Posted on Fri, Jun 14, 2013 @ 11:31 AM
By: Deane Alban, BeBrainFit.com
The human brain has been called the most complex structure on planet Earth. Although it weighs in at only 3 pounds it uses approximately 20% of the oxygen and 25% of the calories you consume making it a very hungry organ. After all, there should be a lot going on up there!
Since the brain uses a disproportionate amount of energy, it's vital you give it the best food you can find to meet its nutritional needs, and that means eating real food.
How Your Brain Gets Rusty
Free radicals are unattached oxygen molecules that attack your cells much in the same way that oxygen attacks metal, causing it to rust. They trigger inflammation which is a major cause of aging. They even attack your cells down to the level of their DNA. Your brain is highly susceptible to free radical damage because it uses so much oxygen.
What goes on in your brain is not dissimilar to what happens when an old car rusts. When you can’t remember how to do something and you say you are “rusty” at it, you're actually closer to the truth than you realize!
Antioxidants render free radicals harmless. You get antioxidants almost exclusively from fruits and vegetables with all kinds of berries at the top of the list.
All vegetables are good for you, but some specific types of vegetables are best for your brain.
Cruciferous vegetables contain brain-protecting carotenoids, and sulforaphane, a sulphur-based phytonutrient that can heal brain inflammation.
Colorful vegetables include all types of peppers, beets, and carrots. Peppers are high in vitamin C, antioxidants, and phytonutrients such as beta carotene and capsaicin which improves circulation to the brain. Carrots contain a whopping 490 different phytonutrients!
Starchy vegetables include potatoes, sweet potatoes, yams, pumpkin, carrots, beets, and winter squash. They are high in fiber and brain-healthy complex carbohydrates, so are particularly helpful at keeping your blood sugar level. Since your brain can’t store glucose, it needs a steady supply of energy and starchy vegetables provide this quite effectively.
Other excellent antioxidant sources are foods such as the widely loved trio of green tea, red wine, and dark chocolate.
The Hidden Omega-3 Epidemic
There is a hidden epidemic of omega-3 essential fatty acids that affects 99% of the population.
The Harvard School of Public Health states that essential fatty acid deficiencies cause up to 96,000 preventable deaths per year. Omega-3s also happen to be one of the top nutrients your brain needs to function at its best, too.
Omega-3s build brain cell membranes, reduce inflammation, and increase brain-derived neurotropic factor (BDNF) a protein stimulates the formation of new brain cells and neural connections.Omega-3s have been found to slow down cellular aging at the chromosome level.
Memory loss, depression, mood swings, dementia, Alzheimer’s disease, and attention deficit disorder have all been found to improve with omega-3 supplementation.
Our ancestors got omega-3s from the game they hunted, the wild fish they caught, and the plants they foraged. Few of us consume many truly wild foods so omega-3s are in short supply in the modern diet.
But grass-fed animals such as beef, lamb, and bison, free-range eggs, and wild-caught salmon are still reliable sources of omega-3s. Grain raised/feed lot animals have significantly lower levels of omega-3s, but are high in pro-inflammatory omega-6 fatty acids instead. Chronic inflammation is a contributor to seven of the top ten causes of death including stroke and Alzheimer’s.
Salmon is widely touted as "brain food", but only if it's wild-caught! Wild salmon gets their omega-3s from the plankton and small crustaceans they eat. Farm-raised salmon are fed fish feed made from “undesirable” fish and “chicken pellets”. Chicken pellets are made from chicken parts of all kinds including feathers, beaks and even chicken poop!
Eat Real Food
The best way to get the nutrients your brain needs is to eat real, not processed food, and get your food from reliable sources.
Buy fresh produce at farmers markets, co-ops, and local food producers as much as possible. Obtain your meat and seafood from a reputable source, like US Wellness Meats.
Giving your brain the nutrients it needs is one of the best things you can do to improve your overall quality of your life. Eating with your brain in mind can improve your mood, your memory, and your ability to make better decisions now and lower your risk of serious mental decline in the future.
REFERENCES
1. "Wheat Belly: Lose the Wheat, Lose the Weight, and Find Your Path Back to Health" by William David, MD (Rodale Press)
2. "Extra Virginity: The Sublime and Scandalous World of Olive Oil" by Tom Mueller (W.W. Norton & Company, Inc.)
3. Mayo Clinic (2006, October 12). Mayo Clinic Discovers Potential Link Between Celiac Disease And Cognitive Decline. ScienceDaily.
4. Danaei G, Ding EL, Mozaffarian D, Taylor B, Rehm J, et al. (2009) The Preventable Causes of Death in the United States: Comparative Risk Assessment of Dietary, Lifestyle, and Metabolic Risk Factors. PLoS Med 6(4): e1000058. doi:10.1371/journal.pmed.1000058
5. Farzaneh-Far R, Lin J, Epel ES, Harris WS, Blackburn EH, Whooley MA. Association of Marine Omega-3 Fatty Acid Levels With Telomeric Aging in Patients With Coronary Heart Disease. JAMA. 2010;303(3):250-257. doi:10.1001/jama.2009.2008
6. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention 2011; Bastard et al. 2006; Cao 2011, Jha et al. 2009; Ferrucci et al. 2010; Glorieux et al. 2009; Kundu et al. 2008; Murphy 2012; Singh et al. 2011
Deane Alban is co-founder of BeBrainFit.com and author of Brain Gold: The Anti-Alzheimer’s, Anti-Aging Guide for Your Brain - a powerful but simple brain rejuvenation program to stop premature brain aging and end memory loss and brain fog. If staying mentally sharp for life is a top priority for you, get her free newsletter "Brain Builder", and download a free excerpt of Brain Gold here.
