Breakfast Cereal

Hi guys, breakfast is the most difficult meal for me to tackle.
Is there a breakfast cereal out there that will pass the test? What about yogurt?
Any feedbak will be appreciated.

I recommend rawvolution food bars. They are sweet tasting and jammed pack full of raw goodness. Cereals and oatmeal are to hard for me to get down. Sometimes I can eat a 1/4 cup of oatmeal but that is it.

I do this quite often: you're coming off a "fast" in the morning, so why not continue the detox process? I add a grapefruit or orange, with a bunch of frozen organic berries, add some water, and blend and drink. When consumed on an empty stomach, fruits such as these (eaten alone) have amazing detox ability. Also, you're getting good amount of fiber and it really fills me up.

I don't know of any cereals that will not spike your insulin levels, maybe look for one with high fiber so it won't raise insulin so much? And ontop of that you're adding milk to that which has a lot of sugar in it.

Fruit is almost as bad because the fructose is just as bad as sugar.

Eggs with some green veggies mixed in there is probably your best bet for breakfast, in my opinion.

I dislike cereal in general, but I plan to try chia with my next iherb order (in my mind, it is as close to a cereal substitute as i will get).

http://www.iherb.com/ProductDetails.aspx?c=1&pid=3510929228369711684&at=0

I've had a couple of these bars, which were really good, but i will have to drop them, as the ginko in them is already starting to affect my sleep. This is what made me think chia may be good.

http://www.iherb.com/ProductDetails.aspx?c=1&pid=-1502575552060289980&at=0

Off Topic: has anyone had the spinach and artichoke stratta at barnes and noble. for some reason I can't stop going back for more. It's always on my damn mind...

johnt--
In line with what you are saying, I like to eat a sour grannysmith apple first thing in the morning--after coffee of course. The bitch is right now they're running me a buck fifty a pop at wholefoods.

Espio--
The stratta is essentially a quiche. I dig it. Although I've been eating it post workout. In Bikram it is difficult to hold anything down. There's one posture which for me feels like a sustained, mini heimlich maneuver. That said, I tend to wait post workout for obvious reasons.

Off Topic: has anyone had the spinach and artichoke stratta at barnes and noble. for some reason I can't stop going back for more. It's always on my damn mind...

Now this--I'd like to try!

And, ya Gib...eating pre-workout for anything is definitely not the best of ideas.

Nid--
Here it is:
http://www.sweetstreet.com/Store/product.aspx?productId=Spinach%20Artichoke%20Stratta
I inquired about the vendor today thinking it would be cheaper to order direct. It's actually cheaper to get it at barnes and noble. This is just a random food item that i will be obsessed with eating for a few weeks until i get sick of it.

Ha, thanks Gib, I'm going to have to stop at Barnes & Noble now and see if they have it over here!

I don't understand why fruit on an empty stomach is going to "detoxify" you (or fruit anytime for that matter). It is going to be little better than eating table sugar. If you think that the complex carbs in whole grain cereals is bad for insulin, fruit is much worse. It immediately ends gluconeogenesis which is what goes on when you are sleeping/fasting. Sleeping doesn't detox your system...sleeping breaks down your reserves. It is catabolic, and you are essentially starving and wasting. If for some reason you want to prolong this after you wake up then just don't eat anything. If you want to put an end to this ASAP eat some fruit/sugar. First thing in the morning is one of the few times that your body actually needs a quick supply of sugar, and so the logic goes that this is the time to consume carbs. When you do this you shut off cortisol (wasting) and you kick in insulin (building). Bodybuilders know that first thing in the morning they should get some immediate sugar into their system for this reason. They want to waste as little as possible and build as much as possible in a 24 hour period. Bodybuilders also inject insulin...so they are crazy bastards (some).

JHarsh--

http://curezone.com/blogs/fm.asp?i=973770

Fruit is usually at the forefront of detox diets (WHICH I AM NOT ADVOCATING IN THIS POST!).

