THE WAY IT SHOULD BE...

 

Or, WHAT'S IT ALL ABOUT, MR. PALEO, part three...

 

 

So... what would my choice be ???

 

That's a "no-brainer", in my book. Treat the animals with dignity and respect, let them live life free of our indignities... Since we ARE omnivores, and meat IS a part of our diet, this is the least we can do... Buy local, from someone you know who treats their animals with respect... it is worth a few dollars more, isn't it ???

Besides, it is better for you, in the long run...

Where's the Beef ?

 

Or, What's it All About, Mr. Paleo, part two...

 

 

 

An abundance of labels on meat and dairy products make such claims as "grass fed," "cage free" and "natural." What exactly do these labels mean, especially in terms of animal welfare?

Some of the claims represent better conditions for animals than those suffered by the billions who are raised on standard factory farms, while others don't relate to the animals' welfare at all. So, how meaningful are these labels?

The following are the most common labels, decoded.

Certified Organic

The animals must be allowed outdoor access, with ruminants—cows, sheep and goats—given access to pasture, but the amount, duration and quality of outdoor access is undefined. Animals must be provided with bedding materials. Though the use of hormones and antibiotics is prohibited, painful surgical procedures without any pain relief are permitted. These are requirements under the National Organic Program regulations, and compliance is verified through third-party auditing.

Free-Range Chickens and Turkeys

The birds should have outdoor access. However, no information on stocking density, the frequency or duration of how much outdoor access must be provided, nor the quality of the land accessible to the animals is defined. Painful surgical procedures without any pain relief are permitted. Producers must submit affidavits to the U.S. Department of Agriculture that support their animal production claims in order to receive approval for this label.

Grass-Fed

Ruminant animals are fed a diet solely comprised of grass and forage, with the exception of milk consumed before they are weaned. These animals have access to the outdoors and are able to engage in some natural behaviors, such as grazing. They must have continuous access to pasture during the growing season (defined as "the time period extending from the average date of the last frost in spring to the average date of the first frost in the fall in the local area of production"). Painful surgical procedures without any pain relief are permitted. Producers must submit affidavits to the USDA that support their animal production claims in order to receive approval for this label.

5-Step Animal Welfare Rating Program

Animals are raised according to different levels of welfare standards, from Step 1 to Step 5+. In essence, Step 1 prohibits cages and crates. Step 2 requires environmental enrichment for indoor production systems; Step 3, outdoor access; Step 4, pasture-based production; Step 5, an animal-centered approach with all physical alterations prohibited; and, finally, Step 5+, the entire life of the animal spent on the same integrated farm, with all transport disallowed. Hormone and subtherapeutic antibiotic use is prohibited. The 5-Step program is audited and certified by independent third-parties. The 5-Step Animal Welfare Rating Program is the initiative of Global Animal Partnership.

Animal Welfare Approved

The animals have access to the outdoors and are able to engage in natural behavior. No cages or crates may be used to confine the animals, and growth hormones and subtherapeutic antibiotics are disallowed. Some surgical mutilations, such as beak-mutilation of egg-laying hens, are prohibited, while others, such as castration without painkiller, are permitted. Compliance is verified through auditing by the labeling program. Animal Welfare Approvedis a program of the Animal Welfare Institute.

Certified Humane

The animals must be kept in conditions that allow for exercise and freedom of movement. As such, crates, cages and tethers are prohibited. Outdoor access is not required for poultry or pigs, but is required for other species. Stocking densities are specified to prevent the overcrowding of animals. All animals must be provided with bedding materials. Hormone and non-therapeutic antibiotic use is prohibited. Pain relief must be used for physical alterations (castration and disbudding) for cattle. For other mammals, anesthesia and analgesia must be used over 7 days of age, but not earlier. Poultry may have parts of their beaks removed without painkiller, though not after 10 days of age. The program also covers slaughter methods. Compliance is verified through auditing by the labeling program. Certified Humane is a program of Humane Farm Animal Care.

No Tail Docking

In the United States, some dairy cows have up to two-thirds of their tails amputated without anesthetic, usually by using tight rubber bands to restrict blood flow until the tail detaches, or is cut off with a sharp instrument. This is painful and renders the cows less able to fend off flies. Some dairy producerslabel their milk specifically as “no tail docking” to let consumers know their cows have full tails.

Hormone-Free, rBGH-Free, rBST-Free and No Hormones Added

These labels on dairy products mean the cows were not dosed with rBGH or rBST, genetically engineered hormones that increase milk production. Hormones are commonly used to speed growth in beef production, and their use by both the beef and dairy industries are associated with animal welfare problems. Chicken and pig producers are not legally allowed to use hormones. These claims do not have significant relevance to the animals' living conditions. Painful surgical procedures without any pain relief are permitted. There may be some verification of this claim, but not necessarily.

Cage-Free

Unlike birds raised for eggs, those raised for meat are rarely caged prior to transport. As such, this label on poultry products has virtually no relevance to animal welfare. However, the label is helpful when found on egg cartons, as most egg-laying hens are kept in severely restrictive cages prohibiting most natural behavior, including spreading their wings.

Vegetarian-Fed

These animals may be given a more natural feed than that received by most factory-farmed animals, but this claim does not have significant relevance to the animals' living conditions.

Dolphin-Safe

In the United States, a Dolphin Safe labelon a can of tuna means that no dolphins were intentionally chased, encircled, traumatized, injured or killed in order to catch tuna swimming beneath the dolphins. Due to pressure from other countries, the U.S. government has made multiple attempts to weaken the rules and allow the use of the label even if the tuna were caught by deliberately setting nets on dolphins. The HSUS and others have won a series of lawsuits to maintain the integrity of the label, so a Dolphin Safe label in the United States still means that the tuna were not caught using methods that harm dolphins.

Natural and Naturally Raised

These claims have no relevance to animal welfare.

Grain-Fed

This claim has little relevance to animal welfare, but feeding ruminants—cows, sheep and goats—high levels of grain can cause liver abscesses and problems with lameness. As such, beef products labeled "grain-fed" most likely come from animals who suffered lower welfare than beef products labeled "grass-fed." 

"Free-range" ? "Cage-free" ? "Natural" ?

    SO... what's it all about, Mr. Paleo ?

 

 

 

I have excerpted this DIRECTLY from the official Humane Society website...

 

The truth is that the majority of egg labels have little relevance to animal welfare or, if they do, they have no official standards or any mechanism to enforce them.

The Labels†

Certified Organic

The birds are uncaged inside barns, and are required to have outdoor access, but the amount, duration, and quality of outdoor access is undefined. They are fed an organic, all-vegetarian diet free of antibiotics and pesticides, as required by the U.S. Department of Agriculture's National Organic Program. Beak cutting and forced molting through starvation are permitted. Compliance is verified through third-party auditing.

Free-Range

While the USDA has defined the meaning of "free-range" for some poultry products, there are no standards in "free-range" egg production. Typically, free-range hens are uncaged inside barns and have some degree of outdoor access, but there are no requirements for the amount, duration or quality of outdoor access. Since they are not caged, they can engage in many natural behaviors such as nesting and foraging. There are no restrictions regarding what the birds can be fed. Beak cutting and forced molting through starvation are permitted. There is no third-party auditing.

Certified Humane

The birds are uncaged inside barns but may be kept indoors at all times. They must be able to perform natural behaviors such as nesting, perching, and dust bathing. There are requirements for stocking density and number of perches and nesting boxes. Forced molting through starvation is prohibited, but beak cutting is allowed. Compliance is verified through third-party auditing. Certified Humane is a program of Humane Farm Animal Care.

Animal Welfare Approved

The highest animal welfare standards of any third-party auditing program. The birds are cage-free and continuous outdoor perching access is required. They must be able to perform natural behaviors such as nesting, perching and dust bathing. There are requirements for stocking density, perching, space and nesting boxes. Birds must be allowed to molt naturally. Beak cutting is prohibited. Animal Welfare Approved is a program of the Animal Welfare Institute.

American Humane Certified

This label allows both cage confinement and cage-free systems. Each animal who is confined in these so-called "furnished cages" has about the space of a legal-sized sheet of paper. An abundance of scientific evidence demonstrates that these cages are detrimental to animal welfare, and they are opposed by nearly every major US and EU animal welfare group. Forced molting through starvation is prohibited, but beak cutting is allowed. Compliance is verified through third-party auditing. American Humane Certified is a program of American Humane Association.

Cage-Free

As the term implies, hens laying eggs labeled as "cage-free" are uncaged inside barns, but they generally do not have access to the outdoors. They can engage in many of their natural behaviors such as walking, nesting and spreading their wings. Beak cutting is permitted. There is no third-party auditing.

Free-Roaming

Also known as "free-range," the USDA has defined this claim for some poultry products, but there are no standards in "free-roaming" egg production. This essentially means the hens are cage-free. There is no third-party auditing.

Food Alliance Certified

The birds are cage-free and access to outdoors or natural daylight is required. They must be able to perform natural behaviors such as nesting, perching and dust bathing. There are specific requirements for stocking density, perching, space and nesting boxes. Starvation-based molting is prohibited. Beak cutting is allowed. Compliance is verified through third-party auditing. Food Alliance Certified is a program of the Food Alliance.

United Egg Producers Certified

The overwhelming majority of the U.S. egg industry complies with this voluntary program, which permits routine cruel and inhumane factory farm practices. Hens laying these eggs have 67 square inches of cage space per bird, less area than a sheet of paper. The hens are confined in restrictive, barren battery cages and cannot perform many of their natural behaviors, including perching, nesting, foraging or even spreading their wings. Compliance is verified through third-party auditing. Forced molting through starvation is prohibited, but beak cutting is allowed. This is a program of the United Egg Producers.

Vegetarian-Fed

These birds' feed does not contain animal byproducts, but this label does not have significant relevance to the animals' living conditions.

Natural

This label claim has no relevance to animal welfare.

Fertile

These eggs were laid by hens who lived with roosters, meaning they most likely were not caged.

Omega-3 Enriched

This label claim has no relevance to animal welfare.

---

†Virtually all hens in commercial egg operations—whether cage or cage-free—come from hatcheries that kill all male chicks shortly after hatching. The males are of no use to the egg industry because they don't lay eggs and aren't bred to grow as large or as rapidly as chickens used in the meat industry. Common methods of killing male chicks include suffocation, gassing and grinding. Hundreds of millions of male chicks are killed at hatcheries each year in the United States.

Linus Pauling

Weston Price

Rosalind Franklin

 

 

Gratitude

Do you know them ?

These are some of my personal heroes...

There are many names today we are all familiar with, Gerson, Cordain, Saul, Campbell-McBride, Mercola, Whitaker, Sears, LaLonde, Wolf, Masterjohn, Kresser, Yasko, Sisson, Gedgaudas, etc...

But we owe a debt of gratitude to those who came before us, paving the way for the legitimacy of nutrition as a true SCIENCE, not programmed dietary nonsense from those who would have us sick and debilitated... eating cheap crap grown in contaminated human waste, buying hidden GMO's, and taking their "medicines"...

 

http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/releases/12154.php#post

 

http://www.westonaprice.org/nutrition-greats/weston-price

 

http://www.labcritics.com/2013/07/25/googles-tribute-rosalind-franklin-93rd-birthday/

 



It is time for us to "stand up and be counted"...







HEAVY METAL TOXICITY...

 

 

 

 

 

 

I don't even know where to begin with this subject...          

 

From amalgam fillings to recycled human "waste" to "organic" food grown near highways...

THERE IS NO ESCAPING EXPOSURE TO THIS NIGHTMARE... as if nuclear pollution and GMO's aren't enough to deal with...  Mercury, Cadmium, Lead, et al... unseen toxic substances that cause a myriad of DEADLY serious consequences for ALL living beings...  add to this mess "genetic susceptibility" and geometric toxicity, and you have a recipe for a world of tomorrow where NO ONE is immune, NO ONE is "healthy".

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xL4uFso-7pw

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EWZeV89M3MI

 

Go to : www.quicksilverscientific.com

 

 JUST SAY NO TO GMO's

 

 

 

 

   YOU ARE WHAT YOU EAT !!!!       I cannot scream this loud enough... the GREATEST threat, to you and this planet, is NOT Climate Change, Pollution, War, or Congress... it is GENETICALLY MODIFIED ORGANISMS !

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eUd9rRSLY4A

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=omtYlsG1P5U

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6VEZYQF9WlE

SUPPLEMENTS, et al, or...           GAG ME WITH ANOTHER PILL !

 

 

 

I really never saw this one coming... but one of my friends started in on the same old dialogue... "It's just expensive (albeit colorful) urine..."  Yeah, well...  NO !!!

 

There are several factors to consider when considering (non-prescription) supplementation... My view is fairly simple and straightforward...

 

I take a dozen or so daily supplements on a regular basis, and another dozen or so, as necessary...

 

Why ? First of all because there is little guarantee that you are getting the "full" nutritional value from your food, for several reasons... including the lack of nutrients available in the soil (which affects both plants, AND the animals that eat them). If you are eating REAL, then processing should not be a significant factor, but elapsed time & storage need to be considered... Also, most of us don't eat the same thing at every meal, every day... so most of the vitamins, etc., aren't necessarily covered, and, I don't see a lot of people who eat the ENTIRE food, like I'll bet we used to... when I eat an apple, I eat the ENTIRE apple (the seeds of which contain a minute amount of cyanide, which intestinal parasites despise)... I've even been known to eat the peel of my "little cuties" (vit. C, bioflavonoids, d-limonene)... but I haven't mastered eating the entire bone in my steak (S, Si, K, Mg, P, etc.), or the peel of my pomegranate (PPE). I also don't crush and eat the shells of my oysters (Ca), nor do I eat dirt (microbes). Are ya kinda getting the picture ?

 

NOW, worst-case scenario... I actually eliminate the majority of my intake of supplements... that simply means my body did not need them, or could not utilize them at that moment... GREAT !!!

I'd rather play the odds that I am OVER-consuming nutrients, than be DEFICIENT in them....

CANCER...

 

Stepping out of the box, an issue I must discuss... this is very personal to me...

 

 

 

I hope this young woman will forgive me for using her picture...

My mother... 

From about the age of eight, for four years, I watched her go from a beautiful young woman, to a human vegetable, all because of CANCER... it also took her three sisters, my grandmother, etc...

And now to find out that this was a man-made plague on mankind...

The people responsible NEED to be brought to JUSTICE...

