Sugar-free Halloween

I was able to find packages of Sugar-Free Double Bubble at my local Walmart, so it looks like I am set for my non-poisonous trick-or-treat offering. Not sure how the kids will take it. I guess I will find out at the end of the night. Either my pumpkins will be fine, which means they didn't notice I slipped sugar-free gum in their bags. Or, I will find smashed pumpkins, a burning pile of copies of "Dr. Atkin's New Diet Revolution", and "Death to Low-Carb!" spray painted on my VW Golf. Well, it could also be angry militant vegetarians who caught wind of my propensity to eat meat, but I guess in that case, the pumpkins would have been chewed on instead of smashed. I guess I will have play "Pumpkin CSI" to know for sure.

Along with purchasing non-toxic treats, I have also been going through my music collection trying to find a good mix of music to play Halloween night. I usually hook up some outside speakers and play some of the kid-friendly selections for the munchkins that come to my door. I have been working on building this collection for quite a few years, so it is pretty extensive. I was Facebooking with a friend of my hubby's the other night and mentioned I was jamming to some Halloween tunes. He asked what songs I was playing and I ended up typing up the entire list. Through the magic of cut and paste, I am posting it here in case anyone else is looking for some good music to play for treat-or-treaters or at their Halloween bash. Most music genres are represented, and some are a tad corny, but they sure are fun. Just be sure let me know if I left any good ones out. 

Wifezilla's Ultimate Halloween Party Music List

"This is Halloween" by Marilyn Manson (as well as the original from the movie soundtrack)

"Black Magic Woman" by Carlos Santana

"I put a spell on you" by Natacha Atlas (as well as the CCR and Bett Midler versions)

"Every Day is Halloween" by Ministry

"Voo Doo" by Godsmack

"When You're Evil" by Voltaire (comedy song)

"Oogie Boogie Man" from Nightmare Before Christmas

"Psycho theme song"

"De Ja Voo Doo" by Kenny Wayne Sheperd

"Devil with a blue dress" by Mitch Ryder

Theme from Beetlejuice

Theme from Halloween ala Mike Myers

"Monster Mash"

Theme from the Addams Family

"Magic Man" by Heart

"Runnin' with the Devil" by Van Halen

"Blue Moon" the Platters

"Once bitten twice shy" White Snake

"Nemesis" by Shriekback

"Halloween" by Steven Lynch (comedy song)

"Thriller" Michael Jackson

Amityville Horror Theme

Ghostbusters Theme

Exorcist Theme

Tales From the Crypt Theme

Friday the 13th - Jason's Theme

"Devil in Disguise" by Elvis Presley

"Highway to Hell" by AC/DC

"Psycho Killer" Talking Heads

"Voodoo Lady" Ween

"Weird Science" Oingo Boingo

"Devil Inside" INXS

"Werewolves of London" Warren Zevon

"Blinded me with science" Thomas Dolby

"Zombie" Cranberries

"I'm Your Boogie Man" KC & the Sunshine Band

"Don't Fear the Reaper" Blue Oyster Cult

"Time Warp" Rocky Horror Picture Show

"Dead Man's Party" Oingo Boingo

"Hell's Bells" AC/DC

"Love Song For A Vampire" Annie Lennox

"The Beast"  Concrete Blonde

"Deliver us from Evil" by Bullet for my Valentine
"Evil Ways" by Carlos Santana
"Dirty Deeds" AC/DC
"Abracadabra" Steve Miller Band
and "Evil Woman" by ELO

"Witchy Woman"--Eagles!

