Basic Nutritional Information

Coconut Water

5/13/2015

From "The Good Human" http://thegoodhuman.com/

Coconut Water

Coconut water is not the same as coconut milk!
It is the clear sweet liquid found inside fresh, young, green coconuts, the coconut juice. It is considered ‘nature’s own sport’s drink’.

Coconut water contains water, natural sugar and electrolytes – which rehydrates, replenishes energy and rebalances your body after heavy sweating! It is even isotonic, meaning it has the same osmotic pressure as our blood. In addition you will find a host of enzymes, vitamins, minerals and phytonutrients in natural coconut water. The best age to harvest a coconut to gather the most nutritious milk is when they are between 5 and 7 months.

Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition published a small study which showed that coconut water was beneficial, helping 12 athletes to re-hydrate better than if they had simply drank plain water after working out.

Coconut water can also help to treat diarrhea, as well as cleanse and detoxify the bladder, kidneys and whole urinary system.

The lauric acid present in fresh coconut milk, is similar to that found in human breast milk. It can give the immune system a real boost, as it is antibacterial, antiviral and anti-fungal.

Compared to the other coconut products we will discuss below, coconut water is the lowest in fat, carbohydrates and sugars.

If you are lucky enough to have access to fresh coconuts you can simply cut a hole in a fresh green one and drink the water from there. Otherwise, coconut water is available in many supermarkets and health food stores. It has a different flavour to the coconut meat, and is light and sweet. It is perfect to drink alone, as part of a juice or smoothie, salad dressing or in soups and marinades.

Some people even swear by using coconut water as a skin toner! It is said to control oil, combat acne and hydrate.

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Truvia...insecticides

4/22/2015

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I'm telling you, folks...just stick with regular sugar. I just don't understand the need for artificial sweeteners but this news about a key ingredient in Truvia being a pesticide just reinforces my decision to keep away from non-sugar sugar.

http://www.cbsnews.com/news/truvia-sweetener-is-toxic-to-fruit-flies-study-finds/

Erythritol, the main component of the sweetener Truvia, has a new, unexpected application -- it may be used as an insecticide. And a sixth grader can take part of the credit for this unusual discovery.

Researchers found that fruit flies fed with food that included erythritol or the erythritol-containing sweetener Truvia died much sooner than flies fed with food containing other types of sweeteners.

Fruit flies who consumed Truvia had a average lifespan of just 5.8 days, while flies who didn't eat it lived between 38.6 and 50.6 days. The study is published in the journal PLOS ONE.

"The more you get them [fruit flies] to consume erythritol, the faster they die," Sean O'Donnell, a professor of biology at Drexel University in Philadelphia, told CBS News.

A large body of research has proven the sweetener is safe for humans. Scientists say further study is needed to see if it could be a used as an effective form of pest control.

Interestingly, the idea for the study came from the young son of one of the researchers. Simon D. Kaschock-Marenda, currently a ninth grader, came up with the concept three years ago.

"I would have never studied it first without the initial inquisitiveness of a sixth grader," Simon's father, study co-author Daniel R. Marenda, an associate professor of biology at Drexel, told CBS News.

When Marenda and his wife decided to cut sugar from their diets and switch to artificial sweeteners, it gave Simon an idea for his science fair project.

"He wanted to test how healthy they [sweeteners] were," Marenda said. Simon decided to test them on fruit flies.

Simon and his father went to the supermarket and bought every kind of sweetener they could find on the shelves. Then they went to Marenda's lab and prepared food for the flies that included different kinds of sweeteners. They put the flies in vials and fed them with the prepared food. After six days, Simon discovered that all the flies fed with Truvia were dead.

It was then that Daniel Marenda and his colleagues realized that the boy was onto something. So they conducted their own study and discovered the same result: the fruit flies fed with Truvia died much sooner than the fruit flies fed with other sweeteners, including Equal, PureVia and Sweet'N Low.

