In 1869, when butter was in short supply in France, a prize was offered to whoever could come up with an attractive substitute. M. Hippolyte Mege took first place by mixing lard and the drippings from meat packing, flavoring them with a yogurt-like milk preparation and coloring them so that they had at least some resemblance to fine french butter. Nobody was fooled, but the price was right and it became a marketable item.
During WW11 when food was rationed and butter fat was hard to come by, margarine got another boost and became widely known to most Americans. The lard-like white blocks of margarine were sold along with a packet of yellow dye which was used to make it look like butter.
By this time, more inexpensive methods for extracting vegetable oils had been developed and were even less costly than the fats obtained from the meat industry. It was at this point that the process of "hydrogenating" oil (bubbling hydrogen through it) was developed.
Once a vegetable oil has been "hydrogenated", a new fat has been created. Since these artificially hydrogenated vegetable fats are a recent addition to the diet of man, and since the body has no experience with them, it seems reasonable to wonder if it has the capacity to deal with this Synthetic food. *It is interesting note that in the Southeastern states, the region where margarine consumption is highest in relation to population, there is an area where incidence of heart attacks is SO HIGH it has been termed "an enigma". It seems increasingly likely that eating margarine, instead of preventing heart attacks, actually accelerates the process which causes them.
Tuesday, November 3, 2015
Calories and Carbs
A Calorie is a measure of heat produced when a substance is burned (or oxidized). One gram of carbohydrate will produce about 4 calories. A gram of fat will produce about 9. A gram of protein will also produce about 4 calories.
How many calories do we need? Easy, as many as we use...or if we are overweight, we need a few less than we use. The remainder of calories needed when not enough are consumed will be supplied by the use of fat stores.
Counting calories is often a waste of time. A person can usually judge his caloric needs by the signals his body provides. As long as the calorie-rich carb is accompanied with other nutrients that are normally combined with it in nature (protein, fat, vitamins and minerals) then the sense of hunger becomes a reliable index of how much you should eat! It is when empty calories - carbs that have been separated from other components of food - are taken alone that the problem of EXCESS occurs.
However carbs are not the only supply of calories and are not the only food ingredient that can be empty and non-nutritional.
How many calories do we need? Easy, as many as we use...or if we are overweight, we need a few less than we use. The remainder of calories needed when not enough are consumed will be supplied by the use of fat stores.
Counting calories is often a waste of time. A person can usually judge his caloric needs by the signals his body provides. As long as the calorie-rich carb is accompanied with other nutrients that are normally combined with it in nature (protein, fat, vitamins and minerals) then the sense of hunger becomes a reliable index of how much you should eat! It is when empty calories - carbs that have been separated from other components of food - are taken alone that the problem of EXCESS occurs.
However carbs are not the only supply of calories and are not the only food ingredient that can be empty and non-nutritional.
Wednesday, October 28, 2015
White Vs Brown Rice
Whole grain rice, like whole grain wheat, retains all of the nutrients, including those that are concentrated in the outer layers. This has lead to the current emphasis on BROWN rice, which is based on the rationale similar to that for whole wheat bread. However, unlike wheat which is still most often eaten with little refining (except in industrially developed countries like the U.S.) most of the rice eaten in the world is polished.
Polished rice has the outer husk and the outer layer of bran removed. Its often said that this is done to improve appearance and taste and that many of the vitamins and minerals contained in the outer layers are sacrificed. However, research has shown that the proteins of polished rice are more available than those in unpolished rice.
Polished rice also keeps better than brown rice and the decrease in bran makes intestinal gas less likely.
Polishing does remove a large portion or the vitamins and minerals, especially the B vitamins and thiamin.
Rice is a well balanced food, and while it does not contain an unusually high percentage of protein, tis protein is of particularly good quality (though it is more assessable in polished rice).
Calorie for calorie, rice was found to require 50% less insulin than potato. Thus an ideal source of carbohydrate for diabetics.
