A research group investigated the metabolic rate of a hunter-gatherer tribe and found it comparable to people that live a modern lifestyle, providing evidence for the theory that the food we eat - the type and quantity - matters more than exercise in overall body weight.
Hunter-Gatherer Energetics and Human Obesity
Hunter-Gatherer Clue to Obesity as reported by the BBC, with some quotes from study authors.
Showing posts with label Health. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Health. Show all posts
Thursday, July 26, 2012
Monday, January 30, 2012
PFCs and immunity
The Atlantic, reporting on a recent article in JAMA, said today that "PFCs, found in pizza boxes, fast-food wrappers, popcorn bags, certain clothing, and more, have been tied to a lower level of antibodies in kids."
This may be of particular concern in the eastern Twin Cities region, where groundwater contamination has occurred.
Alarmingly, the impact of the PFCs was worse than for PCBs, according to the author of the study.
This may be of particular concern in the eastern Twin Cities region, where groundwater contamination has occurred.
Alarmingly, the impact of the PFCs was worse than for PCBs, according to the author of the study.
Wednesday, May 25, 2011
Saturday, May 14, 2011
Allergy Elimination Diet Week 3
We're halfway there! --- almost (Not counting the many weeks it will take to slowly reintroduce foods.).
This week's foods:
Breakfasts
Avocado-mango salad
Fruit & nuts
Oatmeal
Homemade granola with almond milk
Homemade turkey "sausage" with fruit
Buckwheat-almond pancakes with blueberry sauce
Lunches (home & packed):
Salads
Broccoli salad (the dressing works really well with a couple of soaked dried apricots in place of the sweet potato)
Dinner leftovers
Sliced chicken with cucumber slices to make mini-sandwiches
Dinners:
Rice pasta with tomato sauce and chicken sausage (hurrah! we didn't get to this really obvious meal until the end of 3 weeks!)
Red lentil soup
Baked salmon, quinoa, and steamed vegetables
Chicken soup with carrots, brussels sprouts, and chickpea socca
Chicken-spinach salad, leftover socca, and steamed broccoli
Daal saag
Baked tilapia and steamed vegetables over rice with a faux teriyaki sauce
Snacks:
Coconut macaroons
Watermelon and other fruit
Almonds & walnuts
Sliced raw vegetables
Coconut milk-based ice cream, amazingly made without refined sugar
Faux teriyaki sauce
5 prunes, finely diced, cooked in 1 c water and pureed
Add:
1 T coconut aminos
1/4 to 1/2 t prepared mustard, to taste
1 t toasted sesame oil
Mix together and taste - season as needed. Can add some fresh ginger to cook with the prunes if available - I had run out.
This week's foods:
Breakfasts
Avocado-mango salad
Fruit & nuts
Oatmeal
Homemade granola with almond milk
Homemade turkey "sausage" with fruit
Buckwheat-almond pancakes with blueberry sauce
Lunches (home & packed):
Salads
Broccoli salad (the dressing works really well with a couple of soaked dried apricots in place of the sweet potato)
Dinner leftovers
Sliced chicken with cucumber slices to make mini-sandwiches
Dinners:
Rice pasta with tomato sauce and chicken sausage (hurrah! we didn't get to this really obvious meal until the end of 3 weeks!)
Red lentil soup
Baked salmon, quinoa, and steamed vegetables
Chicken soup with carrots, brussels sprouts, and chickpea socca
Chicken-spinach salad, leftover socca, and steamed broccoli
Daal saag
Baked tilapia and steamed vegetables over rice with a faux teriyaki sauce
Snacks:
Coconut macaroons
Watermelon and other fruit
Almonds & walnuts
Sliced raw vegetables
Coconut milk-based ice cream, amazingly made without refined sugar
Faux teriyaki sauce
5 prunes, finely diced, cooked in 1 c water and pureed
Add:
1 T coconut aminos
1/4 to 1/2 t prepared mustard, to taste
1 t toasted sesame oil
Mix together and taste - season as needed. Can add some fresh ginger to cook with the prunes if available - I had run out.
Monday, May 9, 2011
No BPA? Great. What else is in that (bottle, paper, can lining)?
