News regarding traditional wisdom and native diets regarding nutrition.
Raw Milk: A Key Ingredient in Some of the World’s Finest Cheeses
Based on their vehement warnings to the public, as well as their raids on small farms, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) want you to believe that raw milk is unsafe. And if you listen to them, you would come away believing that raw milk is a filthy, disease-causing beverage that is virtually guaranteed to make you and your family sick… Yet, this very same ingredient – raw milk – is used to make some of the world’s finest cheeses, from the Italian Parmigiano Reggiano to the famous French-made Camembert. The traditional cheese-making process has been crafted over centuries in many cases, and is truly an art form, with each cheese carefully aged and ripened to develop a complex taste and texture that mass-produced cheeses cannot replicate – thanks, in large part, to their raw milk content.
40 Years of Federal Nutrition Research Fatally Flawed
Four decades of nutrition research funded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) may be invalid because the method used to collect the data was seriously flawed, according to a new study by the Arnold School of Public Health at the University of South Carolina. The study, led by Arnold School exercise scientist and epidemiologist Edward Archer, has demonstrated significant limitations in the measurement protocols used in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES). The findings, published in PLOS ONE (The Public Library of Science), reveal that a majority of the nutrition data collected by the NHANES are not "physiologically credible," Archer said. "The nation's major surveillance tool for studying the relationships between nutrition and health is not valid. It is time to stop spending tens of millions of health research dollars collecting invalid data and find more accurate measures," he said.
Why Low-Fat Diets Make You Fat
Governments here and abroad have been cautioning the public for decades on the dangers of high fat diets. Their claims based on "their science" concluded that it's best to avoid fat because of its extra calories - and saturated fats raise the risk of heart disease. You'll still see this on most food pyramids regulated by government policy on diet and nutrition. However, just as mandated healthcare policies fail at the federal level, so do those related to nutrition. This low-fat mantra has been questioned for years by clinicians and nutritional scientists - not least because it has failed to halt the obesity epidemic. The fact is, contrary to official advice by our diet dictocrats, high-fat diets lower blood sugar, improve blood lipids, and reduce obesity.
Sweden Becomes First Western Nation to Reject Low-fat Diet Dogma in Favor of Low-carb High-fat Nutrition
Sweden has become the first Western nation to develop national dietary guidelines that reject the popular low-fat diet dogma in favor of low-carb high-fat nutrition advice. The switch in dietary advice followed the publication of a two-year study by the independent Swedish Council on Health Technology Assessment. The committee reviewed 16,000 studies published through May 31, 2013. The expert committee consisted of ten physicians, and several of them were skeptics to low-carbohydrate diets at the beginning of the investigation. They now conclude that butter, olive oil, heavy cream, and bacon are not harmful foods. Quite the opposite. Fat is the best thing for those who want to lose weight, and there are no connections between a high fat intake and cardiovascular disease.
The Rich Benefits of Eating Chocolate
Science now shows that chocolate may be good for you. Five chemical compounds contained in raw, unadulterated chocolate are highlighted to show exactly what they are and how they work. First, antioxidant polyphenols that neutralize free radicals provide some of the most compelling aspects of eating chocolate because they can reduce processes associated with the development of diseases like Alzheimer’s, heart disease and cancer. Second, chocolate contains anandamide, named after the Sanscrit word for “bliss,” which is a neurotransmitter in the brain that temporarily blocks feelings of pain and anxiety. The caffeine and theobromine in chocolate have been shown to produce higher levels of physical energy and mental alertness while, counter-intuitively, lowering blood pressure in women. Chocolate’s heart-friendly properties may be due to the presence of epicatechins, antioxidants which are found in higher concentrations in darker and raw forms. Studies showed that one-and-a-half ounces of dark chocolate a day for 2 weeks reduced stress hormone levels.
