Showing posts with label health. Show all posts
Showing posts with label health. Show all posts

 For Women Only

If you have been reading my blog for awhile, you know a few things about me.  For instance, I am not afraid to do things a little differently than most people.  Examples: dumpster dive for food, using family wipes instead of toilet paper, using baking soda instead of shampoo, and using baking soda instead of deodorant. (did I mention that on my blog?? I don't think I did...)  So you might think you wouldn't be surprised by anything I post after all that.  But here's the latest experiment:

I'm burning my bras.

Ok, just kidding!  I'm not burning them, just not wearing them anymore... well, that's not entirely true either.  I am definitely not wearing them at home anymore and depending on my mood/weather/outfit may not wear them out either.

Now here's why.  It's something I have been thinking about for awhile as I have come across information on the topic.  I had read some information on Dr. Mercola's site about how underwire bras in particular are like wearing antenna to attract electromagnetic fields.  This can increase your risk of breast cancer.  You can eliminate this issue by pulling out your wire underwires and put in plastic ones.  Kind of a pain, but if it is going to protect your health, then surely worth the little bit of effort.

The other issue is the lymph system.  Wearing constricting clothing, which a bra typically is, restricts your lymph system from draining properly.  Again, this can contribute to breast cancer.  Your lymph system needs to drain off the toxins that are in your system.  Part of this can be eliminated by wearing the proper size bra.  Want to know if you are in the correct size?  Step into the Bra Fitting Room and get into the right size - it will make a huge difference in your comfort!  Most women will have swelling in their breasts during their period, so make sure you do your measuring at another time of the month to get your accurate size.

So I have this information kind of rattling around in my brain and then Renegade Health show does this video.  I love this couple, btw.  They have awesome information on health and nutrition on their show.  (and a FREE downloadable book on eating raw - excellent!)



So how great is the risk of cancer from wearing your bra?  Well, according to the book Dressed To Kill: The Link between Breast Cancer and Bras, here is how it goes:

Women who wear bras 24 hours a day have a 3 out of 4 chance of developing breast cancer.
Women who wear bras more than 12 hours a day, but not to bed, have a 1 out of 7 risk.
Women who wear bras less than 12 hours a day, have a 1 out of 52 risk.
Women who wear bras rarely or never, have a 1 out of 168 risk.

That's a big difference from 3 out of 4 chance to only 1 in 168 chance.

So I know what you are thinking.  Won't I sag more?  Won't it be uncomfortable?  Won't people stare if I go out braless?

Sag
According to everything I have read, how much you sag has everything to do with your genetics and nothing to do with your bra.  I have read comments where people say something like, "Yeah, but my grandmother never wore a bra and she sagged terribly.  No way I'm doing that!"  But the reality is "to sag or not to sag" will happen with or without wearing a bra.  That grandmother would have sagged just as much even if she wore a bra everyday.  Other people can never wear a bra and have less sag than those wearing one 24 hours a day.  In fact the very act of not wearing a bra may improve your sag.  The ligaments that hold up your breasts will get exercised, which they don't get in a bra, and will be more effective at their job.  Part of the problem is the unrealistic image that the media put out as to what a normal breast should look like.  Perky just isn't normal for a grown woman, and especially after having children.

Uncomfortable
Uncomfortable?  I guess that is a personal one.  I went from being a B cup pre-kids, to a D cup after kids.  I know when I was smaller, I could go without a bra - no problem.  But, I wasn't at all sure that it would be comfortable in my larger size.  But guess what.  I've been running around the house without one and have never felt so good!  I don't think we realize just how uncomfortable bras are - even when properly sized.  We are trained to wear them - literally, we have training bras for when we are girls!  And I think we just accept the pressure on our shoulders and the snugness around the torso as normal.

