Friday fat facts - Avocado

The avocado has been called the fertility fruit, owing to its high vitamin E content. But avocados are also good for the skin, eyes, the heart, brain and liver, among their many attributes. Like coconuts, avocados are full of fats, healthy fats! Avocados contain monounsaturated fats that help boost good cholesterol (HDL) and lower bad cholesterol (LDL). There are 10 grams of fiber in one avocado, and they contain both soluble and insoluble fiber, in a ratio of 1:3. Soluble fiber is the one that makes you feel full and insoluble fiber speeds up the passage of foods in the digestive tract.

Some of the benefits of avocados are that they: 

• contain beneficial fats, vitamins, and phytochemicals, which work in combination to support heart health
• contain high levels of the carotenoid nutrient, lutein, which protects eyes from age-related macular degeneration and the skin from the wrinkles and pigment changes caused by sun damage
• stimulate menstrual flow
• promote hair growth and speeds wound healing
• are good for the nerves, fatigue, hypoglycemia, and urinary tract infections.

For a fruit, avocados are high in protein, which combines with the vitamin C, B vitamins, and copper to support the production of collagen, the substance from which all body tissues are made. Collagen is vital for skin, bone, and muscle rejuvenation, and helps reduce wrinkles too. They are also a good source of potassium and vitamin D. Avocados also contain chemicals that might repair cartilage in joints damaged by osteoarthritis.

Avocado oil

Some of the oils in avocado are used to treat osteoarthritis. Applied directly to the skin, avocado oil soothes and heals the skin, treats gum infections and arthritis. Avocado oil is used in combination with vitamin B12 to heal psoriasis.

Ripeness

The fruit should yield to gentle pressure without denting. If it dents, it is overripe. To ripen avocados, leave them at room temperature. Unripe avocados left in the refrigerator will never ripen. To prevent the flesh from discolouring once it is cut open, store it with a half a lemon or sprinkle lemon or lime juice on the exposed surface.

The texture of avocados makes them perfect for making healthy puddings. If mixed with other fruits, the fat content of the avocado will slow down the release of sugars from the fruits, making it even more beneficial.

I think you’ll agree, this is one amazing fruit!

Yogurt – a superfood, sometimes...

Now I dislike being a naysayer of a food that is supposed to be good for you but it is important not be fooled thinking you are eating something good for you that isn’t. Yogurt is a prime example. Your run-of-the-mill store bought yogurt isn’t as healthy as you might think. The reason yogurt is touted as health-promoting is due to the fermentation process which allows the probiotic cultures to be established. But many store-bought yogurts do not allow this much time. They also contain loads of sugar and other additives which detract from the health-giving qualities of yogurt. Many popular brands are just junk foods in disguise.

Most commercial yogurts are not fermented long enough. An hour or less is standard. Thickening agents are sometimes added to give yogurt the appearance and texture of yogurt that has been fermented for much longer. Yogurt made on a small dairy farm or in your own kitchen would be allowed to ferment for a full 24 hours to allow the majority of the lactose to be used up and sufficient strength of probiotic cultures to become established.

What is yogurt?

Plain yogurt is milk (of any kind) that has been thickened by bacteria growing in it. This bacteria is beneficial to human health because it provides an optimal environment in the gut for digestion. These bacteria produce lactase, an enzyme that breaks down the natural milk sugar, lactose, producing lactic acid, which curdles the milk and gives yogurt its tart flavour. These bacteria also protect yogurt from harmful pathogenic micro-organisms, giving it a longer shelf life.

Why eat yogurt?

Our digestive system needs bacteria to function properly. We need beneficial bacteria to eat up the harmful bacteria. Lactobacillus acidophilus is the one of the key beneficial bacteria that grows in yogurt. Yogurt has many, many health benefits. Following are but a few of these:

• Helps prevent diarrhea and yeast infections
• Provides 30-45 % of the daily requirement for calcium
• Has more digestible protein than milk
• High in potassium
• Fights infections by boosting the immune system and by killing harmful bacteria
• Helps prevent colon cancer

Yogurt bacteria can slow the growth of harmful bacteria by as much as 75 per cent. The bacteria contained in active yogurt cultures can suppress the growth of deadly cancer cells. But these effects are only found in fresh yogurts.

What to look for when buying yogurt

Be sure to choose yogurt that contains live bacteria and that does not contain added sugars, preservatives, or thickeners. Heat destroys the bacteria as does freezing. If the label says “active live cultures”, "living yogurt cultures", or "contains active cultures", that is the best one to buy. If yogurt is advertised as low fat and sugar-free, it may contain flavourings, stabilizers, and other added chemicals. Plain low-fat yogurt is the healthiest and most digestible form. Try to purchase yogurt that has an expiry date at least ten days ahead.

I am fortunate enough to get my yogurt from a local producer. Pinehedge Farms, located in Eugene, Ontario, make yogurt the old-fashioned way. It is not homogenized and is fermented right in the bottle. When you open the lid, there is a thick layer of sour cream on top. There are only two ingredients: whole milk and live bacterial cultures. Next to making your own home-made yogurt, Pinehedge or other locally made yogurts are the best way to ensure healthy, organic products and support your local farmers.

