How Sweet it is!

High fructose corn syrup is really sweet and relatively cheap. Many scientists now believe that it is a major cause of overweight in our people. It is made from corn which is abundant in our country and ubiquitous in processed foods.

Some are calling it the ultimate fast food. It seems that the enzymes required to break it down may respond by becoming overactive which can lead to weight gain.
Fructose enzymes turn fructose into energy. The more fructose containing foods you eat each day, the more fructose enzymes you manufacture. That, according to the experts, is not good for your waist line and overall health.

Some contend that eating too much HFCS [ High Fructose Corn Syrup ] causes an accumulation of abdominal fat, which doctors describe as the most harmful kind. It also escapes the attention of the bodies appetite control mechanisms and allows us to load up on the calories. We continue eating when we would otherwise stop. The fructose has tricked us into eating more than our body needs. Highly regarded Dr. Andrew Weil says unequivocally that, " High Fructose Corn Syrup is definitely bad for you and it's also bad for the planet and I believe it is a major driver of the obesity epidemic."

Not everyone agrees that HFCS is a major cause of obesity in our country. The American Corn Growers Association sure doesn't. They claim HFCS is no worse than regular sugar, Although they want to change the name to corn sugar. The USFDA has it on the GRAS list [ Generally Recognized as Safe ] which doesn't make it less fattening. The American Medical Association [AMA] says that more independent research is needed [ the operative word here is independent]. And the Mayo Clinic says that the research is evolving.

None the less, this is incontrovertible: The extra calories provided by cheap corn and corn derivatives in the early 1970s created about 200 extra calories of energy per day per person. We didn't ignore them, we ate them. That's equivalent to 10 pounds per person per year. By 1985 all sugar consumed by Americans had risen from 128 pounds per year to 158 pounds per year. Did we just decide as a society one day to eat more sugar?

If we were to construct a graph showing the rise in obesity from 1970 through today, and we simultaneously plotted the track of the use of HFCS, it would be no surprise [ or accident ] that the two tracks coincided. According to Michael Pollan we have taken about 539 million bushels of annual corn harvest and turned it into 17.5 billion pounds of high fructose corn syrup.

In his best selling book The Sugar Fix, Dr. Richard J. Johnson says that, " What you don't know about fructose and HFCS could kill you. Cutting back on the fructose in your diet could save your life and shrink your waistline. Table sugar and high-fructose corn syrup [HFCS]-the primary sources of fructose-are staples of our food supply, and are even found in foods that aren't necessarily sweet, like breads, soups, ketchup, and salad dressing. These sweeteners are linked to health problems such as obesity, diabetes, and joint and abdominal pain. They may also increase your risk of liver and kidney disease, premature aging. and certain types of cancer."

Free Radicals-Particles With an Attitude

Free radicals are rogue molecules of oxygen that can be harmful because they have the ability to attack and damage our cells. They are oxygen molecules with an electron missing and they are highly reactive. They occur everywhere in nature. A blast of free radicals can be generated by

Toxic chemicals
Pesticides
Smoke [ cigarettes ]
Pollution
Infections
Sunburn
Burnt and fried foods

And, lets not overlook one of the more common ways to generate free radicals i.e., by the normal digestion of food. We are bombarded from the time we are born. The free radicals are all around us and we are exposed on a routine basis. The quandary is this; we need free radicals to sustain life. At the right time and place they are normal and desirable especially in the process that produces energy in the course of food oxidation. They can aid in detoxifying harmful substances and they can also play vital role in helping the immune system fight disease.

The body has a defense mechanism in the form of free radical scavengers called antioxidants, When you are in a state of wellness, the body has an ample supply of scavengers that keep the tissues from being damaged. The body can soak up and eliminate these potentially dangerous substances providing it has a supply of antioxidants.

Remember, when you eating a diet based on "live" foods, you have ACEs up your sleeve to fight the radicals i.e. Vitamins A,C,E and Selenium.

* Vitamin A Good sources: carrots, collard greens, kale, sweet potatoes, parsley, spinach, mustard greens, mangoes, Hubbard squash, cantaloupe, apricots, and broccoli.

* Vitamin C Good sources: peppers, kale, parsley, collard greens, turnip greens, broccoli, brussels sprouts, cauliflower, cabbage, strawberries, papayas, spinach, oranges, lemon juice, grapefruit, turnips, mangoes, asparagus, cantaloupes, and green beans.

* Vitamin E Good sources: expeller pressed polyunsaturated vegetable oil, seeds, nuts, whole grains, asparagus, avocados, berries, green leafy vegetables and tomatoes..

* Selenium Works with vitamin E. Good sources: wheat germ, Brazil nuts, barley, whole grain wheat bread, bran, oats, brown rice, turnips, and orange juice.

