The 17 Grooviest Green Foods

#1 Cabbage: Of course since we are celebrating St. Patties Day we MUST celebrate cabbage! Recently I went to an Irish Pub and ordered corned beef and cabbage, and was horrified to find out that the beef is “corned” because it is brined with corn sized pieces of salt!

Hold the corned beef, but keep the cabbage because it is a powerful cancer fighter thanks to the indole-3-carbinol content. This is also a great breast cancer preventative for women as it decreases the “bad estrogen” and increases the “good estrogen.”

Meaning that the estrogen known to increase reproductive cancers is eliminated.

#2 Olive Oil: I cannot speak highly enough for the virtues of using olive oil as your primary cooking oil in your kitchen. When baking or cooking at temps greater than 340F switch to canola oil. Otherwise, olive oil is a RICH antioxidant source as I stated in my article, “Olive Oil Prevents DNA Damage.” If olive oil is NOT green….it is NOT good. Read more

©KitchenTableMedicine.com, LLC ™

Aunt Sally’s $10,000 Chicken Recipe Gets a Makeover

My Aunt Sally won $10,000 for this recipe, plus it is lowfat, simple, and delicious!

This is my slightly healthier spin on it as I use olive oil instead of butter, brown rice instead of white, and lowfat sour cream rather than full fat.

Preparation:

• Rinse and trim fat off four boneless skinless chicken breasts
• Marinate for at least 30 minutes (recipe below)
• Heat skillet over medium high heat, then add 1-2 tablespoons olive or canola oil.
• Sear chicken breasts on medium high heat for a few seconds on each side, and reduce heat to medium or medium low depending on your stove. Read more

©KitchenTableMedicine.com, LLC ™

Anti-Aging Diet

By Dr. Nicole Sundene

“If I could turn back time….”  name that tune!

The fountain of youth is not that difficult to find. Really it is inside of all of us. It simply starts with making the better decisions when at all possible.

Let’s face it, nobody wants to BE old, nobody wants to LOOK old, and most importantly nobody wants to FEEL old. he bad news is that aging is just a reality of living.

The good news is that to some degree we can reverse the aging process, if not drastically slow it down through better diet and lifestyle decisions. After working eight years in patient care, two of which were spent with a dermatologist I have concluded that the best “preserved” older people are those that exercise, eat right, and have positive mental attitudes.

Botox and collagen will only take you so far, and in my opinion there is no substance that will give you that healthy youthful glow that only proper nutrition and exercise provide. Read more

©KitchenTableMedicine.com, LLC ™

The Tough Economic Times Diet

By Dr. Nicole Sundene

Jay Leno joked last night that “the economy was so bad that women in LA had to resort to diet and exercise to look good.”

I couldn’t help but chuckle at that one.  Because the REAL dark irony is that a whole food diet and lifestyle will help you look a million times better than anyone botoxed or pumped full of collagen. Trust me, I assisted the dermatologist back in the day.

During these Tough Economic Times (TET) times we can at least laugh because laughter is still free AND it burns calories.

Despite the “Obesity Tax,” politicians have yet to tax us for laughter.  Perhaps I shouldn’t give them any ideas!

Feel free to leave your frugal “TET Diet” tip in the comments section.

As with everything, going with the flow seems to be the most logical cure for this economic crisis.

As we learn to move away from “Unfulfilled Consumerism” and make choices that are healthier for the environment as well as our pocketbooks, we can certainly remind ourselves of some great dieting tips brought on by these “tough economic times.”

Weight Loss Tips We can Learn from these Tough Economic Times:

1.  Drink a cozy warm mug of water in lieu of your expensive latte.  Warm water gives your intestines a bath, aids elimination, while still making you feel like you have a warm drink to comfort you during the traumatic morning time (well for me).  For more detox on the cheap just add a squeeze of fresh lemon.

2.  Eat less. Yes! I am guessing that since 1/3 of America is obese and many of us are overweight that we can just eat less. I love the Swedish Proverb, ““Fear less, hope more; Eat less, chew more; Whine less, breathe more; Talk less, say more; Love more, and all good things will be yours.”

Maybe it is just because I am Swedish, or maybe it’s because it’s great advice.  But longevity studies indicate that the less we eat (within reason) the longer we live.  Never starve yourself as that slows your metabolism down.  Instead try eating five small meals a day.  Focus on whole foods and simply stop  bit before you actually feel full (more on this later).

3.  Chew chew chew your food! If we are eating less we need to be chewing more so that we can spend our time eating and not feeling like we are deprived because we are eating less. Spend the same amount of time eating less food. It works.

4.  Take a break. Everyone needs a break, especially your poor stomach. At the beginning of your meal, visually or physically divide your plate in half.  When you reach that half way point, take a little break.  Let your body digest for a few minutes, it takes about twenty minutes to register that we are even full so give yourself some time to ENJOY your food, and you may as a result spend less time eating.  That is more leftovers for later, remember “The Doggie Bag” is the hot new trend of 2009.

5.  Share your food. Not only will you look cool while you feel generous, but you’ll be reminded of how much you actually have, while secretly saddling those around you with those unnecessary calories.  We all know that the easiest way to look thinner is to fatten up those around us *wink*

6.  Split your food. If you aren’t the sharing type then visually split your food in half and eat the next portion of it the next day. Restaurants have trained us to think that a normal portion size is over 2-3 times of what it truly is.

I try to make three meals out of every restaurant meal.  A habit I got in after waiting tables and throwing pounds and pounds of food away after clearing tables all day. It was such a waste!

It may not have been cool before to ask for that “to go” box, but it sure is now.  Set the example.  Take the doggie bag, and remember that you can also save money on kibble by feeding your dogs leftover meat, veggies, cottage cheese, yogurt (non-sweetened), potatoes, and rice.  Just don’t give them too many grains, bread, wheat, sweets, etc.

7.  Focus on disease prevention. Staying healthy and eating the basic boring whole foods diet is exactly what prevents disease, and it is cheap!

8.  Walk everywhere. I know gas prices are down but still, it is really fun to challenge yourself with basic exercise errands around your urban area.

9.  Find a walking buddy. If you live in suburbia and can’t challenge yourself with walking to your errands, find a walking buddy (aka free counseling.) Since no one can afford real counseling during these tough economic times, remember that nothing makes people vent their stress like a nice long walk. Walking means burning calories, and spending time that we could be wasting eating.

10. Make it a Gym Date, as Fitness Trainer Bonnie Pfiester reminds us. You will be a cool role model, and for just a ten dollar guest pass, you can keep your date busy for several hours.

11. Drink water and only water. If your only beverage of choice is filtered tap water you will save oodles on both your pocket book and waistline. We never want to drink our calories. Read “One Soda per Day Can Change Your Waistline.”

12. Stressed? That is great, try eating less instead of eating more. It is not normal for us to be “running from the proverbial bear” while we are trying to digest a double bacon cheeseburger, curly fries, and a chocolate shake.

Under stress, our digestive systems essentially shut down while blood and oxygen are shunted to our muscles and cardiovascular system. The more stressed you are, the more you will benefit from a nourishing diet eaten while you are calm and sitting down.  Try a few minutes of breathing exercises before your meal. Over-indulgence is not your friend during TET times.

13. Plant your own food. Spring is the time to start thinking about cheap food you can plant and grow to enjoy later.  I love planting zuchini, squash, potatoes, onions, garlic, and so forth because they are so simple to grow as I mentioned in my article “The Top Eleven Laziest Foods to Grow.” If you don’t want to grow your own, make your kids do it by “Planting an Organic Kids Garden,” and that teaching activity should help kids eat more veggies. Don’t forget to let some “Berries Run Wild” on your property.

14. Grow your own herbs. Do you need to take stock in the tons and tons of supplements you are paying top dollar for in your cupboards, when the herb growing season is about to start? Many healing plants chock full of the antioxidants you are paying top dollar for, literally grow like weeds in your back yard! If you don’t spray your yard with pesticides you can use rosemary, dandelion, stinging nettles, garlic…and if you aren’t sure what to do with an herb growing in your yard…just ask me! If you are stressed you can easily grow lemon balm and lavender as I mentioned in, “The Fifteen Most Fabulous Herbal Sedatives.”

15. Eat at the Kitchen Table! If you can afford to eat out, then by all means please go out and stimulate the economy.  But for everyone on the TET Diet, eating out is bad for our wallets and our waistlines.  When we eat out at poor quality cheap fast food, fried, fatty places we are likely causing disease and not preventing it.

You should at least be eating one meal a day at the kitchen table if not two.  Kitchen Table time is important family bonding time, improves posture, digestion, and saves us in both the long and short run.  If you can make three meals at the kitchen table a day then you get  gold star!

What is your TET Diet tip?

Dr. Nicole

Related Reading:
Best Weight Loss Diet 2008
The Best Long Term Weight Loss Plan

©KitchenTableMedicine.com, LLC ™

Eat Gluten-Free Without Going Broke, Part 3

By Dr. Selena Eon, ND

It is handy to be able to purchase GF baked goods ready-made fresh or frozen. I will not try to dispute that. However, for long-term physical and financial health, I maintain that preparing these foods yourself whenever possible is a better choice. You get far more for your money and you choose the ingredients.

A person who does poorly with corn, soy or dairy may have extreme difficulty finding ready-made gluten-free products that are acceptable for them—preparing at home is an optimal choice. If your diet tends to be low in fiber, you can choose higher fiber flours and incorporate nuts, seeds, fruits and vegetables into your baked goods. Home-made foods are also fresher and frequently taste better.

As a resident of the Puget Sound (Seattle) I tend to purchase various flours, mixes and certified gluten-free oats from Bob’s Red Mill as they are located in Oregon. I also use Pamela’s Baking Mixes as they are located in southern British Columbia (Canada). Both manufacturers pay careful attention to ensuring that their products are safe for individuals who need to follow a gluten-free diet. If you are an east-coaster, you might choose manufacturers if buying local is important to you.

When you cook or bake at home, you get far more food for your money. Depending upon the ingredients you choose, it’s likely that you could bake 24 muffins for what buying 6 would cost. There are some good gluten-free breads on the market, but loaves can cost over $9. Using a gluten-free mix, you can make a loaf at home for $5-6. With practice, a loaf can be made from scratch for approximately $4.