Further experiments showed that it was in fact a specific compound, erythritol, that was responsible for Truvia's toxic effect on the flies.

And now the researchers are trying to develop it into a pesticide that people will be able to use on fruit flies, and possibly other insects.

"We are hoping to develop it into a human-safe insecticide," O'Donnell said.

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Oversaturation of Fat

8/27/2014

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Just in time for the unofficial last weekend of summer and BBQs:

Come on...this will take less than 5 minutes to read.

The article is by Susan Levin M.S., R.D., C.S.S.D., Director of Nutrition Education, from one of my favorite organizations: Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine (http://pcrm.org/)

From http://nutritionstudies.org:

Saturated fat poses numerous severe health risks of which everyone should be aware...In 1909, Americans ate 123.9 pounds of meat per person per year. Since then, meat intake has soared to more than 200 pounds per person per year, and cheese intake has risen from less than 4 pounds to nearly 34 pounds per year.

It’s not the carbs that are making Americans sick—it’s the saturated fat in meat and cheese. Fifty percent of Americans are expected to be obese by 2030. Fetishizing fat will only exacerbate our national health crisis. And the risks associated with high-fat products do not stop at expanding waistlines.

Here are four facts you should know about saturated fat:

Saturated fat can DOUBLE the risk of Alzheimer’s disease. Increased saturated fat intake is associated with increased risk for Alzheimer’s disease, dementia, and cognitive decline. In the Chicago Health and Aging Project, people who ate the most saturated fat had twice the risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease after four years, compared with those who ate the least saturated fat. The Washington Heights-Inwood Columbia Aging Project in New York and the Cardiovascular Risk Factors, Aging, and Dementia study in Finland also link Alzheimer’s disease risk with saturated fat intake.

A number of studies on cognitive decline have found that high saturated fat intake increases the rate of decline in cognitive abilities as we age.
Saturated fat increases cholesterol levels AND heart disease risk. Research finds that increased saturated fat intake increases the risk of developing heart disease. Consumers are often pushed to eat fatty foods with the false claim that one unhealthful meal can’t hurt you. But research shows that eating just one high-fat meal can raise the risk of having a heart attack the same day. (Remember my post on my own cholesterol levels after 2 years on a plant-based diet? - http://www.kathyshealthyliving.com/kathys-main-blog/plant-based-diet-and-cholesterol)

According to the American Heart Association, saturated fat causes the liver to produce more cholesterol and raises cholesterol levels in the blood, which increases the risk of heart disease and stroke.
High saturated fat intake means high type 2 diabetes risk Diets high in saturated fat are associated with type 2 diabetes. Harvard researchers found that total fat intake and saturated fat intake were associated with a greater risk of diabetes. In the same study, they found that eating bacon, hot dogs, or other processed meats—all high in saturated fat—five or more times per week increases a man’s risk of developing type 2 diabetes by nearly 50 percent. Diets high in saturated fat also increase insulin resistance.
Saturated fat is associated with MULTIPLE cancers.

Breast Cancer
Findings from Harvard’s Nurses’ Health Study II suggest that increased consumption of saturated fat increases the risk for developing breast cancer. A recent study published by the National Cancer Institute also found that women who eat diets high in saturated fat increase their risk of developing breast cancer.

Prostate Cancer
Among men who have prostate cancer removal, those who consume the least saturated fat are more likely to remain disease-free, compared with those who consume the most saturated fat.

Gastrointestinal Cancer
People who consume diets high in saturated fat and sugar are four times more likely to develop and 53 percent more likely to die from gastrointestinal cancers, compared with those who consume plant-based diets.