Exercise - How much is enough?

How much exercise should we be getting?

Ever see those ads on the Internet that say “This kind of exercise ages you”, or “Too much of that kind of exercise is bad for you?”. Or how about this one: “Too much exercise can cause aging”? I’ll be honest, these headlines drive me crazy. While there is a grain of truth in the statements, I believe they are propagated to make the couch potatoes feel better. That being said, there are plenty of people who dislike exercise who might be interested in knowing how much is enough.

Enough for what?

It all comes down to your goal(s). How much exercise is enough to improve your disposition? To prevent disease and degeneration of the body? To slow the aging process? To be fit (whatever that means to you)? To improve your 5 k time? To lift more weight than you ever have? To be an athlete?

How much is enough?

Researchers in Scotland have determined that a mere 20 minutes of exercise a week of any physical activity improved the dispositions of those doing the exercise. So if improving your disposition is your goal, your job is easy: 20 minutes a week. That’s 3 minutes a day, 2 on Sunday. That sounds a little bit ridiculous to me since it would be very difficult to function without doing that much exercise.

In the 70s and 80s, exercise guidelines aimed at athleticism. The American College of Sports Medicine and other groups recommended that people engage in prolonged, uninterrupted, vigorous activity for an hour or more, several times a week. They said that people should run, swim or bicycle, the harder and more frequently, the better.

By the 1990s, formal exercise recommendations had bowed to a softer generation. Experts suggested that less vigorous exercise might be sufficient. (Which again begs the question, sufficient for what?). The recommendation became 30 minutes or more of moderate intensity physical activity daily, or almost daily.

Since these guidelines were not based on science, in the mid-2000s, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services undertook the task of scrutinizing decades of studies about the benefits and risks of exercise and then formulated new guidelines based on their findings. Despite inconsistent findings about how much and how strenuous exercise had to be to confer disease-fighting benefits, they did reach a consensus about how much exercise was needed for “health purposes”. I read this to mean disease prevention and hence, a longer life expectancy. They found that you should walk or otherwise work out lightly for 150 minutes (that’s 2.5 hours, or 21 minutes a day) a week in order to improve your health.

All at once, or in sessions throughout the day?

It doesn’t seem to matter how the exercise is broken up. For example, you could jog for 21 minutes a day, or in three 7-minute sessions. The science says that this amount of exercise will lower your resting heart rate, increase your endurance, and result in weight loss. In an interesting test using lab rats, it was demonstrated that swimming leisurely for 3 hours was equivalent to swimming at a vigorous pace for 45 minutes, in that both resulted in significant improvements in their bodies’ ability to regulate blood sugar, a key measure of health.

This last finding I can attest to personally. Not so much the 3 hours specifically, but the ability for endurance exercise to impact blood sugar levels. As someone who is addicted to sugar, I know that regular, prolonged, vigorous exercise has prevented the over-consumption of sugar to adversely affect my blood sugar levels. Blood test results confirm my perceptions that my blood sugar levels are not out of whack. [As a side note, although I have cut down my intake of sugar significantly over the past 5 years or so, I have not cut it out completely. Despite having blood sugar levels in the normal range, I try to limit sugar as much as possible for other health reasons.]

So there you have it: twenty minutes a day is the bare minimum, if your goal is general health and disease prevention. For many, the hard part when it comes to exercise, is getting started. Once you start, 20 minutes will pass quickly and you may find yourself becoming motivated to keep increasing. Maybe your goals will change too. As your goals change, you will find that the time you invest in exercise pays more dividends than you could have imagined. If you have found the type of exercise that suits your preference, then you can start to think about increasing frequency, time, and intensity. For fun and for life!

Friday fat facts – Hemp oil

Hemp oil and flax oil share a common history. Two of the oldest known plants to be grown by humanity, they were both cultivated for their fiber and for the nutrients contained in their seeds. It may sound strange but in both cases the fiber from these seeds was used to make fabric – linen from flax and canvas from hemp. But they also contain fiber that can be ingested for good health. The seeds and oils of flax and hemp provide a rich source of nutrients.

Hemp seeds contain about 3% soluble fiber and 27% insoluble fiber. They are high in protein containing 11 grams per 30 gram serving.

Environmentally friendly

Hemp roots draw minerals buried deep in the soil up to the surface, a process that enriches the soils on which they grow. Hemp requires very little fertilizer. It also doesn’t require pesticide because most pests leave it alone. For this reason, some people plant hemp together with other vegetables like cabbage to protect them from pests.

Hemp is one of the fastest growing plants in existence. Environmentalists recommend using it to help reverse the ‘greenhouse effect’ resulting from carbon dioxide released by the massive burning of fossil fuels. Hemp turns CO2 into oxygen and fiber more quickly than almost any other green plants.

Hemp seed oil

There is one drawback to hemp seed oil and that is that it is more difficult to make than flax oil because it is much harder on machinery. But hemp seed oil is one of nature’s most well-balanced essential fatty acid oils. It contains both EFAs in proportions suitable for long-term use, and contains GLA. You’ll remember from the post about flax that the two EFAs are linoleic acid, LA and alpha-linonenic acid, ALA.

