Rather Be Healthy

10 Lies and Misconceptions Spread By Mainstream Nutrition

There’s no shortage of health myths out there, but I believe the truth is slowly but surely starting to seep out there and get a larger audience. For example, two recent articles actually hit the nail right on the head in terms of good nutrition advice.

Shape Magazine features a slide show on “9 ingredients nutritionists won’t touch,”1 and authoritynutrition.com listed “11 of the biggest lies of mainstream nutrition.”2

These health topics are all essential to get “right” if you want to protect your health, and the health of your loved ones, which is why I was delighted to see both of these sources disseminating spot-on advice. I highly recommend reading through both of them.

Here, I will review my own top 10 lies and misconceptions of mainstream nutrition—some of which are included in the two featured sources, plus a few additional ones I believe are important.

Lie # 1: ‘Saturated Fat Causes Heart Disease’

As recently as 2002, the “expert” Food & Nutrition Board issued the following misguided statement, which epitomizes this myth:

“Saturated fats and dietary cholesterol have no known beneficial role in preventing chronic disease and are not required at any level in the diet.”

Similarly, the National Academies’ Institute of Medicine recommends adults to get 45–65 percent of their calories from carbohydrates, 20-35 percent from fat, and 10-35 percent from protein. This is an inverse ideal fat to carb ratio that is virtually guaranteed to lead you astray, and result in a heightened risk of chronic disease.

Most people benefit from 50-70 percent healthful fats in their diet for optimal health, whereas you need very few, if any, carbohydrates to maintain good health… Although that may seem like a lot, fat is much denser and consumes a much smaller portion of your meal plate.

This dangerous recommendation, which arose from an unproven hypothesis from the mid-1950s, has been harming your health and that of your loved ones for about 40 years now.

The truth is, saturated fats from animal and vegetable sources provide the building blocks for cell membranes and a variety of hormones and hormone-like substances, without which your body cannot function optimally. They also act as carriers for important fat-soluble vitamins A, D, E and K. Dietary fats are also needed for the conversion of carotene to vitamin A, for mineral absorption, and for a host of other biological processes.

In fact, saturated is the preferred fuel for your heart! For more information about saturated fats and the essential role they play in maintaining your health, please read my previous article The Truth About Saturated Fat.

Lie # 2: ‘Eating Fat Makes You Gain Weight’

The low-fat myth may have done more harm to the health of millions than any other dietary recommendation as the resulting low-fat craze led to increased consumption of trans-fats, which we now know increases your risk of obesity, diabetes and heart disease—the very health problems wrongfully attributed to saturated fats…

To end the confusion, it’s very important to realize that eating fat will not make you fat!

The primary cause of excess weight and all the chronic diseases associated with it, is actually the consumption of too much sugar — especially fructose, but also all sorts of grains, which rapidly convert to sugar in your body. If only the low-fat craze had been a low-sugar craze… then we wouldn’t have nearly as much chronic disease as we have today. For an explanation of why and how a low-fat diet can create the very health problems it’s claimed to prevent, please see this previous article.

Lie # 3: ‘Artificial Sweeteners are Safe Sugar-Replacements for Diabetics, and Help Promote Weight Loss’

Most people use artificial sweeteners to lose weight and/or because they’re diabetic and need to avoid sugar. The amazing irony is that nearly all the studies that have carefully analyzed their effectiveness show that those who use artificial sweeteners actually gain more weight than those who consume caloric sweeteners. Studies have also revealed that artificial sweeteners can be worse than sugar for diabetics.

In 2005, data gathered from the 25-year long San Antonio Heart Study showed that drinking dietsoft drinks increased the likelihood of serious weight gain, far more so than regular soda.3 On average, each diet soft drink the participants consumed per day increased their risk of becoming overweight by 65 percent within the next seven to eight years, and made them 41 percent more likely to become obese. There are several potential causes for this, including:
•Sweet taste alone appears to increase hunger, regardless of caloric content.
•Artificial sweeteners appear to simply perpetuate a craving for sweets, and overall sugar consumption is therefore not reduced—leading to further problems controlling your weight.4
•Artificial sweeteners may disrupt your body’s natural ability to “count calories,” as evidenced in studies such as this 2004 study at Purdue University,5 which found that rats fed artificially sweetened liquids ate more high-calorie food than rats fed high-caloric sweetened liquids.

There is also a large number of health dangers associated with artificial sweeteners and aspartame in particular. I’ve compiled an ever-growing list of studies pertaining to health problems associated with aspartame, which you can find here. If you’re still on the fence, I highly recommend reviewing these studies for yourself so that you can make an educated decision. For more information on aspartame, the worst artificial sweetener, please see my aspartame video.

Lie # 4: ‘Your Body Cannot Tell the Difference Between Sugar and Fructose’

Of the many health-harming ingredients listed in the featured article by Shape Magazine—all of which you’re bound to get in excess if you consume processed foods—fructose is perhaps the greatest threat to your health. Mounting evidence testifies to the fact that excess fructose, primarily in the form of high fructose corn syrup (HFCS), is a primary factor causing not just obesity, but also chronic and lethal disease. In fact, I am convinced that fructose is one of the leading causes of a great deal of needless suffering from poor health and premature death.

Many conventional health “experts,” contend that sugar and fructose in moderation is perfectly okay and part of a normal “healthy” diet, and the corn industry vehemently denies any evidence showing that fructose is metabolically more harmful than regular sugar (sucrose). This widespread denial and sweeping the evidence under the carpet poses a massive threat to your health, unless you do your own research.

As a standard recommendation, I advise keeping your total fructose consumption below 25 grams per day. For most people it would also be wise to limit your fructose from fruit to 15 grams or less. Unfortunately, while this is theoretically possible, precious few people are actually doing that.

Cutting out a few desserts will not make a big difference if you’re still eating a “standard American diet”—in fact, I’ve previously written about how various foods and beverages contain far more sugar than a glazed doughnut. Because of the prevalence of HFCS in foods and beverages, the average person now consumes 1/3 of a pound of sugar EVERY DAY, which is five ounces or 150 grams, half of which is fructose.

That’s 300 percent more than the amount that will trigger biochemical havoc. Remember that is the AVERAGE; many actually consume more than twice that amount. For more details about the health dangers of fructose and my recommendations, please see my recent article Confirmed—Fructose Can Increase Your Hunger and Lead to Overeating.

Lie # 5: ‘Soy is a Health Food’

The meteoric rise of soy as a “health food” is a perfect example of how a brilliant marketing strategy can fool millions. But make no mistake about it, unfermented soy products are NOT healthful additions to your diet, and can be equally troublesome for men and women of all ages. If you find this recommendation startling then I would encourage you to review some of the many articles listed on my Soy Index Page.

Contrary to popular belief, thousands of studies have actually linked unfermented soy to malnutrition, digestive distress, immune-system breakdown, thyroid dysfunction, cognitive decline, reproductive disorders and infertility—even cancer and heart disease.

Not only that, but more than 90 percent of American soy crops are genetically modified, which carries its own set of health risks.6 I am not opposed to all soy, however. Organic and, most importantly, properly fermented soy does have great health benefits. Examples of such healthful fermented soy products include tempeh, miso and natto. Here is a small sampling of the detrimental health effects linked to unfermented soy consumption:

Breast cancer

Brain damage

Infant abnormalities

Thyroid disorders

Kidney stones

Immune system impairment

Severe, potentially fatal food allergies

Impaired fertility

Danger during pregnancy and breastfeeding

Lie # 6: ‘Eggs are a Source of Unhealthy Cholesterol’

Eggs are probably one of the most demonized foods in the United States, mainly because of the misguided idea implied by the lipid hypothesis that eating egg yolk increases the cholesterol levels in your body. You can forget about such concerns, because contrary to popular belief, eggs are one of the healthiest foods you can eat and they do not have a detrimental impact on cholesterol levels. Numerous nutritional studies have dispelled the myth that you should avoid eating eggs, so this recommendation is really hanging on by a very bare thread…

One such study7, conducted by the Yale Prevention Research Center and published in 2010, showed that egg consumption did not have a negative effect on endothelial function – a measure of cardiac risk – and did not cause a spike on cholesterol levels. The participants of the Yale study ate two eggs per day for a period of six weeks. There are many benefits associated with eggs, including:

One egg contains 6 grams of high quality protein and all 9 essential amino acids

Eggs are good for your eyes because they contain lutein and zeaxanthin, antioxidants found in your lens and retina. These two compounds help protect your eyes from damage caused by free radicals and avoid eye diseases like macular degeneration and cataracts

Eggs are a good source of choline (one egg contains about 300 micrograms), a member of the vitamin B family essential for the normal function of human cells and helps regulate the nervous and cardiovascular systems. Choline is especially beneficial for pregnant mothers as it is influences normal brain development of the unborn child

Eggs are one of the few foods that contain naturally occurring vitamin D (24.5 grams)

Eggs may help promote healthy hair and nails due to their high sulphur content

Eggs also contain biotin, calcium, copper, folate, iodine, iron, manganese, magnesium, niacin, potassium, selenium, sodium, thiamine, vitamin A, vitamin B2, vitamin B12, vitamin E and zinc

Choose free-range organic eggs, and avoid “omega-3 eggs” as this is not the proper way to optimize your omega-3 levels. To produce these omega-3 eggs, the hens are usually fed poor-quality sources of omega-3 fats that are already oxidized. Omega-3 eggs are more perishable than non-omega-3 eggs.

Lie # 7: ‘Whole Grains are Good for Everyone’

The use of whole-grains is an easy subject to get confused on especially for those who have a passion for nutrition, as for the longest time we were told the fiber in whole grains is highly beneficial. Unfortunately ALL grains, including whole-grain and organic varieties, can elevate your insulin levels, which can increase your risk of disease. They also contain gluten, which many are sensitive to, if not outright allergic. It has been my experience that more than 85 percent of Americans have trouble controlling their insulin levels — especially those who have the following conditions:
•Overweight
•Diabetes
•High blood pressure
•High cholesterol
•Protein metabolic types

In addition, sub-clinical gluten intolerance is far more common than you might think, which can also wreak havoc with your health. As a general rule, I strongly recommend eliminating or at least restricting grains as well as sugars/fructose from your diet, especially if you have any of the above conditions that are related to insulin resistance. The higher your insulin levels and the more prominent your signs of insulin overload are, the more ambitious your grain elimination needs to be.

If you are one of the fortunate ones without insulin resistance and of normal body weight, then grains are fine, especially whole grains—as long as you don’t have any issues with gluten and select organic and unrefined forms. It is wise to continue to monitor your grain consumption and your health as life is dynamic and constantly changing. What might be fine when you are 25 or 30 could become a major problem at 40 when your growth hormone and level of exercise is different.

Lie # 8: ‘Milk Does Your Body Good’

Unfortunately, the myth that conventional pasteurized milk has health benefits is a persistent one, even though it’s far from true. Conventional health agencies also refuse to address the real dangers of the growth hormones and antibiotics found in conventional milk. I do not recommend drinking pasteurized milk of any kind, including organic, because once milk has been pasteurized its physical structure is changed in a way that can actually cause allergies and immune problems.

Important enzymes like lactase are destroyed during the pasteurization process, which causes many people to not be able to digest milk. Additionally, vitamins (such as A, C, B6 and B12) are diminished and fragile milk proteins are radically transformed from health nurturing to unnatural amino acid configurations that can actually worsen your health. The eradication of beneficial bacteria through the pasteurization process also ends up promoting pathogens rather than protecting you from them.

The healthy alternative to pasteurized milk is raw milk, which is an outstanding source of nutrients including beneficial bacteria such as lactobacillus acidophilus, vitamins and enzymes, and it is, in my estimation, one of the finest sources of calcium available. For more details please watch the interview I did with Mark McAfee, who is the owner of Organic Pastures, the largest organic dairy in the US.

However, again, if you have insulin issues and are struggling with weight issues, high blood pressure, diabetes, cancer or high cholesterol it would be best to restrict your dairy to organic butter as the carbohydrate content, lactose, could be contribute to insulin and leptin resistance. Fermented organic raw dairy would eliminate the lactose issue and would be better tolerated. But if you are sensitive to dairy it might be best to avoid these too.

Lie # 9: ‘Genetically Engineered Foods are Safe and Comparable to Conventional Foods’

Make no mistake about it; genetically engineered (GE) foods may be one of the absolute most dangerous aspects of our food supply today. I strongly recommend avoiding ALL GE foods. Since over 90 percent of all corn grown in the US is GE corn, and over 95 percent all soy is GE soy, this means that virtually every processed food you encounter at your local supermarket that does not bear the “USDA Organic” label likely contains one or more GE components. To avoid GE foods, first memorize the following list of well-known and oft-used GE crops:

Corn

Canola

Alfalfa (New GM crop as of 2011)

Soy

Cottonseed

Sugar derived from sugar beets

Fresh zucchini, crookneck squash and Hawaiian papaya are also commonly GE. It’s important to realize that unless you’re buying all organic food, or grow your own veggies and raise your own livestock, or at the very least buy all whole foods (even if conventionally grown) and cook everything from scratch, chances are you’re consuming GE foods every single day… What ultimate impact these foods will have on your health is still unknown, but increased disease, infertility and birth defects appear to be on the top of the list of most likely side effects. The first-ever lifetime feeding study also showed a dramatic increase in organ damage, cancer, and reduced lifespan.

Lie # 10: ‘Lunch Meats Make for a Healthy Nutritious Meal’

Lastly, processed meats, which includes everything from hot dogs, deli meats, bacon, and pepperoni are rarely thought of as strict no-no’s, but they really should be, if you’re concerned about your health. Virtually all processed meat products contain dangerous compounds that put them squarely on the list of foods to avoid or eliminate entirely. These compounds include:
•Heterocyclic amines (HCAs): a potent carcinogen, which is created when meat or fish is cooked at high temperatures.
•Sodium nitrite: a commonly used preservative and antimicrobial agent that also adds color and flavor to processed and cured meats.
•Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs): Many processed meats are smoked as part of the curing process, which causes PAHs to form.
•Advanced Glycation End Products (AGEs): When food is cooked at high temperatures—including when it is pasteurized or sterilized—it increases the formation of AGEs in your food. AGEs build up in your body over time leading to oxidative stress, inflammation and an increased risk of heart disease, diabetes and kidney disease.

This recommendation is backed up by a report commissioned by The World Cancer Research Fund8 (WCRF). The review, which evaluated the findings of more than 7,000 clinical studies, was funded by money raised from the general public, so the findings were not influenced by vested interests. It’s also the biggest review of the evidence ever undertaken, and it confirms previous findings: Processed meats increase your risk of cancer, especially bowel cancer, and NO amount of processed meat is “safe.” A previous analysis by the WCRF found that eating just one sausage a day raises your risk of developing bowel cancer by 20 percent, and other studies have found that processed meats increase your risk of:
•Colon cancer by 50 percent
•Bladder cancer by 59 percent
•Stomach cancer by 38 percent
•Pancreatic cancer by 67 percent

Processed meats may also increase your risk of diabetes by 50 percent, and lower your lung function and increase your risk of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). If you absolutely want or need a hot dog or other processed meats once in awhile, you can reduce your risk by:
•Looking for “uncured” varieties that contain NO nitrates
•Choosing varieties that say 100% beef, 100% chicken, etc. This is the only way to know that the meat is from a single species and does not include byproducts (like chicken skin or chicken fat or other parts)
•Avoiding any meat that contains MSG, high-fructose corn syrup, preservatives, artificial flavor or artificial color

Ideally, purchase sausages and other processed meats from a small, local farmer who can tell you exactly what’s in their products. These are just some of the health myths and misconceptions out there. There are certainly many more. The ones listed above are some of the most important ones, in my view, simply because they’re so widely misunderstood. They’re also critical to get “right” if you want to protect your health, and the health of your loved ones. For more great advise, please review the two featured sources.

If you like what you read, please consider donating to help support my blog, even as little as $5 will help.

How Aborted Fetal Cells are Used to Create Novel Flavor Enhancers

For several years anti-abortion advocates have been warning that a new technology for enhancing flavors such as sweetness and saltiness uses aborted fetal cells in the process.