Staring
As for people staring, you can be discreet and braless.  It probably won't even be a concern in cold weather when you are layered up and wearing bulkier sweaters.  In the summer, you can wear a camisole under your shirt or even layer tank tops.  Nothing is going to stop the natural movement when you are braless, but that same movement is going to help the lymph system clean out toxins and strengthen your ligaments.  A fair trade in my opinion.  But if it really bothers you, there are also sports bras and exercise tops that will give you more support similar to a bra.  You just have to look at the design and be sure to pick something that isn't binding.  If it has tight elastic bands around your torso, you might as well be wearing a bra.

So give it a try.  Go ahead.  Just stop wearing bras at home and see how you feel after a few days.  :)

Posted in: , on Friday, June 4, 2010 at at 5:00 AM 4 comments  

 Insanity Update

I completed month one and started month two.  Here are some lessons I have learned along the way:

It is hard to do push-ups with two little girls laying their heads on the floor under your face and saying "hi mommy!" 
This is a basic lesson - trying to stick to any exercise regimen with little kids can be difficult.  Sometimes they want to do it with mommy, so then they completely get in the way.  Other times they are off entertaining themselves. (i.e. destroying something valuable or messing up the house)  You have to make up your mind that taking care of your health is more important than any challenge that comes up and just do it.

Kids can also be great motivators.
Insanity has the fit test so you can see your improvement along the way.  There is also the scale and taking measurements - all things that you can use to monitor how successful your health plan is at accomplishing your goals.  But for me, nothing is as motivating as hearing my daughter say, "Mom, your butt is getting smaller!"

Headbands and towels are not optional.
This is especially true if you are doing Insanity.  I have NEVER sweat as much during a workout in my life as I do with Insanity.  And it is only getting worse as the morning temperatures are getting warmer.  Trying to keep pushing it with Shaun T. while you have sweat running into your eyes is not a pretty picture.  Neither is trying to do moving push-ups through pools of sweat on a wood floor. (that picture on the Insanity dvd is NOT an exaggeration!)


After completing month one, and attempting month two, I have made the decision to start over at the beginning of month one.  I believe this is a good decision as the point of doing Insanity was to get healthy.  For me, that's going to take a little longer since I was living a pretty sedentary lifestyle going into this.  But I am not in any way discouraged.  At least now I know the complete insaneness (is that a word?) that comes with the month 2 workouts, so I know what I am working up to.

I also made the decision to go all raw during the next 60 days.  There is a reason for this madness.  Back when I was working with Optimal Health Systems, I decided to go on a 100% raw food diet.  My boss had just the year before set the Guinness World record for the most push-ups in one minute.  The background on that happening was that he was the team nutritionist for the Phoenix Suns.  He was telling the coaches about a better training method for their players.  They weren't convinced enough to try it but challenged him to train using his method for one month and then attempt to break the world record for the most push-ups in a minute. (during half-time at one of the games, no less!)  If he could do that, then they would use his training methods.  With Guinness record officials on site and tapes rolling, he landed himself as a new world record holder.  Sorry, I can't remember now how many he did - 118?? 123??  Not sure.  Somewhere in that ballpark. 

But there was actually more to this story than his training method.  He also went 100% raw food for that month he was training to set the record.  He had noticed that when he was on an all raw diet, his strength improved.  Every night before bed he would do sit-ups and push-ups.  During the raw food diet, he could do them effortlessly, and even increased how many he was doing.  He shared this tip with me one day because I was questioning whether there was really any benefit to going all raw or if you could just eat healthy and supplement with enzymes. (He also told me about the more complex issue of levorotatory cells and dextrorotatory cells - counter clockwise spinning cells and clockwise spinning cells - and how your bodies cells spin one direction as does live food, but cooked food cells spin the opposite direction, etc.)  I was thinking about him sharing that tidbit of info with me and thought that it would be interesting to experiment for myself.

