Archive for the 'health' Category

A Vegetable Smoothie Experience (with a health note on spinach)

Published
by
Joe
on May 30, 2008
in blog and health
. 1 Comment

A few months ago Wild Oats was bought out by Whole Foods. I have been shopping at what is now Whole Foods for a few years. Over the last year I have really picked up my shopping there, often visiting the nearest location several times a week.

The most frequent item I purchase is a vegetable blend fruit smooth. However, two weeks ago Whole Foods raised the price of a 16 ounce beverage from $4 to $6. This new smoothie price is not nearly as appealing as when it was cheaper, thus it has reduced my intake of these custom made drinks lately. It is still an acceptable price, however.

Of the two Wild Oats/Whole Food locations I have frequented over the years, I have met several store employs who do not eat or buy products from these stores. They just “work” there. One even went so far as to say buying health food was “crazy.” He was a nice person, however.

Well, last week I went to Whole Foods during the early afternoon, which is not my normal shopping time. I mostly shop at night and deal with the second shift crew. Because I visited the store earlier I had to deal with an employee I rarely interact with. She is a nice old woman with many wrinkles who wears a plastic cap over her hair along with a white apron (as the rest of the workers behind the counter do). I ordered a new smoothie this time - one made mostly with juiced spinach and ginger with carrot, papaya and one banana. She found it amusing that I ordered five ounces of spinach juiced with a smile. She asked me why I dont just get vitamin pills because they are cheaper. That statement revealed to me with utmost clarity that she does not buy health food, she is not serious about health, does not eat fruits or vegetables and is ignorant on the subject of nutrition.

The health benefits of eating much leafy greens and fruits is staggering. Furthermore, there are far more chemicals, minerals and nutritional elements to plants and fruits than simply the vitamins they contain.

And so I just smiled at her.

(Notes on spinach: While I do not care much for the taste of spinach, a whopping fist-sized piece of juiced ginger really helps to remove the taste of the icky leafy green. My interest in drinking juiced spinach comes after new research found a muscle-building steroid in it (phytoecdysteroids). [link to study at newscientist.com] Popeye was right all along! Spinach really does build strong muscles! Since I have been working out daily, this fact is of personal interest to me. Human muscle cultures grew 20% faster. Rats fed this spinach steroid chemical were “slightly stronger after a month of injections of this extract. However, about a pound of spinach would have to be eaten daily to obtain the same amount of this steroid. A pound of spinach results in about five ounces of juice. While I do not expect to gain muscle mass from simply drinking this juice once a week if not more, I assume it’s better than not consuming it considering all of the other nutritional qualities of spinach I’ll be receiving.)

What Turns Egg Yolk Green?

Published
by
Joe
on April 8, 2008
in blog and health
. 1 Comment

Since I have been eating many of hardboiled eggs lately, it would be an inevitable occurrence for me to leave eggs boiling for too long on the stove top. That happened last week. After turning the flame off and letting the eggs sit for several hours, I later observed that those eggs turned out just fine with only a small yellow spot just below the shell where the bottom of the egg met the hot pot surface. This yellow section formed from overheating. These areas tend to be a bit more hard than normal from the hard boiled egg white (albumen). The rest of the hard boiled egg is fine.

Here is where it gets interesting…

I left one of those hard boiled eggs on top of the stove for three days at room temperature. After the first bite I saw that most of the yolk was green except a small section of the inner core. There was no foul smell or taste. In fact, it tasted quite normal and as expected. So I completed eating the rest of the egg wondering why the yolk was or became dark green.

Apparently, the green color in the egg yolk is the result of overheating eggs (and can also be caused from high iron content in the tap water used to boil the eggs). Heat causes the hydrogen and sulfur inside the yolk to react and form hydrogen sulfide gas (which stinks and is the source of the rotten egg smell). The hydrogen sulfide gas then reacts with iron, also present in egg yolk, to form ferrous sulfide, a gray-green compound on the yolk where it meets the egg white. It didn’t look pretty but was completely edible and safe.