Hitting the Bottle
"our regulatory system allows manufacturers to introduce or continue to use chemicals that have not been adequately tested for safety. A manufacturer can replace BPA with another untested compound and get a few years’ use out of it before it, too, becomes the subject of health alerts or news media attention. By the time we know what those new chemicals do to us, entire generations are affected. We are the guinea pigs. The system is broken. We must reverse the process: test first."
To read more about the lack of regulations for chemicals in the U.S., and what other countries do, see Mark Schapiro's Exposed: The Toxic Chemistry of Everyday Products and What's at Stake for American Power (2009).
"our regulatory system allows manufacturers to introduce or continue to use chemicals that have not been adequately tested for safety. A manufacturer can replace BPA with another untested compound and get a few years’ use out of it before it, too, becomes the subject of health alerts or news media attention. By the time we know what those new chemicals do to us, entire generations are affected. We are the guinea pigs. The system is broken. We must reverse the process: test first."
To read more about the lack of regulations for chemicals in the U.S., and what other countries do, see Mark Schapiro's Exposed: The Toxic Chemistry of Everyday Products and What's at Stake for American Power (2009).
Thursday, May 5, 2011
Allergy Elimination Week 2
Breakfasts:
Roasted sweet potatoes with cinnamon and chopped pecans
Gingered Black-eyed Pea Soup
Quinoa
Oatmeal
Homemade granola with almond milk
Avocado half and sliced apple with cinnamon
Lunches: (home & packed)
Broccoli salad with Cashew-Sweet Potato Dressing
Lentil soup with chickpea crackers
Salad of mixed greens, vegetables, pepitas, and strawberries
Dinner leftovers
Snacks
Coconut macaroons
Fresh organic strawberries
Sliced apple sprinkled with cinnamon
Fresh pineapple
Raw sugar snap peas, red bell pepper, carrot
Leftover broccoli salad
Almonds and walnuts
Dinners:
Baked tilapia with roasted Brussels sprouts and sweet potatoes
Summer rolls with steamed broccoli and green beans (2 nights)
Carrot-potato-buffalo stew (2 nights)
Mixed green salad topped with chicken and vegetables with olive oil-rice vinegar dressing
Roasted sweet potatoes have been a favorite of mine - and my daughter's - since I first learned how to make them - so simple, and so much better than the usual boiled or casseroled sweet potatoes! Just wash them off and put them on a baking sheet - either an old one that already has burned spots on it, or one with a parchment layer, because they are messy. Bake at about 400 for an hour or so, until soft and oozing. If you're baking something else, a range of temperatures will work, just vary the time accordingly. Bake some extras - they're great for breakfast, in soups, in muffins, etc.
I am enjoying savory breakfasts. My long-time standard breakfasts have been homemade yogurt and granola or oatmeal with dried fruit and nuts, but this week I've eaten all sorts of dinner leftovers for breakfast, in addition to that wonderfully gingery soup. When I was planning foods for this allergy elimination diet, I realized quickly that dinners would be easiest, and that breakfast would change for me - I've gone off oats as well, since I normally eat them every day. I haven't really missed anything, surprisingly enough, after 2 weeks of this - our refrigerator is full of fabulous produce, and we have many good flavors every day that far surpass anything made out of wheat, dairy, or soy.
Roasted sweet potatoes with cinnamon and chopped pecans
Gingered Black-eyed Pea Soup
Quinoa
Oatmeal
Homemade granola with almond milk
Avocado half and sliced apple with cinnamon
Lunches: (home & packed)
Broccoli salad with Cashew-Sweet Potato Dressing
Lentil soup with chickpea crackers
Salad of mixed greens, vegetables, pepitas, and strawberries
Dinner leftovers
Snacks
Coconut macaroons
Fresh organic strawberries
Sliced apple sprinkled with cinnamon
Fresh pineapple
Raw sugar snap peas, red bell pepper, carrot
Leftover broccoli salad
Almonds and walnuts
Dinners:
Baked tilapia with roasted Brussels sprouts and sweet potatoes
Summer rolls with steamed broccoli and green beans (2 nights)
Carrot-potato-buffalo stew (2 nights)
Mixed green salad topped with chicken and vegetables with olive oil-rice vinegar dressing
Roasted sweet potatoes have been a favorite of mine - and my daughter's - since I first learned how to make them - so simple, and so much better than the usual boiled or casseroled sweet potatoes! Just wash them off and put them on a baking sheet - either an old one that already has burned spots on it, or one with a parchment layer, because they are messy. Bake at about 400 for an hour or so, until soft and oozing. If you're baking something else, a range of temperatures will work, just vary the time accordingly. Bake some extras - they're great for breakfast, in soups, in muffins, etc.