I have railed against vaccinations as long as I have been a nutritionist. Now, the truth comes out...

   http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r8FCJ_VPyns

 

   If you are not familiar with Suzanne Sommers, another one of my heroes, you should be... she has written twenty or more books, including her own personal battle with cancer... CANCER need no longer be the "death sentence" it was... NUTRITION is absolutely essential in treating a cancer diagnosis. I cannot make medical referrals, but I can suggest you read up on these doctors...

http://www.dr-gonzalez.com/index.htm

http://www.burzynskiclinic.com/

 

Wandering down the PRIMAL path...

 

    For those of you who have made the switch to Paleo, and are not dairy intolerant, you may wish to consider going Primal... or, in other words, Paleo plus dairy...

Many paleo followers actually "cheat" in this direction by using butter as part of their "program". Even many lactose intolerant individuals (such as myself) find they have no problem with "fermented" organic dairy such as cottage cheese, sour cream, yoghurt, kefir, and normal cheese (whatever that is... lol). Raw milk from cows or goats can often be tolerated as well...

Oh, and did I forget to mention ICE-CREAM ???

    It is important however, to first make the switch to Paleo BEFORE going Primal, as this sets the body in a ketotic state before having to deal with potential milk sugar related issues, among others. In doing so, there will not be confusion involved in determining dietary "boundaries".    God I love my chocolate ice-cream... lol...

 

(editor's note:

  Since posting this, I have received several comments which, since they are of value to the general layman, I will share with my readers...

Going "Primal", which is the addition of dairy products to the general paleo diet, has certain parameters which one needs to be aware of. "Dairy", in America, vs. elsewhere in the world, can be problematic, to say the least. Between the reality of "mass-production" factory farming, the feeding of dairy cattle grains, massive overuse of antibiotics, pasteurization, homogenization, etc., can contribute to dairy "intolerance" in many individuals that might not have occurred had the dairy been fresh, raw, from natural grass-fed dairy cows. In addition, if that were not complicated enough, there are numerous other factors that one needs to consider as well... are you allergic to a component of what the cow ate ? Are there genetic factors which predispose you to an allergic reaction ? Are there other contributing food intolerances as well ? What else is going on in your body ? This subject is not as "simple" as some would have you believe, and can take time, patience, and perseverance on your part to find the answers...)

TO LOW-CARB or
NOT TO LOW-CARB ?
That is the question...


   So... you've decided that perhaps this whole Paleo/Primal thing might be of benefit, but you aren't sure what to do about the carbs...
Ok, that's a fair question. Here is my answer...

No sweets and/or baked goods of ANY kind, with the exception of really good dark chocolate (in small amounts/day), and the following:

White potatoes (peeled), not more than 3x per week...
Sweet potatoes/Yams (peeled), not more than 2x per week...
Tubers (malanga, boniato, yucca, etc.), not more than 2x per week...

Now, you have to pick and choose among these choices for not more than 5 meals per week... So, if you eat two meals a day, that means 14 meals per week, and of those 14, 5 can contain items mentioned above. The rest of your carbs should come from healthy fresh vegetables, limiting your intake of beets, carrots, and fresh fruit to three or four servings per week. AGAIN, I will re-iterate, fruit should never be eaten WITH a meal... two hours before, or half-an-hour after. (The only exceptions to this rule are papaya and pineapple, both of which should be consumed WITH protein !)  Limit your consumption of banana to 1/2 a banana, and make sure you are getting sufficient Mg (magnesium) to balance the P (potassium) in the banana.
Yes, I hear you... "but what about rice, quinoa, etc.?"
Consumer reports did a complete survey of commercially available rice in the U.S., and found arsenic contamination in ALL their samples*... arsenic, in both of its forms (organic and inorganic), is a slow deadly poison, almost as toxic as mercury or lead.** I have given up rice. As for quinoa, I don't consume it for "ethical" reasons.*** And as for other non-grain "grains" like quinoa, the research is not in yet, as far as I could find, so I choose to avoid these potential problems as well...

*http://consumerreports.org/cro/arsenicinfood.htm
**http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2003/12/27/toxic-metals-part-one.aspx
***http://www.motherjones.com/tom-philpott/2013/01/quinoa-good-evil-or-just-really-complicated

A FISTFULL OF DOLLARS...







That's what your health, or rather, the lack of good health, means to certain businesses... primarily BIG Pharma, CON Agra, quite a few major Universities, the FDA, and many members of the AMA and ADA...

Yes, I am hardly the first to mention this... but it bears repeating, most importantly because you have been continuously mislead by all of the above...

NO, (CL) in your water, (BR) in your spa & (F) in your toothpaste are NOT healthy,
NO, mercury amalgams in your mouth are NOT harmless,
NO, vaccines are NOT without consequence,
NO, most prescription meds are NOT a panacea,
NO, supplements are NOT worthless,
NO, saturated fats do NOT make you fat,
NO, polyunsaturated fats are NOT beneficial,
NO, sugar is NOT a food "group",
NO, whole grains are NOT good for you,
NO, homogenization and pasteurization of dairy do NOT benefit you,
NO, "farmed" fish and shrimp are NOT clean,
NO, "modern" farming methods are NOT healthy, sustainable, or ethical,
NO, "GMO's" are NOT harmless, and,
NO, "organic" is not necessarily better...

