Fun With (out) Holiday Treats
By Linda | December 13, 2011
Tempting treats are everywhere. Chocolate gift boxes sit under the tree, dessert leftovers lurk in the kitchen and holiday cookies beckon us from festive platters. Hostesses greet us with eggnog and wine.
“Oh, have some, its Christmas,” we’re admonished. How do we survive this without looking a bit like Santa with chest pain?
Go for the fat. I know this goes against everything you’ve been told, but a close look at the science confirms this is the best way to survive the holidays (and life) with your arteries clean and waistline lean.
Recently my pant size dropped from a perfectly acceptable size 4 to a loose size 2. Have I been dieting? No. I’ve increased the butter, duck fat, foie and cheese. I also have more energy than ever and rarely get sick.
How do we love both the holiday goodies and our body? Think savory. Go for the cheese plate not the cookie platter. Eat olives and nuts, not fudge. Nosh on popcorn, not candy canes. Re-gift the almond roca and grab a handful of raw almonds. Skip the sweet mulled wine and get a glass of tannin-plush zinfandel.
Try soft herbed goat cheese in endive leaves, not on bread. Roll a slice of lox around some capers and thin slice of sweet onion.
If sugar craving are the problem, start your day savory. Have eggs scrambled with spinach and feta. Have a few slices of bacon instead of jam on toast. Skip the fruit, honey and sugared coffee in the morning and you will diminish sugar cravings later.
I already know the Christmas Eve table this year will be teaming with potatoes, sugared carrots, fruity breads, fudge, gingerbread and pies. I however, will have as much fun as everyone else feasting on the local cheeses, olives, smoked salmon, duck pate, Swedish meatballs, roasted Brussels sprouts and creamy nettle soup. I will toast the holiday with an earthy pinot noir. In the morning I will happily slip into my loose size 2 jeans and celebrate Christmas day with family. What can be more fun than that?
Topics: Uncategorized | 7 Comments »
Have Your Wine and Drink it Too
By Linda | November 18, 2011
We’ve long known alcohol increases breast cancer risk in women. The latest Harvard Nurses’ study shows it only takes 3 glasses a week – bad news for women who like to toast through the holidays.
For each added glass risk goes up another 10%. Party drinkers are most at risk, and not only for breast cancer: Heavy drinking increases risk of colon and other cancers, heart disease and liver disease.
Wine can be calming and helps with digestion when sipped with a meal. Moderate alcohol intake protects against heart attacks, strokes and gallstones. Like many of life’s joys however, alcohol has a dark side, and for women, that includes breast cancer.
Now for the good news. If you drink, but consume extra folate, you offset the breast cancer risk. Folate is perhaps best known for preventing spinal defects in the unborn, but in adults folate prevents heart disease, depression and other cancers, including colon cancer.
According to a number of studies published in peer reviewed medical journals 400 to 600 micrograms (mcg) of folate per day cancels out the increased breast cancer risk, even in women who have four drinks a day.
I’m not giving you an excuse to drink. There’s still your liver, brain cells and reputation to think about. Excess alcohol can kill in many ways. But for women who worry about breast cancer and enjoy a drink at the end of the day, there’s a simple, proven solution found in food and supplements.
Start with food. Liver is the richest source of folate, and appropriately served alongside alcohol in many cultures. A three-ounce serving of liver provides over 600mcg of folate. Greens, especially asparagus, cooked spinach and turnip greens contain close to 200mcg per cup. Good sources also include peanuts, lentils, garbanzos and other dry beans.
Wine and duck liver are at the heart of the French Paradox. People living in southern France, the duck fat/foie gras region, live longer and have less heart disease than people living in any other part of France, and far longer than do Americans.
Breakfast cereals and processed grains are often fortified with folic acid, the synthetic form of this vitamin. Although fortified grains help prevent deficiency, this synthetic version may not always be beneficial at high levels.
If you drink even modestly, a supplement may make a difference. Although synthetic folic acid is the more common supplement form, folate, the form found in food and the body, is most likely the better choice.
Thanks to The Wine Cellar Insider for use of their photo.
Cheers.
Topics: Cancer | 6 Comments »
Drug Money and the “News”
By Linda | October 30, 2011
Big Pharma suports media
Do you see a pattern? First: Proposed legislation to restrict supplements. Then, public outcry followed up by a steady stream of reports showing harm from supplements. The truth is supplements have never killed anyone and can safely and effectively replace pharmaceuticals.
Take vitamin C. Although John’s Hopkins scientists have shown vitamin C can inhibit growth of tumors with no harm, this is not an option offered by oncologists, nor covered by the media.
How about vitamin D? A plethora of studies show it cuts cancer risk by 60-77%. Although it takes 5000IU or more of vitamin D to get this benefit, the media reported that you take no more than 600-800IU.
Drugs, used properly, take over 100,000 lives each year, and in many cases shorten lifespan.
A recent study showing early death in women taking supplements was doctored to get you thinking just what you are….. “Maybe I should stop taking my supplements?” That is what the pharmaceutical industry wants you to do. Could they be threatened by the alternatives?
Big Pharma spent $20 billion in 2008 on promotion of drugs, with a big chunk going to the media, and another to doctors. The latest study was published in a journal owned by the American Medical Association (AMA), an organization already associated with conspiracy and known to promote drugs while discouraging access to natural therapies.
The study was conducted by mailing over 30,000 women 3 surveys over 18 years asking them to recall what supplements they were using, a study that fails to answer many questions, including quality and quantity of supplements and whether there was any cause and effect. Could those with illnesses be opting for supplements more often? Could they be taking cheap one-a-days?.
Researchers adjusted the data to get the results they wanted. Before the data massage, here’s what the study showed:
Vitamin B complex was associated with a 7% reduction in mortality
Vitamin C was associated with a 4% reduction in mortality
Vitamin D was associated with an 8% reduction in mortality
Magnesium, selenium, calcium and zinc were also associated with reductions in mortality
Hundreds of other studies show benefits from these supplements. As for iron and synthetic vitamin E, we already know these can be problematic. Don’t take them. Get educated. We should be getting iron from food and taking natural vitamin E, not synthetic.
I have been watching clients effectively treat disease with appropriate supplements for over 25 years. If you are lucky you know one of the few doctors who quietly treat patients using supplements. Doctors can lose their licenses for using supplements instead of drugs. Look for health advice from sources not connected to the AMA or pharmaceutical industry. Always question the media.
Topics: Uncategorized | 4 Comments »
Are Walnuts Really Drugs?
By Linda | September 30, 2011
Decadent Walnut Pesto Recipe with Health Benefits
Fall is walnut season. Just a couple handfuls of these delicious nuts a day help fend off cancer and heart disease. By publishing the studies that prove it, Diamond Foods, Inc. was informed by the FDA that their walnuts are to be classified as drugs and their unauthorized health claims subjected their product to seizure or injunction.
Diamond Foods pulled all mention of walnut health benefits off their site. This kind of thing tells me walnuts must have real medicinal benefits and threaten drug sales. FDA officials are often former or future drug company employees.
Let’s see what the FDA censored.
Research shows walnuts help fend off cancer and heart disease. In one study mice genetically programmed to develop breast cancer 100% of the time, developed cancer only half the time when fed walnuts. In those that got cancer, the rate of tumor growth was cut by half when the animals were fed walnuts.
A U.C. Davis Study found mice fed two ounces of walnuts a day developed prostate tumors only half the size of those in mice fed soy bean oil.
According to a study in the New England Journal of Medicine, walnuts help lower unhealthy cholesterol.
Hundreds of studies show walnuts or the fats they contain benefit human health. Read this for more on how the FDA censors this information.
Walnuts are one of the only nuts rich in omega 3 fats and vitamin E, which fight cancer, nourish brain cells and reduce inflammation. Buy them fresh or in the shell for flavor and health benefits. Store shelled walnuts in your freezer.
Here’s a recipe for a decadent walnut sauce perfect for transforming broccoli or asparagus into a healing culinary delight. Thanks to Science Daily for the photo that ran along with their article on how walnuts help improve motor skills in older adults.
Creamy Walnut Pesto
1 cup freshly shelled walnuts, lightly toasted (bake at 300 F 10 minutes)
1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
2 tbsp softened pastured or organic butter
1 clove garlic
2 tbsp minced red onion
1 tsp sea salt
Drop garlic into food processor. Then add walnuts and salt and process until coarsely chopped. Add onions and pulse a few times. Add butter and olive oil and process until blended. Use at room temperature and pour onto broccoli, asparagus or chicken.
Topics: Drugs, Uncategorized | 7 Comments »