I am enjoying savory breakfasts. My long-time standard breakfasts have been homemade yogurt and granola or oatmeal with dried fruit and nuts, but this week I've eaten all sorts of dinner leftovers for breakfast, in addition to that wonderfully gingery soup. When I was planning foods for this allergy elimination diet, I realized quickly that dinners would be easiest, and that breakfast would change for me - I've gone off oats as well, since I normally eat them every day. I haven't really missed anything, surprisingly enough, after 2 weeks of this - our refrigerator is full of fabulous produce, and we have many good flavors every day that far surpass anything made out of wheat, dairy, or soy.
Air quality matters - for more than respiratory conditions
Air Pollution Near Michigan Schools Linked to Poorer Student Health, Academic Performance
"Half of all states, including Michigan, do not require any evaluation of the environmental quality of areas under consideration as sites for new schools, nor do they prohibit building new industrial facilities and highways near existing schools.
Children are known to be more vulnerable than adults to the effects of pollution. Exposure to environmental pollutants during important times of physiological development can lead to long-lasting health problems, dysfunction and disease, the experts said...
Ninety-five percent of the estimated industrial air pollution around schools comes from 12 chemicals: diisocyanates, manganese, sulfuric acid, nickel, chlorine, chromium, trimethylbenzene, hydrochloric acid, molybdenum trioxide, lead, cobalt and glycol ethers...
The 12 chemicals are suspected of producing a wide variety of health effects, including increased risk of respiratory, cardiovascular, developmental and neurological disorders, as well as cancer."
Saturday, April 30, 2011
Allergy Elimination Week 1
Breakfasts:
Fruit & Nuts
Homemade granola with almond milk (6 c gluten-free oats mixed with about 1c homemade, unsweetened applesauce with cinnamon and baked at 300F until toasted and dried, about an hour. Store in refrigerator.)
Quinoa with olive oil and salt
Turkey-vegetable soup (see below)
Curried rice with green beans (leftovers, see below)
GF oatmeal
Lunches at home:
Dinner leftovers
Salads (mixed greens, chickpeas, various chopped vegetables, nuts/seeds, fruit, vinaigrette)
Packed lunches:
Sliced chicken, steamed waxy potatoes, and sliced raw vegetables
Dinner leftovers, packed in a food jar
Chickpeas and raw vegetables
Salads
Packed snacks:
Fruit and vegetables
Chickpea crackers*
Potato chips (check ingredients)
Allergy-OK banana muffins*
Allergy-OK almond shortbread*
* recipes to follow in next post
Dinners:
Poached chicken, steamed waxy potatoes, and steamed broccoli, cauliflower, and carrots
Curried rice with green beans (recipe follows)
Chickpea-vegetable soup
Chicken sausage, rice, and asparagus
Turkey-vegetable soup (recipe follows)
Additional cooking
1 pound chickpeas - used broth and some chickpeas to make a vegetable soup; ate some on salads or as a snack; roasted some for snacks.
Roasted sweet potato slices - not thin, like chips, but about 1/4 inch thick - very tasty addition to salads or for eating as a snack
Curried rice with green beans
modified from Jeanne Lemlin's Quick Vegetarian Pleasures
1/2 cup cashews, toasted
1 T olive oil
1 medium onion, finely chopped
1 T minced fresh ginger
1 t turmeric
1/2 t cardamon
1 cinnamon stick
2 whole cloves
1 bay leaf
1/4 t salt
1 cup brown or brown basmati rice
1 lb green beans (I use frozen, whole organic beans for this recipe)
1 carrot, sliced
1/3 cup finely cut prunes (about 6-8 prunes)
2 c boiling water
In a 6-quart pot, saute the onion & ginger in the oil. Mix in spices and toast lightly, then add rice, prunes, and carrot and stir to coat. Pour in the boiling water and cover. Cook over low heat until the rice is nearly done (30-35 minutes). Add frozen green beans to the top of the mixture; they will steam as the rice finishes cooking. When done, add cashews and mix together gently.