-just to name a few...

  The GOOD, the BAD, and the UGLY....

or...your MICROBIOTA

 

  Depending on what source you use, we have somewhere between several hundred, and possibly several thousand different strains of friendly, and some not so friendly, little guys inhabiting our digestive tract... these include bacteria, fungi, protozoans, and others. The human body carries about 100 TRILLION microorganisms in its intestines, a number approximately TEN TIMES GREATER than the total number of cells in the human body... and many of you are familiar with several of these, including Lactobacillus, Clostridium, Escherichia, Fusobacterium, Ruminococcus, Streptococcus, and Bifidobacterium. The currently known genera of fungi of the gut flora include Candida, Saccharomyces, Aspergillus, and Penicillium.

  Today, we are going to talk about CANDIDA. A very good example, and probably the best known of the microbiota that, when allowed to get out of hand, causes MAJOR problems for its host (meaning YOU...). Candida "overgrowth" or Candidiasis as it is known in medical jargon, can cause a RASH of different and varied symptoms (pun intended). And by that I mean everything from bad breath and rosacea to athlete's foot, jock itch, and vaginal infection. In very advanced stages, candidiasis can even be life-threatening. So, how do we deal with this little bugger when it becomes problematic ? (again, pun intended)

  First, and foremost, is the removal of its primary food source which, if you don't already know, is SUGAR. And that means ALL sweets, complex carbohydrates, dairy, and fruit. Then one can take several natural supplements to regain the natural flora balance, including caprylic acid (coconut oil), olive leaf extract, probiotics, etc., based on the recommendations of your naturopath. Re-establishing your natural intestinal balance will take time based on the strength and resilience of your immune system, and the state of imbalance that exists in your microbiota.

 

 

CARBOHOLISM...

Addicted and in Denial

Do you know what alcoholics have in common with those who suffer from ADHD,  Diabetes, Autism, or Asperger's ???

Yes, they are ALL Carboholics....

Sadly, it is yet nearly unrecognized by "mainstream" medical science... But if you do the research, it becomes evident...

If you think that Paleo/Primal is difficult because you can't see yourself going without that pizza and beer, or fresh bread and jam, or pies, cakes, cookies, chips, crackers, soda, etc., you may very well be addicted to carbohydrates...
Put another way, if you crave sweets and starches... you're hooked on something FAR more insidious than illegal drugs... and just as addictive... this is just a start...

    http://www.fao.org/docrep/w8079E/w8079e09.htm

WHAT ABOUT FRUIT ?

SO, WHAT ABOUT FRUIT ?

 

 


 

  This is a question I get asked frequently, particularly by newcomers to the Paleo/Primal lifestyle...

  Well, you know what they say... there is "good" news, and there is "bad" news... lol...
  First of all, if you have candida overgrowth (candidiasis), fruit in ANY form is out... and most of you (particularly grain-eaters) will have this condition, usually without being aware of it. This particular topic, however, will be discussed in the next blog post... back to our discussion...
  In the first six weeks of converting to the Paleo/Primal dietary regimen, I usually recommend abstinence from all forms of fruit, due to their innate sugar content, as the purpose of switching to Paleo/Primal is to convert the body's fuel source from sugar to fat. This would also include carrots and beets, as they are high in "natural" sugars, although this is not absolutely necessary.
  After the initial six-week period, reintroduce ONE fruit per week, starting with green apples, moving to berries, then eventually pears, melon, etc. Pay close attention to how you feel with each successive fruit !!! Leave bananas for last, as they are not only high in sugar, but can imbalance your magnesium levels. You will get plenty of potassium from dark leafy greens, fish, avocados, and most of your meats. It should be noted that I do NOT recommend dried fruits, except on rare occasions, as the natural sugars are concentrated. Sure, you can throw some in to your recipes for a bit of sweetness, but don't go overboard.
  I suggest limiting fruit to a between meal snack, so as not to tax the digestive system, due to the switch in enzymes required for digesting fruit. Not less than two hours before a meal, or less than half an hour after...