"Somebody's Watching Me" Rockwell

"Godzilla" by Blue Oyster Cult

"Clap for the Wolfman" The Guess Who

"Feed my Frankenstein" Alice Cooper

"Invisible Man" by Theory of a Dead Man

"Blasphemous Rumors" Depeche Mode

"Creatures" 311

"Live & Let Die" Guns & Roses

"Possum Kingdom" the Toadies

"Bad Moon Rising" CCR

"King of Pain" the Police

"Girls are F*cking Evil" by the Ataris

"They're coming to take me away" Napoleon

"If you want blood" AC/DC

"Dragula" Rob Zombie

"Little Devil" Neil Sedaka

"The Killing Moon" Echo and the Bunnymen

"Race with the Devil" by the Stray Cats

"Counting Bodies Like Sheep" Perfect Circle

"Sell your soul" Hollywood Undead

"Bark at the moon" Ozzy Osbourne

"World is a Vampire" Smashing Pumpkins

"Prince of Darkness" Megadeath

"Bloodletting" Concrete Blonde

"Can't fight the Moonlight" by Leann Rimes

"Vampires in Love" Deadlines

"Neon Moon" Brooks and Dunn

"If I was your Vampire" Marilyn Manson

"Poison" Alice Cooper

"My Boo" by Girlicious

"Hungry like the wolf" Duran Duran

"Animal I have Become" 3 Days Grace

"Cold Hearted Snake" Paula Abdul

"Living Dead Girl" Rob Zombie

"Move your body like a snake" R. Kelly

"I can sleep when I'm dead" Jason Michael Carroll

"Devil went down to Georgia" Charlie Daniels

More Halloween Issues

Apparently I am not the only one who has been agonizing about whether or not to poison the neighborhood children with sugar this Halloween. Columnist Brian Cormier also has it on his mind...

"It's a little-known fact that this is also National Dentists Buy Expensive Cars Week across North America. Wherever children go door to door, dentists will be cackling with glee and their receptionists getting to work extra early tomorrow in order to deal with all those calls from moms and dads (probably mostly dads)."  

Please stop by and check out the rest of his blog post. It's a great laugh :D

Why I never have any food in the house....

My 18 year-old settling in for a good old fashioned refrigerator raid.

TB: Yet another reason to ditch carbs

Not only is there a tie between type 2 diabetes and heart disease, there is also a link between diabetes and tuberculosis. The University of Texas Public Health team reports;

"-- Type 2 diabetes, especially Type 2 diabetes involving chronic high blood sugar, is associated with altered immune response to TB, and this was particularly marked in patients with chronically high blood sugar.
-- Patients with diabetes and TB take longer to respond to anti-TB treatment.
-- Patients with active tuberculosis and Type 2 diabetes are more likely to have multi-drug resistant TB.

The World Health Organization estimates that 180 million people in the world have diabetes, and that number is expected to double by 2030. Also, according to the WHO, each person with active, untreated TB infects on average 10 to 15 people per year. "You do the math and it adds up to a major public health threat," McCormick said. "If you have Type 2 diabetes in an area with high rates of TB, your chances of getting TB goes up. In countries where a third of the population is infected with TB, this becomes a real issue."

In a recently published study in linical Infectious Diseases, researchers reported that the immune systems of patients with Type 2 diabetes and tuberculosis respond differently compared with patients with TB alone. "This immune impairment may be what makes patients with diabetes so susceptible to TB," said Fisher-Hoch, whose career as a scientist was recently honored with a Hall of Fame Award from Women In Technology International. " (full article)

Controlling blood sugar is about more than just treating diabetes. Unstable blood sugar seriously effects the immune system and can set you up for many different chronic disease (check my Examiner post on Diabetes and Heart disease for one example). One of the best ways to get your blood sugar under control is to follow a low carbohydrate diet. Check out the websites for Dr. Bernstein, Dr. Briffa and Dr. Mary Vernon to learn how you can avoid additional illness risk if you are already diabetic....or even if you aren't!

Sugar High Brings Heart to New Low

From my latest Examiner post...

"Diabetics have always been at a much greater risk of heart disease than non-diabetics. According to the American Heart Association, approximately three-quarters of people with diabetes die of some form of heart or blood vessel disease. The exact mechanism by which diabetics succumb to heart disease was not totally understood. A new study by US and Australian researchers sheds light on the process that can lead a diabetic to a coronary incident.

"...short-lived sugar highs can trigger changes in gene expression that lead to the formation of atherosclerotic plaques - the build-up of white blood cells on artery walls that causes the narrowing or 'furring' of arteries and reduces blood flow to the heart."

Full Story

I also posted my Mozzarella Salad recipe, so if you missed it the first time, be sure to check it out...

Recipe

Another post from last week is a quick story about a research student who figured out that high carb + disease makes you even sicker...