Turkey-Vegetable Soup
Most commercial turkey and chicken is injected with a "broth solution;" the ingredients are never labeled on the poultry packaging. We generally buy locally-raised poultry, organic when possible. In addition to the lack of added ingredients (and paying a poultry price-per-pound for what is in essence saltwater, the added broth), we find that the local birds are much leaner and tastier. Our local natural foods store sells turkey pieces, and this week there was a surplus of wings at a good price.
6 turkey wings, organic if possible
1 T apple cider vinegar
1 medium onion, finely chopped
5 carrots, finely sliced
1/2 c brown rice
1/2 t salt
2 t dried thyme
1 t dried rosemary
2 t dried parsley
1 lb frozen peas
Add 2 quarts water to a stock pot and poach the chicken wings until completely cooked, then remove. After cooling slightly, remove the meat from the wings and refrigerate. It will likely be in tiny pieces, which is perfect for soup and burritos, which is where it's headed. Add 1T apple cider vinegar to the water in the pot, and return the turkey bones and skin. Simmer gently for two hours, then strain into another pot. Skim the fat from the broth, and use this fat, or part of it as needed, to saute the onions and carrots (and celery if you have some; I didn't), then add this to the broth, along with brown rice and seasonings; cook for about 40 minutes, or until rice is done. Add as much of the turkey as desired, then add the peas. If you are serving immediately, continue to cook until the peas are hot. If saving for another meal, add the frozen peas and allow them to begin chilling the soup, then refrigerate.
Fruit & Nuts
Homemade granola with almond milk (6 c gluten-free oats mixed with about 1c homemade, unsweetened applesauce with cinnamon and baked at 300F until toasted and dried, about an hour. Store in refrigerator.)
Quinoa with olive oil and salt
Turkey-vegetable soup (see below)
Curried rice with green beans (leftovers, see below)
GF oatmeal
Lunches at home:
Dinner leftovers
Salads (mixed greens, chickpeas, various chopped vegetables, nuts/seeds, fruit, vinaigrette)
Packed lunches:
Sliced chicken, steamed waxy potatoes, and sliced raw vegetables
Dinner leftovers, packed in a food jar
Chickpeas and raw vegetables
Salads
Packed snacks:
Fruit and vegetables
Chickpea crackers*
Potato chips (check ingredients)
Allergy-OK banana muffins*
Allergy-OK almond shortbread*
* recipes to follow in next post
Dinners:
Poached chicken, steamed waxy potatoes, and steamed broccoli, cauliflower, and carrots
Curried rice with green beans (recipe follows)
Chickpea-vegetable soup
Chicken sausage, rice, and asparagus
Turkey-vegetable soup (recipe follows)
Additional cooking
1 pound chickpeas - used broth and some chickpeas to make a vegetable soup; ate some on salads or as a snack; roasted some for snacks.
Roasted sweet potato slices - not thin, like chips, but about 1/4 inch thick - very tasty addition to salads or for eating as a snack
Curried rice with green beans
modified from Jeanne Lemlin's Quick Vegetarian Pleasures
1/2 cup cashews, toasted
1 T olive oil
1 medium onion, finely chopped
1 T minced fresh ginger
1 t turmeric
1/2 t cardamon
1 cinnamon stick
2 whole cloves
1 bay leaf
1/4 t salt
1 cup brown or brown basmati rice
1 lb green beans (I use frozen, whole organic beans for this recipe)
1 carrot, sliced
1/3 cup finely cut prunes (about 6-8 prunes)
2 c boiling water
In a 6-quart pot, saute the onion & ginger in the oil. Mix in spices and toast lightly, then add rice, prunes, and carrot and stir to coat. Pour in the boiling water and cover. Cook over low heat until the rice is nearly done (30-35 minutes). Add frozen green beans to the top of the mixture; they will steam as the rice finishes cooking. When done, add cashews and mix together gently.