Online Delivery Service of Grass-fed Meats and non-GMO Tested Food Offers Free Shipping Promotion
The Healthy Buyer's Club, an online service of Tropical Traditions, is offering free ground shipping on most of their products to all of its members through Monday October 14th. This first-ever promotion was announced Friday. The Healthy Buyer's Club was developed by Tropical Traditions in 2006 to fill a need in the market for those wanting to purchase healthy products produced by traditional methods that are seldom found on the shelves of grocery stores, or most even health food stores, but lived too far from rural areas where such food is produced and where they could purchase directly from the farms. CEO Brian Shilhavy recently announced that the Healthy Buyer's Club of Tropical Traditions was developing their own labeling certificates that will clearly define the standards of theit products offered. Current certificates and seals printed on labels can be very misleading to the consumer, as the USDA Organic Program continues to be dominated by large corporations seeking to water down the organic standards to allow more commodity food to capitalize on the growing organic food market. Likewise, in the absence of any standards for GMO labeling, private organizations have come up with non-GMO verified and certification seals that lead one to believe that the products are completely free of GMO contamination. Read More.
Why Bananas Are Good For Weight Loss and Immunity
The misinformation about bananas on the internet is fairly extensive, especially relating to weight loss. There are some people out there actually trying to convince audiences that bananas are as bad to consume as cookies and french fries...I kid you not. If we look at the facts on bananas, we find a fruit with a low glycemic index, high in fiber and full of vitamins. They are one of the most nutritious and natural foods that help promote weight loss and help enhance immunity.
10 Health Benefits of Pumpkin Seeds
Pumpkin seeds are nutritional powerhouses wrapped up in a very small package, with a wide variety of nutrients ranging from magnesium and manganese to copper, protein and zinc. They contain a wide array of beneficial plant compounds known as phytosterols and free-radical scavenging antioxidants, which can give your health an added boost. Pumpkin seeds may benefit your heart, liver and immune system, help fight diabetes, and offer unique benefits for men’s prostate health and women’s relief of menopause symptoms as well.
Europeans and Canadians Enjoy Antibiotic-Free Organic Apples and Pears, but Not in the U.S.
Americans may never taste an organic apple or pear that hasn’t been sprayed with antibiotics unless the NOSB sticks to its plan to forbid streptomycin on all organic fruits after October 2014. Organic food should not contain synthetic substances, and most of it doesn’t—with the exception of apples and pears. Organic apple and pear trees are sprayed with streptomycin and oxytetracycline to prevent “fire blight,” so named because the tree appears to be burned. In 2011, the National Organic Standards Board (NOSB, the decision-making body behind the federal organic standards), voted to prohibit antibiotics after October 2014. But growers have now petitioned NOSB for more time, so NOSB may delay the sunset date until 2016, unnecessarily exposing both orchards and consumers to streptomycin for at least two additional years.
Too Little Salt in the Diet, NOT Too Much, Associated with Higher Risk of Heart Disease
Salt is the second major constituent in our body, next to water. We need adequate amounts of good salt in our diet to run hundreds of different biochemical pathways. We have been conditioned to think that we should eat less salt. The powers-that-be routinely release edicts stating that we need to eat less salt in order to be healthier and have less hypertension. However, this is just not true. Eating less salt will not make us healthier and not lower the risk for hypertension. A new study shows that lower salt consumption actually results in higher rates of hypertension.
The Devastating Consequences of Replacing Butter with Margarine in Our Diet
The Diet Dictocrats told us to drop butter decades ago and switch to a so-called healthier substitute called margarine made with what they claimed would be less harmful polyunsaturated fats. Their promise was it would prevent disease. People around the globe questioned this advice, especially those who have valued butter for its life-sustaining properties for millennia. Today we know that butter is light years healthier than margarine ever could be. It's a lesson to never go against the wisdom of our ancestors and always distrust corporate and malicious propaganda designed to generate profits not health.
Bill Gates Funded Egg Replacement Product Made from GMO Plants Appears at Whole Foods
It was announced this past week in the in several media sources that a new plant-based egg replacement product funded by Bill Gates and Paypal billionaire Peter Thiel was being launched at some Whole Foods stores in California. The product is advertised as "GMO free", but is made mostly from canola oil. Is this really a healthy food? Why do so many health food stores and "health products" manufacturers use canola oil, and why is this product considered healthy? What power do we as consumers have to affect the choices of foods available in the market place? Read More.
Dramatic Time Lapse Photos Show Woman Losing 88 Lbs. on High-fat Low-carb Ketogenic Diet
A time-lapse GIF of a 26-year-old woman's dramatic weight loss has gone viral. The clip shows the woman's 88-pound transformation in the space of just five seconds. Amanda - who wishes for her last name to remain a secret - started taking pictures of herself in 2011, to help her stay on track during her weight loss journey. Amanda started weighing 222 pounds. She lost 88 pounds following the ketogenic diet. Learn more about the Ketogenic Diet.
