged into one cell or a manufacturing cluster designed by humans?

I think I found the parallel in the drawing of a plant cell, which looks remarkably like the Dow Chemical complex in Midland, Michigan. A plant cell has a group of little factories that work together to accomplish the plans and engineering of the Creation. 

When the dams broke upstream Midland, the chemical plants were hit and shut down for a time. However, the Dow Scrubbing Bubbles countered the mess and shortened the clean-up. Mankind does not know how to fix everything in a catastrophe like that. A Creation plant simply recovers on its own, because the Creator can rebuild and strengthen even the most damaged life. 

I use beneficial insects to fashion nurseries for their children, who hatch and (turn your head away) digest the pests. 

So the plant cells include many more kinds of ingredients, part of its living structure, to provide us with ways to defeat blood sugar problems, high blood pressure, heart and cancer treatments.

So this is ironic - the plants we eat are far better for us than the fat-sugar-salt meals which are so heavily promoted, overpriced, and devoured.

Even more ironic - the Fuhrman food - weighted toward greens, beans, fruit and nuts will necessarily be quite varied but also good enough to crave. It takes some experimentation, but that makes healthy kitchen arts and crafts more fun. Once a huge leafy green salad is enjoyed by itself, with a few nuts and a tiny bit of dressing, the fat-sugar-salt foods become far less appealing and - in some cases - repulsive.

PS - It makes me sad that so many children are already obese by middle school, a pattern hard to break. And many are stuffed at the elementary school level. The heart itself stays the same size as we grow up, so it becomes a 4-cylinder engine trying to move a semi. The internal chemistry of the blood-liver-kidneys tries to balance the imbalanced food, vital to every part of the body.

Waiting for the Right Eye Surgery - Hard To Focus

 

I will have surgery in a few hours, so right now I have the concentration of a ferret - about five seconds at a time. 

I often read Fuhrman's two books before going to sleep. He offers so much information about food that I return to basic issues, to route them to permanent storage rather than RAM.

Blood pressure and weight both dropped as soon as I stopped bad food. I also reduced portions in favor of greens and beans, fruit and nuts.

Missing from the menu are significant portions of bread, meat, cheese, and eggs.

Yes, it is possible to have four fruit portions per day, and that erases the need and desire for desserts and candy.

Mounds of greens with a tiny bit of dressing? Yes, I enjoy that and continue to marvel over the nutrition in "rabbit food" as we called it in Illinois. The tables for nutritional value are shocking, because the least admired (greens, beans, fruits, nuts) are the best while the standard fodder is really pitiful (milk, eggs, meat, bread).

In addition, dark greens (collards, spinach) are even better than greens (like green beans), and greens are better than rainbow foods (like bananas and sweet potatoes). The dark greens and greens satisfy hunger while providing a wealth of protein, vitamins, minerals, and all those obscure food combinations.

The upside-down value of food reminded me of the time I discovered organic gardening in Midland, while going through the gardening books at the Grace Dow Midland Public Library. I also bought a lot of those books and devoured them. Everything natural was in harmony with Creation, which led to the Wormhaven Gardening book and the later Creation Gardening book.

Christina would say, "You graduated from Notre Dame and became a farmer?" We ate all kinds of vegetables from the garden - asparagus, beans, tomatoes, Silver Queen corn, egg plant, etc. I ate so-called weeds full of nutrition, such as Goose Foot and Purslane. When people complained about Purslane, I replied, "Eat it - delicious and crunchy." I learned how to grow spinach so perfect and crunchy that I could plant it in the fall and harvest it in the early spring (no bugs to eat it, no heat to make it bitter tasting). Gardening was good exercise and good nutrition. Kids came over and ate from the garden - green peppers and carrots pulled from the soil.

Pet rabbits got the dandelion greens and flowers, donating healthy amounts of Rabbit-Grow to feed the earthworms in kiddy pools under their cages (Christina's idea).

I am back to my down on the farm experience but I have to pay for the fresh foods. The rabbits and squirrels do not leave anything edible alone.

Removing the Bad Food To Make the Nutritional Food Taste Great

The atrocity of my food habits is becoming obvious as I dethrone the Standard American Diet (SAD) and replace it with Furhman's nutritional ideas. Each day I study the two Fuhrman books I have, because they are so full of information.

• Eggs, toast, and butter - gone.
• Cheese - bye-bye.
• Candy, desserts, and diet drinks - too obvious.

That did not happen at once, because I was paring down the fat-producing foods in favor of nutrition. In the last month I have lost weight and increased in energy. I also sleep through the night, which is another improvement. 

My new kick is leafy greens. I had two piles of them yesterday, for lunch and supper. I will have one today for breakfast. There are two basic reasons:

They are almost calorie free but add a lot of nutrition, especially when eaten with some nuts (almonds, walnuts) and some seeds (flax ordered).

