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>>> Foods That Affect Blood Clotting
Mar 13, 2014
By Chrystal Doucette
http://www.livestrong.com/article/490695-foods-that-affect-blood-clotting/
Blood clots are your body's way of healing wounds. Platelets in your blood respond to an injury, like a cut, by sticking together to stop the bleeding. Some foods affect the ability of your body to form a clot. These foods may thicken or thin blood. Consult your doctor before beginning a new diet program, particularly if you are trying to control a condition related to bleeding.
Foods with Vitamin E
Foods high in vitamin E and low in vitamin K will thin your blood and make clotting more difficult. Almonds and hazelnuts are two good sources of vitamin E. One tablespoon of wheat germ oil contains 100 percent of your daily value for vitamin E. Other oils where you can find the vitamin include corn, peanut, sesame and sunflower oils. You can also take the nutrient as a supplement. If you are taking a prescription blood thinner, increasing your intake of foods with vitamin E might overly thin your blood.
Foods with a lot of vitamin K in them work to thicken your blood. Vitamin K helps blood clot properly. You can find it in Brussels sprouts, chard, spinach, kale, green tea, collard greens, parsley, and mustard greens. Broccoli, cauliflower, egg yolk and soybeans also contain high amounts of the nutrient. If you are taking a prescription blood thinner, increasing your consumption of these foods could counteract the effects of your medication. Discuss your diet with your doctor.
Herbs and Spices
Vitamin E isn't the only product that can thin your blood. Herbs, spices and supplements may also promote bleeding. The products you sprinkle in your food such as cayenne, garlic, ginger and onion act as blood thinners. Dong quai, green tea, Saint John's wort and white willow bark also thin your blood. The enzyme Nattokinase is known as an especially strong anticoagulant. You would need to have a high intake of dietary herbs and spices to see blood thinning action, but taking these compounds in supplemental form could cause a significant effect. If you are taking prescription medications, talk with your doctor before adding herbs or spices to your diet so your medication can be adjusted accordingly.
Alcohol and Other Drinks
Certain drinks will thin your blood, including cranberry juice, alcohol, chamomile tea and green tea. Cranberry juice helps prevent blood clotting by increasing the amount of salicylic acid in your body, according to the government site "Medline Plus." Salicylic acid prevents blood clotting. For chamomile, Dr. Ray Sahelian notes on his website that the effect as a blood thinner is "very mild."
Fatty Fish
Fatty fish, such as salmon, mackerel and tuna, contain a significant amount of omega-3 fatty acids. According to the University of Maryland Medical Center, omega-3 fatty acids may increase the risk of bleeding and therefore consumption should be limited by those who are on a blood thinning regimen.
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>>> The Health Dangers of Soy
Oct 23, 2012
Dr. Joseph Mercola
Physician and author ?
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/dr-mercola/soy-health_b_1822466.html
Who hasn't heard of the marvels of soy? The marketing bandwagon has touted soy as the perfect health food for decades. But could something that sounds so healthful actually be dangerous?
If you take the time to look into the actual science, then the answer is yes. Thousands of studies link soy to malnutrition, digestive distress, immune system breakdown, thyroid dysfunction, cognitive decline, reproductive disorders and infertility -- even cancer and heart disease.
One of the primary reasons it would be wise for you to avoid soy is that more than 90 percent of soybeans grown in the United States are genetically modified. Since the introduction of genetically engineered foods in 1996, we've had an upsurge in low birth weight babies, infertility, and other problems in the U.S., and animal studies have shown devastating effects from genetically engineered soy including allergies, sterility, birth defects, and offspring death rates up to five times higher than normal.
Soybean crops are also heavily sprayed with chemical herbicides, such glyphosate, which a French team of researchers have found to be carcinogenic.
Soybeans -- even organically grown soybeans -- naturally contain "antinutrients" such as saponins, soyatoxin, phytates, trypsin inhibitors, goitrogens and phytoestrogens. Traditional fermentation destroys these antinutrients, which allows your body to enjoy soy's nutritional benefits. However, most Westerners do not consume fermented soy, but rather unfermented soy, mostly in the form of soymilk, tofu, TVP, and soy infant formula.
Unfermented soy has the following 10 adverse affects on your body:
1. High Phytic Acid (Phytates): Reduces assimilation of calcium, magnesium, copper, iron and zinc. Phytic acid in soy is not neutralized by ordinary preparation methods such as soaking, sprouting and long, slow cooking, but only with long fermentation. High-phytate diets have caused growth problems in children.
2. Trypsin inhibitors: Interferes with protein digestion and may cause pancreatic disorders. In test animals, trypsin inhibitors in soy caused stunted growth.
3. Goitrogens: Potent agents that block your synthesis of thyroid hormones and can cause hypothyroidism and thyroid cancer. In infants, consumption of soy formula has been linked with autoimmune thyroid disease. Goitrogens interfere with iodine metabolism.
4. Phytoestrogens/Isoflavones: Plant compounds resembling human estrogen can block your normal estrogen and disrupt endocrine function, cause infertility, and increase your risk for breast cancer.
5. Hemagglutinin: A clot-promoting substance that causes your red blood cells to clump, making them unable to properly absorb and distribute oxygen to your tissues.
6. Synthetic Vitamin D: Soy foods increase your body's vitamin D requirement, which is why companies add synthetic vitamin D2 to soymilk (a toxic form of vitamin D).
7. Vitamin B12: Soy contains a compound resembling vitamin B12 that cannot be used by your body, so soy foods can actually contribute to B12 deficiency, especially among vegans.
8. Protein Denaturing: Fragile proteins are denatured during high temperature processing to make soy protein isolate and textured vegetable protein (TVP). Chemical processing of soy protein results in the formation of toxic lysinoalanine and highly carcinogenic nitrosamines.
9. MSG: Free glutamic acid, or MSG, is a potent neurotoxin. MSG is formed during soy food processing, plus additional MSG is often added to mask soy's unpleasant taste.
10. Aluminum and Manganese: Soy foods contain high levels of aluminum, which is toxic to your nervous system and kidneys, and manganese, which wreaks havoc on your baby's immature metabolic system.
Soy's antinutrients are quite potent. Drinking just two glasses of soymilk daily provides enough of these compounds to alter a woman's menstrual cycle. But if you feed soy to your infant or child, these effects are magnified a thousand-fold. Infants fed soy formula may have up to 20,000 times more estrogen circulating through their bodies as those fed other formulas. You should NEVER feed your infant a soy-based formula!
In fact, infants fed soy formula take in an estimated five birth control pills' worth of estrogen every day.
As dangerous as unfermented soy is, fermented soy from organic soybeans is a different story altogether and can be a beneficial part of your diet. Fermented soy is a great source of vitamin K2, and K2 (combined with vitamin D) is essential in preventing osteoporosis, cardiovascular disease, dementia, and various types of cancer.
Note that tofu is NOT on this list and is among the soy foods I do not recommend. Traditionally fermented soy products include:
•Miso
•Tempeh
•Natto
•Soy sauce (as long as it's fermented in the traditional way, and not all are)
Contrary to what you may have heard, Asians do not consume large amounts of soy. They use small amounts as a condiment (about two teaspoons daily), but not as a primary protein source. And the type of soy they consume is traditionally fermented soy.
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>>> ChemChina close to striking deal for Syngenta: sources
Reuters
By Arno Schuetze and Pamela Barbaglia
http://news.yahoo.com/chemchina-close-deal-buy-syngenta-bloomberg-125152887--finance.html
(Reuters) - China's state-owned ChemChina is nearing a deal to buy Swiss seeds and pesticides group Syngenta for around 43 billion Swiss francs ($42.2 billion), two people familiar with the matter said on Tuesday.
The deal, for roughly 470 Swiss francs per share, would be the biggest cross-border deal involving a Chinese buyer and mark an acceleration of a shakeup in the global agrochemicals industry.
It will likely be announced on Wednesday, when Syngenta is scheduled to release its 2015 results, the people said.
One source said minor adjustments to the price were still being discussed.
Syngenta's shares jumped as much 8.4 percent and were 5.7 percent higher at 400 francs at 1352 GMT in Zurich.
ChemChina's offer would be at a premium of about 24 percent to Syngenta's Monday close of 378.40 francs.
Syngenta declined to comment. ChemChina was not immediately available for comment outside regular business hours.
Bloomberg had reported earlier on Tuesday that the deal worth 43.7 billion Swiss francs was near.
Syngenta last year spurned takeover approaches from U.S. seeds giant Monsanto , arguing it can create value on its own.
But as agricultural markets deteriorated and major rivals DuPont and Dow Chemical Co agreed to combine their seeds and pesticides businesses, Syngenta Chairman Michel Demare recently conceded that "going it alone is hardly possible", given what shareholders were expecting.
The likely takeover price would nominally match Monsanto's revised cash-and-stock bid made last August but the value of that offer would have fallen along with Monsanto's share price.
ChemChina's move marks another instance of the country's quest for Western technology and distribution networks.
Similar transactions include last year's buyout of Italian tyre maker Pirelli by ChemChina. In January, ChemChina announced the acquisition of German industrial machinery maker KraussMaffei Group for about $1 billion.
The Chinese government is keen to boost farming productivity as it seeks to cut reliance on food imports amid limited farm land, a growing population and higher meat consumption.
A group of Syngenta shareholders said last month it opposed selling the company to ChemChina and called for the ousting of the Swiss group's leadership.
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>>> Antinutrient
From Wikipedia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antinutrient
Phytic acid is an antinutrient that interferes with the absorption of minerals from the diet.
Antinutrients are natural or synthetic compounds that interfere with the absorption of nutrients.[1] Nutrition studies focus on those antinutrients commonly found in food sources and beverages.
Contents [hide]
1 Examples
2 Occurrence
3 See also
4 References
5 Further reading
Examples[edit]
Protease inhibitors are substances that inhibit the actions of trypsin, pepsin and other proteases in the gut, preventing the digestion and subsequent absorption of protein. For example, Bowman-Birk trypsin inhibitor is found in soybeans.[2]
Lipase inhibitors interfere with enzymes, such as human pancreatic lipase, that catalyze the hydrolysis of some lipids, including fats. For example, the anti-obesity drug orlistat causes a percentage of fat to pass through the digestive tract undigested.[3]
Amylase inhibitors prevent the action of enzymes that break the glycosidic bonds of starches and other complex carbohydrates, preventing the release of simple sugars and absorption by the body. Amylase inhibitors, like lipase inhibitors, have been used as a diet aide and obesity treatment. Amylase inhibitors are present in many types of beans; commercially available amylase inhibitors are extracted from white kidney beans.[4]
Phytic acid has a strong binding affinity to minerals such as calcium, magnesium, iron, copper, and zinc. This results in precipitation, making the minerals unavailable for absorption in the intestines.[5][6] Phytic acids are common in the hulls of nuts, seeds and grains.
Oxalic acid and oxalates are present in many plants, particularly in members of the spinach family. Oxalates bind to calcium and prevent its absorption in the human body.
Glucosinolates prevent the uptake of iodine, affecting the function of the thyroid and thus are considered goitrogens.[7] They are found in broccoli, brussel sprouts, cabbage and cauliflower.
Excessive intake of required nutrients can also result in them having an anti-nutrient action. Excessive intake of fiber can reduce the transit time through the intestines to such a degree that other nutrients cannot be absorbed. Because calcium, iron, zinc and magnesium share the same transporter within the intestine, excessive consumption of one of these minerals can lead to saturation of the transport system and reduced absorption of the other minerals.[8]
Some proteins can also be antinutrients, such as the trypsin inhibitors and lectins found in legumes.[9] These enzyme inhibitors interfere with digestion.
Another particularly widespread form of antinutrients are the flavonoids, which are a group of polyphenolic compounds that include tannins.[10] These compounds chelate metals such as iron and zinc and reduce the absorption of these nutrients, but they also inhibit digestive enzymes and may also precipitate proteins.
Saponins in plants may serve as anti-feedants.
Occurrence[edit]
Antinutrients are found at some level in almost all foods for a variety of reasons. However, their levels are reduced in modern crops, probably as an outcome of the process of domestication.[11] The possibility now exists to eliminate antinutrients entirely using genetic engineering; but, since these compounds may also have beneficial effects, such genetic modifications could make the foods more nutritious but not improve people's health.[12]
Many traditional methods of food preparation such as fermentation, cooking, and malting increase the nutritive quality of plant foods through reducing certain antinutrients such as phytic acid, polyphenols, and oxalic acid.[13] Such processing methods are widely used in societies where cereals and legumes form a major part of the diet.[14][15] An important example of such processing is the fermentation of cassava to produce cassava flour: this fermentation reduces the levels of both toxins and antinutrients in the tuber.[16]
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>>> What are Fermented Foods?
http://www.superfoods-for-superhealth.com/fermented-foods.html
fermented-foods-benefits
Fermented foods are a special group of foods that have gone through a fermentation process, creating a deliciously pickled or strongly flavored condiment, food or drink.
Some of the most commonly known food ferments include wine, cheese and pickles. However, there are many others that involve the use of vegetables, nuts, seeds, grains, beans or liquids such as vegan milks, teas or even water.
These "cultured foods", like sauerkraut and coconut kefir, contain communities of friendly microscopic bacteria that are extremely beneficial to the health of the colon and the entire digestive tract.
Others, including tempeh, vegan seed cheese and miso, provide necessary components that help to predigest whole foods, like beans and seeds, breaking them down into usable nutrients and amino acids.
Whether you are consuming a high raw diet or a fast food diet, it can be very beneficial to a health promoting lifestyle to add in some variety of these cultured superfoods and drinks on a regular basis. All of our top 7 fermented foods listed further below are additionally easy and fun to make at home with minimal tools or supplies.
Alive and Unpasteurized Fermentation
The types of ferments we are referring to are alive and unpasteurized, each containing unique groups of activated bacteria and yeasts microbes. These beneficial microorganisms, and the enzymes they produce, are destroyed by heat and pasteurization.
You don't need to add artificial food preservatives to food ferments, they are already naturally preserved, some lasting for weeks, while others increase in flavor and nutritional value by slowly developing over many months or even years in some cases.
Fermentation is essentially the bacterial conversion of starches and sugars into lactic acid and acetic acid. It is one of the most ancient forms of food preservation.
"Humans have been fermenting longer than we've been writing words or cultivating soil." Sandor Katz
Since early times, people worldwide have been fermenting or culturing foods as a nourishing and flavor enhancing way to preserve food when refrigeration was not possible.
Food fermentation is practiced on nearly every continent with many varying techniques, using an assortment of different foods and liquids. Many of our favorite fermented foods we list below are still consumed today, adopted as main condiments, foods or beverages in the cultures where they first originated.
"It is important to recognize that fermentation is a natural phenomenon much broader than human culinary practices; cells in our bodies are capable of fermentation. In other words, humans did not invent or create fermentation; it would be more accurate to state that fermentation created us." The Art of Fermentation
Benefits of Fermented Foods
Healthy Microbial Balance and Diversity
There are approximately one hundred trillion microorganisms, between 400-500 different species, present in healthy human intestines. "The metabolic activities performed by these bacteria resemble those of an organ, leading some to liken gut bacteria to a 'forgotten' organ." (Source) Many health experts agree that a healthy balance of gut flora, or also called gut microbiota, in the digestive tract and specifically the intestines is extremely important for maintaining the health of the entire body, organs and systems.
Achieving a healthy ratio of bacteria and yeasts within the body helps to improve metabolism, enhance hormonal production and increases the synthesis certain B complex vitamins and other nutrients, increasing their uptake.
Because gut flora is fed through dietary intake, when you consume an assortment of different live ferments, you encourage greater microbial biodiversity in your body that can be helpful for reestablishing a stable "inner ecosystem", improving overall health and enhancing immune function. When the fungal group of microorganisms, which are naturally helpful in small amounts, take over we become more susceptible to disease and yeast infections.
One of the leading causes of this type of overgrowth is the ever so common use of antibiotics (against-life) which kill the friendly bacteria and cause the fungal species, like candida, to dominate. Fermented foods, including sauerkraut, kefir and others, contain billions of natural probiotic (pro-life) organisms, like Bifidobacterium or Lactobacillus strains, and can be very beneficial for counteracting the negative impacts that antibiotic (anti-life) use can have on gut flora.
fermented-foods-health-benefits
In addition, unbeneficial yeast overgrowth's can also occur from the frequent consumption of low quality foods, obesity, stress, diabetes as well as a number of prescribed medications. In extreme cases, it is additionally helpful to eat these cultured foods when supplementing with lab-produced probiotic powders, which increases their effectiveness.
Digestive Aids, High in Enzymes
As the beneficial microflora grow in fermented foods, they produce enzymes that are extremely helpful for increasing "digestive fire" and improving nutrient absorption of the foods we eat. These enzymes additionally help to digest other foods that are eaten with them. For those of you who tend to eat a lot of cooked or packaged foods void of enzymes, adding them to your diet can greatly enhance nutritional uptake.
"Neither vitamins, minerals, or hormones can do any work - without enzymes." Dr. Edward Howell
Most all disease originates in the gastrointestinal tract, specifically the colon. When there is an excess accumulation of waste material and toxins in this region, negative implications can impact the rest of the digestive system and eventually will effect vital organ, like the kidneys and liver. This may produce various symptoms like headaches, inflammation in the joints, chronic muscle pain, skin issues and other more serious health conditions.
Consuming only small amounts of enzyme-rich cultured food can be particularly beneficial as a natural detoxifier, processing undigested waste material and the toxins they create in the gastrointestinal tract. Sometimes, fermented drinks and foods have a mild laxative effect on the bowels and can help to prevent constipation and encourage regular healthy bowel movements.
Most ferments are meant to be eaten in small portions rather than large quantities. More is not necessarily better when it comes to eating or drinking them daily as they tend to move things through the body quite rapidly and may cause adverse effects and stomach upset if over consumed.
A Predigested Food
Culturing foods "predigests" them and makes their nutritional components more bioavailable to the digestive system. This is because these types of foods or drinks have already converted the natural sugars, starches and proteins, predigesting them so you don't have to use your own digestive enzyme reserves to accomplish the task. When we ferment foods, like beans used to make tempeh for instance, the proteins as a result are broken down into amino acids, that can be readily assimilated.
Kefir is another good example of a fermented food that predigests the lactose content in dairy, which can make it more digestible for those who are lactose-intolerant. Also, when making raw aged vegan cheeses, this process is essential for increasing flavor and making the ingredients like nuts and seeds more easily absorbed and utilized nutrition-wise.
Nuts and seeds also contain a compound called phytic acid, which is known to block the bioavailability of certain minerals. Other toxins naturally present in some foods, like oxalic acid, nitrites, prussic acid, glucosides and nitrosamines are reduced or eliminated altogether with the fermentation process.
Our Top 7 Fermented Foods List
Here is our list of fermented food favorites, some of which you may wish to explore according to your own personal needs, desires and health goals. All of them can be produced "homemade-style" which is, in our opinion, the best way to consume them for the highest possible nutritional benefits as well as flavor. They are also quite fun to make and "grow" yourself and much more cost effective than buying unpasteurized commercial brands.
You can enjoy these top fermented foods as zesty condiments, tangy beverages, rich flavorings and some of the most savory of foods all by themselves.
1) Kombucha
fermented-foods-list-kombucha
Kombucha is a tangy and slightly fizzy beverage drink made from fermenting a sweetened tea liquid with the kombucha "mushroom" culture, a thick gelatinous mat made up of multiple species of bacteria and yeasts. Cultured kombucha is a refreshing, non-caffeinated, yet energizing drink that can be a great alternative to sodas or caffeinated beverages. It contains a number of nutritious elements including amino acids, polyphenols, vitamin C and is known to be high in B vitamins.
Kombucha is recognized as a helpful detoxification aid, containing an ingredient called glucuronic acid, a compound that binds with toxins in the body and safely removes them. It is also known for its immune boosting effects due to certain antioxidants like epigallocatechin gallate and Vit. C, in addition to the organic acids including lactic, gluconic, glucuronic and acetic acids.
It is very easy to make a homemade kombucha and these versions are often higher in quality and nutritional components compared to uniform store bought products.
2) Cultured Vegetables or Sauerkraut
fermented-foods-sauerkraut-recipes
Raw cultured vegetables, also referred to as "sauerkraut", is a fermented food made by culturing chopped or shredded cabbage in its own juice or brine solution. This can be achieved with or without the use of a probiotic culture starter as cabbage has naturally occurring beneficial microbes present on its leaves. Many other vegetables and spices can be added for extra flavor and variety, but cabbage is usually always a main ingredient. Over time, between 4-10 days (or much longer depending on how you like them), the vegetables become slightly pickled, zesty and incredibly tasty.
The original version of sauerkraut, or types of cultured cabbage, are thought to have originated north of China as far back as 200 B.C. and were later introduced in European countries, like Germany where the word "sauerkraut" was coined. Sauerkraut is still used as a pickled condiment served all across Europe, as well as in Asian countries with the popular Korean version known as "kimchi."
Unpasteurized raw sauerkraut has a diverse array of beneficial lacto-bacteria and enzyme content. These benefits became especially popular in the 1990's with the introduction of the Body Ecology Diet, which promotes using it as a condiment for improving digestion, inhibiting candida overgrowth and boosting immune health.
You can visit our basic sauerkraut recipes page for more on how to get started making your own at home or check out our Sauerkraut Recipes Ebook.
3) Tempeh
fermented-foods-list-tempeh
Tempeh (pronounced "tem-pay") is a fermented bean cake known to have originated from the Indonesian island of Java, one of the main chain of islands located next to Bali. It is traditionally made with soybean but can also be made with a single bean variety or a mixed combination of beans and grains. The white mycelium spore, Rhizopus oligosporus, forms the tempeh cake, which can be sliced raw, fried or steamed as an alternative to meat.
It is always best to eat cooked beans as a fermented food because they are easier to digest, enabling greater absorption of the protein and amino acid content. Tempeh is a quick ferment, only taking about 24 hours at optimal temperature. You can visit our homemade garbanzo bean tempeh recipe or our black bean tempeh for more details on how to make your own.
We always recommend the fresh handmade variety rather than store bought brands that are exclusively made with soybean. Homemade tempeh has a rich taste, like gourmet mushrooms and is really incomparable to any commercial tempeh product.
4) Kefir
fermented-foods-list-kefir
Kefir is believed to have come from somewhere in the Caucasus Mountain region, specifically Armenia, Georgia, Turkey and Iran, where it has thrived as a sacred cultured food for centuries. It is a tart yogurt-like drink that is traditionally made by fermenting dairy milk, but other vegan milk varieties can also be used such as coconut milk and nut milks. There are also versions of water kefir that are lower in calories and fat content. Kefir is originally made using "kefir grains" but can also be fermented these days with a powder culture starter.
During the fermentation process, kefir develops a complex matrix of beneficial microorganisms that can greatly improve the health of the colon and entire gastrointestinal tract as well as boost immune functions. Providing natural probiotic properties that can be extremely helpful for reestablishing healthy gut flora, drinking a glass in the morning on an empty stomach is especially recommended for those who have a past history of antibiotic use as these drugs tend to kill all microflora in the body.
You can learn how to make your own homemade raw vegan version using our coconut kefir recipe.
5) Miso
fermented-foods-miso
Miso is a traditional fermented food native to China and Japan, but is used in all parts of Southeast Asia especially Korea, Vietnam and Indonesia. It is a rich salty bean paste, created by fermenting mashed cooked beans and salt with a culture starter called "koji" or Aspergillus oryzae. Soybean is often the main ingredient found in Asian miso's, but it can alternatively be made with other types of legumes.
Most people worldwide are familiar with "miso soup", which is the paste dissolved in hot water heated below boiling temperature to preserve its nutritional components. Containing a certain compound, called dipicolinic acid, miso soup consumption has been proven helpful for chelating the effects of radiation exposure and may help offer protective properties against certain types of cancers, especially breast and prostate.
For those of you inspired to make your own cultured miso using garbanzo bean, visit our homemade miso recipe and our page on how to decant it.
6) Seed Cheese
fermented-foods-list-seed-cheeses
Seed cheese is a delicious tangy vegan cultured cheese commonly made from sunflower seed, pumpkin seed as well as other seeds, nuts or combinations of both. The process of fermenting seed or nut based cheeses involves soaking, straining and blending the mix with a probiotic powder to initially inoculate the ferment. Similar to making dairy milk cheese, the whey is drained out allowing the kurds or cheese to thicken to either a ricotta-type consistency or a firm sliceable cheese.
This is a very good way to consume nuts or seeds as the process of fermentation, producing enzymes and beneficial microflora, helps to break down the phytates and plant proteins. This essentially predigests them, making the nutrients and especially minerals more bioavailable to the body.
The original seed cheeses were invented and popularized by Dr. Ann Wigmore in the 1960's along with wheatgrass and rejuvelac. You can visit our seed cheese recipes page for more details on how to make them and we also have a homemade cheese its cracker recipe that uses a fermented nut cheese for a healthy vegan version of the famous "Cheez Its" cracker.
7) Rejuvelac
fermented-foods-list-rejuvelac
Rejuvelac is a refreshing, slightly sour and fizzy liquid ferment made from a combination of sprouted grain and pure water. The traditional grain used is wheat berry but rejuvelac can be made from most any grain including gluten-free versions like millet or quinoa. All grain selections have their own unique bouquet of flavors and some are preferred over others.
The beverage first became popular in the 1960's under the influence of living food enthusiast Dr. Ann Wigmore, the original founder of the Hippocrates Health Institute. The fermented drink is believed to have Baltic origins and is closely related to the traditional Romanian drink, called Bors, a fermented wheat bran used to make a sour soup called ciorba.
Rejuvelac is used as an enzyme-rich digestive aid that is best when consumed in small amounts first thing in the morning or between meals on an empty stomach. The beverage is also particularly helpful as a natural gentle laxative, which assists in relieving constipation and breaking down potential undigested waste material in the large intestine.
Visit our fermented food recipes page for a complete list of all our cultured recipes using easy, simple, step by step instructions for making your own fermented foods at home.
Precautions:
When first introducing ferments into the diet it is normal to experience some initial gas and bloating, excessive amounts however can cause stomach upset and loose stools in some cases. It is important to consider avoiding food ferments if you have severe allergies to molds.
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>>> Shikimate pathway
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shikimate_pathway
The shikimate pathway (shikimic acid pathway) is a seven step metabolic route used by bacteria, fungi, algae, parasites and plants for the biosynthesis of aromatic amino acids (phenylalanine, tyrosine, and tryptophan). This pathway is not found in animals, hence the products of this pathway represent essential amino acids that must be obtained from the animal's diet. However, this pathway is found with microbes that live within animals in the gut microbiome.
The first enzyme involved is the shikimate kinase, an enzyme that catalyzes the ATP-dependent phosphorylation of shikimate to form shikimate 3-phosphate.[1] Shikimate 3-phosphate is then coupled with phosphoenol pyruvate to give 5-enolpyruvylshikimate-3-phosphate via the enzyme 5-enolpyruvylshikimate-3-phosphate (EPSP) synthase.
Chorismate pathway 1.png
Then 5-enolpyruvylshikimate-3-phosphate is transformed into chorismate by a chorismate synthase.
Chorismate pathway 2.png
Prephenic acid is then synthesized by a Claisen rearrangement of chorismate by Chorismate mutase.[2][3]
Prephenate biosynthesis.png
Prephenate is oxidatively decarboxylated with retention of the hydroxyl group to give p-hydroxyphenylpyruvate, which is transaminated using glutamate as the nitrogen source to give tyrosine and a-ketoglutarate.
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>>> MIT States That Half of All Children May be Autistic by 2025 due to Monsanto
Author: Janet Phelan
26.01.2015
A senior scientist at MIT has declared that we are facing an epidemic of autism that may result in one half of all children being affected by autism in ten years.
Dr. Stephanie Seneff, who made these remarks during a panel presentation in Groton, MA last week, specifically cites the Monsanto herbicide, Roundup, as the culprit for the escalating incidence of autism and other neurological disorders. Roundup, which was introduced in the 1970’s, contains the chemical glyphosate, which is the focal point for Seneff’s concerns. Roundup was originally restricted to use on weeds, as glyphosate kills plants. However, Roundup is now in regular use with crops. With the coming of GMO’s, plants such as soy and corn were bioengineered to tolerate glyphosate, and its use dramatically increased. From 2001 to 2007, glyphosate use doubled, reaching 180 to 185 million pounds in the U.S. alone in 2007.
If you don’t consume corn- on- the -cob or toasted soybeans, however, you are hardly exempt from the potential affects of consuming glyphosate. Wheat is now sprayed with Roundup right before it is harvested, making any consumption of non- organic wheat bread a sure source for the chemical. In addition, any products containing corn syrup, such as soft drinks, are also carrying a payload of glyphosate.
According to studies cited by Seneff, glyphosate engages “gut bacteria” in a process known as the shikimate pathway. This enables the chemical to interfere with the biochemistry of bacteria in our GI tract, resulting in the depletion of essential amino acids .
Monsanto has maintained that glyphosate is safe for human consumption, as humans do not have the shikimate pathway. Bacteria, however, does—including the flora that constitutes “gut bacteria.”
It is this ability to affect gut bacteria that Seneff claims is the link which allows the chemical to get on board and wreak further damage. The connection between intestinal flora and neurological functioning is an ongoing topic of research. According to a number of studies, glyphosate depletes the amino acids tyrosine, tryptophan, and phenylalanine, which can then contribute to obesity, depression, autism, inflammatory bowel disease, Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s.
Monsanto disagrees. The food and chemical giant has constructed a webpage with links to scientific studies pronouncing the safety of glyphosate.
Other science writers have also taken up the Monsanto banner, scoffing at the scientific studies that prompted Seneff to make her claims. “They made it up!” pronounced Huffpost science writer Tamar Haspel, in an article thin on analysis but heavy on declarative prose.
Others, such as Skeptoid writer and PhD physicist Eric Hall, take a more measured approach, and instead focus on the studies which prompted the glyphosate concerns. According to Hall, Seneff is making an error known as the “correlation/causation error,” in which causality is inaccurately concluded when there exists only the fact that two separate items—in this case, the increased use of glyphosate and the increased incidence of autism—may be observed but are not, in fact, directly related.
Seneff’s pronouncements focus specifically on the glyphosate issue. As we know, there are other potential tributaries which may be feeding the rise in autism and also causing age-related neurological conditions, such as Alzheimer’s. These may include contents of vaccines, aluminum cooking ware as well as other potential sources for chemical consumption.
Some individuals, such as M.D. and radio host Rima Laibow have speculated on the intentionality behind this ostensible chemical siege against our gray matter. Laibow believes that the impetus may be to create an entire class of autistic individuals who will be suited only for certain types of work.
This harks back, eerily, to Aldous Huxley’s classic Brave New World, in which individuals were preprogrammed from “conception” for eventual placement in one of five groups, designated as Alpha, Beta, and so on down to Epsilon, based on their programmed brain power. In Huxley’s dystopian world, this class delineation by intellectual ability enabled society to function more smoothly.
Whatever may driving the autistic/Alzheimer’s diesel train, one thing is for certain: the spectre of half of our children coming into the world with significant brain damage constitutes a massive and undeniable wound to humanity. The rate of autism has skyrocketed from roughly one in every two thousand in the 1970’s to the current rate of one in every sixty eight. Alzheimer’s has become almost universal in the elderly. Seneff’s predictions can only be ignored at grave risk to the human race.
First appeared: http://journal-neo.org/2015/01/26/mit-states-that-half-of-all-children-may-be-autistic-by-2025/
http://journal-neo.org/2015/01/26/mit-states-that-half-of-all-children-may-be-autistic-by-2025/
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>>> Though rebuffed earlier, Monsanto could again try to buy Syngenta
Nov 19, 2015
http://www.bizjournals.com/triad/news/2015/11/19/though-rebuffed-earlier-monsanto-could-again-try.html?ana=yahoo
"If at first you don't succeed, try, try again" — that's how the saying goes, right?
It does for crop science giant Monsanto Co. (NYSE: MON), which according to reports is again pursuing rival Syngenta AG (NYSE: SYT) after a very public, and ultimately failed, takeover attempt this summer.
Reuters reports that Monsanto continues to consider acquiring rival companies during a period in the global agrochemical sector that's been marked by consolidation, and Syngenta is a likely target.
Monsanto President Brett Begemann said at an investor meeting in the company's home city of St. Louis this week that "we've had conversations inside" about pursuing Syngenta and others.
Additionally, Monsanto CEO Hugh Grant said at the meeting that his company is "best placed to be a leading consolidator or a leading partner in an industry that is changing," according to Reuters.
Though it earlier turned up its nose at Monsanto's advances, saying that the $46 billion offer was undervalued and the deal was likely to be rejected by regulators, Syngenta appears to be more open to discussion potential mergers.
The Financial Times quotes Syngenta's chairman Michel Demaré as saying that conversations among leading players in the industry are "extremely active" and that "we are all convinced that (the sector) will look quite different in six months."
Monsanto's renewed interest in Syngenta comes as the Swiss company, which has its North American headquarters in Greensboro, has repelled another suitor, but expressed being open to talks.
Last week came news that ChemChina, also known as the China National Chemical Corp., is in talks to buy Syngenta after the Chinese company offered $42 billion for the company.
Additionally, Syngenta is reportedly discussing a potential merger with Dupont Co.'s agriculture division while DuPont is also talking to Dow Chemical Co. for a separate deal to purchase Dow's seed and pesticide unit.
In comments to The Financial Times, Demaré said this summer's back and forth between Monsanto and his company are at the root of all this activity.
"This is the result of the Monsanto approach for Syngenta, which for sure has shaken the whole industry," he said. "It has created the huge activity in which everyone is speaking to each other."
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>>> Kale: Good nutrition for you, just don't overdo
By Washington Post, Herald-Tribune
September 25, 2012
By CAROLYN BUTLER
http://health.heraldtribune.com/2012/09/25/kale-good-nutrition-for-you-just-dont-overdo/
Every time I pass by that colossal bag of kale at the grocery store or our local farmers market, I have the distinct feeling that I should be eating more of the dark, leafy green. But I'm not sure if that's because celebrities such as Gwyneth Paltrow and Ryan Seacrest say I should, or because the trendy veggie has any real, exceptional health benefits.
Turns out there's quite a bit of science behind this super food hype: "Kale is rich in so many different things," says registered dietitian and nutritionist Cheryl Harris, of Harris Whole Health in Fairfax, Va., who notes that the cruciferous veggie — which is in the Brassica family, along with broccoli, cauliflower and cabbage — is an excellent, potent source of Vitamin K, Vitamin A, Vitamin C, fiber and carotenoids, and that's just to start. Research has also shown that kale contains 45 — count 'em, 45 — different flavonoids with a variety of antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effects.
lemon kale saute image
Tangy lemon zest is a key ingredient in Lemon Kale Saute. Here the cook uses a handy grater-zester to neatly grate the lemon zest into the nutritious greens. (CREITD: AP FILE)
"Any vegetable that has a very deep color the way kale does, that means there is a high concentration of nutrients, and that translates into a range of antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effects in the body," says Deirdre Orceyre, a naturopathic physician at the Center for Integrative Medicine at the George Washington University Medical Center.
This wide array of vitamins, nutrients and minerals results in several documented, distinct health advantages.
"Brassica vegetables are known to help with general health as well as heart disease and cancer, but even among this group kale stands out" because it has the broadest range of antioxidants and also the highest levels of several specific ones, along with Vitamin K and a type of Vitamin E that seems to be heart-healthy, Harris says. It has been shown to lower cholesterol and may reduce the risk of certain types of cancer, although there is evidence that a person's specific genetic makeup also comes into play. A new laboratory study also found that kale extract inhibits the production of existing colon cancer cells.
Orceyre highlights the fact that the green contains indole-3- carbinol, a nutrient that seems to play a role in how estrogen is metabolized in the body and may play a protective role against breast cancer. "We sometimes use it as a supplement in patients with breast cancer, anyone who has a reason to be concerned about developing breast cancer and for those with estrogen-dominant illnesses like fibroids, fibrocystic breast disease or endometriosis, to try to help modulate negative estrogenic effects in the body," she says. "Eating kale is a natural way to do that."
Meanwhile, the fiber in kale can aid digestion in general, says Baltimore dietitian Angela Ginn, a spokeswoman for the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. Eating kale, she says, "revs up your body's natural detoxification ability."
Still, it's probably best not to go overboard with kale and to simply integrate it into an overall healthful diet full of other fruits and vegetables.
"There are a couple of controversial things about kale that are worth mentioning," says Orceyre, who explains that its large concentration of Vitamin K can be a problem for people taking blood thinners and other medications because it promotes clotting; the green also contains oxalates, which in lab tests have been associated with kidney stones and some gallstones.
Raw kale in particular "can be hard on the digestive system" — meaning it can cause bloating, gas and other abdominal issues — "and also contains a compound that can suppress thyroid function in certain people," she adds. That's why she doesn't recommend eating the vegetable uncooked or juicing it more than once or twice a week, though she says you can eat as much of the cooked veggie as you like.
Finally, Orceyre cautions that kale crops are often sprayed with pesticides, so buy organic if you can manage it, and in all cases be sure to clean vegetables well to wash away any surface chemicals.
Indeed, good overall preparation is essential if you want to enjoy that giant bag of kale, which has a well-deserved reputation for being tough and bitter.
"One mistake people make is that they don't cut the center stem out: That's what makes it really tough," says Ginn, who suggests cutting out the larger stems and slicing the leaves into strips, then washing them thoroughly and sprinkling with baking soda or baking powder to tenderize.
As for the healthiest method for cooking kale, the research is mixed.
"Cancer studies seem to show that raw kale is more beneficial than cooked, while cholesterol studies seem to show that steamed kale is more beneficial than raw," says Harris, who recommends a bit of both in your diet.
But whatever you do, don't boil, saute or stir-fry the veggie too long or with too much added liquid.
"When you cook it all the way down or with extra water or broth, you're losing a lot of the nutrients and enzymes in the actual green," Ginn says. "If you do, the key is to make sure you enjoy the leftover kale broth, too, because it has a lot of the antioxidants, nutrients and benefits that leak out and will be lost otherwise."
What about those of us who are trying to work more kale into our diets but are still struggling with its sometimes harsh flavor?
The coming cold weather will help some: "Once the frost hits, greens get milder and sweeter," says Harris, who counsels clients trying the veggie for the first time to start out using baby kale, which is less bitter and more tender and can be easier and quicker to work with. "There are so many options and different preparations," she says.
So kale chips and raw kale slaw just don't do it for you? Well, I'm hoping to eventually make my way through an entire bag of the veggie, one green smoothie and baby kale stir-fry at a time.
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>>> 'Doomsday Vault' sees its first withdrawal
Kate Seamons
September 23, 2015
http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2015/09/23/newser-doomsday-vault/72671518/
The "Doomsday Vault" just got its first bit of doomsday press: coverage of its first-ever withdrawal of seeds.
The vault has since 2008 sat on the Norwegian island of Svalbard, 800 miles from the North Pole where the soil is always frozen. It's a place so cold that Reuters explains that in the event of power failure the crop seeds within the vault would be preserved for at least 200 years. That makes it an ideal location to house and safeguard the seeds in the event of catastrophe, and the first catastrophe of sorts has apparently occurred: Syria's civil war.
There are other gene banks around the world, one being in Aleppo. It's located at the headquarters of the International Center for Agricultural Research in Dry Areas (ICARDA)— which itself in 2012 moved from Aleppo to Beirut due to the conflict.
Cary Fowler, the creator of the Svalbard vault, last month told Australia's ABC News that "we don't think that seed collection has been lost," but ICARDA has certainly lost its ability to get the seeds to farmers or scientists who request them. He said the plan was to "re-establish that gene bank center now in two locations; in Morocco and Lebanon."
The Local reports that since 2008, ICARDA was able to send samples of 87% of its seeds to Svalbard and other banks. It's now asking for some 116,000 samples that include wheat, barley, and grasses that thrive in dry areas. The transfer will occur once the paperwork is done. While the news may sound negative, Slate points out the vault is working "exactly how [it's] supposed to work. When disaster strikes, the Arctic seed vault forms a sort of planetary insurance policy."
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>>> Hemp Seeds: Benefits, Nutrition, Side Effects and Facts
http://www.seedguides.info/hemp-seeds/
Hemp seeds are produced from the hemp plant, Cannabis sativa L. While hemp is commonly confused with marijuana, as it belongs to the same family, the two plants are quite different. Most notably is the level of THC, or delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol. Hemp contains less than 1% of the psychoactive drug while marijuana contains up to 20% or more.
Hemp plants are cultivated for industrial use and harvested for their fibers, seeds, oils, and meal. Industrial hemp seeds are available in different forms. They can be sterilized, toasted, roasted, or cracked. Hemp can be pressed into oil or hulled into meal. Hemp thrives nearly anywhere, tolerating a variety of growing conditions. It's rarely affected by pests or disease, making hemp quite hardy. In fact, the plant provides numerous benefits.
Industrial help has many uses, from paper and textiles to plastic and fuel. In fact, it can even be used in place of traditional paper made from trees, as hemp paper can be recycled more times than that made from wood. Hemp also yields nearly four times as much as trees. Plastic produced from hemp is also biodegradable, making it better for the environment. Hemp seeds can be used in a variety of food products as well.
Hemp seed food products are also considered more allergy-free than many other seeds. Hemp seeds contain the perfect balance of essential amino acids for sustaining good health. In addition, hemp seed oil contains necessary fatty acids, also known as good fats. Not only can hemp seeds provide valuable nutritional benefits to people, but they can also be used in pet foods and taste good too.
While hemp seeds are grown in many parts of the world, its major producers include Canada, France, and China. Hemp has been prohibited from cultivation in the United States since about 1950. Despite its value, the U.S. government doesn't recognize the differences between industrial hemp and marijuana. In fact, the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency, or DEA, classifies all varieties of Cannabis as marijuana, making industrial hemp just as illegal regardless of its use.
Considering its popularity from long ago, when even our forefathers appreciated the value of hemp seeds, it seems unusual that the plant would have such a bad reputation today. Both George Washington and Thomas Jefferson grew hemp plants in their gardens. Hemp paper was even used for the Declaration of Independence, and Benjamin Franklin produced hemp paper at his mill. The environmental advantages and nutritional benefits of growing industrial hemp seem to many to be worth lifting its restrictions.
Hemp Seed Nutrition
Hemp seeds are high in nutritional value and contain 20 different varieties of amino acids and all nine of the essential amino acids (like flax). Some essential amino acids can't be naturally produced by the body and these seeds have the capacity to supplement them in the body. They contain high amounts of protein, which helps in strengthening the immune system, thereby, reducing the instances of diseases, besides helping in excreting toxins from the body. Studies in the recent past have shown that consuming hemp seeds whether raw or in oil form, has the capacity to aid in the healing process of diseases related to immune deficiency. There is no other food substance which contains such high quantities of essential fatty acids found in hemp seeds, higher than even flaxseed and other nut or seed oil as well as containing high amounts of vitamin E and trace minerals. It has a balanced ratio of omega 3 to 6 fats at around a three to one ratio. This won't help correct your omega balance if it's off, but it gives you the right balance to start with.
Further the protein content of the hemp seed is supposed to be very digestible. Many people noted their personal experience of finding that hemp seed protein did not cause bloating or gas, like some of their whey, or other protein shakes did. And, unlike soy which has super high amounts of phytic acid (that anti-nutrient that prevents us from absorbing minerals), hemp seed doesn't contain phytic acid. At the very least, this makes hemp seed a step up from soy.
Consuming hemp seeds is absolutely safe and there are no known side effects of consuming them. However, you should always remember that excess of anything is bad, so make sure that you consume just enough so as to give you a healthy body. Hope, after reading all the hemp seeds health benefits, you would take good care of your health and start consuming hemp seeds even if you don't like them.
The best way to insure the body has enough amino acid material to make the globulins is to eat foods high in globulin proteins. Since hemp seed protein is 65% globulin edistin, and also includes quantities of albumin, its protein is readily available in a form quite similar to that found in blood plasma. Eating hemp seeds gives the body all the essential amino acids required to maintain health, and provides the necessary kinds and amounts of amino acids the body needs to make human serum albumin and serum globulins like the immune enhancing gamma globulins. Eating hemp seeds could aid, if not heal, people suffering from immune deficiency diseases. This conclusion is supported by the fact that hemp seed was used to treat nutritional deficiencies brought on by tuberculosis, a severe nutrition blocking disease that causes the body to waste away.
Hemp Seed Benefits
Hemp seeds are easily digested by the body and is one of the most nutritious foods available in nature. They contain high amounts of essential fatty acids, essential amino acids and proteins. Hemp seeds are such foods which can sustain our dietary needs, even if you don't consume any other healthy food. There are several hemp seeds health benefits, some of which are listed below.
One of the most important hemp seed benefits is its high quantity of proteins. Moreover, there are a range of vitamins and minerals in hemp seeds, besides omega 3 and omega 6 essential fatty acids. Essential fatty acids are not synthesized by the human body naturally, and this is what makes hemp seeds an excellent food source of essential fatty acids. If you want to keep your heart healthy, you should try and consume a lot of hemp seeds, as they are rich in essential fatty acids. You can reduce the chances of a fatal cardiac arrhythmia or a heart attack if you substitute saturated fats with foods like hemp seeds, as they contain healthy fats. Moreover, it produces phytosterols, which help in reducing the amount of cholesterol in the body, thereby removing fat buildup in the arteries.
Hemp contains:
•All 20 amino acids, including the 9 essential amino acids (EAAs) our bodies cannot produce.
•A high protein percentage of the simple proteins that strengthen immunity and fend off toxins.
•Eating hemp seeds in any form could aid, if not heal, people suffering from immune deficiency diseases. This conclusion is supported by the fact that hemp seed has been used to treat nutritional deficiencies brought on by tuberculosis, a severe nutrition blocking disease that causes the body to waste away.
•Nature's highest botanical source of essential fatty acid, with more essential fatty acid than flax or any other nut or seed oil.
•A perfect 3:1 ratio of Omega-6 Linoleic Acid and Omega-3 Linolenic Acid – for cardiovascular health and general strengthening of the immune system.
•A superior vegetarian source of protein considered easily digestible.
•A rich source of phytonutrients, the disease-protective element of plants with benefits protecting your immunity, bloodstream, tissues, cells, skin, organs and mitochondria.
The richest known source of polyunsaturated essential fatty acids.
You can press hemp seeds to extract polyunsaturated oil, besides making seed cakes out of it. Oil extracted out of hemp seeds can be mixed with other foods like breads or salads or even eaten plain. You can use grind hemp seed cakes to hemp flour and use it while baking. Another important hemp seeds health benefits is, that oil extracted out of hemp seeds can also be used as an ointment to regenerate and nourish the skin. Hemp oil can penetrate the skin quickly compared to other oils. This helps in preventing skin from sagging due to aging as essential fatty acids completely penetrate the outer skin layer, thereby, encouraging healthy moist skin.
Can Hemp Seeds Make You High?
In short, no. To grow marijuna you have to have special seed that grows a plant high in THC, the property responsible for the drug response. Commercial hemp seed or hemp seed oil contains very low amounts, plus they contain a substance that counteracts THC.
Reality: Hemp oil is an increasingly popular product, used for an expanding variety of purposes. The washed hemp seed contains no THC at all. The tiny amounts of THC contained in industrial hemp are in the glands of the plant itself. Sometimes, in the manufacturing process, some THC- and CBD-containing resin sticks to the seed, resulting in traces of THC in the oil that is produced. The concentration of these cannabinoids in the oil is infinitesimal. No one can get high from using hemp oil.
Hemp Seed Side Effects
Shelled hemp seeds are becoming a popular dietary supplement because of their high protein content and healthful fatty acids. Hemp seeds come from the same plants, Cannabis sativa or C. indica, that produce marijuana, although the plants are cultivated and processed differently so that hemp seeds contain very low levels of psychoactive cannabinols such as delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC. Shelled hemp seeds are generally safe, but some people may experience some undesired side effects.
Oils and Digestion
Hemp seeds are rather oily and high in fat. One tablespoon contains 3 g to 4 g of fat. The majority of this is polyunsaturated fat --- the good kind of fat --- and according to Blue Shield of California, shelled hemp seeds contain both omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids. However, all this fat can come at a price, and you may experience mild diarrhea when adding shelled hemp seeds to your diet. If your digestive system is sensitive to change, start with small amounts of hemp seed --- say, a teaspoon a day --- and slowly work your way up to the recommended serving of 2 tbsp.
Medication Interactions
As of 2011, hemp seeds are not known to cause any interactions with common medications, but you should talk to your doctor or naturopath about any over-the-counter or prescription drugs you are taking before adding hemp seeds to your diet. Blue Shield of California recommends caution to anyone taking anticoagulant drugs, since hemp seeds inhibit platelets and may pose a bleeding risk.
THC
Eating shelled hemp seeds will not produce the same effects as smoking marijuana. According to David P. West Ph.D., a plant researcher who has studied hemp extensively, the compound in marijuana that produces its psychotropic effect, THC, is only produced in the flowers, buds and leaves of the cannabis plants, not the seeds. However, since the seeds come into contact with the rest of the plant, some residue may remain on the seeds after processing and shelled hemp seeds may contain extremely low levels of THC. The exact levels vary by brand, so if you are very sensitive to THC and happen to buy a brand with higher-than-average levels, you may experience euphoria or hallucination. It is also highly unlikely --- although not impossible --- to get a positive drug test result after consuming large amounts of shelled hemp seeds.
Buying, Storing and Using
Look for shelled hemp seeds in the refrigerated section of natural food stores. Since the oils in hemp seeds can quickly go rancid, they are best kept cool and used quickly. Heating hemp seeds will destroy the nutritional benefits of the fatty acids, so add hemp seeds to foods after cooking.
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>>> Pesticides in paradise: Hawaii's spike in birth defects puts focus on GM crops
http://investorshub.advfn.com/boards/read_msg.aspx?message_id=116576296
Local doctors are in the eye of a storm swirling for the past three years over whether corn that’s been genetically modified to resist pesticides is a source of prosperity, as companies claim, or of birth defects and illnesses
After four separate attempts to rein in the companies failed, an estimated 10,000 people marched through Honolulu’s Waikiki tourist district. Photograph: Christopher Pala for the Guardian
Christopher Pala in Waimea
Sunday 23 August 2015 07.00 EDT
Pediatrician Carla Nelson remembers catching sight of the unusually pale newborn, then hearing an abnormal heartbeat through the stethoscope and thinking that something was terribly wrong.
The baby was born minutes before with a severe heart malformation that would require complex surgery. What worried her as she waited for the ambulance plane to take the infant from Waimea, on the island of Kauai, to the main children’s hospital in Honolulu, on another Hawaiian island, was that it was the fourth one shehad seen in three years.
In all of Waimea, there have been at least nine in five years, she says, shaking her head. That’s more than 10 times the national rate, according to analysis by local doctors.
Nelson, a Californian, and other local doctors find themselves in the eye of a storm swirling for the past three years around the Hawaiian archipelago over whether a major cash crop on four of the six main islands, corn that’s been genetically modified to resist pesticides, is a source of prosperity, as the companies claim – or of birth defects and illnesses, as the doctors and many others suspect.
After four separate attempts to rein in the companies over the past two years all failed, an estimated 10,000 people marched on 9 August through Honolulu’s Waikiki tourist district. Some held signs like, “We Deserve the Right to Know: Stop Poisoning Paradise” and “Save Hawaii – Stop GMOs” (Genetically Modified Organisms), while others protested different issues.
“The turnout and the number of groups marching showed how many people are very frustrated with the situation,” says native Hawaiian activist Walter Ritte of the island of Molokai.
Seventeen times more pesticide
Waimea and the GMO fields. The two orange-roof buildings at bottom left are the Middle School. The one to its right is the hospital. Photograph: Christopher Pala for the Guardian
Waimea, a small town of low, pastel wood houses built in south-west Kauai for plantation workers in the 19th century, now sustains its economy mostly from a trickle of tourists on their way to a spectacular canyon. Perhaps 200 people work full-time for the four giant chemical companies that grow the corn – all of it exported – on some 12,000 acres leased mostly from the state.
In Kauai, chemical companies Dow, BASF, Syngenta and DuPont spray 17 times more pesticide per acre (mostly herbicides, along with insecticides and fungicides) than on ordinary cornfields in the US mainland, according to the most detailed study of the sector, by the Center for Food Safety.
That’s because they are precisely testing the strain’s resistance to herbicides that kill other plants. About a fourth of the total are called Restricted Use Pesticides because of their harmfulness. Just in Kauai, 18 tons – mostly atrazine, paraquat (both banned in Europe) and chlorpyrifos – were applied in 2012. The World Health Organization this year announced that glyphosate, sold as Roundup, the most common of the non-restricted herbicides, is “probably carcinogenic in humans”.
The cornfields lie above Waimea as the land, developed in the 1870s for the Kekaha Sugar Company plantation, slopes gently up toward arid, craggy hilltops. Most fields are reddish-brown and perfectly furrowed. Some parts are bright green: that’s when the corn is actually grown.
Both parts are sprayed frequently, sometimes every couple of days. Most of the fields lie fallow at any given time as they await the next crop, but they are still sprayed with pesticides to keep anything from growing. “To grow either seed crops or test crops, you need soil that’s essentially sterile,” says professor Hector Valenzuela of the University of Hawaii department of tropical plant and soil science.
When the spraying is underway and the wind blows downhill from the fields to the town – a time no spraying should occur – residents complain of stinging eyes, headaches and vomiting.
“Your eyes and lungs hurt, you feel dizzy and nauseous. It’s awful,” says middle school special education teacher Howard Hurst, who was present at two evacuations. “Here, 10% of the students get special-ed services, but the state average is 6.3%,” he says. “It’s hard to think the pesticides don’t play a role.”
At these times, many crowd the waiting rooms of the town’s main hospital, which was run until recently by Dow AgroSciences’ former chief lobbyist in Honolulu. It lies beside the middle school, both 1,700ft from Syngenta fields. The hospital, built by the old sugar plantation, has never studied the effects of the pesticides on its patients.
The chemical companies that grow the corn in land previously used for sugar refuse to disclose with any precision which chemicals they use, where and in what amounts, but they insist the pesticides are safe, and most state and local politicians concur. “The Hawai‘i legislature has never given the slightest indication that it intended to regulate genetically engineered crops,” wrote lawyer Paul Achitoff of Earthjustice in a recent court case.
As for the birth defects spike, “We have not seen any credible source of statistical health information to support the claims,” said Bennette Misalucha, executive director of Hawaii Crop Improvement Association, the chemical companies trade association, in a written statement distributed by a publicist. She declined to be interviewed.
Nelson, the pediatrician, points out that American Academy of Pediatrics’ report, Pesticide Exposure in Children, found “an association between pesticides and adverse birth outcomes, including physical birth defects”. Noting that local schools have been evacuated twice and children sent to hospital because of pesticide drift, Nelson says doctors need prior disclosure of sprayings: “It’s hard to treat a child when you don’t know which chemical he’s been exposed to.”
Her concerns and those of most of her colleagues have grown as the chemical companies doubled to 25,000 acres in a decade the area in Hawaii they devote to growing new varieties of herbicide-resistant corn.
Today, about 90% of industrial GMO corn grown in the US was originally developed in Hawaii, with the island of Kauai hosting the biggest area. The balmy weather yields three crops a year instead of one, allowing the companies to bring a new strain to market in a third of the time.
Once it’s ready, the same fields are used to raise seed corn, which is sent to contract farms on the mainland. It is their output, called by critics a pesticide delivery system, that is sold to the US farmers, along with the pesticides manufactured by the breeder that each strain has been modified to tolerate.
Corn’s uses are as industrial as its cultivation: less than 1% is eaten. About 40% is turned into ethanol for cars, 36% becomes cattle feed, 10% is used by the food industry and the rest is exported.
‘We just want to gather information’
A march against pesticides in Hawaii. Photograph: Christopher Pala for the Guardian
At a Starbucks just outside Honolulu, Sidney Johnson, a pediatric surgeon at the Kapiolani Medical Center for Women and Children who oversees all children born in Hawaii with major birth defects and operates on many, says he’s been thinking about pesticides a lot lately. The reason: he’s noticed that the number of babies born here with their abdominal organs outside, a rare condition known as gastroschisis, has grown from three a year in the 1980s to about a dozen now.
“We have cleanest water and air in the world,” he says. So he’s working with a medical student on a study of his hospital’s records to determine whether the parents of the gastroschisis infants were living near fields that were being sprayed around the time of conception and early pregnancy. He plans to extend the study to parents of babies suffering from heart defects.
“You kind of wonder why this wasn’t done before,” he says. “Data from other states show there might be a link, and Hawaii might be the best place to prove it.”
Unbeknownst to Johnson, another two physicians have been heading in the same direction, but with some constraints. They’re members of a state-county commission appointed this year to “determine if there are human harms coming from these pesticides”, as its chairman, a professional facilitator named Peter Adler, tells a meeting of angry local residents in Waimea earlier this month. Several express skepticism that the panel is anything but another exercise in obfuscation.
The panel of nine part-time volunteers also includes two scientists from the chemical companies and several of their critics. “We just want to gather information and make some recommendations,” Adler tells the crowd of about 60 people. “We won’t be doing any original research.”
But one of the two doctors, a retired pediatrician named Lee Evslin, plans to do just that. “I want see if any health trends stand out among people that might have been exposed to pesticides,” he says in an interview. “It won’t be a full epidemiological study, but it will probably be more complete than anything that’s been done before.”
The panel itself, called the Joint Fact-Finding Study Group on Genetically Modified Crops and Pesticides on Kaua?i, is the only achievement of three years of failed attempts to force the companies to disclose in advance what they spray and to create buffer zones – which they do in 11 other states, where food crops receive much less pesticides per acre.
The pushback from the expansion of the GMO acreage first emerged when Gary Hooser of Kauai, a former state senate majority leader who failed in a bid for lieutenant governor in 2010, ran for his old seat on the Kauai County council in 2012.
“Everywhere I went, people were concerned about GMOs and pesticides. They were saying, ‘Gary, we gotta do something’,” he recounts over coffee at the trendy Ha Coffee Bar in Lihue, the island’s capital. “Some were worried about the GMO process itself and others by the threats of the pesticides, and it became one of the dominant political issues.”
Once elected, Hooser, who has a ruddy complexion, piercing blue eyes and arrived in Hawaii as a teenager from California, approached the companies for information about exactly what they were spraying and in what amounts. He was rebuffed.
In the process of what he called “doing my homework”, he discovered that the companies, unlike regular farmers, were operating under a decades-old Environmental Protection Agency permit to discharge toxic chemicals in water that had been grandfathered from the days of the sugar plantation, when the amounts and toxicities of pesticides were much lower. The state has asked for a federal exemption for the companies so they can avoid modern standards of compliance.
He also found that the companies, unlike regular farmers, don’t pay the 4% state excise tax. Some weren’t even asked to pay property taxes, worth $125,000 a year. After pressure from Hooser and the county tax office, the companies paid two years’ worth of back taxes.
So with the backing of three other members of the seven-member Kauai council, he drafted a law requiring the companies to disclose yearly what they had grown and where, and to announce in advance which pesticides they proposed to spray, where and when. The law initially also imposed a moratorium on the chemical companies expanding their acreage while their environmental impact was assessed.
After a series of hearings packed by company employees and their families wearing blue and opponents wearing red, the bill was watered down by eliminating the moratorium and reducing the scope of the environmental study. The ordinance then passed, but the companies sued in federal court, where a judge ruled that the state’s law on pesticides precluded the counties from regulating them. After the ruling, the state and the county created the joint fact-finding panel officially committed to conducting no new research.
Hooser is confident the ruling will be overturned on appeal: the Hawaii constitution “specifically requires” the state and the counties to protect the communities and their environment.
In his appeal, Achitoff of Earthjustice argued that Hawaii’s general pesticide law does not “demonstrate that the legislature intended to force the county to sit and watch while its schoolchildren are being sent to the hospital so long as state agencies do not remedy the problem.”
In the Big Island, which is called Hawaii and hosts no GMO corn, a similar process unfolded later in 2013: the county council passed a law that effectively banned the chemical companies from moving in, and it was struck down in federal court for the same reasons. A ban on genetically modified taro, a food root deemed sacred in Hawaiian mythology, was allowed to stand.
In Maui County, which includes the islands of Maui and Molokai, both with large GMO corn fields, a group of residents calling themselves the Shaka Movement sidestepped the company-friendly council and launched a ballot initiative that called for a moratorium on all GMO farming until a full environmental impact statement is completed there.
The companies, primarily Monsanto, spent $7.2m on the campaign ($327.95 per “no” vote, reported to be the most expensive political campaign in Hawaii history) and still lost.
Again, they sued in federal court, and, a judge found that the Maui County initiative was preempted by federal law. Those rulings are also being appealed.
In the state legislature in Honolulu, Senator Josh Green, a Democrat who then chaired the health committee, earlier this year attempted a fourth effort at curbing the pesticide spraying.
In the legislature, he said, it’s an open secret that most heads of the agriculture committee have had “a closer relationship with the agro-chemical companies than with the environmental groups”.
Green, an emergency room doctor who was raised in Pennsylvania, drafted legislation to mandate some prior disclosure and some buffer zones. “I thought that was a reasonable compromise,” he says. Still, he also drafted a weaker bill as a failsafe. “If even that one doesn’t pass, it’s going to be obvious that the state doesn’t have the political will to stand up to the chemical companies,” he said in a phone interview at the time. “That would be terrible.”
The chairman of the senate agricultural committee, Cliff Tsuji, didn’t even bring the weaker bill to a vote, even though Hawaii’s governor had pledged to sign any bill that created buffer zones.
Asked by email what he would do now, Green replied with a quip: “Drink scotch.”
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>>> Worrisome Levels of Lead Found In Imported Rice
By Alexandra Sifferlin
April 11, 2013
http://healthland.time.com/2013/04/11/high-levels-of-lead-found-in-imported-rice/
US rice imports 'contain harmful levels of lead' BBC News
An analysis of imported brands found surprising levels of the metal.
Reporting at the annual meeting of the American Chemical Society, a group of researchers lead by Tsanangurayi Tongesayi, an associate professor of chemistry at Monmouth University in New Jersey announced the results of their analysis of rice from Asia, Europe and South America. The imports, which currently make up about 7% of rice consumed in America, contained higher than acceptable levels of lead.
The levels ranged from six milligrams/kilogram to 12 milligrams/kilogram; factoring in average consumption, that added up to estimated lead exposure levels 30 to 60 times greater than the Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) provisional total tolerable intake (PTTI) levels for children and 20-40 times greater than the standard exposure levels for adults.
The agency’s PTTI represent the maximum level of contaminant exposure before potentially toxic or adverse health effects might occur. “Now, according to the FDA, for chemical toxicants to cause a health effect, they have to be ten times the PTTI. Our calculated exposure levels were two to 12 times higher than ten times the PTTI. Meaning, they can cause adverse health effects,” says Tongesayi.
Because Asian populations in the U.S. tend to consume the most rice, the researchers also calculated exposure levels for these groups, and estimated that Asian infants and children in the U.S. could be exposed to lead at 60 to 120 times higher than the FDA’s PTTI. And young children under six years old can be especially vulnerable to lead poisoning, which can impair mental and physical development and, if the exposure is sustained, can be fatal.
“The thing is that is rice becoming a staple food for a larger percentage of the population,” says Tongesayi. He says their calculations are also conservative, since they were basing consumption on the daily recommended servings. It’s likely that many people consume more than what’s recommend in a given day– or week.
Rice from Taiwan and China contained the highest levels of lead, although rice from Italy, India, Thailand, Bhutan and the Czech Republic also contained levels higher than the PTTI. The researchers are continu8ing their sampling with rice from Pakistan and Brazil as well as other countries. With the increase in imports, Tongesayi says rice from these countries are not only appearing in ethnic and specialty restaurants and stores, but also in mass market grocery store and supermarket chains.
While lead exposure can negatively affect cognitive development and performance in kids, adults with high lead exposure can also experience problems with blood pressure, heart disease and calcium deficiency. Tongesayi’s team believes the rice became contaminated during growing and harvesting. “Processing can potentially add some contaminants, but from what we studied, it seems that the contamination is coming from contaminated soils and contaminated irrigation waters,” he says.
The findings come after concerns about arsenic contamination in rice as well, but, say the researchers, shouldn’t discourage people from eating rice. Instead, Tongesayi and his colleagues hope their work increases consumer awareness about food safety and prompts more stringent oversight of imported products. “We just hope that our results will inform public policy and will be used to create stricter regulations on lead in rice, or be used to come up with eating advisories like [those] with mercury in fish,” he says. “It is a bit difficult because people can’t stop eating it, and that is not what we are trying to say, but we want people to be aware that some of the foods they are eating are tainted with these toxic chemicals. You can eat less on a given day.”
Tongesayi only studied imported rice so the findings aren’t applicable to rice grown in the U.S. While the U.S. is a major exporter of rice, imports of rice and rice flour have increased by over 200% since 1999, raising concerns about the safety of the products. Noah Bartolucci, a spokesperson for the FDA, said to BBC News that the agency “plans to review the new research on lead levels in imported rice released today”. Any adverse effects from contaminants will need to be weighed against the grains’ nutritional benefits. Yet, such results should alert regulatory agencies to be vigilant as global markets continue to expand and imports increase.
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>>> The Trouble With Rice
By Deborah Blum
April 18, 2014
http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2014/04/18/the-trouble-with-rice/?_r=0
As a plant, rice is particularly prone to absorbing certain toxic metals from the soil.
For the past few years, Mary Lou Guerinot has been keeping watch over experimental fields in southeast Texas, monitoring rice plants as they suck metals and other troublesome elements from the soil.
If the fields are flooded in the traditional paddy method, she has found, the rice handily takes up arsenic. But if the water is reduced in an effort to limit arsenic, the plant instead absorbs cadmium — also a dangerous element.
“It’s almost either-or, day-and-night as to whether we see arsenic or cadmium in the rice,” said Dr. Guerinot, a molecular geneticist and professor of biology at Dartmouth College.
The levels of arsenic and cadmium at the study site are not high enough to provoke alarm, she emphasized. Still, it is dawning on scientists like her that rice, one of the most widely consumed foods in the world, is also one of nature’s great scavengers of metallic compounds.
Consumers have already become alarmed over reports of rice-borne arsenic in everything from cereal bars to baby food. Some food manufacturers have stepped up screening for arsenic in their products, and agencies such as the Food and Drug Administration now recommend that people eat a variety of grains to “minimize potential adverse health consequences from eating an excess of any one food.”
But it’s not just arsenic and cadmium, which are present in soil both as naturally occurring elements and as industrial byproducts. Recent studies have shown that rice is custom-built to pull a number of metals from the soil, among them mercury and even tungsten. The findings have led to a new push by scientists and growers to make the grain less susceptible to metal contamination.
The highest levels often occur in brown rice, because elements like arsenic accumulate in bran and husk, which are polished off in the processing of white rice. The Department of Agriculture estimates that on average arsenic levels are 10 times as high in rice bran as in polished rice.
Although these are mostly tiny amounts — in the part per billion range — chronic exposure to arsenic, even at very low levels, can affect health. The F.D.A. is now considering whether a safety level should be set for arsenic in rice.
“Rice is a problem because it’s such a widely consumed grain,” said Rufus Chaney, a senior research agronomist with the U.S.D.A.’s Agricultural Research Service, who is leading a investigation of metal uptake by food crops. “But it’s also a fascinating plant.”
Like people, plants have systems for taking up and absorbing necessary nutrients. In plants, these “transporter” systems work to pull minerals such as iron, calcium, zinc and manganese from the soil.
The rice plant has a well-designed system for taking up silicon compounds, or silicate, which help strengthen the plant and give stiffness and shape to its stems. Tissues generally referred to as phloem move such water-soluble nutrients throughout the plant.
But that delivery system also inclines the plant to vacuum up arsenic compounds, which are unfortunately similar in structure to silicate. And the traditional methods of growing rice, which often involve flooding a field, encourage formation of a soluble arsenic compound, arsenite, that is readily transported by the rice plant.
“The issue with the rice plant is that it tends to store the arsenic in the grain, rather than in the leaves or elsewhere,” said Jody Banks, a plant biologist at Purdue University, who studies arsenic uptake in plants. “It moves there quite easily.”
The highest concentrations of arsenic in rice-growing regions are mostly found in parts of Asia — including Bangladesh and India — where the underlying arsenic-rich bedrock contaminates groundwater used for both drinking and irrigation of rice fields.
But arsenic at lower levels is found in all soils, including American fields. The fertile soils fanning out across the Mississippi River floodplain are up to five times as high in arsenic as other parts of Louisiana, Mississippi and Arkansas, according to studies done by the United States Geological Survey.
It’s for that reason, as well as for water conservation, that scientists have experimented with reducing the amount of water used for rice fields. But as Dr. Guerinot has found, that makes cadmium more available to the plant instead.
Other plants also take up cadmium, Dr. Chaney noted, usually by the channels normally used to acquire zinc from the soil. But the rice plant, curiously, absorbs nearly all of its cadmium through a manganese transport system. And this route — discovered by a determined group of Japanese researchers — brings a new set of complications.
While zinc is relatively common in soil, soluble manganese is less readily found. So cadmium has little competition in the rice plant’s transport system — meaning that it is accumulated with apparent enthusiasm.
The association between cadmium in rice and human disease goes back decades. Most scientists cite the identification of itai-itai (ouch-ouch) disease in Japan during the 1960s as the first recognition of this problem. The name comes from the painful effects of bone fractures, one of many health problems related to cadmium exposure.
Researchers eventually discovered that cadmium pollution from mines and other industry had spread into rice farming areas in Japan, causing the grain to be loaded with the toxic metal. A host of similar problems have occurred in China, setting off an uproar over tainted rice last year.
Scientists say that the cadmium occurring naturally in American soil is not high enough to cause acute disease. Still, because rice is such an important food crop, scientists are searching for ways to block its metal-acquiring tendencies.
There are efforts to breed rice plants that transfer more zinc and iron into the grain, which would both increase nutritional quality and reduce toxicity. There are also programs, including the experiment in Texas, that try to breed improved rice cultivars less prone to absorb toxic minerals.
And researchers have explored the idea of genetic engineering to make the plant’s transport systems more precise so that cadmium or arsenic is filtered out.
Finally, they are looking into using other plants to reduce the toxic elements in the soils themselves, a process called phytoextraction. Dr. Banks, for instance, is studying a fern that deftly pulls arsenic from the soil and stores it in the fronds.
The plant, known as a Chinese brake or ladder fern, is so talented in this regard that the Chinese have approached American scientists about the feasibility of using it to clean up contaminated soils. Of course the ferns eventually have to be incinerated or taken to a toxic disposal site.
“You definitely wouldn’t want to eat them,” said Dr. Banks.
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>>> Food Additive Side Effects
Jan 27, 2015
By Linda Tarr Kent
http://www.livestrong.com/article/129493-additive-side-effects/
The additives in your food are put there to improve or preserve nutrient value, keep food from spoiling, or control acidity or alkalinity of foods. Additives that provide color or flavor or maintain a product's consistency are used to make your food more appealing, reports The New York Times. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has a list of additives that are generally recognized as safe, or GRAS. The GRAS list has more than 700 items, including sweeteners, sulfites, vinegar and MSG. Some food additives have known side effects.
Aspartame
Aspartame is used as a low-calorie sweetener in items like gum, drinks, pudding and yogurt. If you are allergic to aspartame, it can cause migraine headaches, according to a guide compiled by CNN.
Saccharin
Saccharin is a sweetener often used in carbonated drinks, jellies, canned fruits and fruit juice beverages. In laboratory animals, it is known to cause cancer, according to CNN.
MSG
Monosodium Glutamate, or MSG, is used to enhance a food’s flavor. It can be found in everything from frozen foods to dressings to canned tuna and vegetables. Some folks suffer side effects when they eat too much MSG, according to CNN. This is dubbed “Chinese restaurant syndrome," due to the fact that MSG commonly is found in foods at such restaurants. Symptoms can include general weakness, flushing, heart palpitations or numbness along the back of your neck, according to Dr. Andrew Weil, Arizona Center for Integrative Medicine founder. Also, if you’re on a low-sodium diet, you need to avoid MSG along with another additive, sodium bicarbonate, because both are both significant sources of sodium, advises CNN.
BHA and BHT
Butylated hydroxyanisole, or BHA, is used as a preservative to keep foods from going rancid. It’s also a defoaming agent used with yeast. Butylated hydroxytoluene, or BHT, is a preservative that prevents food from changing color, flavor or odor. In large doses, studies indicate that BHA and BHT may cause tumors in animals. Results remain inconclusive, however, advises CNN. BHA is usually found in foods that are high in oils and fats such as butter. It’s also found in snack foods, baked goods, beer, cereals, meats and dehydrated potatoes. BHT is found in foods that are high in oils and fats, shortening and cereals.
Sulfites
Potassium bisulfate, potassium metabisulfite, sodium sulfite and sulfur dioxide are types of sulfites that are used to prevent discoloration in fruit and to halt bacterial growth in wine, according to CNN. The FDA does not allow their use on raw fruits or vegetables. Some people suffer allergic reactions to sulfites. People who have asthma also can have reactions because of the sulfur dioxide in them, which an asthmatic inhales as he eats sulfited food. Sulfur dioxide irritates his lungs and may cause severe bronchospasm, or a constriction of his lungs, according to the University of Maryland Medical Center. Symptoms also may include coughing, wheezing, and shortness of breath, according to the European Food Information Council.
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>>> 10 Worst Food Additives
Apr 15, 2014
By Sukhsatej Batra
http://www.livestrong.com/article/470375-10-worst-food-additives/
Processed foods contain additives that may cause cancer
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration database includes an extensive list of more than 3,000 food additives commonly used in processed foods. Food additives may vary from common food ingredients such as sugar and salt to the uncommon and abbreviated ones such as acesulfame-potassium and BHA. These additives help maintain freshness, add flavor, improve taste and prolong shelf life of processed foods. Although considered safe in amounts typically consumed, some food additives may have a negative impact on health.
Acesulfame-K
Acesulfame-potassium, or acesulfame-K, is an artificial sweetener that is about 200 times sweeter than sugar and used in many foods including baked foods, diet sodas, sugar-free gum, mouthwash and toothpaste. The Center for Science in the Public Interest urges consumers to avoid acesulfame-K because animal studies suggest it may cause cancer and affect the thyroid. Research published in "Preventive Medicine" in 2008 found that consumption of artificial sweeteners for more than 10 years was associated with development of urinary tract tumors. Furthermore, a study in the journal “PLoS One” in 2013 reports that drinking artificially sweetened soda during pregnancy may increase the risk of asthma and allergies in children.
Aspartame
Aspartame, another artificial sweetener found in more than 6,000 products, has been associated with cancer. Its widespread use and possible role as a carcinogen in both animal and epidemiological studies calls for prompt action of regulatory agencies to re-evaluate use of aspartame, according to an article published in March 2014 in the “American Journal of Industrial Medicine.”
Food Colors
Brightly colored foods like candy, gelatin desserts and carbonated drinks contain food colors made from chemicals that should be avoided, according to the Center for Science in the Public Interest. These include food colors such as Blue 1, Blue 2 and Red 3 that have been associated with cancer in animal studies; Red 40 with allergylike reactions; Yellow 5 with hypersensitivity and hyperactivity in children; and Yellow 6 with adrenal gland and kidney tumors in animals.
Caramel coloring, a food additive that gives color to cola products, beer, baked products, sauces and chocolate products, contains two compounds, 2-methylimidazole and 4-methylimidazole, that are known to cause cancers in animals. According to a 2012 article in the “International Journal of Occupational and Environmental Health,” amounts of these chemicals in caramel food coloring often exceed guidelines. The author recommends the FDA follow the California State law requiring a warning on food labels that may provide more than 30 micrograms of this coloring per day.
Chemical Antioxidants
Butylated hydroxyanisole, or BHA; propyl gallate; and tert-butylhydroquinone, or TBHQ are three chemical antioxidants added to vegetable oils and fried foods such as potato chips. They inhibit rancidity in fats and oils and increase shelf life of processed foods. The Center for Science in the Public Interest cautions that these food additives may be associated with cancer in experimental studies and recommends limited consumption of foods containing these chemical antioxidants.
Man-Made Fat
Addition of hydrogen to vegetable oil produces a butterlike food ingredient called partially hydrogenated vegetable oil which contains trans fats. Trans fats increase risk of cardiovascular diseases and deaths due to heart attacks more than saturated fats. Read the ingredient list on food labels and avoid foods that contain partially hydrogenated vegetables oil.
Olestra, a man-made fat, gives fried foods such as chips the look and taste of regular chips without adding to the calorie intake because it is not digested in the body. In addition to inhibiting absorption of fat-soluble carotenoids from fruits and vegetables, olestra intake may cause flatulence, cramps and diarrhea, which may be severe in some cases.
Preservatives
Sodium nitrate and sodium nitrites are two common preservatives used in processed meats to maintain red color and prevent bacterial growth. These include hot dogs, ham, bacon and luncheon meats. Consumption of foods rich in nitrates and nitrites can increase the risk of cancer due to the formation of carcinogenic compounds called nitrosoamines, according to the Center for Science in the Public Interest.
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>>> Food Additives, Bromine and Thyroid Disorder
Aug 16, 2013
By Sandi Busch
http://www.livestrong.com/article/554803-food-additives-bromine-and-thyroid-disorder/
Bromine is used as a food additive in flour and some fruit-flavored soft drinks. Unfortunately, bromine can have a negative impact on your thyroid gland. While the amount allowed in foods and beverages is limited by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, it's still smart to watch for the presence of additives in the foods you purchase.
Bromine
Bromine is an element that belongs to the same group as chlorine and iodine. In its pure state, bromine is a reddish-orange liquid that gives off an unpleasant odor, but in nature it combines with other substances to form a salt. In liquid or vapor form, bromine is harmful to the skin, irritates the eyes and throat and can be toxic. Bromine is used in pesticides and gasoline; as a fire retardant in fabrics, carpets, upholstery and mattresses; and as an alternative to chlorine in swimming pool treatments. Bromine is also used as a food additive.
Food Additives
Food additives are nonfood substances that improve nutritional value, maintain food quality, prevent spoilage, make food more appealing through color or flavor or make food easier to prepare. Bromine is used as an additive in the forms of potassium bromate and brominated vegetable oil. In citrus-flavored beverages, brominated vegetable oil keeps citrus flavors suspended throughout the fluid. When it's added to flour, potassium bromate strengthens bread dough, helps it rise higher and improves the texture of the finished product. As long as the proper amount of potassium bromate is used, the process of baking turns it into a harmless substance.
Thyroid
Bromine disrupts the thyroid gland and interferes with the production of thyroid hormones. The thyroid gland relies on iodine obtained through the foods you eat to produce thyroid hormones that are essential for normal growth, development and metabolism. Because it’s so similar to iodine, bromine can take the place of iodine, which results in less iodine for the thyroid gland. This interferes with the thyroid’s ability to function and can lead to hypothyroidism. Bromine may also increase the elimination of iodine from the body, which also lowers the amount of iodine available for the thyroid gland.
Health Warnings
In addition to potential effects on the thyroid, potassium bromate is a category 2B carcinogen, according to the International Agency for Research on Cancer. Class 2B means that it has caused cancer in laboratory animals, but that there is only limited evidence of its potential to cause cancer in people. It has been banned from use as a food additive in Europe and Canada. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration asked bakers to voluntarily use other additives and set limits on the amounts that can be used in baked goods and soft drinks, but did not ban the additive. The Center for Science in the Public Interest recommends cautionary consumption of brominated vegetable oil and suggests avoiding potassium bromate. You can easily avoid these additives by looking for “bromated flour,” “potassium bromate” or “brominated vegetable oil” in the list of ingredients.
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>>> Cancer and nuclear test site -
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nevada_Test_Site#Cancer_and_test_site
I-131 Fallout Exposure in Rads
St. George, Utah received the brunt of the fallout of above-ground nuclear testing in the Yucca Flats/Nevada Test Site. Winds routinely carried the fallout of these tests directly through St. George and southern Utah. Marked increases in cancers such as leukemia, lymphoma, thyroid cancer, breast cancer, melanoma, bone cancer, brain tumors, and gastrointestinal tract cancers were reported from the mid-1950s through 1980.[3][4]
On May 19, 1953, the United States government detonated the 32-kiloton (130 TJ) atomic bomb (nicknamed "Harry") at the Nevada Test Site. The bomb later gained the name "Dirty Harry" because of the tremendous amount of off-site fallout generated by the bomb.[18] Winds carried fallout 135 miles (217 km) to St. George, where residents reported "an oddly metallic sort of taste in the air."[19]
The Howard Hughes motion picture, The Conqueror, was being filmed in the area of St. George at the time of the detonation. The fallout is often blamed for the unusually high percentage of cancer deaths among the cast and crew.[citation needed] However, the rates of cancer from that cast and crew (>90 out of 220) were almost identical to the general population, in which 43% may be expected to contract cancer in their lifetimes, and 23% die from it.[20] Nonetheless, there are speculations of a connection.
A 1962 United States Atomic Energy Commission report found that "children living in St. George, Utah may have received doses to the thyroid of radioiodine as high as 120 to 440 rads" (1.2 to 4.4 Gy).[21] A 1979 study reported in the New England Journal of Medicine concluded that:
A significant excess of leukemia deaths occurred in children up to 14 years of age living in Utah between 1959 and 1967. This excess was concentrated in the cohort of children born between 1951 and 1958, and was most pronounced in those residing in counties receiving high fallout.[22]
In 1982, a lawsuit brought by nearly 1,200 people accused the government of negligence in atomic and/or nuclear weapons testing at the Nevada Test Site in the 1950s, which they said had caused leukemia and other cancers. Dr. Karl Z. Morgan, Director of Health Physics at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, testified that radiation protection measures in the tests were substandard to what was becoming known of best practices at the time.[23]
In a report by the National Cancer Institute, released in 1997, it was determined that ninety atmospheric tests at the Nevada Test Site (NTS) deposited high levels of radioactive iodine-131 (5.5 exabecquerels) across a large portion of the contiguous United States, especially in the years 1952, 1953, 1955, and 1957—doses large enough, they determined, to produce 10,000 to 75,000 cases of thyroid cancer. The Radiation Exposure Compensation Act of 1990 allowed for people living downwind of NTS for at least two years in particular Nevada, Arizona, or Utah counties, between 21 January 1951 and 31 October 1958, or 30 June and 31 July 1962, and suffering from certain cancers or other serious illnesses deemed to have been caused by fallout exposure to receive compensation of $50,000. By January 2006, over 10,500 claims had been approved, and around 3,000 denied, for a total amount of over $525 million in compensation dispensed to "downwinders". By May 2014, the numbers of claims approved had reached 28,880, for a total compensation of $1.9 billion.[24] Additionally, the Energy Employees Occupational Illness Compensation Program Act of 2000 provides compensation and medical benefits for nuclear weapons workers who may have developed certain work-related illnesses.[25]
Uranium miners, mill workers, and ore transporters are also eligible for $100,000 compassionate payment under the Radiation Exposure Compensation Program, while $75,000 is the fixed payment amount for workers who were participants in the above-ground nuclear weapons tests.
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>>> Ingredion Incorporated, together with its subsidiaries, manufactures and sells starch, sweetener, and nutrition ingredients to various industries. The company offers sweetener products comprising glucose syrups, high maltose syrups, high fructose corn syrups, caramel colors, dextrose, polyols, maltodextrins and glucose, and syrup solids, as well as food grade and industrial starches. It also offers science-based collaboration and problem-solving for customers, including consumer insights, applied research, applications knowhow, and process technology. The company?s products are derived primarily from processing corn and other starch-based materials, such as tapioca, potato, and rice. In addition, it provides refined corn oil to packers of cooking oil, as well as to producers of margarine, salad dressings, shortening, mayonnaise, and other foods; and corn gluten feed that is used as protein feed for chickens, pet food, and aquaculture. The company serves the food, beverage, brewing, pharmaceutical, paper and corrugated products, textile, and personal care industries, as well as the animal feed and corn oil markets. It operates in North America, South America, the Asia Pacific, Europe, the Middle East, and Africa. The company was formerly known as Corn Products International, Inc. and changed its name to Ingredion Incorporated in June 2012. Ingredion Incorporated was founded in 1906 and is headquartered in Westchester, Illinois. <<<
Pesticide residues of fruits and vegetables, conventional vrs organically grown -
http://csanr.wsu.edu/m2m/tools/dri/dri-conventional-vs-organic.html
>>> The Omni Diet
http://www.webmd.com/diet/omni-diet
Ready to shed 12 pounds in 2 weeks? You could on The Omni Diet by Tana Amen, RN.
On this plan, you eat mostly plant foods, plus lean protein. Amen’s diet takes the best of both plant-based diets and high-protein plans and combines them. You get all the health benefits of the nutrients in plants and the feeling of fullness, sustained energy, and stabilized blood sugar that comes from eating lean protein.
The plan has three phases. Like many diets, the first phase is the most restrictive. The second phase loosens up a bit, and the third phase is ongoing.
What You Can Eat and What You Can't
You can have:
Fresh vegetables (except white potatoes and other vegetables Amen claims might cause problems)
Moderate amounts of fruit, especially berries
Naturally raised lean meat and poultry, wild-caught seafood
Eggs
Raw nuts and seeds
Coconut, almond, macadamia nut, grape seed, and olive oils
Dried beans and lentils in limited amounts
Fresh and dried herbs and spices
Super foods such as maca root, goji powder, lucuma, and pomegranate
Off-limits:
Dairy
Grains (except for quinoa, buckwheat, and amaranth in small amounts) and gluten
Sugar and simple carbohydrates
Soy
Corn
Artificial sweeteners (except for stevia in small amounts)
Amen recommends taking supplements including a daily multivitamin, fish oil, vitamin D, magnesium, and probiotics.
Alcohol is not allowed in Phase 1 and preferably Phase 2 of The Omni Diet. If you must drink in Phase 2 and beyond, Amen recommends limiting yourself to two glasses of wine or cocktails per week. You may not drink beer or other alcoholic beverages containing gluten.
Level of Effort: Medium to Hard
Limitations: This plan will be a big change, if you currently eat a typical American diet. You may find you like a lot of the foods you switch to on this plan, but it's probably going to be a big adjustment.
Cooking and shopping: You will need to plan menus and prepare foods, including 9 cups of vegetables a day.
Packaged foods or meals: No.
In-person meetings: No.
Exercise: Required. Exercise is a key part of The Omni Diet. The book includes a detailed plan that starts with walking and works up to a full-body workout that takes 30 minutes a day.
Does It Allow for Dietary Restrictions or Preferences?
Vegetarian or vegan diet: Although you can adjust The Omni Diet if you're a vegetarian, it does emphasize lean animal protein sources like eggs, fish, and poultry, and limits beans. If you are a vegan, following this diet will be even more challenging, as you will have a much more restricted list of foods and will have to rely heavily on nuts, seeds, and the limited amounts of beans and other legumes allowed.
Gluten-free diet: This plan would work for you.
What Else You Should Know
Cost: You may spend more on groceries, since you’ll need to buy naturally raised meats, wild-caught seafood, lots of vegetables, berries, nuts, and no convenience foods.
Support: You do this diet on your own, but you will find lots of tips and Omni Diet-friendly recipes online
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>>> Gluten Intolerant? You May Just Be Intolerant of Monsanto Weed Killer
http://www.organic.org/articles/showarticle/article-264
Scientists suggest that Monsanto’s Roundup herbicide is what’s making people have such a nasty reaction to gluten
Gluten has been a major news item for the last few years—not just for sufferers of acute gluten intolerance and celiac disease, but for increasing numbers of people who are seeking to eliminate gluten from their diet for general health issues, weight control, skin health and even mood. As cholesterol and the carbs once were, gluten is the new enemy, to the point that some have claimed it’s a substance that the body isn’t equipped to handle.
I’ve even heard people blame gluten for all of the ails of modern civilization: After all, the cultivation of wheat, some say, is the birth of agriculture, and the ownership of crops goes hand in hand with the ownership of people that characterizes patriarchal, hierarchical civilization. Bread and beer, both products of wheat, people like Terence McKenna have suggested, are responsible for our generally degenerate state.
But all over-the-top speculation aside, a new scientific review has suggested a far more specific problem with gluten: And it has nothing to do with wheat itself.
Rather, the peer-reviewed article “Glyphosate, pathways to modern diseases Celiac sprue and gluten intolerance” suggests that the real criminal isn’t gluten but, rather, Glyphosate, AKA Roundup, the Monsanto-manufactured weedkiller used around the world. Glyphosate is sprayed on crops genetically engineered to be “Roundup Ready,” meaning that the crops resist the poison, while any nearby weeds are immediately killed. But that potentially leaves the end-product consumer with two toxic vectors to deal with: not only the Roundup that was sprayed on the crops, but, in some cases, the prior genetic engineering done to the crops themselves.
The review abstract lists the following allegations:
• 5% of the population in North America and Europe suffer from celiac disease and gluten intolerance, leading to nausea, diarrhea, rashes, macrocytic anemia (swollen red blood cells combined with lack of red blood cells overall) and depression. It can also lead to increased risk for thyroid disease, kidney failure, cancer, non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, infertility, birth defects and miscarriages.
• Glyphosate is the key culprit for all of this.
• Fish exposed to glyphosate get symptoms similar to celiac disease.
• Glyphosate impairs the enzymes that detox environmental toxins, chelates key minerals (meaning you don’t absorb them), depletes key amino acids
• Glyphosate is often used to artificially “ripen” crops, which the study blames for kidney failures in Central American sugar cane workers.
Bad news for Monsanto, especially after the recent kerfluffle over the prior, extremely controversial Seralini study on glyphosate. Because very little negative research has been done into Glyphosate (because, as activists allege, Monsanto funds nearly all the studies into Glyphosate), it’s been slow going in building a case against Roundup. But this information—which looks much more sound than the Seralini study—may prove yet another arrow in Monsanto’s side.
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>>> Showdown looms as California eyes pesticides
ELLEN KNICKMEYER, Associated Press
November 8, 2014
http://www.sfgate.com/news/science/article/Showdown-looms-as-California-eyes-pesticides-plan-5880346.php
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — With organic food growers reporting double-digit growth in U.S. sales each year, producers are challenging a proposed California pest-management program they say enshrines a pesticide-heavy approach for decades to come, including compulsory spraying of organic crops at the state's discretion.
Chief among the complaints of organic growers: The California Department of Food and Agriculture's pest-management plan says compulsory state pesticide spraying of organic crops would do no economic harm to organic producers, on the grounds that the growers could sell sprayed crops as non-organic instead.
"I would rather stop farming than have to be a conventional farmer. I think I am not alone in that," said Zea Sonnabend, a Watsonville organic apple-grower with California Certified Organic Farmers, one of more than 30 agriculture groups, environmental organizations and regional water agencies to file concerns about the agriculture department's pesticide provisions by an Oct. 31 state deadline.
At issue is a California organic agriculture industry that grew by 54 percent between 2009 and 2012. California leads the nation in organic sales, according to statistics tracked by University of California-Davis agriculture economist Karen Klonsky, who says the state is responsible for roughly one-third of a national organic industry. The U.S. Department of Agriculture puts the overall value of the U.S. organic sector at $35 billion.
The U.S. organic industry has seen a similar growth spurt nationally in the same time frame, and three out of four grocery stores in the country now carry at least some organic goods, according to the USDA. California's $43 billion agriculture industry is the largest in the country by revenue, so what happens here matters to consumers and to the agriculture industry nationwide.
The state's more than 500-page document lays out its planned responses to the next wave of fruit flies, weevils, beetles, fungus or blight that threatens crops. Many groups challenging the plan complained that it seems to authorize state agriculture officials to launch pesticide treatments without first carrying out the currently standard separate environmental-impact review.
But Steve Lyle, a spokesman for the agriculture department, said the outline doesn't give state crop-pest programs any power they don't already have by law.
The state's program is designed "to protect California's food system through the principles of integrated pest management, while also protecting public health and the environment," Lyle said in an email.
For some conventional growers as well as some organic ones, the fate of the pest-management plan outlined by the state isn't a theoretical concern.
It's an immediate issue of their economic survival due, in part, to a disease-carrying pest that's a little bigger than a pencil point.
The disease spread by the Asian citrus psyllid kills citrus trees outright and has caused billions of dollars in damage to crops in Florida and Texas. California's $2.4 billion citrus industry has found incursions by the bug, but not yet significant outbreaks of the disease it carries.
The standard treatment for the citrus pest is conventional pesticides, including neocotinoids linked to the decline of crop-pollinating bees. The citrus industry and federal government also have spent $25 million to try to find, without major breakthroughs so far, less toxic controls for the citrus pest, said Joel Nelsen, head of the California Citrus Mutual industry trade-group.
Organic farmers complain about the state's frequent reliance on pesticides, but "if we don't eradicate the pest, their organic production is non-existent," Nelsen said. "A pest or a disease doesn't know if it's eating an organic or a non-organic orange."
Organic farmers are asking the state to give more consideration to non-toxic controls, including long-term methods to strengthen crops and habitats in advance against marauding tropical species, said Kelly Damewood, policy director for California Certified Organic Farmers.
The growing alarm over the citrus bug is part of the problem — California agriculture reels from pest emergency to pest emergency, treating most with the same pesticide programs and crop quarantines, argued James R. Carey, an entomologist at the University of California-Davis. He's been watching California respond to invading tropical pests since at least the 1980s' Mediterranean fruit-fly spray program. Some programs were successful; others struck even many conventional growers as unnecessary.
"They treat this in a crisis mode in the same way they would an earthquake or a fire," Carey said. "Most times there's not that kind of urgency at all.
"Every pest that comes in they request federal money for, run out of money for, and it just kinds of fades away."
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>>> Calavo Growers, Inc. markets and distributes avocados, prepared avocados, and other perishable foods to food distributors, produce wholesalers, supermarkets, convenience stores, and restaurants worldwide. Its Fresh Products segment grades, sizes, packs, cools, and ripens avocados for delivery to the customers; and procures avocados grown in Chile and Mexico, as well as various other perishable commodities, including tomatoes, papayas, and pineapples. The company?s Calavo Foods segment procures and processes avocados into various guacamole products; distributes the processed products to customers; and prepares various fresh salsa products. Its RFG segment produces, markets, and distributes fresh-cut fruits, ready-to-eat vegetables, recipe-ready vegetables, and deli meat products. The company offers its products primarily under the Calavo and RFG brands and related logos; and Avo Fresco, Bueno, Calavo Gold, Calavo Salsa Lisa, Salsa Lisa, Celebrate the Taste, El Dorado, Fresh Ripe, Select, Taste of Paradise, The First Name in Avocados, Tico, Triggered Avocados, ProRipeVIP, Garden Highway Fresh Cut, Garden Highway, and Garden Highway Chef Essentials trademarks. Calavo Growers, Inc. was founded in 1924 and is headquartered in Santa Paula, California. <<<
Chia seeds - >>> The NFL's Top-Secret Seed
Baltimore Running Back Ray Rice Puts His Faith in Chia Seeds, a Training Tool of the Ancient Aztecs
By Reed Albergotti
January 20, 2012
http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052970204301404577171061283988408?mg=reno64-wsj&url=http%3A%2F%2Fonline.wsj.com%2Farticle%2FSB10001424052970204301404577171061283988408.html
Ray Rice, the leading rusher for the Baltimore Ravens, prepared for the NFL season with a grueling fitness regimen of running and lifting weights.
Baltimore's Ray Rice, in a photo illustration Photo Illustration by The Wall Street Journal
Unlike some extreme athletes, Rice is loath to pump himself full of supplements or protein drinks to sustain his workouts. "I'm a fish and chicken guy," he said. But there is one form of superfuel Rice has quietly begun mixing into his diet: spoonfuls of an obscure Bolivian-grown seed that, he believes, replenishes his energy and helps keep his digestive system humming.
These seeds, which are known as Salvia hispanica, or chia seeds, have a long history that dates back to the ancient Aztecs. Today, however, they're better known as the main ingredient that gives Chia Pet models like Chia Pet Elvis, Chia Shrek and Chia Obama their thickets of lustrous green mossy hair.
Rice, who will meet the New England Patriots Sunday in the AFC Championship game, said he was skeptical at first when a friend, Jesse Itzler, an investor in a chia venture, turned him on to the idea. "When you think of seeds, you think of a bird," says the 212-pound two-time Pro Bowl running back. "They looked like bird seeds."
Rice said the reason he finally decided to try chia seeds was their colorful back story.
Ray Rice, the leading rusher for the Baltimore Ravens, favors an obscure Bolivian-grown seed that, he believes, replenishes his energy and helps keep his digestive system humming. Reed Albergotti has details on Lunch Break.
Chia was a staple of the diet of the Aztecs, who are thought to be some of the fiercest warriors of all time. According to the 2009 book "Born To Run," they were a preferred food of the Tarahumara Indians, who are able to run hundreds of miles barefoot without resting or eating all that much. "There's a history behind it," Rice said.
A survey of Baltimore's locker room after a practice this week turned up another chia devotee—star linebacker Ray Lewis. "I put them in my shake every morning," he said.
Experts say chia seeds, which have almost no taste, can absorb 10 times their weight in water—which may help speed digestion. The seeds contain nutrients like Omega 3 fatty acids, anti-oxidants, protein, iron and electrolytes.
How to Be Like Ray Rice
Take a spoonful or two of chia seeds, plop them into a glass of water and stir. After about five minutes, the seeds will swell up to about 10 times their original size and take on a gelatinous consistency. If you gulp down the seeds, there's almost no taste. If you chew on the seeds, they have a mild, nutty flavor. You can also blend them into a smoothie or sprinkle them on salad, breakfast cereal, or your bacon cheeseburger.
The brand of seeds Rice uses is called Health Warrior. The company was started by two partners at a New York hedge fund, Dan Gluck and Nick Morris, who had used the seeds themselves in endurance sports training and to lose weight. Health Warrior's supplier, Pharmachem Laboratories, said orders have skyrocketed in the past year as health-food connoisseurs and amateur athletes have increased the demand for the seeds.
Skip Hammock and Dean Mosca, who work for Pharmachem, found out about the seeds at a conference in Baltimore in 2007 and began looking for places where they're grown. They eventually agreed to purchase millions of pounds of the seeds from a cooperative of Bolivian farmers. By 2011, they had more than three million pounds of chia seeds in warehouses, mostly in New Jersey. A 16-ounce packet of Health Warrior Chia sells for $14.99 on some Web sites.
At first, the inventory wasn't moving. Hammock and Mosca flew all over the country looking for buyers. It wasn't until last year that demand began to pick up. Now they've sold their entire inventory and are planning to step up their harvest efforts in South America.
Michael Smith, an anthropology professor and expert in Aztec culture at Arizona State University, said chia was an important crop for ancient Aztecs. Each year, he said, Aztecs were required to pay taxes in the form of chia, among a handful of other crops. After the Spanish invaded, the traditional Aztec crops became less important.
Today's interest is largely due to the increasing demand for "super foods" that are full of nutrients. Health advocates like television host Mehmet Oz have given chia seeds a significant push by describing their nutritional benefits.
Rice's chia consumption reflects a trend: Athletes looking for natural alternatives to artificial supplements. A growing body of research has suggested the human body doesn't easily absorb some vitamins and supplements that are popular with athletes, and that taking an abundance of these products is largely ineffective. Other studies suggest ordinary whole foods, like chia seeds, are the best way to get vitamins and nutrients.
Ravens players, when asked about Rice's seed-eating, seemed a little surprised. "I was not aware that Ray Rice eats Chia Pets," said linebacker Terrell Suggs. Tight end Dennis Pitta said "I don't know the first thing about chia seeds."
A couple of other players chuckled at the notion and pretended not to know who Ray Rice was. "Can I get his autograph?" one asked.
Rice said he hasn't told his teammates because he felt that after a lengthy labor dispute—which led to the cancellation of offseason team workouts—there wasn't time for anyone to try new things. "I couldn't come in and say 'guys, let's try this, let's try that,'" he said.
It will take more than a spoonful of seeds for the Ravens to beat the Patriots on Sunday and claim a trip to the Super Bowl. The Patriots have one of the league's top offensive attacks and the Ravens have struggled on the road at times this season. If they win, however, chia farmers in South America can claim at least some influence on the outcome of this year's Super Bowl.
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>>> Chewing Chia Packs A Superfood Punch
by NPR Staff
July 15, 2012
http://www.npr.org/2012/07/15/156551074/chewing-chia-packs-a-superfood-punch
The chia plant is "a petite nutrient-packed powerhouse" writes Wayne Coates. There is evidence that the Aztecs used the seeds as early as 3,500 B.C.
Wayne Coates is a professor emeritus at the University of Arizona and an ultra-runner. He first encountered the chia plant more than two decades ago.
Wayne Coates is a professor emeritus at the University of Arizona and an ultra-runner. He first encountered the chia plant more than two decades ago.
When you hear the word chia, you probably think of chia pets. Maybe you even mutter that catchy slogan: "ch-ch-ch-chia."
Or maybe not, but lately, chia seed has been getting buzz beyond those terra cotta figurines. It's becoming a popular health food. Rich in fiber, protein and the highest plant source of Omega 3s, the little seeds pack a major nutritional punch.
Wayne Coates grows and sells chia seeds and has a book called Chia: The Complete Guide to the Ultimate Superfood.
He's also an ultra-runner. In his free time, he goes on really long runs — some 100 miles long. He keeps chia seeds in a film canister to pour in his mouth along the way.
He tells weekends on All Things Considered host Guy Raz that chia has long been known as a runner's food.
"An example is the Tarahumara Indians of the Copper Canyon in Mexico. They've been known as the "running Indians" and they have used it for years," Coates says. "The Aztec warriors used to carry it on their campaigns and it is said that that's really what they ate; it gave them sustained energy."
Coates says chia slows down digestion, so an energy boost can kick in later on.
The seed, native to south Mexico and Guatemala, was a staple among the Aztecs, so why was it forgotten for so long? Coates points to the Spanish invasion 500 years ago.
"The Spanish of course, never heard of it, didn't know what it was," he says. "And they pushed the natives to produce foods that [the Spanish] were familiar with."
Coates says it may also have to do with the Aztec's religious ceremonies.
"[The] main ceremony of the Aztecs turned out to be just at the same time as Easter," he says. "They actually made statues out of the chia flower and used it like a communion. So the Friars were kind of horrified about this and it was just pushed aside."
Coates is an agricultural engineer. He was seeking a profitable crop for Argentinian farmers to grow in 1991. He found chia was easy to grow and became convinced of its potential as a health food.
In recent years, chia has taken off in the U.S., but will chia seeds move beyond health food trend to reach mainstream acceptance? Superfood is an unscientific term and no single food can deliver miracles, but Coates doesn't think it's a fad.
"Add it to anything. I mean, some of our customers put it on their ice cream," he says. "We put it on our salad, I put in my orange juice. You can put in your yogurt. I like crunchy peanut butter sandwiches, sprinkle it on, you'll have a little more crunch."
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>>> Critics of Dow herbicide ingredient sue U.S. EPA over approval
Reuters
By Carey Gillam
http://finance.yahoo.com/news/critics-dow-herbicide-ingredient-sue-224147967.html
Oct 22 (Reuters) - A coalition of U.S. farmer and environmental groups filed a lawsuit on Wednesday seeking to overturn regulatory approval granted last week for a herbicide developed by Dow AgroSciences.
The lawsuit, filed in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit in California, argues that the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) did not adequately analyze the impact of one of the new herbicide's active ingredients, 2,4-D, before granting approval on Oct. 15 to Dow's Enlist Duo herbicide.
The groups are asking the court to set aside the EPA's approval.
Widespread use of 2,4-D carries a range of risks to human health, animals, and the environment, the groups allege. They claim the EPA's approval violated both the Endangered Species Act and the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act.
"They did not do an adequate job," said Andrew Kimbrell, an attorney with the Center for Food Safety, a plaintiff in the case. "This was a rubber stamp. They acted illegally in approving this."
The National Resource Defense Council filed a similar action on Oct. 16 against the EPA to block Enlist Duo, saying the new weed killer will be destructive to monarch butterfly populations and pose risks to humans.
The herbicide developed by Dow AgroSciences, a unit of Dow Chemical Co, is to be used with new genetically modified corn and soybean crops developed by Dow to tolerate treatments of the herbicide.
