Tag: Dr. Joseph Mercola

Interesting Information: Mercola on “15 Healthiest Foods to Stock in Your Kitchen Year-Round”

Interesting Information:  July 28, 2014

Mercola on “15 Foods to Stock in Your Kitchen Year-Round”

 

Here’s a nice post from Mercola:

15 Healthiest Foods to Stock in Your Kitchen Year-Round.

 

I do have some comments though:

The organic coconut oil you buy also needs to be UNREFINED and UNHEATED.  I buy mine by the case from Wilderness Family Naturals as it is WAY cheaper than a little jar in the store.  (You can buy less than a case OR sell some of your case to friends.) AND, don’t forget red palm oil, which is another really healthy oil–though it is more delicate than the very sturdy coconut oil.  (See blog post on red palm oil.)

Himalayan Salt is probably a good choice.  Grey-colored moist Celtic Sea Salt is another.  And I use our locally made Maine sea salt, which is also just dried from sea water.

Canned salmon.  Sorry.  Not for me.  There is no way to get around the fact that all big fish are now loaded with mercury.  And canning takes a lot of the “oomph” out of anything as it is heat-processed.

Whey protein.  Mercola does specify that one should use a minimally processed whey, which means it’s a powder.  Nope.  Not for me.  It’s still PROCESSED.  And one should be able to get plenty of protein without eating a processed food.  Plus, you are not eating a whole food, but one you’ve split into parts.  OK, so I drip out some whey protein to use to culture mayonnaise  and, sometimes, my lacto-fermented foods.  But, mostly, I just eat the whey in the whole-milk yogurt I eat pretty much on a daily basis.

Interesting Information: Warning: Most Sun Screens Do NOT Prevent Skin-Damaging Radiation

Interesting Information:  July 28, 2014

Warning:  Most Sun Screens Do NOT Prevent Skin-Damaging Radiation

 

I drove up to Belfast this morning in Pea Soup Fog to shop at the Coop.  I retain my fascination with the mystery and softness of a dense Pea Soup Fog.  With this one, I could only see about 100 feet in front of the car.

On the way home, it rained buckets–a real gully washer.  Reynolds insisted on getting into my lap and hiding her head under my left arm.  The parking lot at Hannaford’s, where I stopped to get some cleaning supplies not available at the Belfast COOP (which immediately tells me something about those supplies), was wheel-high gushing water in its low spot.  Mercy!

But, on the way home, the noon Maine NPR station was discussing sunburn and sunblocks.  The guest “expert” was from the Environmental Working Group–which is more or less solid I think.  I do have some problems with the EWG.

Coincidentally, Dr. Joseph Mercola had sent out recently a post on sunblocks and sun protection, and the need for balance in that we get vitamin D from sun shining on our skin.

Here’s the thing I did not know until I read this post:  Sun Screens DO NOT protect your skin from UVA rays, and they are the ones that damage your skin and set into place the potential for skin cancers.

Here’s the explanation from Mercola’s post:

QUOTE:

UVAs versus UVBs

So, how can you get the benefits without raising your risk for skin damage? It’s important to remember that the sun can either be helpful or harmful depending on what type of ultraviolet light you’re getting. The ultraviolet light from the sun comes in two main wavelengths:
  • Ultraviolet A (UVA) – Considered the unhealthy wavelength because it penetrates your skin more deeply and cause more free radical damage. Sunblocks containing SPF filter out the beneficial UVB, not these cancer-causing UVAs, unless they also contain a UVA blocking ingredient.
  • As a result, wearing sunscreen may prevent you from burning, as excessive UVBs are the chief cause of sunburn, but you still receive a large amount of skin-damaging radiation. Moreover, UVA rays are constantly available, even on cloudy days.  There are likely some benefits to UVA in moderation that we do not fully understand, as there appears to be with many spectrums emitted from the sun.
  • Ultraviolet B (UVB) – This is the ‘healthy’ wavelength that helps your skin produce vitamin D. While both UVA and UVB can cause tanning and burning, UVB does so far more rapidly.
  • Contrary to UVAs, which are more readily available, UVB rays are low in morning and evening, and high at midday or solar noon, making this the most optimal time for vitamin D production (roughly between 10:00 a.m. and 2:00 p.m.). Ironically, this is the timeframe most mainstream experts warn you to stay out of the sun.

