CHOLESTEROL REPAIRS BRAIN TISSUE

I don't know all the details involved in why damaged tissue responds so well to cholesterol, but the findings so far are extremely interesting.  My one concern is that if someone begins consuming large amounts or larger amounts of certain kinds of cholesterol, will that produce kidney stones or gallstones? Therein lies at least one caveat.  But it does seem to be the case that a high intake of cholesterol foods is excellent for repairing the brain and other tissue. When we think of the brain, it's important to remember the layers of tissue, the substructure so to speak of the net of neurons and dendrites.  For these to have a place to implant themselves, the brain tissue not only has to be intact but it has to have the necessary building blocks for the nerves, brain tissue, dendrites, myelin sheath, and so forth.  One report on Alzheimer's brain repair says

Cholesterol acts to interlock 'lipid molecules,' which stabilize cell membranes," writes Shane Ellison, M.S., in his book Health Myths Exposed.  "Cholesterol is a vital building block for all bodily tissues.  Lowering such a vital molecule is absurdity.  To illustrate, imagine that your house represents your body and the nails holding it together cholesterol.  Now start pulling each and every nail out of  the houes.  What happens?  The house turns to a pile of rubble.  The same is true for the human body." 

Again, my biggest problem with popular health and nutrition literature is its literacy and wording to the point of absurdity and meaninglessness.  When the above writer offers the analogy of "imagine that your house represents your body and the nails holding it together cholesterol," that is such a terrible analogy because nails don't contain any biological chemistry that interacts with the cells, fluids, or hormones.  It only seems to have the effect of reducing the importance of cholesterol.  It doesn't inspire; it only redirects and diverts meaningful results and conclusions.  It's only when he ends his point by saying "The same is true for the human body" that leaves me only shaking my head.  I've never read such a bad analogy.  I mean that was absolutely bush league, 3rd-grade stuff.  Terrible.  "The same is true for the human body"?  Aside from the appalling lack of high school vocabulary, the logic is missing.  Disappointing.  

Lots of questions.  One, which food that is high in cholesterol should one consume?  Any food high in cholesterol?  Doubtful about that.  Shrimp is high in cholesterol.  Seafood in general has a fortifying effect.  Is this why?  Perhaps.  A nice halibut or salmon fillet will fix people right up.  But is this all?  Or does a person need another supplement with it, say, like Vitamin C or Vitamin B? Do these nutrients exist in some small quantity in a piece of fish, say, from the plankton?  Anyway, cholesterol is necessary, perhaps even vital for tissue repair.  So if you're into contact sports or your son is, be sure to feed him fish.  Regularly.  So that his muscles and organs repair in good fashion.  

So, we know that cholesterol is important for health and strength. Knowing this, how can anyone be on a steady prescription of statins that breaks down cholesterol and the tissues that it supports? 

What this all means for statin drugs, which mainstream medicine has ridiculously dubbed 'miracle drugs,' is that their cholesterol inhibiting properties can cause serious health problems down the road.  By interfering with the liver's natural function of producing cholesterol, statin drugs can actually strip the body of much-needed cholesterol, and cause serious nervous system and cognitive damage.  

CHOLESTEROL & STRUCTURAL INTEGRITY

You would expect the folks at Weston A. Price to defend the use of cholesterol in the repair of the brain or any other tissue in the body. And so they do; in this case, Natasha Campbell-McBride points to the role of structural integrity that cholesterol plays in your body,

First of all, saturated fats and cholesterol make the membranes of the cells firm—without them the cells would become flabby and fluid. If we humans didn’t have cholesterol and saturated fats in the membranes of our cells, we would look like giant worms or slugs. And we are not talking about a few molecules of cholesterol here and there. In many cells, almost half of the cell membrane is made from cholesterol. Different kinds of cells in the body need different amounts of cholesterol, depending on their function and purpose. If the cell is part of a protective barrier, it will have a lot of cholesterol in it to make it strong, sturdy and resistant to any invasion. If a cell or an organelle inside the cell needs to be soft and fluid, it will have less cholesterol in its structure.

This ability of cholesterol and saturated fats to firm up and reinforce the tissues in the body is used by our blood vessels, particularly those that have to withstand the high pressure and turbulence of the blood flow. These are usually large or medium arteries in places where they divide or bend. The flow of blood pounding through these arteries forces them to incorporate a layer of cholesterol and saturated fat in the membranes, which makes it stronger, tougher and more rigid. These layers of cholesterol and fat are called fatty streaks. They are completely normal and form in all of us, starting from birth and sometimes even before we are born. Various indigenous populations around the world, who never suffer from heart disease, have plenty of fatty streaks in their blood vessels in old and young, including children. Fatty streaks are not indicative of the disease called atherosclerosis.  

A couple of good points here.  One, "Different kinds of cells in the body need different amounts of cholesterol, depending on their function and purpose."  That's important.  It's an important defense against the more sweeping "cholesterol is bad for you arguments" that we are used to hearing.  Two, it makes us aware that different organs and tissues in our body use cholesterol differently and in different amounts.  So don't worry about cholesterol.  In fact, cholesterol should be thought of as your friend.  The other point I liked was that cholesterol and saturated fats . . . firm up and reinforce . . . tissues in the body."  That bodes well for repair, don't you think? 

