I was recently asked by a colleague, what I thought about various popular cooking oils…in particular, grapeseed, flaxseed, canola, and pumpkin seed oil. Here is a summary.
First of all, all of these oils are oils, and their caloric content is roughly similar, about 50 calories per teaspoon. You will not save calories by choosing a particular oil, and there is no oil you can eat limitless quantities of without the caloric content eventually catching up with you.
Secondly, as far as omega-3 content, any vegetable oil containing omega-3 fatty acids contains ALA, NOT the EPA and DHA found in seafood. Even though some ALA can be converted to DHA, it does not occur in quantities needed to therapeutically treat PCOS, or to maintain the integrity of brain structure in the general population. The reason ALA is important, is that it helps to protect the body from inflammation and when it is consumed in adequate quantities, it allows DHA to do its job. In other words, if all you are doing is taking a few fish oil capsules but not changing your diet, you are not very likely to benefit from the fish oil.
That being said, when you choose oils to cook with, you want to remember that your overall dietary omega 6 to omega 3 ratio should be 10:1 or less, in order to reduce the possibility of insulin resistance. How do these four oils measure up?
I boldfaced the ones I prefer.
Grapeseed oil 696 to 1 Yikes!
Flaxseed oil 0.238 to 1 Now you know why we love flaxseed so much around here. Here is some information on some flaxseed oils you can cook with that you might find interesting.
Canola oil 2 to 1 Whether or not you want to include canola oil in your diet is part of your own food religion. If it fits for you, know its ratio is excellent. If it does not, you may want to investigate the flaxseed oil option listed above.
Pumpkin seed oil 3 to 1 Not bad!
Lard 10 to 1 This surprised me. It also made me feel better about my love of tamales.: )
Butter 8.6 to 1 Even better than lard!
Margarine, stick 11.4 to 1 Don't go there.
Margarine, tub 4.8 to 1 The only problem here is that in order to make a liquid oil solid…it has to be turned into trans fat. Wrong kind of omega-6 oil.
I received notice yesterday that a new omega-3 product has hit the market. It's called"New Harvest", and it caught my eye because it is a vegetarian source of essential fatty acids. We have a lot of vegetarians reading our blog so I wanted to know more. This is what I learned by going to their website.
1. The manufacturer is Dupont Chemical. 2. The omega-3's are produced by using a specific type of yeast, Yarrowia lipolytica, to turn corn sugar into fat.
I do like the fact that companies are working to find alternatives for humans that do not involve depleting the world's fish supplies. And I do like the fact that this has potential to help vegetarians.
My problem with this product is that it appears to be a product of genetic engineering. I'm not convinced that this is a completely risk-free technology. And, given the fact that a very high percentage of our readers are either trying to conceive or are pregnant, I have to remember that any food or supplement choice we encourage here has the potential to affect at least two lives, only one of which has a choice in what they are exposed to.
I'm in the process of deciding for myself about genetic engineering. It is a relatively new technology and I don't believe it's been around long enough for us to be 100% confident that it is 100% safe. Each of you has your own opinion about whether or not you wish to incorporate these foods into your diets. It took enough work for me to find the answers to simple questions I had about this product, that I decided to simplify the process for anyone else who might have similar questions.
I also wish, instead of marketing their product as"yeast-based", DuPont had been more forthcoming about the fact that it's more accurately positioned as"corn-based".
I'm all for local eating. But another endeavor I enjoy is helping other cultures find worthwhile products to produce that encourage preservation of the rainforest and farming of products other than coca. So I was excited to see the country of Peru have such a beautiful and informational pavilion at Expo West.
We all know about quinoa and I've written about purple corn…here are some other foods you might be seeing more of that could be fun to try!
Maca Most of us think of maca as a supplement to enhance sexual prowess. It's actually been studied in the laboratory and been found to enhance libido and semen quality. It may also help alleviate sexual dysfunction related to antidepressant use. It may also help reduce enlarged prostate glands.
That being said, Americans have a really bad habit of taking something they think is"good", grinding it up, concentrating it, and using it in larger quantities than would be possible in nature. In this case, there is some thought that excessive maca consumption may negatively affect thyroid function. In addition, there are several varieties of maca, and only the red was found to have significant hormonal effect. Labeling on supplements may not contain this information and you may be wasting your money.
Bottom line, if you see it on a restaurant menu or a fun international market, take it home and cook it like a turnip! Be careful, however, about the supplement version.
Amaranth Gluten-free enthusiasts love this grain, but like quinoa, it's not actually a grain…it's a seed. It can be toasted and eaten like popcorn, or cooked like a grain. Here is more information on how to use amaranth in your kitchen. In other parts of the world, such as Asia and Africa, amaranth leaves and roots are also culinary specialties.
Regular consumption of amaranth seed may help regulate hypertension and cholesterol, and the leaves and roots are very high in vitamins and minerals, including calcium, iron, magnesium, phosphorous, potassium, zinc, copper, and manganese.
Both Bob's Red Mill and Arrowhead Mills sell amaranth flour, but if you can't find it in your store, here are amaranth options on amazon.com.
Aguaymanto This fruit is related to one of my local favorites, the tomatillo (you can see the similar husks in the photo). It is currently being researched for its potential as an antioxidant source, and it has been found to contain melatonin.
Locals like to use it in jams, syrups, and pastries, but it is also seen in fruit salads and salsas.
Lucuma, or eggfruit, if you Google it, will pop up quite frequently as the next big superfood, and ground powders are available online. (As with maca, I am not providing links, as I am not telling you about these foods to encourage a superfood or supplement mentality.) This fruit tree can grow in warmer US climates such as Florida or Arizona. It's a Peruvian favorite, as illustrated by the blog Peru Food. It is described as tasting a little bit like maple syrup ice cream.
It is a favorite of raw food enthusiasts. They promote it as low-glycemic, though I was not able to find the actual scientific reference for it in my search; most references circle back to the same video. If anyone out there can direct me to that, I'm happy to post for everyone.
Nutritionally, lucuma is high in fiber, iron, and as you might guess from its beautiful color, beta carotene.
Sacha Inchi, or the Peruvian peanut, comes from the rainforest. I actually tried this at Expo West; it was prepared like corn nuts and there was also a version coated with fair-trade chocolate (isn't that the best way to get Americans to try anything new and different?) It's pretty high protein, and it contains ALA, the vegan omega-3 fatty acid. (With respect to the omega-3's it's an option to flaxseed.) In Peru, its oil is used for cooking so I imagine some day it will show up in US markets as well.