How to Prevent and Treat Sunburn Naturally.

Mercola goes on to discuss healthy sun-exposure practices–the most important of which is to GET OUT OF THE SUN AFTER 10 OR SO MINUTES OF EXPOSURE IN THE HEAT OF THE DAY!!!

When I was growing up, our days at the beach were so special–it was time we all looked forward to all year.  We went to the beach around 10 a.m. and left just before noon.  We returned around 3:30 or 4:00 until, sometimes, close to dark.  WE NEVER LAY IN THE SUN AND “SUNNED” OURSELVES.  And we got plenty tanned.  We spent our time at the beach swimming, riding waves, and walking the tidal edge looking for shells.  

You know, in other eras, people protected their skin from the sun.  Today we equate a tan with health.

I don’t use sun blocks of any kind any longer–and we never did as children.  There is a strong correlation between today’s heavy use of the chemicals in sun blocks and cancer.  And, science has shown that many of the chemicals in sun blocks are dangerous.  The Environmental Working Group has lists of which sun screens are better than others.  And the speaker today kept emphasizing to RUB IN the chemicals so they are effective, that NO SUNBLOCK protects when washed away with water, and that the spray sunblocks are being investigated by the FDA on a number of accounts.  (Users don’t want to get their fingers “dirty” while rubbing in sunblocks–which is the height of…what???…misguidedness, at the very least.)

Here are the “rules” from my childhood–you know, that time when no one had heard the word “cancer”–leave the beach by noon, don’t go back until late afternoon, wear a hat when out of the water, on really hot days wear an old t-shirt to swim, and protect your skin from the sun in the heat of the day with long-sleeved shirts, yes, but seek out the shade in the heat of the day.  Truthfully, after a morning of riding waves and a hearty lunch, an hour or two reading or playing games was a nice change.  Even the hardier types often fell into naps–which was relaxing and enabled staying up very late at night to enjoy a beach fire or chasing ghost crabs at the edge of the dunes.

Books, Documentaries, Reviews: “Ingredients” Documentary Looks at the American Food System

Books, Documentaries, Reviews:  July 10, 2014

INGREDIENTS Documentary Looks at the American Food System

 

Dr. Joseph Mercola posted information on this new documentary a few weeks ago.

Here’s a quote from Mercola’s post:

The American food system is nearing a state of crisis. Ingredients is a documentary that explores the failings of the industrial food model, and how the local food movement is gaining momentum as a far better alternative. The film presents a refreshing look at food from the standpoint of sustainability, safety, flavor, nutrition, culture, and community.

This documentary takes us across the US from the urban food deserts of Harlem to the biodynamic farms of the Hudson River and Willamette Valleys, and into the kitchens of several celebrated chefs—culinary game-changers who are teaching us all how to eat better.

The current system, focused on cheap convenience foods, is costing Americans dearly. Most Westerners have lost their primal connection to food. Mealtimes used to be savored and shared with others.

Food preparation is now typically viewed as a chore that interferes with other “more important” activities. This detachment from food represents a cultural “disconnect” between humans and the earth, to the detriment of both. It’s time for radical changes to our modern food paradigm, which is the subject of this uplifting documentary.

This article discusses some of the costs to our so-called “cheap” food system, the industrial practice of Confined Animal Feedlot Operations (CAFOs), monocrop culture, and GE foods.  It also discusses the exciting movement to reconnect to farmers and real food grown locally.

There is a film trailer to watch on the site–and an interview with Joel Salatin of Polyface Farm.

Take a look?  And try to catch the movie in your future.  It’s free on Amazon Prime at the moment…

 

“Ingredients” Documentary Looks at the American Food System.

 

 

Interesting Information: Dr. Oz and Weight Loss Scams

Interesting Information:  June 25, 2014

Dr. Oz Promotes Weight-Loss Scams

 

I’ll bet I got 20 to 30 emails or questions about Pure Green Coffee, raspberry ketone, and Garcinia Cambogia over the past few years.  Many from people who should either know better or were just sharing.