You can make multiple loaves at the same time and freeze slices for reheating later. A large pot of organic lentil soup may cost $8 to prepare and provide up to 20 meals—where a can of lentil soup might provide 2 skimpy servings for $2.79. A large home-made batch of gluten-free meat & vegetable lasagna using mostly organic ingredients may cost $25 to prepare at home and provide 25 generous servings, while purchasing a single frozen serving could cost over $5.

I do purchase ready-made GF baked goods. Please do not get the impression that I am in any way against them! I love that they are available and support producers of these foods whenever possible. But as a budget-conscious consumer, I choose use them sparingly as a convenient part of a healthy diet that focuses on vegetables, fruit, whole grains, legumes and sparing amounts of meat, poultry fish & dairy products.

Related Reading:

Eat Gluten Free Without Going Broke, Part 1
Eat Gluten Free Without Going Broke, Part 2

If you have any questions about celiac disease, you are welcome to ask them in the comments section and they will be addressed in future articles.

Dr. Selena Eon practices in Bellevue, WA and you may contact her at
(206) 228-9537 or visit www.drselenaeon.com

©KitchenTableMedicine.com, LLC ™

Eat Gluten-Free Without Going Broke, Part 2

By Dr. Selena Eon, ND

Healthy diets come in many kinds and depend on the needs & tastes of individual households. Finding a healthy diet that fits you and your family takes trial, error and knowledge.

You may need to consult a health care practitioner for advice. Budget conscious cooking can be an extremely healthful way to feed your family- and even include organic foods.

The secret is to focus on inexpensive, natural, wholesome gluten-free whole foods. A whole food is anything that you could imagine growing, or that you eat all the edible parts of over time (such as a chicken). This reduces the cost of your food and may help you recover from any damage that gluten caused you.

I encourage individuals and families to frequent farmers markets for extraordinary deals on organic, local produce in the summer and autumn months.

Bumper crops can be frozen or canned for eating later in the year. Purchasing an organic, whole chicken often costs less than the breasts alone!

If you are not used to preparing and eating natural, unprocessed foods, please, be patient with yourself!

It takes time to learn how to cook new foods. It takes time to determine the best way to set up your kitchen as a productive workspace. It takes time for tastes to adjust to a more natural diet. Give your family time to adjust by changing gradually whenever possible. Spend afternoons preparing foods with loved ones.

If you know a great home cook, ask to spend time in their kitchen with them so that you can learn from their expertise. Most cooks are flattered by the attention. Experiment with new flavors and tastes- but gradually. There are many strategies you can use to gradually accustom your family to a new diet. If you need help, seek it!

Once you start eating whole, fresh, naturally gluten-free foods, you are likely to notice that you feel better too. A whole foods diet, prepared at home from fresh, natural foods is also higher in necessary nutrients to keep your body healthy long term. Whole food contains a broader spectrum of health-promoting nutrition than pills.

But don’t throw out your multi-vitamin or discontinue any supplements that your doctor recommends.

Many people starting on a gluten-free diet need extra, even specialized nutrition to make up for the nutrients that were absorbed poorly, or not at all because of intestinal damage caused by gluten.

It can take months, or even years in severe cases, for your body to heal and gain adequate nutritional status.

Check out the previous article in this series, and keep your eye out for the conclusion of this three part series on saving money while eating gluten-free!

If you have any questions about celiac disease, you are welcome to ask them in the comments section and they will be addressed in future articles.

Dr. Selena Eon practices in Bellevue, WA and you may contact her at
(206) 228-9537 or visit www.drselenaeon.com

©KitchenTableMedicine.com, LLC ™

What Diet Is Best For You?

Dr. Nicole, what is the best diet?

The best diet is the diet that works for YOU.

The best diet is something that you can healthfully follow for the rest of your life.

The best diet for you is the diet that gives you energy, keeps your health in balance, helps you to be emotionally stable, maintains your religious or spiritual ethics and is sustainable for the environment.

With that being said, I am happy to announce that we have a variety of great diet plans to choose from and follow. If you are new to a particular diet and want some help simply leave your question or request for support in the comments section so that we may assist you with your goals.

Diets for health, wellness and weight loss:

The Whole Foods Diet

The Weight Loss Diet

The Low Glycemic Index Diet: stay feeling full longer, by eating a diet with a high “satiety index”.

Therapuetic Diets:

Allergy Elimination Diet

Anti-inflammatory Diet

Blood Pressure Lowering Diet and Helpful Tips for Reducing Sodium

Candida Diet

Cholesterol Lowering Diet

Diabetes Diet

Detox Diet

The Diet for Depression

©KitchenTableMedicine.com, LLC ™

6 Common Allergens Found In Sports Nutrition Bars

Finding a truly healthy nutrition bar can be tough as I noted in my article, “Zing Bars Awarded Best Nutrition Bar 2008.”

I interviewed the makers of Zing Bars, nutritionists Michael Kaplan, ND, Minh-Hai Tran, MS, RD and Sandi Kaplan, MS, RD to help us better understand the common allergens found in nutrition bars.

#1 - Gluten sensitivity is among the most common food sensitivities within the US and Europe. Gluten is a protein found within grains such as wheat, rye, barley, spelt, kamut & triticale. Gluten free grains include rice, corn, millet, quinoa, buckwheat, amaranth & teff.

Certified Gluten Free Oats are thought to be safe for most people with gluten sensitivity, as conventional oats are usually contaminated with wheat during processing or transport. Gluten sensitivity is a permanent condition that requires a person to avoid these gluten grains without reprieve. Gluten sensitivity can lead to Celiac Disease, and has been implicated as playing a contributing role in chronic inflammation, auto-immune disease and nutrient deficiencies.

#2 - Soy Protein is a common food allergen that is on the rise is western countries. Studies show that processed soy protein, such as soy protein isolate powder, has more allergenic potential because of the concentrated nature of the product. This is a tremendously common form of protein in nutrition bars because of its low cost. Whole food forms of soy, such as whole soy beans (and to a lesser degree tempeh and tofu) are generally better tolerated by soy sensitive individuals.

*It’s important to note that soy lecithin is not a soy protein, and therefore does not carry the same allergenic potential of the soy protein isolate powders. Soy lecithin is an emulsifier that is used to make smooth textures and mixtures, commonly found in chocolate coatings & chocolate chips.

#3 - Corn is generally found in bars in the form of High Fructose Corn Syrup (discussed earlier).

#4 - Casein is a chief milk protein that is occasionally found in nutrition bars. Casein is a difficult protein for some individuals to digest and occasionally can present as a sensitivity in its own right. Casein contrasts with whey, a milk protein that is far easier to digest and is inherently low in lactose.

#5 – Peanuts and Tree Nuts are probably the most alarming allergens on this list because of their ability to cause severe and immediate symptoms in affected individuals.

#6 - Additives/colorings/preservatives can be allergenic in their own right. While these additives remain on the FDA’s GRAS (generally regarded as safe) list, they should be avoided by anyone wishing to make the healthiest food choices.

Check back soon to find out which sports bars are best for athletes!

Authors: Michael Kaplan, ND, Minh-Hai Tran, MS, RD and Sandi Kaplan, MS, RD

Reference Citations:

1.  Mozaffarian D, Pischon T, Hankinson SE, et al. Dietary intake of trans fatty acids and systemic inflammation in women. Am J Clin Nutr. 2004; 79:606-12.
2.  Mozaffarian D, Katan MB, Ascherio A, Stampfer MJ, Willett WC. Trans fatty acids and cardiovascular disease. N Engl J Med. 2006; 354:1601-13.
3.  Trans fats: The Story Behind the Label. Harvard Public Health Review. Spring 2006.
4.  Freeman J, Hayes, C. Low Carbohydrate Food Facts & Fallacies. Diabetes Spectrum. 2004. 17:137-140.
5.  Hartman E. High Fructose Corn Syrup: No so Sweet for the Planet.  Washington Post. March 9, 2008. p. N02
6.  Jenkins, D, Kendall, C, Josse A, et al. Almonds decrease post-prandial glycemia, insulinemia, and oxidative damage in healthy individuals. J Nutr 2006;136;2987-92.
7.  L’Hocine L, Boye JI. Allergenicity and the soybean: new developments in identification of allergenic proteins, cross reactivities and hypoallergenization technologies. Crit Rev Food Sci Nut. 2007;47(2):127-43.
8.  Stolzenberg-Solomon RZ, et al. Folate intake, alcohol use, and postmenopausal breast cancer risk in the Prostate, Lung, Colorectal, and Ovarian Cancer Screening Trial. Am J Clin Nutr. 2006 Apr;83(4):895-904.
9.  Stranges S, et al. Effects of long-term selenium supplementation on the incidence of type 2 diabetes: a randomized trial. Ann Intern Med. 2007 Aug 21;147(4):217-23.
10.  Ericson U et al. High folate intake is associated with lower breast cancer incidence in postmenopausal women in the Malmö Diet and Cancer cohort. Am J Clin Nutr. 2007 Aug;86(2):424-43.
11.  Steinberg FM, Bearden MM, Keen CL. Cocoa and chocolate flavonoids: implications for cardiovascular health. J Am Diet Assoc. 2003 Feb; 103(2):215-23.
12.  Champe PC, Harvey RA. Biochemistry 2nd edition. Philadelphia: J.B. Lippincott Company, 1994. 112, 152.
13. Oku T, Nakamura S. Threshold for transitory diarrhea induced by ingestion of xylitol and lactitol in young male and female adults. J Nutr Sci Vitaminol (Tokyo). 2007 Feb;53(1):13-20.
14.  Farschi HR, et al. Beneficial metabolic effects of regular meal frequency on dietary thermogenesis, insulin sensitivity and fasting lipid profiles in healthy obese women. Am J Clin Nutr. 2005 Jan;81(1):16-24

©KitchenTableMedicine.com, LLC ™

How To Choose A Healthy Sports Nutrition Bar

Finding a truly healthy nutrition bar can be tough as I noted in my article, “Zing Bars Awarded Best Nutrition Bar 2008.”

I interviewed the makers of Zing Bars, nutritionists Michael Kaplan, ND, Minh-Hai Tran, MS, RD and Sandi Kaplan, MS, RD to help us better understand the following qualities to look for in a healthy sports bar.

What qualities should people look for when purchasing a healthy sports bar?

100% Natural Ingredients: In our opinion, a bar does not need to be 100% organic to be a healthy choice.  With the rising cost of food in general, organic ingredients can sometimes strain a food budget.  We recommend comfortably settling for a 100% natural bar, free of colorings, preservatives and additives.