Again, American marketing reps are trying to capitalize on the superfood craze when selling this food. It's fine to eat, and its nutritional value is nice, but no need to abandon everything else you're doing for it. Try it when you can, enjoy it when you find it, and know it fits well into a hormone-friendly lifestyle.
One of the reasons I put this blog post together is to illustrate why closing out food choices can deny you some food fun, not to mention nutrition! If you're locked into a top ten list of foods, you may miss some great culinary experiences…that can be healthy as well! Sometimes when you're focused on"fixing" a disease it can take the fun out of food. The more enjoyable it is, the more likely it is you'll have a healthy relationship with it. Every culture has its gems, even if they're not salmon, blueberries, and broccoli!
I admit, I had a personal reason for writing this blog post. My Peruvian friend Denise has told me she wants to share her favorite local Peruvian restaurant with me sometime soon. I wanted to be sure I knew what I would be seeing when I looked at the menu. Now that I've done my homework, I'm hungry and looking forward to what the menu has in store.
Gonzales GF, Miranda S, Nieto J, Fernández G, Yucra S, Rubio J, Yi P, and Gasco M. Red maca (Lepidium meyenii) reduced prostate size in rats. Reprod Biol Endocrinol. 2005; 3: 5.
Dording CM. Fisher L. Papakostas G. Farabaugh A. Sonawalla S. Fava M. Mischoulon D. A double-blind, randomized, pilot dose-finding study of maca root (L. meyenii) for the management of SSRI-induced sexual dysfunction.
Czerwiński J, Bartnikowska E, Leontowicz H, et al. Oat (Avena sativa L.) and amaranth (Amaranthus hypochondriacus) meals positively affect plasma lipid profile in rats fed cholesterol-containing diets". J. Nutr. Biochem. 15 (10): 622–9, 2004.
Wu, SJ; Tsai JY, Chang SP, Lin DL, Wang SS, Huang SN, Ng LT (2006). Supercritical carbon dioxide extract exhibits enhanced antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activities of Pysalis peruviana. J Ethnopharmacol 108 (3): 407–13
Kolar J., Malbeck J. Levels of the antioxidant melatonin in fruits of edible berry species. Planta Medica 2009 75:9
If you've been following the blog over the last week, I've been reporting about interesting products and things I learned at the 2011 Natural Products West Expo. It's a huge exposition where food companies hoping to connect with buyers for health food stores have a chance to showcase their products. There were about 2,000 exhibitors there, and in 3 days I didn't get a chance to see and talk to everyone I wanted to. You can imagine, on the exhibitor end, the pressure there is to create a product, packaging concept, and booth display that catches the eye of the people you came to meet!
Unfortunately, not all concepts were on target. I'm sharing one that is a common example of how omega-3 marketing is not always accurate. It's still not regulated well, so there are lots of variations in how facts are presented that can be confusing to the person who knows they want to eat well but doesn't understand all the facts.
Yesterday I pulled a fish oil bottle out of my sample bag and noticed on the label that it was"extra-virgin" fish oil. This is a concept that I'm familiar with when it refers to olive oil, and it means that it is the olive oil from the first press of olives. It's a stronger oil, with a lower smoke point, and more appropriate for recipes where the oil is not heated. But it's not really a concept that has any relevance to fish. (I joked with my Facebook friends about whether or not it really mattered what the fish were doing before we caught them!) This particular product's label was also busy with breakdowns of omega-3's, 5's, 6's, 7's, and 9's, promoting a"perfect complement of 16 omega's". It all sounded very official, but to the average consumer who is still confused about 3's, 6's, and 9's, it only serves to make shopping for fish oil tedious and painful.
One of the reasons for all of this confusion is that fish oil is Mother Nature's patent. Consumers want their foods and supplements to be as unrefined as possible, but the only way to patent and protect a manufactured product, is to alter it. So it is very difficult for fish oil companies to create products that distinguish themselves from other competing products while keeping their customers happy. What is left to distinguish a product is where the fish is caught, what species the fish is, and the total amounts of omega-3 fatty acids. And lots of pretty, irrelevant marketing words.
Even with all my knowledge and training, I can spend hours in the health food store looking at labels on fish oil supplements and keeping up with new and different products. From my perspective, it's the total amount of omega-3's that matters. If you have a hard time with the flavor or the burps, there are several flavored options and packaged forms that can get you around that problem.
Here is my advice to you.
1. First of all, before you spend a lot of money and time, try taking fish oil to see if it works for the problem you're trying to solve. Be sure you take enough of it. For the degree of inflammation seen with PCOS, you're going to need to take the equivalent of 1000 mg DHA. That can be 2 to 3 times the recommended dose on the bottle. Be sure you do your math. It can even be the Costco brand. That is actually my first recommendation to clients. I'm more interested in whether or not adding DHA to the diet is helpful, not where the fish was caught, what the flavor of the fish oil is, yadayadayada. I just want to establish if there is a DHA deficiency.
2. Make a list of the problems that you have that you're looking for relief with that you know are related to omega-3 imbalance: memory, concentration, mood swings, carbohydrate cravings, skin problems, menstrual irregularity. Keep this list in a handy place.
3. If memory problems are on your list, be sure you have a mechanism for remembering to take the fish oil! I swear, this is one of the biggest barriers to PCOS, memory and forgetfulness keeping you from remembering what it is you need to do! If you need to engage your significant other, or set up an alarm on your phone, or a Google calendar reminder…do whatever it takes to be consistent. If you didn't take it, and it didn't work, it didn't work because you didn't take it, not because it's not the issue.
4. Be diligent about reducing your omega-6 intake: soy, safflower, sunflower, sesame, corn, cottonseed. The less of these oils you have in your diet, the better chance omega-3's have of doing the job.
5. Be sure you're reading the dose right on the label. One of my biggest issues I have with one of the most popular brands of fish oil is that their dose is two capsules, not one. Most people never read the fine print, assume a dose is one pill, and end up taking half of what they were thinking they were taking.
6. At the end of your trial period, look at your list and see what improved. Did it work? NOW, and only NOW that you've established whether or not you were DHA deficient, consider if the type of fish oil you take. Would you prefer a flavored, a gel, a capsule, a liquid? All of them are going to give you what you want, you're just deciding which one fits best with your personal taste and texture preference.
Pretty packaging and fancy words are not what are going to help you to feel better. It's what's inside the package, and in what concentration, that you need to focus on!
