ArcaMax

The chemical effects of sweeteners on your liver...

The average American consumes an astounding two to three POUNDS of sugar each week. No lie! I know you’re not pulling up to the sugar canister with a spoon and digging in, so you’ve got to be wondering where all that sugar is coming from. And it’s not just table sugar.

Highly refined sugars in the forms of sucrose (table sugar), dextrose (corn sugar), and high-fructose corn syrup are being processed into so many foods, it’s crazy. They include bread, breakfast cereal, mayonnaise, peanut butter, crackers, ketchup, canned soup, spaghetti sauce, and a plethora of microwave meals. You’d be hard pressed to find any processed meal in a box in the freezer section that does not contain some kind of sugar. It might say meat and potatoes on the box, but there’s sugar in there. You can’t even find cough syrup these days that doesn’t have sugar or an artificial sweetener in it. It’s everywhere, and the names for sugar just keep on coming so every time you think you know all the names for sugar, they come up with a new one. In an effort to sneak out from behind the demonization of the descriptor, “high fructose corn syrup”, the corn refiners got together and thought they’d fool us by re-naming it “corn sugar”. They thought if it sounded more natural we wouldn’t notice.

In the last 20 years, we have increased sugar consumption in the U.S. at an alarming rate. We are up another 26 pounds to 135 pounds of sugar per person per year!

Prior to the turn of the last century (1900) the average consumption was only five pounds per person per year! Cardiovascular disease and cancer were virtually unknown. Today, we can point to sugar and high fructose corn syrup (and corn sugar) for not only cardiovascular disease and cancer but high blood pressure, diabetes and dementia. Yep. You read that right.

I wanted to get you a quick overview of what all that sugar is doing to your body. And I’m not just talking about getting fat. It’s killing you from the inside out.

At Plan Z by Zola we will give you the cutting edge information you need to learn how to read a food label and understand the mysteries hidden on the side of a box or the back of a can. We’ll also give you education like this so you’ll be a well-informed consumer, whether you decide to cut the sugar or not.

Watch this short clip. Whether you are a fan of Pat Robertson is no matter. He just introduces the news piece. It starts off sort of boring for the first few seconds but hang in until the news piece starts. I chose this video because the news piece is clear and to the point.

Baked Salmon With A Louisiana Cream Sauce (EASY)
Serves 4

This recipe is very similar to one that was in Bon Appetit in 1994. I had to do a considerable amount of Zola-fying to get it so we can have it on the diet. The sauce will make you feel so gourmet and it’s very easy to make. You don’t have to spend a lot of time in the kitchen either. Make the sauce and then pop the salmon in the oven and walk away til the buzzer tells you it’s ready.

For the sauce:
1/2 cup of whipping cream
1/3 cup of Creole mustard or any grainy mustard will work (no sugar)
4 tsp of Worcestershire sauce
1 Tbl of Dijon mustard
1/4 tsp of ground pepper
1/2 tsp of dried basil or Italian seasoning
1/4 tsp of cayenne (optional. Or to taste)

For the fish:
4 salmon filets
4 Tbl of Braggs Aminos
4 tsp of lemon juice
1/4 cup of sour cream

Preheat oven to 400 degrees

In a small sauté pan add all of the ingredients for the sauce. Bring to a bubble and cook, stirring often on medium til it starts to thicken. This will only be maybe five minutes maximum. Turn off.

In an ovenproof dish add the fish, skin side down. Drizzle on the balsamic vinegar and the lemon juice.

Bake in your oven for approximately 18 to 20 minutes or until it’s done to your liking. I like mine cooked through but still moist. That would be closer to the 18 minutes.

Just before serving, add the sour cream to the sauce and re-heat without boiling. This will make a thicker, fluffier sauce.

Enjoy!
Cheers,
Zola