Inkwell: Authors and Artists

    
i seem to notice rancidity in nuts far more than other folks do --- i am
often astonished by people chowing down on same (as an ingredient in
something else) where the nuts are so clearly rancid.
  

    
Yes, it is the healthy oils that are the most unstable. I always buy
very fresh, hand-cracked walnuts in small quantities from my farmers
market. They're amazing, but I still prefer them toasted. But I agree
with debunix, they are not my favorite nuts. I think pistachios and
hazelnuts are my faves. I also like almonds, but get sick of them
quickly.

@loris You are lucky that you can tell when foods are rancid! I've
seen the same thing, people scarfing down overly salted rancid/stale
nuts and I just look on in amazement. 
  

    

I just watched the video and immediately passed it on (via facebook).

> Do any of you have
> more questions for him? Would this interest you?

I'm definitely interested in hearing more from him including any
updates he has since the video was made but I don't have any
specific questions.
  

    
Finally watched video for the first time today, with lunch and my
evening snack, and it was fascinating.  I like that he puts HFCS and
sucrose properly in the same camp--each supplying about 50% fructose,
and demonizes not the HFCS as the sole problem, but the policies and
practices of adding sugar to everything to make processed crap taste
like real food, while stripping out the fiber that helps lessen the
impact of the fructose present in whole foods.

I want to know more of the fiber backstory--he says at one point that
fiber is an essential nutrient, but the UCDA won't admit it because it
would make our food harder to sell [abroad?].  

Loved also the "you have two choices:  fart or fat."
  

    

> Dr. Lustig is here at UCSF and he's a great scientist. I've actually been
> considering contacting him for an interview. Do any of you have more ques-
> tions for him? Would this interest you?

How'd you like to interview Dr Lustig right here in the Inkwell?
  

    
I started watching the video but don't have time to finish it, so I'll ask 
what might already be answered in it......me and Beth switched to organic, 
un-refined sugar a few years ago. Is that helping at all, or is it still 
just as bad as regular sugar?  I use it only in my coffee and use no other 
sugar.

Also....suppliments. Vitamin D3 was mentioned way, way up there somewhere 
and we've been doing that a good while. What about fish oil caps and 
CoQ10? Worth anything or just a waste of money?
Thanks!
  

    
The organic, unrefined sugar is still sugar, and just as bad for you,
but if it is organically produced, is a little gentler on the earth.
  

    

Really, sugar is sugar, period.
  

    
I agree with everyone about sugar. Organic is simply better for the
environment. But if you are only using it in your coffee you have
nothing to worry about. Really it is the ungodly amount of sugar in
processed foods that is the real problem.

For a bit of perspective on the subject, check out this article (the
most popular on my site ever). Notice that the LEAST sugary food is the
Krispy Kreme doughnut. Some people mistakenly took this to mean
doughnuts aren't that bad, but the message I'm trying to convey is that
we KNOW doughnuts are bad, but did you know yogurt and salad can be
bad??

http://summertomato.com/shocking-sugar-content-of-common-food-products/
  

    
I will think more about the possibility of a Lustig video. At any rate
I'm too busy to get to it for at least a few weeks. I'm interested in
the fiber question as well...
  

    

I'd *love* a Lustig video and interview on Inkwell!

Dr. Lustig mentioned fats in his lecture on fructose, but too briefly.  
I'd very much appreciate a more comprehensive discussion--with 
biochemistry.  

A very healthy friend--who exercises vigorously, is active, thin, and eats 
well--has very high total cholestrol, wonderfully high HDL, low 
triglycerides, and long-lived thin parents, yet her physician wants to put 
her on Lipitor.  My reaction was, basically, to ignore the total 
cholesterol and pay attention to all the positives.  That reflects my 
current understanding of the issue, but I'd like to be more informed and 
grounded in the science of fat metabolism.
  

    

> I'm trying to convey is that
> we KNOW doughnuts are bad, but did you know yogurt and salad can be
> bad??

I knew that as a principle but your web page brings it strongly home.

The key thing for me is to choose when I eat sugar. A wondeful, "sinful"
rich dessert once in a while is OK. Prepared food with piles of sugar is
not.

I'm not there yet, but much more than in the past I'm following Pollan's
principle "Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants." The "not too much" is
hard for me. Mostly plans turned out to be easier. 

It's too hard to avoid high fructose corn syrup. Avoiding packaged foods
is easier and the limited amount we buy is screened for corn syrup.
  

    
Making a lot of my own food does allow me to ensure that most of my
sugar comes in the form of food with something extra--fruit with fiber,
baked goods with less sugar than commercial products and at full whole
grain fiber.  It is disturbing to see how much similar products are
full of sugar, over and above what I use for sweetening.