This article just popped up when I logged in this morning, and I thought you all might find it interesting. I know from my website that skin and appearance issues are among the top concerns of"cysters"…
What's interesting about this, is that the very same foods that promote fertility, can promote healthy skin.
A short note about fish oil and skin. About 15 years ago I took a vacation to Costa Rica. I used sunscreen…but my German-WASPy skin just didn't tolerate the intensity of the latitude. I ended up with a second degree burn, and scarring on my chest that I had resigned myself to having as a lifelong lesson about sun and skin.
In the last few years I've been changing my own diet based on what I've learned in studying PCOS, and I've begun to do some work for omega-3 companies. Dennis, my friend at Nordic Naturals kept sending me bottles of flavored cod liver oil, which I kept putting in the refrigerator or trying to pass off on my cats.
Finally, I decided to try it. And a few months later, I noticed, the scarring looked a whole lot less worse. It's probably a combination of a better diet and supplements, but it really reinforced with me, being here in Arizona, that my skin deserves the best possible diet and care I can give it.
Source: barefeetinthekitchen.blogspot.com via Monika on Pinterest
One of the most well-intended things people do when they decide to start eating healthier, is to eat more salad. A healthier choice, right? Only if you are salad dressing-savvy. Most commercial brands of salad dressing are made with soybean oil. Even if you shop at Whole Foods! If you've cut out a lot of fat from your diet, but you've kept or added more salad dressing, the ratio of that omega-6 to what omega-3 you have could be enough to push you toward a pro-inflammatory situation.
I can't even remember the last time I bought ready-made salad dressing. I made a vinaigrette once and it was so easy, I wondered why I didn't just do it all the time. These days I usually just drizzle olive oil and balsamic vinegar on my salads and that works just fine.
If you're not there, and you want something a bit more complex, try this balsamic vinaigrette recipe. It comes from a food blogger who uses our Chow Locally food…it went viral after pinned it on Pinterest. So I figured you'd like to have the instructions.
I also found a handy thing at Fresh and Easy yesterday, it's a balsamic vinegar spray bottle. I love it! I just spritzed the surface of my salad bowl with vinegar before adding the greens. The cap twists off if I want to measure out a larger quantity for a recipe. It's going to become a staple on my vinegar shelf.
With all the spring greens in season, it's a good time to try a newer, cleaner way of dressing your salads!
Both Jews and Christians are celebrating Holy Days this week, and since I've never written about Jewish eating, I thought it would be interesting to learn more.
One of the wonderful things about Jewish cuisine is, that in its most historical form, it is the original Mediterranean diet! Hummous, tabouli, nuts, many of the foods you eat year round, regardless of your religious persuasion, originated in the Middle East. So in general, a diet using foods native to Israel and its surroundings is going to be quite healthy.
Of course, as with all cultures, modernization has altered these foods the way our ancestors enjoyed them, and those less healhy tweaks tend to appear at holiday time. So I wanted to share some links I found with many suggestions for making sure your Seder celebration enhances, rather than derails, other goals you are working for whether or not it is the holidays.
Here is a link for vegan ideas, including vegan matzoh ball soup, apple charoset, sweet potato kugel, even chocolate matzo.
Martha Stewart's website offers a collection of healthy Seder side dishes, including Brussels sprouts with pears and a parsnip-apple mash.
And of course, what is Passover without matzobrei? I fell in love with matzobrei while attending college in New York. For this Southwestern girl, it was like Jewish chilaquiles! (No jalapenos, of course). I'm back out West these days, but matzobrei followed me and makes a great addition to my repertoire. A few simple tweaks and you've got a great hormone-friendly breakfast. I adapted this recipe from one I found on Yummly.comhttp://www.yummly.com/
6 whole wheat matzos 6 omega-3 eggs 1/2 teaspoon salt 1/4 teaspoon black pepper 1 1/2 tablespoons fresh dill (chopped) 2 onions 2 red bell peppers 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
Break matzos into roughly 1-inch pieces into a colander, then rinse under hot tap water until pieces are softened, 1 to 2 minutes. Let stand 5 minutes.
Lightly beat eggs with salt, pepper, and 1 tablespoon dill in a large bowl and stir in matzos until coated well.
Cook onions and peppers in oil in a 12-inch heavy nonstick skillet over moderate heat, stirring occasionally, until they begin to brown, 8 to 10 minutes. Add matzo mixture, then increase heat to moderately high and sauté, stirring frequently and breaking up clumps, until matzos are well browned, about 17 minutes. Season with salt, then sprinkle with remaining 1/2 tablespoon dill.
May you all enjoy your Passover celebrations this week!
I was asked to clarify some comments I recently made about chia, as they were questioned for their accuracy. I'm all for revisiting and making sure my information is accurate, so here is my response.
First of all, while the information on this blog should be helpful to anyone regardless of whether or not they have PCOS, it IS targeted toward women who have this hormone imbalance. So some of the information I provide is more geared toward their specific nutritional needs and not the apparently healthy population. This should always be kept in mind when reading what I write.
One of the questions about my post was that I stated that taurine is an essential amino acid. There is actually some debate about this. Some experts say no, we can synthesize it. Others call it a conditional amino acid, meaning in some situations it may be essential.
Women with PCOS seem to have something going on in their brain and nervous systems that interferes with everything from mood and appetite regulation to speech and language function. (Simply read the responses to my question last week about the symptoms I listed and you will see what I mean.) Much of the dietary protocol we have developed is actually derived from epilepsy research at Johns Hopkins University, with the premise that calming nervous system excitability makes it easier for the brain and nervous system to function as they should when not under duress. Taurine is an amino acid showing promise as an anti-seizure compound, which makes me wonder whether or not a hyperexcitable brain blows through available taurine much more quickly than a brain that does not have to live under these conditions.
That being said, I am more comfortable with the premise that for the population for whom this blog is written, as well as anyone living with any kind of condition that places stress on the brain (migraines, epilepsy, OCD, anxiety disorder, bipolar disorder, PTSD, schizophrenia, etc.), taurine may actually be an essential amino acid. Research to support my claim still needs to be done, but I am more comfortable being conservative on this one, especially given the responses to last week's questionnaire and the severity of some of the diagnoses I just listed. Better to be safe than sorry.
Secondly, even if the amino acid profile of chia is complete, the total protein content of chia is relatively low. So if we're advocating for a 30% protein diet in a woman who is being advised to consume 1500 calories a day, she is going to need to consume about 113 grams of protein. That translates into your needing, at this protein level, to consume 700 grams of chia per day, just to get your protein needs. That is also 3,430 calories' worth of chia, more than twice your daily calorie needs. And while its amino acid profile is nearly complete, its nutritional profile is not. It contains no vitamin A, vitamin C, vitamin D, vitamin K, thiamine, riboflavin, niacin, vitamin B6, folate, or iron, to name a few.