High quality protein: Not all protein sources are as efficiently utilized by the body.  There are several measurements that seek to describe protein quality.  One such measurement is a protein’s Biological Value (BV).  The higher the Biological Value of the protein, the more nitrogen the body can absorb, use, and retain. As a result, proteins with the highest BV promote the most lean muscle gains.

Whey protein has the highest BV value, with a relative 104 rating.  Egg protein is second with a relative 100 and milk proteins rank third as relative 91.  Beef and soy protein have relative BV scores of 80 and 74 respectively.  Rice protein scores even lower than soy protein on the BV spectrum.  However, rice protein’s gluten free, relative hypoallergenic profile solidifies its usefulness as a protein source for those looking for a vegan alternative to soy protein.

High quality fat from sources such as nuts and seeds. High quality fat is important for at least two reasons:

• Fat helps stabilize blood sugar: Nuts, when consumed with a meal or snack, significantly reduce the rate at which glucose from carbs enters the bloodstream.  This means better blood sugar balance and control.  Nuts are comprised predominantly of monounsaturated fats and are a rich source of phytosterols, magnesium and folic acid which are means they are cardioprotective (reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease).
• Fat helps with satiety: A meal or snack with a balanced amount of fat (with respect to carbs and protein) will help increase feelings of fullness and satiety.  This can be very helpful in terms of portion control.

Fiber is a key player in any healthy food.  Fiber increases satiety by adding bulk, helps to slow the absorption of glucose from the diet, sweeps away dietary cholesterol in the gut, helps to create a nourishing environment for beneficial gut bacteria and scrubs toxins from the digestive tract.  This is just a partial list of the benefits of fiber.

We recommend 3 grams (or more) per bar. In our opinion, fiber really speaks to a particular food’s “Carbohydrate Quality.”  We define Carb Quality as follows: First, 3+ grams of Fiber.  Second, minimal use of sugar alcohols.  Third, the use of low glycemic sweeteners, such as Agave nectar.

Low allergens: (see the next article in this series discussing common allergens found in sports bars – coming up soon!)

Authors: Michael Kaplan, ND, Minh-Hai Tran, MS, RD and Sandi Kaplan, MS, RD

Reference Citations:

1.  Mozaffarian D, Pischon T, Hankinson SE, et al. Dietary intake of trans fatty acids and systemic inflammation in women. Am J Clin Nutr. 2004; 79:606-12.
2.  Mozaffarian D, Katan MB, Ascherio A, Stampfer MJ, Willett WC. Trans fatty acids and cardiovascular disease. N Engl J Med. 2006; 354:1601-13.
3.  Trans fats: The Story Behind the Label. Harvard Public Health Review. Spring 2006.
4.  Freeman J, Hayes, C. Low Carbohydrate Food Facts & Fallacies. Diabetes Spectrum. 2004. 17:137-140.
5.  Hartman E. High Fructose Corn Syrup: No so Sweet for the Planet.  Washington Post. March 9, 2008. p. N02
6.  Jenkins, D, Kendall, C, Josse A, et al. Almonds decrease post-prandial glycemia, insulinemia, and oxidative damage in healthy individuals. J Nutr 2006;136;2987-92.
7.  L’Hocine L, Boye JI. Allergenicity and the soybean: new developments in identification of allergenic proteins, cross reactivities and hypoallergenization technologies. Crit Rev Food Sci Nut. 2007;47(2):127-43.
8.  Stolzenberg-Solomon RZ, et al. Folate intake, alcohol use, and postmenopausal breast cancer risk in the Prostate, Lung, Colorectal, and Ovarian Cancer Screening Trial. Am J Clin Nutr. 2006 Apr;83(4):895-904.
9.  Stranges S, et al. Effects of long-term selenium supplementation on the incidence of type 2 diabetes: a randomized trial. Ann Intern Med. 2007 Aug 21;147(4):217-23.
10.  Ericson U et al. High folate intake is associated with lower breast cancer incidence in postmenopausal women in the Malmö Diet and Cancer cohort. Am J Clin Nutr. 2007 Aug;86(2):424-43.
11.  Steinberg FM, Bearden MM, Keen CL. Cocoa and chocolate flavonoids: implications for cardiovascular health. J Am Diet Assoc. 2003 Feb; 103(2):215-23.
12.  Champe PC, Harvey RA. Biochemistry 2nd edition. Philadelphia: J.B. Lippincott Company, 1994. 112, 152.
13. Oku T, Nakamura S. Threshold for transitory diarrhea induced by ingestion of xylitol and lactitol in young male and female adults. J Nutr Sci Vitaminol (Tokyo). 2007 Feb;53(1):13-20.
14.  Farschi HR, et al. Beneficial metabolic effects of regular meal frequency on dietary thermogenesis, insulin sensitivity and fasting lipid profiles in healthy obese women. Am J Clin Nutr. 2005 Jan;81(1):16-24

©KitchenTableMedicine.com, LLC ™

Japanese Prawn and Noodle Salad Recipe

Prawns are a delicious, healthy light protein choice.

Try pairing them with veggies for lunch and keep the carbs “slow” for optimal energy at the office or while chasing kids around all day.

Today’s healthy recipe is brought to us by my friend Zesty of ZestyCook.com. Visit his website for more whole food recipe ideas.

Ingredients

• 150 g Japanese noodles or Chinese
• 6 Cups Mixed Greens
• 2 Cloves garlic; crushed
• 1 Red pepper; deseeded and cut into thin strips
• 4 tb Brown rice vinegar
• 3 Tbsp. Coconut Milk
• 1 Tbsp. Fresh root ginger grated
• 2 Tbsp. Soy sauce
• 2 Tbsp. Sesame seeds toasted (1oz)
• 2 tb Sunflower oil
• 1 Lb. Prawns

Method

1. Place the cooked drained noodles in a salad dish and chill.
2. In a small bowl add the the rice vinegar and soy sauce. Leave for 10 minutes.
3. Heat the sunflower oil in a wok and add the crushed garlic,stir fry for 1-2 minutes and add the red pepper.
4. Add Prawns to the hot pan and cook for 1 minute.
5. Add coconut milk and allow to thicken. Then cool slightly.
6. Combine the vegetables with the noodles and add the rice vinegar and soy sauce directly to noodles. Take the grated ginger and holding in one hand squeeze the juice over the salad and discard the pulp.
7. Chill for 30 minutes before serving.
8. Toss with mixed greens.

Delicious served as a light lunch or as part of an oriental meal.

Zesty Tip: When dressing a salad, place the dressing in the bottom of the bowl and the greens on top of them and gently toss with a pair of tongs just before serving. This will prevent damaging the greens.

More Zesty Recipes:
The Healing Power of Cauliflower
Sauteed Spinach Recipe

©KitchenTableMedicine.com, LLC ™

The Five Hidden Evils in Nutrition Bars

Finding a truly healthy nutrition bar can be tough as I noted in my article, “Zing Bars Awarded Best Nutrition Bar 2008.”

I interviewed the makers of Zing Bars, nutritionists Michael Kaplan, ND, Minh-Hai Tran, MS, RD and Sandi Kaplan, MS, RD to help us better understand the following unhealthy red flag ingredients commonly found in our not so healthy “health bars.”

What are the 5 Most Harmful Ingredients Commonly Found in Nutrition Bars?

1. Trans fats are listed as “partially hydrogenated” oils in a packaged food’s ingredients list. Trans fats have been shown to increase total cholesterol and contribute to heart disease. They also spur inflammation, an over-activity of the immune system that has been implicated in heart disease, stroke, diabetes, and other chronic conditions.

The good news is that as of January 1, 2006, trans fats are required by law to be enumerated in a food’s Nutrition Facts Panel. Despite ever increasing public awareness, however, trans fats still have a place on the FDA’s “GRAS” (generally regarded as safe) list so watch out for their continued use.

2. Fractionated Palm Kernel Oils are an increasingly popular ingredient in bars today. They are commonly used to help stiffen chocolate coatings that would otherwise not be solid a room temperature. This “fractionation” process dramatically raises the saturated fat content of the oil, and confers many of the same anti-melting shelf stability aspects of trans fats.

It appears that fractionated oils may be taking the place of trans fats in certain products, stepping in as public awareness about trans fats rises. While more research is needed to determine the extent of the health risks of fractionated oils, it’s clear that they confer a higher level of saturated fat and a poorer quality fat profile overall.

3. Sorbitol, Mannitol, & Maltitol are sweeteners known as sugar alcohols. Manufacturers of candies and many sports bars use sugar alcohols as a replacement for conventional sugar or high fructose corn syrup. These sugar alcohols taste sweet, but have less of an impact on blood sugar levels compared to traditional cane sugar. Unfortunately there are several myths and popular misconceptions surrounding sugar alcohols.

Myth 1: Sugar alcohols are calorie free. This is unfortunately false. The most commonly used sugar alcohols have between 50-75% of the calories per gram of table sugar.

Myth 2: Sugar Alcohols only slightly raise blood sugar. While it’s true that most sugar alcohols have a lower glycemic index (or effect on blood sugar) than traditional table sugar, the effect is hardly negligible.

Despite fewer calories per gram, Sugar alcohols can raise blood sugar anywhere from 50-100% of the amount expected from table sugar alone. This means that some sugar alcohols may contribute to blood sugar swings & crashes normally associated with “traditional” sugary snacks & treats.

Myth 3: Sugar alcohols have no side-effects. Untrue! Sugar alcohols are not fully digested and absorbed by the body, so some of the compounds remain in the gut and are allowed to pass to the colon; an area sugars are normally never allowed to enter.

These sugars can pull extra water into the colon via osmosis, leading to diarrhea and cramping. They can also be fermented by the bacteria that normally inhabit this area of the digestive tract, leading to increased flatulence. The “threshold” or amount required to produce this effect varies from person to person.

So, not all sugar alcohols are created equally.

4. High Fructose Corn Syrup (HFCS) is a high glycemic sweetener, equivalent to sucrose (table sugar) in the degree of sweetness and calories per gram. While the research is unclear about whether or not HFCS is more harmful to health than sucrose, it’s presence in a food usually suggests a disproportionate amount of refined carbohydrate compared to fiber, protein and fat.

While HFCS is technically “natural” according to the FDA’s guidelines, it is a heavily processed product requiring many energy intensive steps. This makes it a less than optimal choice from an ecological point of view. HFCS also propagates the use of non-organic corn. So while the debate rages on about its healthfulness for humans compared to table sugar, its negative impact on the environment is more evident.

5. Gluten sensitivity is an emerging problem among American & Europeans. Current research points out that 1% of the population have Celiac disease (a more symptomatic form of gluten sensitivity). However, evidence suggests that gluten sensitivity (with its more non-specific presentation) affects many more people. Gluten is found in wheat, barley, oats, and rye primarily and athletes with sensitive stomachs should consider avoiding gluten.

Authors: Michael Kaplan, ND, Minh-Hai Tran, MS, RD and Sandi Kaplan, MS, RD

Reference citations:

1. Mozaffarian D, Pischon T, Hankinson SE, et al. Dietary intake of trans fatty acids and systemic inflammation in women. Am J Clin Nutr. 2004; 79:606-12.
2. Mozaffarian D, Katan MB, Ascherio A, Stampfer MJ, Willett WC. Trans fatty acids and cardiovascular disease. N Engl J Med. 2006; 354:1601-13.
3. Trans fats: The Story Behind the Label. Harvard Public Health Review. Spring 2006.
4. Freeman J, Hayes, C. Low Carbohydrate Food Facts & Fallacies. Diabetes Spectrum. 2004. 17:137-140.
5. Hartman E. High Fructose Corn Syrup: Not so Sweet for the Planet. Washington Post. March 9, 2008. p. N02
6. Rubio-Tapia A, Murray JA. The Liver in Celiac Disease. Hepatology. 2007. Nov; 46(5): 1650-8.
7. Helms, S. Celiac Disease and Gluten-Associated Diseases. Altern Med Rev. 2005 Sept; 10(3):172-92
8. Miller GD, Jarvis JK, McBean LD. Handbook of Dairy Foods and Nutrition 3rd edition. National Dairy Council, 2006.
9. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Whey_protein
10. Jenkins, D, Kendall, C, Josse A, et al. Almonds decrease post-prandial glycemia, insulinemia, and oxidative damage in healthy individuals. J Nutr 2006;136;2987-92.
11. L’Hocine L, Boye JI. Allergenicity and the soybean: new developments in identification of allergenic proteins, cross reactivities and hypoallergenization technologies. Crit Rev Food Sci Nut. 2007;47(2):127-43.
12. Farschi HR, et al. Beneficial metabolic effects of regular meal frequency on dietary thermogenesis, insulin sensitivity and fasting lipid profiles in healthy obese women. Am J Clin Nutr. 2005 Jan;81(1):16-24

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Zing Bars: Awarded Best Nutrition Bar 2008

Have you been searching for the best sports bar? Are you tired of all the refined junk, preservatives and other garbage you have to eat while exercising to make your body healthier?

Well as an avid mountain biker and endurance cyclist I have tried nearly every bar in the business, and have finally settled on what I think is the best. Zing Bars!

Congratulations to Zing Bars for winning the Kitchen Table Medicine award for the best in nutrition bars for 2008!

Here is why they are the best:

• NO artificial ingredients! The founders of Zing Bars apparently were just as sick of all the unhealthy “health bars” on the market and have taken out all the other garbage that pollutes most sports bars and created a delicious whole food alternative for busy people.
• No corn syrup! Zing bars are sweetened with agave syrup and real fruit juice. “Slow and steady wins the race,” and sweeteners with a lower glycemic index will continuously provide you with a steady energy source.
• NO cottonseed oil. Anytime you read “cottonseed oil” or “partially hydrogenated cottonseed oil” just run the other way. Zing bars provide healthy fat from almonds.
• These are whole food, hypoallergenic bars that are not only healthful but delicious! No wonder they were smartly formulated by four nutritionists.
• They have fiber! Five grams of fiber per bar. This is great news for dieters and those with blood sugar issues as we want to balance everything we eat with fiber to increase the “satiety index” or that feeling of being satisfied. If you are doing the Iron Man or any other long distance endurance event I do advise to limit fiber consumption during the race, so don’t go eating ten of these on race day! But Zing bars are the perfect training treat.
• These are great for children because they aren’t fortified with a bunch of synthetic vitamin isolates that can overload a young child’s system. Most athletes actually risk “hypervitaminosis” from all the vitamins they consume in their protein drinks, bars, multivitamins, energy drinks, and sports drinks. Nutrition bars don’t need added vitamins if they are made from healthy whole food ingredients.



• Two of the bars are gluten free, and all three are wheat free. Wheat is a top food allergen responsible for many bad gut aches in athletes, and gluten is a total gut bomb that should not be included in any bars used for athletic performance.
• Zing bars are free of soy! Soy gives many athletes a major gut ache just like wheat which is why I recommend whey and rice protein as the most gentle protein sources for delicate stomachs. Zing bars are made with whey protein. Whey is the best protein source for athletes.

HealtheGoods has Zing bars on sale at 15% off for a limited time. You can also stop by ZingBars.com for more information about my new favorite thing!

©KitchenTableMedicine.com, LLC ™

Press Release: Free Pre-Registration on 30 Day’s Sugar Free

Natural Medicine Press Release: 30 Day’s Sugar Free Challenge starts Jan 1st

Status: Available for immediate re-distribution, creative commons copyright.

Who: Dr. Scott Olson ND, the author of a new book, Sugarettes, claims that sugar is both addictive and harmful, much like cigarettes.

What: Dr. Scott is issuing a challenge to spend 30 Sugar Free Days to draw attention to the burgeoning health crisis created by sugar over-consumption.

When: January is typically a time to focus on weight loss, but the 30 Sugar Free Days Challenge is a call to take the next step and create a weight loss program that is also a health program. The challenge starts on Jan 1st 2009 and pre-registration is free.

Why: Sugar consumption has dramatically increased in the last decades. It is estimated that people in the developed world are now eating somewhere between 1/4 and 1/2 of a pound of sugar every day – for a total of over 150 pounds of sugar a year.

While most people deny eating that much sugar, 1/4 pound of sugar a day is actually fairly easy to achieve. Calculating daily sugar consumption requires knowing how much sugar is in a pound: 1 pound of sugar is equal to 120 teaspoons, and 1/4 pound of sugar is equal to 30 teaspoons.

Finding 30 teaspoons of sugar in a typical diet is easy.

For example, each 12-ounce soda contains 8 teaspoons of sugar; it takes only four (small) sodas (or one Super 42-ounce drink) a day to equal 1/4 pound. Not everyone drinks four sodas a day, but one or two are very common. When other sugars found in the diet are added to the soda, such as those found in donuts (8-10 teaspoons), jams (3 teaspoons per tablespoon), cookies (2-4 teaspoons per cookie), candy or other snacks, and the so-called “hidden sugars” found in salad dressing, bread, peanut butter and other foods are added, it is easy to see that large amounts of sugar are being consumed daily.

This sugar consumption is not without its consequences as sugar is at least partly responsible for our epidemic of obesity, diabetes, heart disease, and premature aging.

How: Sign up at www.OlsonND.com for free professional coaching! Pre-registration before Jan 1st is FREE! Don’t forget to grab your copy of Sugarettes for more motivation on kicking the sugar habit once and for all.

Source: KitchenTableMedicine.com

Our press releases and “Kitchen Table Cliffnotes” are ALL “creative commons copyrighted” meaning unlike the rest of our KitchenTableMedicine.com content, you are free to copy and paste this press release directly to your blog or website to share with your own readers. We of course do simply request that you keep all links intact and give us credit by linking back to http://KitchenTableMedicine.com as the original news source. Thanks!

If you have a natural medicine press release that includes a special offer for kitchen table readers simply contact us.

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The Healing Power of Thanksgiving

Contrary to popular belief Thanksgiving Dinner is actually quite healthy.

When we remove all the notorious “white foods,” such as white refined flours, sugars, and other carbohydrates devoid of nutrients we are actually left with a very colorful whole food fare.

Of course you should never try a new recipe while entertaining, but I have given each popular dish a “whole foods makeover” so that you can try a healthier option next time. There should be a next time–in just a few weeks. We should try to eat a turkey dinner more than once a year! Baking a whole turkey is a fantastic healthy and frugal way to optimize your grocery budget, and turkey is the hottest trend this winter. Plus it just makes the house smell good. I freeze carcasses until I have enough to make into a great turkey wild rice soup.

Here are the top eight superfoods found in our traditional American Thanksgiving spread.

1. Turkey

Renowned for its high tryptophan content, turkey has the potential to lift our mood and/or make us sleepy. It really depends on how we choose to pair up the amino acids in turkey. When turkey is consumed in conjunction with refined carbohydrates found in mashed potatoes or dinner rolls, the tryptophan converts to serotonin, and in low light conditions the excess serotonin converts in to melatonin, the nighttime hormone that makes us feel sleepy. Serotonin gives you that good “Turkey Buzz” and Melatonin is what sends you straight to the couch for a nice nap. If you are depressed you should work turkey, cottage cheese, and salmon in to your weekly rotation so you can benefit from my other favorite high tryptophan foods, or you can also just try some 5-HTP.

When we eat turkey in the absence of carbohydrates the amino acids that increase energizing catecholamines are able to cross the blood brain barrier and the result is an energized good mood. If you aren’t a breakfast person try a bit of salmon, cottage cheese, or turkey to start your day, support your adrenal glands, and keep you energized until lunch.

Turkey Makeover: Hold the butter, skip the stuffing and go straight for olive oil and lemon as your poultry flavorings of choice. If you bake your turkey at 320F you will be well below the smoking point of olive oil.

Stuffing the cavity of the turkey with whole lemon halves will also give the turkey a “salty flavor” so you can use the least amount of organic sea salt necessary. Stuff some garlic cloves and thyme under the skin of the turkey, and in the cavity along with the lemons.

Medical geeks like me can get crafty and inject herbal seasonings mixed with your basting solution of olive oil and lemon straight in to the meat with syringes (yes you can buy meat syringes at the store too.) Then just baste and bake as usual. Salt and pepper your turkey mainly on your dinner plate, not in the oven. Salt always loses flavor as it cooks and the best flavor comes from that final sprinkling. Salting your meat while cooking also dries it out, so really it is not just healthy but smart.

