Organic versus conventional food in the fight against obesity

The following is an article I read in the UK Daily Mail in 2008. The interesting point in the exercise discussed is not so much the fact that it proved that organic was not as expensive as previously perceived, but that the children ate less and were more easily satisfied whilst eating organic food. In a time of growing obesity and programs that are failing to alter the bad eating habits of our children at the school canteen – where even the most vigilant parent cannot control the schoolyard bartering system – it is most noteworthy that the kids were actually happier on the more nutritious, less ‘fun’ food.

The UK's Daily Mail recently ran an experiment involving two families that agreed to swap diets for a full week. One family normally ate nothing but organic food. The other family was in the habit of eating mainly pre-packaged meals and processed goods. To their surprise, the results were that buying organic was cheaper and more popular with the whole family. Gaby Lana who switched to processed food for a week says “We felt unwell, spent more money - £214 compared to our usual £120 - and ended up with two enormous bin bags full of wasteful packaging.” The mother of the Matthiole family that went all organic for a week exclaimed "By the middle of the week, I felt really energetic. The food we were eating was just so crisp, fresh and tasty - even the organic tea tasted better, cleaner than my usual brand. And I noticed that I didn't feel headachy the morning after organic wine. "By the end of the week, I was enjoying cooking again. I also realised the girls had been exceptionally well behaved - eating their meals without complaint and even going to bed when asked - there were none of the usual tantrums. They also asked for far fewer snacks between meals. Interestingly, Amelia suffers with eczema on her legs, and by the end of the week, even that was much better than it normally is, much less red and raw, and I like to think the change in diet helped. "I've become much more aware of issues such as pesticides and additives and I feel as though I'm now nurturing my family. I spent £115 during the week, including several very drinkable bottles of organic wine. "That's less than my normal weekly shop, which comes in at £140 without alcohol. So it's not true that organic has to mean expensive." This UK experience backs up a 2004 report on the spending by Australians on organic food by BFA nutrition spokesperson Shane Heaton. Heaton believes that the key issue in regard to the affordability of organic fruit and vegetables in Australia is consumer education and how households choose to prioritise their spending. Where exactly the average Australian's spending priorities lie can be seen in Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) data. Heaton says "the average Australian household spends more on junk food than fruit and vegetables; More on fast-food and take-away than fruit and vegetables; More on alcohol than fruit and vegetables. And the net result of these choices is that we spend nearly twice as much on medical expenses as we do on fruit and veg." Heaton believes that once people become more aware of the issues surrounding food production eg. false assurances given regarding the safety of pesticide residues, the overuse of food additives, rising cancer incidence, etc, they will make more conscious choices of the food they feed themselves and their families. "Who knows? Perhaps, if spending increases on organic fruit and vegetables, people will spend less on junk food, take-aways, alcohol and cigarettes. Perhaps they'll need to spend less on medical and health expenses," he says.

Alzheimer's and dementia

I have been thinking about Alzheimer's and dementia as the world ages...

I read a statistic that says in America every 90 seconds someone is diagnosed with dementia or Alzheimer's.

What you eat affects every cell in your body in some way... food for thought.

A girl I spoke to today who works in this area says that in Western Australia alone within 20 years they know there will be only 6000 beds and 25000 patients in need of high care... that means the normal hospital beds will flood first and others, younger, may miss out on much needed critical care.

It makes my work promoting climate solutions through organic agriculture and how this also ties in to nutritional needs for the brain to function more and more urgent. Always what you eat effects and connects with something else.

As dementia is apparently plaque around the brain preventing it from working, I think I like this link on natural oral hygiene http://bit.ly/1bz3BB

In these images (visit the site to read in more detail http://bit.ly/iw1DlB) the colours on the right are the amount of reduced brain activity in the Alzheimer patient read here with stuff in the person's blood to show up in the scan when they are asked to see something in more detail.