The biotech company using this novel process, Senomyx, has signed contracts with Pepsi, Ajinomoto Co. (the maker of aspartame and meat glue), Nestlé and other food and beverage companies2 over the past several years.3

The primary goal for many of these processed food companies is to make foods and beverages tasty while reducing sugar and salt content.

While Senomyx refuses to disclose the details of the process, its patent applications indicate that part of the secret indeed involves the use of human kidney cells, known as HEK293, originating from an aborted baby.

That said, it’s worth noting that no kidney cells, or part thereof, are actually IN the finished product.4 Rather they’re part of the process used to discern new flavors, which will be discussed below.

That said, to many, this is still “over the line.” Two years ago, anti-abortion groups launched boycott campaigns against Pepsi Co., urging them to reconsider using flavorings derived from a process involving the use of aborted embryonic kidney cells.

Whatever your personal convictions might be on the issue of using biological material from aborted fetuses, the issue of whether or not biotech-constructed flavor enhancers are safe or not remains…

Biotech Cooks Up New Flavors

Senomyx5 is a high tech research and development business that is “dedicated to finding new flavors to reduce sugars and reduce salt.” These include new flavors such as Savory Flavors and Cooling Flavors, as well as flavor modulators such as Bitter Blockers and enhancers of Sweet and Salt tastes.6

Senomyx is also engaged in a new effort to discover and develop high-potency sweeteners to replace high fructose corn syrup, artificial sweeteners, and natural herb sweeteners like Stevia, which some people object to due to its aftertaste.

To accomplish this, Senomyx has developed patented “flavor enhancing” compounds using “proprietary taste receptor-based assay systems.” It’s a taste testing system that provides scientists with biochemical responses and electronic readouts when a flavor ingredient interacts with their patented receptor, letting researchers know whether or not they’ve “hit the mark” in terms of flavor. As described by Senomyx:7

“Flavors are substances that impart tastes or aromas… Individuals experience the sensation of taste when flavors in food and beverage products interact with taste receptors in the mouth. A taste receptor functions either by physically binding to a flavor ingredient in a process analogous to the way a key fits into a lock or by acting as a channel to allow ions to flow directly into a taste cell.

As a result of these interactions, signals are sent to the brain where a specific taste sensation is registered. There are currently five recognized primary senses of taste: umami, which is the savory taste of glutamate, sweet, salt, bitter and sour.

Senomyx has discovered or in-licensed many of the key receptors that mediate taste in humans. We created proprietary taste receptor-based assay systems that provide a biochemical or electronic readout when a flavor ingredient interacts with the receptor.”

According to an article in The New Yorker8 published in May 2011, Pepsi’s New York plant has a robot fitted with human taste buds to reliably “predict” what humans might like. To create this robotic taste tester, PepsiCo scientists injected the genetic sequences of the four known taste receptors into cultured cells, and then hardwired the cells to the robot’s computer. The robot (which has replaced human taste testers for the initial taste trials) can sample some 40,000 flavor assays per day.

What are These Genetically Engineered “Flavor Enhancers,” and are They Safe?

According to a CBS News report from June 2011, 70 out of 77 Senomyx patents9, 10 filed at that time referred to the use of HEK 293.11 These are human embryonic kidney cells originally harvested from a healthy, electively aborted fetus sometime in the 1970’s. The “HEK” identifies the cells as kidney cells, and the “293” denotes that the cells came from the 293rd experiment.

These cells have been cloned for decades, as they offer a reliable way to produce new proteins using genetic engineering. Senomyx has engineered HEK293 cells to function like human taste receptor cells,12 presumably such as those used in Pepsi Co’s taste-testing robot. This was done by isolating taste receptors found in certain cells, and adding them to the HEK cells.

HEK cells are also widely used within pharmaceutical- and cell biology research for the same or similar reasons. It is however the first time HEK cells have been used in the food industry, which carries a certain “ick” factor for many. There’s also the issue of just not knowing how these new flavors are created. As stated in another CBS news report:13

“So what exactly is this magic ingredient that will be appearing in a new version of Pepsi, and how is it made? Unfortunately, those questions are hard to answer. Senomyx… refers to them only as ‘enhancers’ or ‘ingredients’… The products work by triggering receptors on the tongue and tricking your taste buds into sensing sweetness — or saltiness or coolness, in the case of the company’s other programs…

So are Senomyx’s covert ingredients safe? That, too, is anyone’s guess… many of its enhancers have ‘been granted’ GRAS (Generally Recognized As Safe) status, but all that means is that the company did its own assessment and then concluded everything was fine. We don’t know whether Senomyx did any testing since the company isn’t required to submit anything to the FDA.14

There’s no reason to think that Senomyx’s products will cause harm, but until or unless Pepsi decides to share details about how exactly it’s achieving a 60 percent reduction in sugar while keeping the taste the same, customers will be drinking their ‘scientifically advantaged’ sodas completely in the dark.”

The lack of labeling requirements is particularly troublesome and will probably become an issue in the future. Since these compounds (whatever they are) are used in such minute quantities, they don’t have to be listed on the label. They’ll simply fall under the generic category of artificial and/or natural flavors. What this means is that the product will appear to be much “healthier” than it might otherwise be, were a flavor enhancer not used.

According to a 2010 CBS report,15 Senomyx’s flavor enhancers were already being sold outside the US at that time. For example, Nestle was by 2010 using an MSG flavor enhancer in its Maggi brand soups, sauces, condiments and instant noodles, and Ajinomoto was also using a similar ingredient in products for the Chinese market. This means less of the artificial sweetener is needed to create the same sweet taste as before, but while one could argue that this is a good thing, I suspect we will ultimately learn that this flavor enhancement method has multiple unforeseen adverse consequences — metabolically, and biologically.

Consequences of Food Alteration are More the Rule than the Exception…

There are many reasons why you’re better off choosing natural whole foods in lieu of processed alternatives, but one of the primary ones is that junk foods contain additives that increase your toxic load, which in turn may increase your tendency to develop cancer. As of yet, there is NO medical research to back up the assertion that manipulating your taste buds in the way Senomyx’ products do is safe and healthy in the long term. As an example, I would point to the evidence now available showing that one of the reasons why artificial sweeteners do not work as advertised is because the taste of sweet itself is tied into your metabolic functioning in a way that we still do not fully understand… As a result, artificially sweetened products, oftentimes boasting zero calories, actually result in greater weight gain than sweetened products when used “in the real world.”

It’s easy to forget that the processed, pre-packaged foods and fast food restaurants of today are actually a radical change in terms of the history of food production. Much of what we eat today bears very little resemblance of real food. Many products are loaded with non-nutritive fillers — purposely designed to just “take up space” to make you think you’re getting more than you really are — along with any number of additives. Many additives have been shown to have harmful effects on mood, behavior, metabolic functioning and biochemistry.

Now, with the introduction of untested engineered flavor enhancers, you’re left wondering whether processed foods with “cleaner” labels really are safer and healthier or not… Remember, because Senomyx’ flavor enhancers are used in such low concentrations they are not required to undergo theFDA’s usual safety approval process for food additives.

The disease trends we’re now seeing are only going to get worse as much of the processed foods consumed today are not even food-based. Who knows what kind of genetic mutations and malfunctions we’re creating for ourselves and future generations when a MAJORITY of our diet consists of highly processed and artificial foods that contain substances never before consumed by humans in all of history..

How to Enhance Your Food’s Flavor, Naturally

When choosing what to eat, I highly recommend you focus your meals on real food, and remember “food” equals “live nutrients.” Nutrients, in turn, feed your cells, optimize your health and sustain life. To help you along, I’ve created a free optimized nutrition plan, which takes you step-by-step from the beginner’s through the advanced level.

When you eat real foods as opposed to “food products” like the ones being “enhanced” by Senomyx’ technology, you don’t need artificial, lab-created flavors or flavor enhancers, because real foods taste delicious. The fact that processed foods taste good is the culmination of a profitable science of artificial flavors, enhancers and additives, without which most processed food would taste and look like shredded cardboard.

Real food naturally has vibrant colors, rich textures, and is authentically flavorful. For times when you want to add even more oomph to your meals, nature has provided herbs and spices, which are not only incredibly tasty but also will make your real food even healthier.

If you like what you read, please consider donating to help support my blog, even as little as $5 will help.