Since I am starting over on the 60 day Insanity program, it makes it easy for me to track 60 days of raw simultaneously.  I am looking forward to seeing if I can feel a difference and sharing it with you here on the blog.  Plus I will have the accountability of reporting my findings, so that will help me stay on track. :)  

Now, to catch up on some pics of the girls.  Since I had received my first deposit from a couple for my Bradley class, I splurged and let the girls each pick out a dress from Costco.  They had a hard time choosing, but eventually decided on this one.  They HAD to have the same one.  Love those girls! :)

Trinity was trying to be pouty because I was going to be helping in Angelina's Sunday school room that morning.


David started being silly to get Trinity to smile.  She's trying hard to stay pouty. 

I think they picked out a nice dress - very cute. :)  Trinity actually has quite the eye for fashion.  She decided a few weeks ago that I didn't need to dress her or Angelina anymore - that she was going to do it herself.  I have been constantly impressed with her ability to match up really nice looking outfits from all our second hand clothes.  I think I'm going to have her start picking out my outfits!




Posted in: , , on Wednesday, June 2, 2010 at at 1:00 PM 0 comments  

 Preventing Cancer

Thanks to my friend Anthony who sent me the link, (thank you, Anthony!) I finally have the answer I have been waiting/searching for.  ('for which I have been waiting/searching' for the grammatical freaks out there)  Anthony linked me up to the Diet and Cancer Report.  Why is this what I have been waiting for?  Since reading The China Study by Campbell last fall, I have been trying to find someway to verify his conclusions.  If you aren't familiar with his study, his basic finding is a direct link between animal protein and cancer.  His recommendation is to limit animal protein in your diet to 10% or less of your total dietary intake.  I haven't found any credible source that would disprove his findings, but haven't found anything that would support it either.  Until now...

In comes the report from this organization.  The two main organizations behind this report are the World Cancer Research Fund and the American Institute for Cancer Research.  But the WCRF has many organizations in countries around the world under its umbrella.  The point being, that this is a credible source.

What they have put out is a report entitled "Food, Nutrition, Physical Activity, and the Prevention of Cancer: A Global Perspective."  This report is the culmination of a five year study involving over 100 scientists from 30 countries.  The content was "driven by an independent panel of 21 world renowned scientists." This is critical to know because if you have ever dealt with research, you can almost always find some research out there that will support the conclusion you want.  This group was able to do what most of us can not do on our own - look at ALL the research available, compare the studies, sort out the conclusions, and determine final recommendations based on the whole body of science.  On their website you can download the report and read it in full or download the summary.  

Here are the eight general recommendations  for preventing cancer:

1. Body Fatness
Be as lean as possible within the normal range of body weight.
-keep adult body mass index (BMI) between 21-23

2. Physical Activity
Be physically active as part of everyday life.
-start with 30 minutes moderate activity daily, working up to 60 minutes or more moderate or 30 minutes vigorous activity

3. Foods and Drinks That Promote Weight Gain
Limit consumption of energy-dense foods.  Avoid sugary drinks.
- This one has quite a few clarifications: energy-dense foods are defined as having more than 225-275calories per 100g with a recommendation to get your food density down to about 125kcal per 100g; relatively unprocessed nuts and seeds, while energy-dense, are not considered to be of concern in promoting weight gain and provide valuable nutrients.
- sugary drinks also includes fruit juices which should be limited
- consume 'fast foods' sparingly, if at all  

4. Plant Foods
Eat mostly foods of plant origin.
- eat at least five servings of non-starchy vegetables and fruits daily (remember anything with seeds is a fruit - tomato, cucumber, peppers, etc.); eat relatively unprocessed grains or legumes with every meal; limit refined starchy foods 
"It is likely that there is further protective 
benefit from consuming more than five portions/
servings of non-starchy vegetables and fruits."


5. Animal Foods
Limit intake of red meat and avoid processed meat.
- consume less than 18 oz/week of beef, pork, lamb, or goat and very little of it processed; processing is defined as meat preserved by smoking, curing or salting, or addition of chemical preservatives
Interestingly enough they emphasize that they are not recommending diets with no meat, or no foods of animal origin.

