Category Archives: anti-aging

Dirt Poor: Have Fruits and Vegetables Become Less Nutritious?

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It would be overkill to say that the carrot you eat today has very little nutrition in it—especially compared to some of the other less healthy foods you likely also eat—but it is true that fruits and vegetables grown decades ago were much richer in vitamins and minerals than the varieties most of us get today. The main culprit in this disturbing nutritional trend is soil depletion: Modern intensive agricultural methods have stripped increasing amounts of nutrients from the soil in which the food we eat grows. Sadly, each successive generation of fast-growing, pest-resistant carrot is truly less good for you than the one before. A landmark study on the topic by Donald Davis and his team of researchers from the University of Texas (UT) at Austin’s Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry was published in December 2004 in the Journal of the American College of Nutrition. They studied U.S. Department of Agriculture nutritional data from both 1950 and 1999 for 43 different vegetables and fruits, finding “reliable declines” in the amount of protein, calcium, phosphorus, iron, riboflavin (vitamin B2) and vitamin C over the past half century. Davis and his colleagues chalk up this declining nutritional content to the preponderance of agricultural practices designed to improve traits (size, growth rate, pest resistance) other than nutrition.
 

The Organic Consumers Association cites several other studies with similar findings: A Kushi Institute analysis of nutrient data from 1975 to 1997 found that average calcium levels in 12 fresh vegetables dropped 27 percent; iron levels 37 percent; vitamin A levels 21 percent, and vitamin C levels 30 percent. A similar study of British nutrient data from 1930 to 1980, published in the British Food Journal,found that in 20 vegetables the average calcium content had declined 19 percent; iron 22 percent; and potassium 14 percent. Yet another study concluded that one would have to eat eight oranges today to derive the same amount of Vitamin A as our grandparents would have gotten from one.

What can be done? The key to healthier produce is healthier soil. Alternating fields between growing seasons to give land time to restore would be one important step. Also, foregoing pesticides and fertilizers in favor of organic growing methods is good for the soil, the produce and its consumers. Those who want to get the most nutritious fruits and vegetables should buy regularly from local organic farmers.

UT’s Davis warns that just because fruits and vegetables aren’t as healthy as they used to be doesn’t mean we should avoid them. “Vegetables are extraordinarily rich in nutrients and beneficial phytochemicals,” he reported. “They are still there, and vegetables and fruits are our best sources for these.”

The corollary: When selecting supplements, choose only those from organic sources to get benefits and avoid additional free radicals.

Be Informed. Stay Healthy.

Artificial sweeteners could RAISE blood sugars

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Have you been using artificial sweeteners in the effort to stay healthy?

This new research might give you pause.

The work, done by scientists Segal and Elinav from Israel, with mice and humans, suggests that artificial sweeteners could raise your blood sugar levels more than if you indulged in sugar-sweetened sodas and desserts.

We have already seen this in a previous post, but it is important enough to merit its own post.

Blame it on the bugs in your gut, scientists say. They found that saccharin (a.k.a. Sweet‘N Low), sucralose (a.k.a. Splenda) and aspartame (a.k.a. NutraSweet and Equal) raised blood sugar levels by dramatically changing the makeup of the gut microorganisms, mainly bacteria, that are in the intestines and help with nutrition and the immune system. There are trillions of them — many times more than the cells of the body — and they account for roughly 4 pounds of your body weight.

Although saccharin, sucralose, and aspartame are three different compounds, “the effects were quite similar to each other,” Segal said. Those three sweeteners make up the bulk of the market. Segal said more research is needed to see whether others, such as stevia, can also change the collection of microorganisms in the gut.

The scientists studied nearly 400 people and found the bacteria in the guts of those who ate and drank artificial sweeteners were different from those who did not. People who used artificial sweeteners also tended to have higher fasting blood sugar levels and a forerunner of type 2 diabetes called impaired blood-sugar tolerance.

Between 1986 and 2010, the number of American adults eating and drinking sugar-free foods and beverages jumped from 78 million to 187 million, according to the Calorie Control Council. Diet soft drinks are the most popular sugar-free products, followed by non-carbonated soft drinks, gum, and sugar substitutes.

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So what can we do?

If the craving is really really uncontrollable, go for the natural sugar, just limit the amount. Artificial sweeteners are just that, artificial. Don’t put anything artificial into your body, its not safe or healthy.

Newspaper article!! Consume Full fat dairy to lower Diabetes risk

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Eating full-fat milk, cream and cheese CUTS risk of type 2 diabetes, study finds.

  • Eight or more full-fat dairy portions a day cuts risk of type 2 diabetes by 23%.
  • High-fat fermented milk – found in yoghurts or full-fat milk – cuts risk by 20%.
  • People who consume 30ml of cream cut their risk by 15%.
  • Those who ate lots of meat increased their risk, regardless of fat content.
  • In fact, the risk of developing diabetes increased with lower fat meats. 
  • Expected by 2030 there will be 4.6 million people diagnosed with diabetes.

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-2757302/Dairy-food-lowers-diabetes-risk.html#ixzz3DZRL9wfX

Swedish researchers found that people with the highest consumption of high-fat dairy products – eight or more portions a day – have a 23 per cent lower risk of developing the condition than those who eat one portion or less per day.

However they also found eating a lot of meat – especially low-fat forms – increased the risk of type 2 diabetes.

Swedish researchers found that people who consumed eight or more full-fat dairy portions a day cut their risk of type 2 diabetes by 23 per cent, compared to people who ate one or less portion a day

So people, please please don’t buy into low fat foods and ‘no sugar’ foods with artificial sweeteners. They are HARMFUL.

What Nature made, is always best.

Be well informed. And Stay Healthy.

Turning genes on / off

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We can turn our genes on or off.

Yes.

Genes have on /off ‘switches’. So we can ‘turn off’ a ‘bad’ gene, or ‘turn on’ a ‘good’ gene. We are not doomed to our genetic inheritance. We have the ability to modulate it.

We can turn our genes on / off in 3 – 6 hours. Yes that’s right, 3 – 6 hours.

By what we do

what we eat

how we think

how we sleep

how we move

how our relationships work.

These are things we can control.

And we can Be Healthy. It is indeed that simple.

 

Healthy gut bacteria help decrease risk of breast cancer

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Postmenopausal women with a more diverse population of gut bacteria may be more efficient at breaking down estrogen, a new study suggests. Because estrogen plays a role in causing breast cancer, researchers feel a healthy bacterial population may lower the risk for cancer.

This was in a Medscape article!!  Thats exciting! Mainstream medicine is finally waking up to what we Integrative Medicine doctors have been saying – that the gut microbiome is key to good health.

What this says, in simple English, is that healthy gut bacteria help decrease risk of breast cancer.

How do we have healthy gut bacteria? Avoid toxins. Pesticides, xenobiotics from plastic bottles and lunchboxes, processed foods, refined flour, sugar, refined oils. The usual suspects.

Eat sensibly and Stay Healthy1