These are not the only foods in which these nutrients are found. this is not intended to be medical advice. If you have any questions, check with your doctor or nurse practitioner

Bewildering

There is a central contradiction between nutrition theory and practice today. One one hand, our advice concerning the health benefits of a diet based largely on whole, live natural foods has not changed in more then fifty years and it is constantly supported by ongoing science. On the other hand, many people seem to be confused about what they are supposed to eat to stay healthy. When considering this contradiction, we should be aware of the role the food industry plays in creating an environment conducive to overeating animal based and highly processed foods.

For thousands of years, human body weight stayed stable. Throughout adulthood, those who came before us generally consumed no more than the food needed to stay alive. With rare exceptions, their body weight neither rose or fell by any significant amount. We were given a perfect biological system which reflected the wisdom of the body at work. Then, around 1980, things began to change.

We live in an age of industrial food with its numberless fast food outlets and supermarkets. Industrial food companies, not unlike cigarette , pharmaceutical and car companies, routinely place the needs of stockholders and the need for making profits above those of the consumer. They lobby congress to eliminate regulations and press regulatory agencies to not enforce those regulations that are on the books. Annually they spend billions of dollars on direct media advertising and its a sad commentary that much of it is aimed at children.

In his book The End of Overeating, Dr. David a Kessler points out that the business of food is to create highly rewarding stimuli and he quoted a high-level industry executive, who asked to remain anonymous, who said that," Higher sugar, fat, and salt make you want to eat more. They make a food compelling and indulgent. They make it high in hedonic value which gives us pleasure." Dr. Kessler also asked." Do you design food specifically to be high hedonic?" to which the executive replied,"Oh, absolutely. We try to bring as much of that into the equation as possible." "As we do this", says Dr. Kessler, " The food industry becomes the manipulator of the consumer's minds and desires."

Food companies, when they are not filing lawsuits about regulations they don't like, co-opt food and nutrition experts by supporting organizations and research while expanding sales by marketing directly to children and other groups whether or not the products are likely to improve people's diet. These practices are legal. Whether they are ethical is another matter. Much of what they do lobbying, marketing, engaging the services of "nutrition experts", is conducted out of the public view. Lobbying records are too often subject to confidentiality agreements.

The subliminal nature of food and beverage advertising is a tribute to its ubiquity as well as to the sophistication of the agencies that produce it. They spend billions of dollars annually on direct media advertising in magazines, radio, newspapers, television and billboards. Most of the billions are used to promote highly processed, elaborately packaged and "dead foods." Little, if any, is spent advertising "live" food like fruits,,vegetables, and grains. No wonder that so many people are bewildered

The Big Elephant in the Room-Insulin

The hormone insulin determines whether we burn fat or carbohydrates and it ultimately determines whether or not we store fat in the body. Insulin production is affected by the amount of glucose created by carbohydrate ingestion.

Glucose is nature's fuel. It is the "Golden energy" molecule and it is preferred by the brain. It is also the main source of energy for the body, When you eat carbohydrates, your body is looking for energy to run its trillions of cells. It exists as glucose in the blood, glycogen in the muscles, and as glucagon in the liver.

Keep in mind that all carbohydrates are not equal. Some have more impact on insulin production than do others. Some carbohydrates cause insulin levels to "spike" higher than others. Understanding the difference is one key to controlling your body fat and possibly avoiding diabetes and other health related problems.


Some often refer to carbohydrates as "bad" or "good". More accurately they should be referred to as "fast" [sugars] or "slow" [starches] reflecting their effect on the insulin response. Remember the story of the tortoise and the hare? The hare started the race like he was shot out of a cannon and then he petered out as the tortoise clomped along at a steady pace. High gylcemic carbohydrates are like the hare i.e. fast. Low glycemic carbohydrates are like the tortoise i.e. slow. If you want to win the race against fat, you should be like the tortoise and emphasize eating "slow" carbs and minimizing "fast" carbs in the diet.

* Highly processed foods are fast. The smaller particle sizes make it easier for liquids and enzymes to penetrate and speed up the fast glycemic response. They also lack fiber that acts as a physical barrier that slows down the enzymes and the rate of digestion.

*Fiber can help stop the flood of glucose. Research has shown that eating as little 1/2 cup of legumes or beans a day will help you manage your glucose levels.

*The digestion of sugar is very fast and produces only half as many molecules for processing as the same amount of starch, The same applies to milled flours that are faster than whole grain stone ground flours.

* Fast carbohydrates [high glycemic] go through the small intestine much faster than slow carbohydrates [low glycemic]. The fast carbs also fail to trigger the brain receptors that tell the brain that you are "full' and they stimulate counter-regulatory responses that reverse the decline in hunger.

