I still have patients tell me they’re avoiding egg yolks because of the amount of cholesterol and the danger of heart disease. This is unfortunate, because egg yolks are very nutritious, and there is little evidence of any correlation between eggs and heart disease. A just released study has debunked the “eggs and cardiovascular risk” myth once again. The unbiased non-egg industry authors conclude: “Higher consumption of eggs (up to one egg per day) is not associated with increased risk of coronary heart disease or stroke.”
The fact is that eating cholesterol does little to increase the level of cholesterol in your system; saturated fats are a more likely culprit. But both cholesterol and saturated fats are necessary in the diet. Every cell in the body is made up of cholesterol and phospholipids — both abundant in egg yolk — as well as saturated fat, which keeps the cell from collapsing in on itself.
When I use MRT blood test for food sensitivity testing sometimes it can be non-food items that are causing symptoms. If the patient does not experience significant improvement in health after the first week of the MRT/LEAP diet then I instruct the patient to check ingredients in cosmetics, toothpaste, soap, and skin cream. It may be a hard concept to grasp, but sensitivities and allergies can be triggered via transdermal (through skin) route as one doesn’t necessarily have to ingest something to trigger an immune response. A recent interesting Japanese study demonstrates this point very well.
Besides acupuncture one of the big components of my practice is food hypersensitivities which can cause a myriad of symptoms that then drive up our health care costs because doctors are treating the symptoms with medication rather than the identifying the cause. Food hypersensitivities are caused by immune system dysregulation where there is an inappropriate response to foods we eat that then in turn cause an inflammatory response. This inflammatory response is the root of almost all modern diseases and ‘syndromes’.
There is unequivocal evidence that the genetically modified foods that are in our food supply are contributing to the increase in inflammatory diseases we see today. This is especially true of intestinal diseases, asthma, allergies, and likely contributes in some way to the autism spectrum of diseases. I will go out on a stretch and say I wouldn’t be surprised that in 10 or 15 years we find that all these new tick vector diseases and widespread insect diseases are in part because of the GMO crops that lay out in fields for animals,birds and insects to eat causing mutant genes to be expressed.
Jeffrey Smith the direction of the Institute for Responsible Technology has made a stellar film about GMOs. It is available free for the next week. Please take an hour to view it. GMOs in our food supply must be stopped.
There was an insightful interview on NPR’s “Here and Now” regarding the corruption within the USDA organic standards. Before the government took over labeling of the organic standards there was no big business involved. It was only small farmers who held the spirit of the organic food movement. Some states had their own labeling. But now that the USDA is involved and big box stores are selling organics, not because they believe organic food is good for you, but in the name of profit, the ‘organic’ standard has become green washed.
Since Valentine’s Day is upon us it is a good time to bring up chocolate and the moral consequences that goes along with purchasing the majority of chocolate we find on the shelves. Certainly chocolate has a plethora of benefits as can easily be found in research studies. These are often because of the powerful plant chemicals known as polyphenols which are made by the plant to protect itself, however us humans can ingest polyphenols for nutritional benefit. A truly polyphenol rich dessert would be a dark chocolate with Shiraz red wine which will warm and protect your heart.
Yesterday I watched a phenomenal webinar on the effects of food chemicals and child behavior. It was entitled “Driven to Distraction: Food, chemicals and child behavior” and hosted by an organization that is worth knowing, Healthy Food Action. The webinar was recorded and they promise to have it up soon, once they do I’ll post a link.
Today a video with a similar theme was posted on a Functional Medicine listserv I am on. If you want to see digestion of wholesome foods vs. processed foods you need to check out this video. Amazing how long long those Ramen noodles are intact in the stomach. I guess we can also just use a compost bin to compare processed vs. whole instead of expensive technology.
I specialize in food sensitivities where certain foods and chemicals are tested for a loss of oral tolerance (a fancy way of saying food sensitivity). I’ve seen certain chemicals cause headaches in people. Today I had a patient that determined by a methodical food challenge/washout process that she can eat a non-organic apple only if it is washed very well, otherwise she will get a headache. Although not certain we can assume it is the pesticide residues on the skin of the unwashed apple as many people are reactive to chemicals. (and do not realize it!)
When buying olive oil I often wondered how there could be so many brands at such different prices. If you go into Whole Foods the unit price cost per gallon can vary dramatically. Trader Joe’s sells its ‘organic extra-virgin’ olive oil quite inexpensively. In addition, one can see distinct color variations between oils in clear bottles. What does this difference mean in terms of phytonutrients, taste and integrity? Read the rest of this entry
For so many years when people tell me they use honey in their tea or other foods I always question to make sure it isn’t honey from a plastic squeezable bear. I am surprised how many people use inexpensive ‘honey’ from a standard grocery. You get what you pay for.
There is a great new article from the Food Safety Network entitled “Tests Show Most Store Honey Isn’t Honey”. Please read it to learn about what was found in store bought honey. The results aren’t sweet.
Interesting how chocolate is often associated with ‘love’ and ‘heart’ given its known benefit on the cardiovascular system . A review study just presented in Paris – a city that is renowned for its love of food and chocolate – showed that individuals who ate the most chocolate had a 37% lower risk of cardiovascular disease and a 29% lower risk of stroke compared with individuals who ate the least amount of chocolate.Read the rest of this entry
I still have patients tell me they’re avoiding egg yolks because of the amount of cholesterol and the danger of heart disease. This is unfortunate, because egg yolks are very nutritious, and there is little evidence of any correlation between eggs and heart disease. A just released study has debunked the “eggs and cardiovascular risk” myth once again. The unbiased non-egg industry authors conclude: “Higher consumption of eggs (up to one egg per day) is not associated with increased risk of coronary heart disease or stroke.”
Besides acupuncture one of the big components of my practice is 