Polished rice has the outer husk and the outer layer of bran removed. Its often said that this is done to improve appearance and taste and that many of the vitamins and minerals contained in the outer layers are sacrificed. However, research has shown that the proteins of polished rice are more available than those in unpolished rice.
Polished rice also keeps better than brown rice and the decrease in bran makes intestinal gas less likely.
Polishing does remove a large portion or the vitamins and minerals, especially the B vitamins and thiamin.
Rice is a well balanced food, and while it does not contain an unusually high percentage of protein, tis protein is of particularly good quality (though it is more assessable in polished rice).
Calorie for calorie, rice was found to require 50% less insulin than potato. Thus an ideal source of carbohydrate for diabetics.
Modern Nutrition
The problems of modern nutrition extend from the soil and farmer to the processing plant and advertisers, to the grocery store and consumer, and sadly, often the doctor's office.
When man abandoned the forest and began to form villages, his food habits changed. He wasn't roaming around any more, eating what was available and moving to correspond with the changing seasons or the migration and movements of animals. He began to live permanently in a confined space - not eating what could be gathered, but instead what could be cultivated and stored.
Domesticated grain, for example, having had to adapt to new environments at lower elevations and closer to water, lost it's ability to disperse its seeds and became totally dependent on man. Man in turn became dependent on his plants - leading to the development of farming communities.
Though man's newly domesticated food was limited, it was no longer necessary to spend time chasing after animals or organizing his life around the search for food. Time and energy could now be turned to exploring man's potential for creativity and understanding. But farming practices often involved continual repetition of crops, gradually depleting the soil. As soil became exhausted, the quality of food declined.
Tissue breakdown and disease result from dietary deficiencies. Tooth decay, deformities in the facial bones, crowding of teeth and malformed dental arches -which have been correlated to lower IQ's, personality disturbances and higher incidences of degenerative diseases.
When man abandoned the forest and began to form villages, his food habits changed. He wasn't roaming around any more, eating what was available and moving to correspond with the changing seasons or the migration and movements of animals. He began to live permanently in a confined space - not eating what could be gathered, but instead what could be cultivated and stored.
Domesticated grain, for example, having had to adapt to new environments at lower elevations and closer to water, lost it's ability to disperse its seeds and became totally dependent on man. Man in turn became dependent on his plants - leading to the development of farming communities.
Though man's newly domesticated food was limited, it was no longer necessary to spend time chasing after animals or organizing his life around the search for food. Time and energy could now be turned to exploring man's potential for creativity and understanding. But farming practices often involved continual repetition of crops, gradually depleting the soil. As soil became exhausted, the quality of food declined.
Tissue breakdown and disease result from dietary deficiencies. Tooth decay, deformities in the facial bones, crowding of teeth and malformed dental arches -which have been correlated to lower IQ's, personality disturbances and higher incidences of degenerative diseases.
Wednesday, October 14, 2015
Protein
PROTEIN- protein intake above 85g a day can have negative health consequences. Breakdown products of protein such as ammonia, are toxic to the body and stress the kidneys. Also too many amino acids (from protein) means too much acid in the blood which the body neutralizes by pulling calcium from your bones. *it is now well established that high protein diets contribute to osteoporosis.
Oxidants
A single puff of a cigarette contains a TRILLION oxidants (the body's nuclear waste molecules), which rapidly travel to your brain, carrying with them high levels of cadmium - the accumulation of which depletes zinc, leading to mental health problems, curved-dented-misshapen nails, anxiety, unhealthy lining of the arteries, hair loss, stretch marks, sterility, acne and body odor
Trans Fats can be taken directly into the brain, taking up position and displacing DHA (good fat) in brain cells-messing up the thinking process. They also block the conversion of essential fats into vital brain fats. A serving of french fries or fried fish has 8g of trans fats, a doughnut has 12g and a serving of chips has more than 4g.
Trans Fats can be taken directly into the brain, taking up position and displacing DHA (good fat) in brain cells-messing up the thinking process. They also block the conversion of essential fats into vital brain fats. A serving of french fries or fried fish has 8g of trans fats, a doughnut has 12g and a serving of chips has more than 4g.
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