I used to read things like "four fruit servings a day" and think - I will try for one a day. When protein and desserts are a priority, fruit is a distant goal, a long-distance goal. Now fresh fruit replaces dessert 100% and I consider fresh oranges and apples dessert. Juices are banned, whether sugared or sugar-free, because they have the same bad effect. Diet juices and sodas can be very addicting.

Furhman calls this a relying-on-fat diet, because it is possible to avoid eating fats with so much stored around the waist. Some call this a fat-burning diet, which also makes sense. Relying on sugar and fast-acting sweets for energy, the liver quickly lays down a new row of sandbags - fat layers. When this is denied, stored fat is rousted from its comfortable position and used for fuel.  That is energizing while storing new layers makes us tired, sleepy, and unambitious.

That explains why sensible eating helps us lose weight while giving us more energy. Crash diets lose weight in a miraculous fashion, but they do not change habits. The rebound is something to see, gaining it all back, adding another 10% for margin, and feeling like a dope.

Long ago I spotted a diet book-of-the-month club, which is as hilarious - or as sad as - the Church-Growth-Book-of-the-Month club. Both assuming that one idea per month is a complete failure, so they try the new one. Church Growth soldiers on because the apostates love it and cannot digest Biblical doctrine.

 Mencken was a bit harsh on the WELS-LCMS-ELS-CLC combine. Add a boatload of Thrivent salesmanship.

What Tastes Good When Really Hungry? - Answer - Everything!

I only had BelVita crackers for breakfast, with pour-over coffee from Costa Rica. I was not really hungry until lunch, which was the perfect time to try some new foods.

I picked chickpeas or gorbanza beans.

1. Packed with nutrients

Chickpeas boast an impressive nutritional profile.

They contain a moderate number of calories, providing 269 per cup (164 grams). Approximately 67% of these calories come from carbs, while the rest comes from protein and fat (1Trusted Source).

Chickpeas also provide a variety of vitamins and minerals, as well as a decent amount of fiber and protein. A 1-cup (164-gram) serving of cooked chickpeas offers (1Trusted Source):

• Calories: 269
• Protein: 14.5 grams
• Fat: 4 grams
• Carbs: 45 grams
• Fiber: 12.5 grams
• Manganese: 74% of the Daily Value (DV)
• Folate (vitamin B9): 71% of the DV
• Copper: 64% of the DV
• Iron: 26% of the DV
• Zinc: 23% of the DV
• Phosphorus: 22% of the DV
• Magnesium: 19% of the DV
• Thiamine: 16% of the DV
• Vitamin B6: 13% of the DV
• Selenium: 11% of the DV
• Potassium: 10% of the DV

They tasted much better than red kidney beans, but were a bit dull in flavor. I added almonds, walnuts, and blueberries, all three tasty and loaded with beneficial nutrients.

Fuhrman promotes green, leafy vegetables because a huge serving provides no calories, plenty of healthy nutrition, and satisfies. I bought balsamic vinegar dressing for a mixed selection of greens.

This was a plunge, because I associate lettuce with unpleasant eating, especially when my mother found out I was hiding my portion behind the curtains. (Note to self - throw away what is hidden!)

The salad was delicious, especially because I was still hungry. I finished with an orange, my first for the day, but not the last. Envy apples were in the fridge cooling. They are juicy, a bit tart and a bit sweet.

Fuhrman is right - this kind of eating is very filling, but it does not make me feel stuffed, as the SAD diet does (Standard American Diet). I am going to have an apple or two. One giant apple later - that Envy was good. 

Losing Weight Is Not the Answer - It is the Result

 

I wrote to someone that I weighed less than I have for a long time. I was lighter when we were on a tight budget and food was carefully picked and eaten with elan. A transient came to our home and we borrowed money from him!

The recipient said, "I need to lose some weight." That was a major part of my problem, because I never faced the necessity of dealing with nutrition first and last. Once the warrantee ran out on my pancreas, I faced the facts because I had to. My habits ranged from horrible to SAD - Standard American Diet, long on carbos and fat, short on beans and greens.

I already had Fuhrman's (unread!) Eat To Live and read that back and forth, a great source for nutrition in all the major food groups. I ordered Furhman's book, The End of Heart Disease, a hardback in new condition from Alibris.com.

Blood sugar, blood pressure, and heart problems are closely related, and I wanted some focused material on such things as blood pressure medicine, insulin, and the relationship between food and heart problems.

Arkansas is the second most obese state in the Union, beaten only by Mississippi. (We beat them in literacy, too!) Nothing is talked about more than football contests, sweetened tea, and biscuits with gravy. And it shows. Everyone who doubts the relationship between weight and illness should spend some hours at a hospital waiting room. Unfortunately for me, the men I saw made me feel like a contestant for Mr. Universe (in the elderly category, of course). 

Some look at body mass, but body girth will do the job, too. Riding on a scooter is a hint as well.

Complete Change in Eating Habits

First I woke up to foods on the banned list - favorites:

• Candy, ice cream especially - and desserts.
• Worthless greasy salty carbs (snack foods).
• Eggs - oh no! I cut way back but am making them rare.
• White bread (I'm good) but much lower on dark bread (NY Rye? - sob). On the rare list.
• Meat and fish - rare. No steaks.
• Cheese is basically fat, lots of fat. Noping that.
• Butter, oils, oils in pills. Cut back and now rare.

Here is the challenge, getting to the place where those are undesirable and not a bit tempting.

Here is a coffee parallel. I drink various kinds of coffee. If it is the one of the best I have ever had, I drink every drop - I savor every drop! If it is an ordinary bean, I drink 2/3rds and lose my desire for more.

Behold, the key to desiring good food - cut out the SAD calories. Why eat an orange after bacon, eggs, toast, and butter? "No, barrumph, I am full."

Fruits are very nutritious and not sugary because of the pulp, etc. Juices are sugar syrup. Fake sweeteners do not help because they make the body think sugar is being consumed.

Beans are loaded with nutrition and very satisfying. So are the crucifers, members of the cabbage family. A bowl of kidney beans or brussels sprouts are very enjoyable warmed up.

Greens are super-foods as well - with no calories. Fuhrman emphasizes the micro-nutrients and the many overlooked virtues of greens. The big one is - No calories! I am a big fan of spinach, so I will be getting canned spinach and work into other leafy greens. Kale? - I used to make fun of it when I could see it green in the snowy garden. I am changing my mind.

Nuts and seeds. I am already keen on walnuts and almonds. I will work on the seeds next.

Another Copy of Eat To Live

I am about 20 years late in reading Eat To Live, so maybe some will catch on earlier than I did. Some statements seem extreme, but overall, this is a new and different look at our eating habits. I gave my original copy away and sent copies to friends, then ordered my own and Fuhrman's heart book.

My experience so far includes:

1. A loss of craving for desserts and junk food, even A+ chocolate candy right in front of me;
2. Enjoyment of legumes (beans - for WELS graduates), fruits, nuts, and a reduction in portions;
3. A surge in energy, especially compared to last year;
4. An immediate but painless loss of weight.

Fuhrman's basic formula is greens, beans, fruits, and nuts.

• Large amounts of raw greens are nutritious and not weight-gaining, but weight-losing.
• Beans are satisfying and packed with many healthy components - more than just vitamins.
• Fruits have some sugar but eaten raw are delicious and healthy.
• Nuts and seeds have more calories per ounce but also have special, healthy qualities - like walnuts for the heart.

Fuhrman blames the undisciplined American diet on many of our maladies: blood sugar, blood pressure, heart problems, various cancers, and morbid obesity. We overdo meat, eggs, cheese, milk, cream and whipped cream - even fake cream and fake whipped cream.

I put it on the Google calendar, because I got my A1C (90 day blood sugar) at 8 AM and the eye appointment a few hours later. The book in my own library (in brand new condition) was 300+ pages of mirror - the mirror of the Law. Fuhrman's aids phoned me (in my fantasy) and said, "Your pancreas warrantee is about to expire. We want to help you out before it's too late."

So I read it every day and verified the claims of vegetable nutrition with various Internet sources. And I looked forward! to lunches dominated by black-eye peas, brussels sprouts, or green beans. Legumes and crucifers (cabbage family - for the Mequon graduates) are far more nutritious than meats and eggs. 

I used to scoff at suggestions for fruit and vegetable servings per day. But now I enjoy oranges, apples, and prunes daily - four servings.

When I began to get hungry today, I found the almond bag and ate about 20. "Not enough. Not enough. Hungry!" But a few minutes later I was not hungry or feeling stuffed." 

Some of you have been there - hungry. "Oh, one small dessert will not hurt." It has no nutritional value but sooooo good. "That was small, so I will have another." And the pancreas says as the last bite goes down, maybe because of the ice cream scooped out in goodbye cruel world anxiety - "You wrecked your goal, now I will wreck your day. Sluggish for hours, yes. Queasy, oh yes. If I must suffer, so must you."

So it is better to start having no desserts, no candy. Sassy loves to walk twice a day, and she is not letting me off the hook for winter. She loves winter. But I am also adding more gym and an indoor bike.

 The 7 Habits of Highly Trained Dogs

Making It Easy - Linking Nutritional Benefits of My Favorite Healthy Foods

Three of our members encouraged me on the topic of nutrition and avoiding bad foods. I am not an expert, which I have proven with my bad habits. However, I can link some of my favorite foods and their benefits, with the experts explaining.

