Health Tips
Is Your Protein Powder Toxic?
Consumer Reports Sounds the Alarm! 
Consumer Reports, one of the most trusted guides for buying reputable products, has found heavy metals in protein supplements and is warning you to use caution.
Officials for Consumer Reports say they purchased 15 protein powders and drinks mainly in the New York metro area or online and tested multiple samples of each for arsenic, cadmium, lead and mercury.
The results were very disturbing, considering how many people consume these highly processed food products and how MUCH they consume per day.
The results showed a considerable range, but levels in three products were of particular concern because they exceeded the daily exposure limits proposed by USP for arsenic, cadmium or lead. This is if you assume 3 servings per day which is the average for most consumers. Some eat more and some eat less. For many products, levels of those contaminants were in the ‘low to moderate range.’
Personally I would not find even ‘low to moderate’ exposure acceptable considering how many other toxic products we find in our environment. We have enough health considerations just dealing with life without wondering about a product we specifically consume for health or fitness!
Cadmium exposure is particularly scary because it accumulates in and can damage the kidneys, the same organs that can be damaged by excessive protein consumption. It can take 20 years for the body to eliminate even half the cadmium absorbed today.
Imagine what will happen to the large group of teenagers and twenty-somethings wanting to ‘bulk up’ today. They are the ones who eat a LOT of these products and who may be in for a very unpleasant surprise some time from now.
“This (Cadmium) is a highly toxic metal, and while there are some cases where decisions have to be weighed against relative risks, accepting that you have to be exposed to any cadmium at all in your protein drink after your workout is definitely not one of them.” says Michael Harbut, M.D., director of the Environmental Cancer Initiative at the Karmanos Cancer Institute in Royal Oak, Mich.
Even some plant sources can contain cadmium. This is because of the heavy use of cadmium-containing phosphate fertilizers in commercial farming. Potatoes, rice, sunflower seeds, spinach and other leafy greens are susceptible, but this is not a problem if you are eating organic.
Below is the average finding for three serving of the protein drinks.
You can see that Muscle Milk and EAS were the most toxic brands while the whey products faired better than the rest generally. This is just a small sampling of products. The protein powder you buy from the store may be better, but it also may be worse.
You can read the complete findings (5 pages) at Consumer Reports.
Why Bother?
Many health experts argue that very few people need high quantities of protein to begin with, and Consumer Reports points out there are many protein sources from the grocery store which can supply all the protein you need that are NOT toxic.
Protein is essential in the body for our muscles but is also necessary for most cell functions since it makes up enzymes, hormones and even DNA. Most protein is recycled, so unless you are growing rapidly or are breaking down the body with extreme physical exertion, there is no need for a LOT of new protein. Very few people in North America are protein deficient.
At Real Food for Life, we like to remind everyone that you can get all your protein requirements from whole real foods. Every single whole plant food has protein.
Beans, grains, seeds and sprouts have high levels of proteins, but fruits like oranges, bananas and even watermelons have complete protein. You just have to eat more of those foods which have lower levels. In North America, most people are generally eating a LOT of food. If that food was whole food, there is an abundance of ALL NUTRIENTS.
Copyright © Randy Fritz You are welcome to share this article with anyone who you think may benefit from this information as long as you give credit to Real Food for Life by including the link to the home page ww.RealFoodforLife.com or the direct link to this post.
The Man who Tried to Eat Canada Thistle
Randy Does It Again
I have had various experiences with the wild plants in my yard and garden. Some of them are pleasant experiences, and some of them are not. This story falls into the second category.
During our recent set of interviews with Health Tribe Forum, Diana was talking with Stephen Buhner, a world plant expert. He explained that THISTLES are actually quite good for your health. He also explained in the same breath, that Chickweed (or Lamb’s Quarters) is just wild spinach.
It happens that Chickweed and Canada thistle are some of the healthiest plants in my garden. I like eating chick weed so was very interested in the thistle idea. I was intensely curious whether you could actually take away the prickles. I couldn’t imagine how this could happen. Visions of millions of happy Canadians feasting on enormous salad bowls of this prickly plant filled my mind. I wanted to ask about Canada Thistle in particular but didn’t want to interrupt. Perhaps I should have.
I had also heard that you can either cook or blend thistles. Blending is easier so that is what I tried. I pulled out several young plants (because that is what you are supposed to do) and just threw them in water and blended.
Amazing – the prickles were gone. I could not feel them with my fingers in the blender or the few cautious drops in my mouth.
But the SMELL! It started drifting up even when I first started blending and got even stronger as I went along. Imagine blending up someone else’s smelly socks knowing you were going to eat the mixture! How does your body feel as you imagine this? This is how my body feels several hours after I tried this.