Turkey-Vegetable Soup
Most commercial turkey and chicken is injected with a "broth solution;" the ingredients are never labeled on the poultry packaging. We generally buy locally-raised poultry, organic when possible. In addition to the lack of added ingredients (and paying a poultry price-per-pound for what is in essence saltwater, the added broth), we find that the local birds are much leaner and tastier. Our local natural foods store sells turkey pieces, and this week there was a surplus of wings at a good price.
6 turkey wings, organic if possible
1 T apple cider vinegar
1 medium onion, finely chopped
5 carrots, finely sliced
1/2 c brown rice
1/2 t salt
2 t dried thyme
1 t dried rosemary
2 t dried parsley
1 lb frozen peas
Add 2 quarts water to a stock pot and poach the chicken wings until completely cooked, then remove. After cooling slightly, remove the meat from the wings and refrigerate. It will likely be in tiny pieces, which is perfect for soup and burritos, which is where it's headed. Add 1T apple cider vinegar to the water in the pot, and return the turkey bones and skin. Simmer gently for two hours, then strain into another pot. Skim the fat from the broth, and use this fat, or part of it as needed, to saute the onions and carrots (and celery if you have some; I didn't), then add this to the broth, along with brown rice and seasonings; cook for about 40 minutes, or until rice is done. Add as much of the turkey as desired, then add the peas. If you are serving immediately, continue to cook until the peas are hot. If saving for another meal, add the frozen peas and allow them to begin chilling the soup, then refrigerate.
Friday, April 29, 2011
The Allergy Elimination Diet
Our family has embarked on an allergy elimination diet that will (hopefully? or not?) help pinpoint a cause for some chronic health issues. For 6 weeks, we are eschewing gluten, dairy, eggs, soy, corn, peanuts, citrus, shellfish, beef, pork, sugar, and chocolate. Nearing the end of week 1, I can say that it hasn't been as difficult as I feared. We're eating a record amount of fresh produce and no one has really experienced any cravings for "illegal" foods.
I spent the week after the physician's recommendation preparing, which was the key for success. During that time, we had easy, favorite meals from foods that were perishable and not included in the allowed list, which resulted in a bare refrigerator. I removed other items from the kitchen and stored them in a bin in the basement pantry. I found some remarkable blogs with recipes that were doable or modifiable and created a binder of starting places. I realized that dinner would be the easiest meal, but that breakfast and packed lunches might undergo a substantial facelift. I bought some grocery items I'd never heard of before, such as coconut aminos, a replacement for soy sauce.
I planned meals, as always, and created a "menu" that I posted on the refrigerator for my husband Herb and daughter Lavender to reference when they were hungry, with the warning that all baked items would be highly experimental. I was pleased to turn out some remarkable banana muffins as well as almond-meal based shortbread for occasional snacks, and returned to the chickpea cracker recipe I have made on occasion. However, the abundance of fresh fruit and prepped veggies in the fridge has resulted in those being the easiest food to grab - a good thing all around.
I spent the week after the physician's recommendation preparing, which was the key for success. During that time, we had easy, favorite meals from foods that were perishable and not included in the allowed list, which resulted in a bare refrigerator. I removed other items from the kitchen and stored them in a bin in the basement pantry. I found some remarkable blogs with recipes that were doable or modifiable and created a binder of starting places. I realized that dinner would be the easiest meal, but that breakfast and packed lunches might undergo a substantial facelift. I bought some grocery items I'd never heard of before, such as coconut aminos, a replacement for soy sauce.
I planned meals, as always, and created a "menu" that I posted on the refrigerator for my husband Herb and daughter Lavender to reference when they were hungry, with the warning that all baked items would be highly experimental. I was pleased to turn out some remarkable banana muffins as well as almond-meal based shortbread for occasional snacks, and returned to the chickpea cracker recipe I have made on occasion. However, the abundance of fresh fruit and prepped veggies in the fridge has resulted in those being the easiest food to grab - a good thing all around.
