Central Park East - 6:05am
Good morning! I had a strange bout of insomnia this morning. Woke up at 4:15am and couldn't fall back asleep - was just laying there wide awake. I was feeling antsy and like I wanted the day to start but I had to wait until it would be non-creepy in the Park to take Sofie (i.e. past 5:30am). So, I got up, made coffee, ate breakfast, tried to keep Sofie quiet (unfortunately we woke Brian up anyway - SORRY, Bri!). Then I started reading on Livestrong.com
I have a problem with Lance Armstrong and the whole Livestrong thing. I know everybody is totally up his ass and all, but i just take issue with him. I think he's fake. He writes this book called "It's Not About the Bike," all about his inspirational battle with cancer. I mean...come on...it kinda seems like it's a little about the bike. How can he write a book about how it's not about the bike when he had a fairly rare form of cancer at a young age, while in perfect health, in a sport known for doping. Doping greatly increases your risk for developing cancer, and I just find it a little suspicious. If you were willing to dope (I know, I know...you've denied it all along), then it's a little bit about the bike. I don't believe for one second that he didn't take performance enhancing drugs and that his cancer was at least in part caused by that choice. I digress.
I was reading about trans fats, otherwise known as partially hydrogenated oils. My mother is the trans fat Nazi. "Never, EVER eat a trans-fat...you will get sick...and you will die. They are like eating rat poison." That's what she sounds like - I'm not kidding. So the other day I wanted some jello pudding - I don't know why. I was reading the label at the grocery store and discovered ..... Partially hydrogenated cottonseed oil! NO WAY! I can't buy this! I then caught myself thinking about why they're bad for you. I don't know why they're bad for you - I just know they are. So I went on Livestrong.com (ah it comes full circle) to read about them. The problem with them is that because people think they're from a plant source rather than an animal source, that they're not as bad. They are made by heating up vegetable oils and adding hydrogen so that they become hydrogenated. They also taste good because they are smooth and creamy rather than fatty or oily-tasting.
Hydrogenated oils are at least partially responsible for tens to hundreds of thousands of premature deaths due to heart attack and stroke. That's from a 2006 study published in the Journal of Nutrition in Clinical Practice. They are FAR worse for you than actually consuming animal fats (which I have also stopped consuming since I have been eating a vegetarian diet). They dramatically increase your level of low density lipids (LDL), otherwise known as bad cholesterol (high density lipids are the good cholesterol). I don't actually know the molecular mechanism by which these fats cause plaque buildup, but they do. I plan to read about this later today because I'm curious.
I also don't know why Omega-3 fatty acids are good for you. (Molecular mechanisms). I feel like I should know this...I'm a scientist after all. Read those labels! That's one habit instilled in me by my Dad, who always reads the labels at the grocery store. I now never buy anything with more than 10% of the calories from fat and breakfast cereal has to have at least 5g of fiber per serving. I think I am pretty lucky that I had parents who instilled good eating habits early on in life. Thanks Mom, & Dad
Also a HAPPY BIRTHDAY to SARAH! She is 24 today but still my little sister!
This was a bit of a random post...sorry about that - it's the sleeplessness.
Have a great day!!!
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