Do Artificial Sweeteners (splenda, aspartame, etc) Make You Fat? Natural Alternatives Including Stevia

I wanted to talk about artificial sweeteners today because I’ve noticed that there’s a lot of confusion and misconceptions revolving around these non-caloric sweeteners. Artificial sweeteners and the huge list of products sweetened with them are marketed to you relentlessly as “healthy foods” or “healthier” than sugar or corn syrup sweetened products. But are they really?

Just to clarify, some of the most popular artificial sweeteners on the market today are:
•Splenda (sucralose)
•Aspartame
•Saccharine
•Acesulfame Potassium (aka – acesulfame K)

These artificial sweeteners are used in abundance in almost every “diet” drink, “lite” yogurts, puddings, and ice creams, most “low-carb” products, and almost all “reduced-sugar” products. Heck, even most protein powders are loaded with artificial sweeteners too (just look on the ingredients and you’ll usually see one of them).

Splenda is probably one of the worst offenders of claiming to be “healthy” as they say that it’s made from real sugar. Don’t be fooled! It’s still an artificial substance. What they don’t tell you is that Splenda is actually a chemically modified substance where chlorine is added to the chemical structure, making it more similar to a chlorinated pesticide than something we should be eating or drinking.

This is one of the biggest misconceptions that I see all of the time and it saddens me to see so many people poisoning their family with dangerous artificial sweeteners like splenda, while falsely thinking they’re doing something healthy.

The truth is that artificial sweeteners are not even close to being healthy, and as you’ll discover in a minute, can easily be just as bad for you, if not worse, than sugar or corn syrup. Most people think that they are doing something good for themselves by choosing the “diet” drinks or “lite” yogurts compared to the sugar-laden versions, but the problem is that you’re exposing yourself to a whole new set of problems with the artificially sweetened drinks and foods.

I know you’re probably frustrated by all of the contradicting messages you hear each day about which foods are good for you and which are bad. I’m sure just today you probably saw some clever ad or commercial somewhere screaming health benefits for a food product that is loaded with artificial sweeteners. Don’t worry. Just stick with me and I’ll get past the marketing hype for you and decipher the truth. I’ll also give you some ideas for great alternatives to artificial sweeteners as well as alternatives to sugar or corn syrup sweeteners.

The fact is, artificial sweeteners vs. sugar or corn syrup is really just a battle between two evils. Which evil is worse?

I’m sure you already know the problems with sugar or high fructose corn syrup sweetened products. The excess empty calories, blood sugar spike, and resulting insulin surge this creates in your body not only promotes fat gain, but also stimulates your appetite further, making things even worse.

On the other hand, artificial sweeteners save you calories, but there’s growing evidence that they can increase your appetite for sweets and other carbohydrates causing you to eat more later in the day anyway. Therefore, you don’t really save any calories at all. Also, studies have shown that artificial sweeteners can stimulate high insulin levels in your body too, which again can promote fat storage.

All of the 4 artificial sweeteners listed above are nasty chemicals that the human body is simply not meant to ingest. However, most of us are ingesting a whole lot of these chemicals on a daily basis. Aside from the problems I touched on so far, other health issues that have been related to artificial sweeteners in scientific studies as well as observations are:
•some have been linked to potential cancer risks
•negative effects on the liver, kidneys, and other organs
•stimulating cravings
•gastrointestinal problems
•developmental problems in children and fetuses
•headaches
•and too many more issues to list

Now some of the above potential health problems are definitely not proven as fact in studies. However, some of them have been shown in animal studies given high doses. Also, if you do some research, you’ll find hoardes of people that attribute the use of artificial sweeteners over the years with all sorts of illnesses in themselves or in family members.

Regardless of the fact that any real health problems for actual human use are not proven yet, I don’t know about you, but I’d rather protect myself and my family and steer clear of these possibly dangerous artificial chemicals.

Of course, despite all of the health issues potentially associated with artificial sweeteners, the companies that sell the products will continue to claim that they are fully safe. Don’t believe them! The bottom line is that the body was not designed to deal with foreign substances like artificial sweeteners. Take my word on that one.

So what are your options for alternatives?

Well, your best alternatives for sugar or corn syrup are either raw honey, organic maple syrup, or even a little-known high antioxidant syrup called sorghum syrup (common in the southern US). Even though these alternatives still have the same amount of calories as sugar or corn syrup… honey, organic maple syrup, and sorghum syrup actually provide some nutrients and antioxidants, so it’s not just empty calories. Empty calories such as white refined sugar stimulate your appetite more because your body is lacking nutrients.

Now you’re probably thinking that you’d like to still save on calories but avoid the nasty artificial sweeteners. Good news… You can!

You’ve probably seen me reference this natural sweetener in a lot of my recipes. It’s called Stevia. I’ve been using it for years as an alternative sweetener when you still want to save a little on calories and sugar but don’t want to harm your health with artificial sweeteners.

Stevia is not artificial like the other chemical sweeteners I mentioned above. Stevia is a natural non-caloric herb that’s been used for thousands of years in some parts of the world. It is an herb and when dried into a powder, has a sweetness about 200-300 times stronger than sugar.

One problem I’ve noticed with using Stevia is that the pure powder is a very powerful sweetener, so you can easily use too much. However, I’ve found some good Stevia products that use a bulking agent added so that you can measure out the stevia powder in direct comparison to measuring sugar.

I’ve yet to see any negative reports or health concerns regarding stevia and only positive potential health benefits. After all, it’s simply an herb as opposed to an artificial chemical derived in a lab. I definitely give Stevia my seal of approval. Do yourself a favor (and your family), and if you are currently an artificial sweetener junkie, please consider switching to stevia.

More and more stevia products are available now even in many grocery stores. One of the best stevia products I’ve found over the years is made by a company called Steviva. They have an excellent stevia product blended with another natural sweetener called erythritol. I suggest giving it a try! Just look for the “Steviva Blend”. You can use it in your coffee or tea, to sweeten up plain yogurt, added to smoothies for extra sweetness, on cereals or oatmeal, in baking, or where ever else you might need a sweetener but want to reduce the sugar content.

If you want to grab some, here’s the site: Steviva Stevia Blend

Well, that’s it for today. I hope you enjoyed this important discussion. Feel free to copy/paste this link and email it to anybody you know that might be overdoing the artificial sweeteners.

If you like what you read, please consider donating to help support my blog, even as little as $5 will help.

At your last meal, did you pay any attention to where the food on your plate came from? It’s a detail that many of us overlook, or think about only in passing, but it’s one that is quite rapidly shaping the future of our planet – and not in a good way.

Seven percent of farms now sell 75 percent of our food, using a conventional farming system that depends on pesticides, herbicides, fertilizers, monoculture and genetically modified organisms (GMOs).

In the documentary film Sustainable Table: What’s On Your Plate, you can get a closer look at the war modern-day agriculture is waging against the planet… and learn what you can do to help stop it.

Conventional Farming Aims to Conquer Nature

You are actually an integral part of nature. But in conventional farming, nature is often considered the enemy – one that must be dealt with using a controlled system of chemicals, irrigation systems, GMOs, fertilizers and other additions to the soil.

When natural processes interfere with the objectives of conventional farming, it responds by using various concoctions of herbicides, pesticides and insecticides to kill weeds, insects and other pests.

This does not come without consequence, however. As the film explains, conventional agriculture’s overexploitation, pollution and other environmental insults made largely over the last half century have resulted in massive ecological degradation; ironically, 60 percent of the planet’s ecosystems, which have been devastated by the activities of man, are now no longer capable of sustaining themselves without human intervention!

The film cites the following statistics:
•Conventional agriculture results in the loss of 24 billion tons of topsoil every year; it takes 500 years for the earth to form 1 inch of topsoil
•Agricultural runoff is the #1 pollutant of U.S. rivers, poisoning groundwater and killing entire ecosystems
•According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), cutting the use of agrichemicals could save $15 billion in water treatment costs

Monocropping: An Unfortunate ‘Side Effect’ of Modern Farming

Monocropping (or monoculture) is defined as the high-yield agricultural practice of growing a single crop year after year on the same land, in the absence of rotation through other crops. Corn, soybeans, wheat, and to some degree rice, are the most common crops grown with monocropping techniques.