The taste was not AS bad. It didn’t have a lot of taste to begin with but the aftertaste closely resembles the smell. BAD! I did not throw up but was well on my way!
OK so I’ve learned I can’t eat Canada thistle like this. But what was Stephen talking about? I will certainly ask him and do some research but perhaps you, as a member of the Health Tribe Forum or Real Food for Life, can help me? Please leave your comments below. (You can even comment on how dumb I have been.)
This is what the Health Tribe Forum is all about – combining our own direct experience and inner intelligence with the knowledge gleaned by mankind over the ages and combining it with modern scientific understanding.
Questions that come up in my mind:
- Does my reaction mean Canada thistle is not good for me, ever?
- Would cooking or blending with something else balance this effect? Maybe if the thistles were fried in butter and onions and a dash of salt!
- Is there some particular compound in Canada thistle which causes this kind of reaction?
What do you think?
The Truth about Fats and Oils
There is much confusion about fats and oils in our diet.
I work at staying on top of the information, but even I have had to rethink a few points recently.
The Saturated MythSaturated fats have a bad public image. But this is because of excessive consumption. Remember when they told us to eat margarine instead of butter? It turns out butter is fine when used in moderation.
DO YOU KNOW…The difference between margarine and butter? All margarine is made from assorted vegetable oils that have been heated to extremely high temperatures making the oils rancid.
Facts about Margarine:
1. Margarine is extracted from used plant oils with chemical solvents. This leaves residues and strips away nutrients.
2. It may say that there are zero grams of trans fats, but it still contains small amounts of this bad fat. (Trans fats are carcinogenic, triple risk of coronary heart disease and increases bad cholesterol and lowers the good cholesterol)
3. Deodorants are added to cover the unpleasant smell of rancid vegetable oils.
4. Artificial coloring to cover up the grey color.
And I still see these big tubs of this stuff in people’s homes.
Butter has been used for thousands of years. It is a real food. The trouble is that it tastes sooo good we overeat it!
Benefits of Butter:
1. Rich in Vitamin A, has Vitamins E, K, D and Calcium.
2. Has anti-oxidants that protect against weakening arteries.
3. Saturated fats in butter have strong anti-tumor and anti-cancer properties.
4. Cholesterol found in butterfat is essential to children’s brain and nervous system development.
Another form of butter is Clarified butter or ghee. It is butter oil, without the lactose and milk solids. It is made by gently heating butter until it becomes a clear golden liquid. Ghee has been used as the ultimate healthy cooking oil in India for thousands of years.
Benefits of Clarified Butter or Ghee:
1. It increases the potency of certain herbs.
2. Has Vitamin A E, K and D.
3. Has a high ‘smoke point’ so it is a good oil to cook with.
4. Ghee does not spoil easily; does not need refrigeration.
Then there is the wonderful Olive oil that many of us know and love in our salad dressings. It is made from crushing and pressing olives…for at least 5,000 years.
Possible Benefits of Extra Virgin Olive Oil:
1. Contains- vitamins E, K, and A plus antioxidants.
2. Helps lower bad cholesterol and raising good cholesterol.
3. Reduces colon, breast and skin cancers.
4. Lowers the incidence of gallstones.
Remember to store oil in a tightly sealed jar in the refrigerator, and do not heat as it has a low smoke point…add olive oil to foods immediately after cooking.
One of my favorites is Sesame Seed Oil as it has a high ‘smoke point’ making it good oil to cook with. Sesame oil has vitamins A, B and E and the minerals iron, calcium, magnesium, copper.
Studies have shown Sesame Oil to:
1. Be useful in unblocking arteries.
2. Inhibit the growth of skin cancer.
3. Maintain good cholesterol (HDL) and lower bad cholesterol (LDL).
The Myth about Coconut Oil
For decades it was considered bad because it is saturated oil which is said to raise blood cholesterol and cause heart disease. This idea was based on a study done 40 years ago that used hydrogenated coconut oil.
In tropical climates like Polynesia, Sri Lanka and the Yucatan where they have a diet high in coconut oil, the people are healthier, have less heart disease, cancer and colon problems than unsaturated fat eaters. It is now accepted that there is good cholesterol and there are good saturated fats.
Interesting fact:
Unsaturated oils in cooked foods become rancid within a few hours, even in the refrigerator. Once fresh unsaturated fats are inside the body, they oxidize (turn rancid). Coconut oil does not go rancid even after one year at room temperature. Most of the saturated fat in coconut oil is easy to digest and converted into quick energy so people are less likely to become obese as the fat is not stored.