Another fiber question: he points out that carbs should be eaten with
fiber.  For example, fruits naturally provide usually adequate fiber
with their sugars.  But for those of us who have certain beloved foods
that are low fiber, how integral to the food does the fiber need to be
to be of benefit?

E.g., would chowing down on a spoonful of psyllium seeds or half a
carrot before eating some chocolate be beneficial enough to be worth
the gastronomical awkwardness ?
  

    

Heh!  Take your flax, dear, before your chocolate!

"Shocking" is clear; some of the responses, alas, are confused.

Luckily, I make my own yoghurt, bread, salad dressing, condiments, jams, 
and desserts.  No sugar in my catsup, mustard, or relishes.  Even canning 
a lot, I don't go through ten pounds of sugar a year for two.  The 
preserves are quite healthy for sweets, as they  are cooked-down long 
(and therefore are various shades of brown) with skins and pulp and, in 
the case of marmalades, with zest, as well (organic, of course).  Even the 
idea of sugar in salad repels me, what with all the sweetness in lettuce 
and tomatoes and carrots and cukes.
  

    
One of my questions about the video is to have some follow-up to his
quick analogy to the effects of alcohol -- which is evidently a
sugar-like compound.  If you are planning to drink -- say going to a
wedding or a wine tour or beer tasting event -- is it helpful to take
extra fiber while drinking?  Does cutting sugars at that time help
mitigate the assault, say enjoy the fine wines and eschew the wedding
cake, for example?
  

    
<A very healthy friend--who exercises vigorously, is active, thin, and
eats well--has very high total cholestrol, wonderfully high HDL, low
triglycerides, and long-lived thin parents, yet her physician wants to
put her on Lipitor.>

A really bad idea in my opinion. Lipitor has horrible side effects,
especially for women. I think cholesterol as a problem is highly over
emphasized. A friend took Lipitor and ended up on 15 other medications
to counteract the side effects of Lipitor. She had problems with her
memory and intellectual capabilities. There is actually a class-action
suit against the makers of Lipitor because of the horrible effects it
has, especially with women. Another friend of mine did not want to take
Lipitor and his doctor suggested he take Niacin because it has a
similar effect on lowering cholesterol without the bad side effects.
Just my opinion, of course. 
  

    
What are these horrible side effects?  I take 80 mg Lipitor daily and I am
doing fine.
  

    
You're comparatively young and healthy, and you excercise.   I'll be that
most of the complaints are from people who aren't, who don't, and who have
other problems as well.
  

    

>  A really bad idea in my opinion.

We're living in a Jefferson Airplane "White Rabbit" prescription drug
culture.  But I won't take drugs unless there appears to be a good medical
reason for them.  Having a good reason is one thing, taking them just
in case is quite something else.

For me, an EBCT (coronary calcium) score over 500 (a flashing red light
score) plus somewhat high BP was enough for me to agree to take both a
statin and a BP drug.

I've finally decided that the BP drug has given me insomnia (by process of
elimination) and have some muscle foo from the statin so I'm now on
another BP drug and taking a very much lower statin dose.
  

    

That muscle foo can become lifethreatening.

My elderly friend, Alice, ended up in the hospital because of it.  She
didn't realize she was having side effects, just thought it was all because
she was old.  then one day she couldn't walk.  Ended up in the hospital.
It's not clear if it was the statin or the Abilify or both.  But now she's
off of both of those, having a terrible time.  She's on her second set of
meds to replace the first two.
  

    

> Lipitor has horrible side effects,
>  especially for women.

Julie, could you please say more about this?  I took 20mg of Lipitor for 
years until a couple of months ago when I switched to simvastatin as a 
cost-saving measure.  I'm not aware of side effects, but it may be that 
I didn't ascribe them to Lipitor.
  

    
Here are three links to articles about Lipitor and memory loss.
Apparenly the kind of memory loss was different in women than in men.
For men it was short-term memory loss but for women the effect was all
over memory loss and cognitive ability. The third link is to an aritcle
in the Wall Street Journal. 


<http://myheartsisters.org/2009/10/09/statin-side-effect/>

<http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/97524.php>

<http://online.wsj.com/public/article/SB120277403869360595.html>
  

    

I have been complaining to my shrink about memory loss and aphasia for 
years now.  

Thanks for that, Julie.
  

    
darya, what do you think about gary taubes' work?
  

    

The two-week "official" run of this interview is over, but I would love to
see the conversation continue.  Will you stick around for while, Darya?