Calcium Score

[steingar]

Same here. Bought Beano, but only used it a few times. Once in awhile though, cheap beer and cheap beans can raise havoc. I keep some Gas-X on hand just in case.

dtuuri

Never got to that point with yours truly.

 

[azure]

I tried beano a few times. It seemed to work at first, then not so much. Gas-X (simethicone) is useless for flatulence as all it does is help to consolidate gas bubbles (sorry for tmi).

Disclaimer: I love veggies and eat them a lot but I'm definitely NOT a vegetarian. I try to follow the Mediterranean diet guidelines and try to boost my monounsaturated fats (mostly from olive oil) and omega-3's (mostly from salmon, some from nuts) and keep down my omega-6's.

 

[dtuuri]

Gas-X (simethicone) is useless for flatulence as all it does is help to consolidate gas bubbles (sorry for tmi).

Too full of beans! Hahahaha..
Oh, that one made my eyes water. Heeheehee...

I try to follow the Mediterranean diet guidelines and try to boost my monounsaturated fats (mostly from olive oil) and omega-3's (mostly from salmon, some from nuts) and keep down my omega-6's.

Did you ever watch Jeff Novick talk about that? Skip the first :30.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GfBKauKVi4M

dtuuri

 

[azure]

Did you ever watch Jeff Novick talk about that? Skip the first :30.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GfBKauKVi4M

Just watched it. The first 3 minutes or so are pretty much strawman arguments, but some of his data are things I didn't know and it was just getting interesting when the video ended. Wish they'd had the whole talk.

 

[dtuuri]

...it was just getting interesting when the video ended. Wish they'd had the whole talk.

He was mentioning the Vogel et al study where every meal with fat causes impairment of endothelial function for six hours. This is the rational behind Dr. Esselstyn's "no oil!" mantra. During those hours we're vulnerable to atherosclerotic impregnation by radicalized LDL, so goes the theory as I understand it. But now we know carbs also impair endothelial function, thanks to Dr. Schecter, et al. So, my questions to you are, "Which do think is worse?" And, "What are you willing to do about it?" Personally, I think it's the oil, but I'm hedging my bet by avoiding carbs too and doubling up on the leafy greens.

It's so hard to change from eating our favorite foods when we think we don't have a problem in need of a solution, but the reality is, symptoms or not, most of us do. Autopsies of young people who died in accidents show it. Once you suffer pain, or 'discomfort' during exercise like I did, it's definitely time for a change before something bursts and plugs up leaving us to cope with a half-dead body the rest of our lives (or worse).

dtuuri

 

[Henning]

The real issue IMO is that our society doesn't deal with death very well. Instead of facing the issue we strive for immortality at the expense of enjoying what life has to offer. I would rather be dead than have missed all the wonderful meals with family and friends over the years. Memories of coming in to a warm house during the holidays filled with the smells of a pending feast, etc. These extreme lifestyles rob us of these wonderful experiences and that's what really bothers me.

Exactly, just enjoy life.

 

[Henning]

BTW, I live like a hedonist, just moderated, have (always had) high cholesterol numbers, my Calcium score is still zero.

 

[dtuuri]

Don't much use recipes, but here's the general outline of my favorite way to cook my favorite food:

Heat just a bit of oil in your biggest soup pot. Add in a couple onions diced, a few sticks of celery, similarly diced, and a few cloves of crushed garlic. Sweat over low heat 5 or 10 minutes, until the onions get soft. Turn up the heat a bit and add some sliced or diced vegetables, some mushrooms, zucchini or whatever else you fancy. Add in some diced potatoes that you've parboiled (I do mine in the microwave) and some diced tomatoes. Saute until everything is nicely done, and deglaze with some cheap tequila, about a half cup, or to taste.

In another pot steam a big bunch of washed and chopped greens, kale, bok choy, spinach or whatever you want. Wilt them well, then add them and their water to the big pot of beans. Oh yeah, beans. Go back in time and the night before put up a pound of black beans (you can use any kind you like actually) in enough water to cover by about an inch. Next morning pour off the water and add half strength soup stock. Boil one hour or until done, and add to your vegetable mixture. Thicken with tomato paste, season with basil, cumin, oregano, and enough chili spice to make it as spicy as you care for. I always add some hot peppers to the sauté, but no one likes things as spicy as I do.