Posted on Fri, Jun 07, 2013 @ 08:12 AM
We’re kicking off this summer with another giveaway. We all know that breakfast is the most important meal of the day. This time we’ve created a breakfast bundle that’s sure to kick start your day. We’ve paired all of our sugar-free favorites with a Lodge Cast Iron Iron Griddle.
Reversible Pro Grid Iron Griddle and USWM Sugar-Free Breakfast Favorites (Valued at $150):
- Pork Bacon
- Pork Breakfast Sausage
- Beef Sandwich Steaks
- Beef Breakfast Sliders (Italian and Polish)
- Beef Organ Sausages (Liverwurst and Braunschweiger)
Winner will be announced on Thursday, June 13th. Please enter via the widget:
a Rafflecopter giveaway
Posted on Wed, Jun 05, 2013 @ 02:57 PM
By: Dr. Al Sears, MD
When I was little, my grandmother’s kitchen was the place to be on Sunday afternoons. That’s when she used to bake pies. She would trim the edges and I got to eat some of the delicious leftovers. Her crusts were second to none.
What was her secret? Homemade pig lard. Good old-fashioned lard is one of the most natural fats. In its unpolluted, unadulterated form it’s also one of the healthiest fats you can eat.
This goes against everything we’ve been told for fifty years. In fact, the diet dictocrats are doing everything they can to ban natural fat from your food because they say it causes heart disease.
Why would they do that? Because natural is not “proprietary.” By proprietary I mean something that they manufacture, patent, trademark, corner the market and sell it to you at a huge profit.
They do this with synthetic fat substitutes…but even before they created synthetic fats they were trying to tell you fat was bad for you. Because carbohydrates are easier to produce cheaply.
Fats in nature have a fixed cost. But carbohydrates…you can grow them in huge quantities, get the government to subsidize and pay you for growing them, and sell them for cheaper than dirt.
That’s what attracted the big food manufacturers to carbohydrate. For example, there’s only about 20 cents worth of wheat in a $4 box of Wheaties. A loaf of white bread has around 15 cents worth of wheat. Peanut butter has maybe 35 cents worth of peanuts.
With fat, it’s hard to make a 5,000% profit like you can selling a box of cereal.
It’s hard to keep perspective with such intense, widespread and effective marketing. I’ve devoted much of my professional career to this subject. I’ve read scores of books on nutrition, I’ve attended multiple conferences and I’m a certified clinical nutritionist. Yet their disinformation campaign is still overwhelming, even to me.
But before you start writing to me telling me how ignorant I am, Let me give you three reasons why telling you not to eat fat anymore is a bad idea. Then I’ll show you the best places to get the healthiest fats.
Reason 1: Fat is one of our three macronutrients.
You need this nutrient to give you energy, maintain your body temperature, transport nutrients, and build a faster brain.
Fat is so important that if your body senses you’re starving, it does everything it can to preserve your fat stores.
Reason 2: We eat less fat than our ancestors and our heart disease rates keep going up.
Reason 3: Saturated fats are a natural part of your diet and they don’t raise your risk of heart disease.
Take a look at the science that backs me up on this.
Contributors to the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition did a review of 21 studies and found no evidence that eating less saturated fat lowers your risk of heart disease.(1)
In fact, one study found the opposite. It followed 235 women for over three years and the more saturated fat they ate, the less their arteries got clogged. The women who ate more processed fake fats had the worst progression of atherosclerosis, especially when eating carbs and a lot of high glycemic index foods.(2)
This was backed up by another study that found almost the exact same thing. More saturated fat meant less heart disease.(3)
I tell patients who come to my clinic that I recommend eating as many different natural foods as possible to get the widest variety of healthy fats. You should get at least 50% of your fat from saturated fats.
Here’s a chart I use to give you an idea of which foods have more of the “good” saturated and monounsaturated fats and which have man-made trans-fats:
| Fat 1 TBS |
Saturated Fat (grams) |
Monounsaturated Fat (grams) |
Polyunsaturated Fat (grams) |
Trans Fats |
| Lard |
5.0 |
5.8 |
1.4 |
0.0 |
| Butter |
7.2 |
3.3 |
0.5 |
0.0 |
| Margarine (stick) |
1.6 |
4.2 |
2.4 |
3.0 |
| Vegetable Shortening |
3.2 |
5.7 |
3.3 |
1.7 |
| Olive Oil |
1.8 |
10.0 |
1.2 |
0.0 |
| Beef Tallow |
6.4 |
5.4 |
0.5 |
0.0 |
| Flaxseed Oil |
1.3 |
2.5 |
10.2 |
0.0 |
| Corn Oil |
1.7 |
3.3 |
8.0 |
0.0 |
Also, remember:
- If you want to try lard, you should get it from natural sources. The lard sold in most grocery stores is typically hydrogenated to give it a longer shelf life. It’s not the real stuff. One rule of thumb: If it’s not refrigerated, you don’t want it.
- Other good food sources of healthy, natural fats are eggs and nuts.
- Coconuts have two unique fats – lauric and cupric acid – that are among the heart-healthiest from any food.
- Stearic acid, which is found in beef and pork, skinless chicken, olive oil, cheese, and chocolate, is one of many saturated fatty acids found in food. Other healthy fats include lauric, myristic and palmitic acids.
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Editors Note: Dr. Al Sears, M.D. is a board-certified clinical nutrition specialist. His practice, Dr. Sears' Health & Wellness Center in Royal Palm Beach, Fla., specializes in alternative medicine. He is the author of seven books in the fields of alternative medicine, anti-aging, and nutritional supplementation, including The Doctor's Heart Cure. To get his free special report on the proven anti-aging strategies for building a vibrant, disease-free life, go here now. You'll learn how to stop Father Time without giving up the foods you love.
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Resources:
1. Siri-Tarino P, Sun Q, Hu F, Krauss R. “Meta-analysis of prospective cohort studies evaluating the association of saturated fat with cardiovascular disease.” Am J Clin Nutr. 2010 Mar;91(3):535-46.
2. Mozaffarian D, Rimm E, Herrington D. “Dietary fats, carbohydrate, and progression of coronary atherosclerosis in postmenopausal women.” Am J Clin Nutr. 2004 Nov;80(5):1175-84.
3. Griel A, Kris-Etherton P. “Beyond saturated fat: the importance of the dietary fatty acid profile on cardiovascular disease.” Nutr Rev. 2006 May;64(5 Pt 1):257-62.
Posted on Wed, Jun 05, 2013 @ 02:54 PM
By: Kelley Herring, Healing Gourmet
If you have children, you already know about the endless array of packaged snacks available these days. And while most parents know that “cheesy fish” crackers and electric blue drinks are unhealthy options, there’s one snack that touts itself as a way to get more servings of fruits and vegetables…
Fruit leathers.
With their healthy halo and claims of providing “half a serving of fruit” in each leather, many parents buy into the healthy appeal of these snacks.
But the truth is, fruit leathers are not much better than candy bars when it comes to nutrition.
In fact, a single serving contains up to 14 grams of sugar (often in the form of corn syrup) and provides no protein or healthy fat. The result is a snack that will neither satisfy your child’s hunger, nor fulfill their need for nutrition. Rather, it is a food that encourages cravings for sweets, promotes blood sugar imbalances and could even set the stage for childhood diabetes and obesity.
Tasty Snack… Or Toxic Treat?
Just as concerning as the sugar content is the fact that fruit leathers are typically made from fruits that are the most contaminated with pesticides – including apples, grapes, raspberries, cherries and strawberries.
Because children are still growing - and consume more pesticide residue than adults relative to their body weight – they are especially prone to the health risks of these chemicals.
In my previous article in this newsletter, you learned that pesticides have been linked to some of the most prevalent and serious health issues affecting our children, including:
ADHD: Children with higher levels of organophosphate pesticide metabolites in their blood were twice as likely to be diagnosed with ADHD.
Allergies: People exposed to high levels of dichlorophenol (a breakdown product of an herbicide) and chlorine (found in tap water) were more likely to have allergies to milk, eggs, seafood, and peanuts.
Autism: A study published in Environmental Health Perspectives found that children were six times more likely to be diagnosed with autism if their mothers had spent their early pregnancy in homes within 500 meters of fields with the highest levels of organophosphate application, compared to those not living near agricultural fields.
More concerning is that 94% of children tested in a recent study had detectable levels of pesticides in their urine.
"Exposure is practically ubiquitous. We're all exposed," said Maryse Bouchard of the University of Montreal, lead author of a study on pesticides and ADHD.
But here’s the good news…
According to an Emory University study, when kids switched to organically-grown fruits and vegetables, their urine levels of pesticide compounds dropped to zero or close to zero.
Today, I’m going to share a simple recipe that will allow your kids to enjoy fruit snacks that are low in sugar, high in antioxidant nutrients and free from pesticides and artificial ingredients.
Another benefit? These fruit snacks are far less expensive than the subpar store-bought varieties!
Lemon-Raspberry Gummy Fruit Snacks (Pesticide-Free and Protein-Packed)
Using organic frozen berries and pure gelatin from grass-fed cows, these simple and delicious fruit treats are quick to whip up. Experiment with a variety of berries and citrus juices to suit your little one’s (and your own!) taste.
Ingredients
• 2/3 cup organic lemon juice (fresh or bottled from Santa Cruz or Lakewood)
• 1 ½ cups organic frozen raspberries (try Cascadian Farm)
• 5 Tbsp. grass-fed gelatin (try Great Lakes)
• 10-15 drops organic liquid stevia (to taste)
Instructions:
1. Add lemon juice and raspberries to a medium saucepan. Heat over medium heat.
2. Cook, stirring until simmering. Let cool slightly.
3. Pour the mixture into a blender (preferably a VitaMix or Blendtec) and blend until smooth. (NOTE: Raspberry seeds contain powerful phytonutrients that are liberated with high speed blending)
4. Add the gelatin and blend to combine fully. Adjust sweetness with stevia.
5. Pour gelatin-berry mixture into a 9x9 glass dish or candy molds. Refrigerate for 45 minutes to an hour.
6. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to one week.
When it comes to keeping your family healthy, making small changes like this one will pay big dividends in your child’s long term health and your peace of mind.
