Safe and Eco-friendly Cookware

While observing the weekly family dinner prep and execution in my mother in law’s kitchen, I learned that in order to make the perfect meal, I not only need perfect (read local, seasonal, better than USDA organic) ingredients I also need the right equipment.

Since moving to LA, my kitchen armamentarium has definitely expanded - I am a proud owner of swiss peelers and serrated knives. No more peeling potatoes with a knife a la Minsk for me or slip-sliding tomatoes a la Trumbull on the cutting board. The right tools make vegetable prep easy peasy!

But the category of tools I really want to talk about is cookware. While most cooks enjoy working with cast iron and enameled (Creuset type) cast iron pots and pans, I refuse to buy cookware that I can’t easily lift from the cupboard with one hand. Cast iron is great for many reasons - it heats and cooks beautifully, it doesn’t leach toxic chemicals, it’s time tested, it is stove top and oven safe, it can even help your iron deficiency anemia. But in my kitchen cast iron doesn’t pass the “can I lift this empty pot or pan with one hand” test.

Let’s talk about cast iron alternatives! You already know that stainless steel is a safe cookware choice. That leaves three lesser known but adored by me cookware alternatives: stone, ceramic and clay.( I know that none of you would consider baking with toxic teflon, acidifying aluminum or non-biodegradable silicone. ) Since I am still on the lookout for the perfect stone pot, I will discuss my favorite clay and ceramic cookware.
La Chamba
I love Columbian clay La Chamba brand cookware. These traditional casseroles, pots and pans are hand made, light to lift and easy to clean, can be used on the stove top or in the oven, do not leach toxic chemicals, and distribute heat so well that soups and stews simply don’t taste as good when cooked sans clay pots.

Natural Elements
I am also enamored with Natural Elements ceramic muffin pans. Unlike their non-stick or aluminum counterparts, ceramic cupcake pans do not leach toxic chemicals and are easier to clean than stainless steel. I use them for bakingand for freezing individualized portions of risotto or polenta.

Le Flame
Recently I came across Danish Le Flame brand ceramics. These pots are super light and durable, chip and crack resistant, can be used on the stove top, in the oven or in the broiler, do not react with food and do not leach chemicals into food.

What are your go to eco-friendly and safe cookware choices?

Stay tune for next week’s review of my new ice cube trays!

The Story of Cosmetics

The Story of Cosmetics

Annie Leonard of the Story of Stuff: How Our Obsession with Stuff is Trashing the Planet, Our Communities and Our Health has made a new video called the Story of Cosmetics. This is a must watch for everyone!

Allergies be gone! morning smoothie recipe

Ingredients:

Anti-inflammatory antioxidants:

•

• 1 cup of frozen organic berries (blueberries, blackberries, raspberries, cherries, currants, cranberries and strawberries)
• 2000 mg of vitamin C powder

Fluid to keep mucus membranes and tissues hydrated:

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• 1 cup of unsweetened almond milk, rice milk, coconut or hazelnut milk or water

Source of anti-inflammatory easily digestible protein:

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• 1-2 tablespoons or scoops protein powder (undenatured whey, rice or hemp)

Essential fatty acids to educate the body’s immune system to be more tolerant and less reactive:

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• 1-2 Tbsp of fish, cod liver or flax oil
• 2 teaspoons ground flax seeds
• 1 tablespoon almond, pumpkin seed, cashew, or sunflower seed butter
• 1/4 -1/2 of an avocado

Source of minerals, and trace elements:

•

• 1 teaspoon spirulina, powdered greens or chlorella

Directions:

Blend until smooth adjusting nut milk as needed

Enjoy every morning before, during and after allergies season

Neither paper nor plastic!

Two Californian cities, San Francisco and Malibu, have completely banned plastic grocery bags of which only 5% are reused. Some other cities are considering similar measures, while the CA legislature is reviewing bill AB 1998, which would ban all carry out plastic bags and make only paper bags available at grocery stores. Opponents of the bill argue that paper bags are much worse for the environment than plastic bags because manufacturing and distributing paper bags releases three times the greenhouse gases of plastic bags.

