Rant about food...for adults and babies...

[deborah_r]

Ugh, I'm so frustrated. I don't know what is "good" or "safe" to eat anymore. DH and I just recently cut out red meat, and he isn't eating any meat at all. I've still been eating chicken and turkey, and a tiny bit of pork. We've been eating lots of tofu, veggie crumbles, veggie burgers, etc. (Morningstar Farms, yummy!) Now I'm finding out all these theories about soy possibly being bad for you, so now I'm totally confused. (see www.wholesoystory.com for one example)

So where to get my protein? DH and I seem to be some of the only people in the US still freaked out about mad cow (slim chance I know, but it still worries us) so I've been avoiding red meat. Tuna - I can eat a can a week or so, but then there are the mercury warnings. Also read there is soy in BumbleBee tuna (???). DH won't eat canned tuna because he ALWAYS finds a bone (don't ask me how...)

Hmmm, I'm looking at my list of protein foods for pregnant and/or BFing mothers - peanut butter. Read here recently that peanut butter is really bad for you - don't remember why...

Chicken - whenever I eat it, DH reminds me of the horrible ways they treat the chickens that we eat, and then I feel guilty.

I could go on and on. Everytime we go out to eat now, DH wants to go for Japanese because he feels that is the healthiest. He eats sushi (I can't because I'm BFing) and wouldn't you know, does not find any bones in the tuna...I used to love tempura but am getting totally sick of it now!

Not really looking for solutions here, just ranting out of frustration, while I eat a cookie (wonder what dangers lurk inside my cookie????)

Thanks for listening.

[Vajrastorm]

First question - why can't you eat sushi? I eat sushi (had it last night, in fact) and I'm BFing...

Peanuts are on the naughty list because they are so allergenic. I avoid peanuts entirely despite my passion for them because Aine seems to react when I eat them.

I can relate to concerns over animal welfare. As often as possible, I try to buy free range and organic chicken. (Free range eggs too) Factory farming is sad.

I like tuna, but the Mercury aspect is unsettling. Even farmed salmon is suspect! (not because of mercury, I forget the exact problem)

I try and be moderate in all my consumptions - mix it up and not depend too heavily on any one kind of protein. Well, we do eat a ton of chicken.

Hey, there's always beans and lentils! :D

[chlobo]

Farmed salmon is bad because the waters where they farm the salmon are coastal waters and usually are more polluted than ocean water. Therefore the salmon ingests a lot of pollution. This is supposedly especially true for farm raised salmon outside the US, although I suspect the same is true for US Salmon.

I believe wild salmon is ok, although more expensive.

I totally feel your pain. And let's not get started on pesticides on fruits & vegetables, with strawberries, apples & grapes being the biggest culprits on the list.
What's left?

[MartiesMom2B]

Deborah:

I've been looking into the research on the internet about soy, and it seems like everything is being tied back to soy formula. I think you just need to have a healthy balance of all sorts of food. Try organic and free range foods.

Doesn't it seem like no matter what you eat, it's going to kill you?

Sonia
Proud Mommy to Martie 4/6/03

[deborah_r]

I've frequently heard to avoid sushi while BFing - I was never sure of the exact reasons - I was thinking like possibility of bacteria or something?

Peanut butter - I think there is an issue with the hydrogenated oils?

Which I think is related to "trans fatty acids" which I keep hearing about but don't really understand - remember when some group pointed to Oreos specifically as being bad for you because of trans fats and then the Oreo people got really mad for being singled out? And of course I LOVE Oreos!!! I think they went a little far with that saying Oreos caused cancer or something.

[houseof3boys]

The no-no for sushi is when you are pregnant because of the bacteria, but not when you are nursing.