*Fast carbs are usually energy dense i.e. they contain a lot of calories for less satiety.

A good guide to help you in this regard is learning to use the glycemic index of foods. The index has been studied for years and now has the weight of scientific evidence on its side. The index measures the speed at which carbohydrates affect the insulin response to the level of glucose in the blood. You can do two things; Goggle the glycemic index and/or study the book The New Glucose Revolution by Miller-Brand, Wolever, Colagiuri, and Foster-Powell.

In this way, you can learn how to control your insulin responses more effectively. You should also consult your doctor or nurse practitioner.

The Paradox of Plenty

We Americans spend less on food and more on health care than any other industrialized country in the world. Most experts agree that our love affair with refined, processed foods may be why Americans rank the highest in diabetes, osteoporosis, cancer, heart disease and obesity despite having the most advanced health care system in the world. Our diets have left us overfed and undernourished. We have created the Paradox of Plenty.



We live in an age where the natural, organic world, in which our ancestors evolved for thousands of years, is in competition with the world were over 6ooo chemicals are used to process food. We live in age that has undertaken a giant experiment of toxic ingestion. 90% of the typical American food budget is spent on easy to cook and easy to eat processed convenience foods.



The food industry aims at making products that look and taste appealing without any thought given to the products nutritional value. Much commercial food is so processed that it resembles building materials more than it resembles natural food. The ingredients list on a Twinkie reads more like rocket fuel than food for human consumption. Many gas stations make more money selling food than gasoline. They have become, as Michael Pollen says, "Processed corn stations; ethanol outside for your car and high fructose corn syrup inside of you."



Scientific evidence has proven that a diet based on refined, chemically laced food won't offer what our trillions of cells need on a daily basis. Scientists have discovered most of the food elements that are essential to health. The evidence, epidemiological, experimental and clinical supports a whole food, plant based diet which uses meat sparingly as condiment, for longevity and optimal fitness.



Whole, live foods are not processed and they have only one ingredient, themselves. Whole foods are easy to visualize. Its easy to picture a wheat field , a cherry orchard or an apple tree. It's much harder to visualize a field of marsh mellows. Whole foods are not refined, stripped, bleached, injected, hydrogenated, chemically treated, irradiated and gassed! Whole foods have the highest satiety factor and are lowest in calories than highly processed foods which literally have the life taken out of them.

To insure that you get plenty of "live" foods try having cut up vegetables handy on a plate with extra virgin olive oil and balsamic vinegar, salsa, or hummus. Munch on them while making dinner instead of reaching for the cheese and dip. Add vegetables to pasta and pizza. Add tomatoes and onions, cucumber, bell pepper, grated carrots, and dark green lettuce to sandwiches. Recent studies at the Center for Science in the Public Interest have found sweet potatoes to be the healthiest of all vegetables followed by carrots, collard greens, red peppers, kale, dandelion greens, spinach and broccoli. Eat more of these live foods and your cells will love you even more.

Don't Waste Your Money

GHC is a hormone found in the urine of pregnant women. More than 50 years ago Dr. Albert Simeons, a British physician, claimed that GHC injections would allow overweight people to tolerate a 500 calories a day diets without any of the discomfort and overwhelming hunger usually associated with a severe calorie-restricted diet. Dr. Simeons claim was that small daily doses "rendered" fat deposits readily available for making up the deficit of a calorically inadequate diet and the process is accomplished by a rapid breakdown of adipose tissue.

Current knowledge of the regulation of appetite and hunger [ notice that they are not the same. Hunger is physical while appetite is emotional. ] is extremely complex and involves the emotions, hypothalamus, gastrointestinal physiology, energy requirements and possibly genetically determined metabolic pathways. Sorry! Still no magic bullets.

Noted physician Dr. Andrew Weil says about GHC injections or sub-lingual applications," They don't work. Don't waste your money." The Mayo Clinic stance is that, " Taking GHC doesn't appear to be particularly unsafe, but there is no scientific proof that it does any good." This is the view also upheld in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.

In 2007, the infamous snake oil salesman Kevin Trudeau wrote a book entitled, The Weight Loss Cure They Don't Want You to Know About. The following year FTC cited Trudeau for misrepresenting the contents of his book in infomercials and he was fined $37 million dollars. He was extolling the virtue of the GHC method and accused the pharmaceutical companies and government of trying to eliminate the competition for weight loss therapies.

The FTC stance was that," There is no substantial evidence that GHC increases weight loss beyond that resulting from caloric restriction [ italics are mine ] or that it decreases the hunger and discomfort associated with calorie restricted diets." Think about it for a minute. If you are consuming 1500 calories each day and you cut down to 500 each day, you are consuming 1000 calories less each day, which I feel is dangerous [ unless you are morbidly obese and under the supervision of a doctor ]. That's 1000 X 7 = 7000 calories less in a week. That's 7000 divided by 3500 [calories in a pound of energy ] = 2 pounds per week lost.



