My mother buys this stuff by the bushel, and I’ve eaten one from time to time, but my husband says they taste “chemical-y.” I have told my mother it’s not real food, but so far I’ve had nothing to back that up with, just a hunch. So this week, in honor of my mother, we’re going to look at the ingredients in this yogurt. I have taken the ingredients straight from their site.

Nonfat milk. Milk that has less than 0.5 percent milk fat.”Fresh milk is received directly from local dairy farms.” Ah, I can see it now, the young milk maidens milking the cows and running it over to the Dannon plant. So idyllic. Dannon said in February 2009 that they would be going Recombinant Bovine Growth Hormone (rBGH) free, but I can’t find any evidence that they have actually done this.

This synthetic hormone—approved by the FDA in 1993—is used to increase milk production in dairy cows. It has been banned in Japan, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and the European Union. According to Wikipedia, “the United States is the only developed nation to permit humans to drink milk from cows given artificial growth hormone.” (I have an email in to Dannon asking when they went rbGH free, if indeed they have. For now, I’m going to just say that they may or may not have rbGH.) The FDA does not require special labels for dairy from cows given rBGH.

There are companies who say that they don’t use milk from cows treated with rbGH, but the only way to know for sure is to find a local farm where you can see how the animals are treated. Since most of us can’t do that, here is a page that has links to lists of national rbGH-free dairy producers from Food and Water Watch, a “non profit organization that advocates for common sense policies that will result in healthy, safe food and access to safe and affordable drinking water.”

Fruit/Flavors. “Fruit, natural and artificial flavors can be added to some of our yogurts.” Ah, the natural and artificial flavors again. It seems that pretty much every processed food has these. I don’t know which ones specifically are in each Light & Fit, but you can check out what some of them are in the post I did last week about Candy Corn. In general, this means that the flavors are probably not natural in the way any of us think of “natural.” Also, artificial colors are rumored to affect children in the area of hyperactivity, and some of them can cause allergic reactions in asthmatics or people allergic to aspirin.

Yogurt Cultures

Live and Active Yogurt Cultures. “Lactobacillus bulgaricus and Streptococcus thermophilus are added to the milk. In addition, some DANNON cup yogurts contain a third culture called Lactobacillus acidophilus. These cultures are carefully cultivated in DANNON laboratories by expert yogurt technologists.” This kind of scares me and makes me laugh at the same time. I’m not sure what this means either.

“Besides milk, fruit and live and active cultures, some DANNON yogurt varieties may contain other ingredients that enhance the flavor, texture and appearance of the finished product.”

I personally think plain yogurt tastes good and doesn’t need any “other ingredients” to make it look, feel and taste better. It’s also interesting that in this ingredient round up, they don’t mention the natural and artificial flavors again.

Other Ingredients

Cornstarch. “A natural starch extracted from corn, cornstarch helps give body and texture to yogurt. The Food and Drug Administration has deemed modified cornstarch as a Generally Recognized As Safe (GRAS) ingredient, meaning that it can be safely added to foods under current good manufacturing practices.”

Gluten. “The natural system for stabilizing flavor might contain ingredients derived from gluten sources.” Hmmm. Why doesn’t the yogurt *I* buy have gluten in it then if it’s so natural?

Aspartame. “A low-calorie sweetener, aspartame is made of two naturally occurring amino acids: aspartic acid and phenylalanine. Approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in 1981, aspartame has been determined safe for the general population, as well as for people with diabetes.” See my Diet Coke post for more about aspartame.

Fructose. “A simple sugar derived from fruit, fructose is added to several DANNON products for a natural-tasting sweetness.” “Natural tasting.” This can also be made in a laboratory, so I’m not sure if the wording is clear. Is it the kind that is derived from fruit or the kind that is man made? Not sure.

Pectin. “A fiber derived naturally from fruit, pectin helps thicken the yogurt and create the desired consistency and texture. Some DANNON yogurt varieties may contain a small amount of a pectin blend made from citrus fruits including lemons, limes, oranges and grapefruit.”

Gelatin. “Some of our products contain gelatin to give them the desired consistency and texture.” “Desired consistency.” Again, I like the yogurt I buy and it has NO gelatin in it. Why does Dannon’s yogurt need gelatin? Check out more about gelatin in my Candy Corn post.