From an omega-3 standpoint, I did invert the numbers. There is no consistent order by which omega-6 and omega-3 ratios are reported, and though I usually check to be sure I did not flip them, I did not this time. I do apologize for that.
According to http://www.nutritiondata.com/, chia seed contains an omega-6 to omega-3 ratio of 3.03, which is actually quite good.
The caveat is that the omega-3 this food contains is alpha-linolenic acid (ALA), not EPA or DHA. Most omega-3 experts will contend that in the most perfect of conditions conversion of ALA to DHA is at best 5%. Again, the women this blog serves seem to need a much higher level of DHA than average for a variety of reasons. We find that they seem to do best on 1000 mg DHA daily, the level recommended by Dr. Artemis Simopolous for treating depression. Calculated out, if you are depending on chia seed to get all of your omega-3 fatty acids, from ALA through EPA and DHA, you're going to need to consume about 115 grams of chia seeds per day. Just be forewarned.
Bottom line, I actually think chia is a healthy food--as part of a varied diet. I especially think that for vegans reading this blog it can be a great addition to your diet. However, I do not believe in superfoods. There seems to be a trend toward wanting to find one perfect food that has it all. I have yet to find it. It's understandable when we're surrounded by a lot of confusing information and we live in a culture where over 10,000 new products hit the grocery shelves each year (I saw half of them in Anaheim last month and it was overwhelming!) that we'd want to have just a few foods and a small nutritional comfort zone. Unfortunately that is not really how human nutrition works.
This is an especially important philosophy to stick to on this blog, given the fact that we're learning that a very high percentage of the women we're helping have some kind of history of"veganism gone wrong"…in other words, overzealous veganism with a focus on eliminating foods rather than on learning how to eat to be nutritionally complete with no animal products on the menu. We discourage fanaticism and encourage food curiosity and variety!
We were designed to be omnivores and to eat a variety of foods from a variety of sources. I encourage you, rather than arguing for why you should narrow your choices down to feel more comfortable around food, to learn to negotiate a wider variety of foods you are willing to include in your diet.
Gaby AR. Natural approaches to epilepsy. Altern Med Rev. 2007 Mar;12(1):9-24.
POSITIVE: To put that into perspective, a tablespoon of hemp seed has about the same amount of fat as a teaspoon of butter or oil, plus slightly less protein than an ounce of meat. So as far as fat choices, it's going to give you more nutritional bang for your buck than a pure fat source. That protein is also a complete protein, too!
WARNING: Beware of those calories, though! Someone who commented on the Livestrong.com website where I got this information shared that he puts 3 tablespoons of hemp seeds on his cereal every morning. That is 240 calories, which if not removed from elsewhere in the diet, is the equivalent, over a year, of 25 pounds' worth of calories. If you ADD hemp to your diet, be sure you've accounted for it by REMOVING less calorically dense/nutritious food choices.
POSITIVE: With respect to fatty acid profile, the omega-6 to omega-3 ratio of hemp averages 3:1. This is favorable, as it is lower than the recommended total dietary ratio of 4:1.
WARNING: As hemp is a vegetarian source of omega-3, it provides ALA. It does not contain EPA or DHA, which are primarily found in seafood. Some of the ALA found in hemp will be converted into EPA and DHA, but not in the quantities we have found to be of therapeutic value for PCOS. If you want to use hemp in your diet, it is certainly beneficial, but it does not replace the need for the other omega-3's.
POSITIVE: Hemp contains gamma-linoleic acid (GLA), which can be helpful for some skin conditions, including atopic dermatitis.
WARNING: GLA tends to work best when it is not overwhelmed with omega-6 fatty acids. In other words, if you have a skin condition, and you want to try GLA as a remedy, you are most likely to achieve good results if you cut back on your total omega-6 fatty acid intake (safflower, sunflower, soybean, sesame, corn, and cottonseed oil).
You could say the bottom line with hemp, as with any other food, is that if it is used judiciously and respectfully and not layered onto an unhealthy diet that needs some tuning up, it can be a tool toward better hormone balance.
But it is not a miracle food that will allow you to continue with unhealthy dietary indiscretions without consequence.
For those who are concerned about the THC content of hemp: in order to ingest enough industrial hemp to get 'a buzz', you would have to consume the the equivalent of 2-3 doses of a high-fiber laxative. Thanks to the North American Industrial Hemp Council for that little tidbit!
For starters, here is a recipe for hemp pancakes. As you can see, the oil has been removed and replaced with hemp seed. That is the way hemp should be used; as a fat alternative, not as an additional fat. It could probably be used in many recipes where you are using ground flax seed, with similar results.
Here are some sample hemp food products available at amazon.com
For more information about the history, politics, and nutritional analysis of hemp, beyond the direct pertinence of hemp to PCOS, try this article on Dr. Bronner's website.
One of my litmus tests for how healthy a vegan's diet truly is, is to listen to how they describe what they eat. If they focus on telling me what they DON'T eat, and have a limited list of what they DO eat, I start to consider that what we're describing is an eating disorder, not a vegan eater.
Here's a challenge to encourage you to be more vegan and less disordered. It comes from the blog http://www.lunchboxbunch.com/., and it's a list of 100 vegan foods. I've been instructed to italicize foods I'd never try, and bold face foods I have eaten. And to encourage you to share the challenge on your own blogs.
I'm a pretty adventurous eater so there are no italics. I did better than I thought I would, actually, since I am not 100% vegan myself. I now have some great items to add to my own list!