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ED NOTE: Kelley Herring is the Founder and Editor of Healing Gourmet - the leading provider of organic, sustainable recipes and meal plans for health and weight loss. Be sure to grab Healing Gourmet's free books - Eating Clean & Saving Green: Your Guide to Organic Foods on a Budget (includes 100+ foods at the best prices) and Eat Your Way Into Shape: Flip Your Body's Fat Blasting Switch and Melt 12 Pounds in 2 Weeks (includes a delicious 7 day meal plan!). Claim your free copies here...
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REFERENCES
1. Chensheng Lu, Kathryn Toepel, Rene Irish, Richard A. Fenske, Dana B. Barr, and Roberto Bravo. Organic Diets Significantly Lower Children’s Dietary Exposure to Organophosphorus Pesticides. Environ Health Perspect. 2006 February; 114(2): 260–263.
2. Soldin OP, Nsouly-Maktabi H, Genkinger JM, Loffredo CA, Ortega-Garcia JA, Colantino D, Barr DB, Luban NL, Shad AT, Nelson D. Pediatric acute lymphoblastic leukemia and exposure to pesticides. Ther Drug Monit. 2009;31:495-501.
3. Maryse F. Bouchard, David C. Bellinger, Robert O. Wright, and Marc G. Weisskopf. Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder and Urinary Metabolites of Organophosphate Pesticides. Pediatrics, 2010.
4. Eder W, Ege MJ, von Mutius E. The asthma epidemic. N Engl J Med. 2006;355:2226–2235
5. Elina Jerschow, MD, Aileen P. McGinn, PhD, Gabriele de Vos, MD, MSc, Natalia Vernon, MD, Sunit Jariwala, MD, Golda Hudes, MD, PhD, David Rosenstreich, MD. Dichlorophenol-containing pesticides and allergies: results from the US National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 2005-2006. Annals of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology. Volume 109, Issue 6 , Pages 420-425 , December 2012
6. Roberts, EM et al. 2007. Maternal residence near agricultural pesticide applications and autism spectrum disorders among children in the California Central Valley. Environmental Health Perspectives. 115(10):1482-1489
7. The National Research Council (NRC) report: Pesticides in the Diets of Infants and Children
8. Curl CL, Fenske RA, Elgethun K. Organophosphorus pesticide exposure of urban and suburban pre-school children with organic and conventional diets. Environ Health Perspect. 2003;111:377–382.
9. Fenske RA, Kedan G, Lu C, Fisker-Andersen JA, Curl CL. Assessment of organophosphorus pesticide exposures in the diets of preschool children in Washington State. J Expo Anal Environ Epidemiol. 2002;12:21–28.
10. Flower KB, Hoppin JA, Lynch CF, Blair A, Knott C, Shore DL, et al. Cancer risk and parental pesticide application in children of Agricultural Health Study participants. Environ Health Perspect. 2004;112:631–635.
Posted on Mon, Jun 03, 2013 @ 10:05 AM
Most Americans have never tasted beef cheeks, a very traditional cut that has long been popular in Europe. Most Americans are really missing out. This just might be the most gelatinous meat of all, and has a deep beefy flavor. The gelatin melts into a soft substance that has an unusual but pleasant texture that contrasts perfectly with the tender, deeply flavored meat. Europeans nearly always cook this cut a long time, until it is meltingly tender. I have never had meat so tender. And the flavor and texture make this cut a treasure.
Corsica, an island in the Mediterranean best known as the birthplace of Napoleon Bonaparte, has a wonderful cuisine of its own, making great use out of the herbs that grow on the island. These flavors go perfectly with beef cheeks.
Serves 4.
INGREDIENTS
2 (1 pound packages) U.S. Wellness Meats grassfed beef cheeks
3 tablespoons U.S. Wellness Meats beef tallow
1 large organic yellow onion, sliced
4 medium organic carrots, cut into 1-inch chunks
3 cloves organic garlic, roughly chopped
1 sprig fresh organic rosemary
4 branches fresh organic thyme
4 imported bay leaves, left whole
4 medium organic tomatoes, cut into 1-inch chunks
1 tablespoon Red Boat fish sauce, (you could use another brand, but Red Boat is by far the best)
1 cup red wine, (I use inexpensive Merlot from Trader Joes)
DIRECTIONS
- Melt the beef tallow in a large casserole over medium heat. When the tallow is hot and bubbly, brown the beef cheeks on both sides over medium heat until they have a nice brown color. Do not crowd the pieces or they will steam rather than brown. You may need to do this in 2 or 3 batches, depending on the size of your casserole. Remove the pieces to a plate as they brown. Preheat the oven to 250 degrees.
- When all the meat has been browned and removed from the casserole, add the onions and carrots. Cook at medium heat for five minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Add the garlic, rosemary, thyme, bay leaves, tomatoes, fish sauce, and wine to the casserole. Mix well. Add the meat, and mix with the other ingredients. Cover the casserole and place it in the oven. Cook for 2 1/2 hours, or until the meat is so tender that a fork goes in and out easily. Serve and enjoy the wonderful flavors and gravy.
Stanley Fishman is a cookbook author and blogger who is an expert on cooking grassfed meat. Stanley uses traditional flavor combinations and cooking methods to make the cooking of grassfed meat easy, delicious, and tender. Stanley has written two cookbooks that make it easy to cook grassfed meat —Tender Grassfed Meat: Traditional Ways to Cook Healthy Meat and Tender Grassfed Barbecue: Traditional, Primal and Paleo. Stanley blogs about real food and the cooking of grassfed meat at his blog Tendergrassfedmeat.com.
