The Best Options for Satisfying the Sweet Taste

4/21/09 - my original article include agave nectar as a better choice. I have removed that reference.

The last couple of articles warned about the dangers of sugar and artificial sweeteners. I’ve presented lots of “bad news”; but the truth. There is another truth of course – we all live in the real world, sugar is a part of it, and most of us enjoy a treat. Part of my purpose is to educate and inform. So, given that sugar is part of everyone’s life, I’d like to share with you what I believe your best options are to satisfy the sweet tooth.

First, I’ll repeat, use as little as possible. Second, avoid artificial sweeteners, particularly aspartame (and its derivatives) and sucralose. Here’s a list of natural sweeteners that are better choices: dehydrated cane juice crystals, maple syrup, honey, blackstrap molasses, date sugar, stevia, and fructooligosaccharides (FOS).

You can find dehydrated cane juice crystals in most grocery stores under the name Sucanat. It is made by evaporating the water from sugarcane juice. The crystals retain some of the nutrients from the original sugar cane, so at least it has some nutritional value. It can be used in about the same amounts as you would use white sugar.

Maple syrup and honey are also natural sweeteners best used in small amounts. Maple syrup comes from the sap of a maple tree and contains the minerals potassium and calcium. Honey is of course made by bees and contains enzymes and some minerals. Raw honey is best, however should not be given to children under two years old. For both of these sweeteners, organic is recommended.

Blackstrap molasses is what is left after sugar crystals are removed from beet juice or sugarcane. It still contains small amounts of calcium and iron, so again has some nutritional benefit. You’ll notice that all these natural sweeteners, despite the processing, do contain some nutrition via the minerals. Date sugar is made by pulverizing dates; therefore it retains the fiber and minerals.

One of the latest natural sweeteners to come on the scene is stevia. Stevia is a sweet herb, all natural. It has been used in South America (where it originates) for hundreds of years. It is very sweet so new users need to be extra careful. If you use it like sugar and dump in a whole packet you are likely to be surprised by a bitter taste. Too much sweet will become bitter to the palate. Stevia has also been shown to help regulate blood sugar levels and does not raise blood sugar as other sweeteners do.

One thing to be aware of with stevia – it has just received approval to be used in diet soft drinks. It will be marketed to the public as stevia, but it is not the same. The manufacturers will be extracting just the part that provides the sweet taste and not using the entire plant. I don’t believe this has been adequately tested and we all know that when we remove specific parts we don’t always get the same effect as the whole. Therefore, it is probably a good idea to stay away from stevia when used as a food additive.

Fructooligosaccharides (FOS) naturally occur in fruits, vegetables, and grains. They are an extra large sugar molecule so they are not digested by the body as sugar. Since it is not digested, it will not affect blood sugar levels. FOS has another great benefit – it encourages the growth of the good bacteria in our intestines and does not feed the bad bacteria and the yeast (Candida) as other sugars do.

So, there you have it – sugars you can use. But again, I caution, they are sugars, and we still should aim to reduce and limit the total sugar we consume.


Bernard Rosen, PhD is a Nutrition Consultant and Educator. He works with individuals, groups, and at corporations to create individualized nutrition and wellness programs. His office is in Thiensville. To learn more or to schedule an appointment, e-mail at bernie@brwellness.com, call (262) 389-9907 or go to www.brwellness.com.

High Pitch Eric

As most everyone knows I have 2 sons and 1 daughter. Zachary, my eldest, is the creative one. Elizabeth, my youngest and only daughter, is a delightful mix of girly girl and tomboy.

And then there's Lucas. He's the manly boy. He likes fishing, monster trucks, car races and football. He likes to get dirty, play in the mud, shoot hoops and pretend he is any one of a menagerie of superheroes. He has stuffed animals, sure, but they are a stuffed alligator who's ferocious and a huge stuffed dog named Boomer. He keeps his hair super short (typically...right now it's touching the tips of his ears) and usually wears it spiked in the front...by his own choice.

But then there's one part of Lucas that doesn't fit at all. His voice. Chuck calls him our "high-pitch Eric". It's usually part of Lucas' charm that is him; but then there are the times when he whines when I swear his voice could shatter glass.

However, even with his high voice (and he is only 4 1/2!) NO ONE has ever mistaken Lucas for a girl. Not even as a baby.

Until this weekend.