Have fun! 1. Molasses
2. Cactus/Nopales 3. Scrambled Tofu 4. Grilled Portobella Caps 5. Fresh Ground Horseradish 6. Sweet Potato Biscuits 7. Arepa 8. Vegan Cole Slaw 9. Ginger Carrot Soup 10. Fiddlehead Ferns 11. Roasted Elephant Garlic 12. Umeboshi 13. Almond Butter Toast 14. Aloe Vera 15. H and H Bagel NYC 16. Slow Roasted Butternut Squash 17. White truffle 18. Fruit wine made from something other than grapes 19. Freshly ground wasabi 20. Coconut Milk Ice Cream (not store bought) 21. Heirloom tomatoes 22. Orchard-fresh pressed apple cider 23. Organic California Mango (in season Sept-Oct only) 24. Quinoa 25. Papaya Smoothie 26. Raw Scotch Bonnet (habanero) pepper (just a bite!…hot! 27. Goji Berry Tea 28. Fennel 29. Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookie 30. Radishes and Vegan Buttery Spread 31. Starfruit 32. Oven fresh Sourdough bread 33. Sangria made with premium fruit and juices 34. Sauerkraut 35. Acai Smoothie 36. Blue Foot Mushrooms 37. Vegan Cupcake from Babycakes nyc 38. Sweet Potatoes and Tempeh combo 39. Falafel 40. Spelt Crust Pizza 41. Salt and Pepper Oyster Mushrooms 42. Jicama Slaw 43. Pumpkin Edamame Ginger Dumplings 44. Hemp Milk 45. Rose Champagne 46. Fuyu 47. Raw Avocado-Coconut Soup 48. Tofu Pesto Sandwich 49. Apple-Lemon-Ginger-Cayenne fresh-pressed juice…with Extra Ginger 50. Grilled Seitan 51. Prickly pear 52. Fresh Pressed Almond Milk 53. Concord Grapes off the vine 54. Ramps 55. Coconut Water fresh from a young coconut 56. Organic Arugula 57. Vidalia Onion 58. Sampler of organic produce from Diamond Organics 59. Honeycrisp Apple 60. Poi 61. Vegan Campfire-toasted Smores 62. Grape seed Oil 63. Farm fresh-picked Peach 64. Freshly-made pita bread with freshly-made hummus 65. Chestnut Snack Packs 66. Fresh Guava 67. Mint Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies 68. Raw Mallomar from One Lucky Duck, NYC 69. Fried plantains 70. Mache 71. Golden Beets 72. Barrel-Fresh Pickles 73. Liquid Smoke 74. Meyer Lemon 75. Veggie Paella 76. Vegan Lasagna (raw optional) 77. Kombucha 78. Homemade Soy Milk 79. Lapsang souchong 80. Lychee Bellini 81. Tempeh Bacon 82. Sprouted Grain Bread 83. Lemon Pepper Tempeh 84. Vanilla Bean 85. Watercress 86. Carrot you pulled out of the ground yourself 87. Vegan In-Season Fruit Pie 88. Flowers 89. Corn Chowder 90. High Quality Vegan Raw Chocolate 91. Yellow fuzz-free Kiwi 92. White Flesh Grapefruit 93. harissa 94. Coconut Oil 95. Jackfruit 96. Homemade Risotto 97. Spirulina 98. Seedless 'Pixie' Tangerine 99. Gourmet Sorbet, not store bought 100. Fresh Plucked English Peas
Continuing on with yesterday's theme, I wanted to summarize options for anyone who, for whatever reason, chooses to drink milk alternatives instead of cow's milk.
The primary problems with these alternatives are:
1. They almost, without question, do not provide equivalent amounts of protein and raise your diet's carbohydrate to protein ratio.
2. They are often sweetened, increasing your simple carbohydrate to complex carbohydrate ratio.
3. Most of the alternatives, except for coconut milk, do contain vitamin D. However, check your label just to be sure.
If you choose to use these, in general, you are not substituting milk alternatives for milk. You are drinking a beverage that creates a need for you to increase your protein, vitamin D, and complex carbohydrates in the foods you also choose, in order to make up the deficiencies this switch inevitably creates. If you do not know how to do that, a consultation with one of our inCYSTers might be helpful. Many of them offer Skype consultations if you do not see on our list below and to the right who lives near you.
Here's the rundown. For comparison, per 8 ounces, 1% milk contains: 110 calories 8 grams protein 5 grams fat 12 grams carbohydrate 0% added sugar
One bias I do have which is reflected below, is toward soy milk. Too many women with PCOS have thyroid problems, for me to feel responsible presenting it as an option. So I have omitted it.
All information is for an 8 ounce serving.
ALMOND MILK This one appears to be the most popular. One benefit to almond milk is that since almonds are naturally sweet, there is not as much of a need to add sugar in order to make them palatable. The disadvantage to almond milk is that, consumed in large enough quantities, it may increase your omega-6 intake enough that you promote, rather than reduce, inflammation (almonds, while beneficial in moderation, are the only nut that contain absolutely no omega-3's and for that reason should not be the only nut you exclusively eat).
Almond Breeze Brand 45 calories 2 grams protein 3.5 grams fat 3 grams carbohydrate 0% of carbohydrate is added sugar Pacific Foods Vanilla Almond
45 calories 1 gram protein 2.5 grams fat 3 grams carbohydrate 0% of carbohydrate is added sugar
FLAX MILK
I do like flax milk's omega-3 fatty acid content. It's sweetened, but not to the same degree as many of the other milks. I could see using this in cooking, in any recipe that called for cream, or as coffee creamer, as a way to enhance your diet's overall omega-6 to omega-3 ratio. It still comes up short in the protein department.
Flax USA Flax Milk
50 calories 0 grams protein 2.5 grams fat 7 grams carbohydrate 100% of carbohydrate is added sugar
HEMP MILK One benefit to hemp milk is its omega-3 content. However, it is sweetened pretty significantly so consumers will drink it.
Living Harvest Hemp Milk
130 calories 4 grams protein 3 grams fat 240 grams carbohydrate 75% of carbohydrate is added sugar Manitoba Harvest Hemp Bliss
110 calories 5 grams protein 7 grams fat 7 grams carbohydrate 86% of carbohydrate is added sugar
OATMEAL MILK
Highest in calories, partially because it's sweetened. Eating the real oatmeal will give you better benefits.
Pacific Foods Oatmeal 130 calories 4 grams protein 2.5 grams fat 24 grams carbohydrate 79% of carbohydrate is added sugar
HAZELNUT MILK
The fat in hazelnuts is primarily monounsaturated, making the fat here healthy, but again, low protein and high added sugar are problematic
Pacific Foods Hazelnut Milk
110 calories 2 grams protein 3.5 grams fat 18 grams carbohydrate 78% of carbohydrate is added sugar
COCONUT MILK
I love this milk, but consumed in place of milk, the saturated calories will add up. Yes, the fat in coconut milk is different than the fat in meat, but even so, your overall intake of saturated fat, regardless of the source, should be no more than 10% of total calories. So I say save this one for cooking (as in Thai curries) or used sparingly on breakfast oatmeal or quinoa. It's not really the best choice for drinking by the glass.