The Enlist crops were approved by the U.S. Department of Agriculture last month. When used in combination with the new herbicide, the Dow products should help farmers combat severe weed problems hurting U.S. crop production, according to Dow and government officials.
Millions of acres of U.S. farmland have been infested with weeds resistant to glyphosate-based Roundup herbicide, developed by Dow rival Monsanto Co and used widely by cotton, corn and soybean farmers. Critics say use of Enlist will make weed problems worse.
But the EPA said last week it had thoroughly evaluated the risks, and was requiring many restrictions on use of the herbicide.
Dow AgroSciences said last week it is "confident that EPA thoroughly reviewed" Enlist Duo and that the EPA will prevail in court.
Neither the agency nor Dow had an immediate comment Wednesday.
The EPA has recently been inundated with calls for the agency to deny approval of Enlist Duo, including warnings from a group of physicians and scientists who said 2,4-D can be linked to health problems that include suppressed immune function and greater risk of Parkinson's disease
The lawsuit was filed by the Center for Food Safety and by Earthjustice, a nonprofit environmental law firm, on behalf of Beyond Pesticides, Center for Biological Diversity, the Environmental Working Group, the National Family Farm Coalition, and Pesticide Action Network North America.
Initially, EPA approved Enlist Duo only for Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Ohio, South Dakota and Wisconsin. EPA is considering approving it for use in 10 more states.
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>>> Ingredion Incorporated, together with its subsidiaries, manufactures and sells starch, sweetener, and nutrition ingredients to various industries. The company offers sweetener products comprising glucose syrups, high maltose syrups, high fructose corn syrups, caramel colors, dextrose, polyols, maltodextrins and glucose, and syrup solids, as well as food grade and industrial starches. It also offers science-based collaboration and problem-solving for customers, including consumer insights, applied research, applications knowhow, and process technology. The company?s products are derived primarily from processing corn and other starch-based materials, such as tapioca, potato, and rice. In addition, it provides refined corn oil to packers of cooking oil, as well as to producers of margarine, salad dressings, shortening, mayonnaise, and other foods; and corn gluten feed that is used as protein feed for chickens, pet food, and aquaculture. The company serves the food, beverage, brewing, pharmaceutical, paper and corrugated products, textile, and personal care industries, as well as the animal feed and corn oil markets. It operates in North America, South America, the Asia Pacific, Europe, the Middle East, and Africa. The company was formerly known as Corn Products International, Inc. and changed its name to Ingredion Incorporated in June 2012. Ingredion Incorporated was founded in 1906 and is headquartered in Westchester, Illinois. <<<
Monsanto -- >>> Shock findings in new (2012) GMO study: Rats fed lifetime of GM corn grow horrifying tumors, 70% of females die early <<<
http://investorshub.advfn.com/boards/read_msg.aspx?message_id=91927597
>>> Invasive insect threatens iconic Florida citrus
August 24, 2014
By By TAMARA LUSH
http://money.msn.com/business-news/article.aspx?feed=AP&date=20140824&id=17879260
LAKE WALES, Fla. (AP) - The tourists stream to Florida in their cars, intent on a week at Disney or a sugar-sand seashore or a nonstop party on South Beach. Road weary and thirsty, they pull over at one of the state's five official welcome centers. They walk inside, and then they look up.
"The best start under the sun," reads a big sign. "FLORIDA ORANGE JUICE."
Behind a counter, a woman sits with a stack of paper cups. "Welcome to Florida," she says with a big smile. "Orange or grapefruit?"
The juice is cold and sweet. It tastes like the Sunshine State.
Once, emerald green trees bursting with citrus carpeted more than half of the state, from the northern reaches of Jacksonville and the parks of Orlando to the Miami coastline. Oranges, especially, have long been synonymous with the magic of Florida.
Think back to those old advertisements touting OJ as a vitamin-filled glass of goodness. The dream of Florida as a tropical vacation paradise was cemented in Americans' minds through such promotions. Today, the orange adorns the state license plate. There is even a county called Citrus.
The people behind the groves have been among Florida's most influential. The University of Florida's famed football stadium was named after an orange magnate, and at least three of the state's governors were citrus growers.
Throughout the decades, citrus has stood strong — through freezes, hurricanes and rampant development.
But now the $9 billion industry is facing its biggest threat yet, putting at risk the state's economy and very identity. Blame a mottled brown bug no bigger than a pencil eraser and a disease called "the yellow dragon."
___
Have you seen those commercials that begin with a farmer's leather-gloved hands opening to reveal a blossom that ripens into an orange? The ads are for Florida's Natural juice, and Ellis Hunt Jr. is the man behind the brand.
Tall and thin, wearing jeans and a plain white button-down with a Florida-honed tan on his 61-year-old face, Hunt could star in one of those spots. His family owns 5,000-plus acres of groves and is part of the co-op that contributes to Florida's Natural — the third-largest juice brand in the country, behind Pepsi's Tropicana and Coca-Cola's Minute Maid.
Hunt's grandfather started the company in 1922, and ever since Hunt could walk, his life was surrounded by oranges. He followed his father into the business, and now serves on the state's powerful citrus commission. He jokes that the backbreaking task of picking fruit was what inspired him to attend college, so he could take a rest from hard work.
This summer, Hunt's has been driving his truck through his groves in Polk County, the state's top citrus-producing region, and what he sees is uncertainty. Many of his trees look beautiful, acres upon acres of vibrant green. But trouble can be spotted if you look closely.
Hunt stops his truck, climbs out and points to a tree's limb. Some leaves have turned yellow, and the hue is spreading in waves. He guesses that 75 percent of his groves are infected.
In China, where it was first found, the disease is called huanglongbing. Translation: "the yellow dragon." In Florida, it's known simply as "greening."
It arrived here via a tiny invasive bug called the Asian Citrus Psyllid, which carries bacteria that are left behind when the psyllid feeds on a citrus tree's leaves. The tree continues to produce useable fruit, but eventually disease clogs the vascular system. Fruit falls, and the tree slowly dies.
The psyllid isn't native to Florida but is believed to have arrived from someone who perhaps unknowingly brought a slip of a tree from Asia. The bug was first spotted in the state in 1998, and some think it then spread on the winds of hurricanes. Greening showed up in 2005. There is no cure, and no country has ever successfully eradicated it.
All of that has Florida's growers in a frenzy to find a way to stop the disease.
"It feels like you're in a war," Hunt said.
Hunt estimates he's spending some $2,000 an acre on production costs, a 100 percent increase from 10 years ago. Much of that goes toward nutrients and spraying to try to control the psyllids. The trees that don't survive are pulled out of the earth and tossed onto a giant bonfire.
Nearly all of the state's citrus groves are affected in varying degrees by greening, and researchers, growers and experts agree that the crisis has already started to compromise Florida's prominence as a citrus-growing region. Florida is second in the world, behind Brazil, in growing juice oranges, producing about 80 percent of juice in the U.S.
This past growing season, the state produced 104 million boxes of oranges, which comprise the bulk of Florida's overall citrus crop. In 2003, two years before greening was discovered and prior to several devastating hurricanes, 243 million boxes were picked.
"This affects the whole state. The economic impact. The landscape. The iconic image of Florida and how it has drawn people here to smell the orange blossoms in the spring and look forward to that Christmas gift of fresh Florida citrus," said state Agriculture Commissioner Adam Putnam, whose family has grown oranges in Polk County since the early 1900s. "It will have a ripple effect throughout the economy if we can't get our arms around this disease."
Experts say that if a solution isn't found, Florida's entire citrus industry could collapse. Officials worry that some packinghouses and processing plants will have to close because of a lack of fruit. That could send the industry, with its 75,000 jobs, tumbling.
Compounding the problem is the timing of it: The disease coincides with an increase in foreign competition and a decrease in juice consumption as health-conscious consumers count carbs. In July, U.S. orange juice retail sales fell to the lowest level in 12 years for a second consecutive four-week period.
"We're in the fight of our life," said Michael Sparks, the CEO of Florida Citrus Mutual, the marketing and lobbying arm for the state's citrus growers.
Already, some are losing.
In the early 1980s, farmer Richard Skinner and his wife took over a small grove near Tampa planted nearly 100 years ago by his wife's grandfather. For years they thrived, selling boxes of oranges to large juice companies to augment their roadside business.
When greening struck his grove in 2011, Skinner realized he couldn't sustain the cost of chemicals and nutrients needed to keep the trees alive. Within two years, 2,600 trees were cut down — and the century-old grove was gone.
"We cried," said Skinner, who is 74 years old and doesn't look like a man who cries easily.
___
The war room in the fight against the yellow dragon is found in Lake Alfred, 30 miles southwest of Walt Disney World, in a nondescript cluster of buildings at the University of Florida's Citrus Research and Education Center.
There, some of the world's top citrus researchers — from the U.S., China, Brazil, India — slouch over microscopes and peer into makeshift greenhouses, hoping to unlock the puzzle that is greening. They talk about nucleotides and genomes like regular folks order a sandwich.
They understand clearly that there is no magic bullet — an injection or spray, for example — to cure the disease instantly. So they concentrate on two things: a short-term workaround that will allow existing trees to survive, and a long-term solution — possibly three to five years away — to develop a greening resistant tree.
Experiments study everything from how fast the psyllid flies to how it's attracted to the odor of an infected tree. One French researcher has tied the bug to a string and a post to measure its flight patterns. Another study, underway at an organic grower's groves, assesses whether tiny wasps can be released en masse to gobble the bad bugs.
For three decades, horticulture professors Jude Grosser and Fred Gmitter have worked at the center, mostly studying citrus breeding and genetics. The two men are rock stars in the citrus world because of their vast knowledge. Now, much of their focus is on greening.
Grosser and Gmitter have discovered that a certain variety of orange trees grafted onto one particular kind of rootstock appears to be more tolerant to greening. Those trees could play a big role in managing the disease down the road.
"A lot of people are looking for miracle cures, but the answer for greening will be a number of different pieces," Grosser said.
The pair want a solution and fast. They've spent their careers developing different fruit varieties, such as easy-to-peel and extra-juicy oranges. Some varieties are nearly ready for release and sales, they said, but most growers don't want to take a chance on anything new until greening is gone.
"We need to give the tree a chance to beat the disease," said Grosser. "How can we do that?"
Since 2008, $90 million has been spent in Florida on greening research, much of that money raised by growers from a tax they pay on every box of citrus that's picked. And the 2014 federal farm bill included $125 million for greening research.
Growers are also taking matters into their own hands. Some have tried putting giant tents over their trees and using the sun's heat in an attempt to kill the greening.
Rick Kress, president of Southern Gardens Citrus, one of the state's largest juice suppliers, has hired a private team of researchers to work on genetically engineering a greening resistant tree with the DNA from spinach.
Kress knows that introducing juice from a genetically modified orange would create another hurdle because of the public's perception of such foods. But the alternative — no juice at all — is unthinkable.
"Irrespective of the challenges, Florida orange juice is not going to go away," he said. "Because Florida had the disease first, we're on the forefront of dealing with it and finding a solution that will ultimately benefit the entire United States citrus industry."
California growers, who raise the majority of the U.S.'s fresh citrus crop, are also petrified of greening. The psyllid has been found in various places around that state, and greening was detected in one residential tree in Los Angeles in 2012. California researchers are doing their own experiments and piggybacking on the Florida research. In Texas, greening has struck fewer than 200 commercial trees, and the disease has not been spotted in Arizona.
In Polk County, Hunt has been planting new trees to replace the diseased ones. He realizes that this is a gamble; psyllids prefer to munch on young, tender leaves. But if he can keep the bugs away long enough for the new trees to grow and bear fruit, maybe by then researchers will have found a solution to greening.
"We can't let this thing go down on our watch," he said.
Hunt had always hoped his family's younger generation would one day take over the business. But now he worries that Florida juice could become a niche product, similar to pomegranate juice. It's something he's reluctant to contemplate.
"You don't want to put your head in the sand and say everything's OK. It's not OK," he said. "But you have to get up in the morning and go to work believing that we will win the battle."
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Feedq (Agfeed )
I own 10,000 shares bought @ $1 in 2011 before internal management problems led to stock dropping and off the market. I cannot find any updated news as to the status of my stocks as bankruptcy proceeds. Does anyone know the current status if this company and stock as the hog and feed markets in the US and China should still make this a good growing industry?
Green Miracle - The Growing Industrial Hemp Market - Feature film -
>>> 10 important vitamins and what they do
http://healthyliving.msn.com/nutrition/10-important-vitamins-and-what-they-do#1
Make sure you get all your vitamins!
Making sure to get all your vitamins and nutrients is the basis of any healthy diet. But what are the 10 most important vitamins and minerals out there? What exactly do they do? And which foods contain the most of them? We’re here to lay it all out for you.
Vitamins, put simply, are the essential nutrients that our body needs in order to function properly. And since our bodies can’t synthesize them naturally, we need to obtain them from our food. By eating a healthy, balanced diet we should be able to get all the vitamins we need, but for many of us that unfortunately isn’t what happens.
According to a study published in the Journal of Food Composition and Analysis, about 30 percent of the calories that Americans consume daily come from sources that don’t contain much in the way of vitamins, like snacks, soda, and alcohol. Without the necessary vitamins, our body has a hard time getting some of its most important jobs done. For example, different vitamins can regulate cell growth, promote bone health, act as antioxidants, and keep cells functioning at their peak. Vitamins help us keep our cells, tissues, bones, skin, and just about every part of our body healthy.
Vitamin supplements are a great way to make sure that you get all the necessary vitamins (it’s always a smart idea to take a multivitamin daily), but those have only been around since the 1930s. The jury is still out on whether vitamins taken in pill form are absorbed by the body as effectively as those ingested through food, so taking a couple vitamins is no replacement for a healthy, nutrient-rich diet.
Read on to learn what the most important vitamins and minerals are, what they do, and which foods contain the highest concentrations.
Vitamin D
Vitamin D regulates metabolism, boosts the immune system, and promotes bone health. We can actually absorb this vitamin from the sun’s rays (which is why we tend to get sick during the winter, when we get less sun), but foods that are highest in it are herring, salmon, halibut, oysters, eggs, and shiitake mushrooms.
Vitamin C
Vitamin C is loaded with antioxidants, boosts the immune system, helps wounds heal, and protects against cancer. Just about every fruit and vegetable contains some vitamin C, but citrus fruits, broccoli, tomatoes, and red bell peppers are the best sources.
Vitamin E
Vitamin E is also full of antioxidants, and protects our cells from free radicals, which can cause cancer and Alzheimer’s disease. Nuts, seeds, leafy greens, and vegetable oils are the best source of this vitamin.
Calcium
The most abundant mineral in our bodies, calcium forms the bulk of our bones and teeth, and we need to make sure it’s a significant part of our diet in order to keep our bones in top shape, regulate our blood pressure, and keep our nerves functioning properly. While milk is the most famous source of calcium, it’s also found in dark leafy greens, oranges, sardines, broccoli, nuts, seeds, figs, and salmon.
Magnesium
Magnesium helps keep blood circulating properly, keeps bones and the heart healthy, and helps muscles relax. Dark leafy greens, nuts, dark chocolate, squash, and black beans contain lots of magnesium
Omega-3
Omega-3 fatty acids are one of the most important things we can eat. They’re the building blocks of fats, help keep inflammation down, keep cells healthy, and regulate blood clotting. The body doesn’t produce it, so we need to get it by eating fatty fish like salmon and tuna; walnuts, flaxseeds, and hempseeds also contain some.
Vitamin B12
Vitamin B comes in plenty of formats, and they’re all important, but B12 is one that’s certainly worth keeping on your radar. It keeps the body’s nerve and blood cells healthy, and it also helps make DNA and prevent anemia. Clams and beef liver are the best sources of B12, as well as dairy products.
Vitamin A
Vitamin A is important for proper cell growth, a healthy immune system, and good vision. Sweet potatoes, carrots, and dark leafy greens are very high in it.
Iron
Without enough iron, it’s easy to develop anemia, which is a decrease in the number of red blood cells in the body. This lowers the amount of oxygen in the body’s tissues, which will make you weak, tired, and irritable. Beef, oysters, lentils, beans, and spinach are all high in iron.
Vitamin B9 (folic acid)
Folic acid is important for cell growth and regeneration, and helps with DNA synthesis, red blood cell creation, and anemia prevention. A lack of folic acid in the diet can result in depression and possibly several types of cancer. Foods that are highest in folate (the naturally-occurring form of B9) include broccoli, asparagus, spinach, collard greens, and citrus fruits
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>>> When Organic Isn't
http://www.prevention.com/food/healthy-eating-tips/your-organic-food-really-organic
Be a "label sleuth" to know what you're really getting
By Gloria McVeigh
Finding true organic food isn't as easy as the label might suggest. The word organic on a food label isn't enough to guarantee that you're getting a pristine product. To be sure, pay attention to the exact wording on the package. The USDA allows food producers to use several different phrases that include the word organic, and each implies a different degree of "organic-ness." Here's what the terms mean on organic food labels.
100 Percent Organic - All ingredients must be organic--that is, they're produced without the use of pesticides, synthetic fertilizers, sewage sludge, antibiotics, growth hormones, bioengineering, or ionizing radiation.
Organic - At least 95 percent of the ingredients have been organically produced.
Made with Organic Ingredients - At least 70 percent of the ingredients are organic.
Organic Appears within the Ingredients List Fewer than 70 percent of the ingredients are organic. Only individual components within the ingredients list--rather than the entire product--can be identified as organic.
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Starter Supplements:
Omega 3’s (brain & heart health): Dr. Bock recommends high-quality fish oil or flax oil. There are also algae-based, vegan brands such as Life’s DHA and Dr. Ohirra’s Essential Living Oils. (Fun side note: Dr. Oz introduced me to Life’s DHA when he dropped by my home for some green juice and conversation and filmed a “house call” for my Oprah appearance.) If you’re taking flax oil, keep in mind that B vitamins and zinc aid omega-3 absorption. And if you take fish oil, consider taking a Vitamin E supplement to neutralize free radicals. You can read more about omega-3’s in this Harvard University article.
Vitamin D (bone health & immune system support): Vitamin D is fat soluble (not water soluble), which means that taking too much of it can actually be toxic. A general guideline is 1000-2000 IU’s per day. If your Vitamin D levels are low or if you have cancer, you may need to take more under the supervision of an integrative MD or naturopath. It’s also important to make sure that the brand is high-quality by checking the label for the word “gamma” (not just alpha). If you’re vegan, I can’t give you a definitive answer on whether D2 (plant-based) is as effective as D3 (animal-based). This particular debate has not been put to rest to the best of my knowledge. This is a personal choice and I recommend that you do research and check out the Vegetarian Resource Group’s take on Vitamin D before making a decision. You have to do what feels right for you. If possible, consult a knowledgeable physician who understands your needs. Full disclosure: I take the non-vegan D3 prescribed by Dr. Ken Bock, which is made by Prothera (5,000 IUs). I used to take 10,000 IU’s because my Vitamin D was extremely low. Because I was taking such a high dose I had to get my blood tested every 3 months. Now that my levels are where they need to be (between 70-90 for a cancer patient), I don’t need to be tested as much.
Probiotics (digestive system & immune system support–approximately 60 percent of your immune system lives in your gut!): Quality is queen as always, especially for probiotics. Dr. Bock suggests that you get your probiotics through an integrative MD, but he also recommends Dr. Ohirra’s brand as an over-the-counter option (you can find Ohirra’s on Amazon.com). Look for a probiotic that offers 20-25 billion (not millions!) of CFUs (colony forming units). I recommend finding one that has (at the very least) lactobacillus and bifidobacterium. Look for a vegetarian brand with enteric coating, which keeps the bacteria safe inside the capsule until it reaches the small intestine.
B12 (nervous system support): Although Dr. Bock did not mention B12 during our Chat & Chew, it is a crucial supplement for vegans. It may surprise you that B12 is naturally produced by microorganisms in soil and water. When animals eat and drink water from the earth, they ingest these B12-producing microorganisms. Vegans don’t reap the benefits of these microorganisms because of modern hygiene and thorough washing of produce. Most practitioners recommend 2.4 micrograms of B12 per day. Dr. Bock gives it to his patients subcutaneously (injection) or as a nasal spray. If taking B12 orally, he recommends taking it sublingually (under the tongue for quick absorption into the bloodstream). Lastly, make sure you choose a B12 in the form of methylcobalamin (check label), since this form of B12 is absorbed best in your body.
>>> 17 foods that fight disease
http://healthyliving.msn.com/nutrition/17-foods-that-fight-disease#18
Alfalfa sprouts
Why they're super: One cup of alfalfa sprouts has less than 10 calories, is virtually fat-free, and contains phytochemicals called saponins, which may protect against cancer and help lower cholesterol.
How to enjoy them: Enjoy their fresh, earthy crunch in salads or sandwiches, or atop a lean turkey or veggie burger
Apples
Why they're super: Apples are the richest fruit source of pectin, a soluble fiber that has been shown to lower blood pressure, reduce cholesterol, decrease the risk of colon and breast cancers, and maybe even lessen the severity of diabetes.
How to enjoy them: Try throwing a few slices on your favorite sandwich or toss with field greens, toasted pecans, and a light vinaigrette for a delicious salad. With so many varieties available, you'll never get bored finding new ways to incorporate them into your daily diet.
Avocados
Why they're super: Just one half of a medium-size avocado contains more than 4 grams of fiber and 15% of your recommended daily folate intake. Cholesterol-free and rich in monounsaturated fats and potassium, avocados are also a powerhouse for heart health.
How to enjoy them: Use avocados as the base for a creamy homemade sandwich spread, or add a few chunks to your favorite salsa for a simple and delicious way to dress up grilled chicken or fish.
Beets
Why they're super: Beets are loaded with antioxidants and have been found to protect against cancer, heart disease, and inflammation. Naturally sweet and full of fiber and vitamin C, beets make a delicious and nutrient-packed addition to any meal.
How to enjoy them: Try finely grated raw beets in your salads or roast them along with sweet potatoes and parsnips for a colorful and flavorful side-dish—just keep in mind that certain cooking methods (like boiling) may decrease their nutritional value. And don't forget about the leafy green tops, which are rich in iron and folate, and can be prepared much like their cousins, Swiss chard and spinach.
Cranberries
Why they're super: Cranberries are renowned for protecting against urinary tract infections, but did you also know they may improve blood cholesterol and aid in recovery from strokes? Cranberry juice has also been shown to make cancer drugs more potent.
How to enjoy them: Although available frozen year-round, enjoy these tart and tangy berries fresh during their peak season from October through December.
Flaxseed
Why it's super: Not only does flaxseed lower blood cholesterol and reduce the risk of heart attack, but it is also a rich source of lignan, a powerful antioxidant that may be a powerful ally against disease and certain cancers, especially breast cancer. Just 2 tablespoons of ground seeds (which are digested more efficiently than whole seeds) contain about 20% of the recommended daily fiber* intake and more than 100% of the recommended intake for inflammation-fighting omega-3 fatty acids.
How to enjoy it: Add ground flaxseed to baked goods for a nutty flavor or sprinkle it on top of your favorite cereal. It's also delicious when blended with yogurt and fresh fruit for a tasty smoothie.
Oranges
Why they're super: Just one medium orange (think tennis ball) supplies all your daily vitamin C, which is a dynamite immunity booster and cancer fighter. And consuming vitamin C is best done in its natural form: Italian researchers also found that test subjects had greater antioxidant protection after drinking orange juice versus vitamin C–fortified water. Plus, this sweet and tangy fruit is a good source of fiber, potassium, calcium, folate, and other B vitamins.
How to enjoy them: The tangy taste of oranges makes a great combination with other strong flavors, such as ginger and honey. Put them on salads, or use them in marinades and sauces for meats.
Papayas
Why they're super: Trying to get more vitamin C in your diet? One cup of papaya cubes supplies more than 100% of your daily requirement, as well as a hefty dose of potassium and folate. It is also a good source of vitamins A and E, two powerful antioxidants that protect against heart disease and colon cancer.
How to enjoy them: Savor the rich, buttery flesh of this tropical fruit in smoothies and salads, or simply scoop it out of the shell with a spoon.
Pumpkins
Why they're super: This hearty, fiber-rich squash is packed with beta-carotene (converted to vitamin A in the body), which reduces the risk of developing lung cancer. The antioxidant activity of this vitamin combined with potassium, which may help prevent high blood pressure, makes it a nutritional superstar.
How to enjoy them: If you prepare a whole squash, toast the seeds for a delicious snack containing heart-healthy fats. The sweet taste and moist texture makes it ideal for desserts.
Quinoa
Why it's super: Packed with a variety of nutrients, including iron and copper, it's no wonder the Incas deemed this ancient seed "the mother of all grains." Quinoa contains all the essential amino acids, making it a complete protein (perfect for vegans and vegetarians). It is also a great source of magnesium, which relaxes blood vessels and has been found to reduce the frequency of migraines. Researchers have found that consuming dietary fiber, specifically from whole-grain products such as quinoa, reduces the risk of high blood pressure and heart attack.
How to enjoy it: Keep your ticker in top shape by substituting quinoa for rice or pasta in your next meal. It makes a great base for seafood dishes and mixes well with beans.
Raspberries
Why they're super: Tart, sweet, and incredibly juicy, just one half cup of these berries provides a whopping 4 grams of fiber and more than 25% of the daily recommended intake for both vitamin C and manganese. Raspberries also contain a powerful arsenal of antioxidants, including members of the anthocyanin family, which give raspberries their ruby-red hue and antimicrobial properties.
How to enjoy them: Try a few berries with your morning cereal or use them to add flavor to a green salad.
Spinach
Why it's super: Powerful antioxidants in spinach have been found to combat a variety of cancers, including ovarian, breast, and colon cancers. And it's good for the noggin: Research indicates that spinach reduces the decline in brain function associated with aging and protects the heart from cardiovascular disease. Although it contains relatively high amounts of iron and calcium, oxalate compounds bind to these minerals and diminish their absorption.
How to enjoy it: Spinach has a mild flavor, so spice it up with garlic, olive oil, and onions.
Sweet potatoes
Why they're super: Need a beta-carotene fix? Just one medium sweet potato packs over four times the recommended daily amount. These tasty tubers are also rich in potassium, inflammation-fighting vitamin C, and vitamin B6, which may prevent clogged arteries.
