I have been to Brasil many times, life is not easy there for the poor, unlike what this article seems to be stating. I have also been to several socialist countries and the average quality of life is much lower then what the poorest American would accept here. There's no such thing as a free ride, anywhere or anytime. "Peoples Restaurants," hmmm...where have I heard that equaltarian term before? I'll stick with free choice even if it costs me more then 50 cents a meal.

I am not diabetic but I do have insulin resistance as part of another medical (gynocological) condition called PCOS. I have been on Metformin (usually prescribed to diabetics) for a few years now. My dad is diabetic and I am at some risk of developing diabetes, too. I used to be thin-normal weight but began gaining weight when I developed PCOS and insulin resistance. The Metformin has helped control my weight a bit, but I am still overweight because I have relied too much on this drug and continued eating whatever I want. I don't smoke or drink or do drugs, so food has always been my vice. Especially when I am stressed or down, I go to "comfort foods" which are high in carbs. (High-carb foods such as white potatoes are comforting because they actually help increase the level of serotinin in your brain, which is how antidepressants such as Prozac work.) Anyways, a year ago I decided to stop eating meat as part of a health kick to eat lighter, healthier and lose weight. I had been stuffing myself daily and eating lots of chicken. At first I was always hungry, because I was used to eating a lot and the truth is, nothing is quite as filling as meat. I ate all the whole grain bread and veggies and fruit I wanted, but I was always hungry again soon. Then my body adjusted and it became much easier. If you eat whole grain bread, pasta, rice, et cetera, you should feel fuller than if you eat refined carbs. The fibre content in whole grains slows down the rate at which your body converts the carbs into blood sugar, which prevents your blood sugar and insulin levels from spiking up and crashing. When choosing carbs, think of eating high fibre. High fibre is the key to helping to control insulin levels. Refined carbs have little to no fibre left in them. Anyways, I lost weight and then fell off the wagon when Christmas rolled around, as there were delicious cookies and candies and chocolates everywhere! Also, it was hard to eat whole grain carbs all the time, because most restaurants and cafeterias use refined, white flour bread, pasta and rice; they also usually serve white potatoes, not sweet potatoes (sweet potatoes are much better for you). I only managed to lose weight at first as a vegetarian because I packed homemade snacks and meals with whole grain bread from the grocery store, and carried my food around with me all day while I was out and about. Normally I am not so good; normally I buy lunch everyday at work. It's not that hard anymore to eat out and eat vegetarian, but it IS still hard to eat out and eat whole grain carbs instead of refined, white flour carbs. You may see my problem here: I like to eat out a lot but I don't like eating meat or eating refined, white-flour carbs. That REALLY limits my choices when I go out. If I want to eat the way I know I should, I basically can't eat out. Also, there is a misconception that the biggest enemy of insulin resistance/diabetes is sugar and carbs, but the real enemy is saturated fat. It's just that most fattening foods are also loaded with sugar. You need the sugar to make the lard palapable. About 30% of the weight of chocolate, for example, is due soley to its lard content. Saturated fat is the real enemy, but when you eat out at a cafeteria or restaurant, you don't know what kind or how much cooking oil they use. You don't really know the ingredients. This also makes eating out hard if you are concerned with diabetes/insulin resistance, or just weight control in general. I heard that the Canadia Liberal government is planning to get rid of trans fat from school cafeterias, and there is some organization trying to get rid of trans fat cooking oils from all restaurants altogether. I think the next step may be to demand better quality carbs. Diabetes is an epidemic now, afterall! Anyways, I have decided to ween myself off the Metformin because of its side effects. This will mean that in order to avoid becoming obese, I will have to get strict again about what I eat, prepare homemade snacks and meals to take out, and exercise more (strenuous exercise increases insulin sensitivity). When I first told my family doctor I had gone vegetarian, she wasn't very happy. My blood tests had shown that I had very low vitamin B12. Because vitamin B12 is derived primarily from animal meat (it is absent from plant food), my doctor assumed my low B12 levels was due to my dietary changes. I started taking vitamins from the drug store. I'm not sure, but I think that helped a bit. Vitamin B12, like iron, is essential for a lot of things, including hair health. For a couple years now I have been concerned that my hair falls out too much. Well, I recently read that 10-30% of patients on Metformin long-term experience vitamin B12 deficiency (and can subsequently lose hair) because Metformin can actually interfere with the body's ability to absorb vitamin B12! It's all becoming so complicated. For a while I considered just going back to eating meat so that I could stop filling up on refined carbs everyday and then relying on Metformin to help with the resulting insulin spikes, but I have decided no, meat is gross, so I am instead going to just carry around homemade whole grain food with me all day as I go about my business, eat out less, exercise more and get off the Metformin. I know I can lose weight without meat because I did it once before, a year ago. It just takes discipline. Hopefully, my hair will also thicken up again after being off the Metformin for a while. One more thing: a good alternative to rice is quinoa. It is a good grain with lower carb content. It also cooks much faster than rice. It tastes lovely and fluffy. It works well as a side dish in place of rice.

I have not been all that pleased with soy flour - would rather use wheat or oat flour for baking. Re: soy milk. If you are new to soy stuff - you really have to watch the dates on soy milk and also buy it from stores that have a high turn-over rate. I find that it goes bad quicker than cow's milk. I have found soy milk a month past date on the shelves at our corner grocery store (Tom Thumb). Trust me, a day past expiration and you don't want to open it! Don't even want to think how bad a month past date would be. Soy milks really vary from brand to brand so it pays to try a few out. I buy Silk brand in 1/2 gallon size. I also buy individual serving ones for my son at Whole Foods, their store brand. (Good to take with us when we go out to eat.) Prices at health food stores tend to be all over the map. I shop mainly at Central Market (H-E-B), but also at Whole Foods and two small independent health food stores. My son has terrible food allergies which makes food shopping and cooking interesting. Anyway, the two health food stores are generally cost a bit more, but they are closer if I run out of something. (Central Market is an hour drive, but I try to go weekly.) But the smaller health food stores can have great sales. The other day one of them had jars of pasta sauce, dry cereal, etc. 1/2 off as it was near their expiration date. Each store is different, but worth checking out. Also, I have noticed that Super Target is getting more and more organic products on their shelves. They also sell soy nut butter (like peanut butter, but made with soy nuts in a peanut free facility - important with a nut allergy.) I do not care for soy nut butter (grew up on the real stuff!), but my son likes it. A guy at the health food store told me that the soy nut butter was good mixed with honey for a sandwich or added to a smoothie. ~ Suzie

In some cases the baby food on the shelf is a reflection of the store manager. What's on the shelf is what he/she ordered. If it was not ordered, it won't be on the shelf. At times, the mix may be from pressure from the baby food company. One way to pressure the store is to offer "packages" of a recommended mix. Another way is to tell the store manager, "Soon, we will not be supplying that particular food. It is loosing popularity." There has been sad cases of malnutrition in 3rd world countries partly from lack of communications and at other times when a mother strapped for money may water down the product to stetch the supply. Malnutrition is reduced in locations where mothers are informed about what constitutes good nutrition and the need for a balanced diet. In most cases, they find they can make their own "baby food" and it can be well balanced in fats, protein, starch, and carbohydrates. A vitamin supplement finishes the mix. Also, when you make your own from scratch, it is easier to control the salt content.