6. Alcoholic Drinks
Limit alcoholic drinks.
- if alcohol is consumed, limit consumption to no more than 2 drinks per day for men and 1 drink per day for women
They do say the following: "The evidence on cancer justifies a recommendation not to 
drink alcoholic drinks. Other evidence shows that modest 
amounts of alcoholic drinks are likely to reduce risk of coronary 
heart disease."  So, even though they are supposed to be reporting on how to reduce your risk of cancer, they don't come right out and say no alcohol even though by their own admission, the evidence justifies it.  I'm shaking my head over that one.  


In other words, if you prefer, you can keep drinking and know that you are likely to reduce your risk of coronary heart disease with that glass of wine or beer, but you are trading that risk for the opportunity to get cancer of the mouth, pharynx and larynx, oesophagus, or breast, or for men, colorectal cancer - all of which the evidence is convincing. (oh, and let's not forget it's a probable cause of liver and colorectal cancer in women)

7. Preservation, Processing, Preparation
Limit consumption of salt.  Avoid moldy grains or legumes.
- average consumption of salt from all sources to be less than 5 grams (2 g sodium) a day

8. Dietary Supplements
Aim to meet nutritional needs through diet alone.
- dietary supplements are not recommended for cancer prevention

So, that sums up the recommendations.  Now they didn't come right out and say that there is a direct link between cancer and consumption of animal protein.  But if you follow their recommendations, you will be eating a mostly plant based diet, a flexitarian diet, just like I adopted after reading Campbell's work.  This is enough confirmation for me, to continue to limit the amount of animal protein in my diet and for my family.

Now, before I end this post, I want to also point out the two special recommendations that they made - and remember this is in relation to preventing cancer.

1. Breastfeeding
Women to breastfeed; children to be breastfed.
-aim to breastfeed exclusively for six months and with complementary feeding thereafter
(hmmm... they didn't say "babies" to be breastfed, they said "children"...)

2. Cancer Survivors
Follow the recommendations for cancer prevention.
-all cancer survivors to receive nutritional care from an appropriately trained professional

I don't know about you, but a lot of the recommendations were things I would have related to people dieting - you know, eat right, exercise, ya-da, ya-da, ya-da.  I was not aware that so many of these lifestyle choices directly affected our risk for getting cancer.  Very enlightening report, indeed.

I hope that what you can take away from this is not discouragement - focusing on changes you may need to make that could be difficult, (no more Mike's Hard Lemonade?!?) but rather encouragement - we don't have to live in fear of getting a cancer diagnosis.  We can take proactive steps to prevent cancer.

Can I recommend a green smoothie for your first step?! ;)

Posted in: , , on Thursday, May 27, 2010 at at 7:39 PM 0 comments  

 Does Food Matter?


(scroll down and pause player to view video)

I was hooked after watching this trailer and did my usual search for the title at the library.  Not there.  Then I checked with Blockbuster and they had it.  Luckily, I looked around the site a little longer because I found that on the Food Matters website under the movie section, you can order and watch this documentary right on your computer for the same price as driving to Blockbuster and renting it.  Score!  Not only that, but there are some movies that are free to watch - titles such as "The World According to Monsanto" and "Homegrown."  Check it out!  Link to online movies

So I ordered the online movie and really enjoyed watching this documentary.  I feel it is well done with good nutritional information and a good look into the problem with our current health care system as it relates to nutrition.  Anyone wanting to understand a little more about why to eat more raw foods in your diet should get their questions answered in this movie.  They go into a wide arrange of connected issues: nutrient loss in our produce, vitamin supplementation, pharmaceuticals, our health care system, and government regulation.

