Is High Fruit Consumption Actually Good for You?

January 15, 2013 by 3 Comments

Modern American dietary guidelines tout fruit as an excellent source of nutrients and a food item one should eat regularly. In fact the USDA food pyramid recommends the consumption of two to four servings of fruit a day.

However, before you begin filling up on bananas you may want to consider the following questions:

1. When was the last time you had access to an heirloom variety (not hybrid) of a naturally growing fruit tree, bush or vine?

2. Do you understand that the fructose in fruit can actually cause insulin resistance faster than any other type of sugar?

3.  How many weeks each year might a traditional, healthy tribal population have access to fresh picked fruit? And most importantly,

4.  Are there other foods that do not affect your glycemic index negatively, putting you at risk for all kinds of disease that can provide just as many important nutrients as fruit?

An “heirloom” variety indicates produce which is in its original state, that is, produce that has not been hybridized with other varieties to produce a newer, more insect-resistant form of produce. Heirloom varieties of produce were the most common for thousands of years so one would think we would actually single out heirloom fruits by calling them such. However, heirloom varieties of produce are mainly only available at famers markets and now constitute a minority of the produce available for purchase. It’s easier for shopping and marketing purposes to label hybridized fruits and vegetables as “normal” while labeling the original produce of planet earth as “heirloom.”

The main difference between heirloom fruits and hybridized fruits was already mentioned above. Didn’t see it? It’s that hybridized produce is more insect-resistant than heirloom produce. But what does that mean? Well, heirloom produce is much more nutrient dense than hybridized. Perhaps insects’ instinctively dislike hybridized produce as it does not adequately meet their nutritional needs. Interestingly, insects still prefer heirloom varieties of fruit even though hybridized are much, much sweeter than heirloom.

While hybridized fruit is much healthier and preferable to conventional produce, it can still present a health risk because fruit contains fructose. The dangers of high amounts of fructose in fruit can appear misleading because few fructose molecules turn into glucose (blood sugar) and therefore do not appear to be causing the “glycemic” response. Sugars are metabolized in the body by both the pancreas and by the liver. Fructose is much more readily metabolized to fat in the liver than glucose. This can lead to nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). This in turn leads to hepatic insulin resistance and Type II Diabetes.

Some fruits do contain a lot of nutrients. Kiwis and cherries are nutrient dense, but should only be consumed when they are in season as they are sweet and can cause insulin resistance if consumed year round. Cherries convert to sugar in the body at a much slower rate than options such as peaches and watermelon. Remember, a hybridized fruit is made to be insect resistant and able to be grown year-round. A hybridized kiwi which is unnaturally grown year-round is not an excellent source of nutrition. Apples are also a good source of nutrients but most apples today are hybridized and far sweeter than the original heirloom apples. They may not be as sugary as other fruit however, so apples can be a good choice, if consumed seasonally. The pectin in apples allows the body to metabolize their sugar slowly, thus not overwhelming the liver with fructose.

The best fruit of all is probably berries as they contain a higher concentration of various antioxidants. You get more nutrient bang for your fructose buck when it comes to berries. Berries tend to be less sweet and contain less fructose than other fruits as well. However, in order to grow them year round and make them sweeter, farmers are busy hybridizing berries. Strawberries have been so hybridized they really don’t resemble their original form at all. As a result they are too full of sugar to be nutritionally worth the consumption. Since they grow in the ground they also tend to be heavily sprayed with pesticides. Blackberries and blueberries are considered two of the most nutrient-dense berries with the least sugar. However, we recommend all berries, except for strawberries.

Typically, color in produce indicates nutrients. The deeper the color of a fruit, the more nutrients it contains. This is particularly true of blueberries. Regular, hybridized, organic blueberries are often white inside when they are sliced open. The interior of a wild, heirloom blueberry is quite dark. Wild blueberries are significantly more expensive than those in the grocery store because they are lower on the blueberry bush and therefore much more difficult to harvest. However, the price difference is made up by nutrients. David Getoff, instructor of Attaining Optimal Health in the 21st Century course has discovered research showing an increase ranging from 200% to 300% in the amount of nutrients in wild blueberries compared to cultivated blueberries. He still recommends cultivated (organic) blueberries as a nutritious and health-promoting fruit. Vital Choice blueberries are an excellent option as they are organic and wild. A slightly less expensive option is Wyman’s blueberries. Wyman’s blueberries are also wild but they cannot be considered organic as they are fertilized. However, they are not sprayed so they are still a good option.

 

Can you tell which blueberries are the healthiest?

Can you tell which blueberries are the healthiest?

One “form” of fruit that should rarely, if ever, be consumed is fruit juice. Fruit juice, even 100% fruit juice, is loaded with sugar and overwhelms the body’s metabolic response. Commercially processed fruit juices are usually made at a high temperature which destroys many of the juice’s beneficial enzymes and nutrients. More importantly, fruit juice doesn’t contain any of the fiber which slows down sugar conversion in the body. Fruit is most nutritious when in its whole state, not when separated from its fibers and flesh.

So how to determine when and what fruit to eat? The following should be your guidelines:

  1. Is this fruit in season and locally grown?
  2. Is this fruit heirloom (usually found at the farmer’s market)?
  3. Does this fruit have a lower glycemic index so that it converts to sugar slowly in the body and does not overwhelm my system?

Answering these questions before choosing which fruit to eat can be very beneficial to your health. However, remember the fruits listed above are also generally the healthiest options for you. Most importantly, remember there are a variety of nutrient-dense foods such as pastured, grass-fed, organic meat and healthy fats from pastured, grass-fed butter and organic, extra-virgin coconut oil.