The impaired electrical activity is basically plaque, like you get on your teeth, built up for various reasons like a certain PH/acid balance in your saliva is a reason some have more build up in their teeth no matter the diet and there are just as many suggested ways to remove it with little conclusive research that any one of them is really universally successful across the board.

I have to say though, that as I have studied the body for just about any illness and the various multitude of suggested solutions, they all seem to point towards clean, as in non toxic, non-pesticide ridden, healthy water, food and air with a reasonable level of exercise with lots of green vegies, lightly cooked and light, meat eating - preferably fish.

Think light and clean and it seems to follow the body will like it and if you are not willing to do that then you can compensate to a degree with lots of cleansing systems to flush the accumulated debris. I figure there are those that naturally keep a meticulous daily clean house and those of us that are just not built that way but will have a good go at it once in a while and if we get good results the good feeling, like a great meal will want to be repeated so find the method you can feel good with that cleans and heals and you may prevent it.

I have some instances of Alzheimer's in the extended family so I am pretty keen on taking a healthy go at the body and I do not like to diet so I eat almost totally organic and I love to eat! I hate to exercise so I find ways to mess it up. Late night dancing with headphones suits me... (who would have thought) and it helps me sleep - well if other sports are not an option!

Keeping happy, keeping busy, not too much screen time I reckon, and lots of fun in your life seem to be a good recipe for prevention plus avoiding as much processed foods as possible.

So keep smiling.

And eat organic!!

Why eating organic when pregnant, I feel is essential for your baby

I’ve spent years researching organic food and its production, and I’ve heard a lot of people complain that it’s too expensive to eat this way. But the truth is, it’s not as expensive as you think when you realise that it’s an investment in the health of our planet as well as in our own good health.

There’s a great article I read back in 2008 which talks about two English families who swapped diets for a week – one junk-food-eating family swapped with another family who only ate organic, and the feedback after the week was very enlightening. One of the mothers said:

By the middle of the week, I felt really energetic…And I noticed that I didn’t feel headachy the morning after organic wine…I also realised the girls had been exceptionally well behaved…there were none of the usual tantrums. They also asked for far fewer snacks between meals. Interestingly, Amelia suffers with eczema on her legs, and by the end of the week, even that was much better than it normally is, much less red and raw…I spent £115 during the week, including several very drinkable bottles of organic wine. That’s less than my normal weekly shop, which comes in at £140 without alcohol. So it’s not true that organic has to mean expensive.

Obviously, apart from the financial surprise, there were health, mood and behavioural improvements as well.

Making the move to an organic diet is a great thing to do for your family. But if you’re considering having a baby, it’s actually very important to be aware of the level of toxins we eat when we don’t eat organic food.

In a recent New York Times article published by the Organic Consumers Association, it was stated:

A mother exchanges with her child in the womb chemicals that have remained constant for much of human evolution. They dictate which genes will be turned on and off in the child, which proteins the child will make in his body and how much of them. New research, in a field called epigenetics, now suggests that these changes, made during the earliest part of gestation, could spell out the child’s longer-term medical record. It could determine his propensity for mood swings, his tendency to gain weight into the realms of obesity, his risk of developing cardiovascular disease or cancer when he hits 50, and his propensity of passing on his genes to his children.

So the risks of the effects of these toxins is present regardless of how great you and your partners genes are. You can help reduce exposure to these toxins by eating organic foods.

When I was pregnant I was very particular about eating very clean food and I drank no alcohol. I listened to what my body wanted me to eat for the growing baby yet I still have had some small issues to handle in my children – issues which were unavoidably caused by environmental pollution. However, compared to many, my issues are indeed minor and I believe my diet whilst pregnant has helped my kids immensely. For the first seven years, as their immune systems developed, I did my best to keep my children well away from microwaves, mobile phone signals and any toxins I could avoid. I live in the inner city and worked long hours when they were little so it was a deal to organize – especially breastfeeding – so I am not saying it was easy. But I was committed, having read statements like this:

EPA risk assessors, who are federal scientists that study chemicals for toxic effects in populations, got together in Washington, D.C., last month at a workshop by the National Academies to hear the latest research. The field, still in its initial stages, buzzed with proof of late-life effects in mice, rats with genetic dispositions similar to humans. The researchers talked of chemicals that may be triggering the rise in obesity in the country; agents that promote cancer; and the need to quickly go through a list of about 200,000 chemicals in a European library…to determine their toxicity.