Regular Canned Coconut Milk
445 calories 5 grams protein 48 grams fat 6 grams carbohydrate 0% of carbohydrate is added sugar Trader Joe's Light Coconut Milk
150 calories 0 grams protein 12 grams fat 12 grams carbohydrate 0% of carbohydrate is added sugar
So Delicious Coconut Milk (carton) 50 calories 1 gram protein 5 grams fat 6 grams carbohydrate 86% of carbohydrate is added sugar
Silk Coconut Milk (carton) 90 calories 1 gram protein 5 grams fat 10 grams carbohydrate 90% of carbohydrate is added sugar
RICE MILK
Until recently, rice milk was also an option that fell short in protein and in which sugar was added to sweeten and flavor. The first example here illustrates that point. The second option, which has recently come on the market, is a great advancement as far as milk alternative options go.
Both brands are made with brown rice, and both contain vitamins D and B12. However, safflower oil, one of the pro-inflammatory omega-6 fatty acids we encourage you to limit, is also listed as a Rice Dream ingredient. Just wanted to cover that base.
For women with PCOS, the addition of stevia by Growing Naturals is an added plus, as research is suggesting that regular consumption of stevia may help to improve pancreatic function, reduce cravings for sweets, and improve memory. All of those are chronic issues which make it hard to make the choices promoting hormone balance. In addition, Growing Naturals DOES contain vitamin D (in the vegan D2 form), and vitamin B12, often deficient in vegans.
Rice Dream Rice Milk
120 calories 1 gram protein 2.5 grams fat 23 grams carbohydrate 43% of carbohydrate is added sugar Growing Naturals Brown Rice Milk
110 calories 8 grams protein 1 grams fat 17 grams carbohydrate 0% of carbohydrate is added sugar So by now you know my bias, but now you also know why it exists. I use all of these milks in my kitchen. But I do so in different ways. Some as condiments and even coffee creamers, as I do enjoy their flavors, but not as a beverage choice I drink by the glass. The two I drink by the glass are cow's milk and Growing Naturals. Hopefully I've provided you with enough information to de what combinations are most hormone-friendly for you.
If you're interested in trying/using Growing Naturals yourself, and it hasn't arrived at your local store, here is information for ordering.
I wanted to post a testimonial from a client. He volunteered to do this, I did not ask him for it. My sincere hope, in training inCYST professionals, is that this is the experience each and every woman has when reaching out and asking for help. We understand that you are not just patients or lab values, but rather individuals with your own sets of experiences, anxieties, and hopes, that must be respected and accommodated in our work together. The photo is of me at this baby's baptism.
B, thank you for the testimonial. I am not sure who benefitted most from our time together, as I learned an incredible amount from this collaboration! Being asked to come to the hospital to see baby Brianna, and to attend her baptism, was such an honor. I will never forget how it felt to look at her, and hold her, and tangibly experience the value of this work.
I have asked the other members of inCYST's network to share testimonials as well. They do wonderful work, and I want to use this forum to share their passions and how they benefit those who work with them for better health. I look forward to sharing their stories! Monika
It was two years ago when we first met Monika. I remember it like yesterday. We were desperate but also tired of the empty promises.
In the previous 18 months, my wife and I had been on an emotional rollercoaster. My wife had been tested for thyroid issues, infertility, hormone imbalances. Each doctor was confident they knew what was wrong and it was a simple fix. Take this prescription and diet. When that did not work it was go to this specialist or that one. Even at the mighty Mayo Clinic we were disappointed. During this time we had our first miscarriage. I remember the night vividly. We went to the emergency room knowing something was wrong. We were first triaged by an RN, she ordered a pregnancy test, a UA, ultrasound and every blood test she could think of. After six hours we were scared to death and still had not seen the ER physician. My wife’s pain was increasing. My wife started to bleed. We were reassured the doctor would be with us soon. She ended up miscarrying in the restroom of the ER. We finally had the ultrasound. We finally saw that doctor; he was abrupt and in a hurry. He spent five minutes with us explaining that we had miscarried and gave us a booklet for grieving. We were also to follow up with our OB/gyn for a D&C. In addition to a 3,000 dollar bill.
It took a few days for my wife’s physical pains to subside, but the emotional ones were just beginning. It almost tore us apart. She had the feeling that she was broken and tried to push me away. Everything reminded us of our loss. It is amazing how many sad stories you see about abused or abandoned children when you can not have one. Several months had passed and our OB diagnosed my wife with PCOS. Though the ultrasound showed no cysts, all the other symptoms were there. My wife was placed on metformin. This was to stabilize her insulin. She started the medication but her mood swings and frustration increased. She exercised two to four hours every day for four months. She was obsessed with losing weight and returning to “normal”. The weight did not come off and she was giving up. I decided to spend my spare time researching PCOS. The research was inconclusive as to the correct treatment course. Most suggested controlling insulin through diet and medication. There were several online programs and institutes which promised to have the answer. We were sucked in and for another few months we tried some different approaches. None seemed to be very effective. We had given up on the idea of having children and I just wanted my wife back. With every new promise was a disappointment. Unfortunately my wife was becoming frustrated with herself. We stopped spending time with friends and calling family. The thing most people do not understand is that it is not just your disappointment as a couple, but explaining to your friends and families that is devastating. I decided to continue my diligence with my research and found several dieticians and nutritionists who were publishing and focusing on PCOS. This is how we came to know Monika Woolsey. I did not even tell my wife about Monika at first. I did not want another false hope. Once I hung up the phone with Monika, I felt that she might be able to help. She did not promise results of pregnancy or a magic pill to fix everything. She said simply that every woman is different as is the approach. She continued to ask question after question. Throughout this entire rollercoaster I finally felt we found someone who is sincerely interested in helping us. We were not just another case. I did not know Monika’s intentions or if her ideas would work but we had a glimmer of hope. Monika surprised us a little when she wanted to visit our home. I did not understand but we agreed. When Monika arrived she was not what I expected she was “down to earth” and seemed very easy to talk with. She also was very knowledgeable about the disease process. I found her caring and very sensitive to what we have gone through. Though she was very nice I was not looking for a friend but a knowledgeable professional. I was put in my place very quickly after challenging her on a few topics. She had read all that I have and more. She has done her homework. She described this as a journey of trials and seeing what works because each woman is different and has different symptoms. Though our time was up she was truly invested and stayed an additional two hours. Till the time our questions were answered.