Hemp seed oil can be used over the long term to maintain a healthy balance of EFAs. It contains a better balance of omega-3 to omega-6 than flax oil, in a ratio  of 3:1.

Uses

Hemp seed oil tastes like sunflower oil. Taking the oil straight, I prefer the taste over flax oil, which is tolerable but not tasty. Hemp seed oil can be used for salad dressings and other uses except frying. It should be kept refrigerated or frozen to prevent deterioration, and must be protected from light and oxygen to prevent rancidity.

Availability

Here’s the kicker: hemp is illegal to grow in the USA and until recently was illegal in Canada as well. But hemp oil, hemp seeds, hemp fiber, cloth and rope are all legal. Canada has changed its laws to allow for the cultivation of industrial hemp. Examples of Canadian sources of hemp include Mahem which sells Pride of Lanark hemp products, Manitoba Harvest, Rocky Mountain and Nutiva. And don't worry, hemp seed will not make you high. Hemp seeds and oil contain very small amounts of THC - the drug component that is present in marijuana - unless the seeds have been contaminated. Contamination can be prevented by growing locally, where one can dry, clean and monitor the processing.

Consider incorporating hemp seed oil or hemp seeds into your diet for health and longevity... and the good of the planet.

Allergy is disease

I was at a BBQ the other day where there were lots of kids. One of the kids had eczema on his cheek. It was very tempting to tell the mother that her son likely had a food allergy. Eczema can be exacerbated by certain fabrics or cleaning products, but it is not caused by them. This encounter made me realize that many people may not know when they or their children are exhibiting signs of allergy.

To paraphrase Lucretius circa 99 B.C., “One man’s food is another man’s poison.” Insert woman and the same holds true. This truth lies at the very core of holistic nutrition, which is fundamentally oriented towards the individual. It is also at the core of what makes so many people sick: allergies! Foods that are good for the many, may be quite harmful to the few.

Definition

The definition of allergy has changed over the course of the twentieth century, but the most recently accepted definition is simply altered reactivity. An allergen is any substance capable of initiating an allergic reaction. The body recognizes the substance as foreign and induces an immune response with the production of antibodies. The body produces antibodies to counteract the effects of the allergen.

The distinction between food allergy, food intolerance and food sensitivity is mainly in proving the involvement of the immune system. The symptoms may be identical. The most accepted diagnostic test for allergy, the elimination diet and subsequent reintroduction of suspected substances, does not differentiate between the two terms, allergy and intolerance. "Food sensitivity" is simply a catchall term for food allergy, food intolerance and other adverse reactions to food.

Healing

There are numerous drugs on the market to help people deal with allergies, the most common being antihistamines and amphetamine-like products. But using drugs to manage and control allergy does not get you well. It simply masks the symptoms. Yet many people have become well by using alternative methods which promote the body’s natural healing response and help to remove conditions in the body which are stressing the immune system.

Allergic reactions to foods and environmental chemicals:

Neurological symptoms

• Amnesia
• Apathy
• Aphasia
• Blackouts
• Coma
• Delusions
• Depression
• Disorientation
• Dizziness
• Emotional instability
• Epilepsy
• Fainting
• Fatigue
• Feeling of indecision
• Hallucinations
• Headache
• Hyperactivity
• Impaired comprehension
• Impaired coordination
• Insomnia
• Irritability
• Lethargy
• Melancholy
• Mental lapses
• Moodiness
• Nervousness
• Neuralgia
• Paranoid thinking
• Stammering
• Violent behaviour
• Withdrawal

Joint Symptoms

• Arthralgia
• Arthritis
• Swollen ankles

Circulatory Symptoms

• Anemia
• Angina pectoris
• Chest pain
• Edema
• Hypertension
• Irregular pulse
• Phlebitis

Other Symptoms

• Bed-wetting
• Cataracts
• Diabetes
• Failure to thrive (in infants)
• Fever
• Hoarseness
• Low blood sugar
• Multiple sclerosis
• Obesity
• Otitis media
• Swelling around the eyes
• Tinnitus

In addition to the lists mentioned, there are numerous gastrointestinal symptoms, skin symptoms, muscle-skeletal symptoms, and hormonal symptoms that can be brought on by allergy. I include this long list of specific symptoms to point out some complaints that, maybe surprisingly, are likely connected to allergy.

Any symptom or condition, anywhere in the body, at any time, can be allergy, particularly when that symptom cannot be explained in other terms. Very often with food allergy, the reaction is not immediate making it difficult to associate the response to the food you ate. But it is evident that symptoms like PMS, epilepsy, bloody diarrhea, backache, and swollen joints can be produced by common everyday foods.

Foods can harm and foods can heal. Our job is to find the right ones for our own individual health. It is up to each one of us to learn what our body needs. Staying healthy means giving our body what it needs and not negatively interfering with it. This could mean we have to make changes to our lifestyle, diet or beliefs. Disease, allergy included, is very often the result of a lifetime of destructive habits. Because the body is self-healing, the power to be healthy is within you! Make a change and feel the change – feel better!