Mineral Compound. “Calcium, potassium and sodium phosphate are mineral compounds that are present naturally in milk. These minerals can be added to our products for specific functions that improve quality.”

Now, not to make this longer, but I am looking at the ingredients of my plain Stonyfield nonfat yogurt in my fridge right now and these are the ingredients: Cultured pasteurized organic nonfat milk, pectin, vitamin D, 6 live active cultures. Four ingredients.Of course, this is PLAIN yogurt, and Stonyfield does need to “color” their flavored yogurt, but they use beets and strawberries to do so, not food coloring. They DO use “natural” flavors, which I’m curious about. Are they really natural? At any rate, it’s best just to buy plain yogurt and add what you want to so that you KNOW what you’re eating.

Lots to think about. If you have any reaction, input, information, please leave a comment. I think this is really important to talk about and be informed about what we’re eating!

Another yogurt that doesn’t use rbGH is Brown Cow. Do you know of any other brands? Please comment so I can add the brand to a list I’ll be putting together for a future post. Thanks!!

We’ve moved! Check out Middle-Aged Jock at www.middleagedjock.com!

Goals from Last Week
Sugar. I did pretty well with the whole sugar thing, but this weekend I had ginger ale (and WHISKEY!) and all of that chocolate. I’m still committed though and back on that wagon. I am not sure how I’ll do it though. Do I allow myself a sugary treat on the weekend. It seems like if I knew I could have chocolate on Saturdays, I wouldn’t have gobbled down so many bars yesterday. I knew I wouldn’t have any after that, so I went nuts.

Working out 2 mornings a week. I don’t want to use the word “failed” so let’s just say this didn’t work out. This week should be better.

Zumba. I did this! It was good! I felt very silly, but it was a decent workout and I didn’t feel like I was exercising, just dancing. I laughed a lot too, and that’s always a good thing! I’m signing up to do 2 classes a week with the friend I did it with. SUCCESS!

Bike Trainer. I have one for free, but I have to drive to my sister-in-law’s four hours away to get it! I really can’t wait to get this and will set something up to watch videos while I ride. Want to try to get 1 hour 5 days a week in. Maybe I’ll have her mail it and pay for shipping. Not sure.

Goals for This Week

• Meal Plan for 2 days. Starting small here.
• Go to Zumba. 2X with my friend.
• Go to Gym. 2X with my friend. Cycling and weights maybe.
• Do Personal Training With Jackie: Xtreme Timesaver Training 2X.
• Finish Watching Pete Cohen vids!!
• Find a mountain biking trail
• Bring bike for tune up.

I’m really enjoying writing the “What’s In It? Wednesday” posts, and I’ll be doing those weekly. This feature is also going to be syndicated on Fitblogger beginning November 17! Very excited about that. Check out the posts I’ve done so far on Diet Coke and Candy Corn. I’m taking suggestions as well.

Sista of the Week!
Congrats to Lorrie (@CuteAngel79) for Sista of the Week!! You are always there for a pat on the back and some nice convo, and you have stuck it out through good and bad. You deserve it!

Commenter of the Week
Well, we chose this person last week before leadership chose Sista of the Week. She really deserves it and we didn’t want to delay any longer. She has won a 20-minute session with the wonderful Pete Cohen (@pete_cohen)! Lorrie (@CuteAngel79), you deserve both awards this week! You consistently leave thoughtful comments and a lot of them! Congrats!

Giveaway of MizFitOnline Tee or Tank!
The giveaway ends on Friday. Check it out! Enter! Spread the news! Check out the giveaway here.

Stuff I’ve Won!
$30 Amazon card from Mom Most Traveled
$25 Subway card from Mamavation
Bondi Band from Simply Fitting Into Life and My Old Jeans
A Case of Chobani Yogurt from 263 and Counting
$25 Target Gift Card from Frugal Femina! Thanks to those of you who referred to me!

I’m having tons of fun entering contests, so please excuse all of the tweets. I’m obsessed with winning! : )

Mamavation TV
This week, we are sponsored by Subway! Jared. the Subway spokesman, is running the New York City Marathon this weekend, and I’ll be watching him and Meb, last year’s winner battle the fastest marathoner in the world, Haile Gebrselassie of Ethiopia. Here’s a schedule listing if you want to watch! Subway is giving away a prize this week and I’d love the Michael Phelps, er, package. I mean the swim cap and goggles!