1. Rich in Vitamin A, has Vitamins E, K, D and Calcium.
2. Has anti-oxidants that protect against weakening arteries.
3. Saturated fats in butter have strong anti-tumor and anti-cancer properties.
4. Cholesterol found in butterfat is essential to children’s brain and nervous system development.
2. Has Vitamin A E, K and D.
3. Has a high ‘smoke point’ so it is a good oil to cook with.
4. Ghee does not spoil easily; does not need refrigeration.
Possible Benefits of Extra Virgin Olive Oil:
1. Contains- vitamins E, K, and A plus antioxidants.
2. Helps lower bad cholesterol and raising good cholesterol.
3. Reduces colon, breast and skin cancers.
4. Lowers the incidence of gallstones.
1. Be useful in unblocking arteries.
2. Inhibit the growth of skin cancer.
3. Maintain good cholesterol (HDL) and lower bad cholesterol (LDL).
To quote Dr. Mary Enig: “The research over four decades concerning coconut oil in the diet and heart disease is quite clear: coconut oil has been shown to be beneficial.” Coconut oil has been used as cooking oil for thousands of years.
To read about the numerous research studies done on coconut oil: Coconut Oil Research
Benefits of Virgin Coconut Oil (cold pressed):
1. Thyroid-stimulating.
2. Lowers cholesterol
3. Causes weight loss.
4. Has anti-cancer effects.
Conclusion:
- Use extra virgin olive oil, cold pressed for salad dressings.
- For cooking use clarified butter, sesame oil and virgin, cold pressed organic coconut oil.
1. Thyroid-stimulating.
2. Lowers cholesterol
3. Causes weight loss.
4. Has anti-cancer effects.
Conclusion:
No matter how good the oil sounds…it is still a fat, with 120 calories per tablespoon. Anyone who regularly consumes a high fat diet will become overweight and that is just not healthy!
Copyright © Diana Herrington You are welcome to share this article with anyone who you think may benefit from this information as long as you give credit to Real Food for Life by including the link to the home page www.RealFoodforLife.com or the direct link to this post.
Why We Take Vitamins. Why We May Be Wrong!
Are there better options than bags full of vitamins and pills?
One-third of Americans (and an even higher percentage of Canadians) takes vitamin and mineral supplements each day. Reasons include:
1. Our new understanding of the body's requirements for particular chemical nutrients. For example, Vitamin C helps reduce free radical damage in cells. It's easy to take Vitamin C in capsule form and to assume that it will give you the same benefits as a glass of orange juice.
2. Our food supply is not as nutritious today as it was in the past. This is due to large-scale farming which focuses on quantity, shelf life and profit rather than quality and nutrition.
3. Our modern lifestyle makes eating a balanced diet more difficult. Increased stress has also boosted our need for certain nutrients.
We now assume that a vitamin pill will fill in these ‘gaps’ in our nutrition. It may seem like a simple solution, but they often don't do enough. And sometimes they just DON'T WORK. Why is this?
A report in the December issue of the Journal of the American Dietetic Association concludes that the formula for optimal health isn't in the supplement aisle of a health-food store but in the FOOD AISLE. The American Dietetic Association is the largest organization of professionals that deals directly with your diet. It also has access to the most data and research in the field. So why do they state that foods are better than supplements?
5 Reasons To Use a Food Based Approach
1. Vitamin supplements are limited to what is written on the label. If it lists 20 chemical isolates, that is all you get. In comparison, every whole food has thousands of different micro and macro nutrients. This is why the better (and the more expensive) the supplement, the more factors it has in it. But the best supplements are whole foods. An orange, for example, has not only vitamin C but bioflavonoids, beta-carotene, folic acid, fibre, magnesium potassium and many other valuable nutrients.
2. Foods contain nutrients we don’t fully understand. Nutritional science is still young. Each day it discovers new phytonutirents which have profound influences on the body. More importantly, nutritional science is only just discovering the relationships between the various nutritional factors: how one factor influences another and how different ratios of nutrients affect the body. The ‘facts’ of nutrition may change tomorrow, so why should you depend on them today?
3. Each person has UNIQUE nutritional requirements. These requirements will change over time and in different environments. If you take this into account and try to prescribe isolated vitamins and minerals it becomes very complicated very quickly. The ‘gaps’ are constantly changing. You would need expensive professional help to pinpoint the best nutrients for your body. And they can only determine what your body needs at a single point in time while your needs will change from one day to the next.