Filed Under: Blueberry, Food for Thought, Fruit, Fruit Juice

Three Types of Sweeteners, Part III: Use These

December 6, 2012 by 1 Comment

The following sweeteners taste good and don’t cause the health issues the other sweeteners, artificial and natural, can cause.  These products are natural, do not raise your blood sugar levels, do not cause digestive problems, do not contain carcinogens, and do not bring about neurological problems.  However, one does need to be careful of over-indulging with these sweeteners.  If you grow accustomed to having a large amount of sweets on a regular basis, then, when you’re away from home, you may be tempted to eat something sweetened in an unhealthy way simply because your taste buds have developed a preference for this taste. You also do not want to substitute nutrient-dense food for “healthier” sweeteners and run the risk of nutrient deficiencies.  So, keep this in mind while using the following sweeteners.

  • Yacon:  A root from Peru that is also grown in Mexico and Brazil.  It is a root which doesn’t contain starch; it’s a soluble fiber.  It contains an oligosaccharide which has a sweet taste.  Being a prebiotic, it feeds the good bacteria in your intestines.  In addition, it fights the bad bacteria.  The body cannot metabolize it and turn it into sugar so it is highly recommended by PPNF.  Yacon, because of its consistency, is a good replacement for agave nectar in recipes, including those in the popular, The Gluten-Free Almond Flour Cookbook, by Elana Amsterdam. Yacon can be stored for a very long time.  A five-gallon pail can be kept for ten years!
  • Luo han:  Also called momordica, is a fruit which doesn’t have sugar in it but tastes sweet.  It’s often spelled three or four different ways so be aware of that when shopping around.  Luo han is a soluble fiber.  It’s especially good for you if you have candida because, like yacon, it is a prebiotic.
  • Stevia:  Comes from the green leafy stevia rebaudiana plant.  It has two very sweet chemical complexes in it.  One set of them are called steviosides; the other set of them are called rebaudiosides.  It’s 100 – 300 times sweeter than sugar so not much is needed.  Water extraction makes for the healthiest stevia.  It comes in powder and liquid forms and both are good.  It also comes in many different flavors.  Some people have a hard time changing over to Stevia because they can taste the herb in addition to the sweetness.  As you adjust to the new flavor, it is best to use 10% of stevia and 90% of whatever sweetener you’re trying to wean yourself off of.  Then slowly increase the stevia and decrease the other until you’ve made the adjustment.  Using it in yogurt or lemonade masks the herbal taste because those foods are a bit tart anyway. We have found that the stevia with the least herbal aftertaste is Stevita and Sweet Leaf Stevia.  A large amount of stevia will cause a bitter taste so, if you need to use a lot, before it gets to the bitter point, you may want to use some yacon.  Yacon is more expensive so balancing between the two can make for a nice taste and benefit your budget.

And, finally, don’t forget fruit–an excellent sweet when used in a restrained manner.  Different varieties of fruit contain more sugars than other varieties.  Berries, tart cherries and kiwi’s contain less fructose than other fruits. We do not recommend strawberries as even organic strawberries have been so overly hybridized they no longer resemble their original form, and consequently, are very high in sugar. If you’re watching your blood sugar levels (which we all should be aware of), remember…fructose (the sugar found in fruit) does not show up on the glucose (blood sugar level) tests.  It still spikes your blood sugar like the other sugars, but, since the test only measures glucose, it will not reflect the spike in fructose levels.  Any sugar/sweetener that spikes your blood sugar level causes harm to your body.  Again, be sure you eat fruit in moderation! We prefer local, in-season produce. Fructose is the most damaging of all the natural sugars because it actually causes Type 2 Diabetes by causing insulin resistance.  It also causes a much higher fatty conglomeration in your body and therefore it is one of the major causes of fatty liver disease and high triglycerides.  Fructose can cause major health issues.  A small amount now and then can be tolerated by your body. However, our bodies are not built to handle the amount we are eating these days in response to the government’s recommendations.  Stevia, luo han, and yacon, along with the occasional use of xylitol are what we recommend to satisfy your sweet tooth in a healthy and safe manner.

Filed Under: Food for Thought, Sweeteners

Three Types of Sweeteners, Part II: Rethink These

November 29, 2012 by 1 Comment

There are sweeteners considered “natural” because they are processed directly from naturally occurring plants such as sugar from sugar cane and maple syrup from the maple tree.  Though these sweeteners are semi-natural sweeteners and therefore not as harmful as the list of artificial sweeteners from the first blog, they can still harm your body.  They raise your blood sugar level bringing about insulin resistance which leads to diabetes.  This rapid raising and lowering of your blood sugar stresses the body and weakens it in its fight against the pollutants and stressors in our lives.  Considering the incredible effort it takes to mill and process such sweeteners, we may assume we were never meant to eat the large quantities of these sugars we are consuming today. Unfortunately, the processing of such sugars has become a cheap means to add fillers to processed foods so they are prevalent in modern foodstuffs. It is best to avoid these sugars and definitely limit their use in your daily diet.  Read your food and product labels—these can be hidden in the most surprising foods!

Sugar takes many forms but the body treats all sugars the same.

  • Sucrose:  White table sugar.  Good for hummingbirds (the only sugar recommended for these birds by ornithologists), bad for humans. Nothing of value in this substance.  As Bruce Pacetti, DDS stated, “It’s almost as if the devil sat down and listed all the criteria of a substance man could use to destroy himself.  It would have to be pleasing to the eye and taste.  It would have to be pure white and easily available.  It would have to appeal to all the people of this world.  The destroying effects would have to be subtle and take such a long time that very few would realize what was happening until it was too late.  The cruelest criteria of all are it would have to be supported and distributed by the kindest, well—meaning people to the most innocent people.”  So true!
  • Rapadura and Sucanat:     Both of these substances are sugars and the body treats them the same as it does the sucrose, or white table sugar mentioned above. The difference between these sugars and the usual sugar one purchases at the grocery store is that a small amount of trace minerals remains. These minerals existed in the sugar cane syrup that the Rapadura and Sucanat were processed from. Both of these sugars are much less processed than traditional white sugar.
  • Lactose:  Milk sugar.  Naturally occurring and not a problem for most people (even those who believe themselves to be lactose-intolerant) in raw milk.
  • High-fructose corn syrup (HFCS) is not a good sweetener for us.  This is not just because it comes from corn which is most likely genetically modified.  It’s because fructose, which doesn’t show on blood sugar level tests (it only shows glucose), also causes insulin resistance and increases your likelihood of developing diabetes.  In addition, most products use a high concentration (50% and 52% pure fructose) in their products.  This is too much for your body to process all at one time.
  • Agave nectar:   Produced in Mexico and South Africa from the agave plant.  Unfortunately, though advertised as a healthy alternative, agave nectar is higher in fructose than high-fructose corn syrup.  It’s actually the only sweetener that is worse than high-fructose corn syrup.  Standard agave nectars are between about 50% and 58% fructose.  When you buy a confection—cookie, cake, muffin—containing agave nectar, that concentration could be as high as 75% to 90% pure fructose.
  • Honey:  One of the better sweeteners on this list due to the pollen, propolis, and royal jelly it contains.  However, it is still very concentrated and should be used in moderation.  When purchasing honey be sure to get unheated and unfiltered.  The jar may say raw, but FDA standards allow the designation of “raw” to foods that have been heated to 160°F. The health benefits of honey heated to such a high temperature are lost, as enzymes cannot survive this level of heat.  Because of its anti-infective properties, honey makes a good anti-bacterial dressing for wounds.
  • Molasses, Sorghum, Rice Syrup, and Barley Malt: These are all natural sweeteners but they are made through unnatural means resulting in products with high amounts of sugars that negatively affect your blood sugar levels. Depending on how they are processed, they can contain a high amount of minerals.  This is especially true for molasses, which is made by stripping a harvested sugar plant of its leaves, mashing it and boiling down the resulting juice. Sorghum syrup is made by squeezing the juice out of cane sorghum and boiling down the juice so a concentrated syrup results. Rice syrup, which is also known as brown rice syrup is made by culturing cooked rice which breaks down the starches, then cooking down the resulting liquid until it is of a syrupy consistency. Barley malt syrup is made by sprouting then drying barley grains, and then slowly cooking the grain until a syrup is formed.

All of these sweeteners are made by cooking existing grasses and grains into concentrated amounts of sugars, rather than keeping these foods in their natural state.

Before we move on to the sweeteners that don’t harm the body let’s take a quick look at sugar alcohols.

  • Sugar alcohols:  The name “sugar alcohols” is a bit of a misnomer because they aren’t the type of alcohol we are accustomed to thinking of.  It’s not going to get you high; it’s not that kind of alcohol.  They are good alternatives to the sweeteners mentioned in this blog and the prior sweeteners blog.  However, they should be used in moderation because they can cause loose stool, diarrhea, gastro-intestinal response, gas, bloating, etc.  The sugar alcohols sorbitol and maltitol, have been used in dietetic and diabetic candies for at least 50 years.  Xylitol and erythritol are much newer on the market.  These don’t cause the level of digestive issues as sorbitol and maltitol.  And xylitol has been shown to be an antibacterial when used in gums and mints.  Because it’s in granular form, it’s great in recipes as a substitute for sugar.  When looking for products using these sweeteners, be sure to read the back of the package under Ingredients.  Very often the front of the package will state that the product was made with Xylitol, but when you read the back you find that, in fact, it is sweetened with not only Xylitol but also aspartame, sucralose, etc. Much of the Xylitol extracted is from genetically modified corn and therefore many people have allergic reactions to it.  It can be purchased at most health food stores, but the best and safest form (along with erythritol) is sold by Xylitol USA.

Some of the tribes Dr. Price studied used unrefined, natural sweeteners in small amounts. The key to maintaining the radiant health these tribes possessed is to use small amounts of sugars as opposed to the upwards of ninety pounds of sugar consumed by Americans every year. Some of the tribes possessed no sweeteners in their diets. As Dr. Price wrote in Nutrition and Physical Degeneration, “There is very little of the body building materials in maple syrup and cane syrup from sugar or honey.” The PPNF sweetener rule of thumb is to use as little sugar as possible.

Our next blog will feature sweeteners that are not harmful to the body and have no side effects. These are your ideal sweeteners.

 

Filed Under: Food for Thought, Sugars, Sweeteners

Three Types of Sweeteners, Part I: Avoid These

November 21, 2012 by 1 Comment

Sweeteners are so prevalent in modern, processed foods that it is difficult to imagine a diet that does not include them. In our next three blogs we would like to explain the different types of most common sweeteners and our recommendations for their use. In the tradition of saving the best for last, we’ll start with the sweeteners that aren’t just bad for you, but should be avoided at all costs.

These are the sweeteners made from, what David Getoff, CCN refers to as, franken-molecules.  These are things that were made in a lab, that never existed on the planet, and for which there is no purpose in the diet of a human.  They have the potential to shorten your life or make you miserable and/or incapacitated during the years you have left.

It’s important to understand why toxins have been added to a once pure food supply. To put it simply, profit is the most significant motivator. If there was no market for these toxins they probably would not have been added to our food. The truth is there is a huge market for toxins (such as excitotoxins) because they enhance the taste of foods so dramatically the brain is tricked into causing the consumer to eat more and more of them. Ramen may be cheap, but it’s also addictive. Think about it. How good can salt, flour and water taste? These ingredients can taste fabulous when enhanced with mono sodium glutamate (MSG).

These “sweeteners” (most of which are excitotoxins) are addictive and directly affect the brain when consumed. Sounds like a drug, not a food, doesn’t it?

  • Aspartame:    An excitotoxin, a neurotoxin and therefore, a poison.  It contains methyl ester which, as soon as it is swallowed, becomes free methyl alcohol also known as wood alcohol Methyl alcohol is used as antifreeze and is unfit for human consumption. After its introduction in the mid 1980s, it was found that 80% of complaints about food and additives that were volunteered to the FDA involved aspartame products.  Aspartame affects protein synthesis, how the synapses operate in the brain (seizures and brain disorders), and DNA.  It affects numerous organs therefore causing a variety of seemingly unrelated symptoms.  If you take in a lot of aspartame along with carbohydrates, you will decrease the availability of L-tryptophan, the building block for serotonin, an important neurotransmitter responsible for mood regulation.  Though it can cause long-term neurological problems, sometimes, when intake of aspartame is completely eliminated, the problems diminish or go away.  It is often sold under the brand names of NutraSweet, Equal, Equal Spoonful, and Amino Sweet.
  • Neotame:  Made by NutraSweet and is related to aspartame—in other words, dangerous!  Studies on Neotame don’t address any long-term health implications.  It also contains methanol which is used in antifreeze and in the production of biodiesel.
  • Sucralose:  Made in a similar fashion to pesticides, using chlorine in the process.  Not something most people would want to put into their bodies.  It is often sold under the brand names of Splenda, Sukrana, SucraPlus, Candys, Cukren, and Nevella.
  • Acesulfame K:  Contains methylene chloride, a carcinogen.  Its chemical composition is similar to saccharin.  It’s often used in conjunction with other toxic sweeteners to enhance and sustain the sweet taste in foods.  Also known as Sunette, Sweet One, Sweet ‘n Safe and used in items like Hershey’s Lite Syrup and Sugar-Free Jell-O.
  • Canderel:  The brand of aspartame used in the U.K.  See aspartame, above.
  • Saccharin:  Also known as sodium saccharin.  According to the Center for Science in the  Public Interest, saccharin should not have been removed from the list of potential carcinogens since it is a weak carcinogen.  Due to faulty testing practices, it was removed in 2000 from the National Toxicology Program’s “Report on Carcinogens” and, subsequently, very little further study on the substance has been conducted. In addition, the saccharine found in some infant formulas has been known to cause irritability and muscle dysfunction.  It is sold under the brand name of  Sweet’N Low.
  • Cyclamates:  Banned in the United States (sold in Canada and the U.K).  As with saccharine, it was found to be a carcinogen, but faulty testing practices give us incomplete information. At the time of this writing, cyclamates were not under further study.

Carcinogens? Poisons? Chlorine? Suddenly, these sweeteners don’t sound so sweet! One of the best documentaries on aspartame that gives the consumer insight into the entire artificial sweetener and big food industry is the documentary Sweet Misery: A Poisoned World. In our next blog we’ll explain why some sweeteners, such as cane sugar, while not possessing a scary, chemical-compound name, are not actually natural to the human diet and according to the work of the great nutrition pioneers should be avoided as much as possible.

Filed Under: Food for Thought, Sugars, Sweeteners

Grains & Grain Alternatives

November 15, 2012 by Leave a Comment

To maintain a healthy diet, it is important to eliminate or at least greatly cut down on our consumption of starches.  But grains?  Really?  Even the good ones?  Well, though there are some things that are best just given up completely, there are alternatives that can be used now and then to round out our diets and satisfy those cravings.  The good news is that as you continue to eat a healthier diet, changing your emphasis from starches and sugars to good proteins and fats, your cravings for unhealthy foods do decrease and in many cases disappear completely.  In time, your body, recognizing that it is receiving the kinds of foods it really needs, happily shifts over to efficiently metabolizing the needed macronutrients and your cravings eventually vanish.

So what are some of our choices?  For starters, the healthiest grain choice is the one which is the slowest to break down (convert to sugar) in the body.  For example, if you want to eat oatmeal, whole oats, soaked and slightly fermented overnight would be the best, steel cut oats would be second best, and all the other types should be avoided.  And, as mentioned in the blog on sabotage foods, eat your oatmeal with eggs, butter, or other good healthy fats and proteins so it converts to sugar more slowly in the body.

Second, be aware that what the label says and what the product actually is, are often two different things.  An example of this is the term 100% Whole Grain.  That’s more of a marketing term; it has nothing to do with reality.  A simple way to explain this is, if it can’t be sprouted, it’s not a whole grain.  A 100% whole grain noodle will not sprout into a pasta bush if planted.  Neither can a slice of 100% whole grain bread sprout into a bread tree if planted. A whole grain is a seed.  If it was a whole grain and then was overheated, or cooked, or ground, it will die and be incapable of sprouting. It’s no longer a whole grain—it’s a processed whole grain.

There are some gluten-free whole grains that are better than others because they contain more nutrients.  They are super grains or super foods.  These include teff, which comes in an ivory color and brown, quinoa (KEEN-wah ) which comes in black, red, and off-white, and amaranth  which ranges in color from black to red to ivory.

Why am I mentioning the colors?   The colors in food reflect nutrients from nature.  If you have a grain with more than one color option, the darker, more colorful grains will have more nutrients than the more pale versions.

Rice is the single most-consumed grain in a lot of cultures.  White rice is one of the fastest sugar-converters.  Rice should be as dark as possible, keeping all the parts of the rice together.  Choose black, dark brown, mahogany, red cargo, and wild rice.  (Wild rice isn’t really a rice. It’s technically called a grass, but it’s found in the store in the same section as rice.)  Lundberg , found in most health food stores, is a good brand for quality rice. It is available in a variety of dark colors.

One of the healthiest of all the grains is barley, because it converts to sugar in the body at such a slow rate.  If you’re gluten-sensitive, search for heirloom varieties of barley such as Buffalo Barley from Goldmine Natural Foods.  This company carries many of the heirloom grains.   An heirloom grain is a grain which has not been hybridized beyond recognition, but rather, is in its original, natural state.

There are a few healthy noodles and pastas but generally the grains are so processed that there is little nutritional value remaining.  Brown rice pasta sounds healthy, but it is actually one of the fastest sugar-converters of the pastas.  Unfortunately, pastas, in general, are not a nutritious meal choice.  However, there is a pasta made from quinoa, but, to make it a palatable texture that people like, corn has been added (a super-fast sugar-converter and a GMO food).  Hopefully, more healthy alternatives will be available in the near future.

If you happen to be in the San Diego area, you can find pasta made out of ground up beans at the Hillcrest farmer’s market.  Beans, though a starch, convert more slowly to sugar, so pasta made from beans would be the best choice—if you can find them.

An alternative to noodles made from grains is a kelp noodle from the Sea Tangle Company.  It’s available in some health food stores and online from the Sea Tangle Company. The ingredients consist solely of extracts of seaweed.  They take the part of the kelp which is used in  yogurts and ice creams as a thickening agent (it’s called sodium alginate) and they make it into a noodle.  It will not change its texture no matter how long it is cooked.  It’s crispy and has a very mild taste.  The texture is different from modern pastas but it is a healthy alternative.  This kelp noodle can be put in salads, soups, stews, broths, coleslaw, etc.

Another option is the shirataki noodle used in many Japanese dishes.  Miracle Noodle is the most popular brand, but there are other brands available.  It comes from the konjac (elephant yam) root and does not contain starch as it is mostly a soluble fiber. This alternative has a different texture than we’re used to.  Like most pastas, the taste comes from the ingredients you put on it.  It’s very chewy and is an excellent base for carrying yummy sauces made from healthy vegetables, cream, cheeses, meats, etc.

Finally, when it comes to baking, healthy grains can be a challenge.  There’s an excellent cookbook called The Gluten-Free Almond Flour Cookbook, by Elana Amsterdam.  It contains recipes using almond flour instead of grain flour.  Almonds are much better for you because, unlike grains, the almonds don’t turn right into sugar.  They contain fat and protein.   In Nutrition and Physical Degeneration, Dr. Weston A. Price found healthy populations that ate grains, but there was an absence of refined sugars and starches in their diets. Their grain came from heirloom seeds not from the over-hybridized seeds most breads and pastas are made from today. The grain was ground immediately before baking, rather than sitting on store shelves and growing rancid. They also soaked and sprouted their grain.  Modern (especially western) populations have done a lot of harm to their bodies by eating too many grains sugars and alcohols. The big question here is based on what we learned from Pottenger’s Cats: what did you eat growing up? Were you breastfed? For how long? What did your parents and grandparents eat? Like the tribes that Dr. Price studied, if a person and the many generations before them ate a perfect diet and this food was what their healthy ancestors ate, then their body might do well with a similar amount of grain, prepared in the proper, traditional way.

Ideally we hope you use the grain alternatives information in this blog while increasing your consumption of healthy fats and proteins and the foods that your healthy ancestors enjoyed.

 

Filed Under: Carbohydrates, Food for Thought, Grain Alternatives, Grains, Starches, Uncategorized

Sabotage Foods

November 5, 2012 by 5 Comments

In his class, Attaining Optimal Health in the 21st Century , nutritionist David Getoff uses a self-coined term, sabotage foods, to help his students realize the dastardly effects of having too much of these food types in their daily diet.  What are these food types?  Starches, Sugars, and Alcohol.  These are also known as sugar converters because they convert into sugars when metabolized by the body.  There are many sugar converters in modern diets , but the sabotage foods are those foods which rapidly convert into sugar and have a detrimental effect on your health and wellbeing.

Here’s a short list of Sabotage Foods to give you an idea of what we’re talking about:

  • Cereals                                Tortillas                                     Cookies
  • Fruit Juice                         Muffins                                       Pastries
  • Refined Grains                 Bagels                                          Buns
  • Corn                                     White Rice                                 Beer
  • Pastas                                  Ice Cream                                  Wine
  • Candy                                  Cake                                             Liqueur
  • Junk/Fast Food              Granola Bars                             Hard Alcohol
  • Pancakes                            Sugar
  • Breads                                 Honey

These foods convert to sugar quickly in your body and raise your blood sugar too high and too fast causing an inflammatory response.  This makes you more susceptible to conditions such as diabetes, cancer, high cholesterol, heart disease, hypoglycemia, thyroid problems, acne, a depressed immune system, neurological issues such as multiple sclerosis and other degenerative diseases.

Our bodies are designed by nature to use fats as one of the primary sources of energy.  If the body is not fed proper fats, and instead subsists on a diet of starches, sugars and alcohols for several years, it will shift over and begin making most of its energy conversions from starches and sugars. This causes the inflammatory response mentioned earlier and throws your whole system off balance.  Avoiding, or greatly reducing, these items in your diet can bring about dramatic changes in how you feel and promote long-term health and disease prevention.  Another benefit of staying away from sabotage foods is weight loss.  Sabotage foods make you feel hungry more often making it difficult to consume a consistent and appropriate amount of calories.  Want proof? Try this easy, four-day experiment.