It’s an efficient system that modern agriculture depends on, but massive monoculture has led to the extinction of 75 percent of the world’s crop varieties over the last century. It is detrimental to the environment for a number of reasons, including the following:
•It damages soil ecology by depleting and reducing the diversity of soil nutrients
•It creates an unbuffered niche for parasitic species to take over, making crops more vulnerable to opportunistic pathogens that can quickly wipe out an entire crop
•It increases dependency on chemical pesticides and fertilizers
•It increases reliance on expensive specialized farm equipment and machinery that require heavy use of fossil fuels
•It destroys biodiversity

By contrast, polyculture (the traditional rotation of crops and livestock used historically by small family farms) better serves both land and people. Polyculture evolved to meet the complete nutritional needs of a local community, and when done mindfully, automatically replenishes what is taken out, making it sustainable with minimal effort.

CAFOs Have Become a Cruel New ‘Norm’

Modern agriculture views animals as commodities rather than living beings, and the end result is a very sad and cruel system where livestock are subject to profound mental and physical anguish, not to mention subject to incredibly unhealthy practices, like the administration of low-dose antibiotics and living in their own waste.

People living near CAFOs (concentrated animal feeding operations) are exposed to odorous emissions linked to decreased lung function, cardiovascular ailments, neurological problems, asthma, and premature death; drinking water is also often contaminated by animal waste runoff. Corporate-owned CAFOs have been highly promoted as the best way to produce food for the masses, but the only reason CAFOs are able to remain so “efficient” is because they substitute government-subsidized crops for pasture grazing, completely altering the animals’ natural diets, with further disastrous consequences for both animal and human health.

Conventional Farming Promotes Consumption of Unhealthy Foods

Although I don’t agree with the film’s portrayal of saturated fats as unhealthy, or of a vegan diet as particularly healthy, there is no denying the fact that modern agricultural practices promote the consumption of an unhealthy diet. Today’s sky-high rates of obesity, diabetes, and cardiovascular disease can be tied directly to changes in how our food has been grown and produced over the past 40 years.

This includes an overconsumption of low-quality sources of protein. For optimal health, I recommend reducing your protein levels to one gram per kilogram of lean body weight. It would be unusual for most adults to need more than 100 grams of protein and most likely close to half that … yet access to cheap sources of meat (such as fast-food burgers) make it easy to surpass this.

Also problematic is the fact that farm subsidies bring you high-fructose corn syrup, fast food, animal factories, monoculture, and a host of other contributors to our unhealthful contemporary diet. A report comparing federal subsidies of fresh produce and junk food, prepared by U.S. PIRG, a non-profit organization that takes on special interests on behalf of the public, revealed where your tax dollars are really going, and it’s quite shocking.

If you were to receive an annual federal subsidy directly, you would receive $7.36 to spend on junk food and just 11 cents to buy apples. In other words, every year your tax dollars pay for enough corn syrup and other junk food additives to buy 19 Twinkies, but only enough fresh fruit to buy less than a quarter of one red delicious apple.

Sustainable Food Systems Are Out There… And They Need Your Support

The film wraps up by showing several examples of truly sustainable agriculture – an organic farm where workers handpick weeds and pests off of plants in lieu of using chemicals, a farmer’s market where you can talk with your local farmers about how your food is being grown … by making changes in what food you choose to purchase and eat, you can actively support the natural agricultural systems that the future of the planet, and of the human race, depend on.

You may be surprised to find out that by going directly to the source you can get amazingly healthy, locally grown, organic food for less than you can find at your supermarket. This gives you the best of both worlds: food that is grown near to you and sold with minimal packaging, cutting down on its carbon footprint and giving you optimal freshness, as well as grown without chemicals, genetically modified seeds, and other potential threats to your health.

Just as restaurants are able to keep their costs down by getting food directly from a supplier, you, too, can take advantage of a direct farm-to-consumer relationship, either on an individual basis or by joining a food coop in your area. Many farmers markets are now accepting food stamps, so this is an opportunity most everyone can join in on.

You vote three times a day when you choose the foods for your meals. Will you vote for the system that is systematically destroying your health, animal welfare and the planet… or will you support those who are changing the world for the better, one meal at a time?

If you like what you read, please consider donating to help support my blog, even as little as $5 will help.

An Egg A Day to Keep the Allergies Away?

New studies presented at the American College of Allergy, Asthma and
Immunology (ACAAI) Annual Scientific Meeting found that 56 percent of allergic
children can tolerate baked hen’s egg, while 55 percent outgrow their egg allergy
entirely. You know what this means? This means that if your kids or grandchildren have egg
allergies, they may not have to avoid the sweet treats like cookies and other sweets that contain eggs!

Allergist Rushani Saltzman, M.D., lead study author and ACAAI member
said “More than half of egg allergic children can tolerate hen’s eggs when they
are baked at 350 degrees in products such as cakes and breads”. He also said that
baked egg dietary introduction by an allergist can broaden a child’s diet, improve
quality of life and likely accelerate the development of an egg tolerance.

2/5 baked hen’s egg was the median dose tolerated. All the tested products were
baked at 350 degrees for a minimum of 30 minutes.

Ruchi Gupta, M.D., lead study author and pediatrician, found out in a separate
study that children usually outgrew the egg allergy out of all the eight common
food allergens.

“Food tolerance was observed in one in four children, with 55 percent outgrowing
their egg allergy by age seven,” said Dr. Gupta. “Developing an egg tolerance is
the most common for children, followed by milk. A small proportion outgrew
shellfish and tree nut allergies.”

However, according to the researchers, if the child has suffered a severe allergic
reaction to eggs in the past, they are less likely to develop immunity to it.
Rapid swelling of the skin and tissue, difficulty breathing and life-threatening
anaphylaxis are the symptoms of severe allergic reaction.

Allergist Richard Weber, M.D., ACAAI president-elect, pointed out that while
their recent study showed positive findings for children who develop allergies
when they eat eggs or food that is made from and contains eggs like cookies,
parents must always be cautious. “Introducing an allergen back into a child’s
diet can have severe consequences, and only should be done under the care of a
board-certified allergist”, said Weber.

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/11/121109083748.htm

Be Well!

Erai Beckmann

Founder – The Future of Health Now

Groceries make up more than half of Walmart’s retail sales, an amount that’s risen significantly over the past 10 years.

The rise makes sense from a business standpoint, since shoppers are still spending more on basic needs like food than they are on electronics or other household items – and Walmart’s product offerings have shifted to take advantage of that.

The retail giant is, however, claiming that its foray into foods, particularly local foods, has not only saved customers over $1 billion, but also helped farmers in the process – a claim that just doesn’t add up.

Why Walmart is Not a Boon to Small Farmers

On Walmart’s corporate web site, it claims the company is “… strengthening local farmers and economies, while providing customers around the world with long-term access to affordable, fresh food.”1

And it would superficially appear that they have made some progress, increasing locally sourced produce by 97 percent in 2011 alone (still, this only accounts for 10 percent of the produce they sell). They also tout some lofty goals, including:
•Selling $1 billion in food sourced from 1 million small- and medium-sized farmers
•Increasing the income by 10-15% for the small- and medium-sized farmers they source from
•Doubling sales of locally sourced produce in the United States

Yet Walmart, which reportedly has grocery sales higher than those from Kroger, Safeway, and SuperValu grocery chains combined (for a total of about 145 billion in 2011), is uniquely positioned to actually cut small farmers’ profits, by virtue of their sheer size and market power. As Trefis reported:2

“To maintain its low cost provider status, WMT [Walmart] uses a two pronged approach. First, it leverages its scale to exert buying power on its suppliers and obtains a lower price for its inventory than competitors.

Second, WMT is relentless on cutting costs across its supply chain and maintaining as lean a structure as possible. By doing these two things, the company is able to pass on its savings to customers while still maintaining margins that are equivalent or higher than competitors.

To note an example, even when the U.S. grocery market was feeling the impact of food price inflation in the latter half of 2012, Wal-Mart was able to lower its grocery prices and take share from competitors who had no choice but to raise prices to maintain their margins.”

Many of Walmart’s ‘Local’ Farms Bring in Millions of Dollars a Year

Most people assume that when Walmart says it’s buying its produce locally, it means they’re supporting small family farms that are growing healthy foods for their communities.

