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This column was originally published in the February issue of the Cumberland Times-News Health Journal. It was prepared as part of Allegany College of Maryland’s (ACM) Integrative Health Core Curriculum Project (IHCCP). A collaborative initiative between ACM faculty and health professionals from five Community Partner agencies (Western Maryland Health System, Archway, Allegany County Health Department, Family Crisis Resource Center, and HRDC Aging Services), the Project’s goal is to introduce evidenced-based mind/body medicine approaches into academic education and community health/mental health practice. This article is the sixth in a series on food as medicine.
Mission accomplished!
I did it! I succeeded with Small Step No. 1 on my Bucket List! (AKA “New Year’s Resolutions for Those Who Have Reached the Sublime Age Where One Is ‘Halfway to Dead’ ”)
As I reported last month in The Health Journal, I decided to take my father’s advice to not “bite off more than I could chew”. So my first Small Step goal of the New Year was to reduce the high fructose corn syrup (HFCS) in my diet by becoming more aware of what foods I eat. And I did exactly that -by checking the product labels, asking questions, and avoiding a list of “Most Likely Culprits.” And – get this - along the way I actually showed up early or on time to a few meetings! (My 2009 New Year’s Resolution which was a miserable flop.)
I can hear readers mumbling…”What the heck is she talking about??! What does reducing HFCS have to do with being on time to meetings?”
To be frank, I am not sure at all how the two are correlated – but I did notice (as did others who went into a mild state of shock) that in January 2010 while working on Small Step No. 1, I also was on time at least twice for meetings. Not saying there is any connection. Just a comment for what it is worth. (Researchers, take note!) But on the down side, there was no documented drop in the number of times I lost my keys.
Anyway, let’s get back to my Bucket List. Bolstered by the success of my first Small Step, I am ready to tackle Small Chew #2. So here it is: “I will reduce trans or hydrogenated fats in my diet.”
According to Dr, Mark Hyman, M.D. in The UltraMind Solution (2009), foods containing trans fats join foods containing HFCS on the Toxic Table List. In fact, Dr. Hyman states emphatically in the book: “By eliminating these two foreign, man-made, mood-and mind-altering toxic substances from your diet, (you can) radically transform your health overnight….. (And)….if you …do nothing else, you will have made a major impact on your health. (p. 57)”
So let’s do it. “Overnight” success is my mantra!
But first, a few more bits of information from Dr. Hyman about trans fats. He explains (p.92) that our cell membranes are made up of the fats we eat. So if we eat foods containing trans fats, these membranes become “stiff and hard like lard and Crisco”.
Yikes! Add this to crust induced brain rust from HFCS, and it’s no wonder I and my kids suffer from DLKS (“Daily Lost Key Syndrome”) Especially because trans fats are found everywhere - in processed foods, baked goods, most fried foods, chips, and just about anything we can buy from the factory or that is packaged. Dr. Hyman also states that trans fats “damage cells, increase inflammation, and interrupt normal brain function” (p. 57).
So just as I did last month when I was working on HFCS, I headed straight to my frig and my food cupboards to Search and Survey my food supply. Prompted by Dr. Hyman’s instructions, I looked for the word “hydrogenated” on the label. Here are some of the products I found: Pepperidge Farm Herb Seasoned Stuffing, Shake N’ Bake for Fish, Pillsbury Quick Bread (Apple Cinnamon), Swiss Miss Dark Chocolate Sensation Hot Cocoa packets, Family Time Butter Light popcorn, Parkay margarine, Pillsbury refrigerated pie crusts, and Pillsbury Grands Cinnabons.
Dr. Hyman was right – all of these were packaged products. And all had one other thing in common: they were the home cooked version of “fast foods”. Quick and easy products to get something on the table rather than preparing it from scratch. But at the price of brain cells that are “stiff and hard like lard”! Not a pretty picture.
Ouch. Small Step Bucket List #2 might be a bit harder to achieve. The Shake N’ Bake for Fish may be a goner, but my Swiss Miss Dark Chocolate Sensation Hot Cocoa…well, that’s another story!
Oh yes, One more thing to point out. Quite a few packaged foods I examined noted on the front label that the product had “0 Trans Fats”. However, Dr. Hyman posted a “Buyers Beware” warning about that product claim: “0 Trans Fats” can meet government’s requirements as long as the item has less than a half gram. So be sure to read the fine print on the ingredients label and look for the word “hydrogenated” to confirm if this is lurking in the background –despite the deceptive “0 Trans Fats” claim.
Well, folks, the more I examine this whole trans fats issue, the more I realize that last month’s proudly proclaimed Bucket List success may have been a fluke. Small Step #2 might not be as easy as Small Step #1.
So stay tuned for the March edition of Health Journal. I hope I have good news. But what the heck. To paraphrase the great Catherine Aird quote, “If I can't be a good example, then I’ll just have to serve as a horrible warning.”
Some people already think I am.
Cherie Snyder is a professor at Allegany College of Maryland and directs the Human Services and Integrative Health programs. She also serves on the faculty of the Center for Mind-Body Medicine in Washington, DC. She can be reached at 301 -784 -5556 or 5557…if she finds her keys.
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