Speaking of Subway, check out my Commit to Fit posts from October:

• Commit to Fit Friday, October 23, 2010—What’s your go-to Subway sandwich?
• Commit to Fit Friday, October 15, 2010—What is your ultimate music playlist?
• Commit to Fit Friday, October 8, 2010—What does Commit to Fit mean to you?

Check out Lisa’s blog at 50in8 and Rachel’s blog at Following in My Shoes for more information about the Subway Commit to Fit campaign.

I’ll be posting a race wrap up on Fitblogger to be published on Monday!

Go, Meb!!

Candy Corn

This week’s Halloween edition of “What’s In It? Wednesday” is brought to you by Partially Hydrogenated Soybean Oil! Corn Syrup! AND! Artificial Flavor! Yippee!

Hey, I don’t want to be a downer, but I AM interested in what our kids are eating on Halloween. I’m not going to deprive my little boy of his milkfat and soy lecithin, don’t you worry your pretty little head about that.

This post was going to be about several Halloween candies, but as I started looking, I found one candy that sounds worse than the others. Unfortunately, it’s not Snickers, which is my favorite (though Snickers is pretty bad, and it has TONS of sugar and fat).

It’s CANDY CORN! Sounds so harmless, doesn’t it?

Ingredients
The ingredients in candy corn can be some or all of the following: Sugar, Corn Syrup, Soy Protein, Gelatin, Confectioner’s Glaze, Natural and Artificial Flavors, Salt, Dextrose, Titanium Dioxide Color, Artificial Colors, (FDC Yellow 6 Lake, Red #40, Red 40 Lake, Yellow #5, Yellow #6, Blue 1 Lake, Blue #1, Yellow 5 Lake), Egg Whites, Honey Glycerin, Mineral Oil, Carnauba Wax

OK, there doesn’t seem to be one redeeming ingredient. MAYBE egg whites, but we’ll see if those are processed. We’ll probably never know what the Natural and Artificial Flavors consist of, and the first two ingredients are sugar. Yes, I know it’s Halloween candy, but does anyone really like this stuff enough to eat it after knowing what is in it? If you’re still not convinced, here is a more in-depth explanation of each ingredient.

Sugar. Each serving of Candy Corn (about 20 pieces) has about 28 grams of sugar, slightly less than a Hershey chocolate bar. The general rule is that you don’t want to eat anything that has sugar as its first ingredient. Of course, yes, it’s Halloween and this isn’t the worst ingredient in Candy Corn by far.

Corn Syrup. This is a huge topic, so I’m not going to go into it here, but if you’re interested in how Corn Syrup is made, check it out here. Lots of photos too. Also, to learn about how corn is in just about everything we eat, I highly recommend the book Fast Food Nation: The Dark Side of the All-American Meal. I haven’t seen the movie King Corn yet, but it’s all about corn and agriculture in the U.S. as well. Worth checking out.

Soy Protein. Soy protein is used for emulsification and texturizing. You can read more about it here.

Gelatin. A translucent, colorless, brittle (when dry), nearly tasteless solid substance, derived from the collagen inside animals’ skin and bones. This is used as a gelling agent. Not purely vegetarian/vegan.

Confectioner’s Glaze. This is a really nice name for “wax-free shellac” or “food-grade lacquer.” Is it necessary for the taste of the candy corn? Nope. It’s for visual effect! This is from Wikipedia:

Desert lac insect from http://www.sasionline.org/arthzoo/deslac.htm

Pharmaceutical glaze is an alcohol-based solution of various types of food grade shellac. When used in food and confections, it is also known as confectioner’s glaze, resinous glaze, pure food glaze and natural glaze. It is also known colloquially in the manufacturing world as beetle juice due to shellac’s derivation from the lac insect Kerria lacca (which is not a beetle, but a scale insect).

Depending upon how hardcore you are, this is not strictly a vegetarian/vegan option. This ingredient is in other items such as pills, sprinkles and jelly beans. If that’s not enough of a turn off, check out this site’s description of how the lac insects are cultivated. Ew.

Natural and Artificial Flavors – this pretty much means that all of the flavors could be artificial in the way that most people think of artificial. It could mean that there are actually some natural flavors as far as what most people think “natural” means, and most likely there are some flavors made by man-made chemicals. You can read a little more about “Natural” flavors in my Diet Coke post.

Salt. Each serving of candy corn (20 pieces) has somewhere between 70 and 135 grams of salt. Not sure how many of these things people can stomach. Do you eat more than 20 of these sugary wax candies at a time?

Artificial Colors, (FDC Yellow 6 Lake, Red #40, Red 40 Lake, Yellow #5, Yellow #6, Blue 1 Lake, Blue #1, Yellow 5 Lake) - I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, we shouldn’t have to have science degrees to understand the ingredients in our food.

Why do artificial food colors have numbers? The FDA gives these numbers to synthetic food dyes that to not occur naturally. If I could understand “Lakes” I would explain them to you. Instead, I’m going to send you to Wiki to read the page about Food Coloring. If you figure it out, please leave a comment. You’ll be the smartest person I know.

FDC Yellow #6 Lake and Yellow #6. “A synthetic yellow azo dye, manufactured from aromatic hydrocarbons from petroleum. Although there are reports that it can induce an allergic reaction, this is not confirmed by scientific research.” (From Wikipedia) It also might be linked to hyperactivity in young children.

Red #40 and Red #40 Lake. In Europe, these colors are not recommended for children and they are banned in 5 European countries. This is also one of the colorants that is suspected to increase hyperactivity or restlessness in small children. It was originally manufactured from coal tar but is now mostly made from petroleum.

Yellow #5 and Yellow #5 Lake. A synthetic lemon yellow azo dye. This colorant is the most widely used across the world and appears to cause the most allergic and intolerance reactions of all the azo dyes, particularly among asthmatics and those with an aspirin intolerance. You can read more about the allergic reactions here.

Blue #1 and Blue #1 Lake. A synthetic dye produced using aromatic hydrocarbons from petroleum. According to its very own Wiki page, “The dye is poorly absorbed from the gastro-intestinal tract and 95% of the ingested dye can be found in the feces.” Gross. This is another one that can affect people with asthma. Here is more information on this colorant.

Egg Whites. This ingredient seems somewhat harmless. The egg whites are most likely dried, so I don’t know what that process is like, but in Candy Corn, these are the least of our worries!

Honey Glycerin. Most of the information I found about Honey Glycerin is that it’s used in soaps, shampoos, body scrubs. I wasn’t able to find this as an edible ingredient in a quick look on Google. Anybody? Bueller? I think it is a byproduct of honey in some way, but not sure on that.

Mineral Oil. a liquid by-product of the distillation of petroleum to produce gasoline and other petroleum based products from crude oil. Just sounds bad, doesn’t it? Apparently, it’s edible!

Carnauba Tree

Carnauba Wax. A wax of the leaves of the palm, Copernicia prunifera. It is used as a formulation aid, lubricant, release agent, anticaking agent, and surface finishing agent. (Wikipedia)

Dextrose. A form of glucose that occurs in nature. This is another product that can also be produced commercially with, take a guess…yes! Corn!

Are You Still Into Candy Corn?
So if after knowing all of that you still want to eat Candy Corn, you must really love that stuff! You do know if I were Oprah, I’d be sued right now, but since only about 10 people read my blog, that ain’t gonna happen. Though, it would get me a lot of hits!

Alternatives?
I am probably never going to eat Candy Corn again because I don’t really like it in the first place. This has kind of put me over that edge. There do seem to be some good Halloween candy alternatives, but you really have to look at the ingredients closely. Good luck!

Don’t forget to check out the What’s In It? Wednesday—Diet Coke post!

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

We’ve moved! Check out Middle-Aged Jock at www.middleagedjock.com!

$30 Amazon card from Mom Most Traveled
$25 Subway card from Mamavation
Bondi Band from Simply Fitting Into Life and My Old Jeans
A Case of Chobani Yogurt from 263 and Counting (@Tidbits_of_Tara)

Yes, I said I was going to see how much I could save for Christmas shopping, but I’ve already used some of the Amazon card to buy the following:

Jackie Warner Xtreme

I have heard that Personal Training With Jackie: Xtreme Timesaver Training is a killer and that I will be very sore. Bring it on, abs woman!! Bring it ON!!

The other thing I bought was recommended by Kia (@bodhi_bear) from Bodhi Bear. It’s a dessert cookbook called Sweet!: From Agave to Turbinado, Home Baking with Every Kind of Natural Sugar and Sweetener

Since I’m doing the no-sugar thing, I need want to know how to bake yummy stuff without sugar. I need my pumpkin pie for Thanksgiving!!