To benefit from the tryptophan in turkey don’t over do it with your carbs….that is unless you are heading straight to bed! To boost your mood opt to pair your turkey with the “slow carbs” found in fruits and veggies. Skip the dinner roll and the mound of mashed potatoes.

If you are adventurous, you can also go outside for a little walk after you eat your turkey to stay energized. The full spectrum light will prevent the melatonin formation that makes us all so sleepy.

The moral of the turkey story is that tryptophan converts to serotonin which makes us happy, and in the presence of excess dietary sugar and darkness serotonin converts to melatonin, and melatonin makes us drowsy. That is why all of us in Seattle are so darn tired all the time and left with no choice but to hang out at Starbucks or stare at a light box.

Got that? Fabulous. Moving on.

2. Thyme

Did you ever wonder where that traditional flavor of Thanksgiving came from? You may not know if you haven’t ever prepared the meal. That certain flavor comes from the herb thyme that we traditionally use to flavor our stuffing. Thyme is a fantastic healing herb as it is antibacterial, antiviral, and antifungal just like most of it’s relatives in the “laminacea” or mint family.

Thyme is used in making “Listerine” mouthwash, or at least it traditionally was. The aromatic oils in thyme are also fantastic for indigestion, no wonder this is the key point herbal medicine of our great American overeating day!

Stuffing Makeover: Just lose the stuffing! Stuffing although delicious is one of the biggest calorie mongers on the menu. If this is your favorite thing you will need to cut back somewhere else on your plate. The trend of white bread went out with eating McInflammation. The new America is a whole foods America.

Whatever you do, please don’t bake your stuffing inside the turkey, this makes it that much more fattening, and sets people up for food poisoning if not adequately cooked through. You HAVE to check the temperature of your stuffing AND your turkey.

Instead try a stuffing in your crockpot of brown rice or quinoa, thyme, raw nuts and seeds, dried fruit, garlic, and your favorite stuffing spices instead of the traditional white food fest. At least experiment with healthy stuffing alternatives for your non-holiday feasts. I will allow everyone to eat stuffing one day a year on my whole foods diet. If you can “just say no to stuffing” then you get bonus points and will immediately benefit by feeling good about yourself and not overstuffed from stuffing.

3. Cranberries

Delicious and healthy antioxidant rich fruit that fight aging, inflammation, and bladder infections.

Why are berries all the latest rage? In my Mangosteen Scam tirade I discussed that all deeply pigmented fruit skins are high in antioxidants. From a botanical standpoint the plant smartly creates these antioxidant polyphenols known as “proanthocyanins” to protect the skin of the fruit from the sun. The fruit cannot use sunlight to produce energy in the manner that the leaves of the plant do, so the antioxidants are “nature’s sunscreen”. Without their protective antioxidants, berries would shrivel and burn under the sun’s harsh rays.

The ingenious antioxidant protection devised by the plant also kindly protects us from the free radical damage that results from the reactive oxygen species we are constantly exposed to in our polluted stressful environment. The skin, eyes, and blood vessels are especially protected by the proanthocyanins in berries.

Most people know that cranberry juice is good for bladder infections. E. coli, the bacteria that causes most bladder infections is unable to adhere to the lining of the bladder thanks to cranberry.

What most people don’t know though is that there is not a therapeutic cranberry juice out there that really tastes that good! If you are drinking a “delicious” glass of cranberry juice every day then you are probably not doing much to prevent a bladder infection. You should read the label because you are probably drinking a delicious glass of high fructose corn syrup(HFCS) and food coloring.

When shopping for cranberry juice, be sure to read the label and purchase only 100% pure cranberry juice. The HFCS juice trend faded out in the nineties. And a cranberry juice loaded with grape juice, apple juice or heaven forbid high fructose corn syrup is simply not going to be effective for preventing disease or bladder infections. To make cranberry juice more palatable, mix with 50% pure blueberry juice. Blueberries are also fantastic antioxidants that prevent bladder infections and aging.

Cranberry Sauce Makeover: Try experimenting with healthier natural sweeteners like agave, brown rice syrup, and stevia for homemade cranberry sauce. Adding a bunch of refined sugars and other refined pollutants to cranberries defeats their protective healing purpose.

4. Yams

Because of the beautiful orange and yellow pigments, yams, sweet potatoes, and even that delicious pumpkin pie are all a rich source of beta carotene and other important carotenoids that prevent cancer and support a healthy immune system.

Yellow and orange foods are particularly protective to the lungs, reproductive system, and eyes.

No, carrots probably don’t improve your vision, but the carotenoids in them have been shown to be protective and preventative for both cataracts and macular degeneration. So they may not perfect your vision, but they will prevent its degeneration. Certain antioxidants have affiliations for certain tissues in our systems. Be sure to eat something yellow and orange every day, and I’m not talking about circus peanuts! Eating by the rainbow is the diet for the new millennium. If you are struggling with this new trend you may need to grab my favorite Whole Foods Multi that just happens to be “Buy One Get One Free” right now.

Yam Makeover: Lose the marshmallows! Marshmallows are completely out of style. Less is more now. “More is more” went out five years ago, and for some of us a few months ago when the stock market crashed. Try your traditional whipped yam recipe without the marshmallows. Garnish with pecans instead, or just let them stand alone as the amazing super food they are. Try healthier sweeteners in your candied yam recipe like brown rice syrup, agave, or stevia and flavor with cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, or pumpkin pie spice.

Baked yams as pictured are delicious and simple! Try roasting yams in the oven at 350F 30-40 minutes until fork tender. You can also steam yams till tender, drizzle with olive oil and give a sprinkle of sea salt for a regular dinner side dish. The peel of vegetables is where all the nutrients and fiber lies. Buy yams organic if you are going to eat the peel since they are a root vegetable. All root vegetables are naturally riddled with pesticides as they absorb and concentrate them from the soil. But, since yams and sweet potatoes are dirt cheap, they are worth the extra splurge. Everyone that is “cool now” is eating yams and sweet potatoes, so hopefully that includes you.

For a healthy wheat free “sweet potato pie” scoop out freshly baked sweet potato just like what is pictured here, sprinkle with pumpkin pie spice, drizzle with honey, and top with shredded coconut! Without the pie crust you have earned the calories to add a small dollop of your favorite organic vanilla ice cream. It sounds weird, but it is truly delicious. Who has the time to bake an entire pie anyways when you can just toss a couple sweet potatoes in the oven? Isn’t healthy easy? That is why it is so stylish.

5. Green Beans

Green beans are loaded with fiber, beta carotene, B-vitamins, calcium, and potassium. Eating any beans are a fantastic diabetic trick for lowering the glycemic load of a meal. Beans truly are the “magical fruit” for a reason. Now eating too many beans may not make you too popular, but at least they will make you more attractive and youthful and trim your waist line.

Green Bean Makeover: Lightly steam your green beans, they are done when they turn bright green, don’t boil them in to a nutrient devoid lifeless brown mess. We just don’t boil vegetables anymore. If you boil them you should drink the water too as that is where all the vitamins go. It is just wrong on so many levels, and the kind of thing that only belongs in the “worse dressed” section of the tabloids. Canned green beans went out with acid washed jeans. Always opt for fresh or frozen before grabbing for cans.

I don’t mean to sound bossy, but you have to lose the white canned cream of mushroom soup garbage, and dress your beans with olive oil or your favorite olive oil based salad dressing. If you have to defy me and use a cream based soup then grab an organic one, as most cheap soups are the worst of the worst processed food fests.

Now add carmelized REAL onions, not those fake canned crunchies that were SO 1981. It is important that you keep up with the latest trends. Almond slivers should be RAW to maximally benefit from the cancer fighting phenolic acids and healthy fats, and of course that also is the stylish thing that everyone else is doing. Especially celebrities. This is how celebrities eat on their “designer diets” so if you want to send me a thank you check you are welcome to make a donation.

6. Mashed Potatoes

If you keep the peel on the potatoes before you mash them, then I will give you permission to eat them.

Potatoes get a bad wrap because we don’t eat the peel. Buy organic potatoes and mash them WHOLE. The peel of the potato contains fiber, vitamin C, thiamin, and potassium.

Some people with arthritis don’t tolerate potatoes well, if you have arthritis, potatoes and foods in the solonacea family like eggplant, peppers, onions, and so forth just may not be the right choice for you.

Mashed Potato Makeover: There are a few great makeover tricks you can implement to freshen up a rather dead ugly lifeless food like mashed potatoes. Definitely stand by ready and loaded with your garlic press and press about a clove per large potato. Garlic supports the immune and cardiovascular systems. Garlic also prevents and kills parasites.

I always add cottage cheese to my mashed potatoes to give them that creamy consistency, this protein bump also decreases the glycemic load for dieters, and diabetics. Cottage is also rich in mood boosting tryptophan. Remember we have to eat protein, and fiber with EVERY meal to prevent diabetes, blood sugar crashes from hypoglycemia, and obesity. Plus all the cool kids are doing it.

Try olive oil instead of butter, try adding some steamed arugula or spinach in at the end to create a gourmet effect, and if you HAVE to have that buttery flavor from organic butter (please don’t EVER use margarine if you learn anything from my nags. Please just go throw out your tub of margarine in the garbage where it belongs, and never buy it again, or any other hydrogenated oil product that serves no other biochemical purpose in life but to rapidly age you, clog your arteries, and make you unnecessarily fat. We want to be the least amount of fat right? Your body can’t use margarine so it converts it to fat storage…) just add some low fat buttermilk in lieu of regular milk if you must do dairy and NEED that butter flavor. Sprinkle with sea salt and organic pepper. Enjoy!

7. Minced Meat Pie

Are you terrified of minced meat pie? Well most of us are, until we discover that modern “minced meat” is just a fruit sauce made of dates and other dried fruits and not some leftover cafeteria meat concoction.

Well the beauty of this is that dates, figs, prunes, apples, and most dried fruits score high on the ORAC, meaning they have extremely high free radical fighting potential. Antioxidants=Anti-aging. Memorize that. Aging isn’t just about vanity and outer appearance. Your organs and blood vessels are aging on the inside as we sit here. If it doesn’t look good on the outside it doesn’t look good on the inside either. True beauty is an inside out job. Eat more antioxidants to prevent disease and you will be rewarded with a continuously youthful glow.

Let me be the first to announce that Minced Meat Pies are now the HOTTEST trend for fall. Don’t worry they only show up on the whole foods runway once every 50 years.