What is odd is that the chemical reaction only seemed to happened with the one egg  I left out for several days. So, if this is hydrogen sulfide gas is formed from overheating the water when making hard boiled eggs, then an extended time frame is another requirement for the chemical reaction between the gas and iron in the egg yolk to take place. From my past experience with Easter eggs, this may explain why the hard boiled yolks tended to be dark gray or green.
To eliminate the green ring around the egg yolk, cool the hard boiled eggs as quickly as possible by using cold tap waler or even ice cubes. Then refrigerate the eggs. Refrigerated eggs are good for up to one week.

Our Toxic Plastic - Bisphenol A (BPA) leaching from popular plastics bottles

Published
by
Joe
on February 10, 2008
in health
. 2 Comments

Just as nearly every typical American kitchen includes a microwave oven, one can find in the typical American household countless plastic containers, bags, wraps and toys located in refrigerators, cupboards, and in closets around the house. Prepackaged food such as the TV dinners are included inside of a plastic tray sealed with a plastic wrap. Canned food doesn’t always come packaged in metal anymore. Plastic canned food containers are becoming more and more common. Leftovers are either wrapped in plastic or put into plastic containers for storage in the fridge. Plasticware (plastic replacement silverware) such as forks and spoons are inserted into our mouths. Plastic baby bottles are used to feed our small children. Due to the pervasive and widespread use of plastics, the toxic chemical Bisphenol A (abbreviated BPA) used in polycarbonate plastic is found in the body of nearly every single person living in a developed country.

BPA Linked To..

A new study conducted by Environmental Defence, a Toronto-based environmental group was released several days ago (Thursday) showing that heated plastic baby bottles leached a known toxic chemical called Bisphenol A. This synthetic chemical, which mimics the hormone estrogen has been shown to cause developmental toxicity, carcinogenic effects, and possible neurotoxicity. It has also been linked to:

  • obesity
  • low sperm count
  • infertile sperm
  • breast cancer
  • prostate cancer
  • early puberty
  • hyperactivity
  • miscarriage
  • diabetes
  • altered immune systems
  • schizophrenia.

The medical, reproductive and developmental problems this chemical causes puts the smaller body weight of babies and children at greater risk of the toxic effects poisoning from Bisphenol A.

The Leaching Plastic

Approximately 90% of all plastic baby bottles sold in the U.S. Are made with BPA. However, not all polycarbonate plastics leach this chemical to the same degree as others. Generally the softer the plastic the greater the probability of leaching. High Density Polyethylene (HDPE), known as plastic number 2 is used for bottling or containing milk, juice, water, yogurt, margarine tubs including trash and retail bags, is one of three types of plastic with the least risk of leaching BPA. Plastic number 1, Polyethylene Terephthalate (PETE) has least risk. As we move further up the number scale in plastic identification numbers, the risk for leaching Bisphenol A increases. The most common plastic personally I come across is number 4, Low Density Polyethylene (LDPE). It is used to make frozen food bags, squeezable bottles (like the ones honey, ketchup, and mustard are bottled in), flexible containers, foam packaging, and plastic bags used for packaging electronics. Even though LDPE is soft, it is believed, along with plastic 2 (HDPE) and plastic 5 (PP) to not leach BPA in a significant amounts. Plastic number 7 (Other) is the plastic used in the study conducted by the Environmental Defense and which poses the greatest health rest of all types of plastics. Plastic number 7 is often used to make beverage bottles and baby milk bottles.

The study conducted by the Environmental Defense purchased randomly 19 bottles in Canada and several U.S. states including one at a target near Minneapolis St. Paul Minnesota. These bottles were manufactured by Avent, Evenflo, Dr. Brown’s and Disney/First Years. The researchers heated the bottles to 185° F causing 5 to 8 parts per billion of this toxic chemical BPA to leach. This ratio is well above the levels that some animal research studies have shown to be harmful.

BPA is known to leach from plastics that are cleaned with harsh detergents were used to contain acidic or high temperature that liquids such as apple juice milk and baby formula.

The chemical interacts in a unique way with acidic liquids such as apple juice, baby formula and milk potentially interacting in a manor that releases higher quantities of BPA. Also cleaning plastic bottles with harsh detergents are known to leech this chemical BPA. As plastic ages it deteriorates releasing BPA.

Banning Toxic BPA Plastics

Growing awareness of the toxicity BPA poses to humans has led to several companies and U.S. jurisdictions to ban products manufactured and containing this chemical. In December 2006 the city of San Francisco, California banned the sale of baby bottles and other products designed for young children containing this chemical. However the ban was never enforced and ended up repealed. The most recent action to take place, due in part to this recent study, Minnesota lawmakers want to ban BPA from baby bottles citing it “…as a hormone wrecker.” (http://www.twincities.com/allheadlines/ci_8202314) Several U.S. Retail chains that promote healthy food and lifestyles have already ceased selling plastics containing this toxic chemical. Patagonia Inc., A retailer of outdoor gear stopped selling polycarbonate bottles in 2005. In 2006 baby bottles were no longer sold at Whole Foods Markets. Mountain equipment Co-op in 2007 discontinued selling bottles containing Bisphenol A. Currently there are nine U.S. states with legislation pending that would affect the use of this chemical in containers.

While this most recent study shows that baby bottles made with plastic number 7 leaches BPA when heated, we can rationally presume this chemical can be leached out at a lower rates at lower temperatures (room temperature) over a long time frame. A 2005 fetal study showed “permanent changes to genital tract” and “persistent changes to breast tissue, predisposing cells to hormones and carcinogens” from daily exposure to BPA at the nearly non-existent small dose of 0.025 parts per billion. At daily fetal BPA exposure rate of 2 to 2.5 parts per billion — an amount scientific bodies generally consider invisible for any substance — resulted in more toxic effects. While these studies were preformed over a finite time frame on a small fetus, longterm health effects on adult humans from exposure to this toxic chemical are unknown.

Major retailers including Toys”R”Us, CVS, Target, Walgreens and Wal-Mart sell baby bottles that leach BPA, according to the report.

Reducing Your Child’s Exposure to BPA

The body that released this report, Environmental Defense suggests reducing a child’s exposure to Bisphenol A by:

  • using glass bottles.
  • using polypropylene bottles (#5 plastic).
  • not using polycarbonates (hard, shiny, clear or tinted plastic, often #7 (PC).
  • not washing polycarbonate bottles with harsh detergents or scouring brushes.
  • not putting polycarbonate bottles in the dishwasher.
  • not heating food in polycarbonate containers. Use glass or ceramic containers instead.
  • avoiding infant formula canned in epoxy liners that contain BPA (http://www.ewg.org/reports/infantformula)
  • avoiding canned foods (especially those with high fat content) and beverages to reduce exposure to Bisphenol A from the interior coating of the container.

By being more conscious of the containers our food and drinks arrives in, we can reduce our health risks and those our children face from the toxic chemical Bisphenol A by following the suggestions the Environmental Defense outlined above for bottle-nursing mothers, insuring health and well being for ours and our next generation.

Be Active, Stay Young

Published
by
Joe
on January 28, 2008
in health
. 0 Comments

Has a fountain of youth been discovered in our modern age? With all the prescription pills and scientific leaps and bounds we have gained in our recent era, not a single magic pill can halt or reverse the slow, persistent march of age on our hearts and on our minds. But there is one guarantee that will reverse and accelerate aging and it is not in a sugar-coated little pill.

It is already known that a sedentary lifestyle increases the likelihood of scumming to age-related diseases and premature death like diabetes, high blood pressure and heart disease. But a recent British study that examined 2401 Caucasian twins found that those engaged in an active lifestyle were biologically 9 years younger than those who were not.

The culprit appears to be the length of telomeres. Telomeres appear at the end of chromosomes and act like a lit fuse on a stick of dynamite. When the telomere shortens and eventually expires, the cell auto-destructs. the consequence of this is aging.

The study showed telomere length as being longer in those twins who where physically active (breaking a sweat) at least 3 hours per week. Similar results were found when comparing twins who were physically active to lesser degrees.

