Hey Honey..........let's talk about it!

[Fezz]

Hey Honey........Let's talk about it!


I am on a mission to change my terrible eating and drinking habits! One of the changes that I am working on is using less sugar. I have turned to honey to replace some of my sugar intake.

I know that there is a whole world of honey flavors out there. What honey do you use and why? What varieties should I explore?

Any suggestions for keeping honey from getting clumpy and turning more "granulated"? The last batch that I bought was a little over 2lbs, "100% pure and unprocessed", is getting thicker and it appears to be "crystallizing" a lot. I have read that honey does not go bad. In fact, I read that honey was found in the Egyptian pyramids and was not bad. What is going on here?

Are there other natural sweeteners that I should explore?

Please be "SWEET" and help me out!

[Fezz]

I have tried using agave nectar/syrup.

Not big on it.

[Uncle Fester]

Sorry bro but calories are calories.

http://www.fitday.com/fitness-articl...s-natural.html

Exercise and a balanced diet are key. Now if only I could follow my own advice!

But alas my liver too often hijacks my brain...

[Steve Machol]

What are you sweetening? Honestly, I never use sugar for anything.

[optilady1]

White sugar has been highly refined, therefore completely empty calories. Honey and maple syrup still have calories, but if you use an unrefined raw honey, and organic maple syrup, you are using a natural food. Agave is just a scam, so I would stay away if I were you. Limiting sugar is very important, but there are lots of times a 'sugar' is needed, and you can substitute honey/maple syrup and at least you will be using a real food. About 5 months ago I made the switch to eating as much 'food' as possible, meaning unrefined, unprocessed, one ingredient food as possible. It can be a pain in the butt since you really have to change your shopping habits, and it's not the cheapest way to cook, but it's made a tremendous difference in the way I feel and my kids act. My husband begrudgingly admits the food tastes better (mostly organic), but he hates the increase to our food bill. I make everything from scratch that I can, unless my family actually hates it. I love it all, and the kids can be on the fence, but my husband is a big baby.

Back to sugar. Its as addictive as cocaine, so it can take awhile to get out of your system. However, fake sugar is completely 1000% worse, so you have to figure out a balance. I gave up all soda, even diet, no sugar in my coffee (I used to put a minimum of 3 tablespoons per coffee), and in any of my baking recipes I use honey. I also use as little white flour as possible.

And FYI, I've lost no weight. It's just about eating real food. 100 days real food blog is an excellent source of information if the concept is new to you. If you are trying to loose weight Fezz, try weight watchers. It works really well, and my husband was very successful when we were following it.

And by the way, there is sugar in everything. High fructose corn syrup is in something like 90% of prepared food. It's pretty gross.

Good luck Fezz. It takes so much commitment to stick to these kinds of changes.

[Mick]

sugar is sugar, but there may be benefits to unrefined honey that are not in processed sugar.

[Fezz]

Sorry bro but calories are calories.

http://www.fitday.com/fitness-articl...s-natural.html

Exercise and a balanced diet are key. Now if only I could follow my own advice!

But alas my liver too often hijacks my brain...

Next you are going to tell me that Santa isn't real either, right?

What are you sweetening? Honestly, I never use sugar for anything.

Tea mostly................I drink alot of tea.

White sugar has been highly refined, therefore completely empty calories. Honey and maple syrup still have calories, but if you use an unrefined raw honey, and organic maple syrup, you are using a natural food. Agave is just a scam, so I would stay away if I were you. Limiting sugar is very important, but there are lots of times a 'sugar' is needed, and you can substitute honey/maple syrup and at least you will be using a real food. About 5 months ago I made the switch to eating as much 'food' as possible, meaning unrefined, unprocessed, one ingredient food as possible. It can be a pain in the butt since you really have to change your shopping habits, and it's not the cheapest way to cook, but it's made a tremendous difference in the way I feel and my kids act. My husband begrudgingly admits the food tastes better (mostly organic), but he hates the increase to our food bill. I make everything from scratch that I can, unless my family actually hates it. I love it all, and the kids can be on the fence, but my husband is a big baby.

Back to sugar. Its as addictive as cocaine, so it can take awhile to get out of your system. However, fake sugar is completely 1000% worse, so you have to figure out a balance. I gave up all soda, even diet, no sugar in my coffee (I used to put a minimum of 3 tablespoons per coffee), and in any of my baking recipes I use honey. I also use as little white flour as possible.

And FYI, I've lost no weight. It's just about eating real food. 100 days real food blog is an excellent source of information if the concept is new to you. If you are trying to loose weight Fezz, try weight watchers. It works really well, and my husband was very successful when we were following it.

And by the way, there is sugar in everything. High fructose corn syrup is in something like 90% of prepared food. It's pretty gross.

Good luck Fezz. It takes so much commitment to stick to these kinds of changes.

Good stuff!

Thanks Optilady!

[Steve Machol]

Tea mostly................I drink alot of tea.

So does my wife. And she used to use a ton of sugar - 8-10 packets or spoonfuls per cup!

About a year ago my wife and I started eating real food instead of the fast and/or processed food that is pushed on us from every source imaginable. We had no interests in going on a 'diet' at all. We just wanted to make healthier choices.

