OT?: re: Syrups, sweeteners, etc. (long)

[Guest guest]

At 12:55 PM +0000 12/24/09, wrote:

>Mark and/or Slim,

>

>Do you keep away from syrups, sweeteners, fruit jams, and dried fruits due to

their high caloric count and low nutrition value? And, do you find tofu and

tempeh too high in fat to eat on a regular basis?

 

 

I'm not sure how to answer your questions. I'll hit 3 years on following Essy's

recommendations this coming February.

 

Let's break it down into issues:

 

Salt: I try to keep it to a minimum, and no more than about a teaspoon

equivalent a day (that's an estimate without looking at the numbers)

 

Fat: I try to keep it below 20 to 15 grams or such a day (right now, having

been traveling and therefore had more fat than I prefer for social reasons, am

much much lower until I stabilize things). Tofu and tempeh once in awhile is

great, but I look at this in a larger perspective: what did you have for

breakfast? Lunch? Yesterday? What kind of physical activity (yesterday,

today)? I don't see it in caloric terms, but as fat and QUALITY of protein

sources (and deliberately going without dense proteins at least two dinners a

week).

 

" Regular " is a very subjective term. In general, I try to vary my " dense "

proteins along with my grains, veggies, and fruits... diversity and not eat too

much of the same thing too often. I rarely have tempeh/tofu twice over a three

day period. If the only grain I've consumed over three days is wheat, I'm not

paying attention or am lazy. What about rice, quinoa, corn, oats, buckwheat or

a day without any grain?

 

Personally, I don't do syrups and sweeteners, but that's me. Syrups have a LOT

of sugar in them, and here I'm lazy... I don't do the numbers, I just don't do

the syrups. I also wonder about the impact suddenly putting that much sugar

into your system.

 

Preserves (homemade and store bought) are essentially " slow syrups " , I'll use

them, but limit to a tablespoon or 2 on say, a bagel or toast. But I do

consciously try to limit more sugar the rest of the day (which is easy, I just

don't do it that much anyway). As with tofu/tempeh, generally not more than two

days in a row (again, depends upon circumstances... currently, I'm having to lug

6 gallons of water twice a day through two feet of snow and freezing chill

factors to water the birds, so I allow more carbs/sugar in my diet for breakfast

than normal). I made a " banana/apple juice/raisin/oat flour " bread Monday and

that's been my morning meal for three days before I go out and deal with it all.

It was only a cup of apple juice for four servings. I figure there's more room

for " error " with sugar than fat. Fat's the big killer, imho.

 

Dried fruits, especially during winter if you're going " localvore " are cool,

imho, but not in excess. I worry much less about sugar from actual fruit than

juice or other sources. I trust that there's much " around " the sugar in fruit

that's healthful (fiber, etc.) and it mitigates the sugar impact.

 

A lot of this is situation/personal dependent. If I were to establish a

hierarchy of what to worry about, I think it'd go " fat " (big time), followed by

" salt " (easy to abuse), and then sugar (okay, a binge once in awhile is probably

not going to cause major cardiovascular/metabolic problems).

 

Of course, a binge for me would be a a fruit dessert...

 

Bottom line: you experiment, find out what works best for you, and go with it.

 

I do think, however, that having tofu or soy products daily is not optimal for

health. Mix it up with some " no dense protein " meals and legumes. Give the

digestive system a break once in awhile.

 

Just my opinion, I'm no expert...

 

Hope this helps.

 

Best wishes for the Holidaze, Mark