Sunshine vitamin

The sunshine vitamin has been one of the most controversial vitamins of recent times. The primary reason for this relates to questions of deficiency and toxicity. Or, simply put, how much is too much?

What is it?

Vitamin D is a fat-soluble vitamin which has variants which are sterol (cholesterol-like) substances. No vitamin requires more whole-body participation that vitamin D. The skin, bloodstream, liver, and kidneys all contribute to the formation of fully active vitamin D. The process starts with the skin cells and sunlight. Vitamin D is known as the sunshine vitamin because it is actually manufactured in the human skin when in contact with the ultraviolet light in the sun’s rays. Calcitriol, also known as vitamin D3, is considered by many researchers to be the only truly active form of vitamin D. Winter, cloud cover, smog, and darkly pigmented skin reduce the body’s production of vitamin D.

Functions

Vitamin D works with the parathyroid hormone for calcium metabolism. Functionally, vitamin D works like a hormone and it is closely related structurally to the body hormones estrogen and cortisone.  It is produced in one part of the body to affect the bones; in fact, vitamin D regulates bone formation. The parathyroid produces active vitamin D3 when the body needs it. If vitamin D is low, blood levels of calcium and phosphorus decrease, and the body pulls these minerals from the bones, potentially leading to demineralized, weak bones.

Although it may function and have a structure similar to a hormone, it is nevertheless a vitamin. The reason this is important is that knowing what something is has consequences for its intake requirements and how it works in the body. Attempts to promote Vitamin D nutrition are hindered by alarmist responses justifiably associated with the widespread administration of any hormone. Vitamin D is a vitamin in the truest sense of the word, because insufficient amounts in the diet may cause deficiency diseases.

Deficiency 

Vitamin D deficiency has been associated with chronic pain, chronic kidney disease, Crohn’s disease, hyperparathyroidism, osteoporosis, osteomalacia, and rickets. Myopia and loss of hearing may develop from vitamin D deficiency because of the vitamin’s influence on eye muscles and from loss of calcium in the ear bones. One of the current theories of multiple sclerosis is that it may be influenced by low vitamin D levels in puberty.

New research at the University of Calgary has concluded that virtually all Canadians are vitamin D deficient during some part of the year when sunlight exposure is scarce.

Supplementation

Supplementing vitamin D improves calcium absorption and reduces bone loss. The skin absorbs the highest levels of vitamin D through prolonged sun exposure before the body has adapted through pigmentation (tanning), which protects the deeper layers where the vitamin D is synthesized. In other words, the darker your natural skin colour, the more time you  need to spend in the sun to get sufficient amounts of vitamin D.

Requirements

The Vitamin D Council recommends 5000 IU daily for adults, 1000 IU for children. Get you blood levels checked. Ask for a copy of your blood report. The Vitamin D Society says we should strive to maintain between 100 and 150 nmol/L in our blood.

Inversion

Many years ago when I was teaching karate class, every once in a while, I would get the students to stand on their heads or do handstands against a wall. At the time, I thought it was a good idea for everyone to experience being upside down and to practice controlling their body in an inverted position. I also wanted to keep things interesting and just have fun. Beyond that I didn’t have a concrete reason for asking them to do this. They seemed to enjoy it, especially the younger ones.

Over the years, I have continued to throw upside down movements into the workouts. Usually, wall handstands and handstand pushups. One day, an inquisitive student asked me why we did this sort of thing. I said it was always good to mix things up and put your body into unusual positions. (I used different language but that was the gist of my answer). I knew this intuitively but I knew the answer was far from complete. So I decided to investigate further into the health benefits of inversion. As it turns out there are many.

There are many advanced physical skills that can be done on the hands. Some require an incredible degree of straight arm strength, and some require an incredible degree of bent-arm strength, and all require simply insane core strength. But, as with any physical skill, there are steps, or progressions, to getting there. What you cannot accomplish today, you can definitely accomplish if you set your mind to it and put in the required time and effort. But, of course, you will never get there without first experiencing the feeling of being upside down. It takes your nervous system time to adjust. The pike position, or downward dog as they call it in yoga practice, is a good first step.

When I was practicing the headstand with Agatsu (aka Masters of Movement) this winter, the instructor was telling me to pull in my ribs. I was upside down and I was completely bewildered by what she was asking me to do. I had no idea how to pull in my ribs – because I was inverted! It what so strange. I mention this only to point out that it really can be discombobulating. Putting yourself in this position more often makes it feel less foreign. 