Long story short, I have not only completely eliminated the constant heartburn and digestive problems but I also lost 35 lbs. in the process. My wife has lost 40 lbs and we both feel the best we have in many years.

The odd thing is that once we started making better food choices we gradually lost our taste for super sweet and fried foods. My wife now uses just one packet of SweetLeaf Stevia sweetener in her tea.

P.S. Honey will crust, but it doesn't go bad. Also studies have shown that a lot of the commercial honey we buy is not 100% honey and may contain things like high fructose corn syrup. It's best to buy local honey, not only because buying locally made products is good, but because you also get the immunity benefits of ingesting local pollen.

[becc971]

we have a natural food store that sells local honey around here in a lot of different flavors, so if you have a hippie granola place where you are i would go for that Also, a lot of it is just cutting stuff out of your diet. Yes, sugar is bad, and the FAKE sugars are way worse, so going from regular to diet coke will not be doing you any favors and will most likely be damaging your liver so keep that in mind too. Cutting out soda, minimizing juice (and getting it not from concentrate) is helpful too.

[Sledzinator]

If you put your honey container in some hot water that should fix the crystallization.
http://www.ehow.com/how_5816369_fix-...y-quickly.html

[fjpod]

Good teas taste so naturally good they don't need sugar. I am partial to the Asian black teas.

[obxeyeguy]

Big Adkins guy here, for over 35 years. Cut the white flour, and sugar, and everything in moderation. Having a type 1 diabetic wife, we don't use a whole lot of sugar, and are very aware of high fructose corn syrup in tons of foods. The only thing I add sugar to is my coffee, and so I started cutting back on how much I drink, and I do use some splenda. About 2 months ago, wife bought me some new jeans, as all my old ones were falling off. I am back to a 32 waist, last seen about 40 years ago, and right about 170 lbs. Not to bad for an almost 59 year old guy.

Will power buddy!

PS The only agave I know and touch is my my Don Julio!

[rbaker]

Our physical condition should influence our dietary regime. Diabetes, hypercholesterolemia, obesity, etc. can, to a great extent, be held in check by an appropriate diet. Your physician can lead you in the proper direction. Let common sense rule and remember "all things in moderation."

[Steve Machol]

Our physical condition should influence our dietary regime. Diabetes, hypercholesterolemia, obesity, etc. can, to a great extent, be held in check by an appropriate diet. Your physician can lead you in the proper direction. Let common sense rule and remember "all things in moderation."

Agreed, except for the statement about Doctors. Of all the Doctors I've ever had, none of them have ever asked about my diet and eating habits. Instead they simply push pills.

"Got a symptom? Here's a pill!"

"Your test shows that your ____ is higher/lower than it should be. Here - take these pills for the rest of your life."

The bottom line is that many, if not most, of our chronic health problems are related to what we do or do not put consume as food. And the simple fact is that much of what is pushed on us today bears little resemblance to the real foods that our grandparents ate. Instead most of it is chemically laden, genetically modified 'food crack' designed to stimulate cravings and addiction.

[TEdFitz]

Try to stay away from any food that's white. Try flat breads and those pita thingies. And most importantly, remember what Christian Bale said when asked how he lost so much weight for "The Machinist" movie, "Just stop eating...that's it."
I'm liking the smoked Lapsang Souchong black tea, with honey, maybe lemon. Oh, and honey, keep it room temp and pop in the microwave for a few seconds if it starts to turn chunky.

[Steve Machol]

Try to stay away from any food that's white.

Marlena and I decided to simply avoid any form of 'food' that is advertised on TV. Believe it or not if you do that and eat only real food, you will be healthier and probably lose weight as well.

[Fezz]

Thank you all for the very helpful posts!

[Steve Machol]

Over the last year (while I lost 35 lbs.) I have become increasingly convinced that our gut bacteria is critically important to our overall health. In fact, I now make my own kefir (fermented milk with tons of good probiotics) which I use for our nightly smoothies and the changes we feel go far beyond the extra pounds we lost. And we have done this without 'dieting'. We still eat pretty much what we want and don't ever count calories. However by eating real food and taking care of our gut health, we find that we eat much less and things that used to taste good (fried foods and sweets) don't taste nearly as good as healthy alternatives.

If you are interested in more info, try googling 'gut bacteria'. In addition, the book Digestion Connection has some very good information regarding how our gut bacteria affects chronic disease and overall health.

[rbaker]

Agreed, except for the statement about Doctors. Of all the Doctors I've ever had, none of them have ever asked about my diet and eating habits. Instead they simply push pills.

"Got a symptom? Here's a pill!"

"Your test shows that your ____ is higher/lower than it should be. Here - take these pills for the rest of your life."

The bottom line is that many, if not most, of our chronic health problems are related to what we do or do not put consume as food. And the simple fact is that much of what is pushed on us today bears little resemblance to the real foods that our grandparents ate. Instead most of it is chemically laden, genetically modified 'food crack' designed to stimulate cravings and addiction.