Minced Meat Makeover: Opt for a whole grain crust and use organic butter rather than margarine (heaven forbid.) If you really want to impress those avoiding gluten with your gourmet skills, you can add a dollop of your favorite organic minced meat filling to half a sliced date and top with a splash of real whipped cream. Dates are also delicious stuffed with various nut butters, and chocolates as I just recently learned from RN, Rod Newbound.

8. Red Wine

“Yes! Dr. Nicole says I can have a glass of red wine!” Just remember that is only ONE to two glasses of red wine–max. That is one drink per day not per hour–and no you can’t save them all up for the end of the week. It just doesn’t work that way. The benefits of the cancer fighting, anti-aging polyphenols in red wine known as resveratol go down as you burden your liver with alcohol. As with everything, moderation is key. Even too much water will kill cause hyponatremia and kill you.

Red Wine Makeover: Remember that one glass is better for you than the entire bottle. Opt for an organic alternative like our Kitchen Table 2008 Favorite, Badger Mountain. Remember to never drive while you are drinking. The most stylish people always have a driver…er…cab driver. Even one glass of alcohol impairs your judgment enough to put an end to your happy holiday–or worse yet–someone else’s.

Please always be considerate to the safety of others when imbibing during the holiday season.

Hope you all have a Happy AND Healthy Thanksgiving! Have fun wowing all your friends and family with this questionably boring kitchen table talk of the Thanksgiving superfoods and how to give them makeovers. Let me know if you manage to pull it off and keep them interested! Feel free to share any of your healthy Thanksgiving recipe tips in the comments section.

Thanks much for sharing my whole foods tips with your friends and family.

~Dr. Nicole Sundene
Naturopathic Physician

References: Medical Nutrition from Marz by Dr. Russell Marz, Medical Herbalism by Hoffman

Related Reading:
The Healing Power of Cauliflower
The Healing Power of Music
The Healing Power of Positivity
The Healing Power of Mexican Food
The Healing Power of Stinging Nettles

©KitchenTableMedicine.com, LLC ™

Why We Should Like Bugs and Worms

Do you like bugs and worms?

Well if you do, you can feel vindicated by today’s topic, and if you don’t you may change your mind after reading today’s guest post. This is also a great teaching topic to share with your children. Won’t you sound so smart next time you are outside with your kids looking at bugs in the garden? Teach them about the microscopic bugs at work in our soil, and the important agricultural role they play.

Remember, even the Hobo Spider deserves his place in the environment, and we just need to respectfully avoid encounters without going on spider killing rampages.

Please enjoy part II in the series of “Organic vs. Commercially Farmed Food” by Stephen Cox.

Within any healthy soil are billions upon billions of microorganisms. Some microorganisms live in a symbiotic relationship with plants. For example a certain type of microorganism actually puts out a protective net around the plants roots in the soil and the net is covered with a type of glue.

When, along comes a microscopic parasitic worm, it gets caught in the net. Other microorganisms, which also live symbiotically with the plant punch a hole in the invader’s body, liquefy its organs, which are the most nutrient dense part, and feed that to the plant.

With commercially farmed produce the fields in which the foods you eat are grown, have been repeatedly sprayed with chemical toxins that kill the microorganisms in the soil. It’s not dissimilar to chemical warfare because pesticides, fungicides, herbicides and other chemicals resemble neurotoxins. And the food you’re eating is growing in an environment where tons of this toxic waste is being dumped. It would be naive to believe that it is not somehow finding its way into our food, our water and our general environment.

With little to no microorganism in the soil to support plant life commercial farmers turn to chemical fertilizers. Have you ever wondered why it is we hear on the news that someone used fertilizer to blow something up? That is because the chemical fertilizer the food we’re eating and using very closely resembles gunpowder.

After World War II ended the governments of the day were left with all these munitions factories. So they spent millions of dollars (at the time it was a colossal amount of money) to convince farmers that if they weren’t using this stuff they were stupid. This was not a decision made with the best interests of health and wellbeing in mind. We’re talking straight economics.

Organic Solution

I grow some of my own veggies – carrot, spinach, broad bean, broccoli (incidentally a cup of broccoli contains 205% of the necessary daily intake of vitamin C and just 43 calories), rocket, onions, lettuce and herbs. All in a very small patch of land just 1 meter wide by 2 meters long. No pesticides. No chemical fertilizer.

Growing your own vegetables is a great way to boost your health and wellbeing. You’ll be giving the environment a helping hand at the same time. The vegetables you grow for yourself will not need to be harvested by large machinery and then shipped thousands of miles to a location where they may be kept in cold storage for weeks, even months. All those activities produce greenhouse gasses and contribute to global warming.

Growing your own food has other benefits.

It really grounds us and connects us as human animals with nature and our world.

Sometime we get disconnected and forget that we are part of something bigger. Disconnection can be a powerful source for unhappiness and depression.

The process of energy exchange as you plant, tend, water and harvest your own plants is something that really needs to be experienced.

It is a process of caring and love as opposed to rampant destruction for meaningless profit. You’ll gain joy just from watching the plants burst with life and growth in the sunshine after each rain.

Plants can take our stress much like they take our carbon dioxide. I find they help me to let go each afternoon when I spend a few moments giving them attention. It is in every sense a very holistic activity. If you have children I couldn’t imagine a better project you could enjoy with your children. Children are constantly learning and they can learn a lot from tending a garden.

Organic Conclusion

Life feeds on life. There is a constant cycling of energy transference. First the microorganisms support plant life. Plants are consumed by herbivores and omnivores. Carnivores and omnivores in turn consume the herbivores. All produce waste (even plants drop leaves), which is food for the microorganisms, and all die which also feeds the microorganisms. And so, on it goes.

The disruption of the energy transference cycle at its very root, by killing microorganisms through commercial farming practice, means the life that feeds on the life before it cannot possible be naturally healthy. Human and animals that eat sick plans will not themselves be well. Nor humans that eat sick animals.

Do you still want to kill all those bugs and worms in your garden?

Read Part I of this series “Organic vs Commercially Farmed Food”

For more great articles by Stephen Cox you can visit BalancedExistence.com. Stephen is a graduate student in Australia. Read more articles by our featured writer, Stephen Cox.

Related Reading:

On organic farming and global warming

Organic farms produce same yields as conventional farms

Can organic farming feed the world?

The Top Eleven Easiest Foods to Grow

How to Get Your Kids to Eat More Vegetables

How to Make a Green Bean Teepee

Berries that Should Run Wild

©KitchenTableMedicine.com, LLC ™

Chocolate Chips Better than Viagra?

Are chocolate chips better than Viagra? According to Journal of Nutrition’s latest September and October issues, chocolate has some pretty exciting therapeutic potential.

If you want to avoid being on “the little blue pill” you should consider taking a daily dose of the little brown pill.

That’s right—50-200 chocolate chips a day may prevent the cardiovascular damage that is a leading cause of erectile dysfunction. ¹

According to recent studies, the flavonoids in dark chocolate naturally enhanced natural nitric oxide levels. The drug Viagra works mechanistically as a phosphodiesterase inhibtor to enhance nitric oxide. Our bodies also synthesize nitric oxide, and nitric oxide works on our blood vessels to dilate them and increase blood flow. With psychogenic etiologies ruled out, erectile dysfunction is typically an issue of blood flow. Increasing blood flow is how Viagra manufacturers have made a fortune.

In September of 2008, Journal of Nutrition published an Italian university study investigating the therapeutic potential of chocolate and found that, “Flavanols from chocolate appear to increase nitric oxide bioavailability, protect vascular endothelium, and decrease cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk factors….our findings suggest flavanol-rich, low-energy cocoa food products may have a positive impact on [cardiovascular disease] risk factors.”

Now as a women’s health physician, I typically avoid topics such as erectile dysfunction like the plague, so I am going to drop my men’s health commentary today and then run for dear life… Working as a family practice medical assistant for eight years throughout medical school taught me an important early lesson about men’s health. Most men simply DON’T care about cholesterol, blood pressure, atherosclerosis, diabetes, blood sugar, antioxidants or inflammation.

The second you start to nag about this stuff their eyes just glaze over. You can nag and nag and nag about cholesterol and blood sugar lab values, and still no changes will be implemented.

Eventually I realized the secret to men’s health while working as a urology assistant, the only way to get men to care about their health is to hit them below the belt with the facts that matter. Women are typically all about vanity and men are all about virility. These are the motivators I rely on to market and sell my preventive medicine concepts.

Doctors know that all of the aforementioned health issues contribute to erectile dysfunction. But, what most men don’t know is that without a properly functioning cardiovascular system, things below the belt aren’t going to function either.

It’s all about blood flow and elasticity. We would never leave our garden hoses to freeze out in the cold of winter, we instead take the time to properly care for them to insure they don’t harden and become permanently dysfunctional. Although garden hoses cannot auto-repair, our arteries do by making scar tissue, and the similar type of destruction from high blood pressure, cholesterol, inflammation, and diabetes is repaired by the body by throwing down scar tissue and inflammation.

The more scar tissue and inflammation in your arteries the less elastic they are, and thus the narrower their diameter. Blood pressure just continues to escalate and the damage to your arteries continues in a vicious cycle. Viagra and similar medications such as Levitra and Cialis all work to enhance blood flow.

They are designed to promote the elasticity of those frozen old er…stiff garden hoses. Viagra is a phosphodiasterase inhibitor which increases levels of nitric oxide. Nitric oxide causes our blood vessels to EXPAND. Eventually arteries become damaged and hardened to the point where they will no longer respond to nitric oxide. Keep in mind though that a “garden hose” left out in extreme harsh “winter conditions” will inevitably lose it’s elasticity, and the hose will have to be replaced. How many “winters” have you left your body out in the cold, not caring about diabetes, blood pressure, cholesterol, and inflammation? This is why many men with erectile dysfunction don’t find benefit from Viagra. Blood vessel expansion is the premise of which Viagra has made millions.

I am going to instead give away my natural medicine tips for free, and if the Toll House Chocolate Chip Company wants to send me a billion dollar thank you check, they are more than welcome. What is more important to me is that TODAY you feel inspired and motivated to prevent problems that will inevitably occur down the road TOMORROW.

“An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure”—right?

If you don’t have erectile dysfunction now wouldn’t you like to prevent it from happening? Medicine’s used to treat ED are expensive, have multiple side effects and drug interactions, and are not as well tolerated as the commercials on television make them out to be.