So what are the health benefits? In addition to the proprioception aspect – what is where and doing what? – there are numerous advantages including:

• Improving circulation – Gravity draws more blood and oxygen to the brain, improving blood flow and overall mental functioning
• Better skin – Reversing gravity flushes nutrients and oxygen to the face, stimulates capillaries and hair follicles of the scalp, and helps remove visual signs of toxicity and giving your face a break from the downward pull of gravity that it is used to. The result is a healthy glow.
• Increasing immunity – Inversion increases immunity by assisting the lymphatic system. The lymphatic system doesn’t have its own pump so it needs body movement to allow it to circulate throughout the body picking up toxins and bacteria which are eliminated by the lymph nodes. Gravity can assist this process allowing lymph to travel more easily into the respiratory system where much of the environmental toxins enter the body.
• Improving mood – Inversions flush the adrenal glands stimulating the release of neurotransmitters and endorphins that boost your mood, potentially counteracting depression.
• Aiding digestion – Inversion can assist the stool to move through the ascending colon with the pull of gravity. The pressure of the stool against the intestinal wall encourages the natural muscular contractions of the digestive tract to complete the digestive process.
• Energizing – Headstands and handstands tend to revitalize us by getting more blood flowing to the brain.
• Relaxing – Some positions energize, others calm the nervous system. Yoga poses like shoulder stand and legs up the wall, for instance. Inversions stimulate the parasympathetic nervous system, which produces feelings of relaxation and calmness.
• Improving balance – This one is huge! Balancing while upside is challenging.
• Improving core strength – The core is what allows the legs to be raised up past the hip height and to be held there in mid-air.

There are some people who should not practice inversions. If you have glaucoma, high or low blood pressure, epilepsy, heart conditions, hernias, back pain, headaches, diarrhea or asthma, you should avoid inversion. If you are cleared to do inversion, by all means do so. Get in touch with your inner child and see things from a new perspective. Find a wall and enough space to kick up your feet and get upside. Or begin by doing shoulder pushups and plow (lying on your back, push your hips up and your legs over your head, either toward the ceiling or to the floor behind your head). Try it, you’ll like it!

Food additives

Did you know the average North American consumes 11 pounds of food additives as preservatives, food colouring, bleaches, artificial flavouring, emulsifiers, and stabilizers.  Over 200,000 tons of chemicals additives are added to food each year, or about 10 pounds per person. Food colouring is added to make food look good, make us feel good, and make food last longer. But it isn't good for us. In fact, many are not coping well with the level of chemical bombardment we are dealing with today.

Tartrazine, which is added to soft drinks to colour them yellow/orange, has been linked to hyperactivity in children. Studies have shown that tartrazine increases the amount of zinc excreted in the urine. Scientists believe the chemical binds to zinc in the blood and prevents it from being used by the body. Emotional and behavioural changes have been observed in children who drank drinks containing tartrazine. Tartrazine is an anti-nutrient, which means it interferes with the absorption of nutrients.

There are a few that are good for you. These colours are associated with specific vitamins and are not harmful:

• E101 - Vitamin B2
• E160 – Carotene, vitamin A
• Antioxidants E300-304 – vitamin C
• E306-309 – tocopherols, like vitamin E
• The emulsifier E322 – lecithin
• Stabilizers E375 – niacin
• E440 – pectin

Avoid all other additives!

Another culprit is MSG. Monosodium glutamate is a form of glutamic acid, an amino acid that occurs naturally in food and is also made in the body. MSG is often used as a flavour enhancer. Recent research suggests that too much MSG causes excessive brain-cell excitation which can lead to cell death. This could play a role in neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, and Huntingdon’s. Excess MSG can cause reactions such as difficulty concentrating, extreme mood swings, and depression. Glutamate's role in these symptoms remains controversial.

If you react to MSG, it is best to avoid it entirely. Even if you don’t, it is recommended that you keep intake as low as possible. Eating a diet of mainly whole foods such as fresh fruit and vegetables, legumes, whole grains, and high-quality proteins will mean that you are already avoiding added MSG.

There are over 40 food ingredients besides monosodium glutamate that contain processed free glutamic acid (MSG). So when you are reading food labels, it is helpful to know what names these ingredients are known as:

• autolyzed yeast,
• maltdextrin,
• hydrolyzed pea protein
• sodium caseinate
• monopotassium glutamate
• calcium caseinate

Some acids and enzymes when combined with a food that contains protein will produce MSG. The words “enzyme” and “protease” (a type of enzyme) indicate the presence of enzymes capable of causing the production of MSG. These can also occur in organic products.

People who are sensitive to processed free glutamic acid (MSG), or those who simply would choose to avoid ingestion of toxic amino acids, need to know that there are two other neurotoxic amino acids commonly used in food: aspartic acid and L-cysteine. Aspartic acid is found in the sugar substitutes called "neotame", "aspartame", “AminoSweet”, "NutraSweet" and "Equal."  L-cysteine is identified as L-cysteine and is most often found in dough conditioners.

The big three toxic additives to avoid are: tartrazine and other food colours, MSG in its many guises, and aspartame. And of course pesticides. These toxins pose an even greater risk to children because of their size and developing systems. While it is virtually impossible to completely eliminate all chemicals form your food and your children's food, it is quite possible to minimize their exposure considerably. Read labels and avoid anything that is too long or difficult to pronounce. Buy organic. And of course, buy most of your food from fresh, live sources and minimize the amount of packaged processed food you allow into your home.

Sunshine for health and longevity

The nice weather we’ve been having means people are being drawn outside to enjoy the sun, which brings up the whole question of sunscreen. I do not wear commercial sunscreen but I know people who wear it like paint. One fellow we rode with last summer literally looked like he was on the war path not the bicycle path. When we told him that sunscreen is toxic and sunshine is healthy, he said the skin acts a barrier! In other words, you can put crap on your skin and your skin will protect you from the toxins. This is so far from the truth it is scary.