Here's the original article (with references): http://nutritionstudies.org/oversaturation-of-fat-in-the-media/

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Transitioning to Vegan Diet by Julieanna Hever

4/21/2014

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*Image by Vegan Sidekick

I love Plant-Based Dietitian and a lot of what Julieanna writes about rings very true with me. Her posts have helped me a lot along the way. Today, she posted about transitioning to a plant-based diet. I didn't jump in cold tofu (or beans) but it was a transition that lasted a few years for me. My studies at the Institute for Integrative Nutrition helped me become more knowledgeable about the foods I was eating and I gradually transitioned over. On that note, I wanted to share Julieanna's post with you today.

From Julieanna Hever -

Transitioning to a plant-based diet is a journey. For the majority of people this doesn't happen overnight, jumping in cold tofu. Instead, it is common to start omitting one animal product at a time while incorporating more whole plant foods, meatless meals, meatless Mondays, meatless weeks, until -- Voila! -- you are eating a whole food, plant-based diet.

Here are 3 tips for making the transition smoothly:

Enjoy the process! Make this a fun, exciting adventure where you get to discover an entirely new way of eating, preparing food, shopping, cooking...all optimistic and pleasurable, without judgment, self-flagellation, or criticism. Compassion towards yourself and your journey is key.
Experiment all the time with new ingredients, new recipes, new restaurants. Check out books, blogs, cookbooks, documentary films, and websites filled with facts, recipes, and information to encourage and inspire you. (Kathy's Note: I can't tell you how many recipes I've tried since starting this plant-based journey...and how many have been...well...ditched. But I've gotten better and although I occasionally have the "bad" recipe or experiment, for the most part, my meals have been delicious! See my post on what cookbooks I use here - http://www.kathyshealthyliving.com/1/post/2014/03/some-cookbooks-i-use-for-my-plant-based-diet.html)
Engage social support. It is vital to have people who are both there for your best interest (family, friends) and those who are going through the same journey to discuss, share experiences, and lean on. Join us here, on other websites, in Meetups, at conferences, and at local events to strengthen your core group. (Kathy's Note: I'm afraid I don't have many family members or friends who are on the same journey but I do have support and understanding - but it has taken a while and still a work in progress).

*Resources:

10 Tips for Easing Into Plant-Based Eating: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/kathy-stevens/plant-based-eating_b_5029243.html
10 Questions with Gene Baur: http://time.com/39854/10-questions-with-gene-baur/
Harpers Bazaar's 9 Day Plant-Based Diet: http://www.harpersbazaar.com/beauty/health-wellness-articles/whole-food-plant-based-diet-0514
Vegan Cuisine Aims for the Mainstream: http://features.blogs.fortune.cnn.com/2014/04/18/vegan-restaurants/
Ways to go Whole Food, Plant-Based: http://plantbaseddietitian.com/eating-whole-food-plant-based/
Eating Meat...the Facts: http://visual.ly/eating-animals-facts
NutritionFacts.org
Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine
Mercy For Animals

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American Journal of Clinical Nutrition - Vegan Diet

4/16/2014

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Having eaten a vegan diet (98% vegan at least - there is the occasional piece of cake for friends dear to me) for almost 2 years, I can say that I agree with much of this article. Both in the benefits and risks of a plant-based diet. All in all, I strive to eat a well-balanced diet and supplement with B12, D3 and Calcium/Magnesium as well as other B-Complex vitamins. It has not always been easy to eat right, but it is getting easier.

Even if you don't want to do a fully plant-based diet as I do, try cutting out meat products one day a week, then two, three. If you want to cut it out more then do so. If not, see if you can keep with eating that way 3 days a week. You may just see a big change in your cholesterol readings for the better as well as your weight and blood pressure. Go on...YOU CAN DO IT!

According to the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, "a nationwide poll conducted in April 2006 by Harris Interactive reported that 1.4% of the American population is vegan, in that they eat no meat, fish, dairy, or eggs. Vegan diets are growing in popularity today among teenagers and youth, especially females. For many vegans, nutritional choices center around taking better care of the earth’s resources and the environment, ethical issues about animal care, the use of antibiotics and growth stimulants for the production of animals, the threat of animal-borne diseases, and the health advantages of a plant-based diet. In addition, the potential of allergies from dairy products and lactose intolerance have fueled the popularity of soy-based dairy substitutes......