Both the "ban plastic" and "ban paper" contingencies make compelling arguments for doing away with carry out one-time use bags. Which leaves us with the only logical solution - ban paper and plastic to make way for reusable cloth bags!

My husband took this picture at Balboa Park aka Sepulveda flood basin on a Sunday morning after heavy rains ... the white specs hanging on tree branches are plastic bags .... this is where they end up after the basin floods. I hope this picture will give you the impetus to dig up or DIY some reusible canvas bags to carry out your groceries!

Elections

Today is June 8th - CA statewide direct primary election!

As I was poking holes in the primaries ballot at the nearly empty polling station, I thought about elections as a means for reform. Specifically, I questioned my ballot number (which was number 4) and why, despite high level of dissatisfaction with the current state of things in CA, don't more of us get out to vote? I did not find a satisfactory answer.

But my internal dialog turned to everyday voting, the kind that is done with dollar bills and takes place every time we choose to walk in lieu of driving, go hiking in lieu of watching TV, and buy better-than-organic pesticide-free local produce at the neighborhood farmer's market. We do not need an annual election day to vote for reform. On a daily basis everyone of us makes a choice or votes for a policy when we open our wallets.

So next time you take out and swipe your card, make your vote count and choose reform! Choose policies that benefit your family's health and the planet by voting with dollars for organizations and producers who are committed to making safest products and providing health-enhancing services!

Solid versus liquid

Next time you find yourselves in the personal care isle of your healthfood store, consider buying a solid bar of soap in lieu of liquid body wash.

If you are already using solid soap, you probably already know that a lot less packaging goes into wrapping a bar or a two-pack of bar soap than bottling a liquid bath gel or body wash. And we all know that less packaging = happier planet.

But did you know that solid personal care items may also be healthier for you? A solid bar of soap has no water and, therefore, doesn't need toxic preservatives to guard its freshness and extend its shelf-life the way liquid soap does.

My Alma mater - University of Bridgeport!

A Different View of Vinyl

Last month, I began talking about environmental pollution and how in nature everything is connected (when we harm the environment, we harm our health). Let's go further by talking about indoor air pollution. Potential home owners are warned to check a home that they are considering buying for indoor pollutants such as mold, asbestos, and radon. However, as soon as the house is closed on, the new owners may unknowingly introduce new indoor pollutants. Because most Americans spent about 90% of their time indoors - indoor pollutants present a big health risk.

The topic of today's post is indoor air pollution or off-gassing created by polyvinyl chloride (PVC) found in vinyl shower curtains and mattress covers. If you who are not familiar with the term off-gassing, think back to the day you bought a new see-through shower curtain or a shower curtain liner and hung it up. The strong plastic smell is the off-gassing of polyvinyl chloride (PVC). These particles are neurotoxins and endocrine disruptors. Moreover, when vinyl is manufactured and destroyed, dioxins (chemicals that cause reproductive problems, cancer, and birth defects) are released into the air. Judith Helfand's documentary Blue Vinyl is a good examination of the toxic effects of PVCs used in production of vinyl siding, shower curtains and toys.

If you are in the market for a new shower curtain, consider these alternatives to the smelly vinyl version:

• Hemp
• Cotton
• Polyester

After some research and price comparison, I picked up a basic washable polyester shower curtain. It has been over a year and this curtain looks as good as new. I wash it every few weeks in the washing machine and let dry on the line in the sun. No water soaks through and there is no evidence of water/soap build up.

Has anyone used a hemp or a cotton shower curtain?

Fluoride

A while back a I received a question about the fluoride content of toothpaste. As a doctor and a consumer, my first concern is the safety of the product in question. When choosing toothpaste, I usually go with a fluoride-free version.

Why fluoride-free?

Research shows that fluoride strengthens the tooth enamel and helps to prevent dental cavities. However, in comparison to the health risks fluoride poses in all other areas of the body, cavity prevention is a minor benefit. Cavities are caused by sugar ingestion, which softens the enamel and allows for greater bacterial invasion into the tooth. Cavity prevention strategies should take dietary choices and mouth milieu into account. In other words, cavities are not a result of a fluoride deficiency in the body, but of a high-sugar diet and a loss of protective bacteria in the mouth.