Menu
Breakfast
Fruit and Nuts
Quinoa
Oatmeal
Granola with almond milk
Smoothie
Brown rice porridge with cinnamon
Lunch
Lentil Soup and chickpea crackers
Chicken slices with lettuce wrappers
Beans or chickpeas
Almond butter and jam on gluten-free bread
Salad with beans or nuts
Roasted sweet potato sandwiches with almond butter
Sides and Snacks
Pickles
Carrot sticks
Red bell pepper
Cucumber
Radishes
Peas
Rice cakes
Fruit
Nuts
Sunflower or pumpkin seeds
Chickpea crackers or bread
Hummus or bean spread
Smoothies
Homemade popsicles
Salad
Soup
Desserts
Rice pudding
Fruit-nut-coconut treats
Blueberry tart
Cookies
Baked apples
Fruit crisp
Muffins
Sweet potato pudding
Tuesday, February 1, 2011
It's About Time!
Government's Dietary Advice: Eat Less
"As the nation’s obesity crisis continues unabated, federal regulators on Monday issued their bluntest nutrition advice to date: drink water instead of sugary drinks like soda, fill your plate with fruits and vegetables and cut down on processed foods filled with sodium, fat or sugar."
"As the nation’s obesity crisis continues unabated, federal regulators on Monday issued their bluntest nutrition advice to date: drink water instead of sugary drinks like soda, fill your plate with fruits and vegetables and cut down on processed foods filled with sodium, fat or sugar."
Friday, September 10, 2010
Thursday, August 26, 2010
Salmonella in eggs
Current suspect in the enormous (550 million eggs!) egg recall: the "meat and bone meal" added to chicken feed.
Last I heard, chickens don't eat meat.
If that's not enough to turn you off battery-produced eggs, read about how the "farms" violated regulations. (Read: factories)
Last I heard, chickens don't eat meat.
If that's not enough to turn you off battery-produced eggs, read about how the "farms" violated regulations. (Read: factories)
Tuesday, June 29, 2010
DCA: A Promising Treatment for Cancer
DCA Research Team publishes results of Clinical Trials
Excerpt:
"In 2007 the U of A[lberta] team... published evidence that DCA reverses cancer growth in non-human models and test tubes. The team showed then that DCA achieves these antitumor effects by altering the metabolism of cancer. By altering the way cancer handles its nutrient fuels, specifically the sugars, DCA was able to take away cancer's most important strength, the resistance to death. Since then, several independent groups across the world have confirmed the Alberta team's findings." (emphasis mine)
This new press release discusses results with human tumors.
The abstract for the journal article in Science Translational Medicine is also available. The abstract states that "The dose-limiting toxicity was a dose-dependent, reversible peripheral neuropathy, and there was no hematologic, hepatic, renal, or cardiac toxicity."
So, early indications are that the therapeutic dose has no serious side effects in cancer patients. This is very exciting news because DCA seems to have tremendous results on particular cancers, and would be a non-patented treatment, at much lower cost than other cancer treatments. Because of this, however, sources of funding for the research are more limited - no drug companies are rushing to bring it to market, as they probably would had it been discovered in their own labs.
Further information is available in this Wikipedia article. One point to note is this:
"When faced with the high costs of getting Food and Drug Administration approval, estimated by Tufts University to exceed one billion dollars, the chance of getting DCA approved for the treatment of cancer in the United States is extremely low."
A promising treatment for deadly cancers that is free of side effects, but has no corporate sponsorship, possibly will only be available to Americans in off-label use because it doesn't have a bank account. What does this say about our medical system?
For more information about how cancers develop and grow, and how diet and exercise can affect this, I recommend the book Anticancer by David Servan-Schreiber, M.D. Ph.D., a two-time cancer surviver and medical researcher.
For a quick guide to wellness that you can start implementing today, read Servan-Schreiber's Anticancer Rules.
Excerpt:
"In 2007 the U of A[lberta] team... published evidence that DCA reverses cancer growth in non-human models and test tubes. The team showed then that DCA achieves these antitumor effects by altering the metabolism of cancer. By altering the way cancer handles its nutrient fuels, specifically the sugars, DCA was able to take away cancer's most important strength, the resistance to death. Since then, several independent groups across the world have confirmed the Alberta team's findings." (emphasis mine)
This new press release discusses results with human tumors.