But small local farmers simply can’t grow enough produce to meet Walmart’s year-round demands. So much of its local produce may actually be coming from very large farms. As NPR reported:

“Of the eight farms highlighted on Wal-Mart’s locally grown web site,3 five are very large farms by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s definition, with annual sales in the millions of dollars.”

Some have described Walmart’s push toward locally grown food as “industrial local,” and compared it to their pledge to increase organic foods a few years back. Grist reported:4

“’They [Walmart] held true to their corporate model and tried to do organics the same way,’ said Mark Kastel of the Cornucopia Institute.

For its store-brand organic milk, for example, Walmart turned to Aurora Organic Dairy, which runs several giant industrial milking operations in Texas and Colorado, each with as many as 10,000 cows. In 2007, the USDA sanctioned Aurora for multiple violations of organic standards …

[In 2011], the agency stepped in again, this time revoking the organic certification for Promiseland Livestock, which had been supplying supposedly organically raised cows to Aurora.”

How Walmart May be Helping to Drive Food Prices Up

Of course, the lion’s share of Walmart’s groceries come not from small, local farms, or even large ones, but from industrial concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFOs). In some cases, already giant industrial meatpackers, dairy companies and food processors actually merged simply to become large enough to supply Walmart.

This consolidation has actually been blamed as one of the factors driving food prices up. Ironically, however, as food prices rise, farmers are getting paid less while the retailers … aka Walmart … are getting more:5

“Grocery prices have been rising faster than inflation and, while there are multiple factors driving up consumer costs, some economic research points to concentration in both food manufacturing and retailing as a leading culprit.

Farmers, meanwhile, are getting paid less and less. Take pork, for example. Between 1990 and 2009, the farmers’ share of each dollar consumers spent on pork fell from 45 to 25 cents, according to the USDA Economic Research Service. Pork processors picked up some of the difference, but the bulk of the gains went to Walmart and other supermarket chains, which are now pocketing 61 cents of each pork dollar, up from 45 cents in 1990.

Another USDA analysis found that big retailers have used their market power to shortchange farmers who grow apples, lettuce, and other types of produce, paying them less than what they would get in a competitive market, while also charging consumers inflated prices. In this way, Walmart has actually helped drive overall food prices up,” Grist reported.

Three More Reasons to Reconsider Buying Your Food at Walmart

They may have low prices, but at what real cost? If you’ve seen Robert Greenwald’s excellent documentary, Wal-Mart: The High Cost of Low Prices, you’re aware of the many social and financial problems created every time a Wal-Mart store opens in your area. For example, Penn State University researchers estimate some 20,000 American families have dropped below the poverty level due to the astounding growth of Wal-Mart between 1987 and 1998.6

And in counties where Wal-Mart stores are located, more than 15 percent of families depend on food stamps, compared to the national norm of 8 percent. Other unsettling factors include:
1.Walmart stores are linked to obesity: An additional Wal-Mart Supercenter per 100,000 residents increases average BMI by 0.24 units and the obesity rate by 2.3 percentage points.7 The researchers hypothesized that the substantial reductions in the prices of food at Wal-Mart Supercenters ends up “reducing the opportunity cost of food consumption and increasing the opportunity cost of physical activity,” thereby leading to a rise in obesity rates.
2.Walmart is the largest single U.S. importer of Chinese goods: Walmart imports over $30 billion in goods from China every year. This not only accounts for 80 percent of Wal-Mart’s imports but also 15 percent of the total U.S. imports of Chinese goods.8 Not only does this drive American companies to shut down plants and move manufacturing to China, but China is now almost as well known for toxic food ingredients as they are for electronics.
3.Walmart has promoted a distorted view of organic foods: Ever since Walmart decided to significantly increase their organic offerings, they have been bombarded with accusations of selling substandard organic food, produced at factory farms or imported from China, not grown on small, U.S. organic farms like consumers are led to believe. They’ve even been accused of posting signs in their stores that mislead consumers into believing that non-organic items are actually organic.

It’s reasons like these why your best source of food will virtually always be from actual local farmers, not huge superstores like Walmart.

For Real Quality Food, Support Your Small, Local Farmers

If the small farmers in your area get enough support from you and your neighbors, they won’t need to worry about figuring out how to change their farming model to compete with, or appease, Walmart. If every American decided to not purchase food that comes from Walmart or CAFOs, the entire system would collapse overnight. It doesn’t take an act of Congress to change the food system. All that is required is for each and every person to change their shopping habits.

Sourcing your foods from a local farmer is one of your best bets to ensure you’re getting food that is wholesome and that is grown in a sustainable fashion. I encourage you to visit your local farm directly, if you have one nearby, and also take part in farmer’s markets and community-supported agriculture programs.

Ask the farmers how they grow their food, bring your children so they can see it first-hand, and revel in the connection you re-establish between yourself and your source of food; it’s a connection that is in many ways a representation of life itself. You can find an ever-increasing number of “eat local” and “buy local” directories, in which local farms across the United States will be listed. The following organizations can also help you locate farm-fresh foods in your local area:
1.Local Harvest — This Web site will help you find farmers’ markets, family farms, and other sources of sustainably grown food in your area where you can buy produce, grass-fed meats, and many other goodies.
2.Farmers’ Markets– A national listing of farmers’ markets.
3.Eat Well Guide: Wholesome Food from Healthy Animals — The Eat Well Guide is a free online directory of sustainably raised meat, poultry, dairy, and eggs from farms, stores, restaurants, inns, and hotels, and online outlets in the United States and Canada.
4.Community Involved in Sustaining Agriculture (CISA) — CISA is dedicated to sustaining agriculture and promoting the products of small farms.
5.FoodRoutes — The FoodRoutes “Find Good Food” map can help you connect with local farmers to find the freshest, tastiest food possible. On their interactive map, you can find a listing for local farmers, CSA’s, and markets near you.

If you like what you read, please consider donating to help support my blog, even as little as $5 will help.

The TRUTH about Potatoes, Glycemic Index, and “White Foods” – Friend or Foe for Fat Loss?
I’d like to start a little discussion today about carbohydrates… and in particular, “white foods” as well as potatoes. One reason I wanted to mention this is because so many health and fitness professionals trash talk potatoes about being a bad carbohydrate choice because of the high glycemic index. Some even say such ridiculous things as “avoid any and all white carbohydrates”.

Ok, now while I certainly agree that white bread and refined white sugar are two of the worst things we can be feeding our bodies, I definately don’t agree with avoiding any and all “white carbohydrates”. Now I know all of the buzz lately has been about colorful foods and the protective antioxidants that they contain. They tell you to focus on colors and stay away from white.

“White Foods” aren’t necessarily always the enemy

It’s true that colorful foods are great, but it is a big mistake to specifically avoid white foods! There are plenty of white foods that have specific nutrients that are hard to find elsewhere. Let’s look at a few examples…

Onions & Garlic

What about onions and garlic? They are both white and they are chock full of protective phytonutrients, vitamins, and trace minerals that aren’t easy to find elsewhere in a normal diet… such nutrients as allicin, quercetin (an important flavonoid), chromium, and other unique anti-inflammatory nutrients.

In fact, onions are so powerful for our health, that one study of centenarians (people that live to over 100 years old) identified that a common thread of these amazingly healthy individuals was that they ate a lot of onions throughout their lives. And we also know that garlic is one of the most powerful substances for a strong immune system, among other qualities.

Cauliflower

Another example of something white that is great for you is cauliflower. Cauliflower is loaded with vitamin C, fiber, minerals, and special compounds such as glucosinolates and thiocyanates, which are specifically abundant in cruciferous vegetables such as broccoli, cauliflower, and cabbage. And a little-known fact is that some of the compounds in cruciferous vegetables help to combat other estrogenic compounds in our food supply and environment and can help prevent excess belly fat. So eat up on that cauliflower!

Mushrooms

Not many people realize this, but surprisingly, even white mushrooms have high levels of unique nutrients and antioxidants. White mushrooms are high in a couple types of antioxidants called polyphenols and ergothioneine. And some types of mushrooms, such as portobella mushrooms, are surprisingly good sources of Vitamin D.