Walnuts are the ultimate heart medicine, and cholesterol fixer. Good for -

• Anti-oxidants
• Omega 3
• Anti-cancer
• Lower weight and blood sugar
• Brain function

Almonds are massive nutrition sources. Good for -

• Anti-oxidants
• Vitamin E
• Blood sugar control
• Magnesium, good for many benefits, including blood sugar
• Lowering bad cholesterol (beats statins, believe me; my cholesterol is perfect because one member sent me walnuts until I was addicted)
• Weight loss

Brussels Sprouts are funny, ugly, and delicious. Good for -

• Lots of nutrition
• Incredible amounts of Vitamins K and C
• Anti-oxidants, fiber, and potassium
• Omega 3 and also lowers blood sugar
• Can be boiled, microwaved, or cooked crispy

Kidney Beans are not just for chili. Good for -

• Protein, fiber, and iron
• Lowering blood sugar
• Satisfying hunger and improving digestion

Kale is the superstar of greens and lasts all winter under the snow. Did God plan that?

• "For example, one cup (67 grams) of raw kale packs 684% of the Daily Value (DV) for vitamin K, 206% of the DV for vitamin A and 134% of the DV for vitamin C (2)."

Collard greens.

"Collard greens are a good source of calcium and the vitamins A, B9 (folate) and C. They’re also one of the best sources of vitamin K when it comes to leafy greens. In fact, one cup (190 grams) of cooked collard greens packs 1,045% of the DV for vitamin K (6).

Vitamin K is known for its role in blood clotting. In addition, more research is being done regarding its ability to improve bone health (7Trusted Source).

One study in 72,327 women aged 38–63 found that those with vitamin K intakes below 109 mcg per day had a significantly increased risk of hip fractures, suggesting a link between this vitamin and bone health (8Trusted Source)."

<whew!>

Spinach

"Spinach is a popular leafy green vegetable and is easily incorporated into a variety of dishes, including soups, sauces, smoothies and salads.

Its nutrient profile is impressive with one cup (30 grams) of raw spinach providing 181% of the DV for vitamin K, 56% of the DV for vitamin A and 13% of the DV for manganese (9).

It’s also packed with folate, which plays a key role in red blood cell production and the prevention of neural tube defects in pregnancy (10Trusted Source).

One study on the neural tube defect spina bifida found that one of the most preventable risk factors for this condition was a low intake of folate during the first trimester of pregnancy (11Trusted Source).

Along with taking a prenatal vitamin, eating spinach is a great way to increase your folate intake during pregnancy."

GJ - Spinach loves the cold damp weather of early spring and easily lasts when planted before the winter. It bolts (goes to seed and is bitter) when the weather warms and bugs work it over late in spring. Early fresh spinach is a treat, right from the garden. Ask my rabbits.

More leafy greens are described here.

Dr. Fuhrman emphasizes beans (of all types), greens (of all types), plus uncooked nuts and seeds. If you want the book, I will be happy to mail it to you. I am getting it for about 99 cents.

More Nutrition Posts Are Coming

Eat To Live is easy to buy, new or used.

Physical and mental energy are great, but they do not come from what people eat and drink the most - and pay the most to have.

I began studying Eat To Live to get a better balance, especially since I imagined my bakery DNA would work overtime for me. Live To Eat Desserts - my epic work, has been set aside.

 

Here is the bad list from the book and some other sources -

Sugared drinks (fruit juices, soda pop, diet drinks) are all bad. Sugar-free simply makes the body more eager to have more carbohydrates. Substitute with water, coffee, and tea. Coffee and tea together are very good for health.

The whites are delicious but bad - white bread, white sugar, hidden sources of sugar (corn syrup for sweetener and flavor enhancer). 

Exercise is essential, every day, starting with the daily walk. Stationary devices should be used consistently, not just in panic times (January, part of February, and - oh forget it).

Big Switch from Meat to Vegetables

Eat To Live advocates large amounts of vegetables replacing our over-use of meat. Micro-nutrients and protein are abundant in green vegetables. They satisfy without tossing a lot of carbohydrates into the system. I knew that from experience but kept on returning to my heritage.

Simply put, carbohydrates (sugars, bakery products) demand a lot of insulin for regulation and eventually tilt the body's system the wrong way.

Alcohol products were certainly built into Creation, but moderation is essential. My father argued that heavy drinkers did not like delicious food and therefore shied away from the delights of the bakery. The liver is the most fabulous chemical factory of all time - it can break down chemicals that never existed before, and it improves its ability to do this during the first sample (source - Yale Medical School, where I took a course on alcohol and drug abuse, not for treatment but for academic credit). 

I have seen the results of alcohol abuse too many times to join in the hilarity promoted by brewers. Habit becomes addiction over a long period of time, and the last stage is almost impossible to defeat. My friend died early, suffering from blackouts and everything else. 

 Never promote donuts outdoors.