Soy Protein Isolate, and the Danger of Added Sugar

Happy Thursday everyone!! Only one more day until Friday, aka move-in day for Nick and I! Because we have lived in this tiny apartment for the last 3 years, we barely have any furniture. We plan to live without much furniture for at least a few months. It will be...interesting.

Some of you still have questions about bananas in the fridge. I'd like to clarify something. If your drawer is set at a high humidity, your bananas will get soft faster. You need to make sure it's set at low humidity (some fridges will say, others won't, but I'm not really sure how you find this out, sorry!). In general, just keep them on the counter if you don't know about the humidity, but always separate them if you want them to last longer.

SOY PROTEIN ISOLATE

A couple of you have asked me about soy protein isolate. What is it? Should it be avoided? Soy protein isolate is exactly as the name implies; isolated soy protein. It is made by removing the beneficial fat (omega-3) from the soybean, as well as the dietary fiber. What is left is the soy protein (isolated). It's used in many protein supplements, bars, and powders.

KASHI BAR

You'll find it in many other foods too, just start looking at the ingredient lists. In my opinion this is not something that should necessarily be avoided (I know I've heard about some bad chemicals in soy protein isolate, but I don't know enough about this to give you an honest opinion). Do keep in mind, however, that you don't want to eat too much because soy protein isolate has many isoflavones (phytonutrients that may help prevent breast cancer, but which may have a link to breast cancer if you consume too much). If you stay away from processed food (or at least consume them in moderation), you won't be consuming too much soy protein isolate, as it's really only found in processed foods! I try to get 25-30 grams of soy protein each day, but the best sources of soy protein are foods such as edamame, tofu, and tempeh, NOT processed foods with soy protein isolate.

Added Sugars

Remember back in 1990 when the "low fat craze" hit America? Ok, maybe you don't remember, but I do! That's about the time that America started to blimp and gain a bunch of weight. Ironic, right? Basically, as I've said in previous posts, once companies started removing the fat, they replaced it with sugar and salt. In reality, that just made most products even more unhealthy!


A study in the Journal of the American Medical Association was published recently, which associated added sugar (found in so many foods these days) with decreased HDL (good) cholesterol and increased triglycerides. These are two important risk factors for heart disease. Check out the research here.

Just as a reminder, let's look at all of the sources of sugar in the bar below:

- Evaporated cane juice syrup
- Brown rice syrup
- Evaporated cane juice
- Pear juice concentrate
- Honey
- Barley malt syrup

Just to be fare, here's a Fiber One bar:
- Sugar (x4)
- Malt
- High maltose corn syrup
- High fructose corn syrup

** Both Kashi and Fiber One are companies I respect, quite a lot. Most of their products are fantastic. Their bars? Well, that's another story. I'm not a fan. But in reality, as I said before, I am not a fan of most bars. **

Coming Up

Saturday I will post some things about me that you may have never known. Curious?? You should be! Have a great day everyone, and thanks for reading :)

Tuna Confusion and a New House

Thanks for your comments on my last post, about mercury in fish. A couple of you brought up some great points:

Melinda mentioned that it's also important to know the signs of mercury toxicity. One of the most common signs, she said, is confusion. Thanks Melinda! That is great information. Don't get too paranoid though, some confusion is normal. You will know when someone is confused to the point that it's not normal.

A couple of you mentioned that light canned tuna is low in mercury too (actually it has the lowest amount of mercury of all canned tunas). The problem with light canned tuna is that it's also low in EPA/DHA (the essential fatty acids), which is why I didn't mention it.

Bottom Line: Light canned tuna has the lowest amount of mercury out of all the canned tunas. Albacore also has a low amount (check out this website for more information), plus it has the added benefit of lots of EPA/DHA. The health benefits do outweigh the risks! If you are pregnant, however, I would stick to light canned tuna, and take a fish oil supplement that is high quality.

Picking a House...

The past couple of months have been filled with searching for a new house. Yes, it's true that Nick and I have yet to get married (or engaged for that matter) but we know we will eventually, and with the $8,000 stimulus ending in April, now is the time to buy! We have decided to choose "location" over "square-footage". What that means is that we will be moving to a very nice area, where you basically get much less house/land for the price. To us, it's worth it. We love the area, and the school system is fantastic (we're really looking to the future!).

Which do you like better? This one.....


Or this one?
I won't tell you which one I like better, but I want your honest opinion! I think we already know which one we are going to end up with, unless of course the inspection doesn't go as planned. Even if I don't get the house I really wanted, both of these houses will be fantastic for our first home. I'm so excited!

Coming Up

Tomorrow I will be doing a random post about a couple of TV shows that focus on nutrition. No, not the Biggest Loser, I'm officially over that that show.

Have a great day everyone, and thanks for reading!