Posted on Thu, May 23, 2013 @ 09:45 AM
By: Kelley Herring, Healing Gourmet
For decades, fish has been called the “ultimate brain food” and “the perfect protein”. It has been touted by cardiologists and fitness gurus alike as one of the healthiest foods you can eat.
But the truth is a bit murkier.
In fact, these days, eating most kinds of fish will do more harm than good when it comes to your health.
The Farm-Raised Bait and Switch
It is estimated that up to 80 percent of the fish consumed in the United States is farm-raised. While this brings more fish to market at an affordable price, farm-raised fish is a highly concentrated source of harmful pollutants.
Some of the most dangerous of these include cancer-causing PCBs (often found at levels far exceeding those deemed “acceptable” by the FDA). Antibiotic residues are also more concentrated in fish than any other form of conventional livestock.
And because most farmed fish are raised on a diet of corn, soy and grain, they contain high levels of inflammation-promoting omega-6 fats and much lower levels of health-promoting omega-3s than their wild counterparts.
But wild fish isn’t without its own issues…
Is All Wild Fish “Safe”?
Larger fish (like tuna, swordfish and grouper) can contain dangerously high levels of mercury and other environmental contaminants. These pollutants bio-accumulate, building up over the fish’s lifespan.
These contaminants then get lodged in our bodies and brains. And they can cause a wide variety of negative health effects – ranging from depression to neurological diseases.
But the good news is that there is a healthy and delicious option that is sustainable and extremely low in environmental contaminants…
Atlantic mackerel!
The Big Benefits of Little Fish
When most people think of getting more healthy omega-3 fats in their diet, smaller fish - like Atlantic mackerel, herring, sardines and anchovies - are often overshadowed by more popular options like wild salmon.
But these little fish are a big source of nutrition!
In addition to being high in protein and healthy fats, the Nutrient Data Laboratory at the USDA shows that a five-ounce serving of Atlantic mackerel contains:
- More than four times the vitamin B12 of wild salmon (27 mcg versus 6 mcg in 5-oz. wild salmon)
- Almost as much iron as steak (2.22 versus 3 mg in a 5-oz. steak)
- More potassium than a banana (568 mg potassium versus 422 mg in a banana)
- Nearly triple the selenium of chicken breast (73 mcg versus 26 mcg in 5-oz chicken breast)
A five-ounce serving of Atlantic mackerel also provides 990 mg of DHA omega-3 and 714 mg of EPA omega-3 - roughly as much as you find in common supplements.
Another benefit: Atlantic mackerel is one of the best food sources of CoQ10 - a vital antioxidant that helps your body produce energy (and prevent heart disease). And enjoying these little fish will provide you with approximately 9.4 mg per five-ounce serving!
Because of their small size and short lifecycle, Atlantic mackerel are a low contaminant, highly sustainable seafood source that you can feel good about enjoying regularly.
But a few words of caution:
- Be sure you are choosing Atlantic mackerel (Scomber colias). King mackerel and Spanish mackerel are much larger fish and should be avoided due to contaminant concerns.
- Choose Atlantic mackerel that is packaged in PET-lined cans like those offered by Vital Choice through U.S. Wellness Meats.
Try adding these healthy little fish to salads and antipasto appetizers savor them with grain-free crackers and a slice of cheese… or eat them right out of the can. Your reward will be a tasty, portable and inexpensive source of power-packed nutrition to keep your body fueled with vital nutrients for lifelong health.
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Ed note: Kelley Herring is the Founder and Editor of Healing Gourmet - the leading provider of organic, sustainable recipes and meal plans for health and weight loss. Be sure to grab Healing Gourmet's free books - Eating Clean & Saving Green: Your Guide to Organic Foods on a Budget (includes 100+ foods at the best prices) and Eat Your Way Into Shape: Flip Your Body's Fat Blasting Switch and Melt 12 Pounds in 2 Weeks (includes a delicious 7 day meal plan!). Claim your free copies here...
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REFERENCES
1. USDA Nutrient Data Laboratory.
2. Ronald A. Hites, Jeffery A. Foran, David O. Carpenter, M. Coreen Hamilton, Barbara A. Knuth, Steven J. Schwager. Global Assessment of Organic Contaminants in Farmed Salmon. Science 9 January 2004: Vol. 303 no. 5655 pp. 226-229 DOI: 10.1126/science.1091447
3. Ronald A. Hites, Jeffery A. Foran, David O. Carpenter, M. Coreen Hamilton, Barbara A. Knuth, Steven J. Schwager. Global Assessment of Organic Contaminants in Farmed Salmon. Science 9 January 2004: Vol. 303 no. 5655 pp. 226-229 DOI: 10.1126/science.1091447
4. Lymbery, P. CIWF Trust report, "In Too Deep - The Welfare of Intensively Farmed Fish" (2002)
5. EWG. PCBs in Farmed Salmon. Jane Houlihan. July 2003.
6. Miyazaki,W., Iwasaki, T. Takeshita, A. Polychlorinated Biphenyls Suppress Thyroid Hormone Receptor-mediated Transcription through a Novel Mechanism J. Biol. Chem. 2004 279: 18195-18202. First Published on February 25, 2004, doi:10.1074/jbc.M310531200
7. Schantz, SL., Widholm, JJ and Rice, DC. 2003. Effects of PCB exposure on neuropsychological function in children. Environ Health Perspect 111 (3): 357-576.