Whatever you put on your skin, is going in your body unless the particles are too large to penetrate the skin. Otherwise, the skin absorbs whatever you put on it. If you wouldn’t ingest something, then you shouldn’t put it on your skin!

It is important to expose the skin of your entire body to sun. Ideally, we should sunbathe for fifteen minutes in the morning with four hours after sunrise, or in the late afternoon or evening, within four hours of sunset, increasing this amount gradually. If you are prone to burn, do not exceed fifteen minutes. The sun does not cause cancer; sunblock causes cancer. The ingredients in sunblock are now strongly believed to be the number one cause of skin cancer. Statistics show that the people who use the most sunblock have the highest rates of skin cancer. There is no skin cancer in Africa. People are out in the sun all day long and they don’t wear sunscreen. It is not because of the pigment of the skin; Americans of African heritage have the highest rate of skin cancer, and they have very low sun exposure.

Avoidance of sun exposure is a risk factor for all-cause mortality. It is possible that the root cause is lack of vitamin D. The sun does not cause skin cancer; it is needed for life. If you do not spend time in the sun, you will get sick. The human body needs sunlight to function at optimal levels. Without sunlight, a whole host of diseases develop including depression, low energy, poor sleep, poor digestion, weight gain, arthritis, constipation, bad breath, body odour, cancer, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, diabetes, attention deficit disorder, stress, headaches, lower immunity, PMS, anxiety, and the list goes on. The sun can prevent and potentially cure these diseases.

The sun draws toxins out of the body to the surface of the skin. It also stimulates cell regrowth, which makes you look younger and keeps your skin wrinkle free. If spending hours and hours in the sun makes your skin look and feel dried-out and wrinkled, it is because your body is ridding itself of toxins. This is a good thing. It helps cleanse and detoxify your system, keeping you young and healthy. However if you are nutrient-deficient, specifically in essential oils and fats, prolonged exposure to the sun can cause problems. The solution is to take steps to ensure you are toxic-free, your systems are in balance (you have no nutritional deficiencies), you are balancing electromagnetic radiation and managing stress levels properly. In other words, a completely healthy body will not age from exposure to the sun.

Spending as much time as you want in the sun is clearly beneficial, as long as you don’t burn. If your pigment is light, and you are unused to sunlight exposure, of course you need to be more careful. In this case, wear a hat, and long sleeves. It is also possible to buy sunscreens that are safe for use. These are the ingredients you need to avoid:

• Oxybenzone – is a hormone disrupting chemical which penetrates the skin and enters the bloodstream. It only blocks UVB rays (the beneficial rays that enable vitamin D production.
• Vitamin A (Retinyl palmitate) – may speed the development of skin tumors and lesions.
• Fragrance – petroleum based products have been linked to organ toxicity and allergies.
• High SPF – studies have suggested that higher SPFs expose users to more ultraviolet rays than lower SPF products.
• Sprays or powders – in general, these types of sunscreens have additional chemicals added and can be toxic to the lungs.
• Popular commercial brands – Aveeno, Banana Boat, Coppertone, Bull Frog, Neutragena, Store Brands, Hawaiian Tropic among others, have been rated the worst in terms of safety

If you are going to be out in the sun long enough to burn your skin, look for a safe sunscreen that has mineral-based ingredients that do not penetrate the skin, that is unscented, lotion-based with water-resistance. And make sure it has broad-spectrum UVA protection.

We absolutely need sun for health and longevity. So get as much sun as you can within the range that your skin-type will allow.

Friday fat facts - Olive oil

As healthy oils go, it is well-known that olive oil is one of the good ones. But a key distinction needs to be made between refined and unrefined oil. Olive oil made from whole, ripe, undamaged olives, without heat is known as virgin olive oil. When it is made this way, the unrefined oil still contains many natural factors unique to olives. If an olive oil is not labeled virgin, it is non-virgin, refined olive oil. Stay away from refined oils. When they are refined they are degummed, deodorized, bleached and the natural factors are removed. Not only are they not beneficial, but they are in fact harmful to human health.

So what are the health benefits of virgin olive oil? The minor components in virgin olive oil have major health benefits, some of which are common to many different unrefined oils, others are unique to olive oil. Virgin olive oil contains:

• Beta carotene (pro-vitamin A) and tocopherols (Vitamin E),  antioxidants that are also present in most fresh, unrefined, vegetable oil seeds. Vitamin E protects the heart and arteries.
• Magnesium-rich chlorophyll also found in unrefined green oils such hemp, pumpkin, and avocado. Magnesium deficiency is common in people with cardiovascular disease.
• Squalene, a precursor of phytosterols,which is heart protective
• Phytosterols, which protect against cholesterol absorption in foods
• Polyphenols, which are responsible for the colour of the oil.  They have antioxidant properties that stabilize the oil, and it is believed they have the same properties in our body. One of the polyphenols lowers blood pressure.

All of these benefits are lost if the oil is refined. Unsaturated fatty acids like olive oil are anti-mutagenic, which means they protect our cells from damage (mutations) caused by toxic chemicals or destructive rays. When these protective unsaturated fatty acids are heated above 150°C (302° F), not only do they lose their protective abilities, but they gain the ability to cause mutation!