The abstract for the journal article in Science Translational Medicine is also available. The abstract states that "The dose-limiting toxicity was a dose-dependent, reversible peripheral neuropathy, and there was no hematologic, hepatic, renal, or cardiac toxicity."
So, early indications are that the therapeutic dose has no serious side effects in cancer patients. This is very exciting news because DCA seems to have tremendous results on particular cancers, and would be a non-patented treatment, at much lower cost than other cancer treatments. Because of this, however, sources of funding for the research are more limited - no drug companies are rushing to bring it to market, as they probably would had it been discovered in their own labs.
Further information is available in this Wikipedia article. One point to note is this:
"When faced with the high costs of getting Food and Drug Administration approval, estimated by Tufts University to exceed one billion dollars, the chance of getting DCA approved for the treatment of cancer in the United States is extremely low."
A promising treatment for deadly cancers that is free of side effects, but has no corporate sponsorship, possibly will only be available to Americans in off-label use because it doesn't have a bank account. What does this say about our medical system?
For more information about how cancers develop and grow, and how diet and exercise can affect this, I recommend the book Anticancer by David Servan-Schreiber, M.D. Ph.D., a two-time cancer surviver and medical researcher.
For a quick guide to wellness that you can start implementing today, read Servan-Schreiber's Anticancer Rules.
Diet, Inflammation, and Disease
A large study has linked a diet of 3 burgers weekly to a higher incidence of asthma, and a diet rich in fruits, vegetables, and/or fish to a reduced risk. While they do note that 3 burgers/week probably indicates a person has other unhealthy habits (and are there fries going along with those burgers?), this immediately reminds me of the anti-inflammatory diet and the link between inflammation and many diseases - asthma, heart disease, cancer, arthritis...
We consume a large amount of food each day and it makes sense to begin there to reduce health issues. Following are some links to information about an anti-inflammatory diet.
Reducing inflammation - the natural approach
Anti-inflammatory diet tips
Anti-inflammatory diet summary including a brief discussion of omega-6 and omega-3 fats and how the balance between them has shifted in the American diet over the past century
We consume a large amount of food each day and it makes sense to begin there to reduce health issues. Following are some links to information about an anti-inflammatory diet.
Reducing inflammation - the natural approach
Anti-inflammatory diet tips
Anti-inflammatory diet summary including a brief discussion of omega-6 and omega-3 fats and how the balance between them has shifted in the American diet over the past century
Lice
If you have a school-aged child, you've probably received notices about lice having been found on someone in the school. This article in today's NY Times gives details of a pesticide-free alternative using Cetaphil lotion and a hair dryer, and also discusses pesticide resistance in lice and the lice life cycle.
Kids & Vegetables
An easy way to encourage children to eat more vegetables, reported by Penn State researchers: give them the veggies first.
Excerpt:
In our house, we find that a plate of prepared, raw vegetables, such as bell peppers, carrots, celery, zucchini, cucumber, and sugar snap peas, vanishes very quickly either as a snack or as part of a meal.
Excerpt:
When the children received 30 grams (about 1 ounce) of carrots at the start of the meal, their vegetable intake rose by nearly 50 percent compared to having no carrots as a first course. But when the first course was increased to 60 grams (about 2 ounces) of carrots, average vegetable consumption nearly tripled to about 63 grams -- or a third of the recommended vegetable intake for preschool children.Here's the abstract for the article in the Journal of Clinical Nutrition.
In our house, we find that a plate of prepared, raw vegetables, such as bell peppers, carrots, celery, zucchini, cucumber, and sugar snap peas, vanishes very quickly either as a snack or as part of a meal.
Pesticides and ADHD Strongly Linked
Recent studies have estimated that 8.6% of American children have ADHD, which has exploded with a 400% increase in the past twenty years.
A study released this week examined data for over 1000 children, looking at urine metabolite levels from organophosphate pesticides. The complete Pediatrics article is available for free; it was also widely reported in the media.