I kept responding that there was no science behind these claims.

None.

Zero.

And I repeated that I didn’t care what Dr. Oz was saying because he had clearly sold out in some fundamental way.

I’d like to follow the money with regard to Oz’s (let’s remove the title “Doctor” from his name please as he’s an entertainer) claims about these fake weight-loss product, and I’ll bet someone will discover  that Oz is personally benefitting from these fake products.  Why else would he behave in this shabby way?

I’ll go further and tell you that I think and have said to many that Oz is a megalomanic who is only interested in himself.  I watched the program one day as Dr. Kaayla Daniel was a guest speaker meant to discuss soy issues.  Oz allowed her one or two sentences TOTAL and ended that segment by passing out soy plants to the audience.  I thought then that he had sold out in some way to the soy industry.  Dr. Daniel is a recognized authority on humans eating soy and published an impeccably researched book on all the ins and outs of soy and the soy industry.

Dr. Joseph Mercola’s post today discusses this Oz issue.  Here’s part of what he wrote, and I hope you go to the url below and read the rest as false advertising is ILLEGAL.

 

Senate Hearing Puts Dr. Oz in the Hot Seat

The hearing featured testimony from Dr. Mehmet Oz, who ended up getting grilled over his role in promoting what amounts to fantasy.2 According to Senator Claire McCaskill’s website:

“Last month the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced that it is suing the Florida-based company, Pure Green Coffee, alleging that it capitalized on the green coffee bean diet fad by using bogus weight-loss claims and fake news websites to market its dietary supplement.

The FTC claimed that weeks after green coffee was promoted on the Dr. Oz Show, Pure Green Coffee began selling their Pure Green Coffee extract, charging $50 for a one-month supply.”

Senator McCaskill read off a number of statements Dr. Oz has made on his show, such as:

“You may think magic is make-believe, but this little bean has scientists saying they’ve found the magic weight loss cure for every body type: It’s green coffee extract.”

“I’ve got the number-one miracle in a bottle, to burn your fat: It’s raspberry ketone.” “Garcinia cambogia: It may be the simple solution you’ve been looking for to bust your body fat for good.”

“I don’t know why you need to say this stuff,” McCaskill said, “because you know it’s not true.” Indeed, Dr. Oz is quite knowledgeable and we agree on many things. Unfortunately, I think he may have fallen into the ratings game when it comes to pushing “magic” weight loss pills.

I personally disagree with his stance on hyping up weight loss supplements. I’m particularly against the idea that a pill would be able to take the place of eating right and exercising, and this is something Dr. Oz is likely encouraged to promote due to successful ratings.

In a November 2012 show, he stated: “Thanks to brand new scientific research, I can tell you about a revolutionary fat buster. It’s called Garcinia cambogia.” Meanwhile, the words “No exercise. No Diet. No Effort” were emblazoned on the screen behind him. Most recently, Dr. Oz featured a product he referred to as “my Rapid Belly Melt.”3 Part of the show involved audience members photographing their stomachs. The photos were then photoshopped into a slimmer version. This, supposedly, was the result you could glean from this “insta belly melt” product.

It’s quite clear to me that these kinds of products, and especially these kinds of fantasy-based promotions, devalue the supplement industry as a whole. This is tragic, considering the fact that nutritional supplements serve a critical function by helping to correct specific nutritional imbalances or deficiencies.

Weight Loss Supplements: Are They Worth the Potential Risks?.

 

Here, too, is John Oliver in a 14-minute clip completely destroying what Oz has done–if you want to see for yourself the claims Oz was making.

Watch John Oliver Verbally Pants Dr. Oz Over Dietary Supplements.

 

Meanwhile, note that the only way to weight loss and good health is eating clean, nutrient-dense foods that are, hopefully, locally sourced so you are eating them in season and at the height of their powers.

There are no magic bullets to undo that which we have done.

Interesting Information: “Ingredients” Documentary Looks at the American Food System

Interesting  Information:  May 24, 2014

 

INGREDIENTS

A New Documentary

Dr. Joseph Mercola posted a blog on the new documentary Ingredients recently.

