Do You Wanna Drink with That? Radium. Danica Patrick.

"And no I don't mean a cocktail at dinner...

I'm talking about the high sugar, high fructose corn syrup, caramel colored, frappa something, mocha something drinks that most people are drinking all day long. This has to be one of the top reasons most people have such a hard time reaching and maintaining their ideal weight or battling chronic fatigue and other health concerns: They are drinking tons of sugar without even knowing it!

Let's look at some of the culprits:


Fruit Juice: This includes all of them from OJ to Hawaiian Punch to Apple Juice to Capri Suns. Anytime you drink a fruit juice type beverage, you are essentially just having water with sugar (or sometimes even worse, water with high fructose corn syrup). A typical 8 oz glass of OJ is really just water and approximately 8-9 teaspoons of sugar. Don't be fooled by the labels which say "all natural". Unless you are freshly squeezing your juice and drinking it right away, it is not a healthy drink. What about the added calcium and vitamin C? Anything "fortified" with calcium is almost always not absorbable by your body because it is man made. You will get more vitamin C from the real thing. Peel an orange or grapefruit and enjoy. Yummy!

Even drinks like Gatorade and Vitamin Water (which some people actually perceive as health drinks) are really just water, sugar and coloring. (I don't know about you, but I try and stay away from ingesting anything that's bright blue!)

Soda: Soda is such a nasty culprit in so many ways. For starters, the sugar content is ridiculous! Imagine putting 10 teaspoons of white sugar in a glass and then adding water.
Wait!
Don't forget to add the caramel coloring and phosphoric acid. Combine the acidity of sugar, coloring and phosphoric acid and you have a tooth rooting, calcium leaching, osteoporosis inducing fiesta.
Clearly this is not something we need to be putting into our bodies (or the bodies of our little ones).

What about Diet drinks? They are actually the worst yet! Sweeteners like aspartame (Equal) and sucralose (Splenda) have been shown to grow tumors in lab rats (even in minimal dosages). Even worse, your body sees artificial sweeteners as a toxin and causes weight gain, sugar cravings and gas and bloating in most people.

The Healthy Alternatives

Tea Juice and Iced Teas: You can make wonderful cold drinks from any variety of herbal tea or regular black or green tea (Be careful not to go overboard on the caffeinated varieties).
My favorite morning "tea juice" is orange zinger tea with a bit of stevia to sweeten. I make a big batch of this in the beginning of the week and put it in the fridge to cool. I also make a big batch of green tea (again, I sweeten with a bit of stevia) and have that in the fridge when I just don't feel like having water.

Spa Water: One of my favorite parts about going to the Spa is the water! (and the massage, who am I kidding?)
I recreate their version of water right at home. It is ice cold water with sliced fresh lemon, lime, and oranges. It's so refreshing and such a good alternative to plain water (for those who have a hard time getting in enough water each day).

Iced Coffee: I don't like to suggest this too often (as too much coffee each day can pose some health problems for some) but when sugar cravings are at their highest, this serves as a "dessert" type drink. Combine coffee, 2 tbsp of organic cream or half and half and Stevia over lots of ice. Shake well and you've got a much healthier alternative to any "frappa, mocha, blah, blah, blah" that they may have at Starbucks (and much cheaper too!)

When in doubt, ALWAYS read labels! Remember that every 4 grams of sugar = 1 teaspoon of sugar. So if a drink says 44grams sugar, you know you're drinking 11 teaspoons."
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On This Day:


Curies isolate radium, Apr 20, 1902:

"On April 20, 1902, Marie and Pierre Curie successfully isolate radioactive radium salts from the mineral pitchblende in their laboratory in Paris. In 1898, the Curies discovered the existence of the elements radium and polonium in their research of pitchblende. One year after isolating radium, they would share the 1903 Nobel Prize in physics with French scientist A. Henri Becquerel for their groundbreaking investigations of radioactivity.

Pierre Curie was appointed to the chair of physics at the Sorbonne in 1904, and Marie continued her efforts to isolate pure, non-chloride radium. On April 19, 1906, Pierre Curie was killed in an accident in the Paris streets. Although devastated, Marie Curie vowed to continue her work and in May 1906 was appointed to her husband's seat at the Sorbonne, thus becoming the university's first female professor. In 1910, with Debierne, she finally succeeded in isolating pure, metallic radium. For this achievement, she was the sole recipient of the 1911 Nobel Prize in chemistry, making her the first person to win a second Nobel Prize.

Curie's daughter, Irene Curie, was also a physical chemist and, with her husband, Frederic Joliot, was awarded the 1935 Nobel Prize in chemistry for the discovery of artificial radioactivity. Marie Curie died in 1934 from leukemia caused by four decades of exposure to radioactive substances."
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Danica Patrick becomes first woman to win Indy race, Apr 20, 2008:

"On April 20, 2008, 26-year-old Danica Patrick wins the Indy Japan 300 at Twin Ring Montegi in Montegi, Japan, making her the first female winner in IndyCar racing history.

Danica Patrick was born on March 25, 1982, in Beloit, Wisconsin. She became involved in racing as a young girl and as a teenager moved to England in pursuit of better training opportunities. In 2002, after returning to the United States, she began driving for the Rahal Letterman Racing team, owned by 1986 Indianapolis 500 champ Bobby Rahal and late-night talk-show host David Letterman. In 2005, Patrick started competing in IndyCar events, which include the famed Indianapolis 500 race at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Indiana.

On May 29, 2005, Patrick made her Indy 500 debut, becoming just the fourth female driver ever to compete in the celebrated 500-mile race, which was first held in 1911 and today is considered one of auto racing's premier events. (Driver Janet Guthrie first broke the gender barrier at the Indy 500 in 1977.) During Patrick's inaugural Indy 500, she led the race for 19 laps, marking the first time a woman ever led a lap in the competition. In the end, the diminutive driver, who stands 5'2" and tips the scales at 100 pounds, finished the race in fourth place. She later earned Rookie of the Year honors for the Indy Racing League's 2005 season and finished 12th in the overall standings."
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Yesterday:

Misty, Bobbiecat, Prime, Maddie and I spent a quiet day at home.  I couldn't go to the store as Maddie, the Yorkie is still here, and I don't leave boarders alone in the house, and I wasn't about to leave her in the grooming room, as she would be very stressed.   She and Prime, my foster-cat, have made friends, now. Some more research on the computer as to why I still have to use Blogger to post.  Busied myself doing plant re-potting, laundry, cleaning, tidying, and the usual daily jobs, while I waited anxiously for Live Writer Customer Support to email me with an answer as to why Live Writer still won't connect to my journal.  When I did hear from them, it was just an automated message saying that my user name and password are correct, and confirmed.    I already knew that.  

Another great "doors and windows open" day.