STILL THINKIN'

Just sitting in a different chair. Doing this on my lunch because I've learned that if I wait, it's harder to capture the words later. So if this entry is a little disjointed, please excuse the mess.

Damn, I knew I should have never opened that door. Looks like I’m going to have to come up with my own yogurt combos, perhaps sweetened with a little honey. Or mix the fruit with a couple of stewed prunes or some raisins. The yellow raisins might work too; they’d certainly look a little better. Maybe add a little gelatin to the base for stability and vanilla to stretch the sweetness. Then add other fruit to it.

We should all remember that these artificial sweeteners were originally marketed to diabetics and patients with cardiovascular disease who needed help to control blood sugar and weight, like yesterday or who needed a bridge while they learned how to use natural foods better. I really don’t think they were intended for long term use. Just as breast milk replacements were intended for women who couldn’t breast feed or didn’t have enough milk.

Remember the old slogan from the middle of the last century, “Better Living Through Chemistry.” Please don’t get me started, that’s a whole ‘nother kettle of rotten fish.

But, hey, we’ve got a product, we want to sell it; all we have to do is convince you to buy it while acting as an unwitting guinea pig and paying our advertising costs.

And get this, the sucralose molecule was discovered in the mid seventies by scientists looking for new pesticides. Now that is a seriously scary thought.

So it looks like Splenda may be something I want to get out of my food plan. I was blaming the blood pressure drugs for my skin problems and they are part of it. Turns out both drugs now list skin problems as side effects. But, it turns out that for some of us Splenda may also cause skin problems. Talking to my doctor is a joke. She knows just what’s in the manufacturer’s handout. Any attempt to bring up research from the net is met with “anybody can post anything they want.” And yes a new doctor is in my future. But since I’d prefer the equivalent of the village wise man or woman who also has a medical degree the search may take a little while. Please excuse the digression, back to the journal entry.

And just because somebody has something they want to sell me, doesn’t mean it’s in my best interest to buy it. Think how much extra income we’d have it we weren’t subsidizing the corporations advertising costs, or subsidizing the lower prices that run smaller local businesses such as bakeries or smaller locally owned grocery stores out of business. Oh, and after you check out the sites further down, rmember that it appears we also pay for the corporate donations to fund the efforts of outfits like this to further gut the few protections we still have.

Checked out Aspartame too, just for kicks. There’s a website called the Aspartame Archives which is run by a group called Citizens for the Integrity of Science. Follow this link to see just who these guys are. Oh, dear me, this can of worms is just getting bigger all the time. According to Wikipedia these guys originally got started with money from tobacco companies. Yeah, I'm really going to trust you. http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Citizens_for_the_Integrity_of_Science  Poor picked on Aspartame. And this is their website. Gotta be fair you know. http://www.aspartamearchives.org/aspartame-side-effects.htmThe archive entry quoted the FDA extensively. Or one person from the FDA. Frankly, at this point, if the FDA says it’s good I’m running in the other direction. Yup, doc, anybody can post anything on the net. But, the old who, what, when, where, how, and why are still useful sifting tools.

Please don’t tell me there’s something wiggy with the non fat cream cheese. Better check those ingrediants too.

Note: I’ve had really good luck so far with the bread recipes from Brother Juniper’s Breadbook. For the yeast breads anyway. I’ve had to seriously play with the two muffin recipes I’ve tried. Way too much sweetener even if it is honey or molasses, especially when you realize that honey is twice as sweet as sugar. A half cup of brown sugar was more than adequate for 18 muffins. More than enough. Especially since the recipe calls for apples and raisins. Otherwise it was a good recipe.

Sorry the paragraph with the links didn't turn out quite the way I planned, but it all makes sense sort of. Oh and the Wikipedia entry is fun too, just Google the name of the two man "organization." Oh, and the other guy used to work for Fox News. May still be there for all I care.