Vegans are thinner, have lower serum cholesterol and blood pressure, and enjoy a lower risk of CVD (CardioVascular Disease). BMD (Bone Marrow Density) and the risk of bone fracture may be a concern when there is an inadequate intake of calcium and vitamin D. Where available, calcium- and vitamin D–fortified foods should be regularly consumed. There is a need for more studies on the relation between vegan diets and risk of cancer, diabetes, and osteoporosis. Vitamin B-12 deficiency is a potential problem for vegans, so that the use of vitamin B-12–fortified foods or supplements are essential. To optimize the n–3 fatty acid status of vegans, foods rich in ALA, DHA-fortified foods, or DHA supplements should be regularly consumed. Vegans generally have an adequate iron intake and do not experience anemia more frequently than others. Typically, vegans can avoid nutritional problems if appropriate food choices are made. Their health status appears to be at least as good as other vegetarians, such as lacto-ovovegetarians (eat dairy and eggs as well as plant-based foods)."

A copy of the entire study is here - http://ajcn.nutrition.org/content/89/5/1627S.full.pdf.

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8 Foods Even Experts Won't Eat - via EatLocalGrown

10/23/2013

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1. The Endocrinologist Won’t Eat: Canned Tomatoes. I've written about this before. Even Fredrick Vom Saal, an endocrinologist at the University of Missouri who studies bisphenol-A won't go near the stuff. As I wrote in an earlier post, the resin linings of tin cans contain bisphenol-A, a synthetic estrogen that has been linked to ailments ranging from reproductive problems to heart disease, diabetes, and obesity. The acid from the tomatoes causes BPA to leach into your food. According to Vom Saal, “You can get 50 mcg of BPA per liter out of a tomato can, and that’s a level that is going to impact people, particularly the young. I won’t go near canned tomatoes.”

The solution: Choose tomatoes in glass bottles (which do not need resin linings), such as the brands Bionaturae and Coluccio. You can also get several types in Tetra Pak boxes, like Trader Joe's and Pomi.

2. The Farmer Won’t Eat: Corn-Fed Beef. Joel Salatin is co-owner of Polyface Farms and author of half a dozen books on sustainable farming. Cattle evolved to eat grass, not grains (and especially corn). But farmers today feed their animals corn and soybeans, which fatten up the animals faster for slaughter.

The solution: Don't eat beef at all! Being vegan certainly makes this choice easy for me. If you're not ready for that step, then make it grass-fed beef - it's higher in beta-carotene, vitamin E, omega-3s, conjugated linoleic acid (CLA), calcium, magnesium, and potassium; and lower in inflammatory omega-6s; and lower in saturated fats that have been linked to heart disease. You can find grass-fed beef at farmers markets, health foods stores like Whole Foods and specialty grocers. If you don’t see it, ask your butcher.

3. The Toxicologist Won’t Eat: Microwave Popcorn. Olga Naidenko, is a senior scientist for the Environmental Working Group (one of my FAVORITE groups out there!). Chemicals, including perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), in the lining of the bag, are part of a class of compounds that may be linked to infertility in humans, according to a recent study from UCLA. In animal testing, the chemicals cause liver, testicular, and pancreatic cancer. Studies show that microwaving causes the chemicals to vaporize–and migrate into your popcorn. “They stay in your body for years and accumulate there,” says Naidenko. DuPont and other manufacturers have promised to phase out PFOA by 2015 under a voluntary EPA plan, but millions of bags of popcorn will be sold between now and then so stay away from them!

The solution: Pop organic kernels the old-fashioned way: in a skillet. For flavorings, you can add real butter or dried seasonings, such as dillweed, vegetable flakes, or soup mix. Make it organic and use coconut oil.