Pick some type of animal protein that you really prefer. You’re going to be eating this for breakfast four days in a row so you might as well make it one you enjoy. Most people end up choosing eggs because they’re the easiest—but any protein will do.  We’ll use eggs for this example.  You will want to eat an adequate portion of eggs so that you are full.  You don’t want to be stuffed, nor do you want to be hungry in an hour—you want to feel full.  Depending on your size and stature, and how much energy you expend, you could eat between three and five eggs. No muffin; no bread; no orange juice; no fruit; nothing else. The idea is to replace those items with enough eggs so that you are comfortably full.  Cook them to your preference. You’re allowed to season them with sea salt, garlic, parsley, sage, rosemary, and thyme—whatever you like. Just be sure to use organic seasonings. That’s the breakfast.  If you’d like a little bit of something to drink, have a little bit of water.  As soon as you finish your breakfast, write down what time it is and then, later, write down whatever time of day you begin to feel hungry.  Make sure you are hungry…don’t fall into the trap of thinking you are hungry because you usually have a snack at 10:00 A.M.  We all get into habits.  If at a certain time of day you usually go and grab a handful of some snack, stop yourself and say, “Wait a minute.  Am I really hungry?”  Likely, you won’t be.  Write down the time that you actually felt hungry.  How long did those eggs hold you?  Did they hold you for 3½ hours?  4½ hours?  5 hours?  However long it was, write that down for two days in a row.

Try this for breakfast, or lunch, or dinner….

On days three and four of the experiment, eat the same breakfast with one minor change.  Prepare the same amount of eggs—exactly the same as on days one and two.  On days three and four, include a sabotage food such as some type of fruit, sugar, or starch—you can use the list above for ideas.  You’re going to be a little bit fuller because you’re adding a sabotage food on top of your usual amount of eggs.  Now you’ve had more food and more calories, for breakfast.  Again, write down what time you finish breakfast and then write down when you first start to be hungry. You will be duly surprised when you are hungry sooner, even though you ate more calories.  It’s because you ate a sabotage food, or a food that sabotaged your body’s ability to take those beneficial macronutrients (proteins and fats) and hold you at an even blood sugar and energy level.  This is why so many people struggle with their weight.  They’re hungry over and over again during the day and they have to grab more food throughout the day because they’re eating sabotage foods.

Most people can jump-start their weight loss by cutting out all starches, sugars & alcohols while consuming more proteins and fats.  Sometimes we have to look at thyroid problems and a lot of other factors.  But, the sabotage foods are often the most significant issue.

So, avoiding, or greatly reducing, these sabotage foods allows the body to switch back over to using fats and proteins as its primary source of energy as it was meant to do.  In addition, it reduces the amount of inflammation in your body making you healthier and stronger and less susceptible to the degenerative diseases that are plaguing our society today.

instead of this. Cereals can leave you hungry again in an hour.

Making changes in the way you eat can be very challenging.  Habits and traditions can be difficult to break.  If you feel you need to consume starches, sugar, or alcohol now and then, minimize the effects of such dietary choices by including a good amount of high-quality fats and proteins in the same meal.  This will slow down the sugar conversion and lessen the negative effects of these sabotage foods.

Every step you take toward avoiding or limiting the sabotage foods in your daily diet is progress.  Pat yourself on the back.  You’ve taken a step towards improving your health and your future.

We know that the list of foods one should avoid is rather lengthy and disconcerting to some. Stay tuned for our next blog coming up this week on the healthy grain and sweeteners you can include in your meal plans. After all, we don’t want to just tell you what not to eat-we want you to thrive on the traditional diet of your ancestors which is full of quality, health-promoting foods.

Filed Under: Food for Thought

What Can Apple Cider Vinegar Do For You?

August 28, 2012 by 8 Comments

It’s not uncommon for “trends” to exist in the health and nutrition news world. One day the Atkins diet is in and the next day the USDA Food Pyramid is ordering everyone to eat less meat.  Years ago, high cholesterol was considered deadly to people and consumers left and right were prescribed “miracle” statin drugs which have now been shown to cause amnesia and brain-related disease such as Alzheimer’s.

However, there are some health “fads” or practices which have stood the test of time because of their effectiveness. One forgotten nutrition habit is the consumption of lowly apple cider vinegar. This elixir was popularized by Bragg Health Crusades and is perhaps not as talked about as it once was. However, don’t consider apple cider vinegar a health “fad.” Plenty of consumers continue to drink their one tablespoon of apple cider vinegar with one glass of water before meals every day.

At first glance, when one peruses the nutrition label on a bottle of organic, raw apple cider vinegar it appears to have no nutritional value whatsoever. It doesn’t even contain any calories, units of measurement of energy in our foods.  So what is the big deal about this “health tonic” anyway?

In the case for apple cider vinegar it’s what you can see in the bottle, not what you see on the label!

Keep in mind that the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) regulates what goes on food labels (in the United States). Manufacturers and food producers only need to label the percent of daily values of nutrients that are deemed necessary to sustain life by the USDA.

Therefore these labels show only what nutrients the USDA mandates you need…not what your body mandates you need!

If one is able to get past the mysteriously empty nutrition label on a bottle of organic, raw, unfiltered apple cider vinegar and look at the inner contents they may notice a cloudy, floating substance.

And herein lies the “miracle” properties of apple cider vinegar.

This substance is the “mother” and is a chain of proteins and enzymes. The mother contains a wide variety of trace minerals such as magnesium, copper, boron, iron and organic and naturally-occurring sodium.  This nutritional powerhouse is formed during the fermentation process which is usually performed in a wooden barrel from crushed organic apples. Apple cider vinegar also contains the soluble fiber pectin, acetic acid, silicon, potassium and essential amino acids.