Some background from this article and other sources as indicated:
- About 37 out of 900 (!) pesticides used in the U.S. belong to the class called organophosphates; these chemicals "kill insects by disrupting their brains and nervous systems." Organophosphate pesticides include malathion and chlorpyrifos.
- Organophosphates are used for insect control programs, agriculture, and residential applications.
- In 2001, 73 million pounds of organophosphates were used in the U.S.
- The U.S. has a sampling program for measuring pesticide residues. The most recent report contains data from 2008. According to this report, malathion and chlorpyrifos were found in the following percentages of samples:
| Malathion | Chlorpyrifos | ||
| Corn | 33.7 | 17.8 | % of samples |
| Blueberries (frozen) | 27.8 | 5.6 | |
| Celery | 19.3 | 3.2 | |
| Kale | 19 | 1.6 | |
| Strawberries | 24.6 | 0.9 | |
| Peaches | 0 | 17.2 | |
| Broccoli | 0.4 | 8.1 |
Children are at greater risk from pesticide exposure because:
- They put many things in their mouths, they are closer to the ground, and they spend lots of time exploring the outdoors (reference)
- They are growing quickly and take in more pesticides per unit weight than adults (reference)
- Their bodies are not the same as adult bodies. In particular, their bodies may offer less protection from pesticide exposure due to differences in enzymatic and immune activity (ibid).
- Many of children's favorite foods appear in the EWG's "dirty dozen" of pesticide residues, including apples, strawberries, and potatoes. Many children have limited diets and so eat more of their favorites than an adult might.
After analyzing the data for various metabolites and looking for confounding factors, they determined that:
- 93.8% of the children had at least one of the 6 metabolites at a detectable level
- Metabolite levels were higher in 2003-4 than in 2000
- Children with a particular metabolite, dimethyl triophosphate, above median values, had twice the odds of having been diagnosed with ADHD; other metabolites also are associated with up to a 72% increased risk of ADHD
They conclude that "[d]evelopmental exposure to organophosphates might have persistent effects on multiple neural systems that may underlie ADHD behaviors, such as inattention and cognitive deficits, similar to the effects of developmental nicotine exposure."
The good news is that organophosphates cannot be used on organic produce. According to this study, "organophosphates are eliminated from the body after 3 to 6 days," so moving to more organic foods could have a nearly immediate effect.
Lead in Single-Serving Juices
Several brands of single-serving juices and canned fruit products were found to contain lead levels above the limits established for children by the FDA. Read more.
The Environmental Law Foundation conducted testing of many products in an independent laboratory. A list of all products that exceeded the CA Proposition 65 lead limit is available here. Note that it includes both organic and conventional products.
Think healthy, and think green. Eliminate single-serving anything to reduce packaging, and read about the benefits of eating fruit rather than drinking juice.
The Environmental Law Foundation conducted testing of many products in an independent laboratory. A list of all products that exceeded the CA Proposition 65 lead limit is available here. Note that it includes both organic and conventional products.
Think healthy, and think green. Eliminate single-serving anything to reduce packaging, and read about the benefits of eating fruit rather than drinking juice.
Thursday, June 17, 2010
Vinegar for Mosquito Bites
My grandmother always used vinegar for itchy mosquito bites, and since moving to Minnesota we've had many occasions to try it. It stops the itching and is effective for at least a few hours. Any type of vinegar seems to work.
Natural mosquito repellents
Natural mosquito repellents
Thursday, May 6, 2010
Stress and your Heart
The BBC reported today that "Women under 50 'face work stress risk.'"
In particular,
"After accounting for risk factors such as smoking and diabetes, the researchers found that those who described pressure at work as "much too high" were 35% more likely to have developed heart disease than those who were comfortable with the pressure.
But when they broke the results down by age, they found it was only the women aged 50 and under who were affected significantly."
The full text of the medical journal article is available (free) here.
In particular,
"After accounting for risk factors such as smoking and diabetes, the researchers found that those who described pressure at work as "much too high" were 35% more likely to have developed heart disease than those who were comfortable with the pressure.
But when they broke the results down by age, they found it was only the women aged 50 and under who were affected significantly."
The full text of the medical journal article is available (free) here.
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