The conclusion is that a lifestyle which lacks physical exercise and activity prematurely shortens cellular lifespans, and thus leads to poor health, premature death and age-related diseases. In order to delay the aging process, I recommend breaking a sweat for 30 minutes each day as a result of moderately intense physical activity. Not only will you live a longer, healthier life, your psychological stress will be reduced. This is something we can all use a little less of in our lives.

The study was published in the Journal of the American Medical Association’s Archives of Internal Medicine.

MSG: The Most Savory of Poisons

Published
by
Joe
on January 24, 2008
in health
. 1 Comment

Something weird has been happening to me. After eating a tofu dish with a certain chicken seasoning, I experience a rapid onset of fuzziness in my head along with an inability to focus and concentrate lasting for about fifteen minutes. Then immediately after, a surge of hunger takes over my body. Anything sugary I crave — bananas, fruit juice — the impeding feeling to consume carbohydrates is overwhelming. But at the end of the day, I always remember the tofu dish as being quite tasty. And so the next night or two I make the same dish again. In fact, week after week I consistently find that this certain chicken seasoning is superior in flavor and texture to any other spice or seasoning available to me on my large spice and sauce shelf.
After experiencing this bizarre reaction for two months I narrowed down the cause of the reaction to this seasoning. I took a look at it’s ingredient list. It contains MSG, otherwise known as monosodium glutamate. Interestingly, none of the other spices I use contain it, none of which cause the same reaction either. I determined MSG is the culprit of my adverse reaction to this seasoned tofu.
I remember all the health talk years back surrounding the food additive MSG, but it all seemed to have ceased since I haven’t heard anything about MSG in quite some time now. I figured the health buzz was incorrect. But then I remembered my mother telling me when I was ten to stay away from MSG. Does my mother know something about MSG that I do not? Finally, I decided to do some research on MSG myself. What I learned disgusted me. I promptly threw that tasty seasoning into the trash.

What if I gave you a choice, a choice to eat the most savory food you could imagine, but you would experience fifteen minutes of cellular death in your brain making you unable to concentrate. Would you eat it? What if I gave you a choice to eat most delicious and filling chicken you have ever had, but afterwards you will experience a sore neck, back and arms along with diarrhea. Want a taste? What if I promised you the most tasty chips possible with the only trade off is that thirty minutes later will crave more. What if I promised healthy, prepackaged lunches for your children, but the trade off would be long term emotional instability, mood swings and hyperactivity in your children. Is this tasty, delectable food worth these trade offs? Well, I wouldn’t eat it knowing that. But sadly I have been eating it, unknowingly, and so have each of you.

Do you experience any of the following conditions?

headaches
nausea
depression
mood change
hyperactivity
rapid heartbeat
cramps
bloating
irritable bowel
diarrhea
dizziness
soreness, burning or numbness in neck, back or shoulders
chronic fatigue
sleepiness
blurred vision
eye pressure
tingling face
runny nose
difficulty breathing
dry mouth
difficulty concentrating
poor memory
weight problems
chest pain
sweating

A 1995 FDA-commissioned report acknowledged these symptoms as a result of a reaction to MSG, giving it a label “MSG Symptom Complex.” (”FDA and Monosodium Glutamate (MSG) http://www.cfsan.fda.gov/~lrd/msg.html ) I will describe to you why this happens.

MSG, monosodium or sodium glutamate, is a flavor enhancer commonly added in many foods. In fact, so many foods contain MSG that in a typical large chain food market it is hard to find packaged foods and seasonings that do not contain MSG. Overall, the majority of all MSG is found in canned soups, beef and chicken stock, potato chips, snack foods, frozen dinners, fast foods, instant foods, flavorings, spices, and sauces. That is just about all of the American food available, isn’t it? But that is not where MSG ends. The FDA only requires MSG to be labeled as “Monosodium Glutamte” when MSG is added to food. Therefore, MSG can be found in the labels ingredient list. However, MSG is sometimes left out in spices, sauces and flavorings simply in error because the manufacturer is unaware of it’s presence in it’s source materials. Pay attention to ingredients that merely state “spices” or “natural flavorings” because that can hide MSG. But other forms of MSG, simply called free glutamate can be present in many other food additives like vegetable proteins, yeast, soy extracts and protein isolate. Also, anything in the ingredient list saying “hydrolyzed” contains free glutamate. In fact, it is far easier to list which foods do not contain MSG: raw fruits, vegetables, seeds, nuts, meats and organic produced food items with no additives.

