An interesting little article that wound up in my inbox today was about the content of Twinkies. Who knows what a Twinkie is made of and where that stuff comes from? We all tend to assume that the ingredients are domestic. They're not.

This is what the article said, "The next time you pick up a Twinkie, consider this: out of the laundry list of often unpronounceable ingredients, eight come from domestic corn, three from soybeans and others from Chinese refineries and Chinese factories. More specifically, some of the ingredients, such as thiamine mononitrate, come from Chinese petroleum. Disturbing? Yes. But perhaps even more so is the fact that the LA Times author of this article said Twinkies contain "other unexpected ingredients that are much harder to trace." Ingredients coming from American food additive "manufacturers" who buy their chemicals from distributors without asking where they came from. The distributors are guilty, too, because they buy from importers, who buy from exporters, who also do not identify their real sources."

Here is an interesting - albeit it frightening - article from the LA Times about what is in Twinkies and what may very well be in many of the other foods Americans so naively consume.

When you consider that the head of the Chinese equivalent of the FDA was just sentenced to execution for taking bribes and not ensuring food purity, and consider the massive recall of deadly pet-food that was made with lovely poison ingredients from China ---- WOW. The author of the LA Times article, Steve Ettlinger, says, "How can you have quality control when you don't even know where the ingredient is coming from? During my Twinkie research, I was particularly surprised that many American food additive "manufacturers" buy chemicals, especially vitamins, from distributors and do not know, or don't ask, where they come from. The distributors usually sing the same song, as they often buy from importers, and the importers buy from exporters who — no surprise — are often not able or willing to identify all of their sources. "

Just a sample of what is in a Twinkie - remember, there really are 39 ingredients:

THE FILLING

Shortening (in the form of partially hydrogenated vegetable oil and/or beef fat) is the main ingredient.
Polysorbate 60 is a gooey substance that helps replace cream and eggs at a fraction of the cost. It's derived from corn, palm oil and petroleum.
Cellulose gum gives the crème filling a smooth, slippery feel.
Artificial vanillin is synthesized in petrochemical plants. The real thing comes from finicky tropical orchids that are pollinated by hand on the one day they bloom.

THE CAKE

Lecithin is an emulsifier made from soy. It's also used in paint to keep pigments evenly dispersed.
Diacetyl mimics the taste of butter, since the real stuff would go rancid on a store shelf.
Cornstarch is a common thickener. But it's more often used to make cardboard and packing peanuts.
Yellow No. 5, Red No. 40 give the cake the golden look of eggs.
Sorbic acid, the only actual preservative in Twinkies, comes from petroleum.

TWINKIE FACTS

Calories: 145 each (I have to add here, what a HUGE waste of 145 calories! One Twinkie doesn't even fill you up. You could eat an apple and even put a teaspoon of peanut butter on it for that much. Or have a piece of string cheese. Or a scoop of Lean Dessert Protein in Banana Cream. I don't know anyone who can eat just one Twinkie in the package, so you can figure, 290 calories of icky crap...that won't even make a dent in your appetite).
Shelf life: 25 days—not years, as urban legend would have it
History: In 1930, James Dewar found a way to use idle baking pans. He named the cakes after seeing an ad for "Twinkle-Toe" shoes. Shelf life was just two to three days.

Another interesting little thought that came my way today: Craig Ballantyne made an interesting point in his Turbulence Training email. He pointed out that you don't usually feel comfortable admitting eating cake for breakfast, but you don't mind saying you ate a muffin. What's a muffin? It's really nothing more than cake!

And, new worries about what goes in your mouth, I heard more on the tainted toothpaste scare on the news this morning. Apparently, there is "fake" Colgate that is being sold in the mid-Atlantic states. An article at CNN indicates that the fake toothpaste may contain diethylene glycol. The news video showed that the fake boxes are filled with misspellings and say something about the South African Dental Association. South African!!! This article at ABC News contains that information. If you suspect you may have purchased a counterfeit product you can call Colgate's toll-free number at 1-800-468-6502.

~o~

Today's workout with Caren.
--10 minutes, dreadmill, 8.2%, 4.0 mph
dumbbell squat, 70 lbs, 15 reps
dumbbell press alternating arms, stability ball, 25 lbs each, 15 reps
dumbbell flye stability ball crunch, 30 lbs, 15 reps
REPEAT
--1:30 sprint on Sci-fit, 5.5 % incline
plank, hold 1 minute
close grip pushup on Bosu trainer, 12 reps
side plank with inner thigh lift, 10 reps each side
burpies, 10
sumo squat, 50 lbs, 15 reps
REPEAT
--1:30 sprint on Sci-fit, 5.5 % incline
frog pushups, 20
squat thrusts, 10
W-shoulder press with leg ext, 30 lbs, 20 reps
REPEAT
--1:30 sprint on Sci-fit, 5.5 % incline
bench dips, 20
french press, 35 lbs, 15 reps
static lunge with shoulder press, 30 lbs, 15 reps (too many shoulder presses today, ouch)
REPEAT
--1:30 sprint on Sci-fit, 5.5 % incline
bicycle crunches, 10 on Bosu trainer, 30 on floor
Romanian deadlifts, 70 lbs, 10 reps
extended plank, 45 seconds
REPEAT
The circuit took 55 minutes
--25 minutes of HIIT on the Octane
--10 minutes dreadmill, 8.2%, 4.0 mph

After that it was time for a nice decaf iced coffed from Dunkin' Donuts. :)

~o~

My good deed of the day on Monday paid off. Two women (sisters) started coming to the gym and asked about our workouts, wanting some advice. They came in while we were in the "room with the balls" and started chatting. WELL, it came up that the one sister was hypothyroid and just had her Synthroid bumped up to a whopping 200 micrograms. That is a hefty dosage. Her TSH, with treatment was 11.75. That is HIGH. I talked to her about a possible switch to Armour thyroid and the inability of some people's bodies to convert the synthetic T4 to the needed T3. Turns out that I was the second person to mention Armour to her that week. I pointed her where to go on the Internet for information and suggested she call her doctor and ask for a switch. This morning she was at the gym and came to me to tell me that her doctor agreed to the change. She had to get it through mail-order, but her new prescription will arrive within a week. Because of the active T3 in Armour, she should notice some immediate improvements.

~o~

I couldn't resist - Weird Al's "Eat It" video: