musings of a gluten free runner » HFCS

The Evils of Candy Corn… and more about HFCS

Dana — Sat, 18 Oct 2008 03:30:00 +0000

OK- so I’ve had a terrible stomach all week. It’s been debilitating. I’ve been rushing to the bathroom 4-5 X’s per day and I swear more is coming out then going in. ugh, too much information, I know (but not if you’re a runner, or if you’ve ever spent much time around me). I’ve been in limbo alternating between feeling completely bloated and totally depleted. Sitting here on my big blue ball, I just want to go and lie down. The worst is that today I’m really light-headed. At least I already did most of mileage this morning- (with only 1 emergency bathroom break en route)…

So what does this have to do with candy corn? It’s pretty much the only thing that I can pinpoint that I’ve eaten differently. (Well, I did have a glass of port and three little chocolates at Pix for Ian’s birthday on Tuesday…)

There is an EVIL bowel of candy corn that appeared out of no where this week right outside my office. Candy corn, plus those adorable little pumpkins, were my sweet-fix in college. The whole candy addiction thing was a new thing for me upon starting college cross country. I didn’t realize that people post-elementary school still had such strong connections with non-chocolate candy. Candy corn was the only thing I could get behind… I loved that honey-flavored sugar spike immediately after races. Their borderline obscurity plus the fact that I only see them for three weeks out of the year has continued to up their allure.

My parents didn’t make regular appearances at races in college (though they flew to Illinois last minute for Cross nationals my senior year), but someone else’s parents always brought me a bag of candy corn.

So- to get back to the subject- I’ve been researching whether candy corn could somehow contain gluten… and yes, I know about the cross-contamination issues (I just don’t know what exactly would be contaminating it? twizzlers? those fake-yogurt-covered pretzels? mystery to me)…

In my internet search I came across a blog post that I thought I would link to. The author discusses candy corn’s ingredients (basically different kinds of sugar & wax), as well as the harmful effects of High Fructose Corn Syrup (HFCS).

Check it out:
http://www.glutenfreeforgood.com/blog/?p=468

I think my gut needs a candy corn detox.

Neurotic Label Reading

Dana — Mon, 17 Sep 2007 07:18:00 +0000

Sometimes it seems like I spend an inordinate amount of time and energy food shopping and reading ingredient lists and nutrition facts. Not that this is anything particularly new- I was raised to be a label reader, but since discovering the gluten intolerance, I’ve developed an even stricter criteria for what qualifies as cleanliness. When I stop to think about the hours I spend searching for clean ingredients, it does make me wonder how my time could be better put to use. Do you ever jump for joy when you find the words “gluten free” ACTUALLY printed on the container? I do! Not that this is a sure fire fix, but it does make it much easier.

The fact is that wheat products, soy, or dairy derivatives are added to everything now.
Basically these are the criteria that I use:

Gluten Free
Egg Free
Dairy Free
Soy Free
No Transfat (hydrogenated oils)
No HFC (high-fructose corn syrup)

It definitely helps to have stores like Trader Joes and Whole Foods who, at least, don’t carry products with HFC or transfat. I’ll stop venting now. I’m sure that it will only get better in the future as demand fuels the market.

Peace.

Fast Recovery… Berry Smoothie

Dana — Mon, 10 Sep 2007 04:36:00 +0000

It seems that every time I turn around, or pick up a magazine/nutrition journal, someone is touting the benefits of a recovery meal directly after competition.

In my brief stint at Oregon, before quitting law school, the athletic department’s nutritionist required us to either down a “Balance Shake” in a can or a bar immediately following a hard workout. She wasn’t entirely fond of me since I refused to ingest these products. Not only did they contain dairy products, but they were loaded with the dreaded HFC (high fructose corn syrup) and coated with hydrogenated oils (trans-fats). GROSS. This wasn’t the stone age either- it was the fall of 2002. And, she was supposed to be a nutritionist! (Never mind that she was overweight herself, probably from snacking on too many of these free bars and shakes that were given to the school as some kind of promotional deal….)

Instead, my compromise was that I would bring along a Clif bar or almond butter and jam sandwich. These wholesome snacks, however, were very hard for me to consume after really exerting myself… especially if it was hot. I have a terribly sensitive stomach! And hard efforts make me nauseous. To be honest, for most of my running life, I have avoided eating anything for quite some time after a strenuous workout. I have also always been known by my coaches for slow recoveries.

And that is something I would like to change.

There is frankly too much evidence available now about muscle breakdown and recovery for me to neglect this aspect of training any longer. I have forced myself to get over my food aversion mostly through liquid forms of energy replacement. Bellow is a recipe for the smoothie that I consumed today after a moderately-paced 16 miler. It was sunny and hot toward the end, and I felt really zapped of fluid.

Recovery Smoothie

In a blender:
24 oz filtered water
1/4 C unsweetened cranberry juice
1.5 C of organic frozen mixed berries
2 tsp stevia powder
1 Tbs agave nectar
3 Tbs rice protein powder*
1/4 tsp sea salt

Blend on high speed and enjoy.
If you like a thicker smoothie, you can add ice.

*I use rice protein because it is easy for me to digest and it is a vegan source of protein that is free of soy. If you are not vegan, I would recommend experimenting with whey and egg white proteins because they are the only two protein sources that contain all the BCAAs (Branch Chain Amino Acids) that your body uses in muscle repair.

Other great ideas for creative smoothie making include:

Fruit- bananas, melons, pineapple, mango, peaches, nectarines, plums.

Dried fruit that has been soaked the night before in a little water to plump it up like: apricots, raisins, currants, dates, figs, prunes, etc. Provides fiber, flavor, nutrients.

Juices (especially high antioxidant juices like unsweetened pomegranate, blueberry, acai, gojiberry- trader joes has some excellent varieties) Make sure they are free of HFC and other added sweeteners.

Greens: powdered greens, spirulina, chlorophyll, blue-green algae, kelp. If you have a vitamix or K-tec, then add some whole greens like kale or sea-vegetables to the smoothie!

Bee pollen

Almond butter, handful of nuts (like walnuts or almonds)

Flax oil, or flax seeds (preground if you do not have a very powerful blender) for Omega-3’s and fiber from the flax seeds.

Dash of cinnamon- tastes great and helps regulate blood sugar.

Powdered vitamin C, Emergen-C packet, liquid trace minerals.

You can be creative and add whatever you like. Sometimes I make “desert” smoothies too… with rice milk, agave, brewed chai tea, cinnamon, and ice. Great ending to a hot summer’s night.

I’d love to hear more ideas for creative smoothie making!

Happy sipping.