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hijabi health: artificial sweeteners

11 Jun

salaam! i wanted to share another great article from Zen Habits. this one is about artificial sweeteners. how many times do we ingest these fake sweeteners a day without even noticing it? the health world has shunned sugar (for good reason) but the alternative shouldn’t be chemicals that taste like sugar!

we need to be aware of what we are putting into our body. sure, artificial sweeteners might have less (or no) calories but it isn’t worth the health risk.

How To Ditch Artificial Sweeteners

Posted: 10 Jun 2010 12:23 AM PDT

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Coyote Grafix

I dropped artificial from sweeteners from my diet a long while ago, it wasn’t easy but it has been worth it. This is coming from someone who would sweeten their coffee with splenda and drink a few diet drinks a day on top of a bunch of gum sweetened with aspartame.

The reason I quit was not because I was having any  adverse reactions. Rather that I saw it as an addiction of sorts and something so unnatural that it must have damaging effects on the body. Whether they are immediate or long term I am unsure. Saying this their is growing evidence linking artificial sweeteners with:

  • Obesity/Weight Gain
  • Insulin Resistance
  • Psychological Disorders (Anxiety, Depression and Brain Fog)
  • Sugar Addiction
  • Cancer

Take for instance this study linking Artificial Sweeteners with weight gain in rats.

Scientists at Purdue University in West Lafayette, Indiana, studied rats that were fed food with the artificial sweetener saccharin and rats fed food with glucose, a natural sugar.

In comparison to rats given yogurt sweetened with glucose, those that ate yogurt sweetened with saccharin went on to consume more calories and put on more weight and body fat.

The researchers said sweet foods may prompt the body to get ready to take in a lot of calories, but when sweetness in the form of artificial sweeteners is not followed by a large amount of calories, the body gets confused, which may lead to eating more or expending less energy than normal.

This is pretty worrying considering that most people are using artificially sweetened products in an effort to lose weight and be “healthier” and I can say for certain that they are not helping in either of those areas. And are most probably having detrimental effects in both areas.

Identify Artificial Sweeteners In Your Diet

Most people think they are hardly getting any sorts of articial sweetener each day, Little do they know small bits can add up. Think about it this way — you may just have 1 diet drink per day and some flavoured whey protein after the gym, plus a few sticks of sugar free gum. Add that up and it amounts to a pretty sizeable amount of chemicals ingested everyday, now compound those days and think about how much you are getting each month or year.

Some of the most common sources of Artifial Sweetners in the modern diet are:

  • Diet Drinks
  • Low Calorie flavoured Yoghurts
  • Sugar Free Gum
  • Flavoured Whey Protein

These are all things we can see being consumed everyday in our society. What is more worrying though is that they seem to be more popular with people trying to improve their health and lose weight — Think gym goers and serial dieters. This is because these diet foods are the perfect “free” food to tide people over to the next meal or mask the flavour of things that we just don’t want to eat or drink. Often they are packed into caffeinated beverages like Coke, Coffee and Tea making for a double disaster to your health.

Inform yourself of the dangers

Before we take action we must want to change. And therefore getting clued up on the dangers of Artificial Sweeteners is the first step. There are a host of websites detailing many of the potential dangers (I have put a few at the bottom of the article). And here is a great video I cam across it is quite long but worth the watch.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=pvFRLIjOLOU

One thing to take into account is that some of these sites employ scare mongering tactics, and although the dangers are real they can sometimes be overblown. So take what you read with a pinch of salt.

Cut down the intake steadily

Slow and steady wins the race. — Aesop

There is no need to go cold turkey if you currently have artificially sweetened things in your diet. Rather cut things out slowly, here is how I cut out Diet Drinks, Flavoured Protein and Chewing Gum……..

  1. Reduced my consumption of diet drinks
  2. Started buying unflavoured Whey Protein
  3. Stopped all diet drinks
  4. Reduced my consumption of Sugar Free gum
  5. Totally cut out Artificially Sweetened products

So as you can see it took me a while but eventually it was done. And although I am by no means perfect now I rarely have artificial sweeteners bar the odd piece of gum and maybe a diet drink once or twice a year.

Trust that you are doing what makes sense

Many of us will feel fine in spite of consuming loads of artificial sweeteners and ultimately the choice is for you to make on whether you want to reduce your consumption. One thing that really make me make the switch was that “It Made Sense” I knew that these chemicals and man made sweeteners must be causing some pretty bad stuff to happen within my body. After that I did some reading about the dangers and how artificial sweeteners can have a damaging effect on the metabolism and thought enough is enough.