Want to Help Me Win a $25 Target Gift Certificate?
You can enter to win a $50 Target gc AND tell them I sent you so I can get the $25 gc! Win-win! Go here and enter. Please? Giveaway ends in 2 days!

Other Giveaways I’ve Entered this Week

Flip Ultra HD

Flip Ultra HD

Would love this because the one we had was stolen. I’d love to have more videos of my son!

Tosca Reno Your Best Body Now

Tosca Reno Your Best Body Now

Tosca is a whole foodie and I will probably buy this book if I don’t win!! You can go HERE
to check the book out if you’re interested. Check out the giveaway here.

Steph’s Bondi Band Giveaway!

Pain is inevitable, misery is optional

I want one! You can enter too!

Don’t forget to enter my @MizFitOnline tank or tee giveaway. Also the Kodak gift certificate giveaway ends this week!! Enter here.

• I have not eaten sugar since Friday! In solidarity with the Mamavation Moms, Rachel (@rachelsteffen) and Shelley (@Momma_oz), I will be sugar free until early December. Yes, I will be sugar free through Halloween AND Thanksgiving!! Madness, I tell you!
• I have made plans to workout with a friend two mornings a week, starting tomorrow. I feel good about having a workout partner on these days because it will help me stay accountable and drag my ass out of bed at 6 AM on Mondays and Thursdays!
• I’m also going to try Zumba with my neighbor. I doubt I’m coordinated enough, but I’ll try anything once!
• I was going to buy a Wii, but have decided that I will buy a bike trainer for my bike, the kind you can hook up on your regular bike to ride it as a stationary bike inside. I need to ride and I want to keep my waist whittled down.

I am not going to focus on what I haven’t done this week. I beat myself up enough during the week and feel like what is the point of “telling on” myself. Here’s what I’m planning for this week:

• I am going to attempt to meal plan for at least 5 days this week. I’m hoping my fit friends—Shelley (@Momma_oz), Gail (@its_gail) and Laila (@OnlyLaila)—will maybe join me in this? Let’s exchange our plans with each other and maybe we’ll all get some new ideas.
• I will meet my friend for workouts 2 mornings this week.
• I will continue to eat sugar free.
• I will try the Zumba class with my neighbor.
• I will bring my mountain bike in to be tuned up at the bike shop so I can use it with the new trainer, which I will either order online or buy somewhere this week.
• Finish watching the Pete Cohen TV videos and get my 21-day groove on.
• Find a trail to mountain bike on!!

I NEED exercise in order not to be a total bitch and miserable inside my own skin. I just need to do it. Thanks again to Leah (@bookieboo) for reminding me of this. Her video about exercise is both for those of us who hate exercise and those of us who love it. (I love it, for the record and desperately need to get back to it.)

Sista of the Week
Congratulations to April (@GAFlygirl) for Sister of the Week! She is kicking exercise butt! Very proud of her!

Mamavation TV
This week I really really want the Mamavation TV prize, which is sponsored by Subway, a $50 LuluLemon gift certificate, a green Gaiam gym bag & yoga mat! Lululemon and Gaiam have really cute, high-quality exercise gear, but it’s pretty expensive, so I’d be happy to be able to buy something from them! The giveaway is part of Subway’s new campaign called Commit to Fit. Jared from Subway is recommitting to fitness by running the NY Marathon this year! I’ll so be watching to see how he and Meb, the winner from last year do! The guy Meb is up against is the fastest marathoner in the WORLD!!!

While I’ve Got You Here!
Check out my giveaways posts so you can see what I’ve entered to win and what you can also enter, and remember that you can win Commenter of the Week each week for commenting on your Sista’s posts. You don’t have to comment on all of them, but just leave comments that are meaningful in some way. This isn’t to say that the “way to goes” are not appreciated too!

Speaking of Commenter of the Week, I am very very happy to announce that this week’s commenter of the week, and winner of a 20-minute session with the wonderful Pete Cohen is………Kia (@bodhi_bear) from BodhiBear. Kia’s comments are always very helpful, sweet and she clearly cares. Congrat, Kia!!

And, in case you didn’t know, I am giving away a “I am my own superhero” t-shirt from MizFitOnline.com. Here’s a picture. She told me this is the one and only time she is giving one away! I’m so honored!