Here is how we are engineered. If you are consuming 1500 calories each day and your weight doesn't fluctuate much, your cost of living [metabolism] and exercise energy requirements are about right. If you maintain your level of physical activity, the only adjustment will be the speed of your metabolism which drops as you age. If you have and are gaining weight, some form of calorie restriction should work depending on the quality of food you consume. Dr. Barbara Rolls in her best selling book The Volumetrics Weight-Control Plan, teaches how to feel full on fewer calories. But, theoretically, if you consume 250 calories less each day [ equivalent to a pound lost every two weeks], the calories needed to keep your 1500 a day level will come from your energy storage depot i.e. your fat deposits.

Where's the Beef?

According the Nutrition Action Healthletter, ground beef would be a strong contender as the single food most likely to inflict damage on the American diet. They say that Americans stuff themselves with tacos, meatloaf, lasagna and the ubiquitous hamburger without a second thought as to the consequences.

The average American consumes about 30 pounds of ground beef each year. That's equivalent to a Quarter Pounder every three days. Hamburgers and cheese-burgers account for more than 76 percent of the beef sold in restaurants compared to just 5 percent for steak. Untrimmable ground beef products account for roughly 45 percent of the beef we eat and, unlike steak, the fat in ground beef can't be trimmed away. In fact, the health letter contends that many supermarkets "adjust" the fat content of their ground beef by adding ground-up beef fat. By law, no nutrition labels are required on ground beef packages. The medical community is very specific about limiting the amount of saturated fat in your diet. Ground beef is the third largest source of saturated fat in the average American diet after cheese and milk.

Much has been written about the disadvantages of commercial beef versus natural grass fed varieties. Commercial farmers have been using powerful synthetic fattening chemicals for a long time to enhance animal weight gain. It makes economic sense. More animal weight for less food [cost ]. the farmer makes more income. But, when the animals are sold, we eat them, chemicals and all. The end result is that our metabolism appears to be affected by a massive range of synthetic chemicals including those intended to fatten animals.

Because of policies started by the Nixon administrations USDA, we have amassed a hugh mountain of cheap corn to be used as cattle feed. The advantage to farmers is that corn fed cows get fat quickly and their flesh also marbles [fat layers ] well. But a growing body of research suggests that many of the health problems associated with eating beef are really problems with corn feed beef as well as the synthetic chemicals used. Ruminants are ill adapted to eating corn. In the same way, humans may be poorly adapted to eating ruminants that eat corn.

Michael Pollan, in his best selling book The Omnivore's Dilemma, tasting a hamburger from a steer raised in a CAFO, " I could not taste the feed corn, or the petroleum, or the antibiotics, or the hormones, or the feed lot manure. Nutrition facts don't enumerate the fact of what has gone into the making of the hamburger. You are what you eat is a truism hard to argue with, and yet it is, as a visit to a feed lot suggests, incomplete, for you are what what you eat eats too. And what we are, or have become, is not just meat but number 2 corn and oil.

"

No Magic Bullet

A diet based on your metabolic profile sounds interesting don't you think? Its name has the patina of science all over it. Yet, to date, I can't find any reliable scientific studies to back up its claims. What I have found are numerous anecdotal accounts of people who have said they use this method for weight control and are happy with it. Isn't that the same mantra as the folks who swear by blood type diets?

In his best selling book, Biochemical Individuality, Dr. Roger J. Williams says that, "There is no such thing as an average person-we are all genetically and biochemically unique." As members of the human race, we are all snow and as individuals, we are snowflakes and not two of us are alike. If that is so, and I believe it is, how can we have confidence in an approach that claims we fall into certain categories?

Various schools of thought contribute conflicting ideas. One says that we fall into one of three categories depending on the results of a lengthy written questionnaire. You are either a protein type, a carbohydrate type, or a mixed type. Another school says that there are five types, T-thyroid, A-adrenal, G-gonad, P-pituitary, and GP-gonad pituitary. There are others, but you get the point. The law of contradiction says that they can't all be right. But, they could all be wrong.

I answered a free on-line questionnaire and was shocked by the number of questions that included the term "normal." as in " Do you eat a big lunch, a small lunch, or a normal lunch?" What is normal anyway? Whats normal for a Sumo wrestler or Lance Armstrong may not be normal for me. I find it hard to give the questionnaires any credence. To date, I have not found any local source who offers either blood or urine tests for metabolic profiling.