Potatoes

Now that also leads us to another example – white potatoes (which by the way, can also be found in red, yellow, purple varieties, etc). Many health professionals claim that potatoes are a bad carbohydrate because they are thought to have a high glycemic index. First of all, if you’ve read my Truth about Six Pack Abs ebook, then you understand that glycemic index is not necessarily the most important factor in choosing your carbohydrates.

While a generalization can be made that most low glycemic index carbohydrate choices will help you lose body fat easier than high glycemic index choices, it is not all that it’s cracked up to be. There are many other factors that determine how your body will react-to and process the carbohydrates you ingest, such as glycemic load and also how you combine the high GI food with other foods.

For example, using glycemic load as an example… it is known that watermelon has a high glycemic index. However, the glycemic load of a normal serving of watermelon is just way too low for your body to start packing on body fat just because you ate a high glycemic index fruit. You would have to eat such an enormous quantity of watermelon just to get enough grams of carbohydrates to have any negative glycemic effect, that it is just non-sensical.

Not to mention that watermelon is also a great source of vitamins, minerals, and lycopene. There’s just no reason to avoid it simply because it has a high GI. My point is… candy bars, cupcakes, and donuts make you fat… NOT watermelons, carrots or potatoes… French fries excluded of course.

Also, as i mentioned, food combinations are important in how your body processes the carbohydrates and the associated blood sugar and insulin response you receive. For example, if you mix a high glycemic index carbohydrate with an extra source of fiber, healthy fats, or even certain proteins, many times the blood sugar and glycemic response will be slowed down considerably by the way you combined the food. Again, I talk in detail about this entire topic in my Truth about Six Pack Abs book

Alright, so back to my point that white potatoes are actually a healthy carbohydrate as long as you eat them in the right form… with the entire skin, and please don’t ruin them by deep frying them into french fries either! French fries are one of the most evil things ever invented for your health, but only because we ruin them by soaking them in a scorching bath of trans fats in the deep fryer from the hydrogenated oils that are typically used.

Keep in mind that potatoes contain so many vitamins and minerals that the list is way too long to even try. Also, as long as you eat the skins, you get a decent shot of fiber too.

Will 7-9 potatoes per day make you fatter?

On the topic of potatoes not being so bad after all, I don’t remember where I saw this referenced, but I recently saw a particular study that had participants eat something like 7-9 whole potatoes per day for several weeks.

At the conclusion of the study, the potato eaters had actually consistently lost weight! I’d venture a guess that the reason the people lost weight is that they were probably so full from eating all of those damn potatoes, that they actually consumed less calories than normal! An average sized potato only has about 100-120 calories, and I can surely imagine you’d be full constantly from eating 7-9 potatoes each day.

Of course, this does NOT mean that french fries are ok to eat! Those will only make you fat, and the trans fat will lead to an early death. Seriously… fries are one of the most deadly foods in our food supply. Plus, deep fried potatoes build up dangerous acrylamides from the frying oil reacting with the starch, and these compounds are carcinogenic.

Anyway, back to the 7-9 whole potatoes per day… Now I would never recommend going to those extremes, but my point is that an occasional potato is not going to hurt your efforts to get lean, especially if you combine it with some other fibrous vegetables and maybe a healthy fat and some protein. On that note, I have one of my favorite recipes for you, using potatoes.

Geary’s Lean-Body Potato Side Dish
•Desired quantity of baby potatoes (I like to use this mixture I found recently at a health food store… it is a mixture of white, red, yellow, and purple baby potatoes)
•1 red pepper
•1 green pepper
•1 yellow pepper
•1 or 2 onions
•a couple cloves of garlic, finely chopped (or mashed garlic from a jar, organic preferably)
•1 or 2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil and/or virgin coconut oil
•a little salt and pepper to taste (I like using a sea salt instead of normal commercial salt)

Cut the baby potatoes into slightly smaller pieces and place in a steamer until soft all the way through. Slice up the peppers and onions into strips and add with the chopped garlic into a pan with the olive oil. Cook the peppers, onions, and garlic until tender, and then add the steamed baby potatoes. Stir it all together and serve. This is a delicious and healthy side dish that goes great with chicken or red meat.

I hope you’ve enjoyed this little topic today about potatoes, healthy carbohydrates, glycemic index, and my killer healthy potato recipe idea!

by Mike Geary, Certified Nutrition Specialist, Certified Personal Trainer
Author – The Truth about Six-Pack Abs

If you like what you read, please consider donating to help support my blog, even as little as $5 will help.

U.S. farmers may stop planting GMOs after horrific crop yields

Some farmers across the United States may stop planting genetically modified crops after poor yields are increasing costs beyond what they can absorb.

According to Farmers Weekly, those farmers are considering returning to conventional seed after increased pest resistance and crop failures have meant smaller GM crop yields over non-GM counterparts.

Farmers in the U.S. pay about $100 more per acre for GM seed. Many have begun questioning “whether they will continue to see benefits from using GMs,” the farmer’s publication reported.

“It’s all about cost benefit analysis,” economist Dan Basse, president of AgResource, an American agricultural research firm, said.

“Farmers are paying extra for the technology but have seen yields which are no better than 10 years ago,” he told the Weekly. “They’re starting to wonder why they’re spending extra money on the technology.”

A problem that is becoming more widespread

The publication said one of the biggest problems U.S. farmers have experienced with GM seed is resistance. When GM seeds were first introduced, biotech engineers said it would be 40 years before resistance would develop; but pests such as corn rootworm have instead developed a resistance to GM crops in as few as 14 years.

“Some of these bugs will eat the plant and it will make them sick, but not kill them. It starts off in pockets of the country but then becomes more widespread,” Basse said.

“We’re looking at going back to cultivation to control it. I now use insecticides again,” he said.

If farmers don’t move back towards non-GMOs, the availability of seed will become an issue, he said, noting that some 87 percent of U.S. farmers currently plant genetically modified seed.

Countries around the world that do not use GM seed are outperforming U.S. farmers. The largest crop yields last year were in Asia, and China in particular, where farmers don’t plant GM seed.

For years, there has been concern that GM seeds would develop resistance to pesticides and weed killers, though some of the largest biotech firms that push such seeds – like Monsanto – have consistently denied or downplayed such concerns.

Scott McAllister, a third-generation farmer in Iowa, told The Huffington Post in October he was leery of Monsanto’s claims when a seed peddler came to see him last fall.

“Down the road, are we going to experience resistance in weeds with the continued use of Roundup?” McAllister said he recalls asking the salesman.

“Oh no, that’ll never happen,” he was told.

Sure it won’t…

Monsanto’s combination of GM seed and Roundup herbicide was supposed to help crops thrive, not weeds and bugs. But 15 years later, when most corn, soybeans and cotton cultivated in the U.S. comes from Roundup Ready seed, an increasing number of these crops are falling prey to “superweeds” that have become resistant to the GM seeds and herbicide that was supposed to kill them forever.

From HuffPo:

Repeated application of the herbicide has literally weeded out the weak weeds and given the rare resistant weeds the opportunity to take over. The situation, according to a report published…in the peer-reviewed journal Environmental Sciences Europe, has driven growers to use larger quantities of Roundup, more often and in conjunction with a broader arsenal of other weed-killing chemicals.

“It’s been a slowly unfolding train wreck,” Charles Benbrook, author of the study and professor at the Center for Sustaining Agriculture and Natural Resources at Washington State University, said.

“Before biotech came on the market, we had one airplane in the county to do all the aerial spraying,” McAllister told the online newspaper. “Now they bring in seven or eight. We’ve got the same acreage of crops. They’re just spraying more.”

Sources:

http://www.fwi.co.uk

http://www.huffingtonpost.com

http://www.naturalnews.com/027827_GM_seeds_food_supply.html

If you like what you read, please consider donating to help support my blog, even as little as $5 will help.

Five states have introduced seven different “Ag-Gag bills” to silence people who try to expose CAFO practices. State-based Action Alerts!

Remember our exposé on the factory farms, and the legislation designed to keep the public in the dark about them? They’re back! It’s not just that these bills trample the First Amendment. It’s that these bills are designed to keep the filthy, profoundly unsanitary conditions at factory farms—CAFOs, or Confined Animal Feeding Operations—from being exposed to the public. CAFOs are the antithesis of safe and nutritious food. If governments, both federal and state, were truly serious about food safety, they would address the miserable CAFO conditions.

