Category: Food

The Health Benefits of Zucchini

Zucchini is a highly alkaline food that is one of the mildest and easiest vegetables to digest. Zucchini is a great source of vitamin A, C, & B-complex as well as minerals such as iron, zinc, potassium, and manganese. It is high in fiber and low in calories which makes it a great weight loss food and helps to reduce constipation and bloating. Zucchini is rich in poly-phenolic antioxidants which are essential in helping to protect the body from aging, illness, and disease.

Zucchini is also a good source of potassium which is an important intra-cellular electrolyte that helps to maintain fluid balance and normalize blood pressure and is vital in helping to prevent heart attacks and stroke. Zucchini contains phytonutrients that are important for prostate health as they can help to reduce the symptoms of benign prostatic hypertrophy (BOH). They also contain powerful anti-inflammatory compounds which can aid asthma, rheumatoid arthritis, and fibromyalgia. Zucchini is also known to be particularly beneficial for hypertension, cataracts, macular degeneration, atherosclerosis, diabetes, edema, multiple sclerosis, and stomach and colon cancers.

Zucchini can be eaten raw, steamed, roasted, or sauteed. Raw zucchini can be spiralized or julienned with a peeler to resemble strands of spaghetti and is a healthy substitute for pasta dishes. Zucchini is also wonderful added to salads, soups, wraps, nori rolls, and stir fry. They can be readily found at your local grocery or health food store and seasonally at the farmer’s market.

 

Your Favorite Organic Brands Could be Owned by Junk Food Corporations

(NaturalNews – Ethan A. Huff) Organic and natural foods are all the rage, but do you know where your favorite health food brands really come from? The Cornucopia Institute (CI), which advocates for real organic food produced on real family farms, has published an infographic that might come as a shock to millions of people who think that the food they buy comes from independent organic companies, when it really comes from the subsidiaries of junk food corporations.

According to CI, 81 independent organic processing companies existed in 1995 when the organic movement first started. However, today, that number has dropped to a mere 15, with the other 66 having been taken over, in recent years, by corporations such as PepsiCo, Inc. and ConAgra Foods, both of which spent millions in 2012 to defeat mandatory labeling requirements for genetically-modified organisms (GMOs).

“If you can’t beat ’em, buy ’em” seems to be the mantra of Big Food these days and CI’s infographic clearly illustrates this point. The Kellogg Corporation, for instance, which heavily markets cereal products containing processed sugar and GMOs to children, owns Kashi and Bear Naked, two food brands that claim to be healthy. Similarly, General Mills owns Cascadian Farm and Muir Glen, two prominent food brands taking up considerable shelf space at health food stores nationwide.

“Corporate consolidation of the food system has been largely hidden from consumers,” explains CI. “That’s changing, thanks to tools such as Philip H. Howard’s widely circulated ‘Who Owns Organic?’ infographic,” which can be accessed directly at the following link: http://www.Cornucopia.org

First released in 2003, the infographic may be slightly outdated today, as some of the corporate alliances listed may have changed, but the reality is that the organic market, which in 2012 was declared to be the fastest growing sector in the grocery industry, is an obvious target of Big Food. And why wouldn’t it be, considering its rapid growth and accelerating interest among consumers looking for healthy alternatives to junk food?

“The chart shows that many iconic organic brands are owned by the titans of junk food, processed food and sugary beverages — the same corporations that spent millions to defeat GMO labeling initiatives in California and Washington,” adds CI. “General Mills (which owns Muir Glen, Cascadian Farm and LaraBar), Coca-Cola (Honest Tea, Odwalla), J.M. Smucker (R.W. Knudsen, Santa Cruz Organic) and many other corporate owners of organic brands contributed big bucks to deny citizens’ the right to know what is in their food.”

Many major food processors are aligned with junk food conglomerates. Nearly all of the top 100 food processors in North America have ties to major conglomerates that are working against the interests of small-scale farmers and organic consumers. These food processors are slowly taking over many of the brands that those in the natural health food community have grown to trust over the years.

“Consumers who want food companies that embody more of the original organic ideals would do well to seek out products from independent organic firms,” says Dr. Phil Howard, an associate professor in the Department of Community Sustainability at Michigan State University. “Given the very uneven playing field they are competing in, independent organic processors are unlikely to survive without such support.”

CI has developed a series of reports that ranks the best sources of organic dairy, meat, vegetables, cereal and other foods in order to help consumers make better food purchasing decisions.

The Weston A. Price Foundation has also developed a shopping guide for mobile phones called Find Real Food that allows users to search for the highest quality and most nutrient-dense foods from the best sources:
https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/find-real-food/id716877330?mt=8

Sources for this article include:
http://www.Cornucopia.org/who-owns-organic
http://www.Carighttoknow.org/_45_million_aga…
https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/find-real-food/id716877330?mt=8

Tap This: Why You Simply MUST Filter Your Water

(DrFrankLipman – Frank Lipman) Water is a life-sustaining fluid that’s essential to health, but can undermine it if you’re drinking straight out of the tap. The trouble is, drink tap or even spring water and you’ll likely be getting more than you bargained for – chlorine, fluorine compounds, Trihalomethanes (THMs), assorted hormones, pesticides and even trace amounts of prescription drugs. It can be a witches’ brew of health-killing effluvia – but you can improve the odds. Here’s the low-down on water, and how to turn it back into the health drink nature intended:

Tap Water is Dirtier Than It Looks

Even “clean” drinking water that flows from the tap isn’t what most of us would think of as clean. It’s traveled through miles of pipeline, picking up contaminants, pesticides and industrial run-off along the way. It’s been disinfected with potential carcinogens like chlorine, ammonia and or chloramines, then “fortified” with fluoride. While disinfection is a necessary evil – without it, water-borne illnesses would be a constant problem – drinking, showering and bathing every day with this chemical brew is a lousy idea.

No, Seriously. Your Water Is Funky

Problem is, most of us don’t have a clue about the chemicals and contaminants in our water, nor do we know their long-term effects. We trust that everything is OK, but it’s not. In fact, the Environmental Working Group spent three years investigating the country’s drinking water and the results were jaw-dropping. They found that roughly 85% of the population was using tap water laced with over 300 contaminants, many with unknown long-term effects and more than half of which aren’t even regulated by the EPA. Add to the mix an ever-growing list of new chemical compounds that come online just about every day and well, the waters only get murkier.

Bottled Water Isn’t Better, Cleaner or Good for the Earth

Let me be blunt: there’s just no good reason to drink bottled water —and if you’re one of those folks who buys it by the case, I beg you to stop. Bottled water is virtually unregulated, expensive, and even the EPA says it’s not necessarily safer than tap. It’s also insanely wasteful – an estimated three liters of water is needed to produce just one liter, and roughly 17 million barrels of oil is required to produce all those bottles, according to The Pacific Institute. What’s worse, roughly 2/3rds of those bottles wind up in the ocean and in landfills, polluting and poisoning waters and wildlife.

Brew Your Own – With the Help of Water Filtration Systems

So, how to tamp down the bad stuff in your brew? The best way to go is a water filtration system. For starters, look for one that’s certified by the NSF, an independent, non-profit group that tests and verifies the contaminant reducing abilities of water filters. Next, you’ll need to determine how far you’re willing to go, based on your needs and budget. Ideally, whole-house filtration systems are an excellent option, but they’re not always feasible. If whole-house filtration isn’t appropriate for your home, then I recommend investing in individual drinking water and shower filter units.

Tap Into Your Tap

For drinking water, there are different ways to go, with the three simplest options being under-the-counter filters, countertop filters and pitcher systems:

· Under-the-counters are great because they’re tucked away out of sight and receive very high marks for filtration. However, the initial purchase price plus cost per gallon can be a bit higher than the other options, and there is some installation involved.

· Countertop filters use water pressure to force water through the filtration process, which helps make water healthier and tastier, removing more contaminants than standard pitcher systems. Countertop systems require minimal installation (a small hose, but no permanent fixtures), and take up only few inches of counter space.

· Water pitchers work well for the space-challenged because they’re portable, need no installation, fit easily in the fridge and are available on just about every street corner. They do a decent job of filtering out some of the major contaminants, but generally not as many as under-the-counter and countertop versions. And while the initial investment is small, filters need frequent replacement which boosts the cost per gallon over other methods. My favorite pitcher (and the one we use in my office) is the Aquasana Powered Water Filtration System.

Don’t Bathe Yourself in Chemicals

Your morning shower should not include daily exposure to chlorine, carcinogens and vaporized chemical contaminants being absorbed into your skin and breathed into your lungs. Without a shower filter, it does. A few simple tips to cut exposure: shorten your showers, turn down the temperature a bit so pores are less open to absorbing contaminants, and most importantly, install a shower filter.

Clean Up Your Act – But Kick the Tires First

Water filtration is a simple, no-brainer way to support your health by preventing toxic chemicals and carcinogens from entering your body – and everyone should do it. Before you invest though, check out The Environmental Working Group’s helpful Water Filter Buying Guide to learn more about the options that will work best for your specific needs.

My Secret Water Weapon

My favorite filters, which I recommend to my patients (and the ones I personally use) are from Aquasana. They remove much of the bad stuff without stripping the water of beneficial minerals such as calcium, magnesium and potassium and they are NSF certified. But what I admire most is that they make a real effort to be kinder to the environment, with a solar powered manufacturing facility and casings and filter cartridges made of recyclable parts and compostable materials. I’ll drink to that!

5 Reasons to Skip the Skim Milk

(DrFrankLipman – Jenny Sansouci) From skinny lattes to fat free frozen yogurt, skim milk is seen everywhere as the milk of choice for health conscious people – but this couldn’t be further from the truth. Not only is skim milk the opposite of delicious, it’s actually not a healthy choice at all. Here’s why you should ignore the skim milk advertising, get off the fat-free bandwagon, and forget everything you think you know about skim milk.

1) Skim milk about has twice the amount of sugar as full fat cream. When you take out the fat, you add sugar to make up for it, and don’t we all know by now that fat doesn’t make you fat…sugar does? This means if you’re buying skim milk to manage your weight, you’re making a mistake.

2) Skim milk is totally devoid of nutritional value. The vitamins (A, D, E and K) in milk are fat soluble, which means they need fat in order to be absorbed by the body. Also, calcium absorption is enhanced by Vitamin D, but the Vitamin D needs fat, so skim milk breaks the entire chain of absorption and becomes nutritionally empty. It’s basically like drinking sugar water.

3) Saturated fat (which is removed to create skim milk) has satiating, blood sugar stabilizing effects. Fats slow the release of sugar into your bloodstream. Eating a low-fat diet that makes up for the fat by adding more sugar can lead to blood sugar issues like diabetes and hypoglycemia. Contrary to popular belief, lowfat does NOT mean healthier!

4) The dairy industry often adds skim milk powder to skim milk. Skim milk powder processing causes the cholesterol in the milk to be oxidized – and oxidized cholesterol can lead to buildup of plaque in the arteries. Cholesterol that naturally occurs in food is not something to worry about, but oxidized cholesterol can cause inflammation in the body and contribute to heart disease.

5) Because skim milk is a highly processed, “altered” food, it can leave you feeling unsatisfied and experiencing cravings for something more. Our bodies thrive on whole foods, the way they are found in nature. Eating a diet full of high quality protein and healthy fats from whole foods can prevent the ups and downs and cravings that come from eating fat-free foods that are “missing something.

While we’re not advocates of dairy as a health food in general, if you are going to choose to eat or drink dairy products it’s important to choose full fat, organic dairy that comes from grass-fed cows that haven’t been treated with hormones. Either way, do not to be tricked by skim milk marketing. Skim milk is not a health food!

10 Tips for Raising a Healthy Eater

(DrFrankLipman – Courtney Blatt) Parenting comes with lots of joy, but it can also be stressful when trying to balance all the ‘should do’s’ in your life.  As a practicing health coach and mom, I know one of my most important responsibilities is to make sure my child is well nourished-both emotionally and physically.  I’m often asked how I find time to cook and actually get my toddler to eat my healthy meals.

I started this journey by reading books and speaking to experienced colleagues within my nutrition-based community, but in the end I decided to follow my intuition. Once my son was old enough to eat solids, I asked myself, why can’t he just eat what I eat? I made it my mission to start him on a path of eating real, fresh food, just like I eat real, fresh food.

Now that he’s a toddler it’s gotten a bit more challenging, but with a little creativity and resourcefulness he’s on a great path. His diet is full of whole foods and we’ve managed to skip the typical child’s menu altogether. Whoo hoo!

Here are my top 10 tips to setting your child up for a lifetime of healthy eating habits:

1. Keep your Pregnancy Diet Clean

Research shows that what we eat while pregnant shapes our child’s food preferences later in life. Wow, is this true. I ate a ton of veggies during my pregnancy, and now my son’s favorite foods are plain, cut vegetables.

2. Don’t Cook Twice

As long as you’re eating fresh, whole foods, there’s no reason for a child to eat different foods than you. Luckily toddlers often want to eat what you’re eating. By setting a good example, it will encourage them to eat healthy foods too!

3. Keep a Set Schedule

With a regular sleeping and eating regimen kids are much less likely to ask for food outside meal or snack times.

4. Don’t use Food as a Reward

Giving your child treats for good behavior early in life sets them up for emotional eating habits a an adult.

5. Be Creative

Come up with ways to introduce different foods and flavors. If your little one doesn’t like a certain food the first time he tries it, present it another way. My son despised beans the first time I made them. I tried again with a simple chicken chili recipe and now it’s a staple in our house!

6. Plan Ahead for the Week

It’s easy to fall in the trap of reaching for processed food shortcuts if you don’t know what you’re making for a meal in advance. On Sunday night, I plan meals and shopping times for the week so I don’t get overwhelmed.

7. Utilize a Slow Cooker

It’s a great tool for making food for the entire family. You can also cook a large batch when you have time, and freeze in small containers for easy meals in busy weeks to come.

8. Be Flexible and Give Choices

If a meal isn’t working out, try giving your child another choice. Toddlers love to show their independence, so give them the opportunity to choose between two healthy options.

9. Skip the Kid’s Menu

Almost every option on the kid’s menu is fried, loaded with butter, or smothered in cheese. So what alternatives do you have? Ask them to make a small version of what you’re ordering. If that doesn’t work, request they grill the protein instead of frying it and add a vegetable. Or just order an extra side and share your meal!

10. Don’t Make Food an Issue

The last thing you want is your child feeling deprived. If he’s at a birthday party or event and there are limited options, it’s not the end of the world. Chances are if your child is eating healthy, they’ll develop an inclination for healthy foods. With any luck once they can make their own decision, they won’t even want the junk food!