First, lets take a look at the definition of metabolism as outlined in the text book Understanding Clinical Nutrition [ second edition ]-Cataldo, Rolfes, and Whitney, "Metabolism: the sum total of all the chemical reactions that go on in living cells." That's a lot of chemical reactions to be crammed into three or four specific types of metabolisms.

Here's what the Mayo Clinic staff says: That besides the chemical reactions in our trillions of cells, other factors include body size-body composition-sex-age-homogenises-physical activity-aerobic exercise-strength training-and lifestyle activities. " While its true that metabolism is linked to weight, it may not be in the way you expect. In fact, contrary to popular belief, a slow metabolism is rarely the cause of excess weight gain. Although your metabolism influences your basic energy needs, it is your food and beverage intake and your physical activity that ultimately determine how much you weigh. Your body generally balances your metabolism to meet your individual needs. People who are said to have a fast metabolism are probably more active than are others."

It seems to me that people are always looking for that magic bullet. That one bullet that solves all the problems of weight control. But, there is no magic bullet. A more reasoned approach can be found in the facts outlined in Dr. Barbara Rolls important book The Volumetrics Weight-Control Plan which teaches you how to feel full on fewer calories and The New Glucose Revolution by Miller,Wolever,Colagiuri, Powell et. al. with a forward by Dr. Andrew Weil which says," The concept of the glycemic index has been distorted and bastardized by popular writers and diet gurus. Here , at last, is a book that explains what we know about the glycemic index and its importance in designing a diet for optimum health...." They are both based on science and clinical experience. The two plans are complimentary and apply to all of us .



Bottom line: We can opt for diets based on the machinations of an unscientific approach clothed to look scientific or we can rely on the work of reputable professionals supported by one of the most respected nutritional exerts in the country.

Partially Hydrogenated Vegetable Oil

According to the Mayo Clinic, trans fats [ partially hydrogenated vegetable oils ] are harmful to your health. Food processors add hydrogen to polyunsaturated fat through a process called hydrogenation. Those oils become more solid than regular oil making them less likely to spoil. Using trans fats in the manufacturing of food helps that food stay fresh longer, provides a longer shelf life and a less greasy feel. Commercial baked goods and many fried foods may contain trans fats [ fats that have been transformed ] as can shortenings and margarine.

Sounds like a good thing doesn't it? But, there are consequences. Doctors worry about trans fat because of its unhealthy affect on two main levels of your cholesterol. Trans fat increases your level of LDL [bad ] cholesterol and decreases HDL [GOOD ] cholesterol which can have a major impact on heart health. Trans fat can cause atherosclerosis, increase triglycerides [ fat in the blood ] and cause inflammation by damaging the blood vessels in the cells.

We can practice due diligence by reading food labels. They will indicate if the food contains trans fat. But, beware, if the label indicates that the package contains 0 grams of trans fat, it can by law contain 0.5 grams of the nasty stuff. Though that is relatively small amount, if you eat multiple servings of food with 0.5 grams or less of trans fat, you could unwittingly consume unhealthy amounts.

If the label reads "fully" or "completely" hydrogenated oil, that oil does not contain trans fat. Unlike partially hydrogenated oil, the process to make fully or completely hydrogenated oil doesn't result in creating trans fatty acid. However, if the label reads just "hydrogenated" or "partially hydrogenated" vegetable oil, it could mean the oil contains some trans fat. Although small amounts of trans fat occur naturally in some meat and dairy products, its the trans fat in
processed food that is the most harmful.

The Omnivore's Dilemma

In his best selling book The Omnivores Dilemma, Michael Pollan describes a national eating disorder. Notice that he calls it an omnivore's problem, not a carnivore's or an herbivore's problem. Omnivores consume everything that's edible. We are engineered that way. One clue to that fact can be found in our dental structure. We have incisors for biting, canines for ripping and tearing, premolars and molars for chewing and grinding.

Now here comes Dr. Peter D'Adamo with the mind tickling theory that we should eat according to our specific blood type; type O, A, B, and AB. This has become one of the more popular diets of the day and one that has garnered a lot of scrutiny from the medical community.

Here is how I understand the theory. Type O is the oldest blood type dating back to our hunter-gatherer ancestors. So we should eat like they did i.e., lots of meat and very few grains and no dairy. Type A came in with the dawn of of primitive agriculture and this type thrives on a plant based diet. Type B and AB appeared about 10,000 years ago with the domestication of livestock and those types can eat pretty much anything.

The Dr. D'Adamo school of thought holds that the different blood types appeared at specific junctures in history while the opposing view holds that blood type genetics evolved together over eons of time. That argument is on-going. But lets look at how a few of the most respected sources weigh in:

Dr. Andrew Weil, " I have not seen any scientific evidence or a correlation between blood type and dietary requirements, I also don't see any evidence for his argument that different blood types evolved in different parts of the world..."