Carla aka MizFitOnline

Lastly, if you have any foods that you’d like for me to feature in my “What’s In It? Wednesdays post, I’m taking suggestions! My Diet Coke post got the most hits ever on my site! Pretty cool.

What is your GO TO sammie when you visit Subway?

Well, my go to is the Veggie Delight, which consists of whole wheat bread, cheese (yes, I get the cheese), lettuce, tomato, pickles, olives, spinach and oil and vinegar. With the cheese, it’s a little more fattening and processed, and I think I will stop getting it with cheese now that I think of it! I do get a 6″ sub which is pretty satisfying. Occasionally I’ll get some baked chips as well. I’ve found the least processed chips (yes, still processed) are the Baked Tostitos. They are not super high in calories and only have about four ingredients.

Compared to some of the incredibly long lists for other baked chips, these are a good alternative.

Veggie Delight
Calories: 230
Fat: 2.5 grams
Sodium: 400 grams of sodium.

This is without the cheese. Add the cheese and you add 100 calories, more fat and pretty much “cheese food.”

Since we’re talking about Subway sandwiches, I should tell you that they are not all healthy and certainly become less healthy if you eat a foot-long sandwich as far as calories and bread consumed. The worst offenders are:

6″ meatball marinara
Calories: 580
Fat: 23 grams
Sodium: 1530 grams (nearly a full day’s recommended sodium intake)

6″ Chicken and Bacon Ranch
Calories: 570
Fat: 28 grams
Sodium: 1190 grams

6″ Tuna
Calories: 530
Fat: 30 grams
Sodium: 930 grams

6″ Feast
Calories: 550
Fat: 23 grams
Sodium: 2610 grams (this is more than the daily recommendation for sodium!)

You can look at Subway’s site for more information on the healthiest and most unhealthy sandwiches. They list eight lower calorie/fat sandwiches at the top of the page.

Practicing My Superhero Moves!!

Constantly Learning
Wow, the past week and a half has been enough to show me that if I don’t exercise, I kind of fall into a deep hole (I’ve fallen into a deep hole and I can’t get up!) of just sitting all day at my computer feeling achy, depressed, irritable and antsy. It all started when my knee started hurting from running. I did have to take a break from running, but I didn’t have to take a break from ALL exercise. I didn’t have to stop watching my food intake either, but I’ve done that to a certain extent too.

Enough beating myself up. I need to start doing some positive self talk! I loved Stephanie Hamm’s (@fitmomintraining) post “Flexing Your Mental Mamaguns” about how we tend to talk about ourselves in negative ways and how that really is a recipe for failure. You can check out her post to find out some strategies to STOP! I have to go read it again and again because the negative self doubt is there full force right now. (See Pete Cohen’s video about shutting the duck up here. I would like to give the duck a karate chop to the beak!)

Something within me—or perhaps a combination of knowing exercise will make me feel better and the contact I have daily with people on the healthy and fit track—is urging my brain to listen to my body and GET OUT THERE AND MOVE. One of the people I feel quite inspired by is Carla (@MizFitOnline) from MizFitOnline.com. She is fit, healthy both mentally and physically, has great arms and is a great role model for what I’d like to be physically. It’s not just her body, it’s also her philosophy on clean eating, her drive and her sense of humor. You should definitely check her out if you haven’t already.

Here’s Carla wearing one of her tanks! She is hot!

MizFit

She also has tees that say “I Love Myself” and “Unapologetically Myself.” I want to have that attitude again, just need to get there. I’m going to get outside later today even if it is for a 30-minute walk, then, once I get all of your comments, I’m going to buy myself one of these tees as part of my positive self talk campaign!

Mizfit's I Heart Myself Tee

But YOU don’t have to buy a shirt! You can win one! I’m so excited to announce that I will be giving away a MizFitOnline “I am my own superhero” t-shirt on my blog! This motto really hit me because I think a lot of us have looked outward for someone to save us or tell us how to live our lives and when you get to the point where you realize your own power, you want to shout it out to the world (from the stern of a cruise boat that’s about to crash into a huge iceberg)! It kicks ass too. I will get back to that place.

I will be giving away a t-shirt or tank top, kindly donated by @MizFitOnline!! I’m so excited because I love her blog and the message she sends.

ENTER!

Mandatory entries

1. Follow @middleagedjock on Twitter, and come back here and tell me you did. Or if you already follow me, just leave a comment saying that.
2. Who is your hero? Leave a comment about your superhero. It can be yourself too!

