Is there hexane in that veggie burger?

And do you know why hexane is used as compared to cold-processed or expeller pressed oils? Are  you worried about hexane residue in your veggie burger?  And as importantly, is there hexane in the oils you use to cook with or used to make your personal care products? We don't think it's a high risk in your veggie burger and the link below shows why, but we do buy and use 100% certified organic cold pressed oils and expeller pressed oils for all of our personal care products. These oils are always more expensive, 2 to 3 times for some oils and butters. We do that because these processes are done at lower temperatures and this retains the vitamins, antioxidants and other phytonutrients in the oils, not so much because we're concerned about hexane in non-organic oils. We're much more concerned about pesticide and herbicide residuals in non-organic oils. Below is some information about the different types of oil processes - things you might want to consider when purchasing your oils for cooking or your creams, soaps and cosmetics.

Why do we buy oils that are expeller pressed?

Our first choice is always cold pressed, but that's not always available in some oils. If we can't find cold-pressed for a particular oil, then we look for expeller pressed oils and butters. This is a process that does not use chemicals to extract the oil - which means, no hexane is used. Additionally, no external heat is applied in order to extract the oil. There is friction and, therefore, higher heat from the higher friction is required in some nuts or seeds that are harder and require more friction in order to extract the oil. So basically, expeller pressed means that the oil is extracted without using hexane or other chemicals. Using chemicals and high heat is a common practice for many conventional oils you find on the grocery stores and your cosmetic counters.

Why do we pay extra for cold pressed?

Well, cold pressed is just that - cold processed where temperatures are controlled to ensure that the seed or nut does not go higher than 100-120 degrees F (some are even processed as low as 80 to 90 degrees F).  By cold pressing, the key nutrients, essential fatty acids and phytonutrients are left intact. Obviously, this is a more labor intensive and expensive process, but worth it we think and definitely the "gold standard" for all oils. When we add these oils to our products, we also are very careful about keeping these oils at low temperatures, as we also do when infusing our organic herbs into the oils.

Avocado oil was the one that was the most obvious to me and finally convinced me we needed to change. We previously purchased a "cosmetic" grade avocado oil and when I asked the supplier if it made a difference whether I purchased the organic or cosmetic grade, he said no. I then asked was this oil "food grade" and he said no. It was then that I knew we should be purchasing not only food-grade oils, but certified organic ones. I decided to sample some of the different oils and purchased a certified organic cold-processed, unrefined avocado oil that is a beautiful deep green, thicker, and it seems obvious to me would contain far more nutrients than could possibly be retained in a high heat process used for cosmetic grade oils and butters. The picture here clearly shows the difference, even in spite of my amateur photography. The oil on the far right is our certified organic extra virgin olive oil, the same that we use for cooking and for our creams and soaps (30% in our soaps). The oil on the far left is the cosmetic grade Avocado oil we used before we knew better, and the middle avocado oil is our certified organic unrefined avocado oil. I'm visual and this was an obvious no brainer for me. The lesser grades of olive oil are also very thin and clear in color but that is what is used in most of the cosmetics and soap on the shelves today - and, unfortunately, in a lot of the extra virgin olive oil you probably pay a lot for at the grocery store - even the health food store. Not ours. Unrefined oils are always darker in color and more true to their natural seed, nut or fruit.

The cosmetic grade oils are refined at temperatures as high as 450 degrees - these oils are not a food grade oil. Some oils are "partially refined" which can include deodorization and bleaching. And, finally, and important we think, is that certified organic oils and butters are rigorously analyzed for chemical, pesticide or herbicide residue. We do not purchase oils that have been processed through high heat extraction as these methods produce unhealthy oils - if we can't eat it ourselves, we don't use it in our products.

So what about hexane in our veggie burgers?!

The link provided below gives a good analysis of whether this is true and to what extent it should influence  your purchasing habits. We do think it's important to look at the label and compare the oils you use for cooking as we believe it makes a difference in the content of vitamins, antioxidants and phytonutrients retained. Obviously, you're probably not going to know what type of oils are used in your cosmetics and other personal care products- except ours of course. And that's even assuming the product contains real oils and butters or just lots of synthetic chemicals to try to accomplish the same feel at a much lower cost - to them, not usually to you. But that's another story for another day.

 

It's very satisfying to me and rewarding that more and more people are discovering the benefits of buying products that are organic. I recently wrote a post about skin health and the debate about whether and to what degree chemicals are absorbed into your skin - see here. In that article I also talked about why we use certified organic ingredients, but also that our company is not a certified organic company, so we can't use the USDA certified organic label or the label of any 3rd part certifier on the front of our labels - and we don't. We can say, however, that our products "contain certified organic ingredients and we can say at what percentage they are in a particular product. What that means is, although our products would meet and surpass the requirements for being certified organic, we hadn't taken that step yet. 

EYE CANDY:

Unfortunately, there are companies out there - and usually some of the larger big box companies - who use the words certified organic ingredients just as eye candy. We don't do that! We are proud of our ingredients and hope that you will take time to look at the long list of organic ingredients included in all of our products.

WHY DO WE USE ORGANIC INGREDIENTS?

Well, if the ingredients are NOT used just for marketing purposes - and considering they are usually 2 to 3 times more expensive than non-organic products, then why do we? We decided from the beginning that we wanted clean and effective ingredients. We wanted products that we were assured would not contain any pesticides, additional hormones, insecticides or residue left from pests in large warehouses. We also discovered that unrefined certified organics when compared to their non-organic look alikes do not "look alike". 

We, ourselves, try to eat as organically as possible and are finding that it's not that expensive, unless you are looking for grass fed, pastured meat (doesn't have to be certified organic if you know where it comes from). I've noticed that more and more people are beginning to see why that is so important. I've attached the link to a recent survey that shows many and many more people are asking for organic products. It's an "organic poll" taken from 3,000 people asking what their preference is. It's a short article, but a good one I think that shows the tide is turning more and more to organic. Click on the "check out this link" below.

Thanks for listening!

Can massage really relieve chronic back pain? 

You may be saying - well or course it can, which was my first response. But it's nice to be aware of a new study that was funded by the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine that clearly shows that: “Massage therapy may be effective for treatment of chronic back pain, with benefits lasting at least 6 months.” As you read the study itself, you see that massage is not just a "may be effective", but is definitely the winner in this contest. This is also not the first study to confirm massage is effective for relief of back pain - see here.

Back pain is, as you probably personally have experienced it, quite common and chronic back pain is an epidemic. Finding the reason for one person’s back pain versus another person’s back pain keeps radiologists and physical therapists busy. And if you’re like me, you may have 2 or 3 different reasons and 2 or 3 different areas in your back where you have chronic and often debilitating pain. My husband has had back surgery and has been told he needs more back surgery – that was over 5 years ago and we haven’t been back (pun not intended). Let’s just say that our family has a lot of back pain.

What’s the usual treatment?

If you’ve read anything I’ve ever written you probably know that I don’t like taking or giving medications,  either prescribed or over-the-counter.  Unfortunately, the common treatment for all types of back pain is usually prescription pain killers for the rest of your life (many of which are very addictive),  muscle relaxants that make you a zombie for 24+ hours, and/or over-the-counter NSAID’s, which have their own history of reasons not to take them on a chronic basis. More and more insurance companies are paying for chiropractic treatment – which is good and that does have a history of success.  Now, this study may give more reason for your insurance company to also cover massage therapy treatment. They pay for physical therapy – why not massage therapy? I think some do. I try not to consider or think about the impending healthcare reform.

What did this study prove?

In the Annals of Medicine, the new study looked at 401 people with chronic back pain. They also looked at 2 different types of massage which are routinely offered for low-back pain relief. Now, I’m not a massage therapist, and I’ve only had one paid-for massage in my life time (which was amazing), but apparently one type is relaxation which relaxes the targeted muscles and the other type is structural aimed to release tension in “specific tissues and joint structures.” My friendly massage therapists, please comment and let us know more about this. This study looked at both of those types of massage as well as what they referred to as “usual care” – as mentioned above.  The researchers were attempting to determine short-term and long-term effects of these 3 methods.