MYELIN: VITAL BRAIN MATTER?

Fascinating stuff. 

One of the most abundant materials in the brain and the rest of our nervous system is a fatty substance called myelin. Myelin coats every nerve cell and every nerve fiber like the insulating cover around electric wires. Apart from insulation, it provides nourishment and protection for every tiny structure in our brain and the rest of the nervous system. People who start losing their myelin develop a condition called multiple sclerosis. Well, 20 percent of myelin is cholesterol. If you start interfering with the body’s ability to produce cholesterol, you put the very structure of the brain and the rest of the nervous system under threat.

The synthesis of myelin in the brain is tightly connected with the synthesis of cholesterol. In my clinical experience, foods with high cholesterol and high animal fat content are an essential medicine for a person with multiple sclerosis. One of the most wonderful abilities we humans are blessed with is the ability to remember things—our human memory. How do we form memories? By our brain cells establishing connections with each other, called synapses. The more healthy synapses a person’s brain can make, the more mentally able and intelligent that person is. Scientists have discovered that synapse formation is almost entirely dependent on cholesterol, which is produced by the brain cells in a form called apolipoprotein E. Without the presence of this factor we cannot form synapses, and hence we would not be able to learn or remember anything. Memory loss is one of the side effects of cholesterol-lowering drugs.

In my clinic, I see growing numbers of people with memory loss who have been taking cholesterol- lowering pills. Dr Duane Graveline, MD, former NASA scientist and astronaut, suffered such memory loss while taking his cholesterol pill. He managed to save his memory by stopping the pill and eating lots of cholesterol-rich foods. Since then he has described his experience in his book, Lipitor: Thief of Memory, Statin Drugs and the Misguided War on Cholesterol. Dietary cholesterol in fresh eggs and other cholesterol-rich foods has been shown in scientific trials to improve memory in the elderly. In my clinical experience, any person with memory loss or learning problems needs to have plenty of these foods every single day in order to recover.

Finding the right foods, and by right I mean healthy foods, that are also high in cholesterol can be a challenge.  I just searched online and the sites that show up early in a Google search were mixed, combining all foods that are high in cholesterol whether good or bad.  For example, I saw chocolate chip cookies and baked muffins in the same article on foods high in cholesterol with beef liver and shellfish, both of which are good for you if your goal is tissue repair.  Not all high-cholesterol foods are created equal.  It also had hamburgers, macaroni and cheese, and fried chicken.  Well, there are benefits and detriments to each food.  I would stay away from the fried chicken, especially commercially fried chicken like Kentucky, Church's, Popeye's, and others.  Chicken fried at home not so bad.  Chicken is good.  You get meat that comes with its own bones.  The nutrients in the bones are good.  Think homemade chicken soup.  

FOODS HIGH IN CHOLESTEROL
1.  Eggs.
2.  Shrimp.
3.  Raw Cow's Butter.
4. 

Functions of Cholesterol

Cholesterol is the mortar used to fortify cell membranes. It provides the stiffness and stability they need to work.

Our hormones are made from cholesterol. Estrogen, testosterone and a host of other hormones necessary for function are produced from cholesterol. Corticosteroids, the hormones that protect the body from stress and protect the functioning of the immune system, are made from cholesterol.

The brain and nervous system depend upon cholesterol for both the creation of neurotransmitters like serotonin and dopamine and their ability to attach to receptors.

Cholesterol is necessary to produce vitamin D–low levels of which have been linked to depression and heart disease.

Bile salts, necessary for the breakdown of carbohydrates, fats, and protein, are created with cholesterol.

Cholesterol helps maintain the intestinal wall, protecting the body from inflammation and exaggerated immune response.

Mother’s breast milk is 60% cholesterol. It is necessary for the development of the infant’s brain and nervous system. Recommendations to limit fat and cholesterol in the diets of young children resulted in increased infant mortality.

Cholesterol is the cavalry of the immune system. When damage and inflammation occur in blood vessels, cholesterol rushes to the site to make repairs and protect membranes. Cholesterol acts as an antioxidant to protect cells and tissue from free radical damage.

Onions:  "quercetin absorption from onions is double that [of] tea and three times that [of] apples."

I have eaten garlic medicinally.  What that means is that whenever I feel sick or anxiety I take a clove of garlic at bed.  I crush the clove so garlic's chemicals can be released and made easier for absorbtion.  The result is spectacular.  My blood vessels get dilated, and the benefits are more energy.  Love it.  And the following day I feel sturdier.  

But sometimes the garlic can work adversely on my stomach.  Still, I know that garlic and other root vegetables or onions, allium vegetables, are good for the heart.  Least that's what I've heard and read.  My dad once told me that he eats onions "because they're good for the heart."  In fact, he used to make his own sandwiches and always add a wedge of onion and a few peppers to it and take that to work. Don't know how he got around the smell at work.  Funny. Remember, too, how on long vacation drives he would wrap up sandwiches and always, always I'd find a wedge of onion wrapped in the tin foil in which he kept his sandwich. So he knew. This is not news.  Just an important reminder. Eat your onions.  Eat them raw. 

A little side note on onions: 

Onions have been cultivated for thousands of years and originated in the Near East and Central Asia. They were grown not only for use in cooking, but for their antiseptic qualities. In Egypt, onions were used in mummification. The most familiar allium is the common, or bulb, onion of the species Allium cepa, which may have a yellow, white, red, or purple skin. While onions may be fresh, they are most commonly purchased dried. Fresh, also called “sweet”, onions have a milder taste. Dry, also called “storage,” onions, have a stronger flavor. Dry onions have thick, paper-like skins. The vast majority of onions purchased at the supermarket are yellow storage onions. Pungent yellow onions are the best “keepers” and are great additions to soups and stews, while red onions are very sweet, but a poor choice for long-term storage. Red onions are good sliced and eaten raw in salads or sandwiches, or for topping a veggie burger. Common mild onions include Bermuda and Spanish varieties. Pearl onions -- which are most often white -- are the tiniest of the bulb onions, and are the top choice for boiling or pickling.  

WHY ARE ONIONS GOOD FOR YOU?

In a word, quercetin.  Quercetin is a flavonoid, chemicals that give the fruit or vegetable its flavor.  Onions are also a disease-fighting food.  Dr. Joseph Mercola explains that 

Quercetin is a powerful antioxidant with anti-inflammatory properties that may help fight chronic diseases like heart disease and cancer.  In lab studies, quercetin was shown to prevent histamine release (histaminese are the chemicals that cause allergic reactions.  This makes quercetin-rich foods like onions "natural anti-histamines."  

I knew that apples and onions contained quercetin; I just didn't know the extent of quercetin's benefits.  I mean almost since the term anti-oxidants gained traction in the public discourse, that seems that that's all we hear about.  But anti-oxidants are not created equal, nor do they function equally. 

Mercola adds that 

While apples and tea also contain quercetin, onions appear to be a particularly good source.  Research from Wageningen Agricultural University in the Netherlands showed quercetin absorption from onions is double that from tea and three times that from apples.

Research from the University also showed consuming onions leads to increased quercetin concentrations in the blood.  As reported by The World's Healthiest Foods

". . . On an ounce-for-ounce basis, onions rank in the top of commonly eaten vegetables in their quercetin content.  The flavonoid content of onions can vary widely, depending on the exact variety and growing conditions.

Although the average onion is likely to contain less than 100 milligrams of quercetin per 3-1/2 ounces, some onions do provide this amount.  

And while 100 milligrams may not sound like a lot, in the United States, moderate vegetable eaters average only twice this amount for all flavonoids (not just quercetin) from all vegetables per day." 

ONIONS or QUERCETIN SUPPLEMENTS?

Mercola answers this question too.  In the context of concentration, it is hard to beat food remedies.  

Quercetin is available in supplement form, but there are a couple of reasons why getting this flavonoid from onions makes more sense.  

*  One animal study found that animals received greater protection against oxidative stress when they consumed yellow onion in their diet as opposed to consuming quercetin extracts.  

*  Quercetin is not degraded by low-heat cooking, such as simmering.  When preparing a soup with onions, the quercetin will be transferred into the brother of the soup, making onion soup an easy-to-make superfood.  

Good to know.  

I started eating more onions, raw, to address some digestion discomfort.  Turns out that onions are really good for the colon.

Organosulfur compounds [in onions] such as diallyl disulfide (DDS), S-allylcysteine (SAC), and S-methylcysteine (SMC) have been shown to inhibit colon and renal carcinogenesis.  

That has to sit well with almost every reader even those who don't like onions.  

Onions contain sulfur, too, as you know.  And Mercola explains its benefits when you consume onions.  

The sulfur compounds in onions, for instance, are thought to have anti-clotting properties as well as help to lower cholesterol and triglycerides.  The allium and allyl disulphide in onions have also been found to decrease blood vessel stiffness by releasing nitric oxide.  

I have first-hand experience with that.  He adds that . . .  

This may reduce blood pressure (always a good thing, no?) inhibit platelet clot formation and help decrease the risk of coronary artery disease, peripheral vascular diseases and stroke. [Amazing!]  The quercetin in onions is also beneficial, offering both anti-oxidant and anti-inflammatory properties that may boost heart health.  

All I can say is wow.

Isolation Is Not Good for You. So Make a Friend. Or Reconnect With an Old Friend.  Serve.

Being socially isolated is just as bad for your stress levels as smoking researchers claim.  (Photo by Bethany Clarke/Getty Images)

by Paul Gallagher

Having a small social network is as bad for your health as smoking, according to a new study. Researchers from Yale University showed that a person’s position in the social network is associated with blood markers of stress. They discovered that the more people who would call you a friend the lower the levels of fibrinogen, a predictor of heart attack and stroke, in your blood. However, reeling off a long list of those we consider friends does not have the same effect. The number of friends and relatives named by an individual, reflecting the perceived social network, is only weakly related to fibrinogen levels. The association between social isolation and fibrinogen is comparable to the effect of smoking, and greater than that of low education, a conventional measure of socioeconomic disadvantage, the scientists said. What matters is how others see us, not how we see them. Biggest health risks Ischaemic heart disease, also known as coronary heart disease, and stroke are the biggest health risks of social isolation and thes conditions are also the two leading causes of death worldwide.  

Keep reading . . .   You will have to be your own judge on this.  I do know that not knowing anybody hurts.  I know that being homeless or the feeling of homelessness is stressful.  No doubt.  But if you're tied into people, even on the periphery or even online helps.  We often overestimate the number and the quality of our friendships and as do our friends do about us.  And then there is production.  What about production?  We have to produce and create things of value in order to feel, well, valuable and to have a meaningful life.  And, of course, what people can do is up to them.  I drove a truck and ran deliveries with sometimes 50 to 100 miles between stops in the mountain towns of Colorado. That drive can be lonely.  Sitting for long periods with my legs bent at the knees for an hour or more can be stressful.  In fact, it was stressful.  It is why I left that position for more mobile work.  Yet, the folks in the mountain towns relied on me.  They needed their equipment, particularly if they ordered it before the snow storm and could only have it delivered weeks after the storm ended.  

"It's going to be real bad."

According to Wenzel, "It's going to be real bad. Note: These calculations were done by Charles Gaba before Aetna dropped out of 536 markets. Thus, these projections underestimate the premium increases."

This will not end well.  The above figures are the 2017 increases in Obamacare rates according to those respective states.

California rate will be going up 13.2%.
Oregon's rate will be going up 26%.
Texas going up 53.7%.  That's insane.
Washington up 13.5%.
Illinois going up 23 to 45%.  Crazy.
Tennessee is going up 27%.
Florida up 17.7%.
New York up 17.3%.
Maine up 22.8%.
These make the national inflation rate of 1% neglible.

(Sources: Steve Hanke, Zero Hedge, Charles Gaba)

This should put the issue into perspective as well as the rewards from each. I knowingly ordered farm-raised salmon from a local store a few years back and got horribly sick. There are folks out there who continue to dismiss the difference. The little things make huge differences. Don't make a mistake on the little things; they may come back to bite you.

Farmed Salmon is FULL of Antibiotics and Mercury, Here’s How to Tell If Your Salmon is Safe https://t.co/ELPe3cDs34 pic.twitter.com/ExzUlMHhNS

— Dave Asprey (@bulletproofexec) August 16, 2016

Dave Asprey, Creator of BulletProof Coffee (Fantastic Product!) Interviews Dr. Barry Sears, Creator of the Zone Diet

This is a long interview. It's good but it's long. Polyphenols are master sculptures of the gut.
Well, this point was interesting.  Asprey asks which is better--eating 2 pounds of green leafy vegetables or eating high fat meals?
Polyphenols in berries are more water soluble and so find their way into your blood stream better. Green leafy vegetables have less water solubility.  Sounds like they are better used for insoluble fiber than for their polyphenol effect.  The conundrum is that berries have a higher sugar content, so you can't eat a bunch.  Sears argues for concentrates extracted without the sugar content and without the inefficient solubility into your blood stream.  He is essentially recommending his products.

Alberto Viejo recommneds high amounts of polyphenols so your stress

Polyphenol has a half-life.  Their half life is measured in hours. The genes you're activating.  
The green coffee polyphenol are rich in polyphenols but very bitter. They have to be cooked and the polyphenols are released.  In nutrition, nobody's wrong, but often they're not completely right.

You need . . .
Adequate amount of protein [i.e., amino acids] in a day.
Adequate amounts of essential fats. 
Adequate levels of polyphenols.  Essential to manage inflammation.

So you have to have adequate amounts in the right balance to maintain insulin in a zone.  

The fat will have no effect on insulin. Medium-chain triglycerides developed at Harvard Medical School back in the 80s were used for treating burn victims?  Water soluble.  Enter into the blood stream through the portal vein, go directly to the liver and metabolized there on the spot and wipe out stores of glycogen.  Get ketosis very quickly.  Can no longer maintain blood sugar levels for the brain.  

The brain is the only organ that can use energy.  Wow!  Never heard that before.  

Central nutrients Get them all together with the least amount of calories but with the best hormonal response.  Food affects hormones and the expression of our genes.  It's really gene therapy in our kitchen.

Start-ups using time and money to say that it tastes good.

FDA has made it clear: you can make drug-like claims if they're supported by good, clinical research.  Rat studies from China is not "good, clinical research."  You've got to use people.  

Foods and drugs have therapeutic zones, above which the food/drug is toxic, below which the food/drug is ineffective.

Sears claims that the Zone Diet book was really written for cardiologists. 

It's an inflammation management diet, not a weight control diet, althought it will control your weight.  

Excessive Omega 6 from soy and cheese.  I love cheese!  Is this my problem?  

Essential fatty acids are essential because they control powerful hormones in our bodies, called eicosanoids.  Eicosanoids are 

prostaglandins and related compounds.  Most are produced from arachidonic acid, a 20-carbon polyunsaturated fatty acid (5, 8,11, 14-eicosatetraaenoic acid.  The eicosanoids are considered "local hormones."  They have specific effects on target cells close to their site of formation.

A balance creates a nice homeostasis.  Our ability to produce Omega 6 fatty acids is monumental.  Every disease state is the result of Omega 6: obesity, diabetes, Alzheimer, cancer, etc.  When increase the levels of insulin we get an explosion of inflammation. We were ground zero with Omega 6 fatty acids.  Italian children are the fatest in Europe.  

People developed a fat trap, where the calories get into your fat cells and being trapped in your fat cells and not being released to make energy, like ATP.  Gaining weight while starving!!  Signicant change in their metabolism.  Constantly starving of energy. 

Fat cells are our swiss bank account.  Fat Trap caused by significant inflammation.  Not enough ATP, you either slow down or make more calories.  

Metabolism: converting calories into energy.  If you're not hungry 5 hours after your meal, it means you've rectified your metabolism. 

            

Water: Weight Loss in a Bottle?

Scientists might have identified the region of the brain that makes us stop eatinghttps://t.co/9paozQ91gl

— Business Insider (@businessinsider) August 9, 2016

My favorite bottled waters are Arrowhead Spring Water and Arrowhead Filtered Water.

The other bottled water is Mountain Valley Spring Water.

For reasons of vitality, spring water is always preferred to sparkling water.

You really want to restrict any form of white bread from your diet.  If you like sandwiches, that's not an easy task.  If you like pasta in all of its forms, ditto, not an easy task.  And the reason is that white bread is so chewy,  And though it's tastelss it doesn't matter because it tends to absorb all of the delicious sauces and mustards that we put on pasta or sandwiches.  One of my favorite sandwiches is a pastrami sandwich.  Love the fatty meat.  Love the mustard.  Love the pickles.  And love how the white bread of the sandwich bun interacts with the juices of the meat and the mustard to create this exquisite toasty, spongy texture.  It is to die for.  But I hope not.  It shouldn't be this good--so good so as to die for.  Nothing should be. One of my favorite snacks was a sourdough role and lots and lots of raw butter.  It's Heaven.  And it beat hands down any kind of pastry or cake or ice cream.  I was after the fat, and the bread let was the perfect canvas for that cuisine.

Same thing with pasta.  Ooh, it's good!  Imagine it: butter, pesto, garlic, Romano or Parmasean cheese.  De-lish.  Or how about a tasty sausage, tomato with wine and mushroom sauce.  Aww. You're killin' me with these options.   And maybe that is what it is: the white bread allows us to build some deliciously home-made meals.  It is the definition of comfort food.

But at what price?  There is always a cost?  LiveStrong defines what white bread is and why it's bad:

White bread -- the ubiquitous soft and fluffy slices still favored by many -- looks delicious but has little substance. Most hamburger buns, French and Italian bread, Kaiser rolls, bagels and pizza crust are also white bread and none of them are good for you. White bread is low in essential nutrients, and may have an adverse effect on your health.

 The fact that the food has "little substance" can't be good for the different organ systems involved in processing food, like your digestive system, your liver, spleen, kidneys, etc.  So the Kaiser roll with its seeds, yeah, no, it's not going to help you.  It will make you and your organ systems tired.  Some might "Ah, once in a while won't hurt."  Maybe.  But what does once in a while look like before it becomes a once in a while lifestyle?  Also, white is low in essential nutrients.  The benefit to eating nutrient dense foods is that you tend to eat less of them. 

REFINED GRAINSA refined grain is created when a whole grain is finely ground and stripped of its bran and germ, the elements that contain fiber, vitamins and minerals. White bread is made from refined grains, which are low in magnesium, zinc, vitamin E, fiber and essential fatty acids. Even though some manufacturers add vitamins back in, natural whole grains are still a superior choice.  

Refined grains are denuded food.  But grains in general will produce inflammation.  The LiveStrong article does try to persuade you to consider whole grains, but I have my doubts.  Bread lacks fiber.  It's bulk but it's not fiber that helps you digest other foods.

HIGH GLYCEMIC INDEXThe glycemic index is a measurement of how quickly and how much a food affects your blood sugar and insulin levels compared with pure glucose. White bread has a high glycemic index because it's made from refined grains that are rapidly absorbed during digestion, causing sharp spikes in blood sugar and insulin levels. A diet that includes a lot of white bread and other high-glycemic foods -- like sweets, candy, desserts and white potatoes -- increases your risk for weight gain, type 2 diabetes and heart disease, according to the Harvard School of Public Health.

Stay Healthy, My Friends

A city in California is fending off Zika by releasing 40,000 mosquitos every week: https://t.co/kfrkF4ziHj pic.twitter.com/8sKoKdpXAW

— WIRED (@WIRED) August 6, 2016

Clovis is located near Fresno. Oh, boy.

"Activists have targeted “ugly produce” in

their efforts to reduce food waste."

Why supermarkets want to sell you ugly fruits and vegetables https://t.co/VWhqLCc57M

— MarketWatch (@MarketWatch) August 6, 2016

A startup that wants to provide better in-home care for seniors just raised $42 million https://t.co/e0qASXOxQY pic.twitter.com/2mi2KwiF8K

— Business Insider (@businessinsider) August 5, 2016

Here's what 4 top Olympians eat to fuel up for the games https://t.co/ZxLIBF7Lcq pic.twitter.com/A3XF1mpmew

— Business Insider (@businessinsider) August 6, 2016

"Bread Will Make You Dead"

from ChristBeatCancer

“You are what you eat, drink, breathe, think, say and do.”
-Patricia Bragg

“Patricia – Love you so much! Your Apple Cider Vinegar is my Secret of ALL Secrets!”
-Katy Perry

Dr. Patricia Bragg ND, PhD is the head of Bragg Live Food Products, one of my FAVORITE organic brands, founded by the legendary health pioneer Paul Bragg, whose 100+ year impact on the health of millions of people is mind-boggling. I consume at least one of the following Bragg products at every meal:

–Bragg Apple Cider Vinegar
–Bragg Sprinkle
–Bragg Sea Kelp Delight
–Bragg Nutritional Yeast

Lifelong health crusader and nutritionist to the stars, Dr. Patricia Bragg is a 5 ft tall GIANT in the health and wellness world. She has never smoked cigarettes, drank alcohol or coffee, taken an aspirin, had a vaccine, or worn a bra. She’s in her 80’s, with perfect vision and perfect teeth, and still travels all over the world.

Patricia is sweet, funny and brilliant, and this interview is chock full of life and health wisdom, and some fascinating celebrity stories. Enjoy!

Listen to the podcast on iTunes

Listen to the podcast on Stitcher

Or watch it right here!

When Steve Jobs called [1:20]

The Bragg Healthy Lifestyle [4:15]

“Taking a nap in the middle of the day gives you two days in one.” [6:15]

Clint Eastwood [11:00]

How Bragg mentored J.I. Rodale the founder of Rodale Publishing, Organic Gardening Magazine, Prevention, Men’s Health, Runner’s World, and many more. [11:40]

How Paul Bragg changd Jack LaLane’s life. [14:00]

How Jack Lalane influenced me [19:00]

“When you take charge of your own life—physically, mentally spirtually emotionally—you become your own captain and you direct your life to be fulfilled—healthy, happy and doing what you love to do.” [21:00]

Apple Cider Vinegar [21:30]

The exercise she’s used to keep her breasts perky her whole life  [26:48]

The 100 year legacy of Bragg Food Products [28:00]

How she eats when she travels [31:00]

Bill Gates and Vaccines [35:00]

On going barefoot [35:45]

Conrad Hilton [36:30]

Proper toilet posture [39:15]

Her advice to cancer patients [42:00]

Katy Perry [45:00]

The state of American health [47:30]

The best way to deliver a baby [49:00]

You can find all of Bragg’s products on amazon

Recommended Reading 
The Miracle of Fasting
Apple Cider Vinegar: Miracle Health System

CRIMINAL: Whole Foods and the Hole in the Truth

Whole Foods' style is standard corporate drivel.  Think Cargill.  Think Monsanto. Think Union Carbide. Think DOW Chemical. Think Coca-Cola. Whole Foods is knee-deep in Big Agra politics and human poisoning. Their landing page reminds me of that corporate chemical company in Michael Clayton, U-North. 

Generally when a phrase, sentence or word is not personal but pontificating, like this one penned by Rachael Gruver, "Canola oil has been the subject of much misinformation over the years, and we'd like to set the record straight" it's clear that she is trying to manage and massage opinion rather than providing her audience or Whole Foods' custsomers with specific answers.  Instead, she's a bagman for the corporate foods company.  

Rachael Gruver

I have no doubt that Rachael Gruver and folks like her would love to set the record straight, by which she means to silence any opposition to the use of and quel controversy over canola oil. She would love it if her opinion, in so far as she is an authoritative representative for Whole Foods, be the final, definitive word on the safety of Canola oil.  If the health benefits of Canola oil are so blatantly obvious, then why does she need to go to such trouble to defend Canola oil?  How often do we hear or read any writer on nutrition setting the record straight on olive oil?  So in their attempts to clear the murky waters surrounding Canola Oil, which they are not--it's already a proven toxic that destroys heart tissue--Whole Foods doubles its efforts to muddy the waters.  Whole Foods does this to get people to eat their prepared and higly toxic foods.  Health be damned!!  Are the profit margins so high on the prepared foods that Whole Foods insists upon a corporate policy of poisoning you to eat their junk just to make a few extra nickels?    
       At their website, Whole Foods claims that adverse health affects from Canola oil are a myth.

Myth: Canola oil is associated with health problems like… mad cow disease?

We’ve heard from customers who’ve read that canola oil is associated with everything from mad cow disease to glaucoma, but the fact is, none of the purported side effects associated with eating canola oil that we’ve heard about from customers have ever been reported in medical journals. 

That is the first accusation I've heard made to mad cow disease.  I've heard that Canola Oil destroys heart tissue.  Destroying heart tissue, I would say, is a little more serious than mad cow disease.  Perhaps a larger myth that needs to be dispelled is that Canola Oil is good for you.  It's not: the junk is poison.  It's just that it is so profitable.  It's worse than even I had thought.  Writing at the Weston A. Price Foundation, Sally Fallon and Mary J. Enig explain that

Canola oil is "widely recognized as the healthiest salad and cooking oil available to consumers."  It was developed through hybridization of rape seed.  Rape seed oil is toxic because it contains significant amounts of poisonous substance called erucic acid.  Canola oil contains trace amounts of erucic acid and its unique fatty acid profile, rich in oleic acid and low in saturated fats, makes it particularly beneficial for the prevention of heart disease.  It also contains significant amounts of omega-3 fatty acids, also know to have health benefits."  

This is what the food industry says about canola oil.  