We went swimming at our local aquatic center on Saturday afternoon. We've been trying to make this a regular habit as it gets us out of the house, active and playing together as a family. And for only $10 for the entire family, it's cheaper than most things we can do out there right now when it's so bitter cold. Per usual, we got ready in the family changing rooms (easier to have both parents on hand to corral the kids), got the kids into their life jackets (my kids sink like stones), and out into the warm exercise pool. There was only one other family in there. Awesome!! I love having room to move around and play.

Lucas wears a red life jacket and blue/red Hawaiin flowered swim trunks. No shirt. He and Daddy were playing football when Chuck said "Lucas, it's coming to you!"

A grandmother from the other family pipes up and states "You named your girl, your daugher, Lucas?"

Chuck and I stopped and kinda looked; I'm sure we were looking rather confused. Chuck explained that no...Our daughters name was Elizabeth, his name (pointing at Lucas) is Lucas and his name (pointing to Zachary) is Zachary.

The woman looks at Lucas again and states "Ohhh, he's a boy?!"

Now, I understand that he has a rather high voice. But seriously? He's wearing no shirt, short hair, boy trunks and his name is Lucas. Hmmmm...that seems rather self-evident to me.

I kinda hope that his voice catches up with his attitude and demeanor before high school....kids can be really cruel.

Good Samaritan--Kiddie Style

I was reading a magazine this morning that Zachary brought home yesterday from school called "Parent & Child". (I think it's from Scholastic not that that makes any dang bit of difference.) I found it on the kitchen chair this morning and thought I'd do a little perusing while I was waiting for the shower to warm up and the kids were still sleeping.

They had a really interesting article in there about teaching your children good deeds and thinking about others at even the earliest of ages and tips/ideas on things to do that are age appropriate.

I found the article inspiring and thought-provoking. In the past, we've introduced the idea of thinking of others and giving of ourselves by having a yearly pilgrammage to buy toys that they pick out and give to "Toys for Tots" during the Christmas season. The last couple of years we haven't done this...I guess the excuse is we've been too busy. But I think it's really important to teach the kids that we are very fortunate to have the things that we do have. And I'm not just speaking of material things....yes, it's nice that we have the house, car, etc. But I'm talking more about family. There are so many kids out there that have no one that care for them. No moms and dads or moms and dads that could give a shit less about them. THAT is what I want the kids to understand....how incredibly important the relationships of family and good friends are. One of the lessons that we've been working on in therapy with Zachary is looking outside of himself. Apparently children like Zachary are very, very focused on only themselves so it's important to push him to think of others. Why? Well, some simple reasons that root themselves in socially acceptable behavior....like not *ALWAYS* having to be first in line. Asking questions when others are speaking to you. Things like that.

Some of the suggestions were simple and easy to do...and everything was age appropriate. Such as:

* On their birthdays, picking out a toy or donating money to a local children's home.
* Making sandwiches and decorating the bags/boxes and dropping them off at the local homeless shelter.
* Volunteering at the humane society feeding and watering or just playing with the animals.
* Putting some of their allowance each week into a jar and when the jar is full they get to choose where to donate it.
* Walk with the kids in a 5k race for a charitable organization. Explain to the kids what its for and why its so important.

There were a bunch more, but those are the ones that stuck out in my mind. I googled the topic "kids doing good" and tons of references came up including this book: Doing Good Together. So I encourage you to find time to teach your children about charity. And if you do charitable deeds with your kids, what do you do?

25 Things about Hubby and Me

I wanted to get a post out there today for all my loyal readers. (The 2 of you I know that read...) and I have an idea but honestly I'm so irritable and attention deficited today that I can't focus enough to write the blog I want to write. So hopefully you'll get that tomorrow.

For now...Enjoy 25 facts about hubby and me, as seen by my side of the relationship. I'm sure he'll tell you something different! This is kind of like the 25 things - except there are pre-decided questions and it's about you and your spouse, not just you. Come on, play along - inquiring minds want to know! ;-)

♥ What are your middle names? Marie and David

♥ How long have you been together?Together almost 12 years and married 7 1/2 years

♥ How long did you know each other before you started dating? About 2 months, if you can call what we did dating.

♥ Who asked who out? Um...well, I guess he was the one who suggested it.

♥ How old are each of you? Hubby is 40. I am 31.

