What is Miso Paste Anyway, and How Do I Use It? Help!

www.huffingtonpost.com - Wednesday April 27th, 2016

If you haven’t been cooking with miso, then you’ve been seriously missing out. The salty paste can amp up just about any boring dish, and it’s also quite good for you. Here’s what you need to know:

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The Amazing Kale

Sugar vs fat? Know Your Poison

www.huffingtonpost.co.uk - April 11th, 2013

Despite living in the 'low-fat' era, many of us have been implicating sugar (and refined and processed starchy foods generally), not fat, as the dietary driving force behind many of our twenty first century health woes. Of course, the 'low-fat' paradigm remains a virtually impregnable stronghold, propped up by official government agencies and their perpetuation of (so-called) healthy eating advice and an omnipotent food industry flogging us 'low-fat' products at every turn (all in the name of good health, you understand). But is the veneer finally beginning to fade on the low-fat hypothesis? Is the pendulum finally swinging away from fat as the harbinger of all things evil, to a new culprit, sugar?

A new meta-analysis published last week in the BMJ, examining prospective cohort studies and randomised controlled trials, found that both types of studies showed an adverse effect of sugar on body weight in adults [1]. This only really marks the tip of the iceberg of the deleterious effects of sugar on health. As spelled out in an accompanying editorial, consumption of sugar, and carbs in general, raises postprandial blood sugar levels and adversely affects aspects of the metabolic syndrome, increasing insulin and triglycerides, whilst reducing levels of protective HDL cholesterol [2].

This will come as nothing new to readers of our award-winning book The Health Delusion in which we not only reveal that strong evidence implicating saturated fat in heart disease just doesn't exist, but worse still, replacing it with high GI carbs dramatically increases the risk. For example, in a cohort study of 53,644 men and women over 12 years, replacing 5% of calories from saturated fat with high GI carbs was associated with a dramatic 33% increase in heart attack occurrence [3]. Stop and think about that and you see just how dumb 'low fat' foods, typically laced with terrifying amounts of added sugars to make them palatable, really are.

The eminent Willett and Ludwig, in their editorial, sum up the scale of the problem by drawing parallels between the harm caused by sugar to that of tobacco and alcohol when they conclude "Healthcare providers could play an important role by routinely asking about consumption of sugar sweetened drinks as well as tobacco and alcohol use, by setting a good example, and by assuming leadership in public efforts to limit sugar as a source of harm" [2]. It's hard not to be seduced by parallels with the tobacco industry. Intake of added sugars accounts for 15% of our total energy (that's the equivalent to eating nothing but sugar one day each week), and powerful economic interests are vested in keeping the sugar flowing via the production and sale of sugar-laced foods and beverages. That the sugar lobby continues to be vociferous in their denials that sugar is bad for health, has more than faint echoes of a tobacco industry that once tried every trick in the book to perpetuate the lie that smoking didn't kill.

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Coconut Oil: Your New Best Friend

www.huffingtonpost.com - April 9th, 2013

Although coconut oil has gained controversy over the years, it is actually one of the healthiest fats in the world for you. Coconut oil is made from pressing the mature fruits of coconut palm trees. It's very popular in tropical parts of the world, like the Philippines, where there is incidentally less cases of heart disease and cancers than compared to the western world.

Coconut oil provides a great source of fuel, energy, and the highly-beneficial fatty acid, lauric acid. Coconut oil proves that not all saturated fats are "bad for you." Coconut oil is primarily made up of medium chain fatty acids (MCTs), which make it easy for your body to digest. Coconut oil is metabolized efficiently and converted into energy immediately, rather than getting stored as fat (the way butter or unhealthy oils can). Medium-chain fatty acids do not have a negative effect on blood cholesterol and help protect against heart disease. A new BFF (best friend forever) for sure.

Whether you are an athlete, dieter, or have trouble digesting dairy or fats, coconut oil might just become your new best friend -- it can be readily digested more than other oils.

Coconut oil is a significant plant source of lauric acid, a fatty acid recognized for its anti-bacterial, anti-viral, and anti-microbial properties. It has been known to help speed up metabolism, clear acne, and is great for hair and nails. Doctors, like the esteemed fat and lipid scientist Dr. Mary Enig state that coconut oil improves the immune system's anti-inflammatory response, which helps us fight off disease.

Although a saturated fat, coconut oil contains no trans-fatty acids. Because it is naturally saturated, it can handle the heat of higher temperature cooking -- such as frying -- and won't burn or go rancid as easily. In effect, because coconut oil is saturated, it makes it very shelf-stable, which makes it a very healthy oil. Who knew saturated could mean good?

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Harvard Study Confirms Fluoride Reduces Children's IQ

www.huffingtonpost.com - April 4th, 2013

A recently-published Harvard University meta-analysis funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) has concluded that children who live in areas with highly fluoridated water have "significantly lower" IQ scores than those who live in low fluoride areas.

In a 32-page report that can be downloaded free of charge from Environmental Health Perspectives*, the researchers said:

A recent report from the U.S. National Research Council (NRC 2006) concluded that adverse effects of high fluoride concentrations in drinking water may be of concern and that additional research is warranted. Fluoride may cause neurotoxicity in laboratory animals, including effects on learning and memory ...

To summarize the available literature, we performed a systematic review and meta-analysis of published studies on increased fluoride exposure in drinking water and neurodevelopmental delays. We specifically targeted studies carried out in rural China that have not been widely disseminated, thus complementing the studies that have been included in previous reviews and risk assessment reports ...

Findings from our meta-analyses of 27 studies published over 22 years suggest an inverse association between high fluoride exposure and children's intelligence ... The results suggest that fluoride may be a developmental neurotoxicant that affects brain development at exposures much below those that can cause toxicity in adults ...

Serum-fluoride concentrations associated with high intakes from drinking-water may exceed 1 mg/L, or 50 Smol/L, thus more than 1000-times the levels of some other neurotoxicants that cause neurodevelopmental damage. Supporting the plausibility of our findings, rats exposed to 1 ppm (50 Smol/L) of water-fluoride for one year showed morphological alterations in the brain and increased levels of aluminum in brain tissue compared with controls ...

In conclusion, our results support the possibility of adverse effects of fluoride exposures on children's neurodevelopment. Future research should formally evaluate dose-response relations based on individual-level measures of exposure over time, including more precise prenatal exposure assessment and more extensive standardized measures of neurobehavioral performance, in addition to improving assessment and control of potential confounders.

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*Download 32 Page Report 

Food and Mood: Is What You're Eating, Eating You?

www.huffingtonpost.com - January 18th, 2013

Some of the simplest and healthiest habits in life are the most difficult for us to maintain. For years, medical professionals shrugged off this simple truth, but recently more and more of us are acknowledging our responsibility in this realm. It takes time to sit down with each patient and tease out where they need help, but we know a simple, quick lecture to "eat plenty of fruits and vegetables" just doesn't work.

Eating, breathing, and exercising are some of the most basic things we do to keep our bodies functioning well, or not. Over time, our occasional unhealthy behaviors can become habits, and we feel like we're doing it all wrong. I cannot count how my times I've personally had to start again with eating healthier, meditating/breathing, and exercising more regularly. As much as I wish I could be a shining beacon of health, one who never wavers, I'm just like my patients. I too need reminders and have to start with the basics.

Walking through the park today, I saw two men standing on stilts. Then I noticed they were juggling, tossing the juggling clubs back and forth to each other. I learned something: Try as they might, they couldn't learn this feat without some help. They'd brought someone else along as an assistant, and every time they dropped a club, their assistant would hand it back. Though this post isn't about juggling, the image of the jugglers is relevant.

Learning to do new things on our own requires assistance in the beginning, and when we're struggling. I find this to be especially true for some of the easiest things in life, like eating, breathing, and exercising. We know how to do these things, kind of. Many of us are struggling. And we may not know where or why we're struggling, which is exactly why outside assistance could help.

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Fluoridated Water, Good or Bad?

www.huffingtonpost.com - January, 16th, 2013

Let's talk about water fluoridation. And, being that I'm a dentist, you'll probably be a little surprised by my stance on it. At least in terms of it being included in water.

As you likely know, fluoride is a chemical that is commonly found in most toothpaste brands. People use fluoridated toothpaste as a means to strengthen teeth (i.e. prevent cavities) and normally don't think much further about it. Which is fine -- that's pretty much how it's marketed.

Since the late 1990s, the United States Food and Drug Administration has made it mandatory for toothpastes to carry a warning in regards to fluoride usage. But why would the FDA post a warning on a toothpaste ingredient? Doing research on what fluoride is reveals that the chemical is now considered a potential toxic drug, and ingesting enough of the ingredient could be harmful.

Now, I don't want to scare you -- brushing your teeth with fluoride toothpaste isn't harmful. Nor is a dentist using a gel-type fluoride treatment when you get your checkup. Uses like that are topical usages -- you don't ingest it. And even if you do ingest some toothpaste (etc), the levels of fluoride aren't going to pose any threat. And it does prevent cavities.

But in terms of it being added to water, I'm not so sure that's a good thing. Adding fluoride has been a standard in many countries for years. However, several countries (mainly Europe) have taken an active stance on banning fluoride from their drinking water. And I'm with them -- I do not see the good in fluoridating our drinking water. I definitely see the reasoning why countries would add it -- it helps prevent cavities. But as a dentist, I think cavity prevention can be done just as effectively without putting fluoride in our water. To me, the "bad" it can (potentially) do outweighs the good.

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Green Tea Compound May Help Regenerate Adult Brain Cells

www.foodconsumer.org - October 1st, 2012

In the August’s edition of Molecular Nutrition and Food Research, Chinese researchers reported further evidence of the benefits of a major compound found in green tea. Pay close attention to the source of your green tea, it is ultimately going to affect the overall benefit. Always look at the ingredients list of your green tea. If it contains any food additives such as food coloring, artificial flavorings, aspartame, or phosphoric acid you may want to rethink your tea choice. It only takes water and tea leaves to make tea! The specific compound that adds the most antioxidant properties to green tea is called epigallocatechin-3-gallate (EGCG) and strong evidence shows EGCG aiding in the regeneration of hippocampal cells.

The study tested mice controlling for use of EGCG, they were observed to see how well they could remember going through mazes. The mice were separated into 2 groups: a control group and one that had been given EGCG. After a 3-day training period, mice that were treated greatly outperformed the control group and distinct hippocampal cell proliferation was observed. This evidence further supports the benefits of EGCG by showing its abilities to improve learning and memory through object recognition and spatial memory.

Green tea’s effects on the human brain are of particular importance because mental disorders are becoming increasingly prevalent. In addition to widely known effects like reducing your risk of heart disease, helping your weight-loss and lowering your blood pressure, green tea can promote a healthy long and short-term memory showed the study. EGCG has been used in clinical trials on humans but, use on a regular basis has not been tested.

Unhealthy aging can occur as a result of poor nutrition and lifestyle habits. Mental disorders generally have a lot to do with an abnormal regeneration of brain cells. The hippocampus is the center of your brain in charge of consolidating short-term memories into long-term memories. Hippocampal neurogenesis is an essential role for mediating specific cognitive functions. Alzheimer’s disease patients experience degeneration of this area of the brain first, making EGCG a potential element for future drug development.

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Are Organic Foods Worth the Cost? Whole Foods CEO

www.yahoo.com - September 18th, 2012

Consumers are buying more organic food than ever before, spending the extra dollars to eat healthy. According to The Organic Trade Association, sales of organic food totaled $29.3 billion in 2011. But a recent report from Stanford University found that organic food may not be worth the extra cost.

The Stanford scientists studied 40 years worth of research comparing organic and conventional foods and found that organic fruits and vegetables on average were not more nutritious.

The researchers did find, however, that organic foods reduced consumers' exposure to pesticides and antibiotics. Organic foods are grown without pesticides and organic poultry and beef are not fed antibiotics.

Walter Robb, co-CEO of Whole Foods (which sells lots of organic food), disagrees with the Stanford study, and not just because of his job. He tells The Daily Ticker, "I've been an organic gardener all my life…and I can see..the vitality of the food from my own experience of raising vegetables."

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Pesticide Exposure May Cause Lower IQ's in Unborn Children

"In a new study suggesting pesticides may be associated with the health and development of children, researchers at the University of California, Berkeley's School of Public Health have found that prenatal exposure to organophosphate pesticides (widely used on food crops) is related to lower intelligence scores at age 7."

"The researchers found that every tenfold increase in measures of organophosphates detected during a mother's pregnancy corresponded to a 5.5 point drop in overall IQ scores in the 7-year-olds. Children in the study with the highest levels of prenatal pesticide exposure scored seven points lower on a standardized measure of intelligence compared with children who had the lowest levels of exposure."

Read More from the Website Article: 

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/04/110421082519.htm