Here are some things to look at:

http://www.breastfeeding.com/helpme/helpme_asklc_ans57.html

http://www.parentsplace.com/expert/lactation/qas/0,,166421_106046,00.html?arrivalSA=1&cobrandRef=0&arrival_freqCap=1&pba=adid=7909195

http://pregnancytoday.com/experts/lc-sushi.htm

Althought I don't have sushi nearly as often as I used to, I still manage to get a fix at least twice a month.

I hear you on the food frustration! I eat fish but no meat, chicken, ham, pork, et cetera. It is tough everyday to make sure that I get my protein. I eat the max recommendation for seafood (12 oz. a week) or more but I'm cautious on the high mercury fish (of course it's my fav). I'm glad that wild salmon is starting to come in down here in Georgia since it is so much better for you!

Now, go eat some sushi Deb!!! :)

[jbowman]

Deborah,

I can relate! I BF and just cut out dairy this week (sigh...I'm a reduced-fat-sour-cream-aholic!) and I am wondering: what next? I stopped eating tuna when I was pregnant, haven't eaten beef or pork in 17 years, and am desperately trying to lose those pregnancy pounds. I also stopped eating peanut butter. Aaaarghhhhh...Bring on the *kale*!

[papal]

Your cookie probably is made out of bleached, enriched flour with some nasty trans-fatty acids in it.. but WHO CARES!! It tastes yummy!!!! And we are allowed our treats, once in a while.

I follow my late grandfather's philsophy in life. He pretty much lived to eat and did not eat to live. Yes he was slightly overweight, yes he died of a heartattack at 76. But when the docs told him that he needs to control his absurd eating habits, he scoffed in their faces and said that in that case, he might as well not live. The man loved his food! :)
I am not as extreme as him, but we eat everything in moderation, nothing in excess. I find it overwhelming if i start worrying about the foods we eat... it is just an information overload.

Good to hear that nursing moms can eat sushi!!! I thought that was taboo!

[C99]

This is one of the reasons that I stopped paying attention to most media sources. If it's important, my husband will send me a link or tell me about it.

Like others have mentioned, I try to stick toward whole and organic foods for the most part. Sure, you can't cut everything that's bad out of your diet b/c it all seems to be bad, but I think that if you are eating fresh, whole, untreated foods rather than processed ones, you're already ahead of the game. It also tastes better than GMOs and processed foods. I am also somewhat scared of the mad-cow thing, so I [retty much only buy free-range beef from Trader Joe's or Whole Foods. The WF beef costs more, but I recently bought some hamburger patties from a local chain and I really noticed a taste difference as compared to the free-range beef. I don't particularly like soy (although I do eat edamame from time to time), so that isn't a big issue for me. And although I occasionally have a craving for and indulge in a PB&J sandwich, I really only eat PB with chocolate as in M&Ms or something.

I don't know. I try not to stress myself out too much about it. I buy and eat mostly organic/whole foods when I am cooking for me or for my family, but I don't stress out about eating foods at other people's houses or when out. Life is fraught with so many decisions and things you have to look at already; I try not to make the situation worse for myself by letting my neuroses spin out of control (and I'm NOT saying you are neurotic...I just know that I am and will get caught in thought loops because of it).

[nwaddellr]

The problem with trans fatty acids (or just trans fat - which comes from partially hydrogenated vegetable oils - Crisco anyone?) is the impact on our cholesterol levels. Trans fats raise our LDL levels (the bad cholesterol) and lower our HDL levels (the good cholesterol). Compare that to saturated fat (red meat, dairy, coconut and such) which just raises our LDL levels, and trans fats are the worst for us. Unsaturated fats (olive oil, seseme, vegetable oils) raise our HDL levels so do good things to our cholesterol.

Confusing, I know. This is why I teach a week on nutrition and such in one of my college classes!

[cerrena]

In some ways I'm more relaxed about the mad cow thing then most people. My chances of being exposed when I was 7 and living in England are far higher then the the two cows found in North America in the last year. That doesn't mean I don't support the efforts of the beef (and other meat industries) to clean up their act. Feeding cows to other cows is just a bad idea.