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I was recently contacted by the Nursing Online Education Database to review an article they had written titled “50 Tiny Health Habits that Can Save You Big Money (And Add Years)” and I must say I agree with most of what I see. Just to clarify, I have no formal medical training, I am simply a person with many passions and one of them is spreading the word about the very big advantages of a healthy lifestyle!

Article Summary

It’s a known fact that people following a healthy lifestyle throughout your life, though you are never too old to start, save a fortune in medical expenses and lessen or even completely avoid a host of diseases that strike us mortals. Most importantly, a healthy lifestyle will add QUALITY YEARS to a limited lifespan.

Bad habits to avoid or stop immediately: Smoking, drinking, unhealthy snacking, promiscuity, tanning, nail bitting, drug abuse (including caffeine), leading a sedentary lifestyle and eating too fast.

Good habits to have: take vitamins, drink plenty of water, avoid sleep deprivation, exercise, avoid second-hand smoke, eat breakfast, eat your vegies, wear sunscreen, wear good shoes, stretch and floss regularly.

How to de-stress yourself: maintain a good posture, relax your jaw, get some sun, meditate, take your time when eating and most importantly, take a break!

Avoiding those evil diseases: wash your hands, drink green tea, eat fish, drink milk, scrape your tongue, eat a high fiber diet, wash your kids toys regularly, clean your sheets and towels and throw kitchen sponges away!

Invest in yourself: get tested for STDs, become best friends with your dentist, replenish your beauty products, get a flu shot, buy generic, don’t share (toothbrushes, shavers etc), save your money (in an account), avoid the junk food, go to the gym.

Personal habits that help: know your families medical history, accept your mortality, cook for yourself, find somebody to share your life with (no matter how brief) and push yourself to become more then you think you are capable.

My review of key items on this list

Overall, I think this is a great article, Laura knows what she is talking about! Some things I don’t completely agree with while others I believe need to be re-enforced.

Promiscuity

Here is a scary fact repeated many times but needs to be said again, a full 1/4 of Americans are walking around with an STD, whether they realize this or not, yes, that may include you (reading this now). This can range from HPV to AIDS and everything in between. Some are incredibly nasty while others are relatively benign, but an STD is an STD no matter how you describe it. Entering “morals” into the equation as to why promiscuity is “bad” is best left to religion, not the medical community in my opinion.

Drug Abuse

I have had first hand experience with the evils of drug abuse with both of my sisters, one of which died as a result. What I can tell you is that countries who behead drug pushers and traffickers are right on… people who make a profit off other peoples misery deserve no less a reward. The irrational and extreme mood swings, exponential aging and the breakdown that drugs cause within a family are incalculable. I am talking about hard drugs but I also saw my grandfather slowly die due to a life of smoking cigarettes. Drug abuse isn’t just the hard stuff, but any type of drug abuse, from smoking to prescription drugs can only spell problems in your later years.

Daily vitamins

So far, there have been NO studies out there supporting the use of vitamins or multi-vitamins, not one. If you eat a whole, balanced diet, multi-vitamins are not needed for a healthy life. That being said, I take a multi-vitamin twice a day, there may be no proof that it works, but I consider it an insurance policy as I can’t turn back the “health clock” within my body should such a study come out. There is A LOT of hype regarding the vitamin industry, buy the cheapest ones that have everything including the kitchen sink in them… multi-vitamins should be following this shot-gun approach for maximum effectiveness.

Exercise

Walking, running and climbing stairs has been shown to NOT BE ENOUGH. Any exercise regimen must include weight training. Why? Well, unlike running and general cardio-vascular exercises, which are great… weight training increases your muscle mass (promoting fat loss), keeps your body tones and stimulates your central nervous system including an optimization of your neuro-muscular pathways. Why is this important? Well, these all decline with age and lack of use, get them optimized when you are young and their degradation will happen at a slower rate.

Wear Sunscreen

I realize both sides of this argument but I do not wear sunscreen but when I go outside, I always have a hat, long sleeves (even in the summer) and avoid the sun during its peak hours, roughly 11am till 3pm. Sunscreens are effective but for me, they cannot replace common sense. If you go to a beach and spend a few hours in the sun, absolutely wear sunscreen but for daily activities like walking a dog… I consider this a waste of money and time.