When I worked as a Urology assistant the main complaint was always headaches and that “it just didn’t work”. Well after a while when disease has advanced too far, no medication will be able to work. Think back to the garden hose example. You want your arteries to be elastic and healthy, not hardened from the “harsh winter conditions” of sub-optimally controlled high blood pressure, diabetes, and cholesterol.

So why chocolate chips?

Well chocolate chips are fantastic prevention because they are DARK chocolate and the darker the chocolate the more nitric oxide enhancing flavonoids.

A study was done on Italian men and found that Italian men that ate an ounce of dark chocolate had healthier lab markers.

Keep in mind that 50 chocolate chips or roughly an ounce of dark chocolate is the minimum amount needed to prevent disease according to that study.

I weighed them out and found that 48 chocoalte chips= 1oz. But you have my permission to throw in two extra chips for preventive measure!

Another study cited previously, showed therapeutic benefit with 100 grams of dark chocolate which is about 200 chocolate chips! Is this not the best news ever for chocolate lovers?

Remember though that chocolate as a medicine is not free of calories, cocoa butter, or refined sugar. Pure cocoa products are a great alternative as an ounce of chocolate chips have 140 calories. While 200 chocolate chips pack a whopping 500 calories!

But, for those of you that are already eating too much sugar and saturated fat, chocolate chips are a fantastic way to transition to a healthier dessert diet. I know most of you are probably eating fattening desserts anyways (I mean we do have to enjoy life a little bit right?) so dark chocolate chips are a healthier alternative and I like that they conveniently come in little bits that can be savored throughout the day.

But, chocolate chips are not the only foods that contain disease fighting flavonoids. So here is the bait and switch. Most fruits and vegetables are also rich in flavonoids.

Berries are chock full of proanthocyanins, citrus is a fantastic source of hesperidin and rutin, and onions are an excellent source of quercetin. Fruits and vegetables are likely going to prevent the need of Viagra too!

Yes–really this is just a giant strategically planned nag on my part to inspire the consumption of more whole foods, especially those rich in flavonoids. And yes it really was too easy to grab your attention with chocolate chips and Viagra and then turn this in to a fruit and veggie nag. But, my point with this “gotcha” is that preventing disease is where it is at when it comes to ED. Winter is coming, and it is time to think about your preventative plan for your “garden hose.”

A healthy dose of fresh fruits, raw or lightly steamed veggies, raw nuts and seeds, and chocolate will work synergistically to prevent the cardiovascular damage that causes disease.

I think any man suffering with ED reading this article would absolutely agree that an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.

For diabetics that want to gain the flavanol benefits of chocolate chips, simply enjoy them with a small handful of raw almonds to decrease the glycemic load and increase phenolic compounds (anti-oxidant/anti-inflammatory/anti-cancer). Almonds are also high in fiber, and fiber consumption also is protective to the cardiovascular system. So add about ten raw almonds to your 50 chocolate chips or make a healthy trail mix with your other favorite raw nuts and seeds.

I don’t want to leave women out of this nag, so chocolate chips are good news for women too as Dr. Christiane Northrup in her latest book “The Secret Pleasures of Menopause” also emphasizes the importance of naturally enhancing nitric oxide levels through diet and lifestyle to improve sexual function. Grab the book through Amazon, if you care to learn more about ways to naturally enhance nitric oxide.

Those in need of losing weight should also benefit from this simple chocolate chip tip as eating a few chocolate bits throughout the day should help you feel satisfied for sweets and prevent those binges brought on by extreme deprivation and yo-yo dieting that sets the stage for binge eating.

Stick with me, subscribe to my feed, and I will teach you how to be healthy & enjoy life.

Dr. Nicole Sundene

Want more tips for preventing and treating erectile dysfunction through diet and lifestyle?

Try: Exercise, The Low Glycemic Index Diet, The Anti-Inflammatory Diet, Kegels for Men, Cholesterol Lowering Diet, Hypertension, Low Sodium Diet, Antioxidants, Anti-Inflammatory Diet and subscribe to my feed as we discuss the therapeutic potential of other healing foods and natural supplements for cardiovascular health and erectile dysfunction.

References

1. Grassi D, Desideri G, Necozione S, et al. “Chocolate and Blood Pressure” J Nutr. 2008 Sep;138(9):1671-6.

2. Romina di Giuseppe, Augusto Di Castelnuovo, et al. “Italian Men that eat Dark Chocolate are Healthier” J. Nutr. 138:1939-1945, October 2008

©KitchenTableMedicine.com, LLC ™

The Healing Power of Cauliflower

Cauliflower is an especially healing autumn food because it is low in calories, high in fiber, and rich in a very special cancer fighting compound called indole-3-carbinol.

This magical component of cauliflower prevents cancer by detoxing the system of the harmful forms of estrogen that result in reproductive cancers and complaints in women.

Researchers are now thinking men can likely use indole-3-carbinol to prevent forms of reproductive cancer, hair loss, and erectile dysfunction that result from these elevated levels of toxic estrogen. The high antioxidant spices added to your favorite cauliflower recipe combined with the olive oil further prevent cancer and reduce inflammation. This side dish will pair well with your favorite chicken, safe seafood, or grassfed beef recipe.

©KitchenTableMedicine.com, LLC ™

The Raw Foods Diet

Ever wonder what is going on with this new “Raw Food’s Diet” everyone is talking about?

Well actually the diet isn’t all that “new” it is simply a snapshot of the way our ancestors ate before the advent of factory refined foods.

Don’t worry you don’t have to be a vegetarian to benefit from raw foods eating, raw foods can and SHOULD be enjoyed by EVERYONE! And…no this is not about gnawing on a nasty raw piece of chicken or steak. I do NOT recommend the consumption of raw meats. Instead enjoy more raw fruits and vegetables fresh picked and full of nature’s abundant energy. A raw foods diet can also be done as a quick detox if you are feeling sluggish and need an easy “pick me up”.

You don’t have to go 100% raw either, you can benefit from this diet simply by eating less cooked “dead” foods and more fresh foods that are full of life.

To help you get the basics down I interviewed the mother of raw foods eating herself…Earth Mother, the author of “In the Raw”.

What is “Raw Food” eating?

Ask 10 different people that question, Doc, and you’ll likely get 10 different responses. So, I’ll tell you what “raw food eating” is for me: eating food in its natural state, not refined, not processed. That means, I consume a primarily plant-based diet, consisting of fresh fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds and sprouts.

Do you realize that we are the only animal on the planet that cooks its food? Strange, huh? We are living beings, yet we consume food that is dead, or cooked. Nutrients and enzymes are heat sensitive and destroyed at temperatures above 118 degrees. So, 85-90% of my plant-based diet is uncooked, or raw. By choosing to eat this way, I am infusing my body with live enzymes.

What made you decide to go raw?

The short answer? I was sick and tired of feeling sick and tired, all the time.

While at the local library, a book on the “New Arrivals” shelf jumped out at me: Crazy, Sexy Cancer by Kris Carr. What possessed me to check that book out, I’ll never know, but I am so glad I did. Kris’ story of being diagnosed with an extremely rare, incurable cancer and her journey toward health and healing is so inspirational. A big part of her healing journey has been adopting a raw foods lifestyle. The back of the book is loaded with resources and I started checking out websites and other books. The more I learned about eating raw, living food, the more sold on the idea I became. It was when I read The Raw Food Detox Diet by Natalia Rose that I thought, “I can do this!”

What were the biggest challenges of adopting the raw foods diet?

It was a big change for me. BIG. I grew up in a Hungarian household, where I was weaned on chicken paprikash and stuffed cabbage. Vegetables were potatoes and corn. Not too many salads, because Dad thought “they taste green.” As I grew into an adult and began living on my own, I couldn’t be bothered with cooking. Convenience was key — get more, faster. So, I ate food in packages and racked up frequent flyer miles at the drive-thru windows. I thought the four food groups were Starbucks, cheeseburgers, fries and milkshakes.

There was the whole emotional component around food too. I’ve had to change my relationship to food. I used to live to eat. Now, I’m learning to eat to live.

What changes have you noticed in your health since switching to a raw foods lifestyle?

I’m really glad you said “lifestyle.” Diet implies something you start and then stop when you reach your goal (or fizzle out). Lifestyle, on the other hand, is the way in which someone chooses to live and reflects their beliefs and values.

The changes to my health have been amazing. Gone are the debilitating headaches, the fire-breathing dragon heartburn, the constant fatigue, the edema, the chronic depression, the joint pain…oh, and 62 pounds! My energy level is through the roof. I sleep like a baby at night. My skin is smooth, clear and radiant.

I have a mental clarity today that I have never experienced in my life. I don’t quite know how to describe it, but it feels like I have broken a long-term drug addiction. It feels almost like I was walking around before under the constant influence of alcohol, and then suddenly becoming alcohol-free. The thing is, I had already been sober for 18 years!

Who should NOT be on a raw foods diet?

Can’t think of a single person who would not benefit from incorporating more raw, living foods into their diet. But, if you do not want to feel better, strengthen your immune system, reverse the effects of aging, stop counting calories, fat grams and carbs forever, then by all means, do not eat a diet high in raw plant foods.

***Dr. Nicole pops in and says: Pregnant women and rapidly growing children should work with their doctor before continuing a strictly raw foods diet to ensure that the required amounts of iron, B12, protein, zinc, and omega -3 oils are attained. Also people with a history of disordered eating should be cautious before implementing any restrictive diet plan.

Who should benefit from a raw foods diet?

Everyone!

People have reversed heart disease, diabetes, high blood pressure, obesity, cancer, fibromyalgia, autism, depression, arthritis, and a host of other illnesses by consuming a raw, vegan diet. And the thing is, you will begin to feel the benefits almost instantly.

Really. Look, we live in a society that craves the quick fix and wants instant gratification. When you start to feel and look so much more healthy and vibrant, it’s a great motivating factor. Start where you are. Begin now.

Intimidated? Natalia Rose lays out a simple, safe program that anyone can follow in “The Raw Food Detox Diet”. It doesn’t have to be traumatic. You don’t have to change your lifelong eating habits overnight and go 100% raw or vegan tomorrow.

Can you give us a snapshot of your diet for the past 24 hours?

Sure. Let’s look at yesterday.