CAFOs are responsible for foodborne illnesses such as salmonella and listeria; are notorious for their use of antibiotics for nontherapeutic uses, and for exacerbating the “superbug” problem in which organisms become increasingly resistant to antibiotics; and ruin rural economies. In addition, there is the inhumane treatment of the animals themselves.

Ag-Gag laws prevent consumers from being informed, and therefore consumers ability to fully choose what they eat.

The current spate of bills are not novel: ten states introduced similar legislation in 2011–12, and bills were passed in Iowa, Missouri, and Utah. The rest were defeated by grassroots activists like you. These bills are introduced by legislators who have strong industry financial backing. Industry has the tenacity—and the deep pockets—necessary to keep trying to push these bills through again and again, year after year, if they don’t pass the first time.

Last year’s bill in Iowa is a good case in point: it’s a study in rampant conflicts of interest. Monsanto pushed Iowa’s anti-trespassing/Ag-Gag bill because the company has more facilities in Iowa than any other state in the country, and because “crop operations” are also covered by the bills—so Monsanto seed houses, pesticide manufacturing plants, and research facilities in Iowa will be “protected” from hidden cameras or whistleblowers infiltrating their plants.

It’s really all about the economics of CAFOs:

•There are approximately 15,000 CAFOs in the US, which raise 50% of all animals used for our food.
•The largest food processors hold the greatest share of the market, so they wield more power, both economic and political.
•CAFOs receive a wide array of subsidies, both direct and indirect, such as crop subsidies on the corn and soybean used to feed CAFO animals. This in turn means more money in the pockets of feed producers like Monsanto.
•Because CAFOs are not held accountable for the environmental and health damage they do, they don’t have to worry about those costs, putting more into their pocket. Those costs are absorbed by the public at large.
•There are also the economies of scale: once a farm is automated for a large number of animals, doubling that number does not mean a doubling of costs. Organic costs more to produce—as much as 20% more—than CAFOs and factory farms because they require more labor (no use of dangerous of chemicals), more costly fertilizer, higher labor costs for crop rotation, more money spent on organic certification, slower growing time, greater post-harvest handling costs to avoid cross-contamination, and more spacious (and thus more expensive) living conditions for livestock. And of course they don’t receive the aforementioned subsidies.

Sponsors of the 2012 Iowa bill, Senators Joe Seng (D) and Annette Sweeney (R), received contributions from special interests including the Iowa Corn Growers Association (who contributed 8% of Seng’s campaign funding and gave a similar amount to Sweeney), the Iowa Farm Bureau Association, Monsanto, and the Iowa Agribusiness Association. Of course we have no idea what lobbying, if any, went on behind closed doors, but the money trail—and the support for legislation that directly benefits these special interests—speak for themselves.

These Ag-Gag laws are inspired by a model bill called the “Animal and Ecological Animal Terrorism Act” from the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC). ALEC has both powerful corporate members and legislators, making the conflict of interest pretty seamless. ALEC’s corporate members are a Who’s Who of the Big Food supply chain, from farmers to retailers: Monsanto, Kraft, Walmart, Walgreens, etc.

The intent of the ALEC-modeled bills is to introduce them in many states, sometimes word-for-word. It becomes a systematized process. As the New York Times reported last year, an ALEC membership brochure “boasted that ALEC lawmakers typically introduced more than 1,000 bills based on model legislation each year and passed about 17 percent of them.” When ALEC runs with a bill, it has the support necessary to go much further by being introduced in many states simultaneously. It’s a sneaky way of legitimizing an idea that benefits only powerful and wealthy companies, not the general public.

Numerous state legislators are members of ALEC; last year, of the sixty legislators who voted in favor of Ag-Gag bills, 23% of them were members of ALEC, as are sponsors of three of the new Ag-Gag bills: Arizona state senator Jeremy Hutchinson and Wyoming state representative Sue Wallis. In 2010 Wallis was the subject of a conflict-of-interest complaint for trying to block legislation that would send stray horses to slaughter when at the same time she was planning to build a horse slaughter plant of her own. Both Wallis and her cosponsor on the Wyoming bill, Ogden Driskill, are both members of Wyoming Stock Growers Association. Driskill accepted contributions from livestock industry as well as Exxon Mobil.

Here’s a run-down of all seven state bills:

State

Bill Number

Description

Arkansas

SB 13

Makes an “improper animal investigation” by someone who is not a “certified law enforcement officer” a misdemeanor with a potential civil penalty of $5,000.

SB 14

Makes “interference with livestock or poultry” a misdemeanor. “Interference” is defined as creating a concealed image or sound recording or by applying for employment as part of an undercover investigation.

Indiana

SB 373

Makes it unlawful to record agricultural or industrial operations, whether by photograph, film, or video.

SB 391

Requires the Indiana Board of Animal Health to maintain a registry of persons convicted of recording such operations.

Nebraska

LB 204

If a person makes a “false statement” in an employment agreement with the intention of doing an animal facility “economic harm” or doing “serious bodily injury” to someone, criminal violations kick in. If the economic damages are more than $100,000, or there is serious bodily injury, felony charges can be brought. A more serious felony can be brought if economic damages exceed $1 million or if the violation involves the death of another individuals. The bill specifically says that it is not intended to prohibit otherwise lawful, peaceful picketing or to restrict other rights under the First Amendment. Employees who believe animals are neglected or mistreated must make their report within 24 hours of its discovery.

New Hampshire

HB 110

Requires that anyone who records cruelty to livestock must report it within 24 hours.

Wyoming

HB 0126

Makes “knowingly or intentionally” recording the image or sound from an agricultural operation without the consent of the owner or manager is a misdemeanor punishable for up to six months in jail and a $750 fine. Also requires reporting animal abuse within 48 hours, and anyone who makes a good faith effort is immune from civil liability for making a report.

Action Alert! CAFOs don’t need further protection, and individuals who bravely expose CAFO conditions should not be penalized. If you’re a resident in one of the five states where these new bills have been offered, please contact your legislators and tell them to honor free speech and oppose these bills. Please send your message today!

If you like what you read, please consider donating to help support my blog, even as little as $5 will help.

Every day one or two health foods are flooded into the market claiming
superior health benefits. Almost every month, bookstores will stock up on
books that sell health and dieting programs.

On the TV, exercise programs and exercise machines are advertised to
keep healthy and fit. The fact is all of these works, the question is, is
it really needed?

The Exotic Sounding Foods:

You would have heard of the Acai berry, fig leaves, bitter melon, green
tea, and so many other exotic sounding foods.

Do they work? …

They do, but so does other foods.

When the excitement for these foods wanes, another food will crop up,
the benefits overstated, and orders will start coming in increasing the
demand, spiking prices for the products until a new one appears.

Is it worth it?

Well, that depends on how deep the wallet is.

The truth is that every natural food has its own benefit, that when
examined closely – will always reveal special properties that can be harnessed
by an advertiser.

So it’s therefore important to remember, that when it sounds too good
to be true, then it probably is.

The Fad Foods:

Everybody would LOVE to have a good figure, complete with washboard
six-pack abs – and why not!

When you feel great in your body and mind, you’ll naturally find it easier
to influence your immediate environment!

– Employment can be easier to find, your earning potential increases, your
body looks and feels so much healthier, younger, and energized.

What is wrong with fad foods is that it is not telling us the whole truth.

If Halle Berry for example gave birth last week and appeared on TV in better
shape then before the child birth, everybody would be fascinated with
how she did it!

The media knows this, so the question that would be asked, is which
diet helped keep her figure in top shape.

Whatever answer Halle Berry gives, would be sure to get the audience’s
attention – and therefore the telephones would start ringing for orders.

What’s NOT mentioned is that stars maintain a host of dieticians,
physicians and exercise guru’s working for the sole purpose of keeping
the image of the star and maintaining it.

The diet may be true but it is only a part of the whole regimen of things
observed to make the star look good on camera.

Look to eat a variety of food. All food is good provided the person eats variety
and strives for a balanced diet.

Exotic sounding and foreign delicacies are not required nor needed. Natural
grown food is great for the needs of people striving for health and vibrancy.

The key in maintaining natural health is balance, variety, and common sense.

If you like what you read, please consider donating to help support my blog, even as little as $5 will help.