You can continue to season with vinegar (I like malt vinegar best) lemon juice, soy sauce (used in moderation, stuff is strong and salty). You can add in the bean cook water for broth, it should be yummy. You want enough broth to cover the brown rice you're going to serve this with. I sweeten with fruit juice (apple joyce comes in little plastic bottles and is perfect) or molasses, I bake with sugar but use it for nothing else. If my stew needs salt I use a substance called miso, available at most Oriental markets it is fermented bean curd that's strong and salty and gives great flavor. Don't use much though.

If you want a chewier texture take one cup TVP (textured vegetable protein, also available everywhere) and boil in one cup soup broth. Add into your beans, which should wind up in a nice thick spicy broth. You can skip the rice and make some biscuits to go with your bean, I make mine with whole wheat and ancient grains. Yummy.

Ok! I loosely applied some of your cooking tips to my lentils and they were much more tasty. Thank you. I deglazed with some old vermouth lying around and added some browned peppers, onions and diced potatoes. Used basil, oregeno, chili powder, black pepper and hot salsa for spices, which I'm usually scared of adding because I have no idea what they'll do. Cumin? I would have tried it if I had it.

Thanks, steingar!

dtuuri

 

[cessna182b]

First, carbohydrates from grains are long chain starch molecules while the ones from sugar and honey are simple sugars. The latter are more easily metabolized and contain vastly more energy (i.e. calories).

Grains like white flour are therefore healthier than sweeteners. That said, whole grains are better still. White flour only uses the starch containing part of the wheat grain while whole wheat uses the entire grain, which includes parts that have protein and fiber. Many of the grains I use have even more protein and fiber than that. Fiber is indigestible, so no calories at all. Protein is a much poorer source of energy than starch (but good for building material).

The down side is that the protein in white four, gluten, can make lattices that fill with carbon dioxide exhaled by yeast to make light fluffy bread. All the fiber and protein from whole wheat breaks that lattice, thus whole wheat breads don't rise as well. And most other grains have no gluten at all and make horrible bread.

First, let me say that I don't know enough about the subject to agree or disagree. However, I came across this atricle awhile back that would seem to
be diametrically opposed to what we have been told for a long time:
http://www.latimes.com/health/la-he-five-questions-davis-20130202-story.html

What or who to believe? I will say that it would appear that the unsolicited dietary advice we have been treated to tends to contradict itself over time.

Dave

 

[Henning]

Dietary advice constantly changes to contradict itself. I eat what I enjoy eating, I just don't eat lots of it, I will die eventually.

Eventually somewhere along the line of the genome project, probably a few decades if we make it, somebody is going to figure out how to fine tune diets individually by genetic determinants and we will all have perfect diets, and we will still die.

 

[azure]

First, let me say that I don't know enough about the subject to agree or disagree. However, I came across this atricle awhile back that would seem to
be diametrically opposed to what we have been told for a long time:
http://www.latimes.com/health/la-he-five-questions-davis-20130202-story.html

If wheat had the effects that author claims then I should have seen them this past week in VT. I was eating restaurant food the entire week, breakfast and dinner, except when I had breakfast at the motel where I even had an English muffin and a donut on one occasion! Lots of wheat in the form of dinner rolls and even toast at breakfast. No scale to help titrate my food intake, just following my body's signals. And the food was overall much richer than I'm accustomed to, typical American fare (actually, I pretty much hate most of the restaurants in the Montpelier area). At first it disagreed with me, then I started feeling constantly stuffed and had to cut back in quantity just to feel normal. In the end, I gained less than 1 pound, which I suspect I was already in the process of losing as my weight quickly settled down to normal over the weekend.

I'm skeptical that wheat or even carbs, for that matter, affect the appetite in such a way that overeating and obesity follow inevitably. There are too many people who eat them regularly without becoming overweight or diabetic (and VT is one of the least obese states in the nation). I'm convinced that whatever effects they have on appetite regulation, if any, are minimal and that it's very possible to adjust and compensate for them.