Wholism is one of the basic principles of naturopathic medicine. If I examined the effects of fluoride on the tooth, and overlooked all the other body parts, I may agree with proponents of water fluoridation. However, when we examine the research on the effects of fluoride on the whole body, fluoridation looks risky. Fluoride has many adverse effects on the body including lower thyroid function and increased risk of bone fractures.

What should you do?

• Because some people never develop cavities, while others find themselves regularly in the dentist's chair, talk to your wholistic dentist about the best toothpaste choice for you.
• Familiarize yourselves with information for and against the use of fluoride (see links below).

More resources on fluoride:

The Fluoride Deception

FluorideAlert.org

American Dental Association

• Brush and floss your teeth regularly, after every meal and before bed.
• Eat a whole foods diet; eliminate sugar, juice, and soft drinks.

A review of research on an ordinary supermarket mushroom

Exotic mushrooms such as shitaki, maitaki, and cordyceps have long been known to have medicinal properties, ranging from immune system activation to cancer prevention. However, I was surprised to learn that an ordinary supermarket mushroom has been been shown to prevent cancer.

White button mushroom (Agaricus bisporus) was a subject of several studies by Dr Schiuan Chen at Beckman Research Institute at the City of Hope Cancer Center in Duarte, CA. Dr Chen's laboratory showed that white button mushroom contains cancer-preventing constituent called conjugated linoleic acid (CLA). CLA blocks estrogen production in the body, the hormone that feeds the growth of breast cancer cells.

Dr Chen's team estimated that 100 grams, or less than 4oz, of white button mushroom daily would help to prevent cancer.

Let your food be your medicine! I am off to make mushroom soup! How are you planning on incorporating mushrooms into your daily diet?

{this is a chicken on the woods mushroom as photographed on our last mushroom foraging trip to Temescal Canyon}

{this is an unidentified mushroom found in Temescal Canyon}

{California poppies, Temescal Canyon}

Adams LS, Phung S, Wu X, Ki L, Chen S.White button mushroom (Agaricus bisporus) exhibits antiproliferative and proapoptotic properties and inhibits prostate tumor growth in athymic mice.Nutr Cancer. 2008;60(6):744-56.

Chen S, Oh SR, Phung S, Hur G, Ye JJ, Kwok SL, Shrode GE, Belury M, Adams LS, Williams D.Anti-aromatase activity of phytochemicals in white button mushrooms (Agaricus bisporus).Cancer Res. 2006 Dec 15;66(24):12026-34.

Review of research on exercise and fitness

Everyone knows that exercise is good for you. We've been told that by our teachers, parents, magazines, and the media. In this post, I would like to take a look at what science and research has to tell us. 

Research shows that exercise has been proven over and over again to improve alertness, attention and motivation. Aerobic exercise, like jogging, biking and swimming, has been shown to increase neurotransmitters, improve communication between brain cells and spur the developement of new brain cells. Does anyone know of any drug that can spur the developement of new brain cells? I sure don't. Anaerobic skill-based exercise like, tennis, basketball and dancing, improves synaptic connections in parts of the brain. Once improved, these connections can be recruited by other areas of the brain for thinking. This explains why children that play piano have an easier time learning math. 

What we are not hearing from our teachers, parents, magazines and the media is that exercise improves learning and brain function by growing new brain cells and improving communication between existing brain cells. Why not? There is no financial gains to be made from exercise, the way there would be from a drug.

In addition, exercise:

o

• Lowers heart disease risk
• Reduces blood pressure
• Increases strength of ligaments and tendons
• Reduces stress and helps relieve depression
• Improves sleep
• Reduces risk of cancer (colon, prostate and breast)
• Enhances physical appearance
• Improves self esteem
• Strengthens bones, reducing risk of osteoporosis
• Increases energy
  

I am off to Runyon Canyon to build new brain cells! What are you doing today to improve your brain function???