Here is some information that you are probably not aware of:
LEADING CAUSES OF DEATH 
#1. Heart Disease             631,636
#2. Cancer                       559,888
#3. Modern Medicine         225,000

Now you aren't going to see number three on the chart with the center for disease control, but that number represents the number of deaths each year from unnecessary surgery and other hospital errors, infections obtained at the hospital, and medications. (and that is only medication that is prescribed by a doctor and taken as directed)  It comes in number three - isn't that really a staggering reality?  It comes in above stroke, chronic lower respiratory disease, accidents, and diabetes.  That number should cause concern.

On a more positive note, David Wolfe gave some great information about raw cacao beans and their nutritive quality.  Raw cacao are the highest natural source of magnesium, chromium, zinc, and copper.  It is likely the highest natural source of iron and manganese, has all the cofactors necessary for a healthy metabolism, is high in vitamin C and has the highest antioxidant content of known foods.  Ever heard commercials touting the high antioxidants in blueberries?  Here is how they stack up:

ORAC values per 100g
Raw Cacao                      26,000
Acai Berry                       18,500
Prunes                             5,770
Raisins                             2,830
Blueberries                        2,400
Blackberries                       2,036
Strawberries                      1,540
Spinach, raw                      1,260
Broccoli florets                     890
Red grapes                          739

And can I say, I just love David Wolfe in this show?!  He talks about things no one wants to talk about in polite society, but he is right on. :)  For those of you who aren't familiar with David Wolfe, he is a leader in the raw food movement and wrote one of the classics, The Sunfood Diet.  Just listening to him and all the speakers in this documentary really inspires me to keep eating lots of raw food.  I have slacked off in the last couple of weeks and have been eating more cooked food. (the cold weather didn't help!)  And just so you know, in this film he highlights eating at least 51% raw food, not all raw, so there is no excuse not to try.

What this movie really has done for me is bring me full circle to the initial thought - you are what you eat.  Americans have gotten away from eating based on what your body needs to function and be healthy, and moved to eating what tastes good.  Unfortunately, with MSG, high-fructose corn syrup, caffeine, and lots of salt, we have learned to create desire for foods that are extremely nutritionally deficient.  We are a society that is fat and happy, but slowly starving our bodies to death and we see this playing out in the increase of disease and death due to our lifestyle choices.

And since you will learn that you need to be supplementing your healthy diet with vitamins, I want to recommend a source of really good ones - Optimal Health Systems.  I used to work for this company and I know that their products are of the highest quality.  You can get a great wholefood vitamin from them.  Here is the ingredient list:


Whole Food Vitamin Blend Includes:
Carrot, Green Peppers, Oranges, Alfalfa, Nutritional Yeast, Acerola Cherry, Broccoli,
Wild Yam, Rice Bran, Spinach, Wheat Germ, Cranberry, Garlic, Papaya, Soybeans,
Molasses, and Beet Fiber.

Antioxidant Blend Includes:
Grape Seed Extract, Grape Skin Extract, and Pine Bark Extract
Opti-Blend (tm) Delivery System Includes:
Amylase, Protease I, Protease II, Lipase, Invertase, Maltase, Cellulase, Lactase, Hemiseb,
Zinc Amino Acid Chelete, Copper Amino Acid Chelete, Manganese Amino Acid Chelete, and Molasses.


Take time to read the research/education information on their site.  It is a great resource.

Now, watch the movie and go eat something raw! ;)



Posted in: , , , , on Friday, May 14, 2010 at at 9:02 AM 2 comments  

 Don't Go There Shaun T!

Okay, I just did day 5 on the Insanity program.  I keep going back and forth on my motivation on this program.  I was reading on the message boards for Insanity that month one is just a warm up for month two.  The workouts get longer and harder.  Say what?!  So I really procrastinated doing the routine this morning.  I have been getting up and just getting right to it.  Today I didn't start until almost 8:30... dragging my heels as I was worried about the intensity that a workout titled "Pure Cardio" might entail.

But when I got into the warm up (that is really a loose term when applied to Insanity!) I could already see that it was easier for me than on day 2.  I could push harder and last longer on each exercise.  So I was feeling pretty good about that and it gave me the motivation to keep going.

