You Are What You Eat: Implications Of Using Plastic

The detrimental effects of exposure to plasticiser Bisphenol A (BPA) have been known for years. BPA is a hormone disrupting chemical that leaches out of plastic food and water storage containers (as well as paper money and thermal paper receipts!) and is linked to conditions such as heart disease, asthma, cancer, diabetes, and PCOS.

I am often asked if it is safe to use plastic products labeled "BPA-free." My answer has always been "No!" followed by a recommendation to use a glass or a stainless steel food storage or drinking vessel instead. I suspected that in lieu of BPA the industry would use another pasticiser in their BPA-free products whose safety has not yet been studied. My suspicion has been confirmed this week. In a recent study Bisphenol S (BPS) a substitute for the well-known Bisphenol A has been found in urine of exposed individuals and seems to disrupt estrogen hormone actions in ways similar to BPA.

And, this week, one other study came out showing that melamine has been found in urine of people who enjoy eating noodle soup out of melamine plastic bowls.

The age-old adage "You Are What You Eat" seems to ring more true now than ever. And the best way to limit harmful exposure to chemicals in your life is to eliminate plastic. If glass and stainless steel worked for tons of people before the advent of plastic, it will work for you today!

Superfoods And The Process of Tonification

When seeing patients for their intitial evalution my goal is to build a strong foundation, identify obstacles to health and bring balance. A strong foundation is created by a process of tonification. To tonify means to conserve or increase available energy, just the opposite of the more familiar - detoxification, the process of forcing the body to eliminate toxins via expansion of energy. Common side effects of doing a cleanse or a detox, like fatigue, malaise, and light-headedness occur precisely because of a deficiency in energy and need for tonification.

On a biochemical level, tonification is achieved by maximizing consumption of nutrient-dense and calorie-sparse foods. These foods have rightfully earned the name superfoods. How do they tonify? Well, superfoods contain nutrients that are cofactors in biochemical energy production pathways in the body. A body that is deficient in nutrients will be deficient in energy.

Here's my menu of superfoods:

Pumpkins (kabucha is my favorite)

Berries 

Nuts and seeds (beware of chemically treated and pasteurized almonds)

Green leafy vegetables

Sea vegetables
Cruciferous vegetables (cauliflower, broccoli, brussel sprouts, purple cabbage)

Wild cold water fish (salmon, sardines)

Fruit oils (olive, avocado)

Pasture raised organic eggs
Spices (turmeric, ginger, cinnamon)
Teas (green tea)
Mushrooms (shitake, maitake.... even white button mushrooms help to prevent cancer)
Gee or clarified butter, home-made raw milk butter, coconut oil
Sprouted foods

What's on your superfoods menu?

Constructive Criticism of Modern Parenting Methods

Last week, I read a great article from Science Daily article summarizing an interdisciplinary body of research recently presented at a symposium at Notre Dame University. Here's the link to the actual article. It''s great - read it! And here's the link to the entire symposium. It's amazing!

Three Surprising New Facts About Probiotics

Probiotics are strains of beneficial bacteria that are found in fermented foods like yogurt, cottage cheese, kefir, buttermilk, kimchi, miso, sauerkraut, pickled ginger and other fermented veggies. These beneficial bacteria live on the skin, in the colon, vagina, and mouth and prevent colonization of these areas with pathogenic bacteria.  Probiotics have long been known to help treat  IBS, antibiotic-associated diarrhea, colitis, food sensitivities, constipation and other GI concerns with imbalanced intestinal microflora. Many of you also know about the use of probiotics in cases of inflammatory conditions such as atopic dermatitis/eczema, allergies, and hives.

I want to share research showing three new uses for probiotics that I bet you haven't heard about:

Probiotics improve exacerbations in cystic fibrosis
Patients with cystic fibrosis tend to develop chronic lung infections. Probiotic treatment with a combination of strains of Lactobaccilus acidophilus, Lactobaccilus bulgaricus, Bifidobacterium bifidum and Streptococcus thermophiles reduced pulmonary exacerbations. This is very promising news for patients with cystic fibrosis and other pulmonary challenges.

Probiotics help reduce oral mucositis in cancer patients
Patients receiving chemotherapy and radiation tend to develop mucositis, painful sores in the mouth that often require narcotics for pain control. In this study a strain of probiotics, Latobaccilus brevis CD2 was given as a lozenge to women with mucositis. The severity and incidence of mucositis was better in the group receiving  probotics. This is also amazing news as mucositis is a rate limiting step in patients receiving treatment for cancer.

Probiotics help reduce bad breath
Patients with halitosis, bad breath, were given a strain of probiotics containing Streptococcus salivarius K12. This beneficial strain of bacteria suppresed the growth of bad bacteria that is causes bad breath and reduced severity of bad breath.

Super Easy Roasted Pumpkin Pasta Sauce

Pumpkin pasta sauce is velvety, sweet, rich  and super easy to make. It is very versatile and can be prepared ahead of time and frozen. Pumpkin sauce can be used in any pasta recipe that calls for tomato sauce. This sauce recipe is amazing in a lasagna. While the lasagna is baking in the oven, I warm up the leftovers and give to my son as a soup with a sprinkling of pastina. For adult palates I may serve it as a soup with a dollop of pumpkin seed butter.  I like to use full fat organic coconut milk in this recipe, but the roasted pumpkin and garlic combination is so flavorful that any liquid even water will work well.

Ingredients:

1 large or 2 small  acorn, butternut, kobucha, hubbard or any other pumpkin or squash
2 heads of garlic
16-24 oz of liquid (water, veggie broth, cow milk, almond milk, coconut milk); depends on the size of the pumpkins and the desired consistency of the sauce
1/2 cup of fresh basil leaves
salt
pepper

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 375
Cut the pumpkin in half lengthwise, scoop out the seeds
Lay face down on a cookie tray lined with parchment paper
Wrap garlic in foil, add to the cookie sheet
Bake in oven for 30 minutes or until pumpkin is soft
Take out of the oven and let cool
With a spoon scoop out the flesh of the pumpkin in to a blender jar or a large bowl
Unwrap and without peeling queeze out the soft garlic cloves
In the blender (or a large bowl and hand emmersion blender) combine and process pumpkin flesh, garlic, liquid, basil, salt and pepper
Adjust liquid untill the sauce reaches desired consistency
Enjoy in any pasta or lasagna recipe!

How do you resolve to feel in 2013?

Happy New Year! I wanted to start the first blog post of 2013 with new year's resolutions. But just today, I was reminded that most resolutions do not work because they evoke negative feelings like guilt and shame. Experience and science tell us that it's a collosal waste of time to start the year with a resolution to lose 10lbs.

Instead of asking "what do you want to do this year?", let's ask ourselves "how do you want to feel?"  Experience tells us that we all want to feel joy, pleasure, and freedom! And studies show that we are motivated by pleasure. When rephrasing your new year's resolutions from actions to feelings, you may then decide to make lifestyle choices that are in line with those feeling. In practical terms you may resolve to feel stronger, energetic and more fit. To maximize these feelings you might make healthier dietary choices, go to sleep earlier, increase physical activity, and establish a relationship with a wholistic healthcare provider. 

So how do you resolve to feel in 2013?