 

SEEDS, GRAINS, CEREALS, NUTS, and LEGUMES

 

 

SEEDS, GRAINS, CEREALS, NUTS, and LEGUMES
   






Botanically speaking, all cereals are grains, and all grains are seeds.... confused ???
   A "seed" is the fertilized, mature ovule of a flowering plant, containing an embryo or rudimentary plant... still confused ?
   Let's try another approach... "cereals" are any plant of the grass family yielding an edible grain (e.g., wheat, rye, millet, oats, kamut, triticale, rice, barley, or corn). "Grains" are a small, hard edible seed of a flowering plant, not limited to grasses (e.g., purslane, chia, hemp)... except for buckwheat, amaranth, and quinoa, which are called "pseudo-cereals", and then there are nuts (almond, hazelnut, pecan, walnut, etc.), which are botanically a hard, dry fruit with an edible kernel. No, peanuts are not true nuts, but actually a legume... and that brings us full-circle to legumes, which are nitrogen-fixing plants bearing pods with edible seeds... if you're not TOTALLY lost by now, you must be a botanist !!!
   What is important to understand here, from the Paleo/Primal perspective, is if you have to cook the seed, it's not allowed as part of the diet. "Processing" seed is a relatively recent occurrence in human history... early hunter/gatherer/scavengers were not cooking their food, let alone going thru the labor-intensive process of separating seed from chaff, grinding the seed, and then immediately consuming it (it would have gone rancid quickly, unless roasted or thoroughly dried).


   For a very brief organic biochemistry lesson, grains contain chemical compounds called "phytates", "lectins", and "gluten".
   "Phytates" are known by eight different names but the most common are phytic acid, inositol hexaphosphate and IP-6. Phytate is found in all plants because it stores the phosphorus needed to support germination and growth. An enzyme called phytase neutralizes the phytate to release the phosphorus. Plants and most animals have their own phytase. Unfortunately, humans do not. Bacteria in the small intestine produce small amounts, but not enough to digest phytate. The phytate then binds with iron, calcium and zinc, which means the minerals can’t be properly absorbed. The amount of phytate you'll get from any food source varies depending on growing conditions and processing techniques. Measurements used to report phytate content are sometimes stated as a percentage of dry weight and other times as milligrams in a 100-gram portion. Regardless of these differences, you’ll find wheat bran, rice bran, whole wheat, corn, rye, oats and brown rice at the top of the list. Phytate is highest in bran-based products. Whole-wheat flour has about half the phytate of bran but double the amount in corn, oat, rice or processed white flours. You can count on beans and nuts to contain phytate, but the amount ranges from approximately .4 percent to as high as 2 to 3 percent of dry weight. Soy, pinto, kidney and navy beans, as well as peanuts, are at the high end. They have double the amount of phytate found in peas, lentils, chickpeas, white beans, walnuts and mung beans. Unlike grains that have a large concentration of phytate in the bran, phytate is equally distributed throughout seeds. When dry weights are compared, potatoes have almost as much phytate as seeds, according to a study published in the April 2004 issue of the “Journal of Food Composition and Analysis.” Even though cooking typically eliminates some phytate, that’s not true in potatoes. Whether potatoes are baked, boiled, microwaved or fried, they retain virtually all of their phytate. Based on average consumption, the researchers noted that phytate consumed in cooked potatoes may account for a substantial portion of the average American’s daily intake of phytate. Some methods of commercial food processing destroy phytase, which means that the food retains more phytate. Other processes that actually reduce total phytate are soaking, fermenting and sprouting. Soaking rice, beans and raw nuts for 24 hours, followed by cooking them for the longest time possible, can reduce phytates by 50 percent, according to the Weston A. Price Foundation. When beans are sprouted, total phytate goes down by as much as 75 percent. Sprouting retains nutritional value, but the longer you soak and cook food, the more essential vitamins and minerals you’ll lose together with the phytate.
   "Lectins" are a class of molecules called glycoproteins (molecules that contain a protein and a sugar). Because we don’t digest lectins, we often produce antibodies to them. Almost everyone has antibodies to some dietary lectins in their body. This means our responses vary. Certain foods can even become intolerable to someone after an immune system change or the gut is injured from another source. The presence of particular lectins can stimulate an immune system response. There are some lectins that no one should consume. Ever wonder why you don’t see sprouted red kidney beans? It’s due to phytohaemagglutinin – a lectin that can cause red kidney bean poisoning. The poisoning is usually caused by the ingestion of raw, soaked kidney beans. As few as four or five raw beans can trigger symptoms. Raw kidney beans contain from 20,000 to 70,000 lectin units, while fully cooked beans usually contain between 200 and 400 units. While many types of lectins cause negative reactions in the body, there are also health promoting lectins that can decrease incidence of certain diseases. Furthermore, the body uses lectins to achieve many basic functions, including cell to cell adherence, inflammatory modulation and programmed cell death. Ingesting lectins can often cause flatulence. Consuming legumes and grains in their raw form can even result in nausea, diarrhea and vomiting. Indeed, some researchers have speculated that many apparent causes of bacterial food poisoning may actually be lectin poisoning. Often, GI distress happens because lectins can damage the intestinal lining. As food passes through the gut, it causes very minor damage to the lining of the GI tract. Normally the cells repair this damage rapidly. Since the purpose of the gut lining is to let the good stuff past and keep the bad stuff contained, it’s important for the cellular repair system to be running at full efficiency. But lectins can blunt this speedy reconstruction. Our cells can’t regenerate as fast as they need to in order to keep the intestinal lining secure. Thus, our natural gut defenses are compromised after the damage occurs and the gut can become “leaky,” allowing various molecules (including stuff we don’t want) to pass back and forth amid the gut wall. We may also not absorb other important things, such as vitamins and minerals, properly. When enough lectins are consumed, it can signal our body to evacuate GI contents. This means vomiting, cramping and diarrhea. It’s similar to consuming large amounts of alcohol, which can damage the GI lining and cause GI evacuation. When lectins affect the gut wall, it may also cause a broader immune system response as the body’s defenses move in to attack the apparent invaders. Symptoms can include skin rashes, joint pain, and general inflammation. Other chronic disorders may be correlated with leaky gut — for example, researchers have even noted* that children with autism have very high rates of leaky gut and similar inflammatory GI tract diseases.   *http://ebm.sagepub.com/content/228/6/639.full