I'd be looking for another physician or at least one who will explain the protocol of the prescribed medication to you. I have high cholesterol and without taking a statin it would rise well above 400. I am among the 30% whose liver pumps out vast quantities of LDL no matter what I eat. I did not discover this fact until 1996 when I underwent coronary artery bypass surgery. Those "numbers" are indeed important in that as long as I keep them within the proper range, with or without medications, I will greatly reduce my chances of having another heart attack or stroke.

[Steve Machol]

I'd be looking for another physician or at least one who will explain the protocol of the prescribed medication to you. I have high cholesterol and without taking a statin it would rise well above 400. I am among the 30% whose liver pumps out vast quantities of LDL no matter what I eat. I did not discover this fact until 1996 when I underwent coronary artery bypass surgery. Those "numbers" are indeed important in that as long as I keep them within the proper range, with or without medications, I will greatly reduce my chances of having another heart attack or stroke.

Sorry, I didn't mean to imply that I do not believe in science or medicine. I know very well there are valid reasons for some prescriptions for some conditions and for some people. However I also know that there are far too many doctors that simply push pills for whatever ails you.

Case in point. I had been having severe indigestion over the last few years. When I mentioned this to my Doctor - he sent me to a specialist. And do you know what this 'specialist' said?

"Just take a prilosec every day.'

Seriously!?! And this after I told her that I had been taking prilosec, but I did not want to simply deal with the symptoms. I wanted to know the cause of this problem and fix it. I also didn't want to simply add new drugs to the ones I'm already taking. The side effects and interactions become much more difficult to control the more meds you are on. I currently take 5 different prescriptions, each with it's own sometimes serious side-effects and interactions - not only with other drugs but food items also.

So I did my own research and through dietary changes I have completely eliminated the heartburn entirely - without any meds. And none of this was done with the assistance or encouragement of my Doctor. And on my next Doctor visit, I am going to go through the list of meds he has me on to see if they are still needed or not, and develop a plan to get me off the ones that may be unnecessary anymore. I want to do this in a controlled way and if it turns out that some of the meds are still required - I have no problems with that. I just think we are simply too trusting of authority figures and we need to take control of our own health and decisions.

[fjpod]

Sorry, I didn't mean to imply that I do not believe in science or medicine. I know very well there are valid reasons for some prescriptions for some conditions and for some people. However I also know that there are far too many doctors that simply push pills for whatever ails you.

Case in point. I had been having severe indigestion over the last few years. When I mentioned this to my Doctor - he sent me to a specialist. And do you know what this 'specialist' said?

"Just take a prilosec every day.'

Seriously!?! And this after I told her that I had been taking prilosec, but I did not want to simply deal with the symptoms. I wanted to know the cause of this problem and fix it. I also didn't want to simply add new drugs to the ones I'm already taking. The side effects and interactions become much more difficult to control the more meds you are on. I currently take 5 different prescriptions, each with it's own sometimes serious side-effects and interactions - not only with other drugs but food items also.

So I did my own research and through dietary changes I have completely eliminated the heartburn entirely - without any meds. And none of this was done with the assistance or encouragement of my Doctor. And on my next Doctor visit, I am going to go through the list of meds he has me on to see if they are still needed or not, and develop a plan to get me off the ones that may be unnecessary anymore. I want to do this in a controlled way and if it turns out that some of the meds are still required - I have no problems with that. I just think we are simply too trusting of authority figures and we need to take control of our own health and decisions.

As long as we are talking about indigestion...I was suffering from it also for a while, and when I popped a zantac it worked really well. But I rarely need that any more. I started exercising more, and even though I have not lost much weight, I suspect the improved blood circulation has virtually eliminated my problem.

I still pretty much eat what I want, but not as much.

[Diane]

This is probably one of the best threads I have read in a long time. I have taken prilosec for years. Cannot seem to get off. Steve, I am going to seriously look into your info. Had a physical last week and my doctor told me the best pill he can prescribe is diet and exercise.
Diane

[Steve Machol]

This is probably one of the best threads I have read in a long time. I have taken prilosec for years. Cannot seem to get off. Steve, I am going to seriously look into your info. Had a physical last week and my doctor told me the best pill he can prescribe is diet and exercise.
Diane

I highly recommend checking into the whole issue regarding gut bacteria and it's affect on health. It's made a world of difference for us.

One key to this is probiotics (the good gut bacteria) and one of the best and least expensive sources of probiotics is home-made kefir. You can make your own very simply with a tablespoon of milk kefir 'grains' and organic whole milk. Here is what I started with: Fresh Organic Milk Kefir Grains & Ebook: "Milk Kefir Unleashed" By Thomas Egbert

[Diane]

I highly recommend checking into the whole issue regarding gut bacteria and it's affect on health. It's made a world of difference for us.

One key to this is probiotics (the good gut bacteria) and one of the best and least expensive sources of probiotics is home-made kefir. You can make your own very simply with a tablespoon of milk kefir 'grains' and organic whole milk. Here is what I started with: Fresh Organic Milk Kefir Grains & Ebook: "Milk Kefir Unleashed" By Thomas

Egbert

Thanks Steve.

Diane

[Fezz]

I ordered that kefir Steve!

Thanks!