Floss

I have to be honest, I don’t floss… what I do instead is put half a cup hot water, mix it with a heaping tablespoon of salt, a pinch of baking soda and wash my mouth with this at least once or twice a day. Why? Well, I believe it’s far more effective then flossing, not only does the salt get under the gum-line and between teeth but it also promotes blood flow. More importantly, this KILLS every bacteria and virus that may live in your mouth. I still brush my teeth of course, but since I have followed this regimen a few years ago, morning breath, tartar build-up and icky mouth feelings dissapeared! Kill them all and nothing is left to do you harm is my philosophy regarding oral care.

Drink Milk

You know what, I don’t agree with this what-so-ever. Where do cows get their calcium? Plant materials. A diet rich in fruits and vegetables will give you far more calcium then any glass of milk could ever hope to do. I believe the marketing of milk has been detrimental to the healthy eating habits of most people, they assume wrongly that milk is the only or BEST source of calcium on the planet, which it is not. Most milk is mass-produced by boosted cows and guess what, this stuff leaches into your milk. I use milk for recipes and that is the extent of my use for this substance.

Wash your kids toys

Before you rush-out and buy some cleaning chemicals, get yourself a steamer, they cost almost nothing and are by far more friendly to your child’s body. Using steam will kill everything, doesn’t produce environmentally damaging chemicals and is a far cheaper method of cleaning.

Replenish your beauty supplies

I think women are at their most beautiful when they wear NO make-up. I believe that the entire fashion and cosmetics industry is a farce that essentially tells women that they are ugly unless they SPEND MONEY on their stuff to look great. Sorry, but a healthy lifestyle will do far more good then any of this garbage will ever do. Preying on self-esteem of woman in order to gain access to their pocket book is just plain evil in my opinion.

Accept your mortality (embrace your age)

Love the skin you’re in, age gracefully and embrace your age sound nice but I disagree. The moment you accept this, in my opinion, is the moment you accept the inevitable that you can do little to nothing to FIGHT aging. I work hard at the gym to extend my lifespan and slow the aging process (the eye candy is a bonus) but you won’t see me ever sitting around saying “wow… I have really aged… great!”. Aging is a battle that I realize I cannot win but that doesn’t mean I will stop trying!

The Bottom Line

Great article… hopefully this gets other to take their health seriously!

Buzvia: 50 Tiny Health Habits that Can Save You Big Money (And Add Years)

Depending on how you look at it, I am either blessed or cursed, you see, I am one of those typical guys who has trouble not only gaining weight but keeping it on. As soon as I stop working out with weights, my accumulated mass begins to go away though, oddly enough, not my strength gains… most women would kill for these genetics, so I guess in that sense, I am very lucky to have them!

Tip #1: Go for Quality, not Quantity

The most I have ever weighed was 200 pounds, being six feet tall and I felt like I was CONSTANTLY eating. Why was this a challenge? Well, I eat only whole foods that I cook myself and I am incredibly active most of the time. When I am not in front of my computer slaving away or running my businesses, I am hiking, working out or going for long extended walks lasting up to 5 hours if not more. Gaining weight is easy if your diet consists of fast food and the only activity you participate in is channel surfing. The first tip I cannot stress enough is you most likely want to have quality gains that come with strength, shape and muscle mass, not becoming the next “Fat Bastard”. The process is slower, the battle much tougher but the end result, if done properly, is a body that looks amazing even before you diet down using carbohydrate reduction techniques.