The study found that after 10 weeks those who received massage therapy, with one type not being any better than the other, was more successful in relieving pain, as well as improving daily functioning, than those who received the “usual” care! The massage therapy led to “more rapid improvement” in low back pain than the usual medical care. Now that’s very cool!  And to top that – the massage therapy pain relief lasted for at least 6 months and perhaps longer.

What about aromatherapy?

Well,no the study didn’t use any aromatherapy and that’s probably good because it would have just muddied the waters. But aromatherapy added to massage could and would make a huge contribution to pain relief. I say this because I have many testimonials, personal and public, that aromatherapy blends have worked very well on people with just rubbing the oil treatment into a painful area. There is also a wealth of research and anecdotal information proclaiming the ability for essential oils to absorb into the affected area and bring pain relief.  Some of the most used for muscle, bone or nerve pain relief would be ginger, plai, nutmeg, helichrysum, and black pepper.

What else is important about this study?

Let me say, first of all, the fact that a study was even done regarding the benefits of massage therapy versus pharmaceutical drugs  is a major advancement. Drug companies obviously have no profit incentive for discovering that an alternative (also referred to as complementary) treatment works better than their high-priced, prescription-required medications.  This study was, in fact, a randomized, controlled trial, which is one of the types of studies the medical establishment requires in order to be even tentatively considered valid. Additionally, the proven fact that probably all medical studies done in the past 50 years are flawed due to financial conflicts is still being shoved under the rug. Even as far back as May 2000, our friend (not personally, of course, just that we appreciate all the drug-free information he disseminates on a daily basis through his website), revealed several instances of blatant conflicts of interest – read here.  

Then in 2004, and the one that truly amazes me (and I don’t amaze easily when it comes to the deplorable practices of Big Pharma) was revealed by a New York Times article that a certain doctor was given the option to buy 72,000 shares of a particular pharmaceutical company's stock for a mere $25.00 after declaring one of their drugs was effective while another company's drug was not.  Both probably were not, but that’s another discussion for another day. Those shares would have been worth – and this is the truth – more than $1 million! Read here. 

Another indictment came through one of my favorite magazines, Science Daily, when they wrote an expose in 2008 with an article entitled “Big Pharma Spends More On Advertising Than Research And Development, Study Finds”. The study was done by two York University researchers and they found that the U.S. pharmaceutical industry “spends twice as much on promotion as it does on research and development, contrary to the industry’s claim.” it’s a good read – here. And, of course, although some things have changed in that the physician/scientist presenting a “paper” must disclose “financial conflicts”, the practice blatantly continues.

What's that got to do with massage?!

What’s the point of reiterating what most of us already know about Big Pharma? It is to highlight the fact that alternative/complementary medicine has only recently begun doing research studies such as the one discussed here. By recently, I mean in the last decade. So, when your doctor asks you why you want to have a massage instead of a prescription for the highly addictive Percocet, you can send him a copy of this study. There are many ways and means that alternative medicine accomplishes health and wellness more quickly, and cheaply, with less or probably no side effects – and you don’t have to walk through your doctor’s door to use them. They may not have a placebo-controlled, double blind study to prove an alternative treament such as using elderberry tincture to prevent the flu – they ONLY have centuries of successful use. Do you really think Grandma would tell you that elderberry tincture is great for keeping the flu away if it hadn’t worked for her – of course not! Many Grandma’s later, we are still finding that to be true. No, Big Pharma will not do a study to prove this, though it has been easily proven. They would much rather take it to their lab and recreate a synthetic patentable representation that they would sell for a ridiculous amount of money and because it’s not a true synergy from nature, there will always be side effects. If there’s one thing the pharmaceutical industry has proven to us is that ALL synthetic medications have 2 to 3 pages worth of documented side effects.

For further reading, please see links below.

Thanks for listening!

Group Health Research Institute (2011, July 5). Massage eases low back pain in randomized controlled trial. ScienceDaily. Retrieved July 14, 2011.

SOURCES: Daniel Cherkin, Ph.D., director, Group Health Research Institute, Seattle; Robert Duarte, M.D., director, Pain and Headache Treatment Center, North Shore-LIJ Health System, Manhasset, N.Y.; July 5, 2011, Annals of Internal Medicine

http://www.bettermedicine.com/overcoming-arthritis-pain/massage-therapy-for-back-pain

http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2011-07/ghri-mel062811.php

http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2000/05/21/research-for-sale.aspx

http://www.ahrp.org/infomail/03/08/03.php

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/01/080105140107.htm

http://www.buildanark.net/pandemic/med_docs/Elderberry_Tincture.pdf

http://www.rodale.com/chronic-back-pain-relief?page=0%2C5

Sunscreen, mineral oil, parabens - are they absorbed into the blood stream?

Interesting post by Dr. Mercola from a study done in 2009. Although we absolutely don't use any mineral oil, no BPA in our containers and if our creams did actually absorb that easily into your "bloodstream" it would be a good thing. However, I'm not so sure our skin allows that - that's why it's called a barrier. I've asked some experts (other than me of course!) and I'll let you know what they say. Essential oils do, in fact, absorb fairly quickly into the blood stream, but again, that can be a very good thing. But Dr. Mercola makes some pretty bold statements about the permeability of the skin. I've highlighted those statements I find particularly questionable - to quote:

Now these are Dr. Mercola's words not mine: "Remember, your skin is your largest organ -- and also the thinnest. Less than 1/10th of an inch separates your body from potential toxins. Worse yet, your skin is highly permeable. Most items you rub on  your skin will end up in your bloodstream, and will be distributed throughout your body. This is why I'm so fond of saying "don't put anything on your body that you wouldn't eat if you had to..." and a petrochemical is certainly not something you would eat!

Putting chemicals on your skin may actually be worse than eating them. When you eat something, the enzymes in your saliva and stomach help to break it down and flush it out of your body.

However, when you put these chemicals on your skin, they are absorbed straight into your bloodstream without filtering of any kind, going directly to your delicate organs. And once these chemicals find their way into your body, they tend to accumulate over time because you typically lack the necessary enzymes to break them down. When you add up daily exposure over the course of a lifetime, it really adds up."  End of quote!

WHY IS THAT NOT A LEGITIMATE DISCUSSION?:

First and foremost, the reason you should choose a nature-based, earth-based product is NOT because of all the scare tactics and the particularly scary discussion about everything being absorbed into the blood stream and then to your organs! Good grief - and this is a Medical Doctor, who, of course, has his own "certified organic" skin care line - just a thought.

The reason we started our business was that we didn't want the mineral oil, the parabens, the sharp harsh fragrances and particularly because of all the products that were accumulating in the bathroom closet not being used because they DID NOT WORK!  I stopped using parabens when I finally found they were the culprit for my breakouts! We discovered the same thing with my daughter. I'm not saying that's true of everyone, but it is a distinct possibility. I didn't even know about the endocrine disruptor thing back in 2002! I just started looking at the ingredients on some of the most expensive products, and looked each of those ingredients up in one of my first books on cosmetic safety and efficacy. The book is written by a cosmetic scientist, Michael Rutledge, "Product of Misinformation - Demystifying Cosmetics and Personal Care Claims, Terms and Ingredients." 

I wrote an article (before Paula Begoun or Skin Deep) on my first website called "Analyze This", where I took each ingredient individually and "analyzed" a 2 oz jar of "Re-Storation by Z. Bigatti", which cost $150.00 in 2002! I looked up what was said about each ingredient and what exactly was that particular ingredient doing, or NOT doing, for your skin. Was it doing anything bad to your body and, regardless, why would you pay that much for a cream that has this junk in it anyway?!  One of the main ingredients of this expensive cream, at that time, was petrolatum and mineral oil - cheap, cheap, cheap. Regardless of the fact they are petroleum products, the molecules are too big to go anywhere to do any good at all. I'll have to find a way to post that original "Analyze This" article even though I was a rank amateur at the time and had not yet learned about the benefits of essential oils or even what Superoxide Dismutase is (thank you Dr. Perricone), it still gives you a clear indication of why you don't need a lot of synthetic ingredients that cost a lot when nature has already provided you with something much better. With one very important exception - at this point in time, "nature" has not provided you with a lot of good choices for preservatives unless you want the cream to smell like the blend of essential oils that are doing the preservation. Believe me - we are all looking for the Holy Grail. Some think they have found it; I don't think so. They (the preservative system) may be approved for organic certification, but they are still processed. Not saying we aren't testing and hoping, because we are.

BACK TO THEN:

At that time, we also had been through an amazing array of totally worthless yet expensive products developed by pharmaceutical companies. My daughter, who has had eczema since birth, and I needed something better. In my research I became acutely aware that it is always a good idea to use products as close to nature as possible. NO - they do not have to have the USDA seal - only very few product lines have that and the majority of those are just a bunch of oils, maybe some butters, melted down and put in a jar - essentially that's a balm! You can easily do this at home people!!  It takes a lot more expense, expertise, extensive research and testing, testing, testing to make a real cream or lotion that actually affects the health of your skin and doesn't rot in less than 2 weeks! Creams and lotions are emulsions - meaning the oil and the water have to figure out how to get mixed together. Think of homemade mayonnaise or vinaigrette's. So - we use "emulsifiers".  In the beginning I used beeswax and borax - it worked but not always and not for long periods of time, besides borax was getting a bad rap at that time. Most of us use what we call Emulsifying wax NF - we use the vegetable based one. Once you've done your testing, testing, testing (did I say testing, testing, testing?) - you can figure out how much emulsifier and preservative you need for the percentage of oils, butters and water in your formula. It is a science, it's interesting and it's fun. By using water in your cream, you can add all sorts of great ingredients that come directly from botanical sources; i.e., blackwillow bark extract, among many others. Many companies are trying to figure out how to make their products meet the organic standards set up by the USDA for AGRICULTURE! So - they're telling us we have to have an organic emulsifier, an organic or approved preservative, etc. What does this mean to you? It means that almost all products that are creams or lotions and have been "certified organic" by the USDA have sacrificed quality for marketing. Look for yourself - what do most of them have at the top of their list of ingredients? Hmmm - organic alcohol! Yep, it may even be organic grape alcohol - it's alcohol nonetheless. They are using that ingredient as their "organic" and "approved" preservative. Do you know that it takes a very large percentage of alcohol to preserve any cream? David Steinberg, the "preservative guru for cosmetic companies" says that alcohol (denatured in the cosmetic world) is "active against everything but dependent on concentration."  Although actually he's not 100% correct on this, because alcohol isn't totally effective against molds - but that's another blog. He tells us that when the "concentration falls below 15% alcohol actually becomes a growth medium." So, that means we need at least 15 to 20%, and probably more than that, depending on how many botanical ingredients are included and what the percentage of water to lipids is - bacteria grows in water, not oils (lipids). Do you also know what alcohol, regardless if it is organic or not, does to your skin? I think you do.

BACK TO DR. MERCOLA:

I'm just not sure I agree with his bold statements about the permeability of the skin. We learned in nursing school that the skin is a barrier, but it only takes a little bit of knowledge and experience to realize that the permeability of most people's skin certainly depends on the health of an individual (diabetics for sure), their age, their ethnicity, and many other variables. Not saying I totally disagree, but there is still much debate out there and to boldly go where no one has is a bit too much marketing prose.

We changed to "as close to nature" as possible just because that's how we live our lives in general. Dr. Mercola has a profit incentive (his own certified organic skin care line), when he says to look for the USDA seal, that is just a bunch of hog wash! A lot of politics in play I'm afraid. Do look at the ingredients - always look at the ingredients. Look for oils and butters that are natural and are at the top of the list. You NEED a preservative!! Unless you want to use your cream in one week or two (probably less in the summertime) - and it certainly couldn't/shouldn't sit on a shelf for very long if at all. That's why most of the USDA certified organic skin care products are made without water! Water causes the bacteria to grow. So do you really want a greasy balm all the time? It's excellent for some applications and we make a great one. But for every day hand and body cream -  give me a thick, rich cream made from certified organic oils and butters - NOT shea extract, but shea butter! You can't make a CREAM without water - that's why it's called an emulsion. These products actually HEAL skin issues, not just cover them up like the dermatology/pharmaceutical products that are thrown at you. Steroids eventually thin the skin and make it less of an effective barrier.

BOTTOM LINE:

If you want healthy, hydrated, regenerated skin tissue, find products that have ingredients that are plant-based oils and butters at the beginning of the ingredient list, not as extracts at the end of the list. Botanical extracts are awesome and they will often come at the end because you don't need a lot and often they are "tinctures", which are alcohol based extracts. Essential oils will also be listed at the end of the list because there are safety limits for the percentage allowed or needed. You really don't want a large percentage of either of those. Ethical cosmetic formulators research and know the percentage of each ingredient that they need to formulate a particular product to allow it to perform the way they want it to - and that should be to be beneficial for your skin and not harmful to your body. My advice? Look for those formulators and companies who are more interested in the health of your skin than they are about how the USDA certified organic seal will affect their bottom line. Oh - and yes, I do have a profit incentive here, but that is not what motivates our company.

Thanks for listening!

Easy, fast raw food dish - Raw Thai Peanut Ginger Butternut Squash:

People are always asking me how they can possibly find time to "cook" raw food dishes. I will admit the initial switch in mind set takes some time and some pre-planning. Mostly you need to remember to soak your nuts and seeds the day before, dehydrate for sometimes 3 days before eating and starting sprouts up to 3 days in advance. Sounds a little daunting? It does - at first. Once you start your regimen of soaking and sprouting, you'll always have a ready supply for whatever recipe you want to make.

However, this meal that I prepared today took possibly less than 3 minutes, but I did cheat and used a bottled "simmer sauce" made by Robert Rothschiild Farm readily available at most health food stores and even in a lot of the main stream grocery stores. Warren paid (yep, he does the grocery shopping!!) $6.50 for an 8 oz bottle. There are various flavors and they are all really good. One serving is only 2 Tbsp. and I used probably less than that. YES! I want to make it from scratch myself using my own spices, but today was a quick fix and that's just what we all need some times. Warren was working hard on canning salsa, the sun was shining and the flowers beds were calling to me - so I just needed something that would give me quick but lasting energy - this was it.

Butternut squash raw noodles (fresh from our garden)  - probably about 4 oz piece peeled and spiralized. See note below.
Thai Peanut Ginger Simmer Sauce - 2 tablespoons
Sunflower Seeds (raw) (use could use any variety of raw seeds or nuts here and preferably soaked overnight - mine weren't)
Chopped fresh cilantro (luckily Warren was already chopping some for his salsa - so I stole about 1 tbsp.)

That's it! I filled my plate with the raw noodles, dribbled on the Thai Peanut Ginger Sauce and sprinkled on the seeds and Cilantro. It really was amazingly good, filling, full of vitamins and phytonutrients plus staying power. Meaning that it didn't spike my blood sugar requiring my body to release a lot of insulin and give only a short period of energy - which is what happens when you eat enriched flour type noodles. I love the chewing too - they say it's good for the neck and jaw muscles and actually helps sagging skin - who knows - I don't, but I do love the crunch and the fiber.

Spiralizing is so much fun. We did some research prior to purchasing the model that we did finally decide to purchase. The brand is Benriner and I think we purchased it from Amazon. Picture below - wish I'd thought to take a picture of the final dish! Take a look at all the various You Tube demonstrations before deciding on which type would be best for you.

These are fun, easy, cheap and fast.

Thanks for listening!

Do you know which foods fight cancer? 

I know most of us have heard that turmeric is a very good choice to include in your diet to fight cancer, but actually getting enough into your diet is fairly difficult unless you eat a lot of Indian curry-type dishes and/or take supplements. I'm always looking for ways to easily fit foods into my diet that have been proven to increase my body's ability to fight off cancer. I came across this article just after admiring my swiss chard and kale growing in flower boxes on the deck. I have plans to grow larger amounts in the garden but never quite got the chance. The farmers' market, of course, is a great place to find foods that fight cancer. I will put out my seeds soon for my fall crop.

According to recent research funded by the American Institute for Cancer Research, dark green leafy vegetables are a great way to incorporate cancer-fighting components into your diet. Included are spinach, kale, romaine lettuce (not so dark, but full of the properties you're looking for), leaf lettuce, mustard greens, collard greens (love this coming from a Southern girl), chicory and swiss chard. They didn't mention bok choy, parsley, cilantro or basil, but I'm thinking those would be included but will check.

These particular foods are excellent sources of fiber, folate and lots of carotenoids including lutein, zeaxanthin, saponins and flavonoids. According to AICR's report, "Food, Nutrition, Physical Activity, and the Prevention of Cancer: A Global Perspective", these foods can protect us against cancers of the mouth, pharynx and larynx. I know we've all read that research has shown that carotenoids in particular are very good antioxidants that fight the free radicals we are bombarded with every day. Additional research has shown that these dark green leafy vegetables can also help stop the growth of some breast, skin, lung and stomach cancer. Folate was identified as decreasing the risk of pancreatic cancer. Most nutrition experts will also tell you to "shop the rainbow" - meaning the darker the color, the more antioxidants are included. An easy example is that red peppers are a better choice than green peppers; however, both are very good choices. In our green leafy choices, the dark purple kale would be better than green kale - although, again, both are very good choices. We prefer red cabbage over green cabbage for that reason as well.

AICR is our chosen choice for donations and if you take a look at their website and what they offer, I think you can see why. They, like us, believe that health begins and ends with good nutrition. Finding the correct and reliable information about that is not always easy. We believe that AICR provides a very good balance and evidence for all that they report. They have funded additional research on the subject of dark green leafy vegetables and why they fight cancer. Also read the full list of their recommendations for cancer prevention. You will see as you click the subjects we've mentioned such as fiber, folate, carotenoids and flavonoids, you will be taken to a page full of research showing why they are making these recommendations. And for those of you who think you can't or won't eat collards or mustard greens, you'd be pleasantly surprised at some recipes. AICR has provided one in particular for this subject and it can be found here. We will also post this recipe on our blog section under healthy recipes - and I'm going to try it out this week. I personally love them just raw, steamed or lightly sauteed - add a little balsamic vinegar.

So - let me know what you think about dark green leafy vegetables. Take a stroll down the tables at your local farmer's markets and see the vast array of vegetables that are available.

Thanks for listening!

Looking for a healthy breakfast or snack?

I am SO not good about eating breakfast! I usually don't want to eat anything until I've been up for about two hours. Now, I know this isn't a good practice because I then get hungry mid morning and it's too close to lunchtime - what to do? I just attended a 4-day class on a healthy eating program especially attuned to heart health. One of the main things they emphasized was a fairly big breakfast without animal protein, but full of protein-laden grains. Hot 7-grain cereal was one of the choices and although Warren loves this, it's just not my thing and especially not in the summertime. I also have gluten intolerance, not yet a full-fledged allergy, but I don't do well with most grains, which is why breakfast is a problem for me. 

Thanks to our friends at Organic Soul for allowing me to share this recipe. Check in with them and sign up for their newsletter and "Like"  them on Facebook.

Thanks for listening! Let me know if you try this and how it turns out.

Looking for a healthy snack?

Well, look no more. Following a large study investigating ways to prevent or reduce metabolic syndrome, it was found that adding 30 grams of nuts per day decreased the incidence of this increasingly prevalent syndrome approximately 14% after one year. Whereas adding olive oil and no nuts, the incidence decreased 6.7%. Either way - it's a decrease and the research is showing that the Mediterranean diet is effective for dealing with this problem.

Research now gives us reason to believe that those people with this syndrome characterized by multiple health issues such as high blood pressure, high cholesterol,  high blood sugar, and with the easiest to diagnose - an expanding waistline due to excess belly fat.  I'll talk more about why belly fat is so dangerous in another blog. But it is helpful that this study shows that these symptoms can be reduced just by adding about one ounce of mixed nuts per day. Now don't overdo it, because although the fat in nuts is "good" fat, too much of any fat is just that - too much. I also would add that the nuts should not be the roasted kind that contain large amounts of salt which is obviously counterproductive. I recommend raw nuts only - soaked overnight if possible and then dehydrated at temperatures below 106 degrees. You can season them easily this way according to your own preferences. I realize not everyone has a dehydrator or the time to do it this way, so please at least eat raw nuts easily found in bulk at your local health food store. Researchers believe the fiber, potassium, magnesium, calcium, and omega-3 fatty acids in the nuts helped regulate insulin, blood pressure, and inflammation - all of which can result in metabolic syndrome.

Participants in the study ate about five walnuts, five hazelnuts, and five almonds daily. Kathy McManus, RD, director of the department of nutrition at Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston, recommends eating the same amount (approximately 1 ounce) when you have a snack attack.

The link below provides the results of a large meta study on this subject.

Thanks for listening!

The synergy of using green tea and citrus juice enhances the absorption of the antioxidants!

In a Japanese study with more than 40,500 participants, it was discovered that those with the lowest risk of dying of heart disease or stroke drank at least five cups of green tea every day. Not anything really new, but the authors of the study again found that the catechins, the powerful antioxidants in green tea, are responsible for this health-saving effect. They also found, however, that only 20% of the catechins actually survive the digestive system. 

What to do? Well, if you're like a lot of us, I like lemon with my tea! I look for organic though, but regardless, it was found that the vitamin C in lemons or lemon juice help your body absorb 13 times the antioxidants as you would from drinking the tea without lemon - this according to a Purdue study. I'm thinking then maybe I don't need to drink a full 5 cups a day if I add the lemon. I've also discovered some easier ways to get my green tea into my daily routine with some of the antioxidant flavored teas that you will find in even regular grocery stores. Substitute that glass of iced black tea for green tea this summer with lemon (organic please!)

ADDENDUM ADDED May 24, 2011:

Thanks for listening!

More detailed information here:

 

How to clean your silver - naturally.

This may be an age-related, baby-boomer issue and totally not related to aromatherapy OR skin care, but it is related to what we feel is one of our main purposes for being a business, and that is finding ways to help you be eco-friendly and healthy. 

After graduating from high school and entering college, the new life of setting up my own housekeeping items became really interesting and exciting. My mother and my sister began to give me pieces of silver on birthdays and Christmas, including silver-plated serving dishes as well as sterling silver place settings. They also have given me a complete set of beautiful place settings of the fine china I picked out many years ago though often forgotten.  I have a fairly good selection that I continue to box up and take with me every time I move. Truthfully, these items although very nice have been seldom used. Why? Because there was always the issue of cleaning them before a Thanksgiving or Christmas dinner when you already have a load of things to do and little time to do them. I seriously in the past had never considered the environmental impact of the silver cleaner I might be using. I personally love the look of a table full of silver serving dishes and place settings for those special occasions. There is something so very satisfying about pulling out that often-forgotten silverware and china and making the table setting special for special occasions and special people - lots of specials! Again, this may be not even be an issue for generation X or Y. But for those of us who do have pieces of silver we've been holding onto for sentimental reasons, I say it's time to get them out of their dusty boxes and start using them. And to do that - we usually have to polish them.

Actually, the price of silver has been steadily increasing this year but has taken a  recent 4-day hit this week and is now declining in price. I say, all the more reason to hold onto your silver and take good care of it! I hold onto my silver for reasons not related to monetary value, but that is, of course, something that could be considered. Here is an article that gives you easy and eco-friendly ways to clean that silver.  I'm curious - do you still use silver-plated or sterling silver place settings? If so, when and how? Do you use them often or just for special occasions? Have you had sterling silver passed down to you from your family? Do you have an easy way to keep them clean?

Thanks for listening!

Ann