But then... during the stretches Shaun T starts talking about how nervous he is about today's workout.  Can I just say that having Shaun T saying that he is nervous does not instill courage in us struggling beginners?!  lol...

But not to fear.  Yes, the workout kicked my posterior, but I was also encouraged again by my ability to keep going and it felt better than day two.  I also did noticeable better with the push up jacks.  A push up jack is where your feet go apart when you lower your chest, as if you were doing a jumping jack with your feet  I didn't have to do my "girl version" of push-ups with my knees on the ground.  I did full on push up jacks.  Now THAT is motivating!  I am truly amazed at the results I am already seeing in just five days.  Oh, and most of the intense soreness has moved out as well.  I guess I really can do this!

One more day and then a day off.
Bring it on!

Posted in: , on Thursday, April 8, 2010 at at 9:18 AM 0 comments  

 Dean Ornish

A lot of people are not familiar with Dean Ornish and his work, but he is a doctor who is having fantastic results reversing cardiovascular disease through a regimen of eating and exercise.  He wrote a book called "Eat More, Weigh Less" which essentially advocates a low fat vegetarian diet.

This video will give you some startling facts.  If you haven't figured out yet that the way we eat, a relatively new diet and lifestyle, is not health promoting, then hopefully this will help you see the light.


(turn off player at bottom of page before starting video)


Posted in: , , on Saturday, March 27, 2010 at at 7:57 PM 0 comments  

 Reading Labels

It is very important to read the labels on the food you buy.  (I use the term "food" loosely here, and you will see why shortly)  I don't want to take it for granted that everyone who stops by this blog knows how important it is to know what you are taking into your body.  The whole point of eating is supposed to be to give your body the nutrients it needs to function and stay healthy.  But we have transformed it into something else - a smorgasbord of sugar, salt, and chemicals to tantalize our tastebuds, and get us hooked like an addict to the very stuff that will ultimately harm us.

Just tonight I pulled out the coffee creamer that my husband keeps in the fridge.  I was curious.  Here's the ingredient list:

water
corn syrup
partially hydrogenated soybean & cottonseed oil
sodium caseinate
mono and diglycerides
sodium stearum
lactylate
dipotassium phosphate

Gag!  I need to get some good raw milk and let hubby use the real cream for his coffee - that would actually be healthy for him. (other than I don't think coffee is good for you, but that's another topic)

Here is another comparison.  I started buying a natural brand of peanut butter. You have to read the labels though.  The last time I went looking for the natural peanut butter, several of the name brand peanut butters had a natural variety on the shelf, but the ingredient list was still long.  Here's the comparison:

Natural peanut butter:
peanuts
salt

Jif Creamy peanut butter:
roasted peanuts
sugar
molasses
fully hydrogenated vegetable oils (rapeseed and soybean)
mono- and diglycerides
salt

So really, what would you rather eat?  What would you want to feed your kids?

The labels are there - start reading them and know what you are really eating.

Posted in: on Friday, March 19, 2010 at at 9:39 PM 3 comments  

 You Gotta Kick the Sugar Habit!

Americans eat way too much sugar.  Besides the sugar we knowingly eat, it is in virtually all our processed foods these days.  Go to your pantry and start reading labels.  You will be surprised just how many of your food items include either sugar, fructose, corn syrup, or high fructose corn syrup.  I know I flipped out when I actually looked at the ingredients on a jar of peanut butter.  Here I thought it was a healthy thing to feed my kids!  But it is loaded up with HFCS and so is the jelly that accompanies it in a traditional PB&J.  Ugh!

Dr. Mercola once again has a great article about the dangers of fructose which I encourage you to read.  But here are some highlights for you:

So a very important point is that if you take two animals and you feed one fructose and feed the other one the exact same number of calories but give it as dextrose or glucose, its only the fructose-fed animal that will develop obesity, insulin resistance, fatty liver, and high triglycerides, signs of inflammation, vascular disease, and high blood pressure.