♥ Whose siblings do/ did you see the most? My brothers. We see his sister as little as possible.

♥ Do you have any children together? All 3.

♥ What about pets? As the boys informed me last night we have 7 pets. 5 fish and 2 dogs.

♥ Which situation is the hardest on you as a couple? Being in a house that's too small for all of us and it's constantly cluttered.

♥ Did you go to the same school? Nope, not at all.

♥ Are you from the same home town? Nope, but close. Our parents only lived about 5 minutes from each other.

♥ Who is the smartest? Chuck. But I'm pretty smart as well.

♥ Who is the most sensitive? Me. Hands down. However, Chuck is very sentimental. Not that he lets everyone see that.

♥ Where do you eat out most as a couple? A couple. Hmmm. Claddaugh's Irish Pub.

♥ Where is the furthest you two have traveled together as a couple? London, England for our honeymoon.

♥ Who has the craziest exes? Well, that's gotta be him because I don't have any exes.

♥ Who has the worst temper? Me, without a doubt.

♥ Who does the cooking? Chuck. Every day I come home to a hot dinner on the table.

♥ Who is more social? Definitely me. If it weren't for me, he'd be a hermit holed up somewhere.

♥ Who is the neat-freak? Depends on where the cycle is at, but usually Chuck.

♥ Who is the more stubborn? Me. Ask anybody in my family.

♥ Who hogs the bed? Jake (the dog) or Lucas. If neither of them are in bed, Chuck....

♥ Who wakes up earlier? Chuck on the weekdays (5:30 am); Me on the weekends (7:30 am)

♥ Where was your first date? First date was at Don Pablo's (YUM!) but our first hookup was at my house at a party.

♥ Who has the bigger family? Me, hands down. Chuck has a hard time understanding my ties to a big family.

♥ Do you get flowers often? Zachary gets me flowers sometimes (he did yesterday). From Chuck....never anymore.

♥ How do you spend the holidays? Traveling from one set of grandparents to another.

♥ Who is more jealous? I used to be, but not anymore. Now neither of us is jealous, really.

♥ How long did it take to get serious? About 2 months, I guess. By 8 months of dating we moved in together.

♥ Who eats more? Hubby

♥ Who does/ did the laundry? Me.

♥ Who’s better with the computer?Him. Unless it's typing...then, me.

♥ Who drives when you are together?Usually he does. But I will occassionally.

So, I'd be curious to hear about your relationship!!

Big Owie=1, Elizabeth=0

So after 3 children and nearly 7 years, last night was the closest we came to taking a child to the hospital for a broken bone. Luckily, we didn't have to, but Elizabeth went from a walking and running child back to a crawling, crying baby in the blink of an eye. All thanks to a big "owie!". It was clean sweep time for the boys (they have 30 timed minutes to clean the bedroom, living room and hallway. If they don't complete their tasks to my inspection, they don't get to watch t.v. for the evening.) Lucas apparently didn't want Elizabeth in his room, so he put the kids' stools in the doorway. Why he didn't just shut the door, I have no idea. Probably so he could continue to monkey-around with his brother instead of clean.

Elizabeth, being the smart girl she is, climbed onto the stools and was standing there, just inside Lucas' room. Lucas decided that he didn't like that and pushed her off. Landing wrong on her foot/ankle and subsequently screaming incessantly. She pushed herself up and wobbled/half crawled to me and I saw that something was majorly wrong from the way she was limping. I had her try to take a couple steps towards Daddy and it was no better. He picked her up and felt her leg and the look of concern on his face made me more than a little worried. Chuck doesn't get that look too often. But, in retrospect, Elizabeth is his little girl.

We took off Elizabeth's pants and pushed and prodded and twisted her leg and nothing much happened other than an occassional smile from a ticklish spot. Her foot though...that was a different story. When you pushed on it, you'd get a wince or a loud "ow, ow, ow!" After we decided we'd take the wait and see approach as nothing appeared broken, we put her back on the floor where she tried to run and instead screamed and fell to the floor to crawl. She couldn't quite get it figured out that she just couldn't run yesterday...or jump off the counch.