Mayo Clinic," ..There's no scientific evidence to support the so-called "blood type diet"...At this time, eating or avoiding certain foods according to your blood type isn't thought to have any favorable influence on weight or overall health. In fact, a "blood type diet" may not meet your nutritional needs."

The Harvard Medical School, "Eat Right 4 Your Type" diet promotes the wholly unscientific idea that your blood type determines what you should eat..."

Its difficult to fly in the face of the opinions of such prestigious sources. But, maybe we should put this diet into the "probably won't hurt" category. After all, it does not advocate eating wing dings and pop tarts. People have tried it and swear by it, although that can either be a placebo effect, which is not uncommon, or the positive mental effect of trying something new. If you want to try it, talk to your physician, nurse practitioner, or dietitian first. Please know that we need more peer reviewed studies and corroborated scientific data to make any positive evaluation about this diet.

A Biological Absurdity!

If you drive through the west, especially western Kansas, you will often see steel-fenced, rectangular grids as far as the eye can see. The grids are called CAFOs [ Concentrated Animal Feed Lots ] in which thousands upon thousands of cattle live and lay in manure lagoons created by their own waste. This environment turns a potential source of important fertilizer [ animal manure ] into toxic waste.

The government and big agribusiness have created a hugh mass of bio energy [corn ] which provides the producers cheap animal "feed." 125,000 square miles have been devoted to growning cheap corn on combined areas equal to twice the size of New York State. They are using corn as the "magic" fattening pill so the producers can add more weight to the animals faster and cheaper. Chemicals are also used to promote fast weight gain. Since 1976, increasing use of growth-promoting feed additives have been used.

Here is absurdity number 1: We are forcing animals to live under conditions which are toxic. They are existing in polluted air and water, toxic wastes, and deadly pathogens.

Absurdity number2: We have taken animals that have been exquisitely adapted by natural selection to live on GRASS and forced them to live in an alien environment and fed alien food. 100 million cattle are consuming mountains of corn instead of their natural prairie grasses.

When we eat the flesh of the animals raised under those stressful conditions, we're eating whatever junk is in that flesh. Corn-fatted tissue, growth hormone and whatever other ingredients are in the chemical cocktail fed to the animals are likely to find their way into our tissues. Some experts say that there is compelling evidence linking the enormous growth in synthetic chemicals with the current epidemic of overweight. The same might be said of corn which is ubiquitous in commercial feed lots. If the corn can fatten the animals. Guess what? You can do the math.

Here is a good example to consider. According to the Nutrition Action Health letter, "If you had to pick a single food that inflicts the most damage on the American diet, ground beef would be a prime contender. Whether it's Tacos, meatloaf, lasagna, or the ubiquitous hamburger, Americans stuff themselves with ground beef without a second thought about its consequences. "Billions and billions served" means "billions and billions" spent"...on doctors visits and hospital bills. Cheap meat which was once eaten eaten only on special occasions is now eaten three times a day.
We have become industrial eaters and our sense of taste has been ruined by McDonalds and others while also becoming increasingly over corn fed, fat and unhealthy. The short , unhappy life of a corn-fed feedlot steer represents the ultimate triumph of industrial thinking over the logic of evolution.



Additional sources of info on this subject: The Omnivore's Dilemma-Michael Pollan

The Body Restoration Plan-Dr. Paula Baillie- Hamilton

You Gotta Have Heart

Lub dub, lub dub, lub dub. That's what the heart beat sounds like through a stethoscope. The little, approximately 10 ounce" , engine that could" is pumping blood at the prodigious rate of around 1,900 gallons per day, 700,000 gallons per year, and a whopping 48 million gallons by the time we reach age 70. On a relative basis, that's probably better than the Alaska pipeline. Not bad for an organ about the size of a human fist.

The heart is a muscle pump and, like most of our other muscles, it responds well to moderate, frequent aerobic [ means living in air ] exercise in which we get the rate up for a period of time. One of the standard assessment tests for fitness is the resting heart rate which should be, for the average person, between 70 and 100 beats per minute, depending on your age and physical fitness.

Anaerobic exercise, or strengthening of the skeletal muscles, is also important but the system, as a whole, works more efficiently when we supply oxygen-rich blood to the cells. That's the job for the "little engine that could." The goal is to deliver the most volume of oxygen-rich blood with the least amount of effort possible. We need to maximize the blood volume pumped with each stroke! This can greatly reduce the threat of heart disease, enhance the ageing process, and produce HDL cholesterol [ the good kind].