There's more to fruit than sugar; obviously, it also depends on what fruit you are referring to.

In any case, I think it is fair to say that if sugar is your main concern (adding or subtracting), then fruit really doesn't have a purpose. On a practical level, going without it is out of the question: I always have the basic half gallon of OJ in the fridge.

BTW: That link was randomly selected; lest an individual should misconstrue, out of convenience, the drug reference in the article as reflecting the habits of the poster.

Gibson, haha no judgements. I need to correct what I posted though. It is actually at night that your body is rebuilding and in the day that it is consuming its energy stores.

BTW I agree that there are anti-oxidants in fruits, but like you said, if you are trying to avoid extra sugar than you can easily get them in pill form. That is basically all I'm saying. I asked IH about those expensive mangosteen, acai juices etc. and he said basically what I am reiterating. They are good but you get lots of sugar. Now whole fruit has the skin too (some juices use the whole fruit too) so you get the extra nutrition and fiber there I guess.

sorry about the triple post. Gibson, I also remember reading that there was some controversy over vit-c in pill form vs. vit-c from food. If I remember correctly, I read an article saying that studies showed no benefit in regard to disease or mortality when consuming synthetic vit-c, but there was a positive relationship with natural vit-c. Have you heard anything like that before? I have always taken the cheap vit-c (ascorbic acid) and wondered how much affect it really had vs. drinking OJ etc.

JHarsh - So you don't eat any fruit? You're missing out on a crapload of antioxidants, phytochemicals, enzymes and other nutrients that you are never going to be able to replace through supplements. Sure, take your vitamin c, in no way are you going to be replacing all of the other cancer fighting, detoxifying nutrients suppled by berries and other fruits. And by the way, not only is grapefruit a great detoxifying fruit, but it also regulates insulin.

Like any thing else, you wouldn't want to overdo fruit consumption, as you point out it does contain sugars. However, for most people, the nutitional aspect of fruit outweighs the little bit of natural sugar contained therin... which due to the fiber content results in a slow insulin spike anyway. Is this true of all fruit? No, obviously some are better than others.

And I do agree that those acai beverages, pom, etc that are so popular by the masses are crap. When you juice a fruit 1) you are stripping the fiber and leaving the sugar which does result in a mere "sugar drink", but worst of all, due to pasteurization, storage, shipping, etc, I wouldn't bet that any of them contain much by way of nutrients or enzymes, either.

Johnt,

No I never said I don't eat any fruit, and you are correct that some fruit is worse than others from an insulin standpoint. I am just of the opinion that a generous helping of fruit every morning is probably not the best thing for you. I prefer to eat a little at a time. Berries are a god choice as you said. I am curious as to why someone could never supplement the enzymes, phytochemicals and nutrients/ and or get them from another source of food (green vegetables). You may not be consuming the same nutrients, but there are plenty of supplements and foods that fight cancer that do not contain sugar. I just look at fruit as something to be consumed in very careful moderation. Your point of view may be different, and I know that there are people who feel that any natural food is healthy. This example is extreme, but there are probably hundreds or thousands of natural "foods" that can kill you. Cancer feeds on sugar if I'm not mistaken as well, so you may have a "2 step forward, 2 step back" situation in that sense, in regard to fruit. To each is own. No offense intended.

BTW I know you never endorsed juice (in fact the opposite), but just to illustrate how much sugar is contained in some fruit, check the label for sugar in one glass of OJ. I don't have it memorized offf hand, but I know it is relatively high.

Perhaps it is misguided to lump fruit into one category since there are so many varieties.

I recall that Papillon sustained himself in prison on contraband coconut.

Personally, these days, I get my antioxidants from pills, mainly. Of course if I consume a fruit high in ORAC, I ain't complaining.

I have an affinity towards young, grannysmith apples for their taste and health benefits, largely associated with colon health.