Considering there is also a link between Artificial Sweeteners and chronic dieting and the consumption of empty calorie foods. I think it is important to cut the stuff from your diet not only for the effect they may have on the body right now but we should also take into account the long term consequences and the potential damage this stuff may do over 20 or 30 year……

http://www.aspartamekills.com/
http://www.splendaexposed.com/
http://www.sweetpoison.com/

hijabi health: a guide to buying organic

11 May

salaam! summer is on its way which means…farmers markets! now, i love going to the farmers market on the weekends but sometimes i can’t afford to buy all certified organic produce. there are certain fruits and vegetables that are higher in levels of pesticide (which you should always buy organic) and some that you can go without buying the organic kind. i came across this helpful article from Zen Habits and i wanted to pass the knowledge on!

A Guide to Buying Organic

Posted: 09 May 2010 10:59 PM PDT

Tomato RED
spisharam – AWAY

We hear so much about Organic foods and for good reason they are higher in nutrients and vitamins thanks to the healthier soil they grow in, plus they don’t contain the same amount of toxins found in conventionally grown fruit and vegetables.

“..early results from the study showed that organic fruit and vegetables contained up to 40% more anti-oxidants than non-organic varieties.”

This is a quote taken from a 4 year research study undertaken in the UK. Now I am sure this is not the case for every piece of organic produce around it is clear that Organic foods do hold some benefit. Unfortunately organic foods can sometimes be less fresh than non-organics and are usually more expensive. So the answer really lies in being wise when buying organic and picking the foods which are most pesticide ridden and going organic in this area.

When we choose food that we eat it is essentially the only time we have a choice on which parts of the “world” we put inside ourselves. It is pretty obvious that what we consume has a direct impact on our energy, vitality and even thoughts. This is why I find it is important to at least try making the majority of what you eat Organic or of a similar high quality if you can, It is not essential and should not be something to base your eating habits upon just something to take into account when buying food. It maybe something as simple as shopping at your farmers market once a week instead of buying from your local mass retailer. This also means you are not only helping yourself eat a healthier more nutrient dense diet but you are helping the local community and ensuring the future of quality food in your area.

The Environmental Working Group have figured out a list of foods which are high in pesticides and should be bought organic when possible, the list includes:

  1. Celery
  2. Grapes
  3. Apples
  4. Potatoes
  5. Rasberries
  6. Strawberries
  7. Pears
  8. Peaches and Nectarines
  9. Bell Peppers
  10. Cherrys

What these all have in common is that they are thin skinned making them susceptible to pesticides meaning they contaminate easily. Whereas fruit and vegtables with a thick skin like avocados, sweet potatoes or corn are much more robust and are considered low pesticide food. I have included a link to the cheat sheet below for organic foods:

This can simply be printed out and folded in half and put in your wallet giving you instant access to what foods you should focus on while buying organically.

One tip to help rid foods of pesticides is to soak the fruit in a bowl of water with a dash of cider vinegar inside. I do this regularly in the summer with berries which are too expensive to be bought organic all the time. What I do is fill a bowl with cold water and add a few TBSPs of Apple Cider Vinegar and then add the berries, leave them to soak for a few hours before draining and rinsing thoroughly. This helps to some extent and is definitely the next best thing to buying organic.

Exercise Tailored to a Hijab

10 Sep

September 10, 2009
Fitness
The New York Times

Exercise Tailored to a Hijab

10fit-600

By ABBY ELLIN

THE first time Julia Shearson rode her bike after converting to Islam seven years ago, her headscarf became stuck in the wheel.

She lost her balance, and by the time she got going again she was met with stares as she whizzed along, arms and legs draped in loose clothing, her scarf billowing in the breeze.

“You have to overcome the looks,” said Ms. Shearson, 43, the executive director of the Cleveland chapter of the Council on American-Islam Relations. “It’s already hard enough to exercise, and if you look different … it’s even harder.”

As a Muslim woman in the United States, Ms. Shearson has found it difficult to stay fit while adhering to her religious principles about modesty. Islam does not restrict women from exercising — in fact all Muslims are urged to take care of their bodies through healthy eating and exercise — but women face a special set of challenges in a culture of co-ed gyms and skimpy workout wear.

Many pious Muslim women in the United States, like Ms. Shearson, wear hijab in public, loose garments that cover their hair and body, which can hinder movement and add to discomfort during exercise. Women may show their hair, arms and legs up to the knees in front of other women.