This blog post of mine is not included under “Books, Documentaries, Reviews” because I have not yet seen this film

Here’s part of what Dr. Mercola’s blog says.  There is more, of course.  I put the url at the bottom of this entry.  Do pay attention to the real costs incurred in “cheap” food.  And note that on average Americans pay less than 7% of their income for their food weekly–yet what you put into your body about three times a day has real and important connections to your well being and health.  Poor health, as is noted below, is expensive.

 

 

The American food system is nearing a state of crisis. Ingredients is a documentary that explores the failings of the industrial food model, and how the local food movement is gaining momentum as a far better alternative. The film presents a refreshing look at food from the standpoint of sustainability, safety, flavor, nutrition, culture, and community.

This documentary takes us across the US from the urban food deserts of Harlem to the biodynamic farms of the Hudson River and Willamette Valleys, and into the kitchens of several celebrated chefs—culinary game-changers who are teaching us all how to eat better.

The current system, focused on cheap convenience foods, is costing Americans dearly. Most Westerners have lost their primal connection to food. Mealtimes used to be savored and shared with others.

Food preparation is now typically viewed as a chore that interferes with other “more important” activities. This detachment from food represents a cultural “disconnect” between humans and the earth, to the detriment of both. It’s time for radical changes to our modern food paradigm, which is the subject of this uplifting documentary.

The Exorbitant Cost of ‘Cheap Food’

Americans have become dependent on cheap convenience foods that can be “prepared” in five minutes or less—or without taking both hands off the steering wheel. More than 17,000 new processed food products are introduced each year. Bright, catchy packaging conceals foods laden with chemicals, unhealthful fats, and high fructose corn syrup, all of which contribute to today’s skyrocketing rates of obesity and illness, especially among our youth.

Americans spend less on food than any other industrialized nation—an average of $151 per week, which amounts to less than seven percent of their income. How can such a low value be placed on something so important for your health and longevity?

The US beef industry has managed to cut its prices in half since 1960. Unfortunately, cheap food contains cheap and toxic ingredients… and you get what you pay for. Food imports have increased four-fold over the past decade, overwhelming the FDA with inspections. Of the 200,000 shipments from China in 2006, less than two percent were sampled for quality and safety.

“Cheap food” isn’t cheap when you consider all of the hidden costs associated with it. You make your first payment at the grocery store—just consider this your down payment, because you may be paying for it FIVE more times!

  1. Subsidies: At tax time, you pay for “cheap food” a second time with your contribution to agricultural subsidies. Processed food is mostly corn, canola, soy, rice, wheat, and sugar. These products (along with cotton) account for 98 percent of subsidies.
  2. Foodborne Illnesses: You may pay for cheap food a third time if you visit your doctor as a result of foodborne illnesses. CDC estimates that foodborne illnesses such as E. coli and salmonella cause 5,200 deaths each year in the US. Mass scale operations are riddled with quality control problems, leading to outbreaks of illness and food recalls.
  3. Chronic Disease: You pay for it a fourth time if you return to your doctor later for a chronic illness—heart disease, obesity, diabetes, stroke, and cancer—consider these “foodborne” illnesses that just take a little longer to manifest. According to CDC, one in three children born in the year 2000 will develop type 2 diabetes.
  4. Environment: As soon as the factory farmer files for bankruptcy and leaves, you pay for your food a fifth time. This is what often happens when they are asked to clean up their land—a monumental expense that often results in bankruptcy, sticking the rest of us with the tab.
  5. Energy: The sixth time is when you pay your fuel bill. Processed foods and imported foods have an extremely large energy footprint. One-fifth of US fossil fuel consumption goes to the growing, packaging, and transporting of food.

 

http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2014/04/19/ingredients-documentary-american-food.aspx

 

 

 

 

Interesting Information: Why Not To Buy Cut Flowers

Interesting Information:  February 13, 2014

Why Not To Buy Cut Flowers

 

I had no more put up a picture of a vase of cut flowers to which I had treated myself–a practice I do from time to time in the winter–when a post came in from Dr. Joseph Mercola saying NOT TO BUY cut flowers for a loved one for Valentine’s Day.

Why?

They are chock full of pesticides!