4. The body absorbs foods best. Mere decades of nutritional research cannot compete with millions of years of natural evolution. The body evolved to eat real foods. Isolates found in artificial supplements are poorly absorbed and are often eliminated by the body before they can be used. Many isolates are not recognized by the body as food, and may even be interpreted as toxins. Although certain higher quality supplements offer superior absorption, again, they usually do so just because they are closer to real food. Unfortunately, they still can't compare with whole foods. Why not give your body what it deserves and eat food instead of pills?
5. Foods have LIFE. There is something about the aliveness of food that makes it instinctively attractive. Fresh food is always more attractive than leftovers. People have recently discovered the value of raw foods. This value can be measured in terms of enzymes and specific nutrients, but also in qualities that are harder to measure like energy and vitality. All of these qualities are important for our physical and mental well-being.
Health with Real Foods is the Wave of the Future:
Right now, it is easier than ever to embrace whole-food based nutrition. New knowledge is helping people along this path to health, and we are here to share it with you. Many grocery stores are stocking a greater selection of high-quality foods in their organic sections and new supplements are emerging that are based on whole foods. Some of these supplements will have higher quality and value than the dead pills of the past. But they still imitate what nature has already perfected.
I don’t know one person whose life has been radically changed by buying a bottle of vitamins or pills. I do know thousands whose lives have become healthier and more energetic by changing their APPROACH to food.
This approach involves eating more whole, fresh, raw and organic foods as well as eating them in the proper combinations. These are the principles we teach individuals in our various programs that help them achieve healthier lives.
To be fair, the American Dietetic Association did recommend that a few isolated groups could benefit from targeted supplementation. Pregnant women, nursing mothers, people with certain health conditions, and elderly adults may need to fill dietary gaps. But if you are in one of these groups, many of these gaps (like higher iron intake for women) can also be achieved with whole foods. One just needs to know what to eat, and to be motivated enough to want to improve their health.
And there’s the rub. It's hard to know where to look and to put in the effort to make healthier choices. It's so much easier just to take a pill—one that contends to solve all of your nutritional problems. But it isn't that easy. Sometimes the harder road is the wiser one; it is the road to better health.
Feel free to comment on these ideas (below) and share this information with others.
Edited by Michael Fisher
Copyright © Randy Fritz You are welcome to share this article with anyone who you think may benefit from this information as long as you give credit to Real Food for Life by including the link to the home page www.RealFoodforLife.com or the direct link to this post.
Hermit Cookies – Gluten Free
As I had promised to share this recipe right away, I am posting it before I normally would. These have a dryer texture then the ones with wheat in them and I will be fine-tuning this recipe. We will post below this one the Wheat Hermits soon. Both cookies are not overly sweet which is why we like them.
Ingredients:
¾ cup vegetable fat
4 tbsp sucanat
1 tbsp molasses
¼ tsp stevia
4 tbsp soy flour
1 cup water
1 cup white rice flour
¾ cup brown rice flour
¼ cup potato flour
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
2 tsp cinnamon
½ tsp nutmeg
¼ tsp cloves
¾ cup walnuts
¾ cup sultanas
Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 400 F.
2. Combine butter, sucanat, stevia and molasses until creamy.
3. Stir in soy flour and water
4. Then mix in other flours, baking powder, salt and spices.
5. Mix in fruit and nuts.
6. Roll into 1-inch balls and flatten with a fork on a greased baking sheet.
7. Bake for 10 to 15 minutes.
Cinnamon is one of the oldest known spices. The darker the cinnamon the better it is.
Benefits of Cinnamon:
• In traditional Chinese medicine, cinnamon is used for colds, nausea, diarrhea and painful menstrual periods.
• It can improve energy, vitality and circulation.
• Recent studies have shown that cinnamon maybe have a beneficial effect on blood sugar.
Copyright © Diana Herrington You are welcome to share this article with anyone who you think may benefit from this information as long as you give credit to Real Food for Life by including the link to the home page www.RealFoodforLife.com or the direct link to this post.
7 Simple Steps To Succeed in Your 2010 Health Goals
Its never too late to do the right thing!
Wow!!! It actually is 2010. Can you remember when 2010 seemed so far away? Now it’s almost mid January. Were you part of the 40-45% of the population that made resolutions in the first few days? They probably included goals like eating better, exercising more, and losing weight.
Setting goals like this increases the chances you will actually make it to 2011 in better shape than today. Obviously you want to succeed but how can you make sure you will succeed? How can you not break the resolutions? How to not give up?
These are valid questions because 97% of resolutions are never fulfilled. Early failure rates varies from 30% in the first week to 25% in the first month (depending on which study you are referencing) The good news is that if you are still on target right now you are way ahead of the game and even if you already stopped or never started – you can still start today. Here’s 4 mistakes that cause people to fail and 7 suggestions how to succeed.
