SS and healthy eating: Why avoid powdered milk?

[miss_thenorth]

to the OP--First of all I don't feel criticized.. Second, thanks for sharing what you have found to work for you.

Me--I will still use powdered milk in my yogurt. There are ALOT of things in this world that are bad for you, and I can think of sooo many other things--powdered milk wouldn't even make the top 100.

I have done some reading, and will still use it. I also still have storebought salad dressings in my pantry, as well as other things that one might consider to be 'not good for you'

Now, I am not dismissing anything. We do strive to eat and cook as naturally as we can. I do strive to do more things for myself. My own milk will be something that I will do eventually, as well as other things. Where we are right now though, we are healthy, and the changes we make will be gradual. i don't see any reason to regard powder milk as poison.

Just me--no wars.

 

[Wifezilla]

i don't see any reason to regard powder milk as poison.

I do. No war, I just have a different perspective.
"Dietary cholesterol contributes to the strength of the intestinal wall and helps babies and children develop a healthy brain and nervous system. Foods that contain cholesterol also provide many other important nutrients. Only oxidized cholesterol, found in most powdered milk and powdered eggs, contributes to heart disease. Powdered milk is added to 1% and 2% milk."
http://www.westonaprice.org/basicnutrition/dietdangers.html

 

[freemotion]

Heart disease and diabetes (Type 2, used to be called adult onset)is rampant in this country. Only a few years ago, these were diseases of older middle age. Now they are diseases of children! There is a reason....they are called "lifestyle" diseases because one gets these diseases based primarily on what one puts in one's mouth, also exercise or lack thereof.

A steady diet of "lesser" poisons still adds up. Yes, I agree, pick-your-poison as it is all but impossible not to have something bad for you in your diet today. But for me and mine, the big two are hydrogenated fats and chemicals, such as artificial sweeteners, MSG, and preservatives. Next is excess sugar, especially HFCS (high-fructose corn syrup). Sugar is a rare treat here, but not never. I prefer to make my own treats, but then there is a whole batch in my house, calling my name!! Once in a while I will purchase a treat like a chocolate bar, or have dessert at someone else's house. I also will make a few pies and cobblers in the fall, but if the fruit is very ripe, I often don't use any sugar. We had an absolutely wonderful pear-raspberry crumble with no sweetener in January made with pears that were a gift from a client, and super-sweet. Mmmmm!!!

Tallman, I will go to the recipes section now and post my mayo recipes. (eta: it is posted now....) Zippy mayo is a version of basic mayo that I make with extra flavoring, more garlic and onion powder, and also black pepper, which is not in the basic mayo recipe. I like this version, because I can make a sandwich or coleslaw or salad dressing without adding extra flavoring, even salt and pepper, so it is quick-quick-quick. One of my favorite sandwiches is simply a boiled egg sliced onto bread that was slathered with zippy mayo. Also yummy with chicken or turkey slices, and on a wheat tortilla.

Oh, and besides taking in oxidized cholesterol, you can make your body hang onto it by eating a diet low in antioxidants (fruits and veggies, especially fresh and with the skins on) and by eating lots of sugar in any form.

DH's cholesterol when from over 300 to under 200 in three months a few years ago when he was in a pilot study for Transitions Lifestyle, based on LGI veggies. We deviated from the recommendations only by eating eggs every morning, he had a three-egg veggie omelet 7 days a week, and we had red meat several days a week (bison.) He lost 26.2 lbs and 6" off his waist. Nothing "lite" or "diet" or "lowfat" was consumed in those three months. Also nothing white or processed. Quite the experience.

 

[freemotion]

i don't see any reason to regard powder milk as poison.

I do. No war, I just have a different perspective.
"Dietary cholesterol contributes to the strength of the intestinal wall and helps babies and children develop a healthy brain and nervous system. Foods that contain cholesterol also provide many other important nutrients. Only oxidized cholesterol, found in most powdered milk and powdered eggs, contributes to heart disease. Powdered milk is added to 1% and 2% milk."
http://www.westonaprice.org/basicnutrition/dietdangers.html

Many people are shocked to learn that cholesterol is a necessary nutrient. We will die rather quickly without it.

That is why my farmer pepere (grandpa) ate butter, eggs, pork fat, etc and lived to a ripe (and slender) old age. He was born in the late 1800's, before white flour and white sugar was readily available. They ate mostly what they grew on the farm.

 

[miss_thenorth]

FM--I agree with all you have said. I just feel that the small amount of "poison " that we consume is peanuts. There aer many contributing facts as to why kids and others are developing type 2 diabetes among other health problems, and I dare say it is NOT from powdered milk. All I'm saying is that--on the whole--we eat and exercise in a very healthy--(which is not the norm)--way. I have eliminated many unhealthful substances from our lives. And while I do plan on eleminating many others, powdered milk being one of them, it is just not realistic where we are at right now. Like I said--it is not even that high on the list-for the small amount that we consume.

 

[freemotion]

That's why I am not writing any of this to be critical of any individual.