Is Liquid Coconut Oil that stays Liquid in Your Refrigerator Real Coconut Oil?
A "new" product has been appearing on store shelves recently and being marketed as "Liquid Coconut Oil" for cooking and baking. The product stays liquid, even in your refrigerator. Is this real coconut oil? No. So what is this product, and why does it stay liquid at lower temperatures? Liquid coconut oil has been traditionally called "fractionated coconut oil" because it has been manufactured to remove most of the saturated fatty acids, including lauric acid, the most famous and most valuable fatty acid in coconut oil. Outside of coconut oil, lauric acid is only found in abundance in human breast milk. So what do you have when you take lauric acid out of real coconut oil? You have an ordinary oil that is missing the most unique feature coconut oil is known for, lauric acid. Lauric acid is 50% of real coconut oil, and 0% of liquid coconut oil. Liquid coconut oil is some combination of capric and caprylic acid, medium chain fatty acids found in abundance in other places in nature, such as goat's milk, which is where it got its name from, from oleic acid which is in abundance in olive oil, and from linoleic acid which is found in many vegetable oils, such as soy and corn. These fatty acids are not as heat stable, and therefore it may be dangerous to cook with "liquid coconut oil." So should we really be calling a manufactured liquid oil byproduct with no lauric acid "coconut oil?"
The Humble Pear Is Packed With Phytonutrients Providing Antioxidant Protection Against Several Diseases
Pears are a powerhouse of phytonutrients called flavonols. While pears are not an unusual source of conventional antioxidant or anti-inflammatory nutrients, the phytonutrient category is where this fruit excels. In one study, pears received one of the highest scores when it came to these health-promoting nutrients, which provide antioxidant protection against a variety of diseases.
What if Beer Companies Told the Truth?
If beer companies actually told us what was in their products, would some of their labels say, “Brewed with pure Rocky Mountain spring water, GMO corn syrup, and fish bladder”? If you like to kick back now and then with a cold one, you may not have given much thought to what’s in the bottle or can. Rather than containing the pristine mountain spring water and healthy barley swaying in the breeze that we are shown in advertisements, the list of real beer ingredients is far less appetizing. But you’re unlikely to see any of these industrial-sounding ingredients on a label, because listing ingredients in beer is voluntary.
Food Irradiation Supports Agribusiness, Harms Health
Agribusiness is polluting and destroying the food on which we depend . Irradiation destroys nutrients and creates poisons. Despite claims, it’s largely hidden from us. It exists for the benefit of Agribiz, not for our health.
Coffee Good for Mental Health and Reduces Suicide Risk, Study Finds
A meta-analysis of more than 208,000 people found that drinking two to four cups of caffeinated coffee daily was associated with a 50 percent reduced suicide risk among adults. Caffeine promotes production of the neurotransmitters serotonin, dopamine and noradrenaline. It also triggers the release of Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor (BDNF), which activates brain stem cells to convert into new neurons. Recent research also suggests that low BDNF levels may play a significant role in depression, and that increasing neurogenesis has an antidepressant effect, which may help account for the reduction in suicide risk.
State Threatens To Seize Infant Who was Fed Goat’s Milk Instead of Approved GMO Soy Formula
A young mother in Maine is being threatened by the Department of Health and Human Services to have her infant child taken away and put into foster care. Her crime? Feeding him goat's milk instead of commercial infant formula. Alorah Gellerson was not able to breast feed her child, so she developed a formula of goat's milk that included celery juice, and reports that the child loved it, and "grew like a weed." The young mother made a huge mistake, however. She told her pediatrician about the formula. The doctor turned her in to the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS), which resulted in home visits, an overnight stay in the hospital, a directive to buy "approved" commercial infant formula (most of which contain GMOs and soy) and threats to remove the baby and place him into foster care.
The Remarkable Healing Properties of Pumpkin Seed
Pumpkin seeds, like all edible seeds, pack an immense nutritional and medicinal punch. After all, they contain future worlds within their compact structure. In order to prepare their "babies" for survival outside the pumpkin, Nature equips these seeds with an extremely dense source of organically-bound nutrients, including exceptionally high levels of key, health-promoting minerals. Recent scientific investigations have revealed that pumpkin seed meal, as well as its pressed oil, may have great value in alleviating the following conditions: