Food for Thought

What they don’t tell you about the additives, colors and other things in your food

2011-03-17T18:55:00.000-07:00

If you think that the labels on food packaging tell you everything you need to know about the food inside, you'd better think again. Food labels are Greek and Latin to most people. And that is an understatement. Recently, there has been a growing population interested in the food they eat, for a number of reasons, none the least of which is a concern for health.

If you walk through super market aisles, you will notice more and more people flip the food packet to look at the fine print. These people are obviously curious about what goes into the food, but not just that, they are eager to pack in some healthfulness into their diet as well. However, research shows that not all inquisitive shoppers pick the healthiest option. The reasons could vary from idle curiosity to a complete lack of knowledge and understanding about what truly lies beneath the façade of fancy names, pictures and labels that appear to tell all. Read more

Did you know?

2011-02-22T18:31:00.000-08:00

Food can affect our health in ways that we cannot imagine. It has the potential to make or mar your existence. Make choices that are healthy for you and your family. Here are some nuggets of information to help you do just that......

A can of worms actually...
One 12 oz can of Coke has 34 mg of caffeine. And if that is not enough, there are 40.5 grams (10 teaspoons) of sugar in it too.

A sweet choice, honey...
Manuka honey is quickly gaining recognition in medical circles around the world for its anti-microbial properties. This special medicinal honey can now be officially used for dressing wounds, boosting immunity and increasing digestive health. Manuka honey has proved to be effective in healing wounds that are particularly incurable such as in the case of diabetics and cancer patients.

Currant news...
Recent research led by New Zealand Scientist from the New Zealand Institute for food and plant research show that black currant extract has the power to minimize muscle damage in high performance athletes. The findings show that the berry extract reduces the risk of muscle injury by boosting the bodys natural defences, controlling inflammation and oxidative stress.

Kick that carb addiction...
Its not just smokers who have to look at the health warning signs on tobacco and cigarette packets.
Scientists from Auckland Regional Public Health Service have recently published their findings of a research initiative which claim that foods heavily processed and packed with refined carbs have the same addictive quality as tobacco. Such foods cause blood sugar levels to peak and consequently stimulate the same areas in the brain as tobacco, making one crave for more. Carbs are also a mood enhancer. These famous comfort foods are infamous for making waistlines thicker, thereby creating a host of other health problems. Carbs are addictive – and improve mood in much the same way as drugs or tobacco. Shouldnt processed carbs in packages have the same health warning then?

Please feel free to send me such useful nuggets of information so that it can be shared with everybody. Send it to bindumandala.yoga@gmail.com
and remember to put your name or website in the message so that I can give you a link back.

Bringing in the New Year mindfully

2011-01-02T20:34:00.000-08:00

The new year is almost here. Resolutions are being made. We keep on promising ourselves that we will quit that bad habit or lose all the extra weight put on during the year end fesitivities. Some of us even go a step beyond and say that we will pick up a healthy practice such as yoga or meditation. Why not? Gone are the days when going to a yoga class was considered a luxury, a fashionable thing to do or a hip new age practice. Yoga has become a necessity, something we need for survival.

The earth is going through many changes. And if we are to keep up with those changes in energy and vibrational frequency of the earth, without losing our peace of mind, then yoga is the only way.

We can start with one asana a day and 10 minutes of silence. Pick one asana. Have you practiced yoga before? If yes, then pick one asana that you love and practice that for five minutes a day. Examine the changes that it created in your body - why do you love this particular asana so much? Sit for 10 minutes, silently, watching your breath after your practice.

If you have never practiced yoga before, find a teacher near you and make a begining. A group session, even once a week can have great benefits for you. Your body needs it, your mind, only more so.

I will give you an example of how asana can help stabilise your mind, breath and body on a daily basis, if practiced every day, that is. Take balancing asana as a practice. You are standing on your right leg , with the foot of the left leg resting against the right inner thigh. Your palms are pressed together in prayer pose and placed against your chest. Your gaze if on a point in front of you. Your breath is normal. Keep your awareness on your pose, balance and breath. Now two things come into focus here:

1.Your body is not always able to balance perfectly.
2.Balance is not about stillness. It is about movement.

The important thing is to focus your awareness on the body and accept it the way it presents itself in that moment. Practice non-judgement. Practice balance.

Balancing asana soothe the nerves. They help the body release excessive energy trapped in the nerves which creates anxiety and tension. They tone the nerves and restore a sense of balance to the body and mind.

Why not make a resolution to get on the mat and stay on it for five minutes a day? Why not strike a pose, meditate and take the benefits to bed everynight? This moment is as good as any other, to begin.

After all, as the old saying goes “The past is history, the future is a mystery. The moment is a gift. That is why it is called The Present”.

Treat hairfall naturally

2010-08-03T02:31:00.000-07:00

Eat plenty of silica, calcium and zinc. It helps to pump up your iron intake as well. Cucumber, asparagus, onions, potatoes and cabbage, rice, oats are all good sources of silica. Zinc rich foods include peanuts, beans, milk, cheese, whole grains and cereals.
These are the best natural foods that will improve and maintain the health of your hair and skin.

The Obesity Epidemic - it's in the news...infact it's everywhere

2010-07-13T17:44:00.000-07:00

It's very tempting to drive through and pick up your fast food lunch, replete with fries and a coke. The next time you are tempted to do that think twice. Obesity is on the rise. It is time to take stock of what we are eating and more importantly, what we are feeding our children. Full fat, deep fried, sugary treats.....are all synonymous with unhealthy, unhappy and just plain irresponsible.

Also, now that winter good and proper, is here upon us, there is more reason to stay alert and eat right.

So, how to eat right this winter and make healthy eating a habit rather than a novelty, starting now?

Eating Well While on the Road

2010-06-30T19:53:00.000-07:00

I introduced my friend in a previous posting, hoping that she would give us her pearls of wisdom.....she has however, shared her thoughts through me and so I am now passing it on. Most of what I am sharing below, I learnt from her. Simple things, based just on common sense she would remind me of because they are easy to forget.

I asked her how to keep the kids healthy while traveling. We have been on the road for quite long now and I must say it was a challenge keeping their body weight from dropping, for example. However, it was the yogurts and bananas that did it. Another simple trick that I learnt to help maintain children's dental health - feed them cheese! Cheese helps clear the mouth of bacteria that damage teeth, and sugar. It also adds good calories, protien and calcium to the diet.

Which brings me to the next point - keep them off sugar - they will sleep better and behave better too!

If you are concerned about your kids catching the flu or common cold, then keep them off dairy, especially if it is winter. If they get stomach upsets, freshly squeezed lemon juice will help them recover.

If you have access to immune boosting foods such as cold pressed coconut oil, fish oil, or medicinal honey, (these are just some examples), then give them a spoonful every morning. You might be better off eating some yourself everyday.

Do yoga! There is no better immune booster than that. It is the best.
Teach your kids simple pranayama - brahmari or bee humming - they will love it.

Finally, have a blast. It's easy to be happy, if you choose to be. And what is more, you will boost your immunity naurally!

Happy travelling.

Guest Writer

2010-05-06T21:00:00.000-07:00

I have invited my friend Sharanam, to write on this blog. She is a renowned therapist and food technologist who has come up with fantastic innovations in health food and clinical nutrition. She has a wealth of knowledge and abundant experience in the field. She is a polarity therapist who lives and works in Auroville, India. In the future, we can all look forward to her insightful sharing. Please keep an eye out for her posts.

Eat right this winter

2009-10-10T09:52:00.000-07:00

The winter is fast approaching. This means shorter days, less sunlight, depression on the rise and people getting fatter and less fit from all the eating. A simple thing like a change in season can make human beings change the way they feel, behave and eat. Science suggests that a lowered body temperature can cause one to eat more and when the temperature rises, hunger decreases. Moreover, when we feel low pshycologically, we tend to seek happiness through food, often erroneously relying on the wrong kind to get through the moodiness.

Call it a case of winter blues, but we seem to have an insatiable appetite for dense sweet treats, such as sweet breads, cakes, muffins and pies, especially when it is cold outside. Even thick sugary drinks and loads of chocolate seem to be the order of the day. This can take a toll on the body and leave it just a little bit too unhealthy for comfort. Winter is also typically the time when we are prone to a colds, coughs and a whole lot of other sicknesses, some even originating from the feeling of sadness, depression or loneliness that is so typical of a long, cold, grey winter. This is the time, then, to take stock of how we eat and what we eat. It is a good time to use diet as a means to boost immunity, even psychological immunity. After all, if the body is sprightly, well, energetic and happy, the mind is bound to be that way too.

A good start would be to drink loads of green and other herb teas through the day. When it is cold, we sometimes forget to drink water. Some hot herb teas will do the job of hydrating and cleansing all at once. Green tea is good for that caffeine kick though a coffee now and then isn’t going to hurt too much either. Science is now extolling the virtues of the coffee bean.

Removing toxins from the body is a good way to stay fit. Toxins tend to slow down the body’s metabolism, preventing fats from metabolizing. And sugar is an authentic source of toxins, being as it is, very acidic. Put herb teas and freshly prepared juices on the list for sure. Fruit and fruit juice may not be appealing during winter months, but they are so rich in vital energy, it might be the thing to rely on for boosting the immune system. Eat salads. Especially a medley of sprouted grains, with a squeeze of lemon, is a blast of energy because sprouts are live food. So much of the food we consume is dead. And that’s not even meat we are talking about, but refined foods, for example, that make the body tired because it ingests no nutrients into it.

Drink hot, spicy vegetable soups, laced with black pepper. Black pepper gives energy, boosts metabolism and boosts immunity as well. In some cultures, such as India, moong lentils and black pepper are given to those recovering from illness or to new mothers. And what is more, it will keep the body warm as well. Include whole grains, cereals, brown rice and breads made from whole grains too. They provide fibre, vitamins and even minerals in some cases. Eating like this helps the blood to stay more alkaline than acidic. That in itself implies good health because acidic blood can make you sick like nothing else can. For the body to restore the alkalinity of highly acidic blood, it will have to deplete the bones and tissue of minerals in order to do so. Now, that doesn't sound good does it?

One of the keys to good health, both body and mind, is good healthy food and freshly prepared where possible. If you can stand to eat yogurt in the winter so much the better. It is a wonder food packed with goodness. Just be sure to check the ingredients list because the last thing you want is to eat HFCS or artificial sweeteners, flavoring, gelatin and color in the name of acidophilus and bifidus.

This list of foods is by no means comprehensive. Much has to be based on your body, your intuition, and the need of the hour. All that this article hopes to do is to reinforce that the choice to eat healthy and stay healthy is each one's to call their own. Be creaticve and resourceful too in preparing your plate of food.

Eating light meals, more frequently through the day is sound advice from a feel-fit-and-well point of view, so it’s not just a winter strategy. It’s a strategy. Period. Stay away from canned food as far as possible. Eating fresh has it’s own benefits.

Food. It has the power to make or mar a human. If you let it, it can take over your life, make you a slave to it, make you unfit, unhappy and just plain depressed. The comfort-food theory takes you thus far and no further. Yes, chocolate makes you feel better because it releases certain chemicals in the brain that boost your mood, make you think better and keep you awake through the night when you have an important assignment to finish. If you love chocolate, go for the dark and bitter variety. It is still quite sweet and loaded with anti-oxidants.

It is useful to exercise the power of choice, feel what we are eating and, well, in a way, even choose how we feel through the dark and dreary months. If there is any truth in the theory that food satisfies us at the emotional level as much as it does on the physical level, then it is imperative for us to choose wisely what we eat.

Do yoga and some of those amazing breathing techniques we all know as pranayama. Again, yoga and pranayama can increase metabolism, improve blood circulation remarkably, induce a sense of contentment and happiness and make one feel fit and well. Any form of excercise is obviously good, but one that can be done on your own mat in the warmth of your living room, is even better.

Here’s to a healthy, happy winter with loads of good food, celebration and joyful tidings.

Diuretics from nature

2009-04-23T23:27:00.000-07:00

Do you frequently find your feet and hands swelling up? Do you sometimes feel bloated even though you seem to be sweating it out in the gym? Perhaps your problem is water retention. Sometimes the heat cause swollen fingers and toes as well. If your problem is as simple as this, then try some of these natural diuretics to help you get rid of the excess water in your body. Parsley, eaten in salads or put in soups can be effective. Cilantro also known as corriander, can have the same effect if boiled in water and taken as a tea. Cabbage and pumpkin soup with parsley and corriander garnish is all powerful too.
I find these remedies to be truly effective. Try them before you head to the pharmacy.

Colloidal silver solution - a new discovery for me

2009-04-14T07:22:00.000-07:00

Recently I discovered a magic potion of sorts. It is called colloidal silver solution and is supposed to heal a number of different health conditions such as colds and coughs, respiratory problems, bladder infections, fever, chest congestion, ear infections and so on. It is considered a super natural antibiotic which has been rediscovered recently. It was used extensively up to the early 1930s and has now come back as a super medication.

Flax for Omega-3

2009-02-11T03:46:00.001-08:00

Flax seeds are a great source of omega-3. I have mentioned in another post about fish oil being a great source of omega-3. Not all children are ready to drink fish oil. Try sprinkling some flax powder onto their cereal or put it in the soup or anywhere in their food where it won't be so obvious. The taste is not too strong anyway. Flax powder is an amazing food supplement even for adults. Other seeds you can add to your diet are sunflower, pumpkin and sesame.

Why do they spray the fruit?

2009-02-05T09:25:00.000-08:00

My daughter asked me today if she could have grapes. I said no, grapes are sprayed with chemicals. She asked if she could have strawberries.
I said no, strawberries are notorious for being sprayed.
She looked at the raspberries longingly and then placed the box back on the shelf. She knew the answer even without asking the question.
Then she turned around and asked me something else: "why do they spray the fruit and then pack it and put it on the shelf?" She is all of six. How am I supposed to answer that question?

How to boost children’s immunity the natural way

2009-01-31T15:37:00.001-08:00

Boosting a child’s immune system is a science unto itself. A move towards holistic ways of keeping a child healthy overall could include a number of approaches, not the least of which is providing a loving and happy home.

Children fall sick for all sorts of reasons and often we forget to factor in childhood stress as a cause for a weakened immune system. Children get stressed out too. Among so many other reasons for a compromised immune system are air pollution, lack of adequate sleep and improper nutrition.

It follows logically therefore, that a reversal of any of these reasons could lead to better immunity. Since it is not always possible to avoid air pollution (we can’t all run away from cities), we can try and make up for that with sound nutrition and adequate rest.

Eating fresh fruit and vegetables is one way we can bolster the immune system of children. Keeping away from snacks that are loaded with additives and chemicals will go a long way as well, in keeping the immune system from getting weak, in the first place. Food supplements too have a role to play when a child is weak, or has a tendency to get sick with very little provocation.

For example, on of the most common ailments in big cities is respiratory disorder. Some children have allergic rhinitis or cough that keeps them awake all night and yet others have asthma. There are many natural remedies that can be applied in these cases to help alleviate the problem and to prop the immune system up. For instance, omega-3 oil is useful in alleviating inflammatory conditions that lead to asthmatic states. It also acts as a natural immune booster. Take elder berry for example or Manuka Honey – both of them have anti-bacterial properties which go a long way in helping children recover and stay healthy. It is known that 70% of our immune system lies in the intestines (or digestive system). Making sure that children have good digestion and taking steps to ensure that will raise immunity by 70%.

Knowing what not to give them to eat is also very important. Not only will it keep the immune system from getting weak, in many cases keeping away certain foods that tend to aggravate a certain condition can actually help a weakened immune system.

Lastly, children, after they reach a certain age (7+) can be taught simple yoga and pranayama. This affects them positively by building health and self-confidence. Yoga is a natural immune booster for children, quite unlike any other.

Why is pomogranate a super food?

2009-01-26T14:50:00.000-08:00

I grew up in India, eating pomogranate, literally off the trees on which they grew. They are so common and easily available. Yet I had no idea that pomogranate was such an amazing fruit to eat.

Today, I live in a world so different from the one I grew up in and suddenly I am confused – why are they fussing over pomogranate so much? What’s the big deal?

Well, the big deal is this: pomogranate is a super food. What are super foods?
Super foods are those that have unique and above normal health promoting qualities and supply nutrients beyond what is considered basic necessity for the body.

Pomogranate is considered a super food because it has a very high concentration of polyphenols, anthocyanins and tannins, all of which are considered powerful antioxidants. Prelimnary investigations into the power of the pomogranate suggests that pomogrante juice reduces cholesterol, blood pressure and bad cholesterol oxidation.

In India pomogranate seeds are given to children with mild to moderate diarrhea. I have tried it on my kids too when they had stomach upsets, with success. Please consult your health-care provider, however, before administering this remedy.
A few other examples of super foods are berries: blue-berries, acai berries, goji berries. I have always been intrigued by these berry juices and have tried them more out of curiosity than anything else. Acai juice is peculiar tasting, but it is a powerful antioxidant again, and its purported health benefits outweigh the taste for sure!

Aloe vera is another super food, whether by definition or not, I don’t know, but according to me, it is. It is called the lilly of the desert because it is a cactus with potent healing qualities. Aloe vera is supposed to have wonderful healing benefits for the skin. it has a cooling quality and can be given for ulcers or acidity. It is also a liver detox tonic. Aloe juice doesn’t have much of a taste, but it is fabulous tonic.

Here’s to super foods.

Basic principles of an Alkaline diet

2009-01-20T10:52:00.001-08:00

Nature has bestowed upon the human body the ability to balance blood PH internally. In order to maintain an optimum internal environment that is alkaline, a PH of just above 7.0 is required. The human body’s multi-various mechanisms function (related to enzymes, the immune system and the body’s own healing mechanisms) very well in this alkaline range.

However, the body’s metabolic processes such as digestion, and tissue repair produce acidic waste. This acidic waste can accumulate within the body and create an environment suitable for sickness and disease. Therefore, it is obviously healthier to work towards maintaining the body’s alkalinity. This requires us to make the most of oxygen and water, for example, and minerals that can fight the acidity.
Some examples of metabolic activity that generate an acidic internal environment:

Exercise: generates lactic acid and carbon dioxide. Lactic acid is acidic by nature and carbon dioxide turns into carbonic acid and water.

Digestion: generates phosphoric acid and sulfuric acid. These acids are the result of metabolizing phosphorus and sulfur contained in many foods, such as, meats, grains, and beans.

Immune response: allergies and hypersensitivities generate a substantial amount of acidic material

And last but not the least is your lifestyle. Stress can create an acidic environment in the body because our cells have to work harder when faced with stress. This results in an acidic internal environment, which becomes the substratum for all degenerative and auto-immune disorders. This also means that a highly acidic internal environment can affect cell metabolism negatively resulting in lowered energy levels, fluid accumulation and a rise in the production of free radical oxygen.

How do you regain the life enhancing alkaline state?

Alkaline minerals are known to effectively combat an acidic environment. A reliable mix of alkalinizing mineral compounds will include calcium, magnesium potassium, sodium, chromium, selenium and iron in different combinations.
Bones, as we know are critical in this whole process because they are the keepers of the body’s supply of minerals. As the body works to maintain optimum PH, minerals are used up from the bone.

This could lead to a host of bone diseases such as osteoporosis or osteo-arthritis, for example. Your bones are not fighting an isolated battle to support your body in maintaining proper PH. Your kidneys, adrenal glands and lungs even, work hard to achieve this. They need to be supplied steadily with the right combination of nutrients to constantly stay on top of what they are working for. That is precisely why a diet rich in alkaline substances can be pivotal in maintenance of good health. An alkaline diet, therefore, is one in which the foods you feed your body with are largely alkaline in nature.

What foods should you choose?

Befriend those lowly leafy greens, vegetables and fruit if you want to transform the way your body feels. Foods that are packed with animal protein such as meat and dairy are essentially acidic in nature. Of course, there are certain fruits that are acidic such as plums and berries. But surprise! Surprise! Oranges are alkaline.

Refined foods such as sugar, simple carbohydrates, and certain types of fat, also commonly known as poisons are highly acidic. A diet high in such acid forming foods can deplete the body of minerals such as calcium in order to restore the alkaline state, which is its natural state. Therefore a diet rich in alkaline foods (whole grains, legumes, vegetables and fruit – nearly 80% of your diet should be rich in alkaline foods in order to restore alkalinity to the body and this can be maintained thereafter by eating a 60% alkaline) the body is able to maintain acid-alkali balance.

Raw food enzymes

2009-01-10T14:57:00.000-08:00

Enzymes are very essential to the process of digestion. A strong digestive system is key in preventing disease, in the same way that proper breathing is. One way to boost the digestive system is by consciously adding raw foods to our diet. And plant enzymes will play a big part in bolstering the digestive system. Juicing is a great way to do this.

Enzymes are used to break down food so that energy can be released. An insufficient quantity of enzymes in the body will mean that the intestines have too much undigested food, which in turn leads to a build up of toxic waste in the body. Our bodies make their own enzymes, however, not all of the enzymes needed. Fresh fruit and veg account for the rest of the body's requirement. Sprouted seeds are a great source of enzymes as the process of sprouting increases the enzyme content of the food.

Imgae used, with thanks, from www.rawfusionfoods.com/why.html

Give me the benefit of apricot

2008-12-12T05:42:00.000-08:00

Apricots are powerhouses of nutrition. Little dark orange balls of potency that they are, apricots are rich in beta carotene and potassium. The fresh apricot is the one high in beta carotene and it helps prevent cancer, stroke, heart disease and cataracts. The dried fruit has potassium which keeps high blood pressure at bay. It is rich in soluble fibre and helps ease constipation and blood sugar inconsistencies. It prevents iron deficiency and lower cholestrol as well. Whew!

It makes a great and tasty mid afternoon snack or a sweet treat just as well.

Three cheers for this wonder fruit.

Just be sure that the bag of apricots that you are buying is not coated with sulphites or any other preservatives. You do get dried fruit without this stuff.

Pump that iron!

2008-11-25T03:18:00.000-08:00

Dates are good to eat as they are, but when they come in syrup form, they are heavenly. As long as it is dates all the way with no mess-ups in the creation with added sugar or any other unnecessary ingredients, E or otherwise, then it’s absolutely yummy! Sweet, dark and thick, it is packed with iron and is considered a healthy treat for kids. Add it to milk or use as a topping on cereal, bread or pancakes, even oats…….the combinations are left to your imagination.

It is a reliable source of minerals and vitamins, energy enhancer, is a natural sweetener (can be used in cakes, and cookies too), and supposedly even enhances memory. I don’t’ know exactly how that happens, but I’ll take it!

Try baking this cookie:

One cup stone ground whole wheat flour, a hand full of oats, a hand full of cornflakes, no eggs needed, no baking soda either (!), a few raisins and loads of date syrup. A dollop of unsalted butter, some milk to make it easy to mix.

Add flour, oats, cornflakes, butter (slightly melted is good), date syrup….basically everything except the raisins and beat (in a blender if you wish). Once the mixture is smooth, throw in the raisins, mix with spatula and spread in greased pan (greased with butter). Place in pre-heated oven and leave it there for 20 minutes or so.

That’s your date with a real cookie. Enjoy!

Dried of all its goodness?

2008-11-24T08:05:00.000-08:00

These innocent looking figs are not so innocent after all. When they first came off the tree, they were just figs. Now that they have been dried, they have also been slathered with preservative, sulphides, AKA (and not so fondly, mind you) E220.

Your figs will inherit a longer shelf life when coated with E220, and that’s it on the good side. But is that worthy enough a cause for you to swallow some sulphur dioxide on the side?

When I was researching the ill-effects of this preservative (because I bought dried fruit for my kids without checking the fine print) this is what I found on the UK food guide…

“A preservative derived from coal tar. Sulphur additives are toxic and in the United States of America, the Federal Drugs Administration have prohibited their use on raw fruit and vegetables.

Sulphur dioxide is produced by the combustion of sulphur or gypsum.

E220 is known to provoke asthma attacks and is difficult to metabolise for those with impaired kidney function. It also destroys vitamins B1 and E.

Typically found in beers, soft drinks, dried fruit, juices, cordials, wine, vinegar, and potato products.

Not recommended for consumption by children.”

I was horrified. I can’t go out and get some figs without being paranoid about whether it is really good to eat or not. I have to scour the supermarket-scape for figs (or indeed any dry fruit) that comes without this nasty piece of chemical attached to it. How depressing is that?

I don’t know if we can make them stop using chemicals to preserve our fruit and veg, but we sure can stop buying packets of artificially preserved fruit, for starters and switch to food that is preserved naturally.

I would love my figs without the coal tar, thank you very much. How about you?

Jumping on the organic bandwagon? Then do so for the right reasons

2008-11-18T12:02:00.000-08:00

"Organic" is the buzz-word these days where food, indeed even lifestyle, is concerned. There is a growing interest in organic food – essentially food produced without the use of chemical inputs, whatever they may be.

The Organic Food Blog puts it very succinctly:

“For crops organic means they were grown without the use of conventional pesticides, artificial fertilizers, human waste, or sewage sludge, and that they were processed without ionizing radiation or food additives. For animals, it means they were reared without the use of antibiotics or growth hormones and were genetically modified.”

With this in the backdrop, it is considered both hip and healthy to move with the organic food movement, what with celebrities endorsing it left, right and centre on the one hand and it being almost a necessity on the other hand. However, the deeper underpinnings of the organic food movement should be put in context, and so I have attempted to put it across in lay-people’s terms, just the way I understood it! In other words, I hope I am helping others like myself who want to know what "organic" really is in terms that are easy to comprehend and so easy to effect.

Here are some of organic farming's main features:

. Organic farming puts a ceiling on the use of man-made chemical fertilizers and pesticides

. Instead, the focus is on increasing the health and fertility of the soil and on growing a variety of crops on the same farm, to encourage diversity

. Animals are raised without drugs and antibiotics common in rigorous livestock farming

According The Soil Association:

“The word organic is defined by law. Any food labeled organic must meet a strict set of standards. Look for the Soil Association symbol for your guarantee of the highest organic standards. Find out whether what you're buying is really organic.”

Why organic?

• Tastes better

• Cleaner, safer

• Earth-friendly

• Strict adherence to animal welfare standards

That was clear and simple enough for me. Hope the same is true for you!

"Oganic" however is also mired in controversy. Is organic always better than buying locally produced fruit and veg that may not necessarily be organic? In other words, would you walk the ends of the earth (or make your strawberries walk the ends of the earth?!) in order to have organic or would you simply be happy with produce from a farm that is local, not necessarily organic, but is strict enough not to spray their produce? Do think about it because there are implications either way.

The Meatrix

2008-11-18T09:36:00.000-08:00

I came across something interesting during my research that i thought was worth sharing....
check this out sometime....

The Meatrix

* Watch the movie that started it all! The Meatrix spoofs The Matrix films and highlights the problems with factory farming. Join our heroes Moopehus, Leo, and Chickity as they help save family farms!

* Winner of the 2005 Webby Award and viewed by over 15 million people, The Meatrix will change the way you look at meat!

The Meatrix II: Revolting

* The Meatrix II: Revolting delivers even more action, adventure, and humor than the first Meatrix, as our heroes Moopehus, Chickity, and Leo plunge into the revolting reality of industrial dairy farming.

* The original Meatrix changed the way we look at meat. The sequel changed the way we feel about cheese. Watch The Meatrix II: Revolting!

The Meatrix II ½

* Taking the fast out of fast food! The action continues in award-winning Meatrix series with The Meatrix II ½, as our heroes Moopheus, Leo, and Chickity learn firsthand about the problems with meat processing.

* Picking up from their last adventure at a dairy farm, Leo and Chickity attempt to rescue Moopheus, who has been kidnapped and taken to a slaughterhouse. Watch The Meatrix II ½ to find out what happens!

blurb provided by http://themeatrix.com

Some basic principles of an alkaline diet

2008-11-13T09:41:00.000-08:00

Nature has bestowed upon the human body the ability to balance blood PH internally. In order to maintain an optimum internal environment that is alkaline, a PH of just above 7.0 is required. The human body’s multi-various mechanisms function (related to enzymes, the immune system and the body’s own healing mechanisms) very well in this alkaline range.

However, the body’s metabolic processes such as digestion, and tissue repair produce acidic waste. This acidic waste can accumulate within the body and create an environment suitable for sickness and disease. Therefore, it is obviously healthier to work towards maintaining the body’s alkalinity. This requires us to make the most of oxygen and water, for example, and minerals that can fight the acidity.
Some examples of metabolic activity that generate an acidic internal environment:

Exercise: generates lactic acid and carbon dioxide. Lactic acid is acidic by nature and carbon dioxide turns into carbonic acid and water.

Digestion: generates phosphoric acid and sulfuric acid. These acids are the result of metabolizing phosphorus and sulfur contained in many foods, such as, meats, grains, and beans.

Immune response: allergies and hypersensitivities generate a substantial amount of acidic material

And last but not the least is your lifestyle. Stress can create an acidic environment in the body because our cells have to work harder when faced with stress. This results in an acidic internal environment, which becomes the substratum for all degenerative and auto-immune disorders. This also means that a highly acidic internal environment can affect cell metabolism negatively resulting in lowered energy levels, fluid accumulation and a rise in the production of free radical oxygen.

How do you regain the life enhancing alkaline state?

Alkaline minerals are known to effectively combat an acidic environment. A reliable mix of alkalinizing mineral compounds will include calcium, magnesium potassium, sodium, chromium, selenium and iron in different combinations.
Bones, as we know are critical in this whole process because they are the keepers of the body’s supply of minerals. As the body works to maintain optimum PH, minerals are used up from the bone.

This could lead to a host of bone diseases such as osteoporosis or osteo-arthritis, for example. Your bones are not fighting an isolated battle to support your body in maintaining proper PH. Your kidneys, adrenal glands and lungs even, work hard to achieve this. They need to be supplied steadily with the right combination of nutrients to constantly stay on top of what they are working for. That is precisely why a diet rich in alkaline substances can be pivotal in maintenance of good health. An alkaline diet, therefore, is one in which the foods you feed your body with are largely alkaline in nature.

What foods should you choose?

Befriend those lowly leafy greens, veggies and fruit if you want to transform the way your body feels. Foods that are packed with animal protein such as meat and dairy are essentially acidic in nature. Of course, there are certain fruits that are acidic such as plums and berries. But surprise! Surprise! Oranges are alkaline.

Refined foods such as sugar, simple carbohydrates, and certain types of fat, also commonly known as poisons are highly acidic. A diet high in such acid forming foods can deplete the body of minerals such as calcium in order to restore the alkaline state, which is its natural state. Therefore a diet rich in alkaline foods (whole grains, legumes, vegetables and fruit – nearly 80% of your diet should be rich in alkaline foods in order to restore alkalinity to the body and this can be maintained thereafter by eating a 60% alkaline) the body is able to maintain acid-alkali balance.

Baby steps towards a greener world

2008-11-11T02:16:00.000-08:00

Most of us think that little changes we make within our homes to make this world a greener place will have no impact anyway. But that is not true.

Consider this:
A simple decision to change the dish washing liquid you use everyday can have an impact. The Seventh Generation dish washing liquid has this printed on the label
“You are making a difference.

If every household in the US replaced just one bottle of 25 oz petroleum based dishwashing liquid with our 25 oz vegatable based product, we could save 81,000 barrels of oil, enough to heat and cool 4,600 US homes for a year!”

This natural dish liquid is non-toxic, biodegradable and hypo-allergenic. What is more, it is free and clear of perfumes and dyes, is very gentle on your hands and cleans your dishes to a shine. It does not stick to your dishes and so creep into your food. It washes off easily and leaves no lingering scent on the dish or ladle which could then get passed on to your food.

I strongly recommend this liquid. And no, seventh generation is not paying me for giving their product such a sparkling review, although they should!

For a list of nasty chemicals in your dish liquid, go here.

How would you like some plastic for dinner?

2008-11-06T08:29:00.000-08:00

Microwave it and eat it. This must be the worst way to eat. Eating out of a packet that has been micro-waved. The reasons are many, the most obvious one being that the food is not freshly prepared, it is processed (that is not to say all processed food is bad, but some obviously are). The not so obvious reason is the more dangerous one and warrants serious consideration.

According to a report by Beatrice Trum Hunter (Consumers' Research Magazine v76 n12 p8(2) Dec93), in her article titled Dangers of packaging chemicals getting into food,micro-waveable food is packed in plastic wrapping which can transmit the chemicals during heating. According to this report also, something called "active packaging” is used inside the plastic food packaging – that is the thin layers of metallic heat receptors intended for the microwave. These heat receptors produce concentrated microwave radiation in order to make extremely hot surfaces (400[degrees]F to 500[degrees]F) within the package. At this high temperature, food can be browned, crisped, or popped – a thing not normally done in microwave cooking.

"At such high heat, substances such as polymers and their breakdown products, as well as adhesives and their components and other substances present in the plastic, can migrate into the food.”

Did you just vow never to buy microwaveable popcorn again?

Plastic food wraps are also a no-good packaging for microwaveable foods because compounds from the packaging can leak into the food when subjected to heat. If your food must be micro-waved, the least you can do is put it into a glass or ceramic bowl first.

Food packaging seems a necessary evil. But can consumers influence how the food is packaged in the future by making informed choices when shopping? Is it possible for us to stay away from food that is packaged with material with the potential to seriously impair health? For example, eggs still come packaged in thermacoal packing. They also come in containers made of cardboard. Ideally, the free-range organic egg in paper containers are best. But if that is not an option, then can we at least go for the egg in paper containers? Eggs that are stored in Styrofoam containers for more than a few days inherit some of the components of the packaging (which travel through the eggshells into edible parts of the egg) and thus make the eggs “contaminated”.

Cheese and meat or even bakery products wrapped in PVC film wrap (another example of food packaging gone wrong) are not safe to consume because the plastic supposedly interacts with the fat content in the foods being packed, releasing chemicals into the food, which are considered carcinogens.

Teflon is another major culprit on the loose. As stated in the Ohio Citizen report:

Most people know that Teflon chemicals are in cookware. However, chemical coatings used in food packaging have proven to break down into Teflon chemicals as well. Scientists are investigating human exposure from oil, stain, and grease repellent coatings on paper and cartons such as french fries boxes, sandwich wrappers, and microwave popcorn bags.

"According to 3M Company testing, Teflon chemicals are present in the blood of about 95% of people living in the United States. [PFOA or C8] linked to the coatings on take-out food cartons and raincoats is 'likely' to cause cancer in humans, according to a draft report by a panel of an independent advisory board to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Scientists are not sure how the chemical - perfluorooctanoic acid - is getting into people, but it is found widely in human blood throughout the United States. Some researchers say the source is the deterioration of water- and grease-repellant coatings used on carpets, raincoats and takeout-food boxes,” (Philadelphia Inquirer, June 29, 2005.)

And now, coming to the deadliest of them all – we are talking about Bisphenol A also known as BPA, found in plastic bottles and containers, especially in babies bottles. It is a chemical used extensively in food and beverage packaging. BPA has been linked to heart disease and diabetes and this chemical is found in your lunchbox and water bottle too! How ironic is that – you simply cannot assume that you are eating well just because you are eating home cooked food made with the best ingredients because, you know what, you are eating it out of your own BPA-encased lunchbox! So remember, the next time you buy a plastic container look for the number on it. If it says 7, you should know to put it right back where you took it from.

In a cross-sectional study (conducted by Dr Iain A. Lang and colleagues from the Peninsula Medical School, the Universities of Exeter and Plymouth, and the University Of Iowa College of Public Health, US) the authors studied the associations between levels of bisphenol A (BPA) in urine and adult health status. “The chemical has been shown to have adverse effects on animals and this has led to concern over long-term, low-level exposure in humans.”

BPA has even made medical research news. According to medical research, BPA has been shown to disrupt the development of breast tissue in mice, which according to scientists, could affect women exposed to this chemical as well because of its female-hormone mimicking tendency.

Now, plastic bottles are synonymous with BPA, so water tastes like plastic.
If you want to avoid buying plastic that’s not recycled, then go for the ones without BPA. Even recycled plastic is safe only in some cases. look for the sign that says “recycled”, but more importantly, look for the number inside the sign. 1,2,4 and 5 are supposedly the safest. And remember that plastic can be made without BPA, so chuck the bad plastic and when you do, remember that you are doing yourself and the earth a big favor.

If you thought your food could have chemicals in it only because of the way it is produced, then hopefully this article has knocked off that illusion. Your food can have chemical contaminants in it even from the packaging. What we need to do now is eliminate plastic from our diets. How crazy is that? And if that is not enough, your favorite canned soup has a load of BPA in it too. The liner of the canned soup or even canned baby food, for that matter, has enough to create serious damage.

According to tests conducted by the Environmental working group,

"Of all foods tested, chicken soup, infant formula, and ravioli had BPA levels of highest concern. Just one to three servings of foods with these concentrations could expose a woman or child to BPA at levels that caused serious adverse effects in animal tests.

For 1 in 10 cans of all food tested, and 1 in 3 cans of infant formula, a single serving contained enough BPA to expose a woman or infant to BPA levels more than 200 times the government's traditional safe level of exposure for industrial chemicals. The government typically mandates a 1,000- to 3,000-fold margin of safety between human exposures and levels found to harm lab animals, but these servings contained levels of BPA less than 5 times lower than doses that harmed lab animals”

“A recent study from the Centers for Disease Control tested a demographically diverse group of almost 400 Americans for evidence of exposure to BPA and found that 95% of study participants had the chemical in their urine (Calafate 2005; Wolff 2007). BPA has been linked to a variety of health outcomes which are prevalent and in many cases increasing in the United States and responsible for a major toll on our collective health. These include breast and prostate cancer, and infertility (Maffini 2006).
BPA's toxic effects in lab animals are on the rise and common in people”

The good news is Europe has banned the use of BPA in items made for children who are aged 3 or under and Health Canada has deemed it a toxic substance and put it on the suspect list.

Here's what you and I can do as consumers: we can start by making choices. “Go green”, as they say. It’s better for you and it’s better for the environment. But if all this information doesn’t make you sit up and attempt at changing your habits for your own sake, then do so for the planet. Eventually maybe it will trickle back to you because of how intrinsically the earth and you are linked.

After all, green is not a color, it is a state of mind, a way of life.

Salade anyone?

2008-11-04T12:08:00.000-08:00

I have just returned after 6 days of loafing the streets of Versailles. This little town in France is absolutely beautiful, what with the autumn colors making it a sight to behold. I saw every hue of yellow and red imaginable over there and I say this at the cost of sounding hyperbolic but I do have to make my point. The point is, Versailles is gorgeous. What it is not, however, is interesting. Sorry. But you know what? It is such a boring town even the beauty starts to evade you after a while. For a place that is utterly European, with nothing predictable about the look of it, it has a ghostly predictability in the feel of it. My kids and I had very little to do and it drove us stark raving crazy. Even the food-scene was quite pathetic. For us anyway.

There are four streets in all of Versailles and those four streets are home to about 8 Indian restaurants. We love Indian food. We are Indian. But eating Indian food in France, made exclusively for the French palate was not exactly our cup of tea.....er, plate of food, I mean. It was merely the subject matter of curiosity for us, and nothing more. We did stray into an Indian place and found it to be less than ordinary.

They were passing off some naan breads and tandoori-ed meat (slathered with food coloring, because of course they dont have a real tandoori oven, but the meat's still got to come out a tandoori red, right?) and calling it Indian. The curries were nothing to write home about either, made with loads of tomato puree from a can and some curry powder to give it a curry flavor and feel. I'm not being overly critical, merely realistic. Indian food here is Btitain is much more authentic, although you could run into some pretty poor stuff just as easily.

My only complaint against Indian food in this part of the world (as elsewhere, outside of India, I presume) is that it is not properly represented. This same French-Indian eatery served lousy pakoras which were largely deep fried batter, hiding a measely string of aubergine somewhere inside. Over all, pretty poor - starters, main course, the whole deal, was poor, poor, poor. The only thing truly worthwhile was the red wine.

French food? I’m not sure I know what that is. Maybe 6 days aren't enough to find out, but there is plenty of great wine, loads of pasta, meat in every corner, especially the red variety and bread by the cartloads.

There is cuisine from other parts of the world too, but if you are vegetarian, then you can get stuck for decent food. Even a salad is not free of meat, served with bacon strips if you please and even if you don’t please.

Give me a vegetarian salad for tomates sake. And please be generous with the avocado.

And then you had the odd salad with fried potatoes thrown in for good measure! Lots of it. Whoever heard of salad with fried potato pieces in it. Even the lettuce in the salad was over kill. The salads have so much lettuce in them, you really start to feel like a goat at some point through the meal. If the menu says anything about a leaf salad, then better beware. You’ll be eating a lettuce patch.

Well, anyway. We got by with bread from the Boulangerie and pastries from the Patisserie, some Suma brand organic canned soup that I had packed in anticipation of starving and other sundries that I had kept aside for the kids – biscuits and stuff. Fruit was available too, in plenty, but my daughter declared that it was too cold to eat fruit. Apples however were welcome any day with both the kids. Cheese (especially the vitamin rich goat cheese) and yogurt were also considered treats and they were quite easy to find too. French coffee was alright, but the good old croissant made it worthwhile. Frankly, I drink much better coffee out here in England, with or without our pastry friend.

Overall, it was a pleasant few days, wandering about beautiful alleys and streets lined with lovely buildings, searching from time to time, for a decent place to eat, or a garden to wander into…or even someone to talk to (who spoke a few words of English or was willing to play dumb charades).