Virgin olive oil has also been shown to help membrane development, cell formation, and cell differentiation; improve brain maturation and function in those deficient in essential fatty acids; decrease the 'bad' LDL cholesterol and significantly increase ‘good’ HDL cholesterol; reduce the production of cholesterol gallstones and promote bile secretion, which improves elimination of the toxic end products of liver detoxification and improves digestion of fats; have healing and anti-inflammatory effects; stimulate the flow of bile; stimulate the production of fat-digesting enzymes in the pancreas; and act as an antioxidant.

Clearly virgin olive oil is a stable, health-enhancing oil. A poor source of EFAs, olive oil is an exceptional source of stable monounsaturated fatty acids and a rich source of unique health-enhancing qualities. Even if our EFA requirements have been met, olive oil can improve and maintain health because of the minor components listed above.

GM foods - are they harmful?

GMO, genetically modified organisms, or GM foods are those that have had their genetic material, such as DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid) manipulated for practical uses. Normally, this involves introducing foreign genes into micro-organisms in order to change their genetic code thereby changing their basic nature. DNA molecules are the basic building blocks of the chromosomes contained in living cells, and carry within them the biochemical hereditary information that determine the structure and function of most living creatures. Those codes consist of segments of DNA that specify particular traits that distinguish one individual from another.

In the field of agriculture, GM techniques hold both potential benefits and great dangers. There are considerations of the impact GM foods may have on humans and the effects of GM crops on their surrounding environments. We know that what affects the environment also affects the human body. While no one knows for sure what those effects will be, it does not mean we can assume they are safe. The corporate players see only quick fortunes in using GM crops, and are obviously unconcerned with questions of safety to health.

If GM techniques are going to be used, shouldn’t they be developed responsibly, with adequate testing and evaluation of their environmental, market, and social impacts? After all, there are early indications that GM foods do have an impact on human health. The list of concerns about the potential dangers to human health are as follows:

• Toxicity – scientists from the FDA itself suspect that genetic engineering could make foods toxic
• Allergic reaction – genetically engineered foods could produce a new protein allergen, or enhance the synthesis of existing plant food allergens. For example, when a gene from a Brazil nut was engineered into soybeans, people allergic to nuts had serious reactions. Without labeling, people with certain food allergies will not be able to know if they might be harmed by the food they are eating.
• Antibiotic resistance – many GE foods are modified with antiobiotic-resistant genes and so people who eat them may become more susceptible to bacterial infections.
• Cancer – Dairy products from animals treated with bovine growth hormone contain an insulin-like growth factor that may increase the risk of breast, prostate and colon cancer.
• Immuno-suppression – There have been numerous animal tests results linking genetically engineered foods to immune-suppression.

Perhaps the strongest argument against the unfettered use of genetic engineering techniques is this: GM crops have no counterparts in nature, which means nature has had no opportunity to develop the kinds of natural controls and defenses that normally keep other species in balance with the life forms around them. No one can predict the effects of introducing unfamiliar organisms into our surroundings, especially if the genetic traits they carry end up being transferred to wild or domestic relatives of the genetically modified plant species.

The following is just one example of the ramifications of GE foods: A popular new variety of corn plant which has been genetically modified to resist insects emits a poison fatal to corn-boring caterpillars. Pollen from the plants blows onto nearby milkweed plants, the exclusive food of young Monarch butterfly larvae, and gets eaten by tiger-striped caterpillars. The engineered pollen killed nearly half of those young before they became butterflies. Monarchs, which already face ecological pressures, may soon find themselves on the endangered species list. Scientists believe other butterflies may also be at risk.

If GM crops are introduced irresponsibly, it is highly likely that we will be facing a world without butterflies, and full of uncontrollable herbicide-resistant superweeds. This may not be the result that was intended but it is almost inevitable. So when you hear GMO-supporters claim that there is no proof that GM crops are harmful, they are correct. Nevertheless, all indications point to the harm they can and will do. Time will tell the story. I, for one, would rather not sit back and wait. Let's slow this freight train before it careens out of control.

Organic - What does it mean?

The other morning on the radio there was some discussion, one might even say controversy, about what it means to eat organic. Does it mean the food is not genetically modified, or does it mean no pesticides? The DJs were puzzled that no one was calling in to help clarify the topic. Clearly the word organic needs some clarification.

While current agriculture practices can be a complicated subject, the short answer is organic means growing food using the same traditional methods that have been used for thousands of years. Modern chemical/industrial large-scale growing methods are a recent phenomenon, only a few decades old, and more expensive and complex than doing things the natural way.

In his book “The End of Food” Thomas Pawlick paints a bleak picture of big agriculture:
“The corporate, factory-farm food system that dominates so much of North American agriculture today is destructive of nearly everything it touches. It degrades the nutritional quality and taste of the food we eat, filling it with toxins and poisons, destroys family farmers and rural communities, blights the land and the environment, and tortures the living creatures it “manufactures” in its dark, satanic barns. Its future products may prove to be genetic or micro-mechanical horrors, inflicting new plagues upon an unprepared world... The only entities who seem to truly benefit from this system are a tiny group of already-wildly-rich corporations and their executives, and those, including our politicians, who have been coopted by them.”

