Honest Food?

Recently I watched the documentary Food, Inc.  Although I knew much of what the content would be I was still disturbed at how our animals our treated.  The four major food manufacturers control much of the market and small farmers have been manipulated and pushed out.  This is not honest food.

Many of you know I believe in organic whole real foods and how what you eat affects your health.  I also believe in the importance of protein at each meal since it increases satiation and evens out your blood sugars.

I do recommend but am always a bit reluctant to advocate grass-fed meat due to the cost and availability.  However, after watching this movie I changed my mind.  What our animals are consuming is of utmost importance.  The majority of our cows eat are raised in factories on inorganic corn versus how they were born to be raised on farms eating grass.  This increases our risk of weight gain, high blood pressure, heart disease, diabetes and food borne illnesses.

Eating Organic is Not Enough

Most organic poultry and eggs sold in stores are still raised eating soy and corn.  Chicken were made to eat grass, insects, and other plants.  You can purchase “pastured” chicken and eggs but it is challenging.  They are only available at a few places in my area – farmer’s markets besides one or two other small stores.

The government has made it almost close to impossible to eat in a healthy manner and take care of your health.

There is no easy answer to eating honestly and healthfully.  As much as possible:

• Buy your produce from local famer’s markets and other services that offer local organic produce
• Eat grass-fed meat and pastured chicken and eggs from your farmer’s market or order online from farms
• Eat organic and grass-fed dairy

Although not easy, choosing a few of the above ways to eat can create a shift in the balance of your body towards health.  If we start to change the way we eat I wonder if our food manufacturers will see that honest food is what Americans want.

Do you really know What To Eat?

Are you putting off having a nutrition consult?  A few times a day someone will say to me:  “I know what to eat, but I just don’t do it.”  Do we really know the how’s of eating – how to balance our meals, grocery shop, cook a meal and figure out a plan for how to a put it all together for our individual needs?

Over the past 20 years our food supply and diets have changed in dramatic ways.  Things are not as simple as they used to be.  There are many layers to how we eat, things to know about what goes into food, how it’s grown, fed or raised.  These details are difficult to decipher unless you are reading multiple studies and researching food a good part of the week, besides having the education to comprehend these studies.

The biochemistry of food is still the same but what we know about how food affects our health has changed. Whether our animals are fed grass or corn, how our crops are grown with or without hormones, pesticides, etc. does affect our chemistry.  Multiple ingredients and fake sweeteners in our “foods” have produced products that are not in our favor.

People go to lawyers, attorneys, doctors, counselors and trainers since they realize they require the expertise these professions require.  At the same time it is curious to me how so many individuals think they know nutrition from reading a newsletter, or an article in the paper.

Find a Registered Dietitian who goes to multiple conferences and keeps up on the research.  Bring a log of a few days of what you are eating, a copy of your most recent blood work, and bottles of any medications or supplements you are taking.  Think about your goals and needs ahead of time to get the most out of your appointment.

An hour and a half of your time could be all you need to set your eating plan on course in a nutritious direction.   Re-balancing your nutrients and some shifts here and there could make all the difference in your energy, your weight and most of all your health and happiness.

You might find yourself saying after your appointment: “I thought I knew what to eat, but after our session I realize I did not have the knowledge or tools, and now I really do know what to eat.”

Ode to Peanut Butter!

Peanut butter is my all time favorite food so I thought it appropriate to start my first blog with peanut butter talk. Many think of peanut butter as the usual kind in the grocery store, but many natural peanut butters or other nut butters now exist which taste amazing and have a much better flavor and consistency than in times past.

Peanut butter is a great snack to have on apples, bananas, or celery in the afternoon or evening. I think it gives you feeling you have had something decadent and healthy at the same time. Natural nut butters are packed with monounsaturated fat, which is the healthy fat that decreases incidence of heart disease by increasing your HDL or happy cholesterol. HDL is the cholesterol level you want to be high since it gets rids the body of bad cholesterol!

Two of my current favorite peanut butters are "Cream-Nut" which is a natural peanut butter by Koeze Company, a family run business in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Several of the Whole Foods in West Los Angeles sell this brand but you can also find it online.

My other current favorite peanut butter is a new one available at Trader Joe's called "Valencia Peanut Butter with Roasted Flaxseeds." The flaxseeds make it like you are eating a great peanut butter with toffee bits in it. Trader Joe's also sells a natural cashew nut butter and a cashew macadamian nut butter. One of my clients calls the cashew nut butter "dessert on a stick."

So the new blog is now launched. Stay tuned for postings on my favorite new foods products and the most recent studies on food and health. Feel free to ask questions on topics that are of interest to you.

Bon Appetit!