Luckily, this morning she was gingerly walking on her foot; after I encouraged her to walk and she realized she could. I'll be curious to see how she's acting tonight when I get home. Elizabeth seemed to be soaking in the attention, so she may milk this for a couple more days ;)

Me, the sex-pot consultant

Well, the state of the state address is tomorrow and we’re all very anxious to hear how two-penny Jenny is going to fix our problems. I’m of the mind that she’s not, yet, again. We’re ready to hear how she’s going to basically squander the 3 billion dollar federal monies that is being given to Michigan all the while more and more people lose their jobs and they layoff state workers or as the rumour may infer they cut our pay by 10%. I figured it out and with the 5% mandatory paycut I took when they moved me to days along with Chuck and I both losing 10% if she does this along with 13% of our income that we pay our sitter, we’ll have lost 38% of our combined household income in just about 3 months. Wonderful, isn’t it?

Why do I bring all this up? I’m thinking of taking on a part-time job as a Pure Romance consultant. It seems like the women I know and talk to are still into going to parties and buying “marital aids”; probably to relieve stress and depression. I have a huge conglomerate of friends that I think would have parties, too. I’ve had a couple of different consultants over the last few years try pretty hardcore to recruit me saying that I’d be an excellent consultant since I know my toys and have a passion for women being open with their sexuality and finding the inner sex-pot even if it’s more tame than mine is.

On top of possibly making some money, I think it’d be so much fun to talk about sex with women as a part-time job. It’s something that I know a bit about and have a lot of fun with. It’d allow me an outlet to be a fun, lively woman and not just mom all the time. You’d think my job with the government would do that, but honestly I come to work and babysit a bunch of old people. It’s not all that much different than being at home, for the most part. Except for the fact that I love my children and only mostly like the people at work.

So, I’m thinking about doing this. There’s a slight start-up charge in order to get the product to showcase at the parties and I’m a little hesistant about that. What do you think? Have you ever done any in-home parties? What’s the pro’s and con’s?

Oh, and btw, I was HEAVILY discouraged against the supervisor position. Why? Because apparently there is some major discourse among the employees and the department manager above that position is HORRIBLE to work for. So, I’m going to pass on that. I don’t need more stress in my life.

Does Lettuce Cause Heart Disease?

I'll bet raised a few eyebrows! It did for me as well when I heard Sally Fallon say that at a conference I recently attended. Traditionally we never really ate that much lettuce. But, when we were told salads were healthy for us we decided we needed dressings in order to make them palatable. The problem is the ingredients in most commercial salad dressings. They are loaded with bad fats and sugar.

Check out this ingredient list from Hidden Valley Fat Free Ranch Dressing: Water, Corn Syrup, Cultured Lowfat Buttermilk*+(Skim Milk, Condensed Skim Milk, Active Cultures), Maltodextrin, Modified Food Starch, Cultured Nonfat Buttermilk, Less Than 2% Of Vinegar, Garlic Puree, Onion Puree, Garlic++, Onion++, Green Onion++, Salt, Sugar, Spice, Sour Cream *+, ++ (Cream, Nonfat Milk Cultures), Pectin, Xanthan Gum, Lecithin+, Partially Hydrogenated Cottonseed And Soybean Oil +, Distilled Monoglycerine+, Natural Flavor, Artificial Color, Monosodium Glutamate, Citric Acid, Lactic Acid, Phosphoric Acid, Disodium Phosphate, With Potassium Sorbate, Sodium Benzoate, TBHQ, And Calcium Disodium EDTA As Preservatives, Alpha Tocopheryl (Vitamin E), Lemon Juice Concentrate. ++ Dried, + Adds A Trivial Amount Of Fat, * Adds A Trivial Amount Of Cholesterol.

Hard to know where to start. Let's start with sugar. The following ingredients are essentially sugar: corn syrup, maltodextrin, modified food starch, xanthan gum; all derived from corn. Not too mention the lowfat and nonfat buttermilks whose milk sugar content breaks down quickly as well in your body. Then we have the bad fats - the partially hydrogenated cottonseed and soybean oil. We all know how hydrogenated oils create trans-fats which are known to cause cancer. And, I didn't even mention the preservatives, the MSG, the natural flavors, or artificial color!

You may say that your dressing doesn't have these oils. The truth is outside of extra virgin olive oil (that you should make your own dressings from), any oil that is in a commercially produced salad dressing is not good for you. Why? They are heated to high temperatures during processing. This damages the fats and oxidizes them. In your body this increases the number of free radicals which damage cells and tissues, including your arteries. The excess sugars contribute to blood sugar spikes and ultimately insulin issues which also damage arteries and cause diabetes.

