TR Forums

ludi wrote:

superjawes wrote:

EAT REAL FOOD.

This would solve 90% of anyone's nutritional problems. Real food (veggies, fruits, meats), are filling without beefing up on extra calories, which does, in fact, work with your point about how much anyone eats.

There is nothing about grains that makes them not "real food", provided you eat whole grains (which are high in fiber and thus much more filling) instead of refined grains. It's much the same difference as drinking fruit juice versus eating the actual fruit: the more a food is processed and refined, the more concentrated the low-mass, high-calorie portion becomes while stripping away the part that contributes to appetite control.

There is, of course, an entire secondary debate over causes and solutions to food allergies such as gluten sensitivity, and if you have such an allergy, then by all means adjust accordingly. But IMO balance and moderation should be the overriding principles.

Most grains in the store are refined...and even if they're more filling, they're still pretty dense when it come to calories. (I didn't mention it in that post, but there are some less desireable vegetables as well, specifically your starchy poatoes and corn.) You also should consider other things your body needs, like protein and vitamins. Filling up on pure fiber might lower your calorie intake, but you'd be starved for protein, which your body needs to repair itself and generally function, and vitamins, which can boost your immune system....or anything else in your body.

You should still be a little wary of grains though, and this goes back to OneArmedScissor's post. They are still carb dense, and get broken down very quickly in your blood stream, raising your blood sugar, which your body has to compensate for, so instead of immediately giving you energy, your body has to store it for later. Great for swimmers and runners, not so great if you don't use that energy later. Meats can be high in calories, too, but they don't get broken down nearly as fast, which means that your body doesn't have to work as hard to regulate your blood sugar.

TLDR: yes, there are benefits of grains, but the weight put on them in the food pyramid (at least the one I grew up with) it out of whack. Get more calories from veggies, fruits, and meats.

As interesting as a debate about fat, sugar, calories, etc is... does anyone have any actual ideas about the topic.

Anyone tried the guar gum, or used another additive to emulsify or otherwise affect the viscosity of the ice cream, or tried agave as a low glycemic additive, or used an eggy custard base, or strained yogurt as a thickener?

I wonder what pudding mix would do, or sugar free pudding mix... Seems like that could help. But then again I've never used it in something like ice cream. When I visit my family in a few weeks I'll try w/ my parents ice cream maker.

bru_05 wrote:

I wonder what pudding mix would do, or sugar free pudding mix...

Pudding mix is an interesting idea... I think they all use either gelatin or egg based thickening. Also could add to the flavor a little bit!

...I've had frozen deserts with pudding mix, I'm not sure it's ice cream, but it's probably better than any sugar free ice cream you'll come up with through normal means. Guar gum and Xantham gum I've not used much for cooking, more for gluten replacements in baking, I'd be interested to see how they turn out in a desert.