Tip #2: You don’t need supplements

Supplements make things easier, no doubt about it. Nothing says commitment like swallowing a heaping tablespoon of chalky Creatine in the morning with some grape juice followed by a liter of chocolate cross-filtered whey protein powder but, after many years, I have come to a realization that they are not essential. With all the marketing hype reading though bodybuilding magazines, you can’t help but be sucked into believing that the only way to gain muscle mass is by consuming the latest supplement to hit the market. Let me be straight with you, supplements are very nice things to have but not essential. Nothing is as anabolic as food, not even Steroids is able to replace the power found in eating a fantastic diet. Need proof? Stop eating and just take steroids and Creatine, no matter how much of this stuff you take, you WILL loose weight and feel like shit. Now, just eat a very respectable diet and don’t take Steroids nor Creatine, you will GAIN weight. If you are serious about improving yourself though, stick with the no-name cheap stuff like basic Creatine, a Multi-Vitamin and some decent cross-filtered Protein Powder. As your budget allows, you can then get into more exotic things like cold-pressed flax seed / fish oils, ZMA (Zinc Monomethionine Aspartate plust Magnesium Aspartate), HMB (beta-hydroxy-beta-methylbutyrate), BCAA (branched-chain amino acids) and the list goes on. Once you got your diet down, there is no reason why you cannot achieve significant gains in the weight room without any supplements. As for me, I tend to cycle them, when I hit a plateau and changing exercise or diet doesn’t get me through it, then I use supplements to get me over that mental / physical block then I drop them.

Tip #3: Cycle Weight Loads

If you are in your see-food diet, meaning you eat everything you see, then by all means, go as heavy as you can take and beyond. But as anybody in serious weight training will tell you, simply going HEAVY all the time becomes a game of diminishing returns. If you start to feel sore in your joints or sheering sounds while rotating your arms, it means you are due for an extended break of changing your routine. Cycling, also referred to as Periodization is such a system in which you change not only your routine but your overall weightlifting strategies over an extended period of time. Remember, your body is built to adapt to new circumstances, if you always do the same thing, it stops being challenged and focuses it’s energies elsewhere. Periodization shocks the body repeatedly to get you the most strength and mass gains possible over an extended period of time.

Tip #4: Dumbbells and Barbells RULE!

If you exercise using primarily machines, you will have a problem. You see, machines are great for muscle isolation, that’s why you can lift so much more with them verses free weights but this comes at a cost. When your body is forced to stabilize a weight, many other muscles are recruited to keep things running smoothly. You will see this sometimes when you notice some peoples muscles that seem to go into spasms when doing heavy free weights… it isn’t only because the weight is heavy, it’s because the muscles are being overwhelmed. I can’t really think of a time when I experienced the muscle shaking on a machine but it occurs rather regularly when using free weights. If you want to gain weight and improve your overall strength there is no way around it, you got to get comfortable with free weights.

Tip #5: Track your Progress

Each and every week, weight yourself, if you are up, even a fraction of a pound, then you are well on your way towards gaining weight. If you stay the same or don’t go up, then re-evaluate what you did the previous week, figure out where you went wrong and give it another go the following week. I would say that once a month, take your body measurements and record that as well… with pictures if you need to. Seeing an quarter or half inch increase in a bicep is just about impossible but measurements don’t lie.

The Bottom Line

The body is the ultimate challenge for the mind.

I got a comment today from a reader of the article I wrote titled LegendaryLife Profile: Mariusz Pudzianowski in which I stated that although bodybuilding has seen huge strives in physique, the same gains in strength in the power lifting world haven’t been achieved. This is the answer I would have given to my younger self knowing what I know now.

Question from Australia:

What I like to know is that these people (as you had mentioned) are from a specific gene pool. Is it possible for a person who does not have the genetics such as theres to achieve strength and fitness not to their level but close to it?

Answer:

Let me be the first to tell you I am not a doctor, sports physician nor expert in the fields of genetics or optimal training so my answer is based off the discussions I have with athletes of all ages, 15 years of studies in the field and personal experiences. Nobody wants to be “second strongest man” so I will re-phrase your question. “Even with bad genetics, can I become the world’s strongest man?” My answer to you is both yes and no. Take this advice at your own risk and don’t even consider following any of it until you understand the WHY behind it.

Yes, you can

Let me be the first to tell you that genetics play a large role in how much strength you can achieve but what is a far bigger factor is your personal ambition to achieve this goal. Some of the most gifted people genetically can amount to absolutely nothing simply due to a lack of desire. If you think you can become the strongest man in the world, then you have a heck of a shot better chance then the average person with achieving this goal. The more important question I have to ask is are you willing to do what it takes? I have met more then my fair share of bodybuilders, gifted athletes and just freaking huge gym rats, by the age of 35 have shot their joints to hell. You see, muscles are capable of growing bigger and stronger up to a certain point far faster then your joins or ligaments can. There are guys who take steroids who can double their strength within six months but let me be the first to tell you that you wouldn’t want to spend one day in those bodies a decade later. Read up on past sports heroes, pro-wrestlers and even great power lifters, what you will find out usually isn’t anything to brag about. Many need hormone replacement therapy the rest of their lives due to steroid abuse, they need a constant stream of sleeping pills and pain killers just to get through the day and their personal lives are a mess. The body can only take so much abuse before it begins to shut off, hence why steroids, growth hormone and a host of other drugs including pain killers must be used on a regular basis just to keep the momentum going or gains from fading. There are exceptions to every rule, but if you really push yourself beyond your physical limits, you will pay a price one way or another.

Ron Coleman for instance looks like the healthiest person in the world, he is HUGE, POWERFUL and quite intelligent but he is completely dependent on “supplements” the rest of his life. He is the result of fantastic genetics meeting incredible determination with lots of help. He is like the 0.1% cream of the crop with an extremely gifted body but he has also been working out most of his life, just look at the photos of him as he progressed in bodybuilding and you will see a slow progression from well built into HULK over an extended period of time. He has earned, in every sense of the word, the body he has but I wouldn’t want to be in his body if he ever reaches the age of 80.

Remember that only in this century was the 5 minute mile broken, somebody had the will to make what others said was impossible, the next day many others achieved exactly the same goal… moral of this story is if you truly believe you can do it, it will happen.

No, you can’t

Now for the cold hearted reality, if you are unwilling to take the drugs, unable to handle the mental stress of lifting huge amounts of weights and don’t have the muscular or bone structure that is capable of supporting massive amounts of pressure then you will never become the strongest man in the world nor anywhere close to it. You may be an incredible one in a 10 million man exception but odds are that you are not. We are all limited by our genetics, sure, drugs allow us to somewhat morph from one body type into another but the underlying structure that supports everything cannot change enough to turn an extreme ectomorph (skinny, has trouble building and maintaining muscles, long arms and legs) into an extreme mesomorph (muscular, builds muscle very easily and athletic build). Your body type is a birthright given by your ancestors, hence why I believe the next revolution in augmenting body types must come at the genetic level BEFORE the body has had time to form itself fully, soon after conception in a petri dish.

Here is my advice to you

I don’t believe in hiding the facts from anybody but before you do anything, learn to eat, train and build goals for yourself to make your dream of being almost as strong as the Bill Kazmaiers of this world a probability. I am assuming your in your teenage years, so don’t even consider taking steroids, growth hormone or any other supplements as they will screw you up big time (protein and creatine are fine). Your body is swimming in testosterone, this is THE TIME to take full advantage of this, eat and train like a madman, strive for 10 pounds of muscle PER YEAR. Work on your foundation, hit the gym and read all you can about bodybuilding and improving your health. After a few years of doing this and once you have stopped growing (your growth plates have sealed), if you still want to be the worlds strongest man, then additional supplementation is a must. I know it isn’t politically correct to say this but you don’t become a 280 pound man with huge muscles by just eating oatmeal every morning. Be warned though, once you take this path there is NO going back. You will have the body of a God for maybe 10-15 years if things are done well but expect a future of erectile dysfunctions beginning after your first cycle even with post cycle therapy (clomid, nolva etc.). Expect to become addicted to pain killers and don’t expect to be in any kind of healthy shape, if your body doesn’t pop beforehand, in your senior years. From one guy to another, to be blunt, if you have the body of a God but can’t do anything with a woman you are deeply attracted to in bed, it will tear your mind apart and crying like a little boy.

My goal is to live to 150 years old, as such, steroids, growth hormones and many other supplements are in my future but I won’t even consider the possibility until I am mid to post manopause (male version of menopause) in my early 40s… even then, these will be maintenance levels of maybe 80-100 mg a week of testosterone, nowhere near abuse levels that are exponentially higher. Sure I will end up with size 18 shoes and cranium the size of a basketball by the time I die but this will be my choice to make. It’s your body and your choice but I would advise you heavily not to even touch drugs of any kind until you have reached at least 200 pounds in bodyweight with a single digit body fat percentage in your early 20s, naturally being the strongest guy in the biggest gym in your town. If you cannot achieve this, then I am sorry but you simply don’t have the genetics to be THE strongest man in the world, you will become strong, no doubt about it… but not THE strongest, becoming instead, best friends with your neighborhood dialysis machine by the time you hit 30 if not sooner with no cute girlfriend or wife to soak up your tears after realizing you just threw away your life.

Where the need for male strength all began

I believe that men, at some primal level, are attracted to being the biggest in the land. For instance, I am slightly taller then Mariusz Pudzianowski but he outweighs me by 100 pounds of pure muscle. If we met in a jungle and had to fight for the last woman on Earth, unless I had a gun, I wouldn’t stand a chance in hell even if I had a baseball bat. Since the dawn of time, animals (including us) have fought for reproductive opportunities for that one incredible, one in a million, female… before wealth came into the picture, which provides security in our modern age, physical prowess was the deciding factor. Women want a man that can protect her and her child from danger. For instance, if you where in a jungle full of tigers, would you want to have a child with Woody Allen or Arnold Schwarzenegger?

The Bottom Line

I know I probably swamped you with more information then you can probably comprehend, I tried to keep it as simple as possible. Your job now is NOT to follow my advice blindly but understand the WHY behind my response. This isn’t even touching the surface of what you need to know, the answers are out there, it’s your job is to find them. Best of luck!

Check out Big Ron Coleman’s Website to get some inspiration as to what IS possible, he IS the strongest bodybuilder out there right now and I think his body looks better then Bill Kazmaier’s or Mariusz Pudzianowski’s for that matter.

See also: LegendaryLife Profile: Bill Kazmaier, LegendaryLife Profile: Sergio “The Myth” Oliva and LegendaryLife Profile: Mariusz Pudzianowski

Americans spend over 40 billion dollars a year on potions, products and programs designed for a singular purpose – to loose weight. Ironically enough, the more Americans spend on loosing weight, the more weight they gain! Frontline has looked into this phenomena in it’s documentary Diet Wars.

Summary

I believe this is worth watching but if you don’t have time, here is a summary of the key points outlined in the documentary:

• January is when most Americans think of shedding the weight
• many obese people realize the damage they are doing to their health but simply cannot change their habits
• heart disease, osteoporosis, diabetes, stroke, high cholesterol and cancer risk factors are all influenced by carrying excess weight
• 2/3rds of Americans are overweight with most living in a state of denial
• Pritikin diet consists of fruits, fish, vegetables, soy milk, beans, it’s basically an ultra-low calorie reduced diet
• Atkins consists of eating all the fat you can while limiting the starches, fruits and cereals
• Atkins contradicts everything the government and scientific community has told the public
• Atkins works by reducing caloric intake, just like all diets that are effective
• the anti-fat (low fat diet) dogma is difficult overcome
• in the 90s, the food industry began removing fat from our foods (to reduce caloric intake and reduce weight of consumers)
• all commercial foods are made up of protein, water, carbohydrates and fats but removing the fat from a product requires the addition of one of the other three (usually carbohydrates) which gives them the same calories as regular “non-low-fat” products
• 3 000 calories of carbohydrates = 3 000 calories of fat
• low fat era of the 90s caused Americans to before fatter then ever with a third being obese by the early 2000s
• eating too much refined sugars (rice, white bread, pasta) cause sugar rushes which then causes the pancreas to over-compensate with insulin which in turn stimulates hunger
• Atkins works by satisfying your hunger due to the high protein and fat content (it’s burned slowly by the body verses carbohydrates which are burned quickly)
• saturated fat and cholesterol help clog up the bodies arteries
• Harvard recorded the lifetime diets of health professionals and after 20 years of research they found out that saturated are animal fats are linked to heart disease and cancer but unsaturated fats from fish and vegetable oils help protect people from these conditions
• unrefined carbohydrates are filling and nutritious while refined carbohydrates have the opposite on the effects on the body
• nuts are very high in fat and protein but also very nutritious
• South Beach Diet outsells Atkins now in the United States
• 80-90% of people who loose weight from specialized diets gain it back within a year due to cravings and returning to old habits
• Weight Watchers keeps the weight off longer then other plans due to the community support lacking from many other diet programs, it isn’t a diet, it’s a lifestyle change
• Weight Watchers uses a buddy system, teamwork, to maintain weight loss
• 65% of Americans are overweight or obese
• Americans live in a dream world compared to our ancestors where food is plentiful and cheap without requiring physical activity to acquire it
• childhood obesity rates are skyrocketing due to improper diet and lack of activity (some 12 year olds already have type 2 diabetes and high cholesterol)
• one child in two within the United States is at risk of developing diabetes over their lifetime
• most school cafeterias are full of junk food which works against their abilities to get a proper education
• children don’t play outside as before, families don’t eat together and the television has become a baby sitters (societal values have changed)
• sedentary lifestyle reduces calorie requirements by the body so even a normal diet can cause obesity
• America On The Move promotes healthy weights by using pedometers, creating fun, goal orientated activities to loose weight
• schools that cut out physical education to save funds are now returning towards physical activity as part of the school curriculum
• food is an important part of American culture, which is why limiting food consumption is a difficult task for most Americans
• all diets are gimics, long term changes are required after the initial weight loss and self-control isn’t a sexy marketing catch-phrase