This unique combination of minerals and other elements helps to promote the body’s optimal health by improving metabolism. Apple cider vinegar promotes a balanced alkaline-acidic state in the body which allows the body to properly metabolize nutrients.

This has been proven by recorded observations of apple cider vinegar consumers. Apple cider vinegar was mixed with water (in any amount from one teaspoon to one tablespoon of the cider vinegar to one eight-ounce glass of water) and taken before each meal by those suffering from excess weight. Their waist lines were re-measured after approximately 30 days of this regiment and they were also reweighed.  It was found that in most cases the circumference of the waistline had diminished, but in some cases the weight of the individuals had also increased.  Doctors believe this is because the apple cider vinegar optimized these individuals’ metabolism to the extent they were better able to metabolize and absorb calcium! Their skeletal frame now weighed more after their apple cider vinegar regiment.  Proof of increased calcium absorption is demonstrated by the decrease in dental caries and tooth decay experienced by users of apple cider vinegar.

Many people today have poor health due to the acidic condition of their bodies. It is important for optimal health for the body to be in a proper pH balance. This epidemic of acidic internal conditions may be partially responsible for the ever-increasing rates of cancer. Cancer cells cannot survive in alkaline conditions. Apple cider vinegar, while an acidic substance, actually promotes the proper internal acidic-alkaline state. This means it will help balance the body’s pH whether it be too acidic or too alkaline.

Apple cider vinegar also acts as a support to the liver. The liver is the body’s detoxifier and over time it will house a build-up of toxins that it has absorbed so as to prevent them from poisoning the rest of the body. Cider vinegar can help the liver detoxify these poisons and the pectin helps rid them from the body.

While the full antiseptic abilities of apple cider vinegar are unknown, it has been used for thousands of years as an antibacterial agent. We cannot state at this time that apple cider vinegar is capable of removing all germs and pathogens, but it does possess antiseptic properties. This is demonstrated by odorless waste from both humans and animals that have been fed apple cider vinegar for an extended amount of time.

Apple cider vinegar has even been attributed to halting and reversing issues such as hair loss and thin and cracking nails. These may not be specific health conditions but are indicative of poor health caused by missing nutrients needed by the body. Once again, this can be attributed to cider vinegar’s ability to optimize metabolism. After the body is permitted to absorb the nutrients in food, many health conditions disappear.

However, this does not mean that one can eat however they desire and take apple cider vinegar to make up the “difference!” It won’t matter if apple cider vinegar is optimizing mineral and nutrient metabolism and absorption if only foods of little to no nutritional value are being consumed. Rather, organic, raw apple cider vinegar with the “mother” can help the body absorb all the nutrients in a healthy diet because it possesses the enzymes that aides in proper metabolism.

We do not recommend consuming apple cider vinegar alone as it can burn the esophagus if swallowed incorrectly. We prefer mixing it with eight ounces of properly filtered water or even as an addition to a cup of chamomile tea. For optimal benefits, consume one teaspoon to one tablespoon of apple cider vinegar per eight-ounces of water, preferably before each meal, or, if not feasible, at least once a day.

 

Filed Under: Apple Cider Vinegar, Food for Thought

What Makes Coconuts So Awesome-Especially in the Summer?

July 26, 2012 by 3 Comments

It turns out everything about these tasty seeds is pretty great! Yes, coconuts, with their tough exterior rinds are considered seeds.

Coconut water, coconut meat and, of course, coconut oil offer a multitude of health benefits. The high nutrient value of coconuts is due in part to their tropical location. They grow near the ocean where they constantly absorb nutrients from the water, which is full of minerals such as magnesium, potassium and calcium.

These minerals in coconut water are mainly in the form of electrolytes, which is fitting considering that locals would drink this nutrient-rich beverage after working all day in the sun.

If you’re working up a sweat this summer while playing or working outside, consider reaching for some coconut water to replenish your electrolyte stores. Coconut water is much lower in sugar than popular sports beverages and contains about a fifth of the sugar of apple or grape juice.  It also contains a high amount of potassium. Coconut water is used traditionally to treat heat-and activity-caused illnesses such as dehydration, fatigue, heatstroke and urinary tract infections.  Ideally, we should replenish our electrolyte stores from beverages where they occur naturally as opposed to artificial, sugary drinks that cause more health problems than health benefits. Instead of putting a Band-Aid on your dehydration problem like sports drinks, coconut water can help with your immediate dehydration problem and contribute to your future health!

Coconut oil also possesses several health benefits which were misunderstood for a long period of time due to the saturated fat content in this oil. In fact, coconut oil contains a natural form of saturated fat which contains properties that fight many cardiovascular diseases.

Still scared to embrace the health benefits of coconut oil?

Consider the past populations of the native Polynesians who derived up to 50 percent of their daily calories from this saturated fat and who had some of the lowest rates of cardiovascular diseases in the world. Looks like those lucky islanders knew something the rest of us don’t!

The saturated fat in coconut oil is comprised of medium chain fatty acids (MCFAs) which are quickly metabolized and digested by the body. Rather than the long-chain fatty acids (LCFAs) which are larger molecules and which are digested slowly, MCFAs are utilized quickly for energy by the body. LCFAs may be stored as fat by the body, while MCFAs are used immediately by the body. Coconut oil is thought to be one of the best sources of MCFAs at this time.

This makes coconut oil remarkably useful in providing an energy boost that is more long term than that provided by sugar or simple carbohydrates and is not detrimental to one’s overall health.  Unlike carbohydrates, coconut oil does not promote insulin resistance.