Melons can perfectly fit the bill after prolonged blood sugar lowering, dehydrating sun exposure.

fruit is just another tool (tool fans need not apply).

oh yeah, no chance I'll drop OJ.

JHarsh--

This should shed some light on your question regarding ascorbic acid.
The below is taken from this link:
http://www.whale.to/a/shea1.html
You should check out the link, as below is a small fraction of info.


WHOLE VS. FRACTIONATED

OK, natural vs. synthetic. Let's start with Vitamin C. Most sources equate vitamin C with ascorbic acid, as though they were the same thing. They're not. Ascorbic acid is an isolate, a fraction, a distillate of naturally occurring vitamin C. In addition to ascorbic acid, vitamin C must include rutin, bioflavonoids, Factor K, Factor J, Factor P, Tyrosinase, Ascorbinogen, and other components as shown in the figure below:

______________A s c o r b i c A c i d ______________


ascorbinogen
bioflavonoids
rutin
tyrosinase
Factor J
Factor K
Factor P


In addition, mineral co-factors must be available in proper amounts.

If any of these parts are missing, there is no vitamin C, no vitamin activity. When some of them are present, the body will draw on its own stores to make up the differences, so that the whole vitamin may be present. Only then will vitamin activity take place, provided that all other conditions and co-factors are present. Ascorbic acid is described merely as the "antioxidant wrapper" portion of vitamin C; ascorbic acid protects the functional parts of the vitamin from rapid oxidation or breakdown. (Somer p 58 "Vitamin C: A Lesson in Keeping An Open Mind" The Nutrition Report)
Over 90% of ascorbic acid in this country is manufactured at a facility in Nutley, New Jersey, owned by Hoffman-LaRoche, one of the world's biggest drug manufacturers (1 800 526 0189). Here ascorbic acid is made from a process involving cornstarch and volatile acids. Most U.S. vitamin companies then buy the bulk ascorbic acid from this single facility. After that, marketing takes over. Each company makes its own labels, its own claims, and its own formulations, each one claiming to have the superior form of vitamin C, even though it all came from the same place, and it's really not vitamin C at all.
FRACTIONATED = SYNTHETIC = CRYSTALLINE = FAKE

The word synthetic means two things:

- manmade
- occurs nowhere in nature

From the outset, it is crucial to understand the difference between vitamins and vitamin activity. The vitamin is the biochemical complex. Vitamin activity means the actual biological and cellular changes that take place when the stage is set for the vitamin complex to act.

Think of it like gas and a car. Pumping the gas into the tank doesn't necessarily mean the car is going anywhere. Other conditions and factors must be also present, in order for Activity to occur. The gas line to the carburetor must be clear, the carburetor jets must be set, there must be an exact mixture of air flow, the ignition must be turned on, the spark plugs must be clean, the exact amount of gas must reach each spark plug right before it fires, no gas must be left over in the cylinder after the plug fires. Getting the idea? If any of this stuff is missing, there's no Activity: the car doesn't run, or at least not very well.
Amazing as it may sound if you're hearing this for the first time, vitamins are more than the synthetic fractions we are commonly taught they are. The ascorbic acid you buy at the grocery store every few weeks, thinking you are buying Vitamin C, is just a chemical copy of naturally occurring ascorbic acid, which itself is still only a fraction of the actual Vitamin C. Real vitamin C is part of something living, and as such, can impart life. Your synthetic, fractionated chemical ascorbic acid never grew in the ground, never saw the light of day, never was alive or part of anything alive. It's a chemical, a cornstarch derivative, a sulfuric acid by-product. In your body it's just another drug. Synthetic vitamins have toxic effects from mega-doses and actually can increase the white blood cell count. Vitamins are only necessary in minute quantities on a daily basis. Whole food vitamins, by contrast, are not toxic since the vitamin is complexed in its integral working form, and requires nothing from the body, and triggers no immune response.

here's a bit more:

DEFICIENCY

Scurvy is a disease caused by vitamin C deficiency. Scurvy is characterized by bleeding gums, slow wound healing, softening bones, loose teeth, ulcerations of the mouth and digestive tract, general weight loss and fatigue. From 1650 to 1850 half of all seamen on transoceanic voyages died of scurvy. It was discovered by ship surgeon Thomas Lind in the early 1800s that British sailors were spared the disease altogether simply by a diet rich in citrus fruits. Since limes traveled well, they were the common choice during the early years, and thus the expression "limeys" was coined to describe British sailors. It was later found both at sea and in prison fare that potatoes were equally successful in preventing scurvy, and much cheaper to obtain. (Lancet. 1842)

We find that there is less than 20 mg of ascorbic acid in a potato. Yet this small amount, since it is complexed in a food source, is all the body needs not only to prevent scurvy, but also to cure it, even in its advanced state. Such a remedy is described in detail in Richard Dana's amazing journal Two Years Before the Mast, written in 1840.

Whole food vitamin C as found in potatoes, onions, and citrus fruits is able to quickly cure any case of scurvy. By contrast, the fractionated chemical ascorbic acid has been shown to be insufficient in resolving a scurvy condition, simply because it does not act as a nutrient. (Lancet 1842)

Ascorbic acid simply cannot confer vitamin activity, as taught by the discoverer of vitamin C himself, another Nobel Prize laureate, Dr. Albert Szent-Georgi.

Szent-Georgi discovered vitamin C in 1937. In all his research however, Szent-Georgi found that he could never cure scurvy with the isolated ascorbic acid itself. Realizing that he could always cure scurvy with the "impure" vitamin C found in simple foods, Szent-Georgi discovered that other factors had to be at work in order for vitamin activity to take place. So he returned to the laboratory and eventually made the discovery of another member of the vitamin C complex, as shown in the diagram above: rutin. All the factors in the complex, as Royal Lee and Dr. Szent-Georgi both came to understand, ascorbic acid, rutin, and the other factors, were synergists: co-factors which together sparked the "functional interdependence of biologically related nutrient factors." ( Empty Harvest p120) The term "wheels within wheels" was used to describe the interplay of co-factors.

Each of the other synergists in the C complex has a separate function:

- P factors for blood vessel strength,
- J factors for oxygen-carrying capacity of red cells,
- tyrosinase as an essential enzyme for enhancing white blood cell effectiveness.

Ascorbic acid is just the antioxidant outer shell - the protector of all these other synergists so that they will be able to perform their individual functions.

Dr. Royal Lee's phrase "biological wheels within wheels" always comes up in any discussion of whole food vitamins. Essentially it means that individual synergists cannot function as a vitamin in a chemically isolated form, like ascorbic acid. Vitamins are living complexes which contribute to other higher living complexes - like cell repair, collagen manufacture, and maintenance of blood circulation. Ascorbic acid is not a living complex. It is a copy of a part of a living complex known as vitamin C. Ascorbic acid is a fractionated, crystalline isolate of vitamin C.

Why are you a high school graduate or a college graduate or a doctor, and you don't know this? Because drug manufacturers like things clean and simple and cheap to produce. To this simple fact add the politics which always comes into play when anyone mentions the word "billions," and you are beginning to get the idea about where to begin your investigation. Burned his research???

Good post Gibson. I currently take ester-Vitamin C as Ive read from non-conventional Doctors like Walt Stoll that it helps with immune function and to defend against viruses. But with this information Im thinking I should discontinue..

-Been a while since Ive written anything on here.. Started a new job and have been extremely busy. But hey everybody!

The flavonoids that are found with ascorbic acid make this whole complex vitamin C at least 4 times more potent, but do much more than ascorbic acid such as maintaining capillary integrity and preventing inflammation of the arteries.

What about energy bars cereals or rusks? Are these safe to eat? Probably not, still got to be lot safer than breakfast cereals?