And, of course, HOW they are grown is also an issue–lots of fertilizers that spoil the soil, etc.

Here, again, are my pretty flowers:

IMG_0170

Enjoy the sight, as I’m not buying any more.

It makes sense, of course.  Mercola writes that if at a border/port inspection, the inspectors detect one tiny little bug, the whole shipment is rejected.  So, growers and shippers drench the flowers with pesticides.   I hope you are remembering the recent post I put up about statistics that worry me.  If so, you’ll know that we have got to back ourselves out of the system that is poisoning us in countless ways.  And, know that even tiny amounts of these harmful chemicals are…really harmful.

There is a new documentary out that I am planning to see as it is going to be shown locally.  Take a look at the trailer for Unacceptable Levels:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PVB6XSyBTVE.  Their web is http://www.unacceptablelevels.com/.

Secondly, the pesticide issue is one thing–a BIG thing, but, again, I was ALSO not practicing what I preach–which is to live within the seasons, to live sustainably.  Cut flowers (like out-of-season fruit) are shipped in here from across the world–which is a terrible use of energy that we are depleating way too fast.  What was I thinking?  NOT…

So, I’ll be living without flowers in the winter from now on.

Here’s Mercola’s post:   http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2014/02/11/cut-flower-pesticides.aspx

Interesting Information AND Turkey Tracks: Making Bone Broths AND What’s In Them

Interesting Information AND Turkey Tracks:  December 18, 2013

Making Bone Broths AND What’s In Them

 

I love it when something is being discussed or a piece of information is sought and “the universe” pops it up for you.  That phenomenon is called synchronicity.  And it happens in my life all the time.

My post yesterday on dysfunctional gallbladders talked about bone broths for healing–and about that time, the Mercola web site did a posting on bone broths–why they are good for you and how to make them.

 

Here’s that link:

Bone Broth: One of Your Most Healing Diet Staples.

Then my oldest friend (in length of time, not years) got very sick and landed up in the hospital–pneumonia–and I said “bone broths” to her.  She asked next how to make them.  So, here is synchronicity working for her.

Mercola discusses chicken bone broth.  If you use a whole chicken–take the chicken out after about 30 minutes and strip the meat from the bones and put the bones back into the pot to make the “bone broth.”  Use the meat in another recipe.  You don’t want to cook the meat to death.

If you want to use beef or lamb bones–and you do–and you can also mix them with poultry–brown them in a hot oven in a shallow pan first.  Put all the fat that gets rendered into the soup pot with the browned bones.  You can add some savouries–onions, carrots, celery, garlic, etc.–but you can also go plain and add the savouries to your stock when you make soup, etc.  Fry them up a bit in fat first.  You can pull fat off the top of your chilled stock and use that to sauté.

Remember, you want to cook the bones at least 12 hours.  You can leave the pot UNCOVERED on the stove over night and resume cooking the next morning.  As long as you heat it for at least 10 minutes, it’s fine.

 

Interesting Information: More FDA Shady Dealing With A New Vaccine For Babies

Interesting Information:  July 24, 2012

More FDA Shady Dealing With A New Vaccine For Babies

Here’s a quote from Dr. Joseph Mercola’s article–the link is below–on the FDA’s approval of a new combo vaccine for meningitis for babies.  Meningitis is a rare disease.

Ironically, on June 14, the FDA awarded GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) a license to sell MenHibrix, a new vaccine that combines two meningitis vaccines into one shot.  The FDA had rejected the license in 2010 and 2011 because, reportedly, the British drug company giant was having trouble proving the vaccine actually worked.

This time, FDA staff did not bother to ask for an opinion from the agency’s own vaccine advisory committee before giving GSL the green light to market MenHibrix in the U.S. for babies as young as 6 weeks old.  In a letter, FDA official Marion Gruber, PhD, told the company that:  “We did not refer your application to the additional VRBPAC [review] because our review of information submitted in you BLA, including the clinical study design and trial results, did not raise particular concerns or controversial issues which would have benefited from an advisory committee discussion.

Really?  Sounds like some FDA officials didn’t want Advisory Committee members to ask the drug company lots of questions about this new vaccine, just like the CDC and AAP (American Academy of Pediatrics) officials don’t want parents to ask lots of questions about ANY vaccine.

Mercola goes on to note that MenHibrix has “not yet been studied in combination with every one of the other vaccines already given to babies simultaneously.”  And, “even premature babies weighing less than four and a half pounds are subjected to the mindless one-size-fits all `no exceptions’ vaccine schedule.  Where is the solid scientific evidence that it is safe or effective to give eight or nine vaccines to an eight or nine pound newborn?”

Mercola also notes that there is no evidence proving that vaccinated children are any healthier than nonvaccinated children as no studies have been done.

The CDC will vote in October on whether or not to make this new vaccine optional or whether to add it to the already bloated vaccine schedule–in the process giving “another big pharmaceutical corporation a guaranteed, liability free market [underline mine] by adding four doses of an expensive new vaccine to the child vaccine schedule so parents can be forced to buy it and give it to their newborns–no questions asked and no choices allowed….”

A June  2012 study published in Pediatrics concluded that “about 10 percent of parents living in Portland, Oregon are making independent decisions about how many vaccines their babies should get and when they should get them.  Those parents are rejecting the CDC’s aggressive vaccination schedule promoted by the AAP that directs pediatricians to give 2- to 6-month-old babies between seven to nine vaccines on the same day, without exception.”

http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2012/07/24/new-vaccines-for-babies.aspx?e_cid=20120724_DNL_artNew_2

Interesting Information: A Healthy Diet Includes 50-70% Healthy Fats

Interesting Information:  July 3, 2012

A Healthy Diet Includes 50-70% Healthy Fats

How’s that for a shocker?

It’s especially shocking when the idea that plant-based diets are your healthiest choice is being pushed so strongly by the USDA and way too many health practitioners who have hopped onto this bandwagon without adequate scientific data for support.  The health of plant-based diets is another one of these food myths that I’ve been writing about for the past few years.  I can’t find any science that supports it that has stood up to peer reviews.  I can find TONS of science that refutes it.  Plants are NOT nutrient dense.  Period.

Dr. Joseph Mercola’s health web site published “Why I Believe Over Half of Your Diet Should Be Made Up of This,” on May 31, 2012 (http://articles.mercola.com).

The “this” was healthy fats, and Mercola noted that his own diet included 60 to 70% of healthy fats daily.

Mercola’s article begins with a history of Crisco, the industrial, white, vegetable-based lard made by Procter & Gamble and introduced a “little over 100 years ago.”  “Atlantic Magazine” published a history of the introduction of Crisco in their April 26, 2012, issue–using an excerpt from the book THE HAPPINESS DIET by Drew Ramsey, MD, and Tyler Graham.  (Mercola’s article contains a link to this Atlantic article.)  Up until Crisco, people used animal fats for frying and in baked goods like pie crusts.  But, the introduction of Crisco included a wildly successful ad campaign claiming that Crisco was “modern” and was healthier than the use of animal fats.

Crisco is an hydrogenated vegetable oil.  Actually its made from the “waste product of cotton farming,  cottonseed oil.”  It’s what we call a “trans fat.”  It causes heart disease for sure and “contributes to cancer, bone problems, hormonal imbalance and skin disease; infertility, difficulties in pregnancy and problems with lactation; low birth weight, growth problems, and learning disabilities.”

Mercola walks readers through the myth of saturated fat being harmful–and gives a history of the misinformation that is still very much present today–misinformation that has no science whatsoever behind it.  (Many of the Mainely Tipping Points essays on this blog discuss this history and what clinical trials and science are actually showing.)  Mercola retells how Ancel Keys ignored countries which contradicted his premise that saturated fat caused heart disease.  Mercola also cites the often-cited statement of Dr. William Castelli, former director of the famed Framingham Heart Study, wherein Castelli notes that “the more saturated fat one ate, the more cholesterol one ate, the more calories one ate, the lower the person’s serum cholesterol….We found that the people who ate the most cholesterol, ate the most saturated fat, ate the most calories, weighed the least and were the most physically active.”  Mercola also includes a video of his  interview with Gary Taubes, whose work I’ve written extensively about also in the essays on this blog.