Of course, genetically modified crops and livestock have been created for the purpose of making big agri-corporations richer. It takes time and money to rotate crops annually. Genetically modified crops increase the need for chemical pesticides and herbicides. Big corporations maximize production of a given highly profitable crop, year after year in the same fields, using chemicals as the panacea for any pest outbreaks that resulted. As insects and weeds develop resistance to these chemicals, still more lethal compounds have been introduced, until the compounds threatened to endanger the survival of the crops themselves. Gene manipulators then created crops that would not be affected by the toxic compounds, or which themselves were toxic to the pests in question. These crops’ seeds and pollen cross-pollinated with other varieties in neighbouring fields creating superweeds that could not be eradicated.

In an ideal world, we could defeat corporate power over the food industry by setting up our own, alternative systems. If you can start your own garden, fantastic. Be sure to buy heritage seeds. However, since that is not practical for many people – to grow their own fruits and vegetables and raise their own livestock – the next best thing is to buy organic and buy locally.

Organically grown whole foods are produced without damage to the naturally occurring enzymes, chlorophyll, phytochemicals, antioxidants, vitamins, minerals, fats, sugars, amino acids and life vitality, which makes them much more nutritious in their natural state.  Yes, organic produce has higher nutritional content than non-organic produce. What is good for the external environment, is also good for our internal environment.

If you cannot go completely organic for reasons of economics or availability, the following list shows which foods are the most important ones to buy from organic sources:

·         Apples

·         Strawberries

·         Peaches

·         Blueberries

·         Bananas (heavily sprayed w. pesticides and the skin absorbs the chemicals)

·         Dairy

·         Nectarines

·         Grapes

·         Cucumbers

·         Bell peppers

·         Spinach and kale

·         Lettuce

·         Potatoes

·         Celery

·         Meat

The answer to the DJs question is yes, both! Organic means food that is not genetically modified and is pesticide free. It means farming the way it was done as recently as my grandparents’ generation. But now that takes a special effort and unfortunately at more cost to the consumer. But, if you value your health, I think you'll agree, it is worth buying organic when you can.

Friday fat facts - Fish oil

If you are of my vintage, you may have had the same experience I had growing up, choking down cod liver oil by the spoonful. Since that time, we have learned that there are better sources of vitamins. But we have also discovered the importance of omega-3s fatty acids found in fish oils.

Not all fish oils are created equal – at least, not in terms of the health benefits they bestow on humans. Some fish oils are toxic or just not nutritious. The potential health benefits come from cold-water fish however, are considerable. Fresh, high-fat fish that contains EPA and DHA is the best for our health. The fish should not be fried; they are best boiled so that their oils are not destroyed by light, oxygen, or high temperature. Raw is fine too. Fish kept fresh by deep-freezing preserves the oils giving maximum health benefits.

Unlike chicken and turkey, high-fat cold-water fish are best eaten with their skins on since the beneficial oils are found just under the skin.

The best fish to eat to get the richest sources of EPA and DHA are salmon, sardines, mackerel, trout and eel. The omega-3 fatty acid content of various types of salmon ranges between 18.9 and 31.4% of total fat content. Low fat fish like pike, carp, and haddock contain EPA and DHA in much smaller quantities, between 1 and 4%. (These fish are still good sources of high-quality protein.) Our cells are composed of both EPA and DHA . They are abundant in brain cells, nerve relay stations, visual receptors, adrenal glands, and sex glands – the most biochemically active tissues in the body. EPA and DHA help keep our arteries clean and our platelets sticky. EPA is the starting material for making prostaglandins, which have beneficial effects on blood pressure, cholesterol and triglyceride levels, kidney function, inflammatory response, and immune function.

Farmed fish are not the same as wild fish. Farmed fish are fed commercialized, convenience foods, not the fresh live krill, copepods, plankton, and algae that feed fish in the wild. Their fat content depends on what they eat. Farmed fish contains less vitamins A and C, and less omega-3 fatty acids that wild fish. And they spoil faster. Another downside is that algal outbreaks can kill entire fish crops, because the fish are not free to escape the affected area. The upside to farmed fish is that it can reach consumers within 48 hours, whereas ocean fish may take a week or two before they come in on the boat. Also, ocean fish are only available in season. Fresh ocean fish is preferable to fresh farmed fish, but not to frozen ocean fish.

If you don’t like fish or cannot find good quality fish, taking capsules or a spoonful of fish oil is a good alternative. Ensure that the capsules are completely opaque and not fishy tasting or that the oil is not smelly. Some fish oil capsules contain partly rancid oil. If a fish oil capsule makes you burp, it is a sign that the oil is rancid. I recommend most people have both a plant and an animal source of omega-3s to ensure they get LNA and EPA - ideally, flax oil and salmon or krill oil. Also, some people with poor digestive health cannot break down the omega-3 content from flaxseed oil into its derivative, DHA, and therefore cannot reap the benefits. Taking fish oil instead can solve this problem.