How to enjoy them: Boiling sweet potatoes may cause some of the water-soluble vitamins to leach out, so try them baked, roasted, or cubed, and added to soups or stews. If you need a boost of fiber, make sure to leave the skins on.
Turkey
Why it's super: A 4-ounce portion of turkey breast meat contains almost 50% of your daily selenium, a trace mineral that plays essential roles in immune function and antioxidant defense. Despite the claim that turkey meat causes drowsiness during the holidays, it actually contains high amounts of niacin and vitamin B6, which are important for efficient energy production and blood-sugar regulation.
How to enjoy it: If you roast a whole bird, make sure to remove any skin, which is full of saturated fat; try substituting ground all-white-meat turkey breast for ground beef in your favorite hamburger recipe.
Walnuts
Why they're super: One-quarter cup of walnuts supplies 90% of the daily recommended amount of omega-3 fatty acids, which aid in everything from maintaining cognitive function, to improving cholesterol and blood pressure.
How to enjoy them: Toss a few toasted walnut halves on your oatmeal (another heart-healthy superfood) or try them on your favorite salad for a tasty crunch.
Watercress
Why it's super: Just 1 cup of watercress supplies nearly 100% of a woman's recommended daily amount of vitamin K, which has been shown to prevent hardening of the arteries and is essential for strong bones. It is also a good source of vitamin A, a potent antioxidant.
How to enjoy it: Try these peppery leaves in place of lettuce in salads or sandwiches, or toss them in a quick stir-fry or soup.
Yogurt
Why it's super: Yogurt contains probiotics, which are bacteria that live in the intestine, aid in digestion, boost the immune system, diminish bad breath, and are even associated with longer life spans. A 1-cup serving also supplies one-third of your daily calcium requirement, as well as 14 grams of satisfying protein.
How to enjoy it: Opt for low-fat or nonfat versions to minimize saturated fat, and try substituting plain yogurt for a healthier alternative to sour cream. Lactose intolerant? Look for soy or rice milk varieties
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>>> 10 things Americans eat that are banned elsewhere
http://healthyliving.msn.com/health-wellness/10-things-americans-eat-that-are-banned-elsewhere#2
rBGH and rBST
Given to dairy cows by injection, these growth hormones increase milk production. Approximately one in six U.S. dairy cows are repeatedly injected with growth hormones. “Over 70% of the antibiotics used in this country are used in animal food production to keep the animals healthy due to confined or intensive operations and because it promotes faster growth of the animal,” says Mira Dessy, a nutrition educator in Houston. Boosting milk production via growth hormone can increase the need cows will have to be treated with antibiotics for inflammation of the breast tissue. According to the American Cancer Society, the increased use of antibiotics to treat this type of rBGH-induced inflammation "does promote the development of antibiotic-resistant bacteria, but the extent to which these are transmitted to humans is unclear."
Milk from cows treated with rBGH has a significant increase of the hormone insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF-1), which has been linked to breast, colorectal and prostate cancers. And rBGH and rBST can also show up in products like sour cream made with hormone-induced cow's milk.
Where it's banned: Australia, New Zealand, Israel, EU and Canada
BHA and BHT
BHA (butylated hydroxyanisole) and BHT (butylated hydroxytoluene) are widely used preservatives that prevent oils in foods from becoming rancid. “BHT is a waxy preservative in cereal, nut mixes and bubble gum,” says Rachel Greenberger, director, Food Sol at Babson College. It’s also known to cause cancer in rats. And according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, National Toxicology Program's Twelfth Annual Report on Carcinogens (2011), BHA "is reasonably anticipated to be a human carcinogen ....." BHA is also suspected of triggering allergic reactions and hyperactivity.
Where it's banned: The UK doesn't allow BHA in infant foods. BHA and BHT are also banned in parts of the European Union and Japan
Olestra/Olean
The fat substitute found in fat-free chips and fries packs quite a punch. Not only did a 2011 study from Purdue University conclude rats fed potato chips made with Olean gained weight, there have been several reports of adverse intestinal reactions to the fake fat including diarrhea, cramps and leaky bowels. And because it interferes with the absorption of fat soluble vitamins such as A, D, E and K, the FDA requires these vitamins be added to any product made with Olean or olestra.
Where it's banned: The UK and Canada
Potassium bromate
Added to breads to help the dough hold together and rise higher, studies have linked this additive to kidney damage and tumors, cancer and damage to the nervous system. It's also credited with thyroid tumors. And the International Agency for Research on Cancer classifies potassium bromate as carcinogen possibly cancerous to humans. But that hasn't spurred the FDA to ban the additive in the U.S. In fact, potassium bromate is also approved by the FDA for use in the malting of barley.
Where it's banned: Canada, China and the EU.
Arsenic
Notoriously poisonous, arsenic has routinely been fed to chickens raised in the U.S. for decades to increase poultry's weight while requiring less feed. Arsenic also helps give meat a healthy-looking color and arsenic-based drugs are also approved by the FDA to treat and prevent parasites in poultry. But a study led by researchers at Johns Hopkins Center for a Liveable Future says poultry given arsenic-based drugs result in consumers buying packaged meat with high levels of inorganic arsenic, a known carcinogen.
Where it's banned: The European Union
Colors and dyes
Boxed mac and cheese, cheddar flavored crackers, Jell-O and many kids' cereals contain red 40, yellow 5, yellow 6 and/or blue 2, the most popularly-used dyes in the United States. Research has shown this rainbow of additives can cause behavioral problems as well as cancer, birth defects and other health problems in laboratory animals. Red 40 and yellow 6 are also suspected of causing an allergy-like hypersensitivity reaction in children. The Center for Science in the Public Interest reports that some dyes are also "contaminated with known carcinogens.”
Interestingly, food makers like Kraft and Kellogg's tint foods distributed outside the U.S. with paprika extract, beetroot, annatto and other color additives thought to be much safer than the dyes used in the U.S.
Where it's banned: Norway and Austria. And in 2009 the British government advised companies to stop using food dyes by the end of that year. The European Union also requires a warning notice on most foods containing dyes.
Brominated vegetable oil
Recently PepsiCo tooted its own horn for removing the additive "BVO" from Gatorade. But the soft-drink giant neglected to mention it still appears in other beverages such as Mountain Dew and Fresca. BVO is also listed as an ingredient in some flavors of Coca-Cola-made Powerade. PepsiCo classifies the ingredient as an "emulsifier," which means it distributes flavor evenly throughout the beverage. So it keeps the Mountain Dew's citrus flavors from collecting at the surface and only being present in the first few sips. But it also contains bromine, an element found in flame retardants.
According to the Mayo Clinic, bromine can also accumulate in fatty tissues, something linked to trouble with thyroid function and may affect the nervous system causing tremors, depression, and confusion. The FDA has flip-flopped on BVO's safety originally classifying it as "generally recognized as safe" but reversing that call now defining it as an "interim food additive" a category reserved for possibly questionable substances used in food.
Where it's banned: Europe and Japan
Doped up meat
In February 2013, Russia issued a long-term ban on U.S. red meat and pork as it contains ractopamine, a muscle enhancer banned in multiple countries including China (the ban only applies to pork) and Russia. “The drug is added to animal feed to promote leanness,” says Dessy. But it’s also linked to hyperactivity, muscle corrosion and adverse effects on the cardiovascular system in humans. “There are some studies which show that it can cause chromosomal abnormalities and behavioral changes,” adds Dessy.
It's not the only drug fed to cows and pigs to increase muscle mass, but it is one of the few fed to animals in the last days before slaughter (to increase its effectiveness). And experts speculate as much as 20 percent of the drug can be present in meat consumers purchase from their local grocer.
Where it's banned: Europe, Russia, mainland China & Republic of China (Taiwan).
Hawaiian papaya
One of the largest crops from the Big Island is genetically engineered, a move supported by the U.S. government. On Wednesday, June 19, 2013, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said the United States supports the use of biotechnology to develop "smart" crops that can withstand disease, droughts and floods.
Scientists tinkered with papaya in an attempt to thwart ringspot virus, a threat that decimated crops in the 1990's. And while genetically engineered papayas are resistant to ringspot, the world doesn't share Kerry's enthusiasm for genetically modified food. Numerous studies have found animals fed genetically engineered foods suffered intestinal damage, bleeding ulcers, kidney and liver disease, and a host of other health maladies.
Where it's banned: The EU, which does not tolerate genetically engineered papaya.
Farm-raised salmon
Wild salmon gets its pinkish-orange colored flesh from carotenoids in their diet of krill and other tiny shellfish. But farm-raised salmon don't always have this dining option thus their flesh would be an unrecognizable pale pink or even gray color. So these salmon are being fed canthaxanthin, a chemical that perks up the trademark pinkish-orange color. One of the major producers of the pink dye used in farmed salmon feed pellets is pharmaceutical giant Hoffman-La Roche.
Some studies have shown that a high intake of canthaxanthin can lead to pigments collecting in the retina, potentially damaging eyesight.
Where it's banned: You won't find any fake pink fish on the barbie as food from fish and animals fed this chemical are banned down under in Australia and New Zealand.
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>>> 12 'healthy' foods that aren't really healthy
http://healthyliving.msn.com/nutrition/12-healthy-foods-that-arent-really-healthy#1
Skim or low-fat milk
Avoid the low-fat options and choose whole milk instead. While skim and low-fat milks have fewer calories, whole milk has more saturated and monounsaturated fats to keep you feeling full, support metabolism and improve your body composition. Without the fat, skim and low-fat milks also have less fat-soluble vitamins like A, D, E, and K than whole milk. Even worse, producers add powdered milk into skim milk to improve its consistency because skim milk doesn’t resemble real milk when it’s harvested; that process introduces oxidized cholesterol, which damages your arteries worse than regular cholesterol. Nor does research support the health claims of low/non-fat milk versus whole. In 2012, researchers correlated low-fat and non-fat milk with higher obesity levels among children than whole milk
Synthetic oils
The popularity of synthetic oils grew because of the myth that fat makes you fat: if fat is bad, then fat-free oils and spreads are good. Thus, companies pushed those options (and Fabio graced millions of TV sets with his iconic, “I can’t believe it’s not butter”). Unfortunately, food companies hydrogenate many of the fake oils you buy, which maintain their shelf life and shape at room temperature and make them trans fats. This process, however, makes the oil harder to digest and increases your risk of cardiovascular disease. Then, the oil is bleached and artificially flavored until you can’t believe it’s not butter.
Vegetable oils
Vegetable oils like canola, corn, grape seed, etc., come from chemicals: Producers blast the seeds at high heat and dump in solvents to extract the oil. In later stages, they inject other chemicals to improve color and odor. This elaborate process transforms the vegetable oil into an unstable fat called polyunsaturated fatty acid (PUFA). Your body doesn’t digest PUFAs well because your cells consist mostly of saturated and monounsaturated fats. Also, vegetable oils have a high ratio of Omega-6 PUFA to Omega-3, which creates inflammation within the body and can increase risk of heart disease, obesity, and diabetes
Protein bars
Many protein bars are candy bars in disguise. They’re filled with sugar and high-fructose corn syrup and include trans fats and artificial sweeteners. While the protein content is commendable, there’s just too much extra.
Wheat bread
Not all wheat breads contain pure, whole grains. For example, even those with labels of “multi-grain” or “seven-grain” may still use refined flour; “whole wheat” or “100% natural” breads may have few real, whole grains. Worse, many contain partially hydrogenated oils, artificial sweeteners, high-fructose corn syrup, preservatives to improve shelf life and even food coloring. Don’t rely on the labels—search the nutrition facts and make sure the first ingredient is either “whole grains” or “whole wheat.”
Egg white-only anything
Forget the cholesterol. First, as part of a healthy, balanced diet, eggs won’t hurt. Second, your liver produces more cholesterol per day (about 1-2 grams) than you ingest. Third, dietary cholesterol doesn’t strongly correlate with blood cholesterol: In a study of 136,905 patients hospitalized for heart attack between 2000 and 2006, almost three-quarters didn’t have cholesterol levels that indicated cardiac risk. Finally, cholesterol produces muscle-building testosterone. Also, the egg yolk boasts fat-soluble vitamins (A, D, E and K), choline (an essential nutrient with a wide range of health benefits), and half of the egg’s total protein. Avoid the yolk and you’ll shortchange yourself.
Fruit juices
While fruit juices have some vitamins, they have too many calories and sugar. One 8-ounce glass of grape juice, for example, has about 170 calories, 42 grams of carbs and 40 grams of sugar. (That’s more calories and sugar than a 12-ounce can of Coke.) You can’t build lean muscle with that many empty calories and sugars. Even the “all-natural” ones may contain high-fructose corn syrup and additives.
'Fat-free' anything
This also spawns from the “fat will make you fat” myth. Fat doesn’t make you fat, a bad diet and a lack of exercise do. Fats support everything from brain and metabolic function to quicker fat loss. If you avoid fats, you’ll struggle to get the right ratio of macronutrients (carbs vs. proteins vs. fats) because more calories will have to come from carbs; that will skew your macronutrient ratio and cause more fat gain. Also, to make foods fat-free, companies often add trans fats and artificial sweeteners, which can cause health problems.
Most yogurts
Many low-fat and fat-free yogurts have high-fructose corn syrup, sugar and starch. Some have as much sugar as a candy bar, and others use artificial sweeteners, which may spike your insulin. Also, avoid the ones with fruit inside—the fruit is either soaked with sugar or from concentrate. Instead, buy plain yogurt and add your own fruit.
Dried fruit
Ignore its deliciousness and imagine dried fruit as candy with fiber. It contains a lot of sugar and chemicals to improve shelf life, and because it’s dried, packs more calories per bite than a piece of fruit.
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>>> This Is the One Thing You Must Buy Organic
May 29, 2014
by Farrah Shaikh
http://www.delish.com/food/recalls-reviews/one-produce-must-buy-organic
We know, we know...buying organic sounds like the right thing to do, but it can be expensive. It may be a struggle to find organic options at your local grocery store and you may not know what produce is most worth the extra money. If you are only going to eat ONE organic item, make it apples, and here's why.
According to the Environmental Working Group's annually released “Dirty Dozen" list, apples are the dirtiest produce out there, with the highest amount of pesticide residue. The average conventionally grown apple has more pesticide residue than any other fruit or vegetable, with up to 48 different types of pesticides. Strawberries and grapes are runner-ups for worst offenders, with 13 and 15 different pesticides respectively, while avocados are the cleanest produce item, with only 1 percent detectable pesticides.
So why do apples have so many pesticides? Fungus, bacteria, and insects all threaten apple crops, prompting farmers to spray chemicals on their orchards. The long term effect of pesticides are still being determined, but some have been potentially been linked to Parkinson's disease. And if you think the simplest solution is to just to remove the peel, stop right there. The peels of apples have most of the fruit's nutritional benefits (fiber and vitamins), so peeling away the skin from the fruit strips away most of its good stuff.
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Beyond Meat, Modern Meadow -- >>> Can Artificial Meat Save The World?
Traditional chicken, beef, and pork production devours resources and creates waste. Meat-free meat might be the solution.
By Tom Foster
11.18.2013
Popular Science
http://www.popsci.com/article/science/can-artificial-meat-save-world?nopaging=1
The Meat Lab Brian Klutch
On an ordinary spring morning in Columbia, Missouri, Ethan Brown stands in the middle of an ordinary kitchen tearing apart a chicken fajita strip. “Look at this,” he says. “It’s amazing!” Around him, a handful of stout Midwestern food-factory workers lean in and nod approvingly. “I’m just so proud of it.”
The meat Brown is pulling apart looks normal enough: beige flesh that separates into long strands. It would not be out of place in a chicken salad or Caesar wrap. Bob Prusha, a colleague of Brown’s, stands over a stove sautéing a batch for us to eat. But the meat Brown is fiddling with and Prusha is frying is far from ordinary. It’s actually not meat at all.
Brown is the CEO of Beyond Meat, a four-year-old company that manufactures a meat substitute made mainly from soy and pea proteins and amaranth. Mock meat is not a new idea. Grocery stores are full of plant-based substitutes—the Boca and Gardenburgers of the world, not to mention Asian staples like tofu and seitan. What sets Beyond Meat apart is how startlingly meat-like its product is. The “chicken” strips have the distinct fibrous structure of poultry, and they deliver a similar nutritional profile. Each serving has about the same amount of protein as an equivalent portion of chicken, but with zero cholesterol or saturated and trans fats.
To Brown, there is little difference between his product and the real thing. Factory-farmed chickens aren’t really treated as animals, he says; they’re machines that transform vegetable inputs into chicken breasts. Beyond Meat simply uses a more efficient production system. Where one pound of cooked boneless chicken requires 7.5 pounds of dry feed and 30 liters of water, the same amount of Beyond Meat requires only 1.1 pound of ingredients and two liters of water.
The ability to efficiently create meat, or something sufficiently meat-like, will become progressively more important in coming years because humanity may be reaching a point when there’s not enough animal protein to go around. The United Nations expects the global population to grow from the current 7.2 billion to 9.6 billion by 2050. Also, as countries such as China and India continue to develop, their populations are adopting more Western diets. Worldwide the amount of meat eaten per person nearly doubled from 1961 to 2007, and the UN projects it will double again by 2050.
In other words, the planet needs to rethink how it gets its meat. Brown is addressing the issue by supplying a near-perfect meat analogue, but he is not alone in reinventing animal products. Just across town, Modern Meadow uses 3-D printers and tissue engineering to grow meat in a lab. The company already has a refrigerator full of lab-grown beef and pork; in fact, the company’s co-founder, Gabor Forgacs, fried and ate a piece of engineered pork onstage at a 2011 TED talk. Another scientist, Mark Post at Maastricht University in the Netherlands, is also using tissue engineering to produce meat in a lab. In August, he served an entire lab-grown burger to two diners on a London stage as a curious but skeptical crowd looked on.
Chicken-Free Strips It took more than two decades to create a vegetable-based meat analogue with a consistency and texture similar to chicken; Whole Foods began selling the packaged Beyond Meat product in spring. Courtesy Beyond Meat Revolutions tend to appear revolutionary only from a distance, and as Brown walks me to the production floor, I’m struck by how similar the Beyond Meat factory looks to any other. Nondescript metal machinery churns away. Ingredients sit in plastic bulk-foods bins. We put on hairnets and white coats and walk over to a small blue conveyor belt, where Brown’s chicken strips emerge from the machinery cooked and in oddly rectilinear form. They are not yet seasoned, he says, but they are ready to eat. At the end of the conveyor belt, the still-steaming strips fall unceremoniously into a steel bucket, where they land with a dull thud.
Staring at the bucketful of precooked strips, it’s hard to imagine a future in which meat is, by necessity, not meat. Or in which meat is grown in a manufacturing facility instead of a field or feedlot. But that future is fast approaching, and here in the heart of Big Ag country, both Beyond Meat and Modern Meadow are confronting it head on.
Each year, Americans eat more than 200 pounds of meat per person, and mid-Missouri is as good a place as any to see what it takes to satisfy that appetite. Columbia sits dead center in the state, so approaching on I-70 from either direction means driving about two hours past huge tracts of farmland—soy, corn, and wheat fields and herds of grazing cattle. Giant truck stops glow on the horizon, and mile-long trains tug boxcars loaded with grain to places as far away as Mexico and California.
Beyond Meat Factory in Columbia, Missouri, food scientists transform a mix of soy and pea proteins and amaranth into “chicken” strips. Courtesy Beyond Meat
It’s rich country that for nearly 150 years has fed the nation and the world. Yet most of the crops grown around Columbia will never land on dining-room tables but rather in giant feedlot troughs. That’s not unusual. About 80 percent of the world’s farmland is used to support the meat and poultry industries, and much of that goes to growing animal feed. An efficient use of resources this is not. For example, a single pound of cooked beef, a family meal’s worth of hamburgers, requires 298 square feet of land, 27 pounds of feed, and 211 gallons of water.
Supplying meat not only devours resources but also creates waste. That same pound of hamburger requires more than 4,000 Btus of fossil-fuel energy to get to the dinner table; something has to power the tractors, feedlots, slaughterhouses, and trucks. That process, along with the methane the cows belch throughout their lives, contributes as much as 51 percent of all greenhouse gas produced in the world.
To understand how humans developed such a reliance on meat, it’s useful to start at the beginning. Several million years ago, hominids had large guts and smaller brains. That began to reverse around two million years ago: Brains got bigger as guts got smaller. The primary reason for the change, according to a seminal 1995 study by evolutionary anthropologist Leslie Aiello, then of the University College London, is that our ancestors started eating meat, a compact, high-energy source of calories. With meat, hominids did not need to maintain a large, energy-intense digestive system. Instead, they could divert energy elsewhere, namely to power big energy-hungry brains. And with those brains, they changed the world.
As time progressed, meat became culturally important too. Hunting fostered cooperation; cooking and eating the kill brought communities together over shared rituals—as it still does in backyard barbecues. Neal Barnard, a nutrition author and physician at George Washington University, argues that today the cultural appeal of meat trumps any physiological benefits. “We have known for a long time that people who don’t eat meat are thinner and healthier and live longer than people who do,” he says. Nutritionally, meat is a good source of protein, iron, and vitamin B12, but Barnard says those nutrients are easily available from other sources that aren’t also heavy in saturated fats. “For the millennia of our sojourn on Earth, we have been getting more than enough protein from entirely plant-based sources. The cow gets its protein that way and simply rearranges it into muscle. People say, ‘Gee if I don’t eat muscle, where will I get protein?’ You get it from the same place the cow got it.”
To Barnard, the simple conclusion is that everyone should stick to eating plants—and he’s right that it would be a far more efficient use of all that cropland. And yet to most people, meat tastes good. Studies suggest that eating meat activates the brain’s pleasure center in much the same way chocolate does. Even many vegetarians say bacon smells great when it’s cooking. For whatever reason, most people simply love to eat meat—myself included. And that makes
re-creating it, whether from vegetables or cells in a lab, exceedingly difficult.
* * *
In the mid-1980s, a food scientist named Fu-hung Hsieh moved to Columbia, Missouri, to start a food-engineering program at the University of Missouri. Hsieh was coming to academia from a successful career in the processed-foods industry, at Quaker Oats, and he convinced the university to buy him a commercial-grade extrusion machine, nearly unheard of in an academic setting.
Modern Meadow Modern Meadow grows beef and pork cells in heated incubator Courtesy Modern Meadow
An extruder is one of the processed-food industry’s most important and versatile pieces of equipment, the invention responsible for Froot Loops and Cheetos and premade cookie dough. Dry and wet ingredients are poured into a hopper on one end of the machine and a rotating auger pushes them through a long barrel, where they are subjected to varying levels of heat and pressure. At the barrel’s end, the ingredients pass through a die that forms them into whatever shape and texture the machine has been programmed to produce. The mixture emerges at the far end as a continuous ribbon of food, which is sliced into the desired portions.
On one level, an extruder is a simple piece of technology—something like a giant sausage maker—but producing the desired result can be devilishly complicated. “Some people say extrusion cooking is an art form,” says Harold Huff, a meat-loving Missouri native who works with Hsieh as a senior research specialist. Around 1989, Hsieh and Huff took an interest in using the extruder to make the first realistic meat analogue. “We didn’t worry about flavor or anything else,” Hsieh tells me. “We wanted it to tear apart like chicken—it was all just about initial appearance.” They knew there wasn’t a single physical or chemical adjustment that would bring about a solution. They just had to experiment. “You have to have the right ingredients, the right temperature, the right hardware,” Huff says. “You try things, make observations, and make adjustments” for years, even decades. And so it went, until Ethan Brown came calling in 2009.
Brown, a vegan environmentalist, had been working for a fuel-cell company and had become frustrated by his colleagues’ ignorance of meat’s role in climate change. “We would go to conferences and sit there wringing our hands over all these [energy] issues, and then we’d go to dinner and people would order huge steaks,” he says. “I was like, ‘This is stupid, I want to go work on that problem.’?” To the ridicule of old friends, who joked that he was moving to the country to start a tofu factory, he started poring over journal articles and casting around for meat analogues to market—which is how he heard about Hsieh’s work.
Brown licensed the veggie chicken and began fine-tuning it with the scientists for mass consumption. “If we used too much soy, it was too firm, and if we reduced it too much, it became soft, like tofu,” Brown remembers. “It took us two years to figure that out, and it’s still not perfect.”
Lab grown meat Karoly Jakab of Modern Meadow pulls a tray of lab-grown meat from a refrigerator Courtesy Modern Meadow
As Brown and Hsieh refined the product, it began to gain notice. Bill Gates, who has adopted the meat-production crisis as one of his signature issues, published a report about the issue on his blog, The Gates Notes, in which he endorsed Beyond Meat as an important innovation. “I couldn’t tell the difference between Beyond Meat and real chicken,” he wrote. Perhaps more impressive, New York Times food correspondent and best-selling cookbook author Mark Bittman tried Beyond Meat in a blind taste test last year (at the behest of Brown, who served Bittman a burrito) and said that it “fooled me badly.” Twitter co-founder Biz Stone invested in the company last year, not long after the powerful Silicon Valley venture-capital firm Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers bought a stake.
“We are going to be meat. We’ll just be slaughtering plants instead of animals.”“One of the partners at Kleiner asked me to meet with Ethan and give them feedback, because they knew I was a vegan. I said yes, really as a favor,” Stone says. “I went into it thinking it’s going to be a boutiquey thing, for well-to-do vegans. Instead, I was introduced to this big-science approach. Ethan was talking about competing in the multibillion-dollar meat business. We are going to be meat, he said, we are just going to be slaughtering plants instead of animals. And here are all the ways it matters, in terms of global health, resource scarcity, number of people in the world. I was like, ‘Oh, my god. They are thinking completely differently.’”
The day I visit, the factory in Columbia is humming because the company is preparing its first shipment of packaged product to Whole Foods, which agreed to sell it nationwide after a successful trial in some California stores. On the production floor, the extruder is roaring away, pumping out strips ready for seasoning, flash-freezing, or quick grilling. A digital readout shows the configuration of the die that gives Beyond Meat its chicken-like structure. It is the company’s secret sauce, the result of all those years of research, and Brown darts over to block my view of the readout as we approach. It’s the one thing that’s not entirely transparent about the operation.
Brown has set up a taste test: three plates of Beyond Meat in three preseasoned flavors. I pop one of the Southwest-flavored strips into my mouth, and it tastes, well, a bit like soy in the form of chicken, sprinkled with chipotle dust. That’s also how it chews—very chicken-like but somehow just shy of chicken. After all the buildup, I’m a little disappointed. But I also have the distinct impression that I’m eating something more like meat than veggies. And I’m eating it unadorned, as opposed to in Bittman’s burrito.
Over the course of the next month, I replace boneless chicken breasts with the lightly seasoned strips in various meals: an omelet with spinach and feta, a plate of fajitas, a wok-ful of fried rice. I’m never once fooled that it’s chicken. For me, chicken is the whole sensory package—crisp skin, the roasting pan, the juices—and when I want one, I make one. But when I want lean, chewy protein as a flavor medium in some other dish, I find I don’t care whether it comes from an animal or vegetable. But what if it comes from neither?
* * *
On the other side of Columbia, at a biotech start-up incubator on the edge of the University of Missouri campus, the scientists at Modern Meadow are working on a very different solution to the meat-production crisis. When I visit, a 3-D printer about the size of an HP desktop unit streams a line of yellowish goo onto a petri dish. Back and forth, the machine creates a series of narrow rows a hair’s breadth apart. After covering a few inches of the dish, the printer switches direction and lays new rows atop the first ones in a crosshatch pattern. There’s no noise but an electric whir, no smell, nothing to suggest that the goo is an embryonic form of meat that will turn into a little sausage. Once the printer finishes its run, the result looks something like a large Band-Aid.
To reach this stage, about 700 million beef cells spent two weeks growing in a cell-growth medium in a wardrobe-size incubator. The cells were then spun free in a centrifuge, and the resulting slurry, which is the consistency of honey, was transferred to a large syringe that acts as the business end of the printer.
The printed cells will now go back into an incubator for a few more days, during which time they will start to develop an extracellular matrix, a naturally occurring scaffold of collagens that gives cells structural support. The result is actual muscle tissue.
The technology in front of me is the work of Gabor Forgacs, a Hungarian-born theoretical physicist who turned to developmental biology mid-career. In 2005, he led a team that developed a process to print multicellular aggregates rather than individual cells. His printer produces physiologically viable tubes of cells that can adhere to create large complex structures.
Modern Meadows Co-Founders Gabor and Andras Forgacs, the father and son co-founders of Modern Meadow Courtesy Modern Meadows
In 2007, Gabor and his son, Andras, helped found a company called Organovo that uses Gabor’s technology to print human tissue for medical applications (pharmaceutical testing, for instance) and aims one day to print functioning human organs for transplants. Gabor was the science mind behind the company, and Andras worked in various roles on the business side.
“Fairly early on, people asked us, ‘Hey, could you make meat?’?” Andras remembers. “And we were pretty dismissive of the idea”—it was simply too far from Organovo’s mission. But by 2011, Organovo had brought on a new management team and laid plans to go public (which it did in early 2012). Gabor began brainstorming new projects with his two closest scientific collaborators—Françoise Marga and Karoly Jakab. Andras, meanwhile, had moved to Shanghai to work in venture capital. He saw how diets in China were changing and how much of the meat came from places as far away as Latin America and Australia.
“If we can make living tissues, then we can certainly make food-grade ones.”That confluence of factors made bio-fabricated meat appear more attractive. Even better, Gabor suspected meat would be simpler to produce than functioning human parts. “If we can make living tissues, then certainly we can make food-grade tissues, which don’t have to be as exacting,” he says. “We do not have to worry about immune compatibility, for instance.”
In late 2011, Andras returned to the U.S., and the team landed a USDA Small Business Innovation Research grant shortly thereafter. It then received a grant from Breakout Labs, an arm of Peter Thiel’s foundation. (Thiel is a co-founder of PayPal and a tech investor and futurist.) With help from the grant, Andras set up a business office at Singularity University on the campus of NASA’s Silicon Valley research park, and Gabor set up his scientific headquarters in Columbia. Modern Meadow was born.
As ghoulish as growing lab meat sounds, the concept has a long history, and not just in science fiction. In 1931, Winston Churchill wrote, “Fifty years hence, we shall escape the absurdity of growing a whole chicken in order to eat the breast or wing, by growing these parts separately under a suitable medium.” He was wrong about the date, but the same sentiment drives the meat-alternatives community today. If you consider the conditions under which meat is produced—how the animals are treated and how much waste is involved—factory farming, not tissue culture, seems the ghoulish option. By comparison, lab meat looks both humane and sensible; a study for the EU predicted that, if produced on a large scale, lab-grown meat would use 99.7 percent less land and 94 percent less water than factory farming, and it would contribute 98.8 percent fewer greenhouse gases.
Over the past few decades, a handful of scientists have pursued lab-grown meat, most notably Mark Post in the Netherlands. Post created the burger for his London taste test using a different tissue-engineering process that involves growing cells around a cylindrical scaffold. According to Isha Datar, the director of New Harvest, a nonprofit research and advocacy group that focuses on meat alternatives, Post’s process may actually be “more amenable to mass production, theoretically” than Modern Meadow’s 3-D printing. On the other hand, Datar points to the head start Modern Meadow has: “It’s an actual business. The other groups are all academic, and you never know if they have the power to get out of the lab.”
By August, Modern Meadow was experimenting with other bio-assembly techniques that could quickly lay down large cell arrays. And Mark Post revealed his own high-profile Silicon Valley backer: Google co-founder Sergey Brin, whose track record bringing improbable products to market isn’t bad.
But being first to market doesn’t matter if the meat coming out of the labs isn’t appetizing. Post’s burger got tepid reviews from his two tasters. And Modern Meadow’s current product is hardly even recognizable as meat; it lacks blood and fat, which are responsible for most of actual meat’s color, flavor, and juicy texture. Karoly Jakab shows me a couple of the samples he’s storing in the lab refrigerator: They look like tiny beige-gray sausages—fully grown, rolled-up versions of the Band-Aid I saw coming out the printer—about the size of an infant’s pinkie finger.
Lab-Grown Burger In August, Mark Post of Maastricht University in the Netherlands served a lab-grown hamburger to two diners. One said it “wasn’t unpleasant.” REUTERS/David Parry/poo
To make the meat more appealing, Modern Meadow has enlisted the Chicago chef Homaro Cantu, whose restaurant, Moto, has become an icon of molecular gastronomy. For Modern Meadow, he’ll be working on what Andras calls “last-mile issues” like texture, flavor, appearance, and mouthfeel by, for instance, suggesting how much fat to add and what kind. And sometime in the next couple of years, Andras says, with Cantu’s help, Modern Meadow plans to start conducting invitation-only tasting sessions, where friends of the company will sign waivers and sample dishes.
There will be plenty of technical hurdles just to get to that point, but putting lab-grown meat in the hands of the masses could be even trickier because there is no regulatory precedent. Meat falls under the USDA’s jurisdiction, but Andras expects the FDA to be involved too. “They have the sophistication and understanding of how tissue engineering works in medicine,” he says. Approval could take at least 10 years.
In the meantime, Modern Meadow needs to make money, so the team is focusing heavily on growing leather, which turns out to be easier than meat and won’t face as many regulatory hurdles. Gabor hands me a pepperoni-size disc of dark-brown leather, indistinguishable from the stuff used in one of my favorite pairs of shoes. It even smells like leather. It is leather. Much as the company is partnering with chef Cantu on perfecting the meat, it’s in talks with fashion brands and automakers to create products with the lab-grown leather.
* * *
Ethan Brown folds his lanky frame into one of the metal chairs at the Main Squeeze, an organic juice café in downtown Columbia, and begins talking about how he’ll define success for Beyond Meat in the near term. “I want to be in the meat aisle,” he says. “You go to the grocery store, and they sell meat in one section and vegetable-based proteins in another section. Why are they penalizing the non-meat?” He points to the rise of soy milk and its eventual inclusion in the dairy aisle—which helped to drive a 500 percent increase in sales since 1997—as his model.
Ethan Brown Ethan Brown of Beyond Meat Jennifer Smith/Beyond Meat
“Our earliest adopters are the vegans and locavore types who prefer tofu and beans and quinoa,” he says. “But the sweet spot for us is folks who are simply cutting down on their meat consumption. They still eat at Taco Bell, but they know they shouldn’t do it that much.”
There’s an uncanny valley of food. Until engineered meat is perfect, it will be creepy.
Appealing to those people with a near-perfect imitation of meat makes sense on one level. But there’s also a risk, Andras Forgacs says. In the world of animation and robotics, there’s a concept called the “uncanny valley,” which states that if a simulated human too closely resembles the real thing, it will repel people. “There’s also an uncanny valley of food,” Andras says. “Until it becomes perfect, it’s going to be creepy.”
I’ve seen the uncanny valley response up close, when I’ve tried to serve my wife Beyond Meat. She has no problem eating processed meats that bear no resemblance to the animal they come from: hot dogs, say, or on the high end, goose liver pâté. And she’ll eat other soy proteins, such as tofu, that don’t pretend to be meat. But she won’t touch Beyond Meat. To her, it imitates the real thing just a little too closely.
Modern Meadow may simply back away from the uncanny valley, rather than try to cross it. “I have an analogy that goes back to Organovo,” Gabor says. “We will never be able to print a heart exactly as it appears in nature—but we don’t have to. What we need is to create an organ that functions as well as your heart, or better, from your own cells so that it works in your body. That we can do. And the same goes for meat. What we are going to put into your mouth is not what you’d get when you slaughter a cow. But from all other points of view—nutritional value, taste—it will be just like the real thing. You recognize it as meat, but it’s a different kind of meat.” Like a hot dog or goose liver pâté.
And if fake meat doesn’t have to perfectly mimic real meat, it can be made even better than the real thing. The teams at Beyond Meat and Modern Meadow envision super meats enhanced with things like omega-3 fatty acids and extra vitamins. “You could eat a Beyond Meat Philly cheesesteak that lowers your cholesterol and gives you sexual prowess,” Brown says. He is only half joking.
However they move forward, neither company envisions its product entirely replacing meat, nor do they see themselves as being in competition with each other. Isha Datar of New Harvest predicts a portfolio of approaches that would address the meat-production crisis: lab-grown meat and plant-based meats, yes, but also sustainably raised livestock and less meat-intensive diets. A 2012 study at the University of Exeter in the U.K. calculated the degree to which diets must change in order to feed the world in 2050 and stave off catastrophic climate change. The researchers found that average global meat consumption would have to decrease from 16.6 percent of average daily calorie intake to 15 percent. That may not sound like much, but it translates to roughly halving the amount of meat in Western diets—a major change, but conceivable with high-quality meat alternatives.
One theme cuts through all those visions of the future: Educated consumers who have the benefit of total transparency into the meat-production process. Brown has considered installing cameras on the Beyond Meat production floor and streaming the video online so people can see for themselves how harmless the process is. The contrast to the secretive policies of industrial slaughterhouses would be stark.
Andras Forgacs Courtesy Modern Meadow
Andras Forgacs imagines something even more dramatic. He pictures Modern Meadow’s production facilities as regional petting zoos. “You’d need to replenish the cell source periodically so all we’d really need is a few animals from which we could take occasional biopsies. They’d be like mascots. Other than getting poked every month or so, they would lead these perfectly charmed lives.” People could come meet the animals as they grazed and then make their way into a facility to watch a giant 3-D printer stream the cells onto trays, where they would grow into pork chops and steaks.
“Would you rather visit a slaughterhouse and see a cow get killed, skinned, and disemboweled right before you go eat a steak dinner, or would you rather visit a petting zoo and a facility that looks a little Willy Wonka–ish and then go eat the meat right afterward?”
It’s a dream, but Andras insists it’s not outlandish. “Bio-fabrication already exists, and it’s inevitable that in the coming decades there will be applications beyond medicine—consumer applications, like food.” The question is whether the world will be ready for them.
Tom Foster’s last piece for Popular Science, about the Leap Motion interface, appeared in the August issue. This article originally appeared in the November 2013 issue of Popular Science.
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>>> 11 chemicals you might have already eaten today
Insects, rubber, mold-reducing agents and more things you weren't really meant to digest, all thanks to Big Food!
By Daniel Kelley
http://healthyliving.msn.com/nutrition/11-chemicals-you-might-have-already-eaten-today
There are huge gaps in what we know about the additives in our food, and anecdotes on the Internet fill them. Before the Internet was invented, the Center for Science in the Public Interest was the bane of the food companies’ existence. Now online activists rail against ingredients the CSPI lists as safe, and Big Food has taken notice. Whole Foods has a list of additives it will not allow in stores. Kroger has eliminated 101 additives. Even Wal-Mart announced that it is working to ban 10 ingredients from its stores.
If you look at when companies start replacing ingredients, it’s when there’s awareness from the public.” said Keval Mehta, CEO of Inrfood, an online database of food ingredients.
One such victory came a couple months back when “Food Babe” blogger Vani Hari used an online petition to force Subway to stop using azodicarbonamide its bread. The chemical makes white bread whiter, helps increase its elasticity, and is found in over 500 foods. On the other hand, it also breaks down into a chemical that causes cancer, is banned in Europe, and is used to make shoe leather and yoga mats.
According to the Pew Health Initiative, there are more than 10,000 food additives found in a typical supermarket. Here are a few substances the scientists have taken out, and what they’ve put back.
Salt
What, you were hoping for something sexier? Michael Jacobson, executive director of the Center for Science in the Public Interest says that cutting domestic salt intake in half would save 100,000 lives per year. Sure, azodicarbonamide breaks down into substances that are carcinogens, but if it gave 100,000 people per year cancer, we’d be marching with pitchforks.
Status: Companies are dropping salt, but slowly. The Wall Street Journal reports that Chef Boyardee cut sodium levels by 35 percent — but it did so over five years.
Also used in: It improves the density of drilling fluids in oil country. It is used in the processing of metals, paper, and wood pulp.
Often replaced with: Mrs. Dash
BHA, or BHT
Snacks like potato chips tend to be cooked in vegetable oil. That vegetable oil can go rancid after the snack is packed. The process is called oxidation. BHA and BHT are antioxidants.
Status: The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services says BHA can reasonably be anticipated to be a human carcinogen. But it’s still legal to put it in food. Companies have been taking this out of packaged foods for several years but it still appears here and there, says Michael Jacobson, of the center for Science in the Public Interest.
Other uses: Rubber and petroleum products, cosmetics.
Often replaced with: Tocopherols, which on food labels get called “Vitamin E.” Manufacturers can also pack food with nitrogen instead of air. Jacobson says it’s unclear if food companies really need to find a replacement for BHA. Chips, he said, would go stale before the oil goes rancid. “I don’t know if foods have shorter shelf lives, or if they were totally unnecessary,” Jocobson says.
Brominated Vegetable Oil
It’s the reason you don’t have to shake a sports drink bottle before opening. Brominated vegetable oil keeps flavor molecules spread evenly throughout the drink. Two case studies have shown that individuals who drank large amounts of soda suffered serious health consequences that doctors attributed to brominated vegetable oil.
Status: Gatorade recently announced it would stop using brominated vegetable oil.
Also used for: Bromine alone is found in nasal sprays, fire retardant, hair dyes, hot tub chemicals, and pesticides.
Replaced with: Sucrose acetate isobutyrate.
Potassium Sorbate
This preservative prevents the growth of yeast and molds in yogurts, cheeses, jellies, cake and beef jerky. It ranks among the world’s most widely used preservatives.
Status: The Center for Science in the Public Interest list potassium sorbate as safe. But some yogurt brands — like Chobani, which saw a recall over mold contamination last year — proudly eschew the use of it. Food scientists point out that removing it from the food supply could endanger consumers with mold intolerances.</p> <p><strong>Replaced with:</strong> In an effort to develop “clean labels,” some consultants have suggested removing potassium sorbate from salad dressings and adding “refrigerate after opening” to the label.
Dimethylpolysiloxane
Dropping French fries into hot oil can cause the oil to foam up. Dimethylpolysiloxane is a silicone-based anti-foaming agent that extends the life of the oil. It’s found in all sorts of food products, from vinegars to chocolates to chewing gum.
Other uses: It’s the main ingredient in silly putty. Also found in cosmetics, shampoos, and caulks.
Status: Kinda gross. But the Joint FAO/WHO Expert Committee on Food Additives reports low risk of toxicity
Calcium Propionate
A preservative used in bread and rolls.
Status: The Center for Science in the Public Interest lists calcium propionate as safe. Some bread brands seeking clean labels have use cultured wheat flour, as a substitute.
Other uses: The tobacco industry seems to like this stuff as a preservative. Also used in the manufacture of butyl rubber.
Red No. Four
Also known as crushed bugs. This dye is listed on labels as carmine or cochineal extract. It is made of crushed cochineal insects.
Status:Starbucks announced in 2012 that it would replace this. For some, cochineal extracts can trigger allergic reactions. But the biggest push to get this additive removed came from vegans. It’s hard to make vegan strawberry soy Frappuccinos with dead bugs.
Other uses: In pre-Hispanic Mexico, it was used to make a deep, deep red.
Replaced with: Starbucks says it has developed a tomato-based dye to make its strawberry sauce look redder.
Diacetyl
The naturally occurring compound gives microwave popcorn its butter flavor. It might be good to eat, but breathing it isn’t conducive to long life. Workers at the plants that produced and used diacetyl came down with a condition known as bronchiolitis obliterans, a life-threatening and irreversible lung disease also known as popcorn lung. In 2012, a Colorado man who ate two bags of popcorn per day was awarded $7.2 million when he came down with the disease.
Status: Major microwaveable popcorn brands have phased out the use of diacetyl. Legislators in California have introduced bills to ban it. The Center for Science in the Public Interest says consumers should use caution but more study is needed.
Other uses: Diacetyl is a byproduct fermentation and can be found in beer.
Replaced with: Many popcorn companies haven’t disclosed what they use instead. But researchers have determined that at least some of the replacement flavorings carry a similar risk.
Artificial Dyes
Most food sold in Europe containing artificial dyes carry a label warning of the risks associated with the dyes and hyperactivity in children. American consumers have taken note.
Status: Kraft has decided to take dyes from some formulations of macaroni and cheese, Frito-Lay has taken dyes from Sun Chips and Tostitos, and if your Trix yogurt looks a little less nuclear, it’s because General Mills has reformulated it to remove some artificial dyes. Chik-Fil-A is also quietly removing dyes from sauces and chicken soups.
Other uses: Individual dyes are approved for specific uses. But some artificial food colors are also used in pharmaceuticals, cosmetics, sutures, and contact lenses.
High Fructose Corn Syrup
For the past four decades, our nation has been unable to lose these last ten pounds. High Fructose Corn Syrup has taken much of the blame.
Status: Companies have been dropping high fructose corn syrup like a high school boyfriend in the first semester of college.
Other uses: It would be much easier to demonize the delicious sweetener if it was used in the manufacture of jet fuel, but alas, there are no known industrial uses of high fructose corn syrup, according to Inrfood.com.
Replaced with: High fructose corn syrup has such a bad name that soda companies have started replacing it with sugar. Guess what? There’s no real difference. Other replacements include rice syrup, oat syrup, and corn syrup.
Transfats
Transfats — usually in the form of partially hydrogenated vegetable oils — are the double whammy. They lower good cholesterol and raise bad cholesterol. Food companies have been required to list transfats since 2006.
Status: Companies have been taking transfats off of labels as quickly as they can, but restaurants occasionally use transfats in deep fryers. Another loophole exists. If a product contains less than half of a gram of transfats per serving, its makers can claim the product has no trans fats. In November the FDA took steps that many see as leading to an eventual ban on transfats.
Other industrial uses: Trans fats are good for only one thing: heart attacks.
Replaced with: Usually palm oil, but other oils serve as replacements as well.
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>>> Archer Daniels Midland to Build Protein Plant in Brazil
By Zacks Equity
http://finance.yahoo.com/news/archer-daniels-build-protein-plant-190004568.html
In its endeavor to meet the rising demand of soy protein across South America, Archer Daniels Midland Company (ADM) has decided to build a soy protein production complex in Campo Grande, Mato Grosso do Sul, Brazil.
The project will expectedly require an investment of $250 million and its location will be next to the company’s existing soybean processing facility in Campo Grande. The construction is slated to begin in the third quarter of 2014. Once completed, the plant will have approximately 80 employees.
The new facility will produce a variety of functional protein concentrates or ingredients that can be added to food and beverages. This will provide a wider choice of protein intake to Archer Daniels’ South American consumers. Further, the ingredients manufactured by the plant will be marketed by ADM’s Foods & Wellness group.
ADM’s Foods & Wellness group is engaged in providing multifarious specialty ingredients and products for the food, beverage, wellness and personal care markets. Apart from this, the group sells emulsifiers, acidulants, polyols and hydrocolloids.
In 1997, Archer Daniels began its operations in Brazil by purchasing various crushing plants, grain elevators and silos. Currently, with over 4,700 employees in the country, Archer Daniels is a major agribusiness company in Brazil. It currently operates four soy processing facilities, four fertilizer blending facilities, one cocoa processing unit and one sugar cane processing plant which produces ethanol, along with more than 40 elevators in the country.
Archer Daniels, one of the leading food processing companies in the world, processes oilseeds, corn, wheat, cocoa and other foodstuff. It is also a giant manufacturer of vegetable oil, protein meal, corn sweeteners, flour, biodiesel, ethanol, and other value-added food and feed ingredients. Moreover, the company has a worldwide grain elevator and transportation network for procurement, storage, cleansing and transportation of agricultural commodities.
We expect Archer Daniels’ consistent focus on enhancing its processing capabilities and its increasing global footprint to drive growth going forward. The company intends to invest around $1.4 billion in capital projects in 2014, most of which will be in high-growth markets outside the U.S.
Currently, Archer Daniels carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).
Other Stocks to Consider
Investors interested in the food industry could also consider stocks like Diamond Foods, Inc. (DMND), J&J Snacks Food Corp. (JJSF) and The Hain Celestial Group, Inc. (HAIN). All of these have a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).
<<<
>>> The Andersons, Inc. engages in the grain, ethanol, plant nutrient, railcar leasing, turf and cob products, and consumer retailing businesses. It operates in six segments: Grain, Ethanol, Rail, Plant Nutrient, Turf & Specialty, and Retail. The Grain segment operates grain elevators; and is involved in the storage, merchandise, and trade of grains, as well as offers marketing, risk management, and corn origination services to its customers. The Ethanol segment operates four ethanol production facilities; and provides facility operations, risk management, and ethanol, corn oil, and distillers dried grains marketing to the ethanol plants. The Rail segment buys, sells, leases, rebuilds, and repairs a fleet of approximately 23,000 railcars and locomotives, as well as containers; offers fleet management services to private railcar owners; engages in metal fabrication business; and invests in short-line railroad. The Plant Nutrient segment manufactures, distributes, and retails agricultural and related plant nutrients, and pelleted lime and gypsum products to agricultural farm supply dealers and public warehouses; and essential crop nutrients, crop protection chemicals, and seed products, as well as provides application and agronomic services to commercial and family farmers. This segment also offers warehousing, packaging, and manufacturing services to manufacturers and other distributors; and various industrial products, including nitrogen reagents for air pollution control systems. The Turf & Specialty segment produces granular fertilizer and control products for the turf and ornamental markets; and fertilizer and control products, and corncob-based animal bedding and cat litter for the consumer markets. The Retail segment operates The Andersons retail stores; The Andersons Market, a specialty food market; a distribution center; and a lawn and garden equipment sales and service shop. The Andersons, Inc. was founded in 1947 and is headquartered in Maumee, Ohio. <<<
>>> 12 things you need to know before going vegan
http://healthyliving.msn.com/nutrition/12-things-you-need-to-know-before-going-vegan#2
You'll need a B12 supplement
Vitamin B12 occurs naturally only in animal foods, so you'll want to stock up on a variety of B12-fortified foods as well as a B12 supplement. B12 keeps the body's nerve and blood cells healthy and helps make DNA, so deficiencies can lead to tiredness, weakness, constipation, loss of appetite, weight loss (the bad kind), nerve problems, and depression. To find out if you need to up your intake, ask your doctor for a simple blood draw.
…And maybe an iron supplement, too
Iron comes in two forms: heme and non-heme. Heme, which makes up about 40% of the iron in animal foods, is easily absorbed by the body. Vegan diets contain only non-heme, which is less readily absorbed, so you may need to ingest more iron if you want to get the same benefit, says New York City nutritionist Christian Henderson, RD. Good vegan iron sources include legumes, sunflower seeds, dried raisins, and dark, leafy greens. Vitamin C-rich foods (think: red peppers, citrus, and broccoli) aid iron absorption.
You'll have to find new protein sources
Every meal should contain protein, says vegan dietitian Valerie Rosser, RD. Proteins are the building blocks of life: they break down into amino acids that promote cell growth and repair. The Institute of Medicine recommends that adults get at least 0.8 grams of protein daily for every kilogram of body mass—that's about 54 grams for a 150-pound woman. The best sources of vegan protein include natural soy, lentils, beans, quinoa, and seitan, Rosser says.
You shouldn't replace animal products with junk
Swapping out meat for white bread, pasta, and other packaged foods sets you up for failure on the vegan diet, says Rosser. "It's not a good idea to trade in animal products, which contain protein, vitamins, and minerals, for processed foods that provide little nutritional value other than calories." The result: hunger, weight gain, and a grumpier mood.
Take it easy on soy-based products
In general, critics overstate the dangers of soy and the promoters exaggerate its benefits. Though scientists are still arguing over the effects of soy on cancer and heart health, one thing is for certain: "Consuming too much soy-based vegan 'meat' is arguably worse (than) consuming high-quality animal products," says Henderson. Meat substitutes are often highly processed and loaded with sodium and preservatives, so read labels carefully. The healthiest sources of soy are miso, tempeh, tofu
You don't have to make the switch at once
You won't just wake up one morning magically vegan. It takes work, so it should also take time, Henderson says. "Start by adding more plant-based foods to your diet, while at the same time cutting back on animal products, especially those that are non-organic, and more importantly processed, refined foods. Making gradual changes and assessing how you are feeling along the way is key," she says.
You may feel happier
Animals won't be the only ones happy with your vegan move. So will you. One reason why: Compared to vegetarian diets, omnivorous ones contain more arachidonic acid, which can spur neurological changes that drag down mood, according to a 2012 Nutrition Journal study.
<<<
>>> 8 banned foods to keep in your diet
http://healthyliving.msn.com/nutrition/8-banned-foods-to-keep-in-your-diet#3
Whole grains
Forbidden by: Gluten-free (with some exceptions) and Paleo diets
Whole grains contain compounds called phytates, which can bind to minerals such as zinc, iron and manganese, preventing our bodies from absorbing these nutrients, according to Cassie Bjork, a Minnesota-based registered dietitian. “Phytates make whole grains less nutrient-dense than a nutrition facts panel would let you believe,” she says. “In my opinion whole grains aren’t necessary at all. They don’t contain any vitamins and minerals you can’t get from non-starchy fruits and vegetables.”
But while phytates and other “antinutrients” can interfere with absorption, they don’t completely strip a food of its beneficial parts, says Andrea Giancoli, R.D., a spokesperson for the American Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. And unless you’re really loading up on produce, you’re going to miss out on a lot of belly-filling, heart-friendly fiber, adds Bonnie Taub-Dix, R.D., author of Read It Before You Eat It. Plus, those without celiac disease or gluten intolerance won’t reap any dietary benefits from giving up grains that contain wheat gluten and, in fact, could become deficient in B vitamins, studies have found.
If you are concerned about phytates, buy sprouted grains or soak yours before cooking, Giancoli says, but most people don’t need to worry.
Legumes
Forbidden by: The Paleo Diet
Like whole grains, beans and legumes contain phytates, as well as proteins called lectins, which have been linked to inflammation. “Additionally legumes are difficult for some to digest due to their high oligosaccharides content, which often results in abdominal pain, bloating and gas,” says Franziska Spritzler, a registered dietitian in southern California. So some people who aren’t eating Paleo shy away from beans to avoid these side effects.
However, the health benefits outweigh their potentially inflammatory properties, says New York City-based registered dietitian Lyssie Lakatos. Unlike meat, beans serve up a healthy dose of fiber and water along with protein. They’re also chock-full of antioxidants, which actually protect the body against inflammation and are thought to ward off cancer and aging, Lakatos says. As with grains, you can soak legumes before cooking to reduce their phytate content.
Foods cooked above 114 degrees
Forbidden by: Raw-food diet
Eating unprocessed, uncooked foods has its merits: When you avoid foods cooked over a certain temperature as part of a raw-food diet, by default you’re likely going to end up eating more plants, which research shows may decrease the risk of cardiovascular disease and diabetes. But the prevailing theory behind eating raw is that food’s nutritional enzymes—which aid digestion and are thought to improve fat burning—begin to break down above a certain temperature (between 114 and 118 degrees).
The truth is, though overcooking certain vegetables causes them to lose some of their water-soluble nutrients (think of that broccoli your grandma boils until it turns brown), this logic is largely flawed, Giancoli says. Heat does kill enzymes, but once those enzymes hit our highly acidic stomachs, they’ll be broken down by our digestive system anyway. As for the promise that a raw diet is detoxing, Giancoli says if you eat a healthy diet, your immune system will naturally eliminate any toxins in your body.
“It’s better to have a mix of raw foods and cooked foods in your diet,” she advises, “as some foods have better absorption of nutrients when they are cooked.” In particular heart-boosting lycopene, which gives tomatoes, watermelon and other produce their red hue, has been found to be more readily absorbed from cooked tomatoes than raw ones or tomato juice. Beta-carotene—an antioxidant in carrots, sweet potatoes and kale, among other vegetables—is linked to skin and eye health, and is also more bio-available to the body when cooked.
Potatoes
Forbidden by: Atkins (phase 1 and 2), glycemic-index, Paleo and South Beach diets
Taters are sometimes shirked by diets for their high glycemic index, a measure of the extent to which particular carbohydrates increase your blood sugar. “I call it riding a blood sugar roller coaster,” Bjork says. “High blood sugar can lead to mixed emotions, inability to focus, and highs and lows throughout the day.” Additionally, high blood sugar sets off a chain of linked reactions: Insulin surges, triggering cells to store sugar as fat, and that can lead to weight gain.
But the glycemic index isn’t a very accurate measure, says Joy Dubost, R.D., spokesperson for the American Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. It only assesses the potential blood sugar spike for foods when they are consumed in isolation, so a potato’s GI drops when eaten with protein and fats, which help stabilize blood sugar. By these standards, a baked potato with sour cream is actually better for you than a plain one. Beyond that, potatoes contain nutrients that Americans typically fall short of, such as potassium (which helps lower blood pressure) and fiber. As long as French fries and chips aren’t your main potato intake, spuds have a place in your diet.
Dairy
Forbidden by: Macrobiotic, Paleo, raw food and vegan diets
Aside from animal rights issues, dieters’ main beef with dairy has to do with digestive issues. Macrobiotics say dairy contains “toxins,” while some Paleo enthusiasts say it’s inflammatory. See, milk contains a sugar called lactose. As babies, we have an enzyme, lactase, which helps us digest human milk and also allows our bodies to process cow’s milk. As we grow older, some people keep processing the enzyme while others don’t, leading to lactose intolerance.
But for those without lactose sensitivity, eschewing milk products won’t do much good, as it’s beneficial for bones and potentially for weight loss. “We typically don’t get enough calcium or vitamin D, and milk’s a great delivery source of both,” Dubost says. “Unless you have an allergy or intolerance, I wouldn’t recommend you eliminate it.”
Nightshade vegetables
Forbidden by: Macrobiotic diet
The macrobiotic diet strives to prevent chronic degenerative diseases and has roots in eastern medicine. While this eating plan is mostly plant-based, nightshades—a family of veggies that includes tomatoes, potatoes, eggplants and peppers—are banned because followers say the alkaloids in these cause joint pain and arthritis.
However, although some people are sensitive to nightshade vegetables, there is no research to support this theory. “It’s a very individual thing,” Taub-Dix says. “Some people with aches and pains from arthritis find eliminating these vegetables helpful, but plenty of people who eliminate these foods don’t notice a difference.” And while you won’t become deficient in any one nutrient by bypassing nightshades, you miss out on several potential health benefits. For example, tomatoes are our greatest dietary source of lycopene and have been linked to decreased risk of cancer and cardiovascular disease; a study in the Journal of Nutrition reported that yellow and purple potatoes may decrease inflammation; eggplant may have heart benefits; and different colored peppers provide varying levels of free-radical-fighting vitamin C. So if you aren’t experiencing joint problems, keep noshing nightshades.
White rice, pasta and bread
Forbidden by: Atkins, gluten-free (with the exception of gluten-free items), glycemic index, Paleo, raw foo, and South Beach diets
Similar to potatoes, foods made with processed grains such as white pasta, white rice and white bread are carb-heavy and have high glycemic indexes. However, unlike spuds, these eats have few redeeming qualities. “Research indicates that a diet rich in whole grains can ward off risk of cardiovascular disease and cancer,” Dubost says. But refined grains have been stripped of their bran (the grain’s outer shell) and germ (the part of the seed that sprouts)—the places where you’ll find fiber, B vitamins, vitamin E, magnesium, iron and disease-fighting antioxidants—so you’re not getting any health benefit.
“Processed grains are digested very quickly, resulting in a spike in blood sugar often followed by a drop, which may lead to hunger and irritability,” Spritzler says. Experts agree that whenever possible, substitute refined grains with more nutrient-dense carbohydrates such as fruits, vegetables and whole grains.
Meat
Forbidden by: Macrobiotic (with the exception of fish), raw food, vegan and vegetarian diets
Those following a macrobiotic diet try to balance “yin” (cold, sweet, passive) and “yang” (hot, salty, aggressive) foods, and they believe meat makes the body too yang. Many others reject meat out of consideration for animal welfare, but you can make a strong case against meat based on human health, too. “Research shows that people who eat more red meat may have higher incidences of heart disease and cancer,” says Tammy Lakatos Shames, a dietitian in New York City. Certain cuts of red meat also carry a lot of saturated fat and cholesterol, and meats cooked at a high temperature have been shown to create carcinogens. Plus, you can still get protein and almost all of the nutrients that meat provides from plant sources.
On the flip side, meat can definitely be a part of a healthy diet. Iron from red meat, dark poultry meat and seafood is essential to keep blood stocked with oxygen, warding off fatigue. Vitamin B12, which makes DNA and maintains healthy nerves and blood cells, is only naturally found in animal sources. And of course there is protein, praised for building and repairing muscle and keeping you full. The key with meat is keeping your portion sizes between 3 and 3 1/2 ounces, and choosing lean varieties, Dubost says. For red meat, she recommends 93-percent lean ground beef and cuts with “round” or “eye” in the name.
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New Health Foods -
http://healthyliving.msn.com/nutrition/chia-is-the-new-black-the-trendy-new-health-foods-you-need-to-know-now#5
>>> Chia Seeds
Although this omega-3 rich seed popped in 2012, the chia frenzy has now reached Bieber Fever proportions. Add a tablespoon to virtually any drink, coat tofu with chia and sauté it, or mix a quarter cup with almond milk, vanilla, cinnamon, and dried fruit to create a tapioca pudding-like dessert.
Other Seeds
They're the new nut. And with all the same nutritional benefits (fiber, protein, omega-3s), minus the allergy stigma, what's not to love? Sesame, chia, flax, hemp, pumpkin —sprinkle these babies over cereal, salad, or soup.
Meat cookies
When we first heard about this "healthy" trend our BS detector went off. But it's actually legit. Influenced by the popular paleo diet, companies like Epic Bar are introducing snacks made of a combo of grassfed meat, nuts, seeds, and berries. They're filling and nutritious, while steering clear of processed sugar and grain.
Turmeric
Put down the Advil, and pick up a…turmeric root? This ancient ayurvedic spice is being touted for its anti-inflammatory properties, which makes it a great, natural pain relief option that's also detoxifying. Post-workout, reach for a bottle of Turmeric Alive or blend a 1-inch piece of turmeric into a smoothie or juice.
Pea protein
Meet the latest alternative to whey or soy protein. Pea-based protein is vegan and gluten-free, and has tons of amino acids and iron. Mix a couple of tablespoons into a smoothie, or grab an Alt Bar.
Fresh veggie juice and smoothies
Juicing is still red-hot, whether you swing by a juice bar or pick up a bottled, vitamin-packed raw juice like Suja or Forager Product. You can also make green smoothies at home by blending one part creamy fruit (bananas, mango) with one part leafy greens (kale, spinach) and one part tangy fruit (berries, orange) plus water.
Fermented foods
Instead of swallowing vitamins and supplements, people are trending toward functional whole foods that haven't been artificially fortified with added B vitamins and calcium. Hence, the rise of fermentation: Kimchi (try Zuke), sauerkraut (Farmhouse Culture is yummy), and kombucha contain naturally occurring probiotics.
Grassfed meat
Free-range cows and chickens that chow down on grass are leaner and have more good fats (omega-3s, baby) than those who gorged on grain—even if it's organic.
Raw cacao
A universe away from Hershey's, the granola set is going loco for cacao, which is loaded with antioxidants. Stock up on bars (like Righteously Raw), or blend a tablespoon of cacao powder with a banana, a couple of dates, a cup of water, plus a little cinnamon, nutmeg, and maple syrup for a chocolate shake that's actually good for you.
Milk 3.0
Almond milk and soy milk have been around forever, but now we're seeing a whole new breed made from sunflower seeds, flax, hemp, cashews, you name it. Health food stores often sell fresh versions that are way tastier than the boxed kind, or you can DIY. Blend a quarter cup of nuts or seeds (soak them overnight to soften them up) with a cup of water or coconut water, then strain through cheesecloth or a fine-mesh sieve. If you want to add a little flavor, mix in a half-teaspoon of vanilla, cocoa powder, or honey.
Savory tea
Look out for broth-like teas, such as the Numi Organics Savory Tea line, featuring flavors like beet cabbage, broccoli cilantro, and carrot curry. They have a base of dried organic vegetables, mixed with spices and tea leaves.
Ancient grains
First off, ancient grains sound badass, like something Cleopatra would have eaten. Quinoa was the forerunner, but now other minimally processed, gluten-free grains — amaranth, kamut, millet, sorghum, teff — are gathering steam. You can prepare them as a side dish for a healthier alternative to rice, or check them out in cereal (like Nature's Path Heritage Flakes), crackers, bars (try Udi's Ancient Grain Granola Bars), and breads.
Coconut oil
Olive oil just got its ass kicked. Now, healthies are all about coconut oil, which is packed with good fats and antioxidants, plus gives your immune system a boost. Swap it in for butter or the ol' EVOO to sauté veggies, etc. (Grapeseed and avocado oils are hot now, too.)
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>>> Probiotics - Topic Overview
http://www.webmd.com/digestive-disorders/tc/probiotics-topic-overview
What are probiotics?
Probiotics are bacteria that help maintain the natural balance of organisms (microflora) in the intestines . The normal human digestive tract contains about 400 types of probiotic bacteria that reduce the growth of harmful bacteria and promote a healthy digestive system. The largest group of probiotic bacteria in the intestine is lactic acid bacteria, of which Lactobacillus acidophilus, found in yogurt with live cultures, is the best known. Yeast is also a probiotic substance. Probiotics are also available as dietary supplements.
It has been suggested that probiotics be used to treat problems in the stomach and intestines. But only certain types of bacteria or yeast (called strains) have been shown to work in the digestive tract. It still needs to be proved which probiotics (alone or in combination) work to treat diseases. At this point, even the strains of probiotics that have been proved to work for a specific disease are not widely available.
What are probiotics used for?
Many people use probiotics to prevent diarrhea, gas, and cramping caused by antibiotics. Antibiotics kill "good" (beneficial) bacteria along with the bacteria that cause illness. A decrease in beneficial bacteria may lead to digestive problems. Taking probiotics may help replace the lost beneficial bacteria. This can help prevent diarrhea.
A decrease in beneficial bacteria may also lead to other infections, such as vaginal yeast and urinary tract infections, and symptoms such as diarrhea from intestinal illnesses.
Probiotics may also be used to:
Help with other causes of diarrhea.
Help prevent infections in the digestive tract.
Help control immune response (inflammation), as in inflammatory bowel disease (IBD).
Probiotics are being studied for benefits in colon cancer, skin infections, and irritable bowel syndrome (IBS).
Are probiotics safe?
Most probiotics are like what is already in a person's digestive system. Some probiotics have been used for a very long time throughout history, such as in fermented foods and cultured milk products. These don't appear to cause illness. But more study is needed on the safety of probiotics in young children, the elderly, and people who have weak immune systems.
As with any dietary supplement, be aware that probiotic supplements are regulated as foods, not drugs. Tell your doctor about everything you are taking, including the specific bacteria in your probiotic supplement.
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>>> Are you eating enough protein?
Tips to keep you from selling your muscles short
By The Nutrition Twins
http://healthyliving.msn.com/nutrition/are-you-eating-enough-protein
If you're like many women, your breakfast and lunch tend to be light and you rake in most of your protein at dinner via lean options like chicken or fish. On paper that sounds like a healthy diet plan, but it turns out that loading most of your protein into one sitting may not be getting you the results you're after.
A recent study in the Journal of the American Dietetic Association found that the ideal protein intake for building lean muscle is about 30 grams per meal. Translation: If you aspire to a svelte body like, say, Jessica Biel's, but feel like your hard work isn't yielding the sculpted muscle tone you deserve, you may need to amp up your protein throughout the day.
If any of these typical breakfasts and lunches resemble yours, you're clocking in at anywhere from 12-20 grams of protein per meal and selling your muscles short:
Breakfast
•A bowl of oatmeal (1 cup), made with skim milk (1/2 cup), a handful of blueberries, and slivered almonds (4 Tbsp) = 12 grams
•Nonfat Latte (Starbuck's Tall) and a fruit parfait = 13 grams
Lunch
•A salad with corn, artichokes, beets, feta cheese (1/4 cup) and chickpeas (1/4 cup) = 14 grams of protein
•A peanut butter (2 Tbsp) & jelly sandwich = 12 grams
•A bowl of minestrone (2 cups) and a slice of grain bread = 20 grams
•A veggie burger on a whole grain bun and a side salad = 15 grams
•A California roll (8 pieces), salad with ginger dressing, and 2 steamed shrimp dumplings = 18 grams
So, how can you bump up your protein without necessarily having to swallow more meat? Just add any of the options below to each of your meals, and you'll increase your plate's protein content by as many as 10-20 grams.
Greek Yogurt
It packs nearly twice the protein as regular yogurt, so just 5 ounces will boost your intake by 13-18 grams. Just pop open the container and enjoy the creamy snack right along with any of your favorite breakfast or lunch options.
Eggs
They're one of the simplest ways to pack in protein in the morning. Any style will do, but scrambled and hardboiled are especially quick and easy. Two whole eggs have 150 calories and 14 grams of protein; 4 egg whites have 60 calories and the same 14 grams protein.
Tofu, chicken, and beans
Most salad shops dole out quarter-cup scoops of their ingredients, making it tough to get adequate protein, so just ask for more than one scoop of your favorite protein sources. And don't assume that cheese will do the job! The majority of the calories in most full-fat cheeses come from fat, not protein.
Protein shakes
They're tasty and deliver sustained nutrition and energy, making them an ideal on-the-go snack or light meal. You can make your own blend or buy a healthy ready-made option like Svelte.* All the flavors pack 11 grams of protein and 5 grams of belly-filling fiber, plus they're gluten-free and use non-GMO soymilk.
Roasted soy nuts
Munch on 1/2 cup for a snack or toss them on your salad and you'll boost your protein intake by 17 grams with just 200 calories. Tammy Lakatos Shames and Elysse "Lyssie" Lakatos -- otherwise known as the Nutrition Twins -- are registered dietitians, certified personal trainers, and authors of The Nutrition Twins' Veggie Cure: Expert Advice and Tantalizing Recipes for Health, Energy and Beauty.
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>>> 10 Tasty Protein Shake Recipes
Drink these smoothies for a quick fitness boost and make the most of your workout
By Todd Durkin, M.A., C.S.C.S.
http://www.fitbie.com/eat-right/10-tasty-protein-shake-recipes?ocid=synd_MSN_AreYouEatingEnoughProtein_Blog_10 Tasty Protein Shake Recipes
Use any of these recipes to start your day, fuel up before a workout, or replenish your muscles after you've finished training. In any of the shakes, feel free to add 1 tablespoon of ground flaxseed and go with extra ice or no ice.
1. TD's Quickie
6 ounces water, juice, or almond milk
1 scoop egg white powder or whey protein isolate
6 ice cubes
Shake, stir, or blend, and enjoy!
Is milk really healthy? Learn the truth about liquid dairy.
2. TD's Fat Burner
12 ounces water or unsweetened almond milk
2 scoops egg white powder or whey protein isolate
8 strawberries
1 tablespoon raw almond butter or ground flaxseed
6 ice cubes
Mix in a blender for 30 seconds.
Bust your gut with these 5 ways to burn more fat on exercise machines.
3. TD's Preworkout Shake
8 to 12 ounces water
2 scoops egg white powder or whey protein isolate
1 banana
6 ice cubes
Mix in a blender for 30 seconds.
Discover 26 ways to feed your body for results.
4. TD's Daddy Shake (My kids love it!)
12 ounces fresh orange juice
2 scoops egg white powder or whey protein isolate
1 banana
2 tablespoons almond butter or natural peanut butter
6 ice cubes
Shake, stir, or blend.
Turn comfort food into muscle fuel with these 5 instant upgrades for your diet.
5. TD's Tropical Delight Shake
12 ounces water or orange juice
1 scoop whey protein isolate
1/4 cup each of as many fruits as you can find in the fridge
1 banana
6 ice cubes
Mix in a blender for 30 seconds.
The best isn’t always the prettiest—learn how to pick the best produce.
6. TD's Post-Game/Practice/Workout Recovery Shake
12 ounces water
2 scoops whey protein isolate
Before your event or workout, fill an empty water bottle with protein powder. After your event, add water and shake vigorously for 30 seconds.
How fit are you? Use these 10 simple fitness tests to find out.
7. TD's "Rise and Shine" Breakfast Shake
12 to 16 ounces fresh squeezed orange juice
2 scoops egg white powder or vanilla whey protein powder
1 banana
1/4 cup Greek yogurt
2 teaspoons organic vanilla extract
1 tablespoon ground flaxseed (optional)
1 tablespoon lecithin (optional)
Blend together for 30 seconds.
Fight fat globally—try the world’s most powerful eating strategies.
8. Dr. Chris Mohr's Blueberry Blast
1 cup unsweetened vanilla almond milk
1 frozen banana (peel before freezing)
1/2 cup blueberries
1 scoop unflavored or vanilla protein powder
Mix in a blender for 30 seconds.
Silence a growling stomach with these 5 belly-filling foods.
9. Tropical Breeze
1 cup unsweetened vanilla almond milk
1 cup frozen pineapple
1 teaspoon shredded coconut or coconut milk
1/2 cup frozen blueberries
1 scoop unflavored or vanilla protein powder
Mix in a blender for 30 seconds.
You’ve stocked up on frozen fruit. Now follow these 6 rules for healthier frozen food.
10. Dr. Chris Mohr's Chocolate Chip "Ice Cream"
1 cup unsweetened chocolate almond milk
1 tablespoon natural almond or peanut butter
1 frozen banana (peel before freezing)
1 tablespoon cacao nibs
1 cup raw spinach
1 scoop chocolate protein powder
Dash of red pepper flakes (optional)
Mix in a blender for 30 seconds.
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>>> Top five holiday foods that promote cancer, diabetes, heart disease and premature death
Tuesday, December 10, 2013
by Mike Adams, the Health Ranger
http://www.naturalnews.com/043180_holiday_foods_toxic_ingredients_avoid.html#ixzz2n6wphFuu
(NaturalNews) The holiday food rush is on across the USA, and for the next month, Americans will be stuffing their faces with precisely the kind of disease-promoting foods that will cause them to scream, "Where's my free health care?" in early January.
The conventional media will give you all sorts of stories about which holiday foods are "high calorie" or have too many grams of fat, but it seems no one in the mainstream media is willing to tell you the rest of the story: How to avoid the cancer-causing chemicals, toxic heavy metals, GMOs and artificial ingredients found in holiday foods.
In fact, mainstream magazines like Women's Health are still stuck in the old-school paradigm of recommending angel food cake over pecan pie because the angel food cake, "Has virtually no fat!" Gee, it's almost like riding in a holiday time travel machine back to 1986, when doctors swore that eggs were deadly and partially-hydrogenated vegetable oil would lower cholesterol and reduce heart attacks.
So for those who wish to benefit from cutting-edge nutritional wisdom gleaned from 2013 and not the 1980s, Natural News gives you the real story on what you truly need to avoid. Here's the list:
#1) Artificially colored Christmas cookies
If it's artificially colored, it's bad for you. And when it comes to holiday cookies, cakes, muffins and other treats, Americans have been brainwashed into thinking that Christmas time somehow means all their foods should be inundated with synthetic RED and GREEN dyes.
How do you make a batch of Christmas cookies? You take a regular batch of cookies and you dump a bunch of green food coloring in it. Then you put red sprinkles on top, feed 'em to the kids and watch them all climb the walls while their parents scramble to find their ADHD medication.
#2) Anything made with vegetable shortening
Aside from the fact that vegetable shortening is loaded with trans fats -- recently declared "unsafe for human consumption" by the FDA -- it's also a source of cadmium, a toxic heavy metal with a half life of nearly 30 years in the human body.
Beyond that, nearly all vegetable shortening is made from genetically modified soy, meaning that when you buy foods with vegetable shortening, you are financially rewarding Monsanto.
Virtually all store-bought cookies, pie crusts and other holiday treats are made with vegetable shortening. Check food labels for anything made with "partially-hydrogenated soybean oil" or "vegetable shortening."
#3) Processed meats made with cancer-causing sodium nitrite
Beware of holiday processed meats -- especially the ones that require no refrigeration. Did you ever wonder how they last so long in their plastic packaging without rotting? It's because they're blended with sodium nitrite, a cancer-causing chemical that kills bacteria.
Sodium nitrite increases the risk of leukemia, pancreatic cancer, colon cancer, brain tumors and more. It's found in nearly all holiday season processed meats, including "gift" sausages and other packaged meats.
If you are crazy enough to actually eat some of these meats, make sure you take plenty of vitamin C with it, because vitamin C helps block the formation of cancer-causing nitrosamines from eating sodium nitrite.
#4) Eggnog drinks made with refined sugars
Watch out for holiday eggnog drinks. They will often combine high-fat dairy liquids with liquid sugars. Some don't even contain eggs, and others are made with high-fructose corn syrup (read the labels to avoid).
Interestingly, the healthiest part about eggnog is the spices. Nutmeg and cinnamon, two spices commonly used in traditional eggnog recipes, are both used in Traditional Chinese Medicine, and they both have genuine nutritional value. Unfortunately, most commercial eggnog sold today uses artificial flavors instead of real spices.
If you want to drink eggnog this holiday season, make it yourself! (And don't forget the rum...!)
#5) Stuffing
Check out the ingredients on many commercially-available stuffing products, and you'll find monosodium glutamate.
Yep, many stuffing products are stuffed with MSG, a neurological poison that causes neural cell death. If you stuff your face with stuffing, you're also stuffing your head with an excitotoxin, and that's not good at all, especially considering all the other brain-killing substances people tend to abuse from now through New Year's Eve.
Read labels to make sure you don't buy or consume stuffing made with MSG. Keep your brain cells alive while you got 'em!
Additional warning on Alcohol + Tylenol
There's a lot of drinking that goes on during the holidays, and most people don't realize the extreme danger caused by combining alcohol with Tylenol. It's astonishing that Tylenol is even sold over-the-counter, given how toxic it is to the liver. Taking Tylenol while drinking alcohol can actually cause permanent liver damage and even death.
In fact, earlier this year, Tylenol's manufacturer was forced to warn its customers of the risk of death from using its product. This was the result of a lawsuit involving the death of Tylenol users.
In covering the lawsuit, the San Jose Mercury News even describes Tylenol as, "...the nation's leading cause of sudden liver failure." The paper goes on to say, "Overdoses from acetaminophen send 55,000 to 80,000 people to the emergency room in the U.S. each year and kill at least 500, according the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Food and Drug Administration."
The bottom line? Protect your health this holiday season. Stay away from foods that contain toxins, and don't pop pain pills when you've had alcohol.
If you play it smart, you can enjoy the holiday and still be alive and healthy to see another year
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