8. Import Alert: Government Fails Consumers, Falls Short on Seafood Inspections. Food and Water Watch. May 30th, 2007
9. In China, Farming Fish in Toxic Waters: http://www.nytimes.com/2007/12/15/world/asia/15fish.html?_r=1
Posted on Thu, May 23, 2013 @ 09:28 AM
By: Dr. Al Sears, MD
“Everybody I know in my age group is on statins.”
For a minute I felt like I was having statin drug-induced pain just hearing that.
My friend T.M. is approaching 50 years old, and he’s a very successful guy. He’s CEO of a publicly traded company, and another one he invested in just went public.
Most of his friends and colleagues are very smart and successful businessmen with private jets and all of that. And T.M.’s been reading and sharing with them my advisories on how bad these statin drugs are for you for ten years.
I was having lunch with him to catch up now that I’m back from Africa, and here he was telling me, “All my friends take statins. Every one of them.”
This is why I keep talking about the dangers of statin drugs. I’ve talked about it many times to many different groups of people all around the world, but I can’t stop.
Especially since it seems like every week they discover a new danger from statin drugs.
First it was nerve pain, melting muscles, and heart failure. Then people on statins started to develop symptoms of neurological diseases like ALS (Lou Gehrig’s Disease).(1) People on statins are also at risk for Parkinson’s, since the disease is associated with very low cholesterol levels.(2)
We already knew that statins cause memory loss. Hundreds of cases of statin-induced memory loss have been reported to MedWatch, the FDA’s system for filing adverse drug events.
They’ve tried to pass off statins as a treatment for Alzheimer’s. But a recent pilot study found that taking statins worsens brain function for Alzheimer’s patients, too.(3)
And just a little while ago drugmakers had to amend the “label” on the drugs so they warn you in black and white that liver damage, memory loss and confusion, and diabetes are side effects of statins.
And did you know that statin drugs may promote cancer? Having too little cholesterol increases your risk for cancer. In one study, researchers found one extra case of cancer per 1,000 people who had the lowest levels of LDL, the so-called “bad” cholesterol, compared to patients with higher LDL levels.(4)
The prestigious Journal of the American Medical Association did an investigation and found that the original studies on statins found them to be cancer-causing in animal tests. The authors wrote that cholesterols lowering drug treatment, especially with statins, “should be avoided.”
Yet the statin drug industry is still booming. People are still getting sick, and doctors and the pharmaceutical companies are still putting people at risk for the worst kinds of pain and disease.
The simple truth is you don’t need statin drugs because cholesterol does not cause heart disease. Cholesterol is a good thing. I want you to have cholesterol. You need it. Life without cholesterol is miserable. You will be weak, slow, frail, and impotent.
Another prestigious medical journal The Lancet, did a study that looked at 724 people and followed them for 10 years. Those with higher cholesterol had a lower chance of dying from any adverse cause. (6)
If you want to live a long, healthy life, stay away from Statin drugs. Just stop taking them.
Instead of lowering cholesterol, I want you to increase it. Remember the Framingham Heart Study? It’s one of the most famous and well-respected studies ever done. It shows that all you have to do is raise your HDL high enough and you’ll have almost no chance of heart disease.
How can you raise your HDL reliably and quickly?
One of the first things I pescribe to my patients who need to raise their HDL is my P.A.C.E. program. All it takes is 12 minutes a day, three times a week and you can raise your HDL dramatically.
Working out with a focus on capacity – not endurance – by using short periods of progressively intense exertion like I show you exactly how to do in my PACE Express DVD program will strengthen your heart and reliably boost HDL.
Dozens of studies have shown dramatic and significant increases in HDL for people doing “dynamic” workouts that mimic some of the features of P.A.C.E.
One study I found that looked at Navy personnel going through P.A.C.E.-like training showed that after only five days of workouts, their HDL had increased 31%.(8)
And if the study had been done using P.A.C.E., the results would have been even more dramatic.
In another study, athletes who trained for capacity like you would with P.A.C.E. had 20% higher HDL than those who trained for endurance.(9)
The best part is you don’t have to do much to start. You can walk for 45 seconds at a time, like my patient Terri L. She was able to raise her HDL 25% just by starting with that. And you can do anything you enjoy that gives your heart and lungs a challenge. Swimming, biking, stair-stepping, sprinting and elliptical machines are all good for raising HDL.
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Resources:
1. Beltowski J. "Statins and ALS: the possible role of impaired LXR signaling." Med Sci Monit. 2010 Mar;16(3):RA73-78.
2. Du G, Lewis M, Shaffer M, Chen H, Yang Q, Mailman R, Huang X. "Serum cholesterol and nigrostriatal R2* values in Parkinson’s disease." PLoS One. 2012;7(4):e35397.
3. Padala K, Padala P, McNeilly D, Geske J, Sullivan D, Potter J. "The effect of HMG-CoA reductase inhibitors on cognition in patients with Alzheimer’s dementia: a prospective withdrawal and rechallenge pilot study." Am J Geriatr Pharmacother. 2012 Oct;10(5):296-302.
4. Alsheikh-Ali A, Maddukuri P, Han H, Karas R. "Effect of the Magnitude of Lipid Lowering on Risk of Elevated Liver Enzymes, Rhabdomyolysis, and Cancer; Insights From Large Randomized Statin Trials." J Am Coll Cardiol. 2007;50(5):409-418.