I would go back. Don’t know what I’d do there though other than saunter back into idyllic quiet and write my next piece in my head while I do that…..

Brea(d)-th of fresh air....

2008-10-24T16:24:00.000-07:00

I love my food. I am very curious about people. Not nosey, just curious.
I look at the multi cultural landscape that is London and wonder where they come from. 7 million of them. Where all do they come from. And then there is the fellow traveler on the bus with light skin, dark hair, brown eyes and an accent that is not British. And I wonder…..

Like this I have met many. Some have actually become my friends. And one such is a lady I met recently, originally from Algeria. She speaks Arabic, French and English (or “eengaaleesh”, in her words – I love the way she speaks), makes a killer coffee and food to die for. Which is one of the reasons I am even writing about her. She made traditional Algerian bread for me today.

It was simply out of this world. And I can’t believe how simply and easily it was done too. This is the tastiest no-fuss-ready-in-four-minutes bread I have ever eaten. Made from scratch.

I watched in awe as she emptied a bag of semolina into a big wooden bowl (traditional bowl used for such things as kneading flour), sprinkled it with salt, dowsed it in olive oil and started kneading, literally on her knees and stooping over the bowl. I was very impressed. She pummeled the dough, adding water from time to time and then separated them into neat little balls, which were duly rolled out and put one at a time onto a hot pan.

Lo and behold! We had the most deadly, golden colored flat bread ever. Mmmmm….absolutely lip-smacking delicious, and eaten traditionally dipped in a sauce or curry with meat or veg thrown in.

Traditionally. I love this word. Traditions are sacred. Food is too. And food made and eaten traditionally, the way it should be, is absolutely sacred. In many cultures, the word “tradition”, in relation to food can be loosely translated into “made from scratch”. In India too, we make everything from scratch. Cooking food is a slow process. Eating it, just a little more so. I love food made the old fashioned way. I am fascinated by the whole process, utensils, spices, ingredients and all. Spices, as well, are looked upon with reverence because they have healing properties and tradionally the healing value of food can be enhanced using spicess.

I am determined to try making this bread at home. I know my kids would love it. Call me an obsessive compulsive wholesome food promoter, or put it down to slow-food evangelism, but I really think traditions in the kitchen ought to be taken seriously.

What are you eating today?

2008-10-22T08:56:00.000-07:00

If someone were to tell you that there was an element of poison in your plate of food, what would your reaction be? Truth is, we do eat poison. Regularly if not everyday. Unless we are informed and aware to begin with, that is. Our food is poisoned with pesticides and other types of chemicals, which have serious implications for health.

Even our kids are exposed to the worst kinds of chemicals in food specially targeted at them. Chemicals in food kill a child’s developing taste buds so that she doesn’t know the difference between a natural taste, (or how strawberry yogurt ought to taste), and an artificial but deceptively good taste.

Food for children tends to be full of color, additives, MSG and artificial sweeteners.
According to a recent article published in The Guardian, the following list of ingredients are a big no-no, and should never be given to kids:
Monosodium glutamate (E621); disodium 5'-ribonucleotide (E635); artificial sweeteners; sodium benzoate (E211); sulphur dioxide (E220); the colourings Quinoline Yellow (E104), Brilliant Blue (E133), Sunset Yellow (E110), Carmoisine (E122), Ponceau 4R (E124), and Indigo Carmine (E132). Even vanilla essence is bad, bad, bad. The label on the ice cream container must say vanilla extract, if not, don’t eat the ice cream. Vanilla essence is a chemical. There have been reports to even suggest that vanilla essence is nothing but industrial effluents, bottled and distributed as the sweet smelling spice that we take so much for granted. At this point, it is worthwhile acknowledging what seemed like an anti-advertisement for m&m type sweets: it ran a caption that said "food additives are as harmful as lead". Now, if that doesnt tell us a thing or two then what will?

Chemicals have almost become accepted as part of life and normal or may be we don’t ask enough of the right questions. Whatever the reason, the time has come for us to take stock of what we put on our plates.

Even so called fresh produce is laced with pesticides, to say nothing of other healthy food such as yogurt, slowly sliding down the scale into the “supposedly healthy” category all because the list of ingredients is not only suspect, but outright harmful in many cases. For example, according to the same article in The Guardian, “Suspect the worst when ingredients listings mention loose terms such as 'flavorings' or 'colorings'. Likewise, with the word 'flavor'. The difference between snacks that are 'cheese flavor' and 'cheese flavored' is that the latter actually has cheese in it.”

Not only should you pick your snacks and packed foods with utmost awareness, but also, eat produce that is fresh, seasonal and organically grown. However, if eating organic means a drain on your wallet and is carbon footprint intensive (like eating organic strawberries flown in from Peru, for example) then opt for produce from a local farm that doesn’t spray the fruit and veg. This means being informed and aware when you buy your food and knowing where to buy your food too. It also means participating actively in what could be one of the most important aspects of your survival: gathering food and eating it. In other words, take responsibility for the food you eat.

Most animal products such as milk and eggs are under the scanner now and rightly so. If you love your toast with egg on it, then make sure the egg is certified organic and has a seal to that effect on the box. Recently, however, there has been a campaign against eggs, organic or not, because there is evidence of growth promoting hormones in it. So you just may be better off giving up eggs altogether, but if you can't do it overnight, then the least you can do is switch to the organic variety.

Educate your kids to eat more fruit and veg rather than sugary treats at the end of the school day. Teach them when they are very young the value of eating healthy and what it really means to do so. Even babies these days can't escape the chemical onslaught. Diapers and baby products are made using the harshest of chemicals such as dioxins, for example. Search for alternatives. Babies deserve it. Besides, you will do the earth a big favor by supporting chemical-free products, be it packaged food, soap, baby lotion or carrots.

Eating for Life

2008-10-17T11:32:00.002-07:00

Whatever happened to the good, old-fashioned food culture? The answer to that question will be really hard to locate, what with kids and teenagers today making a beeline for that greasy burger and bag of fries, with a soda thrown in for good measure. It is the age of fast food. In fact, it is the age of fast everything. Life itself is on fast forward. Eating fast food means instant gratification, for the moment anyway. Living on the fast lane and eating fast food much of the time can seriously injure the health of anybody, but especially growing children and teenagers.

Everywhere they are lamenting that obesity is on the rise, especially amongst children and the overfed are actually the undernourished. Blame it on salt. Call it the fast food disaster, but a meal at a fast food restaurant could expose you to unnaturally high levels of salt. According to a BBC report, “Lobby group, Consensus Action on Salt and Health (Cash), found one meal from Pizza Hut contained four times the daily limit of salt for a six-year old.” “KFC also did poorly in the analysis of hundreds of food items, which also included McDonalds and Burger King.”

According to this report also, the daily recommended dosage of salt is no more than 6 gm per day for an adult and 3gm per day for a child, whereas fast food meals could easily ingest four times that amount for a child and double the recommended amount for an adult. And what is more, these fast food meals are extremely high in calories – a small amount and you will be packing on the pounds like nobody’s business. Besides, what an excess of salt in the body can do is nothing to scoff at. It can send your blood pressure seriously out of whack putting you at the risk of both stroke and coronary heart disease.