One more item to chew on - even canola oil is not really good for you. Yes, chemically it is a healthy monounsaturated fat similar to olive oil. However, I'll put this quite simply - have you ever seen a canola tree? (Hint: There is no such thing. It is a processed oil.)

Bernard Rosen, PhD is a Nutrition Consultant and Educator. He works with individuals, groups, and at corporations to create individualized nutrition and wellness programs. He is an expert in the field of Nutrition and Erectile Dysfunction. His office is in Thiensville, WI. To learn more or to schedule an appointment, e-mail at bernie@brwellness.com, call (262) 389-9907 or go to www.brwellness.com.

The Alternative to Sugar - Artificial Sweeteners – Are They Safe?

Previously I have written about the evils of sugar. If you thought that was scary, there is something I believe is actually worse – the artificial sweeteners that are offered by the food industry as a “no calorie” alternative.

Why are they dangerous? Quite simply they are a mix of chemicals combined in a laboratory to create a “sweet” taste. They are not food. What has happened since artificial sweeteners have been introduced? Rather than reducing our sugar intake, it has actually increased! Several recent studies have shown a connection between consuming artificial sweeteners and a subsequent increase in food or calorie intake. What does this mean? It means they are making us hungrier! Why? Because of what happens in your body.

Our body was designed a long time ago, way before the introduction of these and other chemicals. Artificial sweeteners were created to trick the body into thinking it was getting something sweet. However, the body is never really tricked. It has received the signal of “sweet” and therefore mobilizes to deal with “sweet”. The proponents of artificial sweeteners say they are good for you because they do not raise insulin levels as regular sugar does. There’s a catch – they still raise insulin levels. Insulin is released to help process the sweet and when no recognizable sweet is found there is excess insulin in the blood stream that has to be dealt with. But now it is worse because your body is looking for the food which it can not find because there is none. This makes your body want food, thus the increase in food and calorie intake. Let’s review this very important point. Your body still produces insulin in response to artificial sweeteners. One of the functions of insulin is fat storage. This does not sound like consuming artificial sweeteners would be a good strategy for someone who is diabetic (insulin) or attempting to lose weight (fat storage).

Artificial sweeteners are used in all types of products – soft drinks, sports drinks (diet and “regular”), hot chocolate drink mixes, protein shakes, nutritional bars and shakes, gelatins, puddings, apple sauce, sauces, toppings, syrups, processed fruits, gum, candy, baked goods, snack foods, dairy products, and even in flu remedies, toothpastes and lozenges. These products will be labeled as “low calorie”, “sugar free”, “fat free”, or “low fat.” They are also in products not labeled “sugar free.” They are in products were they don’t even appear on the list (per government regulations if an ingredient is less than 2% it does not have to be listed). They are all over. You have to read your labels and even then you can not be sure.

The most common artificial sweeteners are sucralose and aspartame. Independent researchers, particularly in Europe, have found these chemicals harmful to human health. In fact, scientific research has linked artificial sweeteners to weight gain, disruption of sleep patterns, sexual dysfunction, increases in cancer, multiple sclerosis, lupus, and diabetes. Why these outcomes? Again, it rests with how the body works. The body does not recognize them as a source of nutrition, and therefore it struggles to process them. Since they may not be completely processed, they have nowhere to go, so they may accumulate in the body. They can accumulate in vital organs such as the brain or liver, they can pollute the bloodstream, and they form the basis for eventual cell mutations. All of this can cause serious damage to your body. How long and what symptoms will develop will vary depending on the individual.

If you want more details on the scientific studies that have been conducted I suggest you go to the following web site: http://www.janethull.com. Dr. Hull is an aspartame poison survivor. She has an interesting background and is an expert in the dangers of the artificial sweeteners and has written several books on the subject. If you want some practical tips on reducing sugar in your life I recommend the book Get the Sugar Out by Ann Louise Gittleman.

Bernard Rosen, PhD is a Nutrition Consultant and Educator. He works with individuals, groups, and at corporations to create individualized nutrition and wellness programs. He is an expert in the field of Nutrition and Erectile Dysfunction. His office is in Thiensville, WI. To learn more or to schedule an appointment, e-mail at bernie@brwellness.com, call (262) 389-9907 or go to www.brwellness.com.