Mistake No. 1. Magic Bullet thinking. Everyone of course wants to have more energy and look better but just having that desire or writing it down doesn’t magically make it happen. It requires skill and daily perseverance. You have to have a PLAN to make it work on a daily basis.
Mistake No. 2. Absolute or “all-or-nothing” thinking. People congratulate themselves for being “good” when they're eating well and exercising regularly. But then, the slightest slip can seem like a failure so they feel bad about themselves and the process and give up. Better to have smaller incremental goals and a plan that acknowledges there will be mistakes made.
Mistake No 3. Unrealistic expectations
People commit to making too many big changes at once, something that's incredibly hard to do considering habits seem to be hardwired in our brain. It is easier to make smaller changes but oddly enough Studies have shown that it’s best to change multiple behavior patterns at the same time rather sequentially. This is because each little action that you take reminds and reinforces the other actions.
Mistakes No 4. Not having a support system. Thinking that you will succeed just by your own dominating force of will has been shown to increase failure. It’s SO much easier when you are being reminded and encouraged by others. This could be as simple as subscribing to this newsletter or joining a group specifically set up to achieve goals (like our 5 week Radiant Energy and Healthy Slimness Course). Sometimes too you need someone that you can relate your troubles to. You can even contact us on this too. We have certainly been in that situation before and are glad to help.
7 Super Simple Tips to Keep You On a Healthy Track
1. Keep a food diary
Do you have a pen and some paper? Can you write? It’s that simple.
This was the very first homework we asked participants to do on our Radiant Energy course. We were using it as a teaching tool but writing down what and how much you eat provides awareness, focus and motivation. It clarifies what foods are in your diet and what's missing. You can’t change or improve what you are NOT aware of. One or two weeks is enough.
2 Increase your vegetables (just little more every day)
Do you want to lose 5 pounds? Eat more vegetables! Do you want to lose 20 pounds? Eat even more vegetables. If you want to lose 50 pounds … you get the idea. There is nothing more simple than eating MORE vegetables to lose weight, cleanse and alkalize and balance your systems. Starting off your day with a green smoothie is a fast delicious way to get leafy greens in your system. Then with a one or two salads and few serving of cooked vegetables you are all set.
3. Have vegetarian dinners lunches once a day. Find some bean and tofu recipes that you will enjoy and are easy to prepare. There are some on this site. You will be increasing fibre and reducing saturated fat when you eat less meat.
Here are a few tips that will help:
• Replace meat with beans or tofu in a meat recipe. Serve tacos with black beans instead of ground meat. Serve vegetarian chili or vege burgers for dinner. Add cubes of firm tofu in stir fries.
• Make a large batch of minestrone, split pea or lentil soup to have for lunch the next day or freeze it in serving containers for during the weeks to come.
4. Have fruit washed and available.
An apple or a banana is so healthier for you than a bar or a muffin. You know that but you won’t eat it if the bar is easier to get at or you are at work and there is nothing else. Think ahead- it shows you have one!
5. Drink more water
Water is an essential part of a healthy diet. It helps flush waste products from the body, keeps us hydrated and can stave off hunger. Women on average need 2.2 litres (9 cups) a day and men require 3 litres (12 cups). While all beverages count (except alcoholic beverages), choose plain water over sugary drinks, fruit juice and diet soft drinks.
Train your body to drink more water. Drink one glass first thing in the morning, before you brush your teeth. Keep a glass of water next to you when you're at your desk. Drink from it regularly as you're working. Resolve to drink one more cup of water today than you did
6. Listen to your body
Your body knows itself better than your brain does. Being aware of its messages can help prevent you from consuming too many calories or the wrong foods. Before your meal ask yourself what foods are you attracted to and what tastes. During the meal keep checking in to see if you are still hungry. Your goal is to stop eating when you no longer feel hungry – you should feel satisfied, not full. A traditional saying is "one third food, one third liquid, and one third empty". You will digest much better this way and thus be thinner and healthier. Many small meals a day is better than overeating once or twice.
7. Reward Yourself
If you don’t reward yourself in some way till you are completely finished your goal – you might not get there. Remember this is a process and you need to enjoy the path too. If its all just struggle maybe you need help in adjusting your plan. The health systems that have been successful for thousands of years suggest you should NOT deprive yourself completely– it only causes stress which is bad for your health. If you find you're starting to slip back into old habits, pull out that food diary to refocus your efforts.
What are Your Health Goals for 2010? Feel free to share below.
Feel free to share this article with anyone you feel would benefit.
A Revolutionary Simple Approach To Healthy Eating