"Gluten" is made up of several families of proteins. The scientific name for the most studied of these sub-fractions of proteins is called "Gliadin".
Our distant ancestors ate almost no gluten grains.  Grains started to be cultivated only ten to twelve thousand years ago, and even then, only in some parts of the world.  The American continent, for example, had no gluten grains until they were introduced a few hundred years ago. Of all the grains, wheat is the number one culprit.  Modern wheat is also very different from the wheat that grew in the Bronze Age and before because the United States genetically modified the grain to contain a higher percent of the wheat protein under the misguided premise that it would “feed the masses better” and be more nutritional. What they did not realize was the digestion of this protein was too broad a step for our genetics to go from hunter-gatherer and expect the body to genetically adapt to a higher concentration of this protein in the grain. Many of us have simply not yet adapted to tolerate grain, unlike ruminant animals that live off grasses and grains. Gluten constitutes 78 percent of the total protein in the modern wheat. Countries that adopted the use of this genetically modified wheat for a higher gluten content show a direct correlation to inflammatory and auto-immune diseases! This may explain why grain sensitivities are so widespread. There is now plenty of research to show that it is the specific subset of gluten, gliadin, that is an intestinal irritant and causes the inflammation to multiple tissue systems. Tragically, gliadin frequently causes the immune system to react as if it is not a component of nourishing food, but an invading microbe or worse, as though it is indistinguishable from normal organ tissues found in our bodies.  The effects of gluten on the immune system, and brain, along with profound nutritional deficiencies that so often accompany gluten sensitivity, contribute to many modern inflammatory diseases that did not exist before the widespread use of gluten products. In those people who are genetically predisposed to gluten sensitivity, eating these grains has serious detrimental effects on the body’s immune system.  Gluten grains often trigger autoimmune disease (such as insulin- dependent diabetes, hypothyroidism, etc.) where the immune system, instead of protecting the body, aggressively turns against it, causing these chronic, debilitating inflammatory responses. If not a direct cause, gluten/gliadin’s presence in the body aggravates these conditions significantly. Other inflammatory diseases having potential links to gluten/gliadin proteins are Crohn’s disease, Celiac sprue, irritable bowel, arthritis, chronic fatigue, and fibromyalgia.
  
 

 

 

   Sweeteners, et al....

 

How do you have the entire population of a planet slowly, willingly poison itself, and enjoy doing it ???

 

Make it tasty, addictive, and innocuous.... give it fifty different names, and put it in just about everything.

 

I promised myself I would not venture into a personal tirade on this blog, but this subject just keeps coming up everywhere I turn... and so few people really get it, even those that should know better....

 

Sugar, in almost all its forms, and so-called "non-nutritive" sweeteners are, for the most part, detrimental to human health.

 

Contrary to popular opinion, it makes little or no difference if it is white sugar, brown sugar, honey, agave, maple syrup, or any other form of sweetener, with the lone exception of xylitol, manuka* honey, stevia, and sodium saccharin for "artificial" sweeteners. EVERYTHING else is a deceptively slow, eventually toxic substance.

 

Here is an incomplete list....

 

• barley malt
• beet sugar
• brown sugar
• buttered syrup
• cane-juice
• cane sugar
• caramel
• carob syrup
• corn syrup
• corn syrup solids
• date sugar
• dextran
• dextrose
• diatase
• diastatic malt
• ethyl maltol
• fructose
• fruit juice
• fruit juice concentrate
• glucose
• glucose solids
• golden sugar
• golden syrup
• grape sugar
• high-fructose corn syrup
• honey
• invert sugar
• lactose
• malt syrup
• maltodextrin
• maltose
• mannitol
• maple syrup
• molasses
• raw sugar
• refiner's syrup
• sorbitol
• sorghum syrup
• sucrose
• sugar
• turbinado sugar
• yellow sugar

 

The Vegetarian Myth

THE
VEGETARIAN
MYTH

 

  Being a staunch proponent of the Paleo/Primal lifestyle seems to automatically put me at odds with a particular segment of mankind....      I am speaking of vegans, vegetarians, fruitarians, and raw foodists....