Oh, about the erucic acid, read this: 

Unfortunately, about two-thirds of the mono-unsaturated fatty acids in rapeseed oil are erucic acid, a 22-carbon monounsaturated fatty acid that had been associated with Keshan's disease, characterized by fibrotic lesions of the heart.  

And yet Ms. Gruver would have you and me, well, us, believe that there is absolutely nothing wrong with Canola Oil.  I am just glad that she is our advocate on healthy eating and life-sustaining food choices.  Thank you, Ms. Gruver!

Corporate food manufacturers go to great effort to hide from you the risks of their food.  I once wrote a bacon company to ask if they used corn in their feed for their hogs.  And I got a reply, which in and of itself surprised me, that stated "If I told you I'd have to kill you."  Aren't these folks just crazy with the jokes?  But the Fallon and Enig article initially anyway says that Canola oil contains mustard gas.

Canola oil is a poisonous substance, an industrial oil that does not belong in the body.  It contains "the infamous chemical warfare agent mustard gas," hemagglutinins and toxic cyanide-containing glycocides; it causes mad cow disease (there it is), blindness, nervous disorders, clumping of blood cells and depression of the immune system.  This is what detractor say about canola oil.  

They don't identify the detractors.  

How is the consumer to sort out the conflicting claims about canola oil? Is Canola Oil a dream come true or deadly poison? And why has canola captured so large a share of the oils used in processed foods?  Certainly Whole Foods puts Canola Oil in almost every prepared dish.  And when they tell you it is not in the dish, they're lying.  

Recently I ordered a take-home serving of a kale salad from Whole Foods' Deli section.  I asked the Deli clerk, "What kind of oil does the salad have?"  

His answer was, "Olive oil."  And it does contain olive oil, extra virgin olive oil.  Olive oil is the number one oil in the dish, but it also contains Canola Oil, but the Deli chef deliberately omitted this fact.  He lied.  They don't care if you get sick.  In the usual corporate not-accountable game, you will be blamed; that or some other item you consumed as long as it wasn't anything that you bought at Whole Foods.  

You can see the ingredients above, but I'll write them out here too:
Ingredietns: Tomator, Lacinato Dino Kale, Lemon Juice, Extra Virgin Olive Oil, Dried Cranberries (Cranberry, Apple Juice Concentrate, Sunflower oil), Non-GMO Expeller-Pressed Canola Oil, Pine Nutys, Sea Salt, Black Pepper. 042115  So the Whole Foods Deli clerk lied to me when he restricted his answer to Olive oil only.  And the Non-GMO Expeller-Pressed Canola Oil is a registered trademark.  Note how the description uses capital letters the way you do with proper nouns.  Compare it to "Sunflower oil."  Why isn't the "o" in Sunflower oil capitalized? 

I mean you don't have to search too far for too long to find out how bad Canola oil is.  The challenging part is to find decisive and definitive articles that report and prove that Canola oil destroys heart muscle, instead of ambiguous phrases like "A monosaturated oil, rapeseed oil has high levels of erucic acid.  Erucic acid is a fatty acid that is associated with heart damage, specicifically Heshan's Disease, a disease that manifests itself with fibrotic lesions of the heart."  I mean how convincing can one be when using phrases like "associated with heart damage"?    

All the top ranked articles on a Google search shout to the heavens how bad Canola oil is and yet Whole Foods hires a blogger to defend the oil and its uses in its prepared foods. Huh.  So just in the course of, say, forty-five minutes I've been able to find horrific destruction caused by Canola oil that Ms. Gruver seemed to overlook as professional blogger at corporate Whole Foods.  So lets review the harm that I found:

1)  Contains a known poison of mustard gas.
2)  Contains erucic acid that has been associated with Keshan's disease, a selenium deficiency and characterized by fibrotic lesions of the heart. Huh.  How 'bout that: fibrotic lesions in heart muscle.  Did Ms. Gruver miss these perchance?  Why, O, why, Ms. Gruver would you over look this destruction of heart muscle caused by your precious Canola Oil?
3)  Mad-cow Disease.
4)  Glaucoma. 

Then this from Organic Lifestyle Magazine:
DAMAGED CAUSED BY CANOLA OIL
1.  Canola oil depletes Vitamin E. 
2.  Canola oil increases the rigidity of cell membranes, which can trigger degenerative diseases.  
3.  Becaused of Canola Oil's high sulfur content, it goes rancid easily, which can exacerbate allergies and compound problems for people with bronchial or asthmatic issues. 
4.  Human studies reveal Canola Oil causes an increase of lung cancers. 
5.  Canola Oil can shorten lifespan of animals and lower platelet count.
6.  Daily Canola consumption can raise your triglycerides over 40%.
7.  Canola Oil molds quickly and also inhibits enzyme function.  
8.  It opens the door for free radicals, undermining natural antioxidants, and can be linked to increased incidence of many diseases.
9.  Canola Oil leaves no foul taste when it's spoiled, so it's hard to tell if you're eating rancid erucic acid.
10.  Then there's always the perennial threat of consuming a rancid oil.