I think mostly about my own mistaken thinking, and wish I'd been taught correctly. Most info readily available is supplied by the industries that benefit financially from our consumption of their products.

An example of my own incorrect thinking....for many years, I worked and played very hard physically, in the horse industry. During show season I would lose 15-20 lbs no matter what I ate (Oh, those were the days!) so I would work very hard all winter to gain an extra 15-20 lbs in preparation. At both weights, I was still on the slim, muscular side. By the end of show season, ribs were visible. So when I ate candy and sweets literally by the pound, along with healthy foods and homemade stuff, I figured I was doing the right thing. It would show up on the scale if it was wrong, correct?

Now I know I did a lot of invisible damage. I am ultra sensitive to sugar in many ways. My good/bad bacteria balance is out of wack. My metabolism is ultra-sensitive and if I eat sweets, as little as a cookie or two a day, I can gain 5 lbs in a week on veggies. I have multiple food allergies and sensitivities that I did not have as a child, and the number of offending foods were increasing every year. I was diagnosed with macular degeneration at age 40, and no one in my family has that (17 aunts and uncles by blood, and 72 first cousins!)

It is difficult to impossible to completely reverse all the health problems....and I didn't eat nearly as much "bad" stuff as a child as the average child in this country does.

No, just a little powdered milk probably won't kill anyone. But at least know that the effects are cummulative and generally can't be undone. Educate your children early so they don't have to discover it themselves when they are in their 40's. Even if they don't listen, at least you will have done the right thing.

I am eating pepperoni right now. Just to balance it for you, I do have my vices! Can't give that up, but it is now the only processed meat in our house, plus the occasional kosher hotdog. So how can I criticize? Pick your poison! Just know that some are FAR worse than others.

 

[reinbeau]

Wifezilla, I know where you're coming from, I just won't drive as far down the road as you have (not picking on you, you're just the messenger ).

I'd like to point out that women back in the day baked all the time. It wasn't the bread that ruined us, it was the manufactured, highly processed foods like partially hydrogenated oils and high fructose corn syrups that did us in. Nor was it the luscious cake with butter-cream frosting, or chocolate chip cookies, and so on, and so on. From the 60's back even flour was healthy (well, let's not get too crazy, Wonder Bread has never been more nutritious than cotton batting). Farmers who worked hard in the field after eating their (what would be called now) high cholesterol breakfast of bacon or ham and eggs, lunch two slabs of bread with some meat between, and a robust dinner would sit down for a bit of cake for dessert - and it did him no harm. It isn't sugar or flour that's done this, it's the commodities market on corn and soybeans. It's also the out of control portions, eating until you're stuffed instead of eating reasonable portions and stepping away. Eat real food, things your great grandmother would recognize, in proper portions, and you'll be fine.

Avoiding one type of food or another (other than the manufactured products I've just mentioned) isn't any way to eat and can lead to all the bingeing and even sneaky overeating that goes on today. If you have special dietary needs, fulfill them in the most wholesome way you can.

Someone here mentioned how type II diabetes is called a lifestyle disease, and that's absolutely true. What's even worse is now it's becoming a lifestyle. Look at the ads in all the major magazines. Freestyle! little monitors to check your blood sugar. Portrayed as though it was just a normal thing, something to keep on your keychain, doesn't everyone have one? There are others. It's not a disease, it's a lifestyle. Scary stuff

 

[inchworm]

So Reinbeau, what would you prescribe as the first steps in eating better? Is baking white bread at home better than store bought? Is the whole wheat flour I find in the market singificantly better than white bread flour? Or do I need to grind my own wheatberries?

I'm trying to find a way to reach a balance. I can make some things at home, but I only have so much time....

 

[reinbeau]

White flour today is bereft of nutrition, go for whole wheat, and if you can find it ground fresh, go for that. Yes, it costs a bit more to eat well, but the savings in medical costs over your lifetime will more than mitigate it. I buy the Bob's Red Mill flours, they seem to work well and are well recommended.

 

[Wifezilla]

Whole wheat isn't much better.

Yes, I am further down the road (and I know you aren't picking on me it's just the truth ). I think we need to turn the clock back further than our grandparents to get to what is the optimum human diet...think caveman-ism. Native diets before flour and sugar.
http://www.westonaprice.org/traditional_diets/index.html

I do like my modern conveniences (I use Splenda...so sue me! ), but I just don't think grains are healthy in most cases. Soaked, sprouted of fermented they don't do any harm, but as they are used in our modern diet? Well, I know what harm they did to me...and I have always liked whole grains more than white flour or white rice. Switching to whole grains in my 20's didn't do me a damn bit of good...it just made me gassy. For every 50g of carbohydrates you ingest, it is the equivalent of 1/4 cup of pure sugar. Doesn't matter if it is whole wheat pasta or a twinkie. Sure there are more vitamins in the whole wheat pasta, but I can get those same vitamins without wrapping it in sugar by eating some meat and a salad.
http://www.westonaprice.org/foodfeatures/be_kind.html