Extra Entries

(Please LEAVE COMMENTS FOR EACH ENTRY. For instance,  if the task is for 3 entries, please leave 3 separate comments)

1. Follow @mizfitonline on Twitter. (1 entry)
2. Subscribe to Middle-Aged Jock via email on the sidebar. (3 entries)
3. Tweet this: “I am my own superhero and I want @MizFitOnline’s tee to tell the world! I entered giveaway! http://tinyurl.com/3287yt7″ (1 entry) Please leave a link to your tweet. You can tweet once a day for extra entries. Make sure you leave a comment each time.
4. Leave a comment telling me why you love yourself! I’ll respond to these comments with why I love YOU. Even if I don’t know you, I’ll find something to love. Don’t be afraid! (1 entry)
5. Go to @MizFitOnline’s store and tell me which is your favorite t-shirt or tank top! (1 entry)
6. Check out Stephanie’s blog post on Flexing Your Mental Mamaguns and leave a comment. (3 entries)
7. Go to this contest and tell them Greta from MiddleAgedJock sent you. You also will be entered to win a different giveaway! (2 entries)
8. Tell me which t-shirt or tank you think I should buy from MizFitOnline’s store. I will buy the one that gets the most votes! (2 entries)
9. Enter the Kodak Gallery Photo Book $50 Gift Certificate Giveaway on Bookieboo! (3 entries)

Good luck!!!

Tees and tanks come in women’s (S-XXL), men’s (S-XXL) and children’s sizes (XS-L)!

Contest ends on November 5th at 9 PM EST. The winner will be picked via random.org and I will post winner by October 31st at 12 noon EST.

I have always loved my Diet Coke. I love it with pizza, with french fries, with Indian food, but my friend ruined it for me when she said, “You’re drinking chemicals!” Since then, I haven’t enjoyed it quite as much. I still drink it, but just not very often. So here are the ingredients of Diet Coke’s U.S. version and what they are.

The first definition is from Coca-Cola’s website, and the italicized part is based on further online research that I have done or my own opinion. Just an aside, if you need to have an ingredients glossary as Coca-Cola does, it might be a really good clue not to drink their products.

Carbonated Water: “Also known as soda water, sparkling water, or seltzer, is water with carbon dioxide bubbles added to provide fun and refreshment.”

According to dictionary.com, carbonated water is an “effervescent beverage artificially charged with carbon dioxide.” I remember hearing that carbonation was bad for your bones, but I can’t find any scientific studies proving this. There was a Tuft’s University study that showed that it might be caffeine in soda that causes bone density issues, not the carbonation.

YUM YUM YUM!

Caramel Color: “Made by a process involving the heating of corn or cane sugar and other carbohydrates to achieve the desired color.

Ah caramel, makes me think of Halloween, so comforting and able to remove fillings. This seemingly harmful ingredient was actually found by The Journal of the American Medical Association to raise blood pressure, even more so than caffeine! This can apparently lead to hypertension. There are some people that believe that since caramel is made by burning sugar, it is a carcinogen, but I haven’t been able to find anything on this on a site that looks professional. Caramel coloring is used in many food products.

Aspartame

Aspartame: “A low-calorie sweetener made primarily of two amino acids; aspartic acid and phenylalanine. Aspartame has been shown to be safe for everyone, including children and pregnant women. When used in foods and beverages a warning on the labels is provided to people who can’t metabolize aspartame: PHENYLKETONURICS: CONTAINS PHENYLALANINE. For more information about low-calorie sweeteners, visit http://www.thebeverageinstitute.org/booklets/files/low-calorie-sweeteners.pdf“

The way aspartame (also known as NutraSweet) is made is so complex that I don’t even understand it (I got an F in chemistry), but you can go to Wikipedia to see how it’s made. Although there were some concerns about aspartame causing brain cancer in lab rats, this seems to have been dismissed. According to Wikipedia, it has been approved in 90 countries. Aspartame is still dangerous for people why can’t metabolize it (people with PKU). My thinking is that if you’re going to add sweetener to coffee or tea, just add sugar. It occurs naturally, which makes me trust it more.