Muslim women are often limited in their choice of activity, as well. Some believe that certain yoga chants, for example, are forbidden, as well as certain poses like sun salutations (Muslims are supposed to worship only Allah). For the sake of modesty, working out around men is discouraged.

That modesty can be a benefit and a liability. On the one hand, Muslim women are spared some of the body-image issues that other women face; on the other, that freedom can be a detriment to their physical well-being.

“We don’t have the external motivation that non-Muslim women have,” said Mubarakha Ibrahim, 33, a certified personal trainer and owner of Balance fitness in New Haven, a personal training studio catering to women. “There is no little black dress to fit into, no bathing suit. When you pass through a mirror or glass you’re not looking to see ‘Is my tummy tucked in? Do I look good in these jeans?’ You’re looking to see if you’re covered.”

After gaining 50 pounds while pregnant with her first child, Ms. Ibrahim studied exercise and nutrition, and became certified through the Aerobics and Fitness Association of America. In 2006 she opened her studio, which offers a safe environment for women to exercise (she says she has more orthodox Jewish clients, who also adhere to rules of modesty).

Ms. Ibrahim said she would like to see exercise become as natural a part of a Muslim woman’s life as praying.

In July, about 120 women from around the country attended Ms. Ibrahim’s third annual Fit Muslimah Health and Fitness Summit in New Haven. She offered yoga, kickboxing, water aerobics and core conditioning classes alongside workshops on weight loss, nutrition, cancer prevention and diabetes at the two-day, women-only event. She plans to hold another one in Atlanta in February.

“An important part of your spirituality is your health,” said Tayyibah Taylor, publisher of Azizah, a magazine for Muslim women, and co-sponsor of the summit meeting. “You can’t really consider yourself in good health if all parts of your being are not healthy — your body, your mind and your soul. It’s a complete package.”

This is especially true now, during Ramadan, the Islamic month of fasting from dawn until sunset. “The Muslim prayer is the most physical prayer — the sitting, bowing, bending,” said Daisy Khan, executive director of the American Society for Muslim Advancement. “The physicality of our prayer forces us to create flexibility in our body.”

But how to mix one’s physical and spiritual needs with practicality? Some Muslim-Americans go to women-only gyms like Curves, which has thousands of branches across the country. And some gyms and Y.M.C.A.’s offer gender-segregated areas, hours or days.

Other women, like Umm Sahir Ameer, a 27-year-old student in Shaker Heights, Ohio, take matters into their own hands. Last year, Ms. Ameer started the Muslimah Strive Running-Walking Group so she and 12 of her friends could exercise together.

“I wanted to establish this group as a way to further unite Muslim women in my community while gaining physical endurance,” she said.

Those who do work out in co-ed gyms have learned to make accommodations in their clothing. Loretta Riggs, 40, an educational coach in Pittsburgh, started exercising two years ago after divorcing her husband. She wears a scarf made of spandex, long-sleeved Under Armour shirts and Adidas or Puma pants.

“Some women don’t think you should be working out in a co-ed gym,” she said, “but I’m around men all the time in my workplace, when I take my kids to the park, when I walk outside.”

She added: “Why would I deprive myself of being healthy because I am a Muslim and I choose to cover? It’s very important to take care of myself.”

Mariam Abdelgawad, 21, a math teacher in San Jose, Calif., said that in high school she played hockey, soccer and ran track and field, all while wearing hijab.

But today she works out at home, since there are no female-only gyms in her neighborhood. Her parents, with whom she lives, have a treadmill, elliptical machine and Pilates equipment, as well as weights. She exercises about three times a week, but said she missed the camaraderie of the gym.

Though working out at home is convenient, she said, it is also very easy to procrastinate and not do it. “I don’t have all the options that a gym would have,” she said.

Swimming also poses problems. Although some Muslim women have been known to hop in the water in their street clothes, this can be cumbersome for a workout. The burqini — a one-piece outfit that resembles a scuba wet suit — has received a lot of attention in recent months (most notably in France, where a young woman was banned from wearing one at a pool), but it tends to be too form-fitting for some women.

“I tried it once, and it sticks to your body,” said Marwa Abdelhaleem, a 26-year-old teacher in Toronto who started a female-only swimming group to avoid the burqini question. “It’s really fitted. I wouldn’t wear it in public.”

Ms. Ibrahim, however, is more focused on the private.

“One of the ideas I promote is that when you are married and you take off your clothing, your husband should not be like, ‘You should put this back on,’ ” Ms. Ibrahim said. “Even if you wear a burqa, you should be bikini-ready. You should feel comfortable and sexy in your own skin.”