Obesity and HFCS

I almost lost control of my car yesterday when I heard this staggering statistic: 1 in 3 ADULT Americans is obese.  WHAT??  That is just crazy to me.  It is no worse than in Mississippi were 7 in 10 adults is overweight or obese.  Lets not even talk about the kids who are just learning these very bad habits thanks to society and mass food production.  Here is the link to the NPR story I heard yesterday about obesity in America.  Mississippi Losing the War with Obesity

With that, I also came across this article today from Planet Green.  The ingredients in foods aren't completely to blame, it is peoples eating habits and lack of knowledge that is the real culprit.  No, eating a whole sleeve of Vienna Fingers for dinner is not a healthy meal.  However, I did find it funny that there is now a lawsuit over the use of the word sugar.  Wasn't a problem till the bad press came around. 

When to buy Organic

This is a very well put together piece from MSNBC.  Organic food: Is it worth the extra money?

The general rule of thumb I use (instead of carrying a list of the items mentioned in this article or any other) is that anything that has a thick skin that I am not eating (avocado, orange, pineapple) I will buy organic.  I also buy all my greens organic even though this article doesn't necessarily go with that. 

Pesticides are sprayed onto the foods which is why it is said that most of it is discarded with the skin of the food you are eating.  However, I am not so sure I completely agree with this because over time, there must be some amount of these chemicals getting into the innards of the foods through the soil.  Even though I think this is the case, I still try and be financially conscious when I am purchasing these food items since my money is not endless.  The real goal is to minimize exposure to these toxins since completely avoiding them is very difficult without having your own farm and only eating from there. 

Thanks for reading!

Allergies

The first thing people think of when facing a runny nose and watery eyes from the large amounts of pollen in the air, is to pick up some sort of allergy medication to combat the symptoms.  I am sure there are many folks who get allergy attacks so severe, that man made medicine is the only way to get relief.  However, I am sure there are an equal or greater amount of people who take the meds at the slightest sign of discomfort.  Before reaching into your medecine cabinet and poping more pills, try out some more natural means of keeping your body healthy so it can combat the allergies on its own.  Some of these points are things every one should do out of habit when most people don't.  I think it is important that we treat our bodies well so that we can prevent/minimize these things from happening instead of treating them afterwards. 

7 Ways to Beat Allergies Naturally

Be healthy my friends!

Cellulose

Most of us have heard the word, but I am sure most of us don't know what it is and how it is used in our foods.  Check out this article from the Wall Street Journal and tell me what you think. 

Why Wood Pulp Makes Ice Cream Creamier

Protection from the sun

I guess it's almost that time of the year again.  You know, that 3 - 4 week period we New England residents get every year to have really nice weather to go to the beach or play golf.  It doesn't seem like it will never get here this year, but I thought I would share this WebMD article on sunscreen and skin cancer anyways.  One can never be too informed. 

Sunscreen: Are you really covered?

Raw Milk

I was recently a regular purchaser of raw milk and only gave it up due to the cost of getting it.  Here in Massachusetts, it is illegal for a grocery store to carry unpasteurized milk on its shelves.  Therefore, in order to get raw milk to the masses in Boston (the farms are not all that close to the city), there was a small distribution ring (that I believe has since been shut down by the government) that would send someone out to pick it up in large quantities and drop it off in distribution points where then the consumer (that's me) would go pick it up.  This was a very under the radar execution similar to what I expect a drug distribution ring would be like.  As far as the movies portray it, that is what it felt like.  I am not entirely sure what the political reasons for not allowing distribution of unpasteurized milk through your local grocer is, but it could be as simple as the fear of large quantities of people getting sick from it.  However, I doubt it is that simple as the food growth and distribution business has, in my opinion, become completely commercialized and all about the money and not about the peoples health.  We will leave this heated topic for another day.

If you have ever thought about drinking raw milk, here are George Mateljan's thoughts on it. 

The Pasteurized Milk Ordinance (PMO) that was first proposed in 1924 by the United States Public Health Service has been adopted, in its 2003 revision, by 46 out of 50 states. (The four non-adopting states have passed similar ordinances of their own.) The PMO calls for the pasteurization of milk as a way of killing any potentially disease-causing bacteria in the milk, including Campylobacter, Escherichia, Listeria, Salmonella, Yersinia, and Brucella. I would also like to note that in 32 states, it is legal to sell and distribute raw, non-pasteurized milk and that both forms of milk exist in the majority of states.

Today there are more pasteurization options in the marketplace than there were in 1924; these options include high-temperature, short-time methods as well as low-temperature, longer time methods. The goal of all methods is the same: to kill potentially pathogenic bacteria that may be present in the milk or milk product (like cheese or yogurt). TemperatureTimePasteurization Type

63ºC (145ºF)*30 minutesVat Pasteurization
72ºC (161ºF)*15 secondsHigh temperature short time Pasteurization (HTST)
89ºC (191ºF) 1.0 secondUltra Pasteurization (UP)
90ºC (194ºF)0.5 secondsUltra Pasteurization (UP)
94ºC (201ºF)0.1 secondsUltra Pasteurization (UP)
96ºC (204ºF)0.05 secondsUltra Pasteurization (UP)
100ºC (212ºF)0.01 secondsUltra Pasteurization (UP)
138ºC (280ºF)2.0 secondsUltra-high temperature (UHT) sterilization

Note: * = These temperatures and times are appropriate if the milk does not contain added sweeteners, and if it has not been condensed. If either of those changes applies, then the temperature must be increased by 3ºC (5ºF). In addition, eggnog is an exception to these rules and must be pasteurized according to a different set of times and temperatures.

There's no debate about the effectiveness of pasteurization for killing unwanted bacteria. There's also no doubt that pasteurization gives dairy products a longer shelf life by lowering the presence of bacteria that cause spoilage. But pasteurization also kills desirable bacteria found in fresh milk, and it denatures milk enzymes that may be active in the human digestive tract when fresh milk is consumed.

There is little research, however, to determine what nutritional benefits are lost when milk is pasteurized. I've seen speculation about changes in protein structure, calcium, amino acid, and vitamin C bioavailability all being triggered by pasteurization, but I have not seen research that confirms or rejects these occurrences.

As I mentioned earlier, in the majority of states, dairy farms are free to produce raw (unpasteurized) milk as long as they adhere to the conditions and restrictions set out in state law. The safety of unpasteurized milk depends on the quality of the cow's life, including the immediate environment and feeding. It also depends on the quality of handling facilities once the cow has been milked. For these reasons, I recommend a very careful look at any dairy farm's procedures, track record, and publicly available information before becoming a regular consumer of its unpasteurized milk. Producers of raw milk should be carefully monitoring the milk for the presence of microorganisms and will be able to certify that the milk meets all federal and state regulations in this regard.

Because freshness is at a premium, and the product shelf life is greatly shortened (which is not necessarily bad) the dairy should be within driving distance of your residence so you can visit it in person. In some states, like Indiana, where it is illegal for a local dairy to sell unpasteurized milk, cows from the dairy may be leased in order for consumers to obtain a regular supply of raw milk.

In the absence of a very high-quality dairy farm in driving distance from your residence, I recommend purchase of pasteurized milk. Even though it's one step further from natural milk (which I would prefer), the health risks-however small-don't seem like a worthwhile trade-off in exchange for the potential benefits. If a high quality dairy farm, producing certified organic milk in unpasteurized form is available in your area, I would recommend considering this option.

If this is a topic that has or currently interests you, be diligent in your research and decide for yourself.  Check with your local laws and you may even find out that it is easily accessible to you.  Real Milk is a website I found very helpful when I was researching it. 

How Kids Eat!!

Now here is an article from the Boston Globe that talks about how a child may develop their taste towards food.  This is quite interesting as I have never thought about this in this manner.  I don't have any kids, but if you do, this article may open you up to trying different things with the way your child eats as they grow up.  One thing I have learned in life is that a child certainly follows in their parents foot steps.  If they learn to eat nothing but junk food at home, that tendency will most likely carry on throughout their lives. 

So, get your diet straight for your kids to grow up making healthy choices out of habit.

Little people, big palates

Green Tea

The benefits of Green Tea have been well known for centuries in societies around the world.  These medical benefits have been advertised to be lots of things from cancer prevention to weight loss.  Many studies have been done to prove/disprove these claims and therefore there is a wealth of information on the health benefits (or lack there of) of green tea.  Read The Miracle of Green Tea to get a feel for what the general consensus is on green tea. 

My personal feelings on this is that all forms of tea have some form of health benefits, especially if they are taking the place of drinks like soda.  The one thing that folks don't seem to understand is that the source of this green tea is so very important.  If you buy off the shelf bottles of green tea instead of steeping it yourself, make sure you look at the ingredients listed on the bottle or carton.  The majority of the time, these products contain large amounts of sugar, or a chemical sugar substitute, to make it sweeter.  To me, you are negating the benefits of drinking green tea by also consuming the same quantities of sugar you would find in soda. 

Most folks understand what is healthy for them and what isn't since this information is easily accessible.  What you need to be careful of is to not be fooled by the labels on products that are intended to get you to buy the products.  By just reading and understanding the back of the label, you would find that there is more going on in that product that you may not approve of.

When in doubt, make it yourself!!