Saturated fats “provide a concentrated source of energy in your diet.”  I’ve read elsewhere–and I’ll need to find this discussion again–that when your body is burning energy from carbs and sugars, it puts a lot of pressure on the body, causing it to malfunction, causing energy swings, and constant hunger.  Saturated fats don’t have this effect–they provide sustained, steady energy for long periods of time.  And, Mercola discusses why trans fats and sugars, particularly fructose, are the “true culprits of heart disease.”  The Weston A. Price Foundation would add that overuse of highly processed vegetable oils (canola, safflower, etc.) are also a root cause of heart disease.

Saturated fats , notes Mercola, are also carriers for many of the minerals and vitamins that are crucial for the body’s health.  Saturated fats are needed for the body’s conversion of nutrients to useable forms in the body–like the conversion of carotene to vitamin A.  Saturated fats are building blocks for cell membranes, help lower cholesterol levels, act as antiviral agents, modulate genetic regulation, and help prevent cancer.

So, writes Mercola, don’t eat processed foods.  Elsewhere, Mercola has advocated not eating grains.

And, writes Mercola, do eat organic butter (hopefully made from raw milk), use unprocessed coconut oil for cooking, and eat raw fats, such as “those from avocados, raw dairy products, and olive oil, and take a high-quality source of animal-based omega-3 fat, such as krill oil.”  (The Weston A. Price Foundation recommends unprocessed, fermented, high-vitamin cod liver oil instead of fish oils and would add beef fat (tallow), pork fat (lard), and chicken fat–all from healthy animals NOT raised in CAFO environments–to the list of saturated fats to use and consume.)

Mercola notes that Paul Jaminet, PhD, author of PERFECT HEALTH DIET, and Dr. Ron Rosedale, MD, “an expert on treating diabetes through diet” both agree that “the ideal diet includes somewhere between 50-70 percent fat.”

Interesting Information: The Corporate “Organic” Label is a Rip-Off

Interesting Information:  August 23, 2011

The Corporate “Organic” Label is a Rip-Off

About a week ago, my sister and I had a Facebook interchange about some “organic” yogurt purchased at a local grocery store in order to help her sick grandson–who had been running a high fever.  My sister hoped the probiotics in the yogurt would help build up her grandson’s immune system.

“That’s unlikely if it came from a commercial grocery store,” I said.  “It’s a fake food.”

What I didn’t say is that most of the probiotics listed on a label of commercial yogurt are probably no longer alive.  They get killed during the process of making the fake food.  (Look for a claim of “live” cultures.)  And I didn’t say that anything made from pasteurized milk is not a health food.  Or, that it should be avoided since it’s pretty much wasted calories in your body.   I’ve already said these things to myk sister many times, and she’s been very patient with me and my food ideas over the past few years.  The good news is that she’s talking about buying a cow share and about working with a local, organic farm in her area that sells milk, meat, eggs, and produce.

Pretty much all of the small “organic” companies have now been purchased by BIG CORPORATIONS.  And, in the name of both bigness and profit, they’ve corrupted almost everything that the term “organic” used to mean.

Stonyfield was the yogurt brand in question.  The carton pictures warm and fuzzy images of cows grazing on green fields.  Or, a pretty woman eating yogurt in a background of green fields and a red barn.

But, Stonyfield sold out to Group Danone, which also owns the “organic” brand, Brown Cow.  Group Danone also owns Dannon dairy products.

 Assuming the type of yogurt in question for my grand-nephew is whole milk plain yogurt, and not any of the fat-free or low-fat options–you need fat to process protein–AND assuming it was not one of the whole milk fruit-filled options (like white chocolate raspberry) which are full of sugars so that they are a dessert, not a health food for a sick child, the label shows that in addition to the probiotic cultures, the yogurt contains added pectin (a hidden source of fiber to thicken the yogurt–too much fiber can cause damage to your digestive system) and what has to be synthetic vitamin D3, which never operates in human bodies like the real D3 present in real foods.

What the label does NOT SHOW is that Stonyfield also adds powdered milk to its yogurt to thicken it up.  Powdered milk is highly processed so that the chemical strands are broken up, which creates all kinds of toxins.  (Don’t drink powdered ANYTHING.)