Click here to read the full article.

As I’ve mentioned in earlier blogs, the environmental toxins in our waterways and therefore the plants and animals that we eat are out of control. When I first began this research, the oft touted number of toxins in our bodies was 500 more than our grandmothers had in their systems. With the above estimate of 200,000 chemicals, it’s no wonder there is no knowing how anyone will react to any given toxin when it’s mixed with an infinite variety of chemical combinations.

This same article states that the Bush administration were investigating 2 toxins a year… mmm leaves you thinking doesn’t it. And the Obama Administration have that up to a whopping 8 per year so it may take a few more years than your baby can wait to find out that something you are innocently doing could lead to long term health issues.

Most of us know that plants breathe in the same air we do – but theybreathe out the oxygen we need and breathe in the carbon. Then they take that carbon and bond it into the soil with the help of microbes in the soil. The use of chemicals and imbalanced fertilizers unbinds the carbon, releasing it back into the air faster than the plant can put it in.

So the more there are of the right microbes helping the plant, the more carbon goes into the soil and out of the atmosphere.

Pretty simple eh?

So when we eat organic food, we feel better – and the planet can breathe easier too.

The best any one of us can do for our own health is to keep it clean from paddock to plate. Buy and eat organically grown foods, free from pesticides and chemical fertilizers. The more happy microbes there are in our soil, the more carbon is absorbed.

It would appear, therefore, that nature is serendipitous about its desire for us to grow and eat healthy food.

medicines and the affect on all of us

The issue of medications and the affect on all of us is one rarely discussed openly most probably due to the rights we all feel we have to be "healthy' through our doctors.

So I am going to be bold and talk not of the more subtle psychological issues of drugs that affect mental acuity and therefore what we all deal with on a day to day basis, like driving on the road with someone tweaked out on some substance, but rather the more mundane aspects that many drugs, and in particular hormonal medications and drugs with metal bases have in them.

These are entering our waterways and food systems in high levels due to our prolific taking of medications to handle issues, as the included link indicates from a doctor, that would be avoided if we just ate healthier.

jamie_oliver

"There's not a day that goes by that I dont C a patient who could potentially stop 1 of their medications if they wld just eat healthier"

The reason these substances are entering the eco system and therefore our food chain is there is still little technology to actually filter them out due to their nature and our current sewage cleaning systems.

articles like this one:

http://www.courier-journal.com/article/20100712/NEWS01/7120304/Ohio-River-study-finds-drugs-chemicals-that-slip-through-waste-treatment

and this:

http://www.infowars.com/pharmaceutical-drug-contamination-of-waterways-threatens-life-on-our-planet/

are just some of many that I have read over the past 12 years of study related to these pollutants in our eco system just adding more and more pressure on our already challenged eco systems to cope with us.

These are also contaminants that make it difficult for microbes suitable to carbon sequestration (bonding with the soil) to occur adding to our climate issues.

So although it does appear as though I am harping at the issue really even a stick of organic broccoli is going to help.

Make the change for your health, mine and those you love.

You will be amazed how much better you feel and how many pills you may be able to discard!

This is an awareness I not only believe we all have the ability to embrace, but is essential if we are all to enjoy the very real global connections we are actually in the grips of.

Take facebook for instance, it now has about 8% of the world population reaching out and connecting on it (and www.renren.com if you are in China though I dont know the percentage that follow it in that 1 billion sector of the planet but it has gotta be big too!)

But we obviously want to connect. We reach to do it on the cyber universe why not try and feel it in the physical universe.

Reach for a stick of celery or a flower of Broccoli and see what happens! :)