5. Newman T, Hulley S. "Carcinogenicity of lipid-lowering drugs." JAMA. 1996 Jan 3;275(1):55-60.
6. Weverling-Rijnsburger AW, Blauw GJ, Lagaay AM, Knook DL, Meinders AE, Westendorp RG. “Total cholesterol and risk of mortality in the oldest old.” Lancet. 1997 Oct 18;350(9085):1119-23.
7. Castelli, W.P., “Cholesterol and lipids in the risk of coronary artery disease– the Framingham Heart Study,” Canadian Journal of Cardiology July 1998;A:5A-10A
8. Smoak, B.L., Norton, J.P., Ferguson, E.W., et al, “Changes in lipoprotein profiles during intense military training,” J. Am. Coll. Nutr. Dec. 1990;9(6):567-72
9. Chen K, Yang R. "Effects of exercise on lipid metabolism and musculoskeletal fitness in female athletes." World J Gastroenterol. 2004 Jan;10(1):122-6.
Posted on Wed, May 22, 2013 @ 08:52 AM
Few people think of Poland when they think of bison, yet Poland has its own wild bison. They live in one of the oldest forests in Europe, which had been left pretty much untouched. They are very similar to the much more famous bison of the United States. Bison were at one time considered a food for royalty and the nobles, and were hunted as a highly desired prestige food.
While the nobles would eat the choicest cuts, sometimes the peasants would get hold of the less prestigious cuts, like the chuck, and they developed some interesting recipes. This recipe was inspired by reading an old story where a pot roast of wild bison, "fragrant with mushrooms and cream," was served and found absolutely delicious. It also revived and energized the tired travelers.
Wild mushrooms were (and are) a favorite food in Poland, and they can give great flavor. If you can find Polish borowicki mushrooms, the flavor will be the most authentic, but porcini mushrooms will work fine, as they are closely related.
I have added onions (sure to be present in almost any Polish pot roast), and a few traditional Polish spices. The bison comes out very tender, and the flavor is different yet delicious.
Serves 4.
INGREDIENTS
1 U.S. Wellness Meats bison chuck roast
1/2 ounce dried wild mushrooms, either porcini or Polish borowicki
1 cup filtered water
4 tablespoons pastured butter
1 large organic onion, sliced
1 cup fresh crimini mushrooms, (or other fresh mushrooms), sliced
1/2 cup organic full-fat cream
1/2 teaspoon organic granulated garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground organic black pepper
DIRECTIONS
- At least 2 hours before you plan to cook the bison, remove it from the refrigerator so it can come to room temperature. Place the dried mushrooms in a small bowl, heat the filtered water to boiling, and pour over the dried mushrooms. Let the mushrooms soak in the hot water for 2 hours.
- Heat 2 tablespoons of butter over medium heat in a heavy bottomed pan until the butter is hot and bubbly. Brown the roast in the butter over medium heat until golden brown, about 5 minutes on each side. Remove the meat to a plate.
- Drain and dry the soaked mushrooms, and reserve the soaking liquid. Add 2 more tablespoons of butter to the pan over medium heat. When the butter is hot and bubbly, add the onions, fresh mushrooms, and the soaked dried mushrooms to the pan. Cook over medium heat, stirring often, for about 5 minutes, which should give the mushrooms a nice golden brown color.
- Preheat the oven to 250 degrees. Add the meat to a casserole large enough to hold it, and cover the meat with the onion-mushroom mixture, making sure that some of the mixture is at the sides of the meat. Strain the soaking liquid into a bowl (straining gets rid of any soil that might have clung to the dried mushrooms). Add one half cup of the strained soaking liquid to the casserole. Add the cream, and the garlic powder, and pepper. Stir well. Cover, and cook at 250 degrees for 3 hours, or until a fork goes easily into the meat. Serve and enjoy the wonderful flavors.
Stanley Fishman is a cookbook author and blogger who is an expert on cooking grassfed meat. Stanley uses traditional flavor combinations and cooking methods to make the cooking of grassfed meat easy, delicious, and tender. Stanley has written two cookbooks that make it easy to cook grassfed meat —Tender Grassfed Meat: Traditional Ways to Cook Healthy Meat and Tender Grassfed Barbecue: Traditional, Primal and Paleo. Stanley blogs about real food and the cooking of grassfed meat at his blog Tendergrassfedmeat.com.
Posted on Mon, May 13, 2013 @ 08:29 AM
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Posted on Fri, May 10, 2013 @ 08:18 AM
By: Dr. Al Sears, MD
For years, doctors in the know have warned their patients about the causes of chronic inflammation like smoking, environmental toxins, and processed foods.
But newest research I’ve been looking at suggests that short telomeres are the ultimate trigger for inflammation, which is the real culprit behind heart disease, diabetes and even Alzheimer’s.
I’ve talked to you about telomeres before. But the reason I keep mentioning them is that telomeres are the basic clocks that tell your body how old your cells are. And everything that happens from the time you are born is dependent on how old the telomere tells your body to act.
Think about it…you have the same genes your entire life. So why do you appear and behave differently at 55 years old than you did when you were 5? The answer is that the telomere has changed, and it’s telling your body to transcribe a different set of genes.
And get this…we’ve discovered how to control that process and I’m going to show you exactly how to do it. So now, by maintaining the length of your telomeres, you can reverse inflammation and prevent those chronic diseases.
A new, compelling study from the University of California at San Francisco gives us clear evidence that telomere length is the key. It determines your risk and severity of the disease of inflammation.