Monosodium glutamate is an excitotoxin, just like aspartame (Nutrasweet). Excitotoxicity is the term describing nerve cells becoming damaged or dying off by glutamate and similar substances. These toxins open up nerve cell calcium channels allowing an influx of calcium into the cell creating over-simulation. This activity results in cellular death. Therefore, a diet containing daily doses of MSG creates a potential for long-term neurodegenerative effects, with special alarm for greater potential harm to infants and children. Here are titles and source information of three studies proving this correlation:
1. Meldrum B. (1993). “Amino acids as dietary excitotoxins: a contribution to understanding neurodegenerative disorders”. Brain research. Brain research reviews 18 (3): 293–314.
2. Nemeroff, C. (1980). “Monosodium Glutamate-Induced Neurotoxicity: Review of the Literature and Call for Further Research”. Nutrition & Behavior edited by Sanford A. Miller (U.S. Food & Drug Administration): 177–211.
3. Olney JW, Ho OL (1970). “Brain damage in infant mice following oral intake of glutamate, aspartate or cysteine”. Nature 227 (5258): 609–611.

(side note, aspartate is the amimo acid aspartame (Nutrasweet) is broken down into.)

In another side note, I learned glutamate plays a major role in our memory retrieval. It is not clear if monosodum glutamate interferes in that activity, but I’ll err on the side of caution.

A large insulin response is caused by ingesting MSG. Glutamate receptors exist in the pancreas. MSG is rapidly absorbed by the gut, then tricks the pancreas into flooding the blood stream with insulin causing a corresponding drop in blood sugar levels. This activity increases hunger. Glutamic acid in American diets may be relevant to diabetes. Here is a link to a Canadian research study showing a correlation between ingesting free glutamic acid and higher insulin levels. http://ajpendo.physiology.org/cgi/content/full/278/1/E83

The final issue with MSG deals with obesity. In lab rats, monosodium glutamate decreased the rats thyroid ability to suppress appetite, causing the rats to consume more food. Here is the link to the research proving the relationship between MSG and obesity in rats. The study is titled: Obesity, voracity, and short stature: the impact of glutamate on the regulation of appetite. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16132059

Even the industry sponsored website http://www.msgfacts.com/facts/msgfact12.html state adding MSG to food triggers elderly people to eat more! But what about you? You’re not elderly! Why do you need to eat more food than you need?!

No wonder why more and more Americans are become overweight and obese. We just can’t stop at one MSG-laced snack, chip, or taco. What about the increasing numbers of passive neurological disorders pervading our American society? The hyperactive children, the emotionally unstable adults, the persistent depression in the elderly? Are food additives like monosodium glutamate really safe for long term consumption? All i see around me is our quality of life dropping due to physiological and psychological problems while our access to processed and pre-packaged food increases. I can’t speak for all of you, but starting tonight my future will be MSG free. A life free of food additives is a healthier life, and that I can speak for all of us. Stop poisoning yourself with MSG now.

Eat Healthy — Be Microwave Free

Published
by
Joe
on January 20, 2008
in health
. 2 Comments

Microwave ovens are convenient pieces of cooking equipment which have revolutionized the modern kitchen. Popularity of these ovens began in the 1970’s and are now found in 90% of American homes. The microwave oven has become a staple in our technologically dependent lifestyles. Wherever we choose to eat, whether at a home or an eatery, there likely is a microwave oven reheating or cooking food. Despite it’s omnipresence in American society, there are several issue demanding a closer inspection into whether this common kitchen appliance is worthy of such a dominant role in our lives. One of which — the destruction of nutrients from “nuking” food — will be covered here.