4. The Farm Director Won’t Eat: Non-organic Potatoes. Jeffrey Moyer is the chair of the National Organic Standards Board. Oh, it's so important to try and eat as many organic fruit and vegetables as possible. Root vegetables absorb herbicides, pesticides, and fungicides that wind up in soil. Says Moyer, “Try this experiment: Buy a conventional potato in a store, and try to get it to sprout. It won’t,” says Moyer, who is also farm director of the Rodale Institute (also owned by Rodale Inc., the publisher of Prevention). “I’ve talked with potato growers who say point-blank they would never eat the potatoes they sell. They have separate plots where they grow potatoes for themselves without all the chemicals.”

The solution: Buy organic potatoes. Washing isn’t good enough if you’re trying to remove chemicals that have been absorbed into the flesh. They aren't much more expensive that conventional potatoes so spring for them!

5. The Fisheries Expert Won’t Eat: Farmed Salmon. Dr. David Carpenter, director of the Institute for Health and the Environment at the University at Albany, published a major study in the journal Science on contamination in fish. Carpenter writes that nature didn’t intend for salmon to be crammed into pens and fed soy, poultry litter, and hydrolyzed chicken feathers. So, what you get is farmed salmon which is lower in vitamin D and higher in contaminants, including carcinogens, PCBs, brominated flame retardants, and pesticides such as dioxin and DDT. According to Carpenter, the most contaminated fish come from Northern Europe, which can be found on American menus. “You could eat one of these salmon dinners every 5 months without increasing your risk of cancer,” says Carpenter, whose 2004 fish contamination study got broad media attention. “It’s that bad.”

The solution: Switch to wild-caught Alaska salmon. If the package says fresh Atlantic, it’s farmed. There are no commercial fisheries left for wild Atlantic salmon.

6. The Cancer Researcher Won’t Drink: Milk Produced With Artificial Hormones. Rick North is project director of the Campaign for Safe Food at the Oregon Physicians for Social Responsibility and former CEO of the Oregon division of the American Cancer Society. The problem with this kind of milk is that milk producers treat their dairy cattle with recombinant bovine growth hormone (rBGH or rBST, as it is also known) to boost milk production. Great for the milk producers...bad for cows and ultimately us because rBGH also increases udder infections and even pus in the milk. It also leads to higher levels of a hormone called insulin-like growth factor in milk. In people, high levels of IGF-1 may contribute to breast, prostate, and colon cancers.

The solution: Buy raw milk or check labels for rBGH-free, rBST-free, produced without artificial hormones, or organic milk. T

7. The Biotech Specialist Won’t Eat Conventional Soy: GMO Unfermented Soy. Michael Harris is biotech specialist who has directed several projects within the biotech sector including those for genetically engineered food. He has been a consultant, manager and director for companies such as Xenon Pharmaceuticals and Genon Corporation. Harris states that genetically engineered food is a cause of great concern due to the manipulation of DNA and genetic code including transfers from one species to another. Fermented Soy Is The Only Soy Food Fit for Human Consumption and since almost 90% of soy in the world is genetically modified, if you are not ensuring sources are organic, long-term health problems are inevitable, especially since soy has been found to affect hormonal balance and even cause cancer.

The solution: Check labels to ensure soy is Non-GMO or organic and never consume unfermented sources. If possible contact the company to find out exactly where the Non-GMO soy was obtained.

8. The Organic-Foods Expert Won’t Eat: Conventional Apples. Mark Kastel, a former executive for agribusiness, is co-director of the Cornucopia Institute, a farm-policy research group that supports organic foods. The problem is if fall fruits held a “most doused in pesticides contest,” apples would win. Why? They are individually grafted (descended from a single tree) so that each variety maintains its distinctive flavor. Oh, just think of how wonderful it is to go apple picking. Imagine those apples are so contaminated! Apples don’t develop resistance to pests and are sprayed frequently. The industry maintains that these residues are not harmful. Ummmm...I think someone is lying!

The solution: Buy organic apples or apples from a farmer that you trust! They are on EWG's (Environmental Working Group) dirty dozen list of fruits to stay away from if they aren't organic.

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Herbs & Spices Cont'd: Parsley

8/1/2013

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You know that green sprig that restaurants put on your plate? Well, it's not just a pretty decoration, it's parsley and it's a great breath freshener. But even better, parsley has been known to fight cancer for it's a good source of antioxidants and healthy nutrients. It's good for your heart because it contains beta-carotene along with vitamins A, C and folic acid.
Parsley is also considered to be helpful in purifying the blood.

Add parsley to your smoothies (I'm a big fan of smoothies ever since I invested in a Vitamix machine) and juicers (fresh juice for detoxing will always be more beneficial than a smoothie because a smoothie requires digestion for the fiber, whereas juice, on an empty stomach, infuses the blood with nutrients, with little to no digestion).

So, don't let that server in the restaurant take your plate away without you popping that sprig into your mouth and remember to try and incorporate as much of this herb as possible into your diet.

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Herbs & Spices Cont'd: Turmeric

7/26/2013

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I LOVE INDIAN FOOD! What's better, a lot of the Indian food I cook at home has turmeric as an ingredient. Turmeric is the bright yellow spice included in curry used in many Indian dishes.

Want to alleviate or prevent arthritis, Crohn's disease, IBS, prostate tumors, cancer and even protect your liver? Instead taking anti-inflammatory agents like Hydrocortisone, Motrin, NSAIDs (nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs), save some money by using turmeric.

I make a great tea with turmeric. Just boil 2 cups of water (or any kind of milk including nut milk - they just have more calories), add a teaspoon each of turmeric and ginger powder. Let it boil for 10 minutes and add sweetener to taste. I use a special pot for this since the turmeric stains everything but the taste is wonderful and it's MY pick me up in the morning instead of coffee.

I also use the turmeric root in my smoothies. Just remember, it does stain.

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Herbs & Spices Cont'd: Cinnamon

7/23/2013

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If you want to keep your arteries healthy, try some cinnamon - it works as an anti-clotting agent. It manages your blood sugar levels as well as helps lower cholesterol. Cinnamon attacks the growth of yeast, bacteria and fungi. It's an anti-inflammatory which is a good thing since many diseases begin with inflammation somewhere in the body.

I use cinnamon when making my almond, cashew or Brazil nut milk. I just sprinkle a lot of it in the blender before turning it on.

Want a great tasting snack, boost your healthy factor by sprinkling some cinnamon on sliced apples!

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Herbs & Spices Cont'd: Chili Peppers

7/19/2013

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Chili Peppers bring many medical benefits to your life, so keep some of this spice in your pantry. Why, you ask? Well, it contains capsacin which is an ingredient to help alleviate pain, it helps fight prostate cancer and ulcers AND helps your metabolism (which is a good thing if you're trying to lose weight).

The higher the capsacin, the better. So load up on chili pepper counterparts like Habañero but if that's a little to spicy for your taste, try jalapeño, cherry pepper and Spanish pimiento.

For a nice, Indian side dish courtesy of my friend Sibia, try sautéing some onions in olive oil, add green beans, turmeric and chili powder and cook a bit more but be sure beans are still crunchy. Add salt and pepper to taste.

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<<Previous

Coconut Water

Truvia...insecticides

Oversaturation of Fat

Transitioning to Vegan Diet by Julieanna Hever

American Journal of Clinical Nutrition - Vegan Diet

8 Foods Even Experts Won't Eat - via EatLocalGrown

Herbs & Spices Cont'd: Parsley

Herbs & Spices Cont'd: Turmeric

Herbs & Spices Cont'd: Cinnamon

Herbs & Spices Cont'd: Chili Peppers

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