In your body oxidized means damage to your cells and tissues, especially to the areas rich in fat like your brain.  You know what happens when an apple is exposed to air?  Oxideation is the process that turns it brown and makes it go bad.  If you eat vegetable oils that are already oxidized from heat and light in processing, you are exposing your own healthy tissues to a volatile substance which will damage them . . . .  Oxidation, or rancidity, is not a major contributor to most degenerative diseases, it also causes inflammation.  Excess inflammation in the body can cause anything from arthritis to more serious diseases such as Parkinson's, bipolar moodes, schizophrenia, and obsessive compulsie disorders.  (source)

Aren't these conditions and diseases lovely?  How did Ms. Gluver overlook these terrible conditions and diseases?

The history and context for Canola Oil's rise to prominence in the health food sector is compelling.

Canola oil began to appear in the recipes cutting edge health books, such as those by Andrew Weil and Barry Sears.  The technique was to extol the virtues of the Mediterranean diet and olive oil in the text, and then call for "olive oil or canola oil" in the recipes.  One informant in the publishing industry told us that since the mid-1990s, major publishers would not accept cookbooks unless they included canola in the recipes.  

In 1997, Harper Collins engaged Dr. Artemis Simopoulos to write a cookbook featureing the heatlth benefits of omega-3 fatty acids.  Dr. Simopoulos was a pediatrician who had served for nine years as chair of the Nutritional Coordinating Committee of the National Institutes of Health before becoming president of the Center for Genetics, Nutrition and Health.  She had published several papers on omega-3 gatty acids, calling attention to their disappearance from the food supply due to the industrialization of agriculture.  Her most famous paper, published in 1992 in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, compared omega-3 levels in supermarket eggs from hens raised on corn with eggs from hens allowed to roam and eat a more varied diet.  The more natural eggs contained twenty times more omega-3 than supermarket eggs.  

Did you read that?  Twenty times more omega-3 than supermarket eggs!!!  That, my friends, is what has happened to our food supply.  It has officially been denuded.  But we're feeding millions more.  Aren't we lucky?

But perhaps myself along with other researches are overstating the hazards.  Maybe the hazards haven't been proven.  But then how do you explain the sickness, the mild nauasea, the bloating?  

DANGERS OVERSTATED?

Reports on the dangers of rapeseed oil are rampant on the internet, mostly stemming from an article titled "Blindness, Mad Cow Disease and Canola Oil," by John Thomas, which appeared in Perceptions Magazine, March/April 1996.  Some of the claims are ludicrous.  Although rapeseed is a member of the brassica or mustard family, it is not the source of mustard gas used in chemical warfare.  

Glycosides or glycosinolates (compounds that produce sugards on hydrolysis) are found in most members of the brassica family, including broccoli, kale, cabbage and mustard greens.  They contain sulfur (Not arsenic), which is what gives mustard and cruciferous vegetables their pungetn flavor.  These compounds are goitrogenic and must be neutralized by cooking or fermentation.  As rapeseed meal was high in glycosides, it could not be used in large amounts for animal feeding. However, plant breeders have been able to breed out the glycosides as well as the erucic acid from canola oil.  The result is a low-glycoside meal that can be used as an animal feed.  In fact, canola meal for animal feed is an important Canadian export.

Hemaggulutinins, substances that promote blood clotting and depress growth, are found in the protein portion of the seed, although taces may show up in the oil.  And canola oil was not the cause of the mad cow epidemic in Britain, although feeding of canola oil may make cattle more susceptible to certain diseases.  

Like all fats and oils, rapeseed oil has industrial uses.  It can be used as an insecticide, a lubricant, a fuel and in soap, synthetic rubber and ink.  Like flax oil and walnut oil, it can be used to make varnish.  Traditional fats like coconut oil, olive oil, and tallow also have industrial uses, but that does not make them dangerous for human consumption. 

We have had reports of allergies to canola, and internet articles describe a variety of symptoms--tremors, shaking, palsy, lack of coordination, slurred speech, memory problems, blurred , vision, problems with urination, numbness and tingling in the extremities, and heart arrhythmias--that cleared up on discontinuance of canola.  None of this has been reported in the medical journals, however.  Writing for the Washington Post, Professor Robert L. Wolke chastises the publishers of these reports as spreading "hysterical urban legends about bizarre diseases."  The industry actually profits from such wild claism, because they are wrong and easily dismissed.

Nevertheless, consumers do have reason to be cautious about the establishment's favorite oil, now showing up in an increasing number of products.  

It is everywhere.  It's in all of the packaged mixed nut combinations at Trader Joe's, Sprouts, and, of course, Whole Foods.  Further, Wolke's criticism of "the publishers of these reports spreading hysterical urban legends about bizarre diseases" is itself bogus.  First, syndromes and symptoms like "tremors, shaking, palsy, lack of coordination, slurred speech, memory problems, blurred , vision, problems with urination, numbness and tingling in the extremities, and heart arrhythmias" are not from bizarre--far from it.  Second, and to call these publishers and their symptoms as hysterical should be a huge, red communist flag alerting you to the professional dismissal or the profession dis.  He's pulling credentials and hoping that his statements stick.  The fact that the very conditions mentioned improve once the oil is discontinued, does that not give any reader a hint as to what is causing the sysmptojms that he so easily and readily dismissed out of hand and tagging them as bizarre and the publishers as hysterical?  It's just so dishonest.  And I am surprised that Farrell and Enig are signing off on this guy's criticism.  That's disappointing.  

And then there are the testimonials.  

H. Sim writes:
I am one