My Dieting Views

The entire diet industry is made up of a lie, that of money. To be more specific, that you need to spend money to get the body you want… things couldn’t be further from the truth. Instead of giving your power to a third party, save your money and time, invest in yourself instead!

The Bottom Line

Permanent weight loss is easy if you are willing to change your lifestyle.

Buzzvia
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/diet/view/

If you travel anywhere in Asia, you will see entire open air centers filled with street merchants selling everything from tea to noodle, beef to steamed vegetables and all of it tastes great! When I was in Malaysia, I would eat my breakfast, lunch, super and snacks mostly from street vendors. I remember I could eat my fill (I eat a lot) for the equivalent of about one dollar Canadian, at these prices, why bother going to the grocery store and preparing your own meal?

Be careful though

Sanitation at these places does take a back seat though, I can say I never got the stomach flu or food poisoning considering I was surrounded by begging stray cats and dogs that looked abused full of scars. I avoided any type of foods that where sitting for any extended period of time, instead, going for the freshly prepared meals that, although I had to wait, where probably the safest thing around. Drinking cups where basically rinsed with water before being given to another customer, never saw any soap being used but when your in the middle of nowhere, food is more important then sanitation. Sure, I could have eaten at restaurants, and I did do a lot of that, but nothing tasted as good nor was as cheap as hocker centers.

Tips to avoid sickness

Always have the street vendor cook a fresh meal in front of you, anything sitting for any extended period of time is a time bomb waiting to explode in your stomach. If you are in doubt, stick to dry foods as they tend to have lots of salt in them to kill off bacteria. Always follow your instincts, if you believe something isn’t good for you then, well, don’t buy it! Also, don’t return food if you don’t like it as it may insult the street vendor and you aren’t getting a refund anyways. You will most likely see the same group of street vendors, and they do talk to one another, if you becoming a pain, expect to have some extras in your food to keep you away in the future or to teach you a lesson. I also never drank water, stick to either unsealed bottled water, hot tea or a soft drink (at last resort). In the third world, drinking tap water from any source is asking for trouble. To be honest, I never washed my hands before eating at these places, I always figured that no matter how dirty my hands get, at least I know where those germs are from relative to a shared bucket of water or communal water source from the ground with the only exception being if I shook hands with somebody earlier in the day.

Tips to gain you extras with street vendors

Sure, a street vendor may charge you 1RM for a super, when he asks for the money (usually upfront), give them a bit extra… not only will they be surprised but you can be sure you will get extra special treatment the next time you visit them along with an extra large helping. To you, an extra 20-50% above the local price is pennies on the dollar but to some of these vendors, it can mean a profit at the end of the night or extra food for their family back home. This also works well in Mexico and in Japan by the way.