Today, about 25 percent of all Americans consume over ½ pound of added sugars a day, according to Dr. Johnson's research. That kind of consumption equates to more than 180 pounds of sugar per year! And it just so happens this statistic dovetails nicely with the statistics showing that one in four Americans is either pre-diabetic or has type 2 diabetes.


Reducing sugar in your diet can be tough for some people. After all, sugar is just as addictive as cocaine! 


I encourage you to read the article to learn about the safe level of fructose to ingest and healthy sweetener alternatives.



Posted in: , on Sunday, March 14, 2010 at at 5:00 AM 4 comments  

 Why Mostly Vegan

I have to return "The China Study" by T. Colin Campbell, PhD to the library so I thought I would post some excerpts that highlight why you should make the switch to a plant-based diet.  Hopefully this will entice you into getting the book for yourself.

From Chapter 11 - Eating Right: Eight Principles of Food and Health
"The benefits of a healthy lifestyle are enormous.  I want you to know you can:
live longer
look and feel younger
have more energy
lose weight
lower your blood cholesterol
prevent and treat diabetes
avoid surgery in many instances
vastly decrease the need for pharmaceutical drugs
keep your bones strong
avoid impotence
avoid stroke
prevent kidney stones
keep your baby from getting Type 1 diabetes
alleviate constipation
lower your blood pressure
avoid Alzheimer's
beat arthritis
and more...."


Well that's a pretty long and convincing (convicting) list!
 Here are the eight principles with summary excerpts of their explanations:


Principle #1
Nutrition represents the combined activities of countless food substances.  The whole is greater than the sum of its parts.
"The misguided may trumpet the virtues of one specific nutrient or chemical, but this thinking is too simplistic.  Our bodies have learned how to benefit from the chemicals in food as they are packaged together, discarding some and using others as they see fit.  I cannot stress this enough, as it is the foundation of understanding what good nutrition means."

Principle #2
Vitamin supplements are not a panacea for good health.
"A recent article in the New York Times documents this failure of nutrient supplements to provide any proven health benefit.  As time passes, I am confident that we will continue to "discover" that relying on the use of isolated nutrient supplements to maintain health, while consuming the usual Western diet, is not only a waste of money but is also potentially dangerous."

Principle #3
There are virtually no nutrients in animal-based foods that are not better provided by plants.
Here is a nutrient comparison of plant and animal based foods. (per 500 calories of energy)
The plant-based foods are equal parts of tomatoes, spinach, lima beans, peas, and potatoes.
The animal-based foods are equal parts of beef, pork, chicken, and whole milk

Nutrient                            Plant-based food      Animal-based food
Cholesterol                                 -                                137
Fat (g)                                        4                                 36
Protein (g)                                 33                                34
Beta-carotene (mcg)              29,919                             17
Dietary fiber (g)                         31                                 -
Vitamin C (mg)                         293                                4
Folate (mcg)                            1168                              19
Vitamin E (mg_ATE)                 11                                 0.5
Iron (mg)                                   20                                 2
Magnesium (mg)                       548                               51
Calcium (mg)                            545                              252

Principle #4
Genes do not determine disease on their own.  Genes function only by being activated, or expressed, and nutrition plays a critical role in determining which genes, good and bad, are expressed.
"We all have different disease risks due to our different genes.  But while we will never know exactly which risks we are predisposed to, we do know how to control those risks.  Regardless of our genes, we can all optimize our chances of expressing the right genes by providing our bodies with the best possible environment - that is, the best possible nutrition."

Principle #5
Nutrition can substantially control the adverse effects of noxious chemicals.
"It is useful to think of this principle in another way: a chronic disease like cancer takes years to develop.  Those chemicals that initiate cancer are often the ones that make headlines.  What does not make headlines, however, is the fact that the disease process continues long after initiation, and can be accelerated or repressed during its promotion stage by nutrition.  In other words, nutrition primarily determines whether the disease will ever do its damage."