Another BBC new report quotes Researcher Professor Andrew Prentice, of the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, who said: "We all possess a weak innate ability to recognize foods with a high energy density.

"We tend to assess food intake by the size of the portion, yet a fast food meal contains many more calories than a similar-sized portion of a healthy meal.

"Since the dawn of agriculture, the systems regulating human appetite have evolved for the low energy diet still being consumed in rural areas of the developing world where obesity is almost non-existent.

"Our bodies were never designed to cope with the very energy dense foods consumed in the West and this is contributing to a major rise in obesity."

Changing food patterns in developing countries, however, have led to a rise in obesity too, albeit in big cities only, where fast food culture is spreading itself out, much like a shroud.

Coming back to the point, a diet of fast meals morning, noon and night will deplete the body of minerals, deprive it of vitamins, give it no dietary fiber worth mentioning, absolutely no essential fatty acids and leave it starving for real food to boot; all this, after pumping up the calorific intake to a staggeringly high level because it is oozing bad fats. If this is what kids eat today, we can safely assume that diseases attacking the immune system will be on the rise, as will obesity, heart disease, and possibly even osteoporosis from all the intake of soda. This is how it works: soda is high in sugar and hence very acidic. If the body has to render the blood alkaline once again, (that is restore the natural blood Ph), then it will have to deplete the bones and tissue of all minerals in order to do so.

The consequences of bad eating are many. From skin problems to obesity and poor digestion, the range is pretty exhaustive. You name it, it is there. To say nothing of bad health affecting self-esteem and the ability to think clearly, a general lack of energy and constant mood swings, even hormonal imbalances and blood sugar inconsistencies. Please include every kind of ache and pain possible onto that list. And worst of all, an insatiable hunger, so that the vicious cycle can start all over again. Moreover, fast food, spiked as it is with monosodium glutamate, a nasty relative of sodium chloride, makes you hunger for more, creating an addiction just like any other, negative consequences and all.

This article as you can see, is not just a tirade against salt in excess or salty food. It is also a tirade against fast food, unhealthy food and junk food. Even domestic kitchens are not free of these ugly impediments to health, the best proof of which are the contents of grocery carts.

To think most humans, at least adults, do this to themselves consciously? How do we educate our children about food, good eating habits, and how do we teach them to separate the wheat from the chaff?

So here is some food for thought:
Can we take a good hard look at how we eat, why we eat the way we do and how that will affect future generations? Maybe we need to completely change the way we view our food. After all, we are eating to live, not living to eat.

Right?

What they dont tell you about additives, chemicals and other things in your food

2008-10-17T11:32:00.001-07:00

If you think that the labels on food packaging tell you everything you need to know about the food inside, you’d better think again. Food labels are Greek and Latin to most people. And that is an understatement. Recently, there has been a growing population interested in the food they eat, for a number of reasons, none the least of which is a concern for health.

If you walk through super market aisles, you will notice more and more people flip the food packet to look at the fine print. These people are obviously curious about what goes into the food, but not just that, they are eager to pack in some healthfulness into their diet as well. However, research shows that not all inquisitive shoppers pick the healthiest option. The reasons could vary from idle curiosity to a complete lack of knowledge and understanding about what truly lies beneath the façade of fancy names, pictures and labels that appear to tell all.

Consider this, for example: A food package that says “no added sugar” or “fat-free” could be very misleading. Especially to the eager beaver on a dieting spree, it would sound deliciously attractive. This is just a clever disguise to keep the artificial sweetener or the excess sugar (as in the case of fat-free) under wraps. There are umpteen cases of misinformation or more accurately, of revealing only partial truths, where consumers think they are buying good, clean, healthy, chemical-free food, only to later find out that they were royally fooled.

When a juice bottle, for instance, claims to have “no added sugar or color”, please do yourself a favor and look on the back of the bottle. In all probability, you will see aspartame or some other artificial sweetener in there. Keep it back on the shelf. Although there is a huge lobby that defends the use of aspartame in food, there is an equally vociferous one that says, “do not consume” because it has disastrous consequences for health. Better err on the side of caution and steer clear of food that has it.

The next thing you need to look for is the "E" followed by a number on the label, also commonly known as the E Number in food. What is the E Number? Again, nobody knows exactly what that is, but it's supposedly additives and chemicals (including food coloring) that are “safe” to consume. Take that with a pinch of salt. A little bit of suspicion will go a long way. Food additives such as coloring in particular have been associated with ADHD in children. And when combined with synthetic preservatives, they can be lethal. Furthermore, there is no law that binds food manufacturers to declare the use of preservatives on the label.

Another thing that should raise the red flag is High Fructose Corn Syrup (HFCS), a sugar substitute used to sweeten a product excessively.

Dr. Andrew Weil, pioneer in the field of integrative medicine, has written extensively about food and the chemicals and additives that go into processing and packaging them. He has spoken out vehemently against HFCS, which is supposedly used in soft drinks and colas. The term “all natural” in labels is unacceptable if there is high fructose corn syrup in the list of ingredients. HFCS are not natural because of the high level of processing and the use of genetically modified enzymes required to produce it. And if that is not enough, HFCS are known to cause obesity as well.

Also, another significant health deterrent to watch out for is partially hydrogenated vegetable oils, which are high in trans-fat, and synonymous with coronary heart disease. Partially hydrogenated vegetable oils are used in food in order to increase shelf life and yes, you guessed it, it is a cheaper alternative to semi-solid oils. The dangers of consuming trans-fat are too many to ignore and it is widely accepted (with scientific evidence and all) that trans-fat has disastrous consequences for health: coronary heart disease, liver dysfunction, diabetes, obesity and even Alzheimer's disease.

According to an article titled "Trans-fat: Avoid this cholesterol double whammy" from the Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research (MFMER):

“In fact, the consumption of trans-fats increases one's risk of coronary heart disease by raising levels of "bad" LDL cholesterol and lowering levels of "good" HDL cholesterol.”

And again, according to an article titled "Trans Fatty Acids and Cardiovascular Disease" in the New England Journal of Medicine 354, by Mozaffarian D, Katan MB, Ascherio A, Stampfer MJ, Willett WC (April 2006: “Health authorities worldwide recommend that consumption of trans-fat be reduced to trace amounts. Trans-fats from partially hydrogenated oils are more deleterious than naturally occurring oils.”

According to Dr. Weil sugar, starch, refined carbohydrates and trans-fat are far more threatening to health than saturated fats.

The list of negatives in our food is beyond the scope of this article. However, the main aim of this article is to give consumers a peep into what those labels are really saying and to provide some insight into what to look for and stay away from. You could even say it is an exhortation to consumers to look before they eat. After all, it’s your body, your health. Don’t let them control it.

It is now imperative that we change our eating habits and look for food that is friendly to the body and the earth. As the old saying goes, you are what you eat. Whether we believe that or not, a change in the way we approach food could well mean the difference between lasting wellness and disease.