The Bottom Line

Street vendors are entrepreneurs just like magazine barons or real estate developers, treat them with the same amount of respect and it will go a long way towards making your meal in a far off destination that much better.

I had the pleasure over the weekend of interviewing the CEO of Sweet Debbie’s Organic Cupcakes, Debbie Adler, to find more about not only her business but the markets they serves.

What made you want to get into the organics foods industry with Sweet Debbie’s Organic Cupcakes?

Over the years, as an avid cook and baker, I have become very aware of the benefits of using organic ingredients. So when I decided I wanted to start

Sweet Debbie’s Organic Cupcakes, it didn’t occur to me to use anything but organic ingredients, because I wanted my customers to derive those same benefits.

Can you give me an idea of the time line you have gone through from initial idea to running business?

I thought of the idea for an organic dessert company in 2005, wrote a business plan in that same year, formulated the recipes in the beginning of 2006, and started selling my organic desserts by the summer of 2006 under Sweet Debbie’s Organic Cupcakes.

Where did you get the ideas for the recipes and what ingredients to keep vs. substitution?

I knew that I didn’t want to use white refined sugar because of its harmful effects on human health, so I first started experimenting with all-natural, low-glycemic sweeteners. I tried brown-rice syrup and stevia, but found that xylitol was the best substitution. I also knew I didn’t want to use butter, so I substituted healthful oils such as extra-virgin coconut.

How many product lines do you currently have and how often do they change?

I have cupcakes, cookies, brownies, muffins, quick breads and granola. Every couple of weeks I try to come up with new flavors in each of the categories.

Have you noticed any seasonal or geographic patterns so far in what people purchase?

I have not noticed any seasonal or geographic patterns so far. People from all over the United States order a wide variety of goodies all year long.

Where did you learn about organics, healthy eating and proper nutrition?

I have learned by reading voraciously and taking seminars.

Have you ever considered sharing some of your recipes in a cookbook or alternative medium to help spread the word not only about your business but your passion for proper organic nutrition?

Yes, I am thinking about writing a dessert cookbook to share my knowledge about how desserts can taste delicious and still be made with healthful ingredients. Also, I speak at schools to let children know about the harmful effects of white refined sugar.

What are your views regarding artificial flavoring and coloring?

There are so many all-natural flavors and colors out on the market now that I feel there is no need to use artificial ones.

What are your views regarding the fast food / dessert industry selling desserts produced at an industrial scale?

I know that it is difficult to maintain a high standard of ingredient quality when producing at a large industrial scale, as well as to maintain a homemade taste which people usually are looking for especially when it comes to desserts.

What has the response been from your customers and media regarding your healthy alternative deserts?

At first it’s disbelief that a dessert can taste good with the ingredients we use, and once they try it, it’s elation, amazement and gratitude.

What are some alternatives to using white refined sugar?

The only all-natural sweeteners that are healthful, in my opinion, are stevia, agave nectar, brown rice syrup, erythritol and xylitol.

How do you stay so trim considering you spend much of your time surrounded by tempting treats?

Well, firstly our desserts are not that caloric, but as with anything moderation is key, and I do eat Sweet Debbie’s desserts every day. Secondly, one of the benefits of using extra-virgin coconut oil in the recipes is that it has been shown to help in weight loss.

Additional Information

You can find out more information about Sweet Debbie’s Organic Cupcakes at their website: http://www.sweetdebbiesorganiccupcakes.com but be warned, you will be highly tempted by their offerings.

The Bottom Line

Deserts can be as healthy as a solid meal if the proper ingredients are used.

Go through the aisles of your local food market, it seems that everything now says “all natural”, “natural ingredients”, “organic” or their many derivatives. Even what is traditionally known as junk food is starting to look pretty good - but is it?

Natural = Healthier?

Ask people on the street what their definition of what a natural product is and what you will hear is that it’s healthier for you, organically sourced and usually unprocessed. I guess somebody forgot to tell this to the food manufacturers

The problem is most people only read the front of the box their food comes in instead of looking in the back - sections called ingredients and the food label!