pizza nuking child

Since being a child I found certain foods such as old pizza tasting better when reheated in a conventional oven rather than the faster, more convenient, microwave oven. Water boiled from the inside of the pizza condensed on the pizza’s surface which created poor texture and taste. Heated pizza in an electric or gas oven evaporated the water and made the pizza dry and crispy, not wet and soggy. Regardless of this major difference in a pizza’s taste and texture depending on the cooking source, I noticed other subtle taste differences of microwaved food from it’s conventionally heated food counterpart. However, the minor changes in texture and taste where not enough for me to toss the techno oven. Over the last ten years i have used a microwave oven to warm water for tea or oatmeal, heating/thawing various foods like pizza and sausages and making popcorn. Rarely did i use a microwave oven for any other food.

how i causally became microwave free

Almost three years ago i moved from an apartment which provided a built in microwave to a home which did not. Even though these ovens are now inexpensive, I never got around to buying one. Perhaps two years ago while at a grocery store around midnight, i found some TV dinners that were on sale at fifty percent off. Maybe for the first time in my life i bought several frozen dinners. Not owning a microwave oven, a unique challenge formed right in front of me: how do i cook a frozen, pre-made dinner contained in plastic without having to break down and buy a cheap microwave? I tried two methods of cooking my food. The first was to cook by floating the food in a container in boiling water on the stove top and the other by leaving it outside in the summer sun. Both methods were a poor replacement for a microwave oven (for reasons of inefficiency i do not use the conventional oven). So i stopped the frozen food dinner experiment and continued on with my life microwave free. For tea I boil water on the stove. Sometimes i warm water in the coffee maker. The only thing i miss about owning a microwave oven is buttery, salty popcorn. And yes, I tried to make microwave popcorn without a microwave oven, but i will save that smoke-filled story for another time.

nuking is not nutritional

As I sit here eating raw cauliflower I am reminded of the negative effects microwaving fruits and vegetables cause to their nutritional content. A microwave oven operates by emitting dense, short waves of energy to excite water molecules. When water molecules become excited, they twist and shout and break bonds with neighboring molecules freeing themselves to become water vapor. This behavior can alter, weaken, and destroy chemical structures. Evidently, other molecules become excited as well. Vitamin B-12 breaks down when microwaved (click for research paper). Also, a study has shown microwaving broccoli destroy flavonoids (click for study source). Flavonoids are chemicals that are abundant in fruits and vegetables. The darker and richer the color translates to a greater abundance of flavonoids. For example, broccoli, parsley and blueberries are rich in these healthy, nutritional chemicals. Flavonoids possess profound health benefits of all sorts, including obscure effects like the improvement of asthma and lung functions by ingesting apples, to the big health benefit — preventing cancer — with broccoli sprouts. Flavonoids, in my opinion are the single, most important reason to eat fruits and vegetables raw. There are so many different flavonoids in a single fresh apple that we have only begun to scratch the surface of their myriad forms and benefits. Simply put, microwaving vegetables and fruits eliminates their most important health benefits by the destruction of natural flavonoids and vitamins. It certainly is possible that similar negative consequences from the alteration and breaking of the chemical structures that make up our food, caused by microwaving, will eventually surface. Keep in mind that microwave ovens have been on sale in the united states for fifty years and are, by all means, safe to use, but not the wisest choice.

reflection

After living nearly three years without a microwave oven, I do not see any reason to acquire one in the future. My life has actually become simpler without one, not more inconvenienced. I eat one warm meal of tofu a day cooked on the stove and fill the rest the day with raw fruits, vegetables, seeds, nuts and health bars. Furthermore, without living microwave free for nearly three years i might never have learned about the destructive effects microwave ovens have on our food and, consequently, our health. That in itself has made this nearly three year experience worthwhile.

Now you live without a microwave for a week, or two, or three. Replace those frozen foods with healthier choices or raw food items. Instead of warming up vegetables, eat them raw like i do. Try to compare the taste between foods cooked on the stove to those same foods cooked with microwaves like i have in the past with pizza. Although we may gain time in our life using these modern ovens, I have found satisfaction in my life without one. Is it time to remind ourselves that our ancestors got by just fine without one too? and so i challenge you to not nuke your food, but be microwave free instead.

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