We don't really need to train like Lance Armstrong [ not unless you're so inclined ] to be aerobically fit. Many doctors recommend a nice brisk walk several times each week, working in the garden, dancing, bike riding, swimming and just plain moving. Moving is the operative word. Chuck that sedentary lifestyle. We are not engineered to be couch potatoes. If you have any doubts about the intensity of training, ask your doctor, a nurse practitioner or a certified personal trainer. Like the cartoon characters said, you've got to move it, move it move it!

The Age of Speed and the Curse of Multi-tasking

Many of us today are suffering from time sickness. Many are obsessed with doing more and more in less time. In this age, instant gratification takes too long!

Today we are media-drenched and overloaded with data. We are bombarded constantly 24/7 with breaking news. Most of us want broadband computer service, microwave our food, learn to speed read, channel surf, use Ipods, cell phones, laptops, and do computer gaming. Many of us work extended hours regularly and some don't even take full vacations or they don't stay home when they have colds.

Here is what the National Safety Counsel has determined:

* Stress is rampant. We are sleeping less than other generations, and we are burning out early in life.

*We suffer from migraines, hypertension and gastrointestinal problems.

*We are finding less time for exercise and we're drinking too much alcohol.

*1/3 of Americans are clinically obese.

*The inner psychology of speed has caused many to wolf down their food or turn to fast food restaurants. Many don't take time for breakfast missing the most important meal of the day. Today, for too many, its Gobble, Gulp, and Go!

* Studies reflect a rising use of stimulants; amphetamines, methamphetamine, and cocaine in the workplace as many are sleep deprived. The usage has jumped up by 70% since 1998.

*We get into a vicious cycle. We lose sleep and this causes stress. Stress causes us to lose sleep and we get trapped. We are getting, on average, 1 1/2 hours less sleep than a mere century ago. The cost to American business has been estimated to be $10 billion annually.

It might be a good idea to follow the old adage to slow down and smell the roses. Also, wait to worry and don't worry about things you can't control. Researchers have shown that people think more creatively and possess more energy when they are calm and stress free. "Eureka" moments seldom come when we are stressed or highly fatigued.

You Need an Oil Change!

It has been said that trying to understand nutrition and health without appreciating the significance of balance between Omega3 and Omega6 essential fatty acids is like trying to understand earthquakes without knowledge of plate tectonics or motion without knowledge of physics.

The Omega fatty acids are essential which means that the body can't produce them on it's own. They must come from the food we eat and they must be in balance, much like sodium and potassium.

Science has established that we have caveman guts and that our Paleolithic ancestors consumed a diet which supplied an Omega 6 to Omega 3 ratio of between 1:1 and 4:1. Today, say the experts, the typical American diet supplies ratios of between 10:1 and 20: 1.

Why the imbalance and what does it mean? The American diet is askew say the experts because we consume too much polyunsaturated fats found in processed foods and too much fat from the meat we eat. Cheap corn oil is especially pervasive and yields ratios of Omega6 to Omega 3 of 46:1. Other examples include sunflower oil 19:1, peanut oil 29:0, palm oil 46:1 and cottonseed oil of a whopping 259:1. Others are typical.

The problem is that the two fats use the same enzymes to produce their end products. The enzymes are not in limitless supply and the two fats must compete for them. When they are in a ratio of 1:1 or even 4:1, chances are they will each get use of the enzymes they need, But, when the rations are inflated for Omega6s, the real possibilty exists that Omega 3s will get short-changed. Unfortunately, Omega6 acids make both inflammatory and non-inflammatory end products whereas Omega3s don't produce inflammatory end products. Some inflammtion is natural but, because of the overwhelming use of the oils in processed foods, many experts believe that Omega3s are rendered less effective.

The conventional wisdom today urges us to consume more Omega3s. This is a good idea! But, at the same time, we should be urging people to eat more "live" food, fresh fruits, vegetables, whole grains, legumes and low-fat dairy products., and elimate or drastically reduce the consumption of highly processed foods and too much meat.

In her book The Queen of Fats, Susan Allport tells us," If you are eating a typical fast-food diet, your cells will be full of omega-6s. If you are avoiding processed foods and partially hydrogenated fats and eating a lot of greens and fish, your cells wil have a good balance of omega-3s and omega-6s. In the matter of fats, we truly are what we eat and what we eat truly matters."

I Ate What?

According to Forbes magazine, Cargill is America's largest private company. Founded after the civil war, over time Cargill grew from a grain storage facility into an international producer and distributor of agricultural products. It owns the public held Mosaic Company a producer of fertilizer and other agricultural chemicals.

Salt has been under attack for it's ill effects on the nation's health. As one of the biggest producers of salt, Cargill is pushing back and has produced a video which proclaims that " Salt is a pretty amazing compound. So make sure you have plenty of salt in your kitchen at all times. Salt is life enhancing they say and we should sprinkle it an foods as varied as chocolate cookies, fresh fruit, ice cream, and even coffee. " You might be surprised by what foods are enhanced by its briney kiss."

Salt works in tandem with sugar and fat to achieve flavors that grip the consumer and do not let go. In his best selling book, The End of Overeating, Dr. David A. Kessler quotes a high level food industry executive who wanted to remain anonymous," Higher sugar, fat, and salt make you want to eat more. They are called the three points of the compass. They make a food compelling and indulgent. They make it high in hedonic [pleasure] value which gives us pleasure." Then Dr. Kessler asked," Do you design food specificaaly to be highly hedonic?' To which the executive replied," Oh, absolutely. We try to bring as much of that into the equation as possible."

There are scores of examples of the hedonic foods offer by the industry. Here are just a few:

Chicken Tenders are so soaked with BATTER and FAT that Dr. Kessler's source joked that they are a UFO- an unidentified fried object. SALT and SUGAR loaded onto FAT.

Blommin Onions-the trademark of Outback Steakhouse-are very popular and provide plenty of surface area to absorb FAT. Fried in BATTER and topped with SAUCE, their flavor comes from SALT on SUGER on FAT.

McDonald's Big Mac bun contains not only REFINED flour, water and SALT but also HIGH FRUCTOSE CORN SYRUP, SOYBEAN OIL [made with Monsanto's GMO beans] and PARTIALLY HYDROGENATED.

T.G.I.F. Friday is targeting the children's market by offering the Cup-of-Dirt-chocolate pudding with CRUMBLED OREO COOKIES,and GUMMY WORMS. Its FAT on SUGAR on FAT on SUGAR on SUGAR.

Hardee's Monster Thickburger contains 1,420 calories and 108 grams of FAT. It is essentially FAT on FAT on SALT on FAT on SALT on FAT, and all on a HIGH GLYCEMIC, REFINED CARBOHYDRATE bun.

There are many more examples but I think you get the point. Eating all these highly processed foods laced with syntheic chemicals, salt,sugar and fat which are highly hedonic,can play a role in creating very real overpowering cravings and crippling appetite. Cravings are based on appetite and not real hunger. Its easy to fall into the carbohydrate "black hole" with a diet based on these "dead" foods. Your body wants real food-"live"food in order to get the essential amino acids, complex carbs, essentiial fatty acids, water, vitamins and minerals, fiber and antioxidants which it needs. Deprive the cells of these nurients and you can lose the ability to tell the differnce between appetite and hunger. Then you may have a problem controlling unwanted body fat.

The K factor

It seems foolish to argue that too much salt in the diet can worsen the affects of high blood pressure. Yet, in the face of a mountain of scientific medical evidence, the processed food industry continues rationalizing salt's over-use.

The processed food industry continues to use an arsenal of chemicals to produce food items whose ingredients lists look more like formulas for rocket fuel rather than healthy, natural food.

Scientists agree that our internal food processing [digestive] mechanisms are Paleolithic in origin. They evolved over thousands of years on natural, live whole foods without any added chemicals. These added chemicals, including too much salt, are profoundly mismatched to our natural food processing system.

Overlooked in the arguments with Cargill, Kraft et.al., is the"K" factor. K is the symbol for Potassium, Like other vital combinations in our internal environment, Potassium and Sodium [salt] go together like ham and eggs or beans and rice. When they are out of balance, like they are in a typical processed food, we begin to have health problems, high blood pressure being just one. Potassium and sodium are electrolytes which are always found in pairs. They function in the maintenance of water balance and distribution, acid-base balance, muscle and nerve cell function, heart function, and kidney and adrenal function.

Potassium and sodium together keep the balance and provide the body with the sodium-potassium "pump" which, among other things, get nutrients into the cells and waste out. According to noted Alternative Medicine doctor Michael T. Murray, " Most Americans have a potassium-to-sodium ratio of less than 1:2. This means that most people ingest twice as much sodium as they do potassium. Researchers recommend a dietary potassium-to-sodium ratio of 5:1 to maintain health.

Here is what you can do [I don't see agribusiness changing soon]:

1. Make fresh fruits and vegetables the core of your diet. They are naturally rich in potassium and light on sodium.

2. If you are a meat eater, eat free-range grass- feed animals. The same with chicken and eggs.

3. If you are thinking of taking a potassium supplement, check with your doctor or nurse practitioner first.

4. Read labels, especially for sodium and sodium-like chemicals.

Remember, we are "engineered" to eat natural "live" food from nature's bounty. 'Live" food has all the essential ingredients your trillions of cells need to function optimally. We can each live healthier and also fight these businesses who put profits before health.