Ingredients list

In North America at least, the ingredient list is sorted by most to least, so if you see for instance olive oil followed by flour, it means there is more olive oil then flour in the food you are about to consume. What it doesn’t tell you is if the flour was deep-fried in olive oil.

The fact is, the ingredients list is a good start but I sure wish it told me a little more about how a food was “processed”. The fact is something can be labeled “all natural” and still contain a lot of sugar, fats and other ingredients not normally associated with healthy eating make some “healthy natural foods” essentially overpriced junk food.

Labels lie

You got to wonder who writes the FDA specifications for food labels, the government or the food company. If I tell you I am finally debt-free, that means I no longer have ANY debt. Not so according to FDA specs. Using their logic, I can still be in debt with many creditors yet, still being considered debt-free if I spread the debt around enough to create smaller amounts.

Now, when you go through the specifications, notice how it usually says, “per serving size”, this is very tricky. Go through your cupboard, look at your favorite food and eat ONLY the serving size - I bet you will be surprised as how little companies think you actually eat of their product. If regularly eat 3-6x the suggested serving size, so that means what the food label said should be multiplied 3-6x - but most don’t realize to do this final multiplication. No wonder obesity and diabetes is reaching pandemic proportions!

FDA Specifications for labeling claims

Fat-Free Less than 0.5 grams of fat per serving, with no added fat or oil
Low fat 3 grams or less of fat per serving
Less fat 25% or less fat than the comparison food
Saturated Fat Free Less than 0.5 grams of saturated fat and 0.5 grams of trans-fatty acids per serving
Cholesterol-Free Less than 2 mg cholesterol per serving, and 2 grams or less saturated fat per serving
Low Cholesterol 20 mg or less cholesterol per serving and 2 grams or less saturated fat per serving
Reduced Calorie At least 25% fewer calories per serving than the comparison food
Low Calorie 40 calories or less per serving
Extra Lean Less than 5 grams of fat, 2 grams of saturated fat, and 95 mg of cholesterol per (100 gram) serving of meat, poultry or seafood
Lean Less than 10 grams of fat, 4.5 g of saturated fat, and 95 mg of cholesterol per (100 gram) serving of meat, poultry or seafood
Light (fat) 50% or less of the fat than in the comparison food (ex: 50% less fat than our regular cheese)
Light (calories) 1/3 fewer calories than the comparison food
High-Fiber 5 grams or more fiber per serving
Sugar-Free Less than 0.5 grams of sugar per serving
Sodium-Free or Salt-Free Less than 5 mg of sodium per serving
Low Sodium 140 mg or less per serving
Very Low Sodium 35 mg or less per serving
Healthy A food low in fat, saturated fat, cholesterol and sodium, and contains at least 10% of the Daily Values for vitamin A, vitamin C, iron, calcium, protein or fiber
“High”, “Rich in” or “Excellent Source” 20% or more of the Daily Value for a given nutrient per serving
“Less”, “Fewer” or “Reduced” At least 25% less of a given nutrient or calories than the comparison food
“Low”, “Little”, “Few”, or “Low Source of” An amount that would allow frequent consumption of the food without exceeding the Daily Value for the nutrient - but can only make the claim as it applies to all similar foods
“Good Source Of”, “More”, or “Added” The food provides 10% more of the Daily Value for a given nutrient than the comparison food

Fat-free foods is an oxymoron
I hope the above chart made you realize how trivial your nutrition is taken into account by those you may trust to feed and protect your family, now one more interesting fact. Here is a simple calorie calculation chart:

1 gram fat = 9 calories
1 gram protein = 4 calories
1 gram carbohydrate = 4 calories
1 gram alcohol = 7 calories

People purchase foods that are labeld fat-free (I hope you now realize they can still contain fat), now for a shocker… if you really did eat food that 100% fat free but it contained carbohydrates or alcohol, guess what happens to all the extra calories you consumed - your body converts it to fat. So you can still become fat by eating fat-free foods.

The Bottom Line

Cook all your own meals using fresh ingredients; this will save you from a lot of potential health problems in the future caused by an improper diet.