You Are What You Eat T-Shirt flashback to the 80's

I had this t-shirt back in the 80’s sporting the slogan “You Are What You Eat.” These precocious tees had a short-lived popularity; and, for one brief summer, kids could be spotted sporting the catching idiom. These t-shirts, if memory serves correctly, had the “You are what you eat” on the front along with an oversized image of a fruit or vegetable and on the back was nutritional information regarding the food. I know my shirt supported apple consumption. I have been thinking about this shirt a lot lately. I never paid much attention to it as a kid other than I thought that it was kind of funny. At the time, the shirt had no major impact on me. The shirt did not make me label conscious or convince me to begin to eat more fruits and vegetables. I guess after laying dormant in my subconscious for several decades, the shirt did have impact. The simple message of the shirt leads directly to one of the complicated questions at the heart of this challenge: Do I feel healthier?

The health question is the reason I decided to do this challenge for over twenty days. I wanted to give my body enough time to adapt to life without corn to see if I could recognize any health benefits. During the first week, I did not necessarily feel any healthier than I usually do when I cut back on processed food and eat more fresh produce. I did notice that the first 24 hours were difficult, and I was extremely hungry. Generally speaking, the craving and hunger pains seemed to even out over the next few days. I found that over the course of the first week I woke up less hungry but, as is usual for me, I was ravenous by dinnertime.

Having now made it successfully past the first week, I am just beginning to notice some of those mysterious benefits. For example, I feel less winded in certain situations and have had a bit more energy. I have lost a little weight. (Although I want to be clear that this is not an intended goal. This challenge is not about losing weight; it is about becoming an informed consumer and understanding how the food we eat effects us.) Like many young females who are lactose intolerant, I have a few gastrointestinal shall we say ‘quirks’. The most interesting discovery is that my quirky stomach has calmed down quite a bit along with any heartburn.

The next logical question should be is this change really a result of eliminating corn from my diet or is it a result of the lifestyle this entails e.g. little processed or fried foods? Truthfully, I suspect it has a lot to do with later. I suspect the increase in salads, low carb. intake, and increase in veggies explains the weight loss, lack of heartburn, and relaxed stomach. Although in The Double Danger of High Fructose Corn Syrup by Bill Sanda he does explain that, “A study of 25 patients with functional bowel disease showed that pronounced gastrointestinal distress may be provoked by malabsorption of small amounts of fructose.” (http://www.westonaprice.org/modernfood/highfructose.html) Thus, if I am to follow the survey’s logic, it would not be unreasonable to assume that cutting out fructose could also contribute to my happier, less quirky stomach.

In a review of The Human Diet by Stephan Guyenet, Phd, he shares several facts including that, “Humans in industrial societies are the only mammals to commonly develop hypertension, and are the only free-living primates to become overweight.” And that “The adoption of grains as a primary source of calories correlated with a major decrease in stature, decrease in oral health, decrease in bone density, and other problems. This is true for wheat, rice, corn and other grains.(http://wholehealthsource.blogspot.com/2008/07/book-review-human-diet-its-origins-and.html) Again, if I am to follow the logic repeated by Dr. Guyenet based on The Human Diet, I could assume that some of the weight loss is a direct result of eliminating corn from my diet. However, speaking as someone who is small in stature (under 5ft), had someone told me I could have grown taller on a corn free diet I would have given it up ages ago. I guess it is too late for me to grow a few more corn free inches! On a more serious note, the weightless claims are also echoed in Bill Sanda’s article, “In 1980 the average person ate 39 pounds of fructose and 84 pounds of sucrose. In 1994 the average person ate 66 pounds of sucrose and 83 pounds of fructose, providing 19 percent of total caloric energy. Today approximately 25 percent of our average caloric intake comes from sugars, with the larger fraction as fructose.” (http://www.westonaprice.org/modernfood/highfructose.html) Sanda’s claim that 25% of caloric intake is from sugar stressing our fructose consumption leads me back to that funny T-shirt from the 80’s. I do not remember if there was a “You are what you eat-corn” version. If so did the back of the t-shirt list:

baking powder
caramel
confectioner's sugar
corn flour
cornstarch
corn gluten
corn syrup
corn meal
corn oil
popcorn
dextrin, maltodextrin
dextrose (glucose), fructose
excipients
golden syrup
glucona delta lactone
invert sugar or invert syrup
malt, malt syrup, malt extract
mono- and di-glycerides
monosodium glutamate or MSG
sorbitol
starch, food starch, modified food starch
treacle
vanilla extract
vegetable oil
vegetable broth
vegetable protein
vegetable shortening
hydrolyzed vegetable protein
vegetable mono- and di-glycerides
xanthan gum

Beyond the potential health benefits I am learning that by making ethical, sustainable, and healthier choices that I am prouder of what I eat. If I am what I eat, than I would rather feel better as a result of the food I consume both physically and emotionally.

So I guess the short answer is, yes, I feel healthier as a result of this experience.

Day 15 of 27: December 13, 2009

Lunch: Leftover soup topped with sheep milk yogurt and veggies apple and chicken sausage

Dinner: At local restaurant The Kitchen wild salmon, sautéed spinach, and rice

Day 14 of 27: December 12, 2009

Brunch: Homemade latkes with sheep milk yogurt and veggies apple and sage sausage

Dinner: Leftover soup

Day 13 of 27: December 11, 2009

Lunch: Leftover soup with fried Greek sheep cheese

Dinner: Homemade latkes and grass-fed beef steak

Day 12 of 27: December 10, 2009

Lunch and Dinner: Roasted tomato, leeks, and onion soup.

Roasted Tomatoes and Vegetable Soup

*Roasting veggies brings out a slightly smoky flavor

10-12 Tomatoes quartered
½ purple onion chopped
Sea salt and pepper to taste
Dried herbs (Provence)
6 cloves garlic
2 leeks chopped
2 cups water
2 cups soymilk
1 cup red wine
Olive oil
Spinach or Arugula

Preheat oven to 400F. Place tomatoes, leeks, onions, and garlic (still in skin) in two glass-baking dishes then sprinkle veggies with dried herbs, salt, and pepper and drizzle with oil. Place the two baking dishes uncovered in the oven. Roast veggies until tomatoes are soft and lightly browned about 45 to 50 minutes.

Place veggies in a pot and puree until smooth. Place the puree mixture over medium heat. Add remaining ingredients and simmer uncovered for 10 to 20 minutes.

*Please note I had a cold this day resulting in very little appétit.