   I feel the need to once and for all address certain "arguments" that have been presented to me over the years (time and again)....

 

1)  I don't want to eat meat because it means killing another living being...

ANSWER:  I don't know how to break this to you but, those plants that you are eating, they are just as alive as the animals you speak of...

http://www.westminstercollege.edu/education_gslp/seven_characteristics_life.pdf

 

2)   Well, plants aren't conscious beings...

ANSWER:   Oh contraire, YOU may think plants aren't conscious, but that is because you don't know any better...

http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=do-plants-think-daniel-chamovitz

 

3)   Ok but, they don't feel pain or suffer...

ANSWER:   You have obviously never heard the celery scream when it is harvested...

http://www.smithsonianchannel.com/site/sn/video/player/latest-videos/do-plants-respond-to-pain/407509484001/

 

4)   Plants are inferior to (not as important as) animals...

ANSWER:   Why, because you say so...? That's just a little arrogant, don't you think? There would be NO life on this planet if there were no plants...

http://www.bgci.org/plantconservationday/whyplantsimportant/

 

5)   Plants are healthier for you than meat...

ANSWER:   You need to do your homework. Our earliest ancestors were not farmers, they were hunter/gatherer/scavengers. "Modern" agriculture is very recent in our history, the last 10,000 years or so. Humans are OMNIVORES, and always have been. That means we are designed to eat both plants AND animals... and we do not digest complex carbohydrates nearly as well as herbivores, not to mention the fact that our body runs more efficiently on ketones (from digesting animal fat) than it does on glucose (which is why half of America is overweight). Just consider the simple math, one gram of carbohydrate provides four calories of energy, while one gram of fat provides NINE calories of energy to the body.... now WHICH is a more efficient fuel source ???

http://www.fourhourworkweek.com/blog/2008/02/25/the-science-of-fat-loss-why-a-calorie-isnt-always-a-calorie/

http://www.westonaprice.org/vegetarianism-and-plant-foods/not-to-go-vegetarian

 

6)   Farming plants is more economical than farming meat...

ANSWER:  That all depends on how you look at it. From an acreage point of view, vegetables are more economical. BUT, if you look at it from a perspective of caloric availability, then meat wins. And I do not expouse a pure meat diet....

http://cce.cornell.edu/Ag/Documents/PDFs/Land%20Efficient%20Diet.pdf

http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=webber-more-efficient-foods-less-waste (please read comments !!!)

 

7) Animals are more evolved than plants...

ANSWER:   Define "evolved".... there are trees that live a thousand years or more, that is TEN TIMES the lifespan of most humans, and far more than any animal lifespan. Plants survive under the harshest conditions on the planet, whether in vast deserts or undersea toxic thermal vents where there is no light.... they can survive forest fires and twenty feet of snow cover, can you ?

8)  Animals raised for food contribute more to worldwide pollution, and are heavily loaded with toxins...

ANSWER:   I'm guessing you've never heard of GMO's... or that the rice you eat is loaded with arsenic, the lettuce with E.coli, the cantaloupes with salmonella, and the strawberries with norovirus, just to name a few...

http://www.consumerreports.org/cro/magazine/2012/11/arsenic-in-your-food/index.htm

http://www.examiner.com/article/lettuce-recalled-over-fears-of-e-coli-contamination

http://www.foodsafetynews.com/2012/10/german-students-got-sick-on-chinese-strawberries/

9)  Animals raised for food are often routinely mistreated...

ANSWER:   ABSOLUTELY. On this point you will get no argument from me, BUT, I am a staunch animal rights activist, are YOU ???

...And two more things, there is no such thing as "cruelty-free" vegetarianism... whether you are talking about the death of microbes, earthworms, insects, or even animals killed by harvesting crops (and that are NOT at least consumed by us, so die for no good reason), and if you "abhor" the thought of eating animals, why do vegetarians always make their vegetables LOOK like meat ??? What is that all about ? We don't make our meat look like vegetables... who would want a steak that looked like a squash ?   

Talk about mind-numbing denial...

NOTE(1):  My own personal first-hand experience working as a nutritional consultant in functional medicine, has been that vegetarians (et al) will show propensity for auto-immune disorders, hormonal imbalances, adrenal fatigue, thyroid disfunction, etc., after a sustained period of being vegetarian, say 10 to 20 years or more.... PARTICULARLY females over the age of forty-five, and those consuming soy/canola/low-fat foods.

 

NOTE(2): There are NUMEROUS articles like this on the internet... http://www.bulletproofexec.com/steve-jobs-dr-dean-ornish-and-vegetarian-cancer/

NOTE(3):  EVERYTHING comes to this planet to eventually die... if you were a cow, how would you like to die ?  Slowly, from malnutrition, like in India ? Being mauled to death by a predator, like in Africa ? Or a quick bullet to the brain, as in Mexico ?  Me, it would be in Japan, as a Kobe cow... Belief systems are just that.... "beliefs".