Phosphoric Acid: Used in certain soft drinks, including Coca-Cola, to add tartness to the beverage. Phosphoric acid contains phosphorus, one of the basic elements of nature and an essential nutrient. Phosphorus is a major component of bones. For more information about bone health, see http://www.thebeverageinstitute.org/healthcare_professionals/bone_health_qa.shtml

Phosphoric acid is a mineral that is used for teeth etching, rust removal and flux, and yet it is not proven to be harmful for consumption. Again, I’m not a science type, so if you want to know the make up of this substance, check out the Wiki page.

Potassium Benzoate (“to protect taste”): “Used as a preservative and to protect taste.”

According to the FDA’s website, Benzene is a carcinogen that can cause cancer in humans. They say, “In November 2005, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) received private laboratory results reporting low levels of benzene in a small number of soft drinks that contained benzoate salts (an antimicrobial) and ascorbic acid (vitamin C)…Benzene is a carcinogen and has caused cancer in workers exposed to high levels from workplace air…The vast majority of beverages sampled to date (including those containing both benzoate preservative and ascorbic acid) contain either no detectable benzene or levels below the 5 ppb EPA MCL for drinking water.” Kinda unsettling. You can read more about it on the FDA site.

“Natural” Flavors: “Derived from the essential oils or extracts of spices, fruits, vegetables and herbs.”

Here is the Code of Federal Regulation’s Title 21, Volume 2 from 2002, where the definition of “natural flavoring follows:

“(3) The term natural flavor or natural flavoring means the essential oil, oleoresin, essence or extractive, protein hydrolysate, distillate, or any product of roasting, heating or enzymolysis, which contains the flavoring constituents derived from a spice, fruit or fruit juice, vegetable or vegetable juice, edible yeast, herb, bark, bud, root, leaf or similar plant material, meat, seafood, poultry, eggs, dairy products, or fermentation products thereof, whose significant function in food is flavoring rather than nutritional. Natural flavors include the natural essence or extractives obtained from plants listed in Secs. 182.10, 182.20, 182.40, and 182.50 and part 184 of this chapter, and the substances listed in Sec. 172.510 of this chapter.”

Once you’ve deciphered what that all means, you can see the definitions for other food labeling terms. It makes my head spin and makes me want to eat only fruits and veggies I find at the local farm where I can watch how they grow their food! At any rate, not sure WHAT the natural flavoring in Diet Coke is made out of since they don’t have to TELL us. Now I’m mad!

Citric Acid: “Citric acid is the most widely used organic acid in the food industry and has been used for more than 100 years. It is a compound that is found in animals and plants. Citric acid can be produced from different plant sources, including corn. It is also commonly found in citrus fruits such as lemon, orange, and grapefruit, which is why it is named “citric acid”. Citric acid is used in beverages to provide tartness.”

From Dictionary.com: a white, crystalline, water-soluble powder, C 6 H 8 O 7 ⋅H 2 O, a tribasic acid having a strong acidic taste, an intermediate in the metabolism of carbohydrates occurring in many fruits, esp. limes and lemons, obtained chiefly by fermentation of crude sugar or corn sugar: used chiefly in the flavoring of beverages, confections, and pharmaceuticals. So does this mean it’s naturally occurring or man-made or both?

Caffeine: Comes from the leaves, seeds, or fruits of more than 60 plants. It is found in beverages and foods, such as coffee, tea, colas, and chocolate. Caffeine can also be man-made.

Wow! According to Wiki, caffeine is a psychoactive drug! Gimme more! In plants, it’s a natural pesticide that paralyzes or kills certain kinds of bugs! It works on our Central Nervous Systems, and it is thought that caffeine can either negatively or positively affect memory, depending which study’s authors you ask! In adults who are not severely hyptertensive, caffeine can actually benefit the heart, but it has been linked to hyperactivity in children who consume a lot of cola. You can read more about caffeine in the Wiki article, where the above text comes from.

Conclusion
It’s probably okay to occasionally indulge in a diet soda, but not something you want to overdo due to some of the ingredients. Also, did you know that the FDA does not require companies to list ingredients if the traces are very small? Kinda makes ya think!

Caramel apple photo is from Candy Apple Shoppe
Phosphorica acid photo is from Wikipedia
Corn photo from WholesomeWave

We’ve moved! Check out Middle-Aged Jock at www.middleagedjock.com!

OK so my total so far is $30 toward Christmas shopping! Woohoo! Let’s see how much I can win by December 20th! Cha Ching!!