 

[steingar]

Ok! I loosely applied some of your cooking tips to my lentils and they were much more tasty. Thank you. I deglazed with some old vermouth lying around and added some browned peppers, onions and diced potatoes. Used basil, oregeno, chili powder, black pepper and hot salsa for spices, which I'm usually scared of adding because I have no idea what they'll do. Cumin? I would have tried it if I had it.

Thanks, steingar!

dtuuri

Glad to help.

The guys demonizing grains have but one point. Most people throughout history have been calorically limited, thus grains have been good nutritional sources since they provided energy in an otherwise calorically limited environment.

We are the first people in history who have calorically unlimited diets. As such the high energy of refined grains can lead to obesity, especially if combined with ubiquitously available sweeteners. There may be something to diets that avoid grain products, but my guess is that the answer is more complex than anyone would like. Saying "humans were never meant to eat grains" is just plain stupid. Humans ate grains when they were hunter gatherers, the stuff didn't just magically appear in agriculture. and if we weren't meant to eat them they'd be undigestible.

 

[dtuuri]

What or who to believe? I will say that it would appear that the unsolicited dietary advice we have been treated to tends to contradict itself over time.

Yeah boy, ain't that the truth! You'd think with "thousands" of patients helped by his diet advice he'd have published a study with the results--arrested and reversed coronary artery disease, but nope, just a best-selling book. Here's another doctors opinion of the book:

"My take is that “Wheat Belly” is yet another obstacle to many Americans to understand healthy nutrition. I fear that this book may frighten some readers away from eating a healthy diet that includes a variety of grains."​

I can't make up my mind whether to read it or not. I'm cutting back on all carbs temporarily to try to reset my fasting glucose to a lower value as an experiment. So far, it's working. After I hit my target for awhile I'll start adding them back in order to find a safe limit that doesn't spike above 140 post prandial. That's the point endocrinologists say permanently damages the pancreas.

dtuuri

 

[Gary F]

Glad to help.

The guys demonizing grains have but one point. Most people throughout history have been calorically limited, thus grains have been good nutritional sources since they provided energy in an otherwise calorically limited environment.

We are the first people in history who have calorically unlimited diets. As such the high energy of refined grains can lead to obesity, especially if combined with ubiquitously available sweeteners. There may be something to diets that avoid grain products, but my guess is that the answer is more complex than anyone would like. Saying "humans were never meant to eat grains" is just plain stupid. Humans ate grains when they were hunter gatherers, the stuff didn't just magically appear in agriculture. and if we weren't meant to eat them they'd be undigestible.

I agree with you here. (Why don't we agree more in the SZ?) Too much intake of simple carbs including grain based foods appears to be a major problem. I'm blaming Hiram Moore for making ridiculously cheap grain possible. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Combine_harvester
Simple sugars are even worse.

 

[steingar]

OK, last night I was faced with beet greens and garlic races which would soon go bad if not utilized and which I had never so much as heard of (Mrs. Weinstein went to the farmer's market. She always brings back interesting things).

So, the greens and races got chopped, washed, and sautéed with one carrot peeled and chopped, some broccoli florets I had laying around, purple green onions (another surprise from the market), garlic and spices. Cooled that, and took it for a spin in the food processor with an S blade along with three eggs, about four ounces of feta cheese, roughly a quarter cup of white rice four, roughly a cup of besan flour, and roughly a cup and a half of bread crumbs. Made patties and fried in butter on my cast iron griddle to brown both sides. Would have been even better deep fried.

In the mean time I added a cup of whole wheat pastry flour to a cup of Kamut flour and two tablespoons of baking powder. Added a bit of honey and took them for a spin in the food processor with a third cup frozen butter. Added 3/4 cups of milk, mixed briefly, rolled and cut 10 biscuits. Bake at 450 degrees for ten minutes.

Patties were served on biscuits with a bit of mayonnaise. Anyone says they couldn't eat vegetables all the time just don't know how to cook.

 

[AggieMike88]

Anyone says they couldn't eat vegetables all the time just don't know how to cook.

Agreed.

In Denton, I've always wished for a solid vegetarian or vegan restaurant. When I resided in PDX, there were several good ones to choose from and I was always delighted how good the chef prepared that cuisine. Enjoyed it very much.

But alas, around here, too many folks think vege or vegan means a salad. Not something creative and yummy as you described that could be restaurant entree quality. Too many around here are in love with their grilled quadruped.