Like its sibling healthy coconut water, coconut oil is often added to the energy bars of athletes because of its energy and health boosting properties. Try adding this healthy fat to your meals by cooking with it or using it as an ingredient. One way of adding healthy coconut fat to your diet is by using coconut cream. Price-Pottenger Vice President, nutritionist David Getoff, CCN, likes to mix coconut cream and water to make coconut milk, which he then mixes into his beans, using one part homemade coconut milk and two parts water.

Coconut oil also supports energy metabolism by stimulating the thyroid, which allows for more calorie burn. This “magic fat” is so effective at stoking metabolism that it can help to burn up the calories it provides as well as other calories (energy) consumed. Ironically, polyunsaturated fats such as vegetable oil do not cause weight gain simply because of calorie content, but because their molecular structure depresses thyroid activity, thereby effectively slowing metabolic functions.

In part because it is a fat, and in part because it contains MCFAs, coconut oil is especially good at helping the body absorb nutrients.

Sounds like you have a healthy alternative to help you absorb the minerals in your coconut water!

The innocent-looking coconut is really a contrarian in disguise. Its “juice” contains disease-fighting properties and unlike sodas and sugary fruit drinks can help alleviate symptoms of diabetes. Coconut oil is a fat which provides energy while accelerating metabolic function without causing heart problems.

See our recipes in the PPNF Journal of Health and Healing for creative and healthy uses for the awesome coconut. Check out our recipe below for Coconut Curry Thai Shrimp Soup. Yum! We like using coconut oil in cooking because its molecular structure does not change when exposed to heat, while other oils tend to break down during cooking. For example, most vegetable oils are unstable and can become toxic when heated. No oil (including coconut oil) intended for consumption should be heated to the smoking point.

We prefer the oil which has the coconut flavor removed (so as to avoid coconut-flavored eggs or coconut-flavored stir-fry meals!) However, some cooks find the coconut flavor very enjoyable and purchase organic, virgin coconut oil with the coconut flavor intact.

Coconut Curry Thai Shrimp Soup


From PPNF Board member Annie Dru

  • 2 quarts homemade fish stock (basic recipe in Nourishing Traditions)
  • 1 16 oz can whole coconut milk
  • 3 Tbs Thai red curry paste
  • 1 Tbs. grated fresh ginger
  • 6 cloves minced garlic
  • 1 bunch scallions sliced on the diagonal
  • 1/4 cup white wine
  • 1/4 cup naturally fermented soy sauce
  • 1 Tbs coconut oil
  • 1/2 lb wild caught shrimp
  • 1 tsp miso per bowl of soup

Saute ginger, garlic and scallions in coconut oil until fragrant, then deglaze pan with wine.

Meanwhile, heat stock and coconut milk in a large sauce pan and make a paste in a small bowl with the curry and soy sauce.

Transfer curry paste mixture and sauteed vegetables to the soup pot.

Add shrimp and turn off heat.

Shrimp are done when they turn pink.

Make a paste with miso and a spoonful of warm stock in each bowl, then fill bowl with soup and top with a spoonful of cilantro-pecan pesto.

Filed Under: Coconuts, Food for Thought, Recipes

What Are You Eating?

July 24, 2012 by Leave a Comment

How do you decide what you eat? Shopping Cart

Do you make conscious, informed decisions about nutrition values, ingredients, fat content, sugar levels, calories, and the like?

Do you meander haphazardly through the grocery store during a lunch break or after work and just grab whatever seems good at the moment and fits in the budget?

Do you think that buying foods from the health food aisle or shopping at a health food store means you’re buying healthy food — food that’s good for you?

Not every food in the diet or health food category is actually healthy food. Unfortunately, many foods are labeled “healthy” by government organizations and grocery stores and come to be accepted as a good choice by the general public. Often times these choices are not even true foods; rather they are a chemical compound or other artificial food which has been formulated to replace real foods.

One food category where real food is commonly replaced with artificial food is sugar. Price-Pottenger does not agree with using sugar in any amount because nutrition pioneer Dr. Weston A. Price, DDS discovered in his research that sugar consumption in any amount caused inflammation to the body. The common denominator in Dr. Price’s research was sugar and starches (which the body absorbs and metabolizes as sugar) was a significant cause of degenerative disease. Sugar has been recognized as a toxic substance to humans over the last few decades so the food industry decided to formulate artificial sweeteners as a substitute. These chemical compounds are an even worse choice than sugar as they are not real food and are actually toxic to the body. However, artificial sweeteners do not have the same caloric value as regular processed sugar so the food industry used this as a selling point to consumers, influencing the general population into believing artificial sweeteners are a “good choice.”

Natural sugar in all its forms (whether derived from cane, fruit, milk, trees, bees, or some other source) has one fundamental commonality: it is produced from sources that occur naturally. Artificial sweeteners do not occur in nature. They do not occur at all unless they are created in a laboratory.

So what to do for that special-occasion birthday treat or Christmas potluck? We recommend the use of stevia or yacon syrup. These are real foods that do not cause the inflammation and disease caused by sugar.

We promote increasing your intake of nutrient-dense, naturally grown foods. We place emphasis not on your calorie intake but on the actual foods you’re eating. Optimal health and nutrition come with a good diet, not with dieting.

When making food choices, it pays to take your time and do some research. Once we determine that product x meets our needs (is the best price, has the most options, etc.), we will buy product x habitually until an outside force intervenes. Unless we receive information from a trusted source that we should avoid product x, or the store runs out of product x, or we reach for product x and then notice a really big “sale” tag on product y, we will generally toss product x into our shopping carts without really thinking about it.

People tend to be creatures of habit. Make making good food choices your habit. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Food for Thought