And, I’d want to have an objective third party to witness the pasturing of these Stonyfield cows because most commercial dairies, organic included, supplement with grains and god knows what else.  (One site I read today had a commenter telling how local “organic” cows on a farm on her road were being fed “organic” doughnuts.)  That’s just what happens when BIG BUSINESS exerts profit pressures and when dairy farms are being driven out of business in droves.

Back in 2006, BUSINESS WEEK used Stonyfield to illustrate what a tawdry thing the term “organic” has become in the hands of large corporations:  “The Organic Myth:  pastoral ideals are getting trampled as organic food goes mass market.”  It’s an article well worth reading since nothing has changed for the better since 2006:   http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/06_42/b4005001.htm.

The article almost immediately points out that Stonyfield’s organic farm is “long gone.”  Instead, “its main facility is a state-of-the-art industrial plant just off the airport strip in Londonderry, NH, where it handles milk from other farms.”  And, it blows the whistle on Stonyfield’s use of powdered milk and its attempts to have said powdered milk shipped to the US from New Zealand which is 9,000 miles away.

Dr. Joseph Mercola made a video after the article came out, and it’s worth viewing:   http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2006/10/12/you-are-being-ripped-off-by-much-of-the-organic-food-you-are-buying.aspx.   Mercola called it “You Are Being Ripped Off By Much Of The ‘Organic’ Food You Are Buying.”

Obviously, I agree with Dr. Mercola’s assessment.  Real organic food can’t be found in your local grocery store if it comes in a package.  And, that “organic” produce that you can sometimes find is being shipped here from places like Holland, Peru, Israel, Mexico, and China.  Besides the fact that this produce is tired out and lifeless, who knows how it has been grown.  Take a look at the German film OUR DAILY BREAD to see what I mean.  Most of this produce is being grown in hoop houses in peat packs stuffed with synthetic nutrients–all tended by technological equipment and lone, lonely people.  It’s not real food grown in nutrient-dense soil.  It hasn’t been harvested with joy by groups of people who will eat it together.  And you’re being charged premium prices for it.

You have to go out and find local, organic farmers in your own community and work out ways to get their food into your kitchen and into your body.  And, you have to eat seasonally as much as possible.  You can do it; there’s all kinds of help now to locate real farmers and organic food that will sustain your health and the health of those you love.  Start with the lists on the Weston A. Price Foundation and/or the ads in their quarterly journal, WISE TRADITIONS.  And, there’s all kinds of help to learn how to preserve some food from summer for the winter.

The CEO of Stonyfield sent Dr. Mercola a letter that attempts to explain Stonyfield’s “organic practices.”  You can find that letter on the same Mercola site as the video.  It’s really sad to read such a letter from someone who used to have an organic farm.   The denial and greed is shameful.  But that is what happens when corporations and capitalism are not tied to a set of values and ethics that support human rather than short-term profit.

Here’s a partial list of the once organic small businesses that are now “organic”:  Burt’s Bees, Tom’s of Maine, Odwalla, Naked Juice, Horizon Organic Dairy, The Organic Cow of Vermont, After the Fall, R.W. Knukdsen, Kashi, GardenBurger, Bear Naked, Back to Nature, Boca, Cascadian Farms, Health Valley, Arrowhead Mills, Green and Blacks Organic Chocolate, Dagoba Chocolate, Seeds of Change, Muir Glen, Alta Dena, White Wave/Silk, Westbrae, and Westsoy.

Buyer Beware!

Finally, make your own yogurt.  It’s dead easy–unless you’re working with ultra-pasteurized milk, which might not culture.  And, even yogurt made from pasteurized milk is better than the expensive fake stuff.  Heat your oven to 200 degrees.  Pour a half-gallon of whole milk into a large glass bowl.  Mix in two packages of Yogumet starter.  Put a plate over your bowl.  Turn the oven off, and put the bowl into the oven.  Let it sit over night.  In the morning you will have lovely yogurt.  Save about 1/4 cup for your next batch.  Sometimes it can take yogurt a bit longer.  Give it time; it won’t spoil.  Keep it in a warm place until it jells.