The Deadly Fake Fat Lurking in the Supermarket -- Still!

www.huffingtonpost.com - June 11th, 2013

Artificial trans fat -- the kind that comes from partially hydrogenated oil -- has been called a "metabolic poison" and the "most dangerous fat in the food supply." It promotes heart disease by raising one's "bad" cholesterol (LDL), which clogs arteries, and lowering one's "good" cholesterol (HDL), the kind that guards against heart disease. According to the Institute of Medicine, there is no safe level for trans fat intake, and the American Heart Association recommends limiting it to less than 2 percent of calories per day. That's about two grams. Unless you're a vegan, that's about as much as you can expect to get from the smaller amounts of naturally-occurring trans fat in milk and meat. In other words? There's no room in your diet for anything partially hydrogenated.

Since 2006, when the federal government required trans fat to be listed on nutrition facts labels, most responsible manufacturers of processed foods began reformulating their product lines to get rid of artificial trans fat. (And fortunately, these reformulated products typically end up lower in saturated fat as well as trans fat.) But as a new paper published in the peer-reviewed journal Preventing Chronic Disease (I'm a co-author) shows, some stubborn manufacturers are still sticking with this discredited industrial ingredient despite the consensus that it is dangerous and unnecessary.

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What You Don't Know About Processed Food

www.huffingtonpost.com - May 1st, 2013

You've heard of pink slime. You know trans fats are cardiovascular atrocities. You're well aware that store-bought orange juice is essentially a scam. But, no matter how great of a processed-food sleuth you are, chances are you've never set food inside a processing plant to see how many of these products are actually made.

The term "processed food" is ubiquitous these days. The food industry has attempted to co-opt it by claiming canned beans, baby carrots, and frozen vegetables are "processed foods." Can you help explain why a Pop-Tart is years away from a "processed food" like hummus?

You have to ask yourself, could I make a Pop-Tart or Hot Pocket at home, with all those same ingredients listed on the package? I don't know anyone who could do that in their home kitchen. How would you even go about procuring distilled monoglycerides and BHT, for instance? These are highly-processed food products loaded up with sugar and sodium, subjected to abusive processing conditions, and assembled with a litany of additives, many of which nobody ever consumed prior to a hundred years ago.

Yet it is possible to make your own black beans at home by soaking and then cooking them. You could even attempt a rudimentary canning operation to preserve them. You can also make hummus by grinding chickpeas with a few other ingredients like lemon juice. The same goes for frozen vegetables and even baby carrots, though homemade baby carrots wouldn't look as pretty as the ones you buy at the store. The "processing" these foods go through is minimal and not disfiguring. The end result still looks like a food that once grew on a farm.

Many people are put at ease when government agencies and the food industry state that controversial substances are "generally recognized as safe." Why is this not as comforting as it sounds?

The idea of something "generally recognized as safe" seems so reassuring, but the more you know about the U.S. system of food ingredient regulation the less cause there is for comfort.

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How Eating at Home Can Save Your Life

www.huffingtonpost.com - April 2nd, 2013

The slow insidious displacement of home cooked and communally shared family meals by the industrial food system has fattened our nation and weakened our family ties. In 1900, 2 percent of meals were eaten outside the home. In 2010, 50 percent were eaten away from home and one in five breakfasts is from McDonald's. Most family meals happen about three times a week, last less than 20 minutes and are spent watching television or texting while each family member eats a different microwaved "food." More meals are eaten in the minivan than the kitchen.

Research shows that children who have regular meals with their parents do better in every way, from better grades, to healthier relationships, to staying out of trouble. They are 42 percent less likely to drink, 50 percent less likely to smoke and 66 percent less like to smoke marijuana. Regular family dinners protect girls from bulimia, anorexia, and diet pills. Family dinners also reduce the incidence of childhood obesity. In a study on household routines and obesity in U.S. preschool-aged children, it was shown that kids as young as four have a lower risk of obesity if they eat regular family dinners, have enough sleep, and don't watch TV on weekdays.

We complain of not having enough time to cook, but Americans spend more time watching cooking on the Food Network than actually preparing their own meals. In his series, "Food Revolution," Jamie Oliver showed us how we have raised a generation of Americans who can't recognize a single vegetable or fruit, and don't know how to cook.

The family dinner has been hijacked by the food industry. The transformations of the American home and meal outlined above did not happen by accident. Broccoli, peaches, almonds, kidney beans and other whole foods don't need a food ingredient label or bar code, but for some reason these foods -- the foods we co-evolved with over millennia -- had to be "improved" by Food Science. As a result, the processed-food industry and industrial agriculture has changed our diet, decade by decade, not by accident but by intention.

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The Not-So-Sweet Truth About High Fructose Corn Syrup

www.huffingtonpost.com - February 1st, 2013

If you can't convince them, confuse them.

--Harry Truman

The current media debate about the benefits (or lack of harm) of high fructose corn syrup (HFCS) in our diet misses the obvious. The average American increased their consumption of HFCS (mostly from sugar sweetened drinks and processed food) from zero to more than 60 pounds per person per year. During that time period, obesity rates have more than tripled and diabetes incidence has increased more than seven-fold. Not perhaps the only cause, but a fact that cannot be ignored.

Doubt and confusion are the currency of deception, and they sow the seeds of complacency. These are used skillfully through massive print and television advertising campaigns by the Corn Refiners Association's attempt to dispel the "myth" that HFCS is harmful and assert through the opinion of "medical and nutrition experts" that it is no different than cane sugar. It is a "natural" product that is a healthy part of our diet when used in moderation.

Except for one problem. When used in moderation, it is a major cause of heart disease, obesity, cancer,dementia, liver failure, tooth decay and more.

The Lengths the Corn Industry Will Go To

The goal of the corn industry is to call into question any claim of harm from consuming high fructose corn syrup, and to confuse and deflect by calling their product natural "corn sugar." That's like calling tobacco in cigarettes natural herbal medicine. Watch the slick ad where a caring father walks hand in hand with his four-year-old daughter through a big question mark carved in an idyllic cornfield.

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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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Why Caring About Food Isn't An Option

http://www.huffingtonpost.com - Octobr 9th, 2012

"Food is life."

I have been known to say a similar thing, but when it came from the mouth of a Ugandan farmer, the words were more powerful than I could ever make them.

Sitting to the right of Constance Okollet on a panel titled Food Anthropology at SXSW Eco in Austin last week, I was humbled as she emphasized what food meant to her and her community. Okollet is  peasant farmer from Osukuru subcounty, Tororo district in eastern Uganda, Africa and a mother of seven. As if that wasn't enough, she's the Chairperson of Osukuru United Women Network, working on agriculture  health and the environment,  and a founding member of Climate Wise Women, traveling the world advocating against climate change and its effects on the communities around her.

During the course of our panel, we learned about her community's reduced access to food -- the effects of climate change have reduced the growing season and in turn the diversity of produce that can be grown. As she talked I became acutely aware of my privilege in even having access to some of the most basic food products.

The goal with the panel was to talk about whether or not our heightened awareness and discussion of food is having an effect on the people that need it the most. Does our Instagramming and food blogging really mean that people are eating better here at home and abroad? When you look at the case of Okollet and other subsistent farming communities around the world, it's easy to come up with a resounding "no." While we're busy perfectly placing a stalk of rosemary next to the batch of homemade muffins so that the picture with a filter to subdue the colors will look a little more quaint, there are millions of people around the world, and here at home, going hungry.

You simply can't argue your way out of that one.

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Spicy Pan Seared Salmon

This recipe has been chosen for my upcoming book, "Rustic Modern Cuisine". To support this endeavor, please pre-order now by clicking here. Thanks!

Available for a limited time only!

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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Biggest Food Safety Disasters 2012

www.huffingtonpost.com - September 27th, 2012

If there's something we tend to take for granted, it's food safety. We hardly expect the bag of lettuce we buy at the supermarket, or the jar of peanut butter or the cantaloupe, to harm us.

But 2012 has shown us that as consumers it pays to be vigilant -- mass production often lends itself to facilities that have proved a fertile breeding ground for harmful pathogens like salmonella, e. coli and listeria. Still, even small producers often find themselves caught up in recalls.

Among the most dangerous recalls this year was one involving cantaloupes, which sickened upwards of 150 people and killed two. Another involving a tainted tuna product sickened 116 and sparked a debate about "tuna scrape." "Pink slime" was another hot topic in recent months, raising concerns and questions from health experts and other members of the food community.

The best way to protect yourself is to stay informed. With that in mind, click through the below gallery of 2012's biggest food safety disasters.

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