My wife started with fish oil and flaxseed oil in addition to a session of acupuncture. We also were educated on reading labels and identifying pure foods. I am in the medical field and did not put much stock in this approach. To put it mildly I was a skeptic. However after spending two months on the program my wife was getting back to her typical self and feeling much better. Some evenings we would call or e-mail Monika with questions. She was never to busy to take time for us. We were perfectly content with our changes. My wife’s moods were stabilizing and her menstruations were becoming more regular. Out of the blue we found out that we were pregnant. This was not expected or planned. Monika never promised or led us to believe that pregnancy would be the result. Her plan was simple. Make my wife feel better and regain control.
When Monika found out she was very happy for us but she did not seem to be surprised. She mentioned that this has happened with several couples that were told they would never have children. I can say that my wife will always have PCOS but at least we have the knowledge to control it. We had our beautiful daughter on July 21 2009. It was an amazing day. We have included a picture of Monika and our daughter Brianna. God gives us trials in life and we have had our fair share. In saying that I would not change a thing.
Just a few weeks ago, I was talking with my husband about the amount of money I spend buying healthy food every month. I often wonder why the foods that are the most damaging to our nutrition are so much less expensive than foods that protect and nourish our bodies in so many different beneficial ways. Then again, when I wander through specialty organic grocery stores, I wonder why some of the prices are so outrageous; however, every once in a while you stumble upon a food item that you just can’t resist trying, even if it more than you usually spend on good nutrition.
Since watching my weight is my third “full time job,” I’m always looking for foods to add to my list of staples, as well as adding some variety to my vegetable and protein intake. I’ve never been one to experiment with exotic foods, but in the last two months, I’ve found myself drawn to organic nut, seed, and coconut oil based products. With this new quest, I came across a wonderful product, Pistachio Pesto, made by Living Tree Community Foods. You’ve probably read on this very blog about the health benefits of pistachios, a powerful and protective nut that is a great addition to your diet. Check out the following link if you want to read up on the pistachio. http://www.incyst.com/2009/04/food-of-week-pistachio-nuts.html
While I’ve never been a fan of pesto, I couldn’t resist giving the Pistachio Pesto a try, particularly after reading the list of all organic ingredients, which includes sun-dried tomatoes, sun-dried black olives, raw sesame, and olive oil. So far I have tried the pesto on a high fiber cracker, which was delicious, and I’m sure I’ll experiment with this as a topping for vegetables very soon. If you would like more information on this product, you can visit http://www.livingtreecommunity.com/.
Stacey Frattinger, RD, CHFS Owner of Formula FUEL http://www.formulafitt.com/ Contact me @ formulafuel@hotmail.com
It's been a crazy month! I just returned from Oakland where I met with lactation consultants in the Kaiser Health system, hopefully strengthening the ties we have with this specialty important to PCOS. Many women with PCOS who finally conceive learn that their next challenge is successful breastfeeding. So we need to have strong communication between specialties to be sure each of us in your life at different times provides consistent and useful information. Yesterday was an excellent start in that direction.
Next week I am off to work with the Minnesota team, and we'll be brainstorming what can be done for women in their 'hoods.
Before I go, I will be doing my monthly Tempe Whole Foods inCYST class, please, if you are in Phoenix, Chandler, Gilbert, Ahwatukee, and have a couple of hours to spare, come attend! It's a whole lot more information than you're likely to get if you spend that copayment money on someone who has not been trained in your specific diagnosis.
At the end of the month, Ellen Reiss Goldfarb will be hosting her second inCYST Saturday Seminar. Her last one was wonderful and it really is a must-attend for any LA woman who wants the best, most practical information on PCOS.
All information on classes and events can be found at www.afterthediet.com/inCYST.htm
Oh! And the photo? It doesn't have a whole lot to do with PCOS, except maybe that I took a stress management break and visited the California Academy of Sciences with a good friend Sue and her husband Ernie. Sometimes when you think you've got more on your plate than you can handle…the absolute best thing you can do is step off the treadmill and do something completely different. It gives your brain a rest and an opportunity to derive a plan without your anxiety interfering with the process. That's what I did with my friends, just took a break and enjoyed learning about jellyfish and fish eating snakes and chameleons and albino alligators. The jellyfish were very mesmerizing and relaxing to watch, I decided they are kind of like nature's lava lamps.
The clarity that resulted from the time off will definitely benefit all of you. I hope you have opportunities to do the same when your PCOS seems like it's taken a life of its own. Things will get better!
It was bound to happen. Food manufacturers saw people like me hyping omega-3 fatty acids and people like you following advice…and they decided to do what they always do…put it into something chocolate and sweet. For more information on this omega-3 supplemented, chocolate-flavored infant formula, which by the way I DO NOT recommend or endorse, please visit Marion Nestle's blog.
And we wonder why our kids are fat. We teach them how to be every time we feed them!
Oh, and while I'm at it, I'm sharing my personal Top Ten List of Foods that should not be in your anti-inflammatory diet. If you ever see any of these, anywhere, remember that the likelihood that a cold front has passed through the devil's front yard is about 1,000 times greater than any of them actually helping your overall well-being.
If you're a fan of Gretchen Kubacky, PsyD, you know she's educational and great listening. If you're not, here's your opportunity to change that!
Dr. Gretchen's upcoming webinar contents and registration information include: --screening clients for PCOS and other health and endocrine disorders --physical and psychological presentations of PCOS --common comorbidities --how PCOS-prevalent hormones affect the brain and the development of mood disorders --why coordination of care is so critical --preferred treatment methods --what to expect during the course of treatment --psychotherapist self-care --additional resources
In addition to her psychology training, Gretchen lives with both PCOS and diabetes; her first hand experience helps bring a compassionate perspective to this challenging and often overlooked aspect of PCOS.
You may listen to this webinar separately, or register for the entire PCOS professional training. Information can be found either on our Facebook page, or at www.afterthediet.com/AftertheDietWorkshop.htm.
Nonprofessionals are more than welcome to participate!
I've been getting a lot of questions about juicing lately, so it's clearly a popular trend right now. I love the fact that juicing gets more vegetables into people who normally wouldn't get them. However, there are some important things to know about juicing if your intent is to use it for a healthier diet.
1. Juice contains calories! Ounce for ounce, juice and soda are similar calorie-wise. 8 ounces of either is about 120 calories. Some of the sweeter juices are even more calorically dense. Don't get caught up in the false assumption that because it's juice, it's lower in calories, or that unlimited quantities are permissible.