Principle #6
The same nutrition that prevents disease in its early stages (before diagnosis) can also halt or reverse disease in its later stages (after diagnosis).
"I believe that an ounce of prevention does equal a pound of cure, and the earlier in life good foods are eaten, the better one's health will be.  But for those who already face the burden of disease, we must not forget that nutrition still can play a vital role."

Principle #7
Nutrition that is truly beneficial for one chronic disease will support health across the board.
"So I'm afraid I don't have a different, catchy formula for each disease.  I only have one dietary prescription.  But rather than be forlorn about its effect on my book sales, I'd prefer to remain excited about telling you how simple food and health really is.  It is a chance to clear away much of the incredible public confusion.  Quite simply, you can maximize health for diseases across the board with one simple diet."


Principle #8
Good nutrition creates health in all areas of our existence.  All parts are interconnected.
"Conceptually, I believe in holistic health, but not as a catchphrase for every unconventional and oftentimes unproven medicine around.  Food and nutrition, for example, are of primary importance to our health.  The process of eating is perhaps the most intimate encounter we have with our world; it is a process in which what we eat becomes part of our body.  But other experiences also are important, such as physical activity, emotional and mental health and the well-being of our environment.  Incorporating these various sphere into our concept of health is important because they are all interconnected.  Indeed, this is a holistic concept."

From chapter 12 - How To Eat:
"The recommendations coming from the published literature are so simple that I can state them in one sentence: eat a whole foods, plant-based diet, while minimizing the consumption of refined foods, added salt and added fats."

There is the summary.  Once again, I must say, I highly recommend this book.  It is written with the layman in mind - giving excellent information in an understandable way. (unlike me- ha!)

Posted in: , on Thursday, December 3, 2009 at at 9:00 AM 0 comments  

 Say What?

The kids wanted a snack and I remembered we were given a box of graham crackers at the food pantry.  I pull it out and start reading the ingredients, looking for that evil villian, hydrogenated fat.

Ingredients: enriched wheat flour (wheat flour, niacin, reduced iron, thiamin mononitrate, riboflavin and folic acid), sugar, graham flour, vegetable oil (contains one or more of the following oils: interesterified soybean, canola, palm).....

Um, what was that?

Interesterified??  Helloooooo???

Time for an internet search.  The results?  Essentially, this is used in place of the trans fat forming hydrogenation process.  But the verdict is out whether it is in fact any better for you.  It's kind of like global warming - it just depends on which expert you listen to.

It's still some crazy bastardization of natural food, and therefore, if I was choosing my own food, I wouldn't include graham crackers in our diet.

But for now, the old phrase "beggars can't be choosers" comes to mind.

Posted in: , , on Sunday, November 29, 2009 at at 12:00 PM 0 comments  

 Supplements raise death rate by 5%

Now there's an attention grabber! Below is a link to an article that once again lets us know that taking vitamin supplements are NOT good for you. What you have to look for is this key phrase: "they examined only the use of synthetic vitamins." (The study is published in the Journal of the American Medical Association which is a peer reviewed publication)

Whole food vitamins have been tested and shown to give you the benefits that you think you are getting when you are taking synthetics.

How do you know if your vitamin is a synthetic? Put your money where your mouth is, so to speak. Synthetics are cheap to make therefore cheap to sell. If you are buying big jugs of vitamins for very little, you are taking synthetics that are only going to be detrimental to your health. Whole food vitamins should state that they are whole food on the label. The other way to tell is look at the ingredients. They should read like a grocery list: carrots, green pepper, orange, alfalfa, acerola cherry, broccoli, etc. If you read your label and it is not "food" then you are dealing with synthetics.

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/health/healthy_eating/article1449813.ece
editor's note: the article is no longer at this link... :(


Posted in: , , on Wednesday, February 28, 2007 at at 2:13 PM 0 comments  

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