Researchers looked at 1,962 healthy men and women between the ages of 70 and 79. Those with short telomeres had high levels of two pro-inflammatory factors interleukin-6 (IL-6) and tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-a).(1)
Both IL-6 and TNF-a are known as cytokines, a group of compounds that cause chronic inflammation.
But cytokines play another harmful role in your body…TNF-a blocks telomerase, the enzyme that rebuilds your telomeres.(2,3)
It’s like a double hit to your body. First, your tissues become inflamed. Then, your telomeres get shorter, making your cells older and weaker.
This creates a breeding ground for diseases… including chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD),(4) atherosclerosis, and high blood pressure(5,6)…even heart attacks.(7)
So what can you do to reverse this process, douse inflammation, and dramatically reduce your chances of disease?
Well, what if I told you there were a drug that dramatically reduced the risk of heart disease, diabetes, arthritis and inflammation? That it reduces the risk of all cancers by 77 percent?(8) And that it lengthens your telomeres?
There is such a thing, but it’s not a drug. It’s vitamin D.
The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition published a study that looked at more than 2,000 women of all ages. The more vitamin D they had in their bodies, the longer their telomeres were. On top of that, people who supplemented with vitamin D had longer telomeres than those who didn’t.(9)
Why do people who have high levels of vitamin D have longer telomeres?
Because vitamin D activates telomerase. One study divided people into two groups and measured their vitamin D levels. Then researchers randomly assigned the people to either get a placebo or the equivalent of 2,000 IU of vitamin D a day.
After only four months, those taking vitamin D had their telomerase activity skyrocket by 19.2%.(10) Those taking a dummy pill had no change in telomerase activity.
Vitamin D also destroys a vicious free radical called the superoxide anion that causes inflammation.(11)
Vitamin D repairs DNA damage, stops inflammation and helps to “turn on” genes which promote healthy tissue, and “turn off” genes that promote disease.
For the most part, vitamin D is completely free. Just go outside and spend 10-20 minutes in the sunshine and your skin will synthesize 10,000 to 50,000 IU of vitamin D.
Trouble is, doctors have people scared to death of the sunshine.
Making things worse, it’s not so easy to get enough sunshine in the winter, or in the far northern or southern hemispheres. That’s why I recommend you supplement with at least 5,000 IU of vitamin D every day.
The two best ways to supplement Vitamin D are to:
1. Eat foods with high vitamin D. The best sources are small fish like herring, sardines, and anchovies. Be aware of how much of the larger fish you eat because they can have quite a bit of mercury.
2. Take some cod liver oil. Besides sunlight, the best natural source of vitamin D is cod liver oil. Just two teaspoons full contain almost 3,000 IU of vitamin D.
A quality vitamin D supplement from a capsule, caplet or from liquid drops is your next choice for protecting against inflammation, but make sure it’s in the right form.
What makes a good form of vitamin D? The D3 form, which is the bioactive kind of vitamin D. But don’t rely on your multivitamin to give you all the vitamin D you need, even if it does have D3. It’s a good start, but most still only have around 400 IU.
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1. O’Donovan A, et. al. “Cumulative Inflammatory Load Is Associated with Short Leukocyte Telomere Length in the Health, Aging and Body Composition Study.” PLoS One. 2011; 6(5): e19687.
2.Beyne-Rauzy O, Recher C, Dastugue N, Demur C, Pottier G, et al. “Tumor necrosis factor alpha induces senescence and chromosomal instability in human leukemic cells.” Oncogene 23: 7507-7516, 2004.
3. Beyne-Rauzy O, Prade-Houdellier N, Demur C, Recher C, Ayel J, Laurent G, Mansat-De Mas V. “Tumor necrosis factor-alpha inhibits hTERT gene expression in human myeloid normal and leukemic cells.” Blood 2005;106: 3200-3205.
4.Amsellem V, et al. “Telomere dysfunction causes sustained inflammation in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.” Am J Respir Crit Care Med. 2011 Dec;184(12):1358-66.
5.Edo MD, Adres V. “Aging, telomeres, and atherosclerosis.” Review Cardiovasc Res 2005;66: 213- 221.
6.Benetos A, Okuda K, Lajemi M, Kimura M, Thomas F, et al. “Telomere length as an indicator of biological aging: the gender effect and relation with pulse pressure and pulse wave velocity.” Hypertension 2001;37: 381-385.
7.Benetos A, Gardner JP, Zureik M, Labat C, Xiaobin L, et al. “Short telomeres are associated with increased carotid atherosclerosis in hypertensive subjects.” Hypertension 2001;37: 381-385.
8.Lappe J, et. al. “Vitamin D and calcium supplementation reduces cancer risk.” Am. J. Clinical Nutrition 2007;85,6:1586-1591.
9.Richards, J Brent, et al, “Higher serum vitamin D concentrations are associated with longer leukocyte telomere length in women,” J Clin Nutr 2007; Vol. 86, No. 5, 1420-1425.
10.Zhu H, Guo D, Li K, Pedersen-White J, Stallmann-Jorgensen I, Huang Y, Parikh S, Liu K, Dong Y. “Increased telomerase activity and vitamin D supplementation …” Int J Obes. 2012;36(6):805-9.
11.Polidoro L, et. al. “Vitamin D Protects Human Endothelial Cells from H(2)O (2) Oxidant Injury Through the Mek/Erk-Sirt1 Axis Activation.” J Cardiovasc Transl Res. 2012.