Full Story

On a personal note, I got hit on last weekend. I don't get hit on often so it kind of took me by surprise since I am:

1) way taller than most people

2) have been overweight since my early 20's

3) I'm 45 and have been married forever

4) Still need to lose 18 pounds

It was kind of a good news/bad news thing. It is nice to know that someone finds you attractive...but the person hitting on me was a lesbian. Now, this isn't the first time I have gotten hit on by lesbians. It happened quite a few times in college. I must say though, I seem to be attracting an entirely different type than I did in the past. In my younger, fatter days, it was the mullet-wearing, flannel-sporting, Wrangler-wearers with huge belt buckles that thought I was interesting. Last week, it was a tall, cute blonde. I am moving up in the world apparently. Low carb seems to have helped me in a very unexpected way. Even though I am quite happy with my husband and will always have a preference for boys, it's nice to know I have options.

The Halloween Dilemma

Halloween is coming up and I have been off sugar and refined carbs for almost a year and a half now. The candy displays at the grocery store are almost impossible to avoid and I am so torn about what to do when the neighborhood kids come to my door Halloween night. Do I stick to my low carb convictions and give the kids Slim Jims instead of candy? Do I give them dark chocolate, reducing the amount of sugar I am giving them yet still give them candy? Do I give them little toys or coupons? I could get all evangelical and stand on the porch with my copy of "Good Calories, Bad Calories" and read passages from the chapter on sugar, but I don't want my pumpkins smashed or a quick trip to the local mental health care facility courtesy of their parents.

I firmly believe that sugar is destroying the health of adults and children around the world, but I also believe that kids should be kids and Halloween comes but once a year. Too bad I just know these little rug rats are going to be eating sugar in the form of cereal, sugar in the form of pasta, sugar in the form of rice, and sugar in the form of drinks loaded with high fructose corn syrup for the rest of their lives. Then their parents and school officials will try to make these poor kids lose weight by making them run, take exercise classes and give them low fat foods. More than the thought of ghost, vampires, zombies and politicians bent on "helping" me, this is my biggest nightmare.

Oh well. I can only do so much, and I am having enough trouble with my oldest son. I've been trying to convince my slightly chubby 20 year old that low carb is what he needs to drop the 5 lbs the Army wants him to lose before he enlists. If I can't convince my own stupid kid to drop the sugars, how can I expect to save the entire neighborhood?

I guess I will go with the dark chocolate option. At least if nobody shows up, it is something I can eat myself.

Sugar isn't the only problem with breakfast cereals

Here is a new article I wrote for the Examiner about breakfast cereals...

"Consumer Reports released an article today stating that many breakfast cereals are more than 50% sugar.

"The bad news is that 23 of the top 27 cereals marketed to children rated only Good or Fair for nutrition. There is at least as much sugar in a serving of Kellogg's Honey Smacks and 10 other rated cereals as there is in a glazed doughnut from Dunkin’ Donuts. "
Examiner Article: Sugar isn't the only problem with breakfast cereal

While it's very easy to get upset about added sugar in cereal, nobody seems to notice all the damn CARBS in that crap!!!

Who needs noodles when you have low carb 'cabboodles'?

Here is my latest examiner post with a handy noodle replacement... shredded cabbage noodles, or, as I like to call them, "CABBOODLES"!

Low Carb Noodles

I also reposted an old recipe of mine for Almond Ricotta Pancakes. Check it out if you missed it the first time...
Low Carb Pancake Recipe

Dr. Sears' New Theory

Dr. Barry Sears, author of The Zone Diet has a book coming out in which he proposes a new theory on obesity.

"Rather than looking at obesity as a condition of sloth and gluttony, Dr. Sears shows it is much more productive to think of obesity as a form of cancer that is driven by silent inflammation. Furthermore, the epidemics of weight gain and diabetes in America are primarily caused because the genes in susceptible individuals are being activated by recent changes in the American diet. Once those genes are turned on, obesity and diabetes are the inevitable outcome. The cause of those genes being turned on is the rapid increase of arachidonic acid (i.e., toxic fat) in our bodies." (Full Story)

The theory may sound a bit far-fetched, but after recently learning that Alzheimer's Disease may actually be a form of diabetes of the brain, it doesn't seem so wacky after all. With many random diseases (heart disease, diabetes, obesity, cancer) turning out to be generating from the same cause (excess carbohydrate consumption), Dr. Sears may actually be on to something.

Once I get a copy of his book, I'll read in to it further and let you know what I think.