• 1 quart fresh juice (kale, cucumber, sweet pea sprouts, apple, ginger)
• 2 bananas
• 1/2 cantaloupe
• large salad w/raw ranch dressing (mixed greens, yellow bell pepper, cherry tomato, red onion, cucumber, avocado, dried cranberries, spicy sprouts)
• raw harvest butternut soup
• 1 quart fresh juice (purple cabbage, carrot, apple)
• Asian salad w/carrot-ginger dressing (baby romaine, baby bok choy, sugar snap peas,mung bean sprouts, fresh basil and cilantro)
• Pad Thai (purple cabbage, carrot, zucchini, young coconut, raw cashews) w/raw “peanut” sauce, served over seaweed noodles
• 2 dates

Please share your favorite recipe.

Oh gosh, only one? Keep it simple is my motto, so here’s a super easy and super delicious “pasta” dish.

Zucchini Fettuccine with Sesame Mango Sauce

• 2 zucchini
• 4 mango diced
• 1 lemon juiced
• 2 Tbsp raw tahini
• 1/4 C water
• chopped mint leaves for garnish
• black sesame seeds for garnish

Spiralize the zucchini into fettuccine noodles, using a spiral slicer or a regular vegetable peeler. To make the sauce: blend mangoes, tahini, water, and lemon juice in blender until smooth. Top the zucchini noodles with sauce and garnish with chopped mint leaves and sesame seeds.

How can people learn more about The Raw Foods Diet?

Enroll in the University of Google and go wild! Just doing a search on “raw food diet” ought to keep you busy for a while. Visit your local library and start reading. Besides Kris and Natalia’s books, I’d recommend “Rawsome: Maximizing Health, Energy and Culinary Delight With The Raw Food Diet” by Brigitte Mars. “Green for Life” by Victoria Boutenko is another great place to start.

I think besides educating themselves, one of the most important things a person who is transitioning to a raw foods diet can do is to connect with other individuals who are living this lifestyle. A wonderful cyber community of raw foodies that I belong to is Raw Fu. You’ll find loads of support from folks who have been eating this way for years and years, as well as newbies. There’s an upcoming Holliday Mini Challenge you can get involved in or sign up for the 100 Day RawFu Challenge that kicks off on January 1st!

To participate visit Raw Fu: http://www.rawfu.com/

What a great idea for detoxing after the holidays! Thanks for being a guest at my kitchen table Earth Mother! For more great tips and recipes ideas for eating raw please visit Earth Mother at: http://earthmother-intheraw.blogspot.com/.

More Raw Food Resources:“5 Simple Steps to Transition to a Raw Food Diet”, “Raw Food FAQ”, FREE Raw Food Weight Loss Report, Delicious, Simple Raw Food Recipes and Pictures

©KitchenTableMedicine.com, LLC ™

Organic vs Commercially Farmed Food

By Stephen Cox

A while back here in Australia there was a sudden storm of information in the media regarding studies into the differences, if any, between organic food and “regular” commercially farmed food.

At the time I was unaware, but later I was informed by my mother, who is a manager in a major supermarket chain here in Australia, that the release of the research findings and the media interest coincided with the major supermarkets testing consumers response to new organic products in their stores.

The results of the studies showed that there was no additional nutritional value in the more expensive organic produce. However, I have since learned that there are a number of rather underhand tricks so-called scientific studies in this area use to produce the results they want. For starters I would always advise caution regarding accepting the conclusions of any scientific study until you have ascertained some key information for yourself first.

The first question to ask is who paid for the research to be undertaken? Scientific research is big business and costly to undertake. Often the people paying the bills have vested interests and many things are open to manipulation so that desired results can be achieved. Imagine if your boss gave you hundreds of thousands of dollars for a project and you produced the exact opposite results he or she wanted. Chances are you wouldn’t have a job for long much less a successful career.

The second key point when it comes to accepting the findings of research is to ensure you take a close look at exactly what the process the researchers undertook to produce their results was. You will also want to take a look at the actual results pre the drawing of final conclusions by the researchers. I’m amazed at how often researchers make seemingly discontinuous leaps in their conclusions that do not appear to be supported by the results of their own study.

If all that seems a bit like too much effort then let me break down some of the things researchers have done to skew the results of their organic vs. commercially farmed produce studies. A number of years ago there were only a handful of organizations certifying organic producers. If you are going to pay for organic produce you need to ensure it is certified by an organization that requires stringent audits and at least a three year transition period during which only organic farming methods are used. This ensures any lingering residues from past farming practices are no longer present.

In the last couple of years organic certification bodies have sprung up all over the place. Some are little more then websites that require the farmer or company pay a fee before they then send out an organic certification. Such certifications are little more then a bad joke compared to legitimate organic certifiers who require rigorous on site audits and a transition period of three or more years before organic certification is awarded.

The end result is a situation where a large farming corporation or conglomerate of commercial farmers purchases a small test farm from some broke small time farmer. Then they buy a bogus organic certification for the farm, grow produce that by any decent standard isn’t organic and send that produce off to the researchers who are undertaking a study sponsored by that very same corporation. The results of the study are rather unsurprisingly that “organic” produce is no different to regular commercially farmed produce. In reality of course the results are completely bogus.

Other studies have made use of real organic food but transported it thousands of miles to research facilities at which time the quality of the food had degraded sufficiently for it to be declared no different to fresh food of the regular commercially farmed variety. Anyone with a modicum of intelligence could have predicted such an outcome given the facts.

In the second part of this article coming soon we will take a look at what factors actually do play a role in the nutritional and ultimate health value of your fruit, vegetables and animal products. We’ll examine some commercial farming practices and I’ll introduce what I feel is a very important idea – that for us to be healthy the food we eat, be it animal or vegetable, must itself also be healthy.

For more great articles by Stephen Cox you can visit BalancedExistence.com. Here are a few of my favorite must reads: “Juice Causes Diabetes”, “Are You Becoming Dumber?”, “How to Overcome Daily Fatigue and Tiredness”.

©KitchenTableMedicine.com, LLC ™

Hot Dogs and Childhood Cancer

By Dr. Nicole Sundene

I came across this story about hot dogs at the Chicago Tribune and thought, “Oh dear! What is this world coming to? Hot dogs still? REALLY?”

“A whole recipe contest for the ‘wonderous wienie’?”

“Oh my!”

Hot dogs are not a healthy friend of the kitchen table.

A while back I stopped by the grocery store and was asked to buy a hot dog to support breast cancer.

Always the first to write a check for some Girl Scout cookies, I was forced to unfortunately say “no thank you” to the hot dog fund raiser. What I did do though, was immediately call my sister, a fellow health food freak to discuss the deep dark irony of hosting a hot dog fund raiser for cancer. (My sister and I are pretty much the female version of the finicky, persnickety duo Fraiser and Niles Crane on a Whole Foods Diet).

She suggested that I sell cigarettes to raise funds for lung cancer research.

We had a good laugh over the silly satire of the situation, and thought up a bunch of other ridiculous fund raisers. I couldn’t help but hang up and still feel gloomy and defeated that our American Sickcare System is so tangled up in hype, blinders, and microscopic thinking.

Sometimes we easily lose track of the big picture with health, disease, diet, and lifestyle choices. No, hot dogs have not been shown to cause breast cancer at this prudent juncture, however, they ARE implicated in increasing the risk of childhood cancers.

The nitrites used to preserve hot dogs and other lunch meats form nitrosamines either in the cooking process or in our gut. Nitrosamines are known carcinogens implicated in cancers of the bladder, mouth, esophagus, stomach, and brain.

If hot dogs are associated with cancer even slightly, then why bother eating them I say?

If they are implicated in child hood cancers, and thought to increase your child’s risk of developing cancer NINE-FOLD when an average of 3 hot dogs per week are consumed, then WHY by all means are they even allowed to be served in school cafeterias, daycares, and hospitals? If one hot dog a week increases your child’s risk of developing brain cancer, why would any parent want to feed their child such a food?

Unfortunately most parents that I talk to are clueless to the hot dog conundrum.

Look at this innocent little guy eating watermelon in the above picture. Kids are just as happy with healthy foods, and it is our job to make educated decisions around feeding them. They don’t know any better.

Today’s Healthy Kitchen Tasks: Get hot dogs with nitrites out of your life. Ask the professionals preparing your children’s meals why hot dogs are being served to them if they are thought to increase the risk of childhood leukemias and brain tumors. Show them this article.

The bottom line is that institutions don’t want to pay for quality food. School cafeterias, prisons, hospitals, and other government run facilities have to work on a budget, and the budget they are expected to keep scarily determines MUCH of our “nutritional requirements”. The dietary RDA (Recommended Daily Allowance) is set especially low so these government run programs can meet the bare minimums.

Something to think about the next time you send your child off to school to purchase a hot dog and some tater tots.

Hot dogs should not be the bare minimum.

Let’s stop and evaluate the big picture.

The more clean and moderately we live, the more disease we can prevent. Avoiding the consumption of hot dogs is crucial to clean healthy living. If our efforts prevent cancer in one child, then they are well worth it. Maybe your child won’t be affected, but it sure will matter a great deal to the parents of the one that is.

If you HAVE to have a hot dog, save it for a sporting event or carnival. Even Disneyland is moving towards healthier choices, and so should we. “When in Rome” is a good rule of thumb for hot dogs.

Needless to say, hot dogs should not be daily or even weekly guests at our kitchen tables. Look for healthier protein options that are NOT prepared with potential carcinogens such as sodium nitrites. Anything on the label that says “nitrite” or “nitrate” after it, means potentially carcinogenic. Cured fish, and bacon also contain nitrites. Purchase bratwursts and higher quality intestinal meats from whole foods markets. They won’t have as long of a shelf life, so keep them in the freezer.

Keep in mind that these low quality protein sources actually are extremely high in saturated fat which is not good for any inflammatory health condition (almost all disease is caused by inflammation), nor is consuming saturated fats in hot dogs good for PREVENTING disease such as the clogged arteries that cause heart attacks, strokes, and high blood pressure.

Best case scenario, though, let’s just remove the hot dog’s seat at the kitchen table. Who needs a nasty old hot dog sitting around at dinner time anyways?

For more information about today’s tirade, you can read an important question and answer series about hot dogs and cancer at PreventCancer.com.

If you have any ideas for any other “great” fund raisers. Feel free to leave them in the comments section.

©KitchenTableMedicine.com, LLC ™

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