2. When you juice your vegetables, you remove the fiber. In researching this blog post, I learned that many juicer companies actually sell this point, claiming that without the fiber, the nutrients that are left are more easily absorbed. The fiber itself is an important nutrient! Especially if you're someone who has trouble regulating energy or blood glucose levels. If you're counting on your juice as your source of all of your vegetables, you could be cutting yourself short on fiber.
3. If carrots are what you're juicing, be aware that you can overdose on vitamin A. I've seen this actually happen, it's not just a myth. If the pads of your hands and feet start to get an orange-ish tinge, and you've recently fallen in love with juicing carrots, you might want to think about the connection. Be sure to vary your juice ingredients.
4. Spinach, another common vegetable to juice, eaten in high quantities, is high in oxalates. This compound can prevent the absorption of iron, calcium, and magnesium. It can also promote the development of kidney stones. Oxalates leach out of spinach when it is cooked, but if you're using the juicer for convenience, this extra step may not be useful. Other foods high in oxalates, in case you're using them in your juicer, include rhubarb, beets and sorrel.
5. Juice contains little to no protein. You may find that when you switch to a juice-heavy diet, your craving for sweets increases. What I recommend to people who ask about juicing, is to make a smaller amount of juice and blend it in with milk, yogurt, or protein powder. I actually like to use 1 cup of plain yogurt, a ripe banana, one other piece of a different fruit, plus a handful of veggies and some ground flaxseed. I always vary the fruit and the vegetable to be sure I don't overload on any one food. And I keep the fiber and protein in my breakfast.
If you make those simple adjustments, the possibilities and combinations are endless. Enjoy!
If you've ever troubled yourself over these issues as you try to eat more healthfully, take a half hour and listen to today's radio interview with Lesli Koskela, RD, LD, registered dietitian and certified Wellcoach. Lesli is also a licensed facilitator for a group called"Am I Hungry?" (inCYST's only such qualified member), that she conducts in the northwest Chicago suburbs. She shared a lot of information about how the kind of work she does can help you to tease apart the differences, and what to do to address each. Many women with PCOS struggle with this and their hormone imbalances can make it challenging to figure out how to start putting the pieces together in a cohesive and doable fashion. That is what Lesli loves to do!
If you like what Lesli has to say, she is also available to work with via phone or Internet.
Check out her website at http://www.harmonicnutrition.com/!
If you've ever dieted, and you have trouble sleeping…there may be a reason. Keep in mind, this study was done on rainbow trout, but there is still a message in it for humans. Three groups of trout were studied with regard to their melatonin (sleep hormone/antioxidant) levels and cortisol (stress hormone) levels. The three groups were defined as fed fish, fish that were fasted for 7 days, and fish that were fasted for 7 days then refed for 5 days.
Melatonin levels were disrupted in fasted fish. If you were human, this would likely mean if you were on a strict fasting/dieting protocol, you were probably having trouble sleeping as well.
Interestingly, nighttime serotonin levels were higher in these fasted fish. Melatonin is made from serotonin, so I would presume that what the body tries to do when you're not eating well is to keep you alert and thinking about getting some food. It does that by hanging on to serotonin and preventing its conversion into melatonin. That's a survival mechanism.
So if you're dieting and you're awake at night with cravings? That's a normal response. Don't obsess about what's wrong with you, don't surf the Internet looking for what to do about your cravings. In this kind of situation, you're thinking about food because you need it. Get some.
As far as cortisol, dieting reduced levels and they stayed low after refeeding. You could argue that this is a benefit of dieting…except for the fact that if you're cutting yourself short on melatonin, you're aging yourself more quickly than you should. There are plenyy of ways to reduce melatonin levels without dieting that don't cut your life short on the back end.
By the way, since I write so much about sleep I thought I should mention…I love naps. The long afternoon kind where my cats curl up with me, and I wake up with a little bit of drool on my pillow. I don't feel guilty at all. I completely buy into the idea of"beauty sleep"--sooooo much cheaper than all those anti-aging potions on the infomercials!
Ceinos RM, Polakof S, Illamola AR, Soengas JL, Míguez JM. Food deprivation and refeeding effects on pineal indoles metabolism and melatonin synthesis in the rainbow trout Oncorhynchus mykiss. Gen Comp Endocrinol. 2008 Apr;156(2):410-7. Epub 2008 Jan 8.
Last night, I came across a post by Kate Harding* on her Shapely Prose blog that made me stop and really think for a bit about my own hard-wired reactions to compliments from people. Once in a while, I see, read, or hear something that makes a lasting impact and changes the way I live my life, moving forward from that point. Reading Kate's blog last night had that kind of impact on the way I accept a compliment from now on.
In the blog post in question, here, Kate points out how rarely we accept a compliment and just say,"Yeah, I'm pretty awesome." or"I worked hard for that!" or"I'm good at it!" or simply,"Thank you! I agree!"
We always find a way to downplay ourselves, saying how someone else is better, or how we could have done better, or how the person giving the compliment is crazy. But we never really take credit for whatever it is that the compliment is given. She makes a really good point about how we are programmed to think that if a woman acknowledges she is good at something, she is self-centered, egotistical, narcissistic, etc. Even if we just told her how great she is at xyz! If she says,"I know! Thanks!" Our gut reaction is commonly to think,"Wow, what a self-absorbed b*tch! Who does she think she is?!" And think about it. How many times have you received a compliment, where you know the person giving it is totally right. You gave a great presentation, you baked a phenomenal batch of oatmeal cookies, you sang an amazing rendition of Black Velvet at karaoke — whatever. And you knew it. Instead you guarded yourself and deflected the compliment so they wouldn't think you were stuck up. Right? Right? I know you did.
We're just used to that. Or maybe it's me. But I have a feeling it's not just me.
The comments from readers are priceless, and really take this from being just another blog post, to a great big celebration of our collective awesomeness. She encouraged her readers to post why they rock, and every time I finished reading a comment, I thought,"HECK YEAH!" I went in there and added a comment myself — and could have kept going!
I encourage every woman reading this blog post to read that blog post. And even if you don't add to the comments, take some time to think about all the things you're great at, all the things you've worked hard to accomplish, all the big and small things you dominate every day, all the things you know you totally own. And then go ahead and from today, going forward, give yourself permission to unapologetically take full credit for it and tell yourself out loud how awesome you are.
* Kate Harding is the co-author of Lessons from the Fat-O-Sphere: Quit Dieting and Declare a Truce with Your Body (with Marian Kirby who blogs at The Rotund). She is also a contributor on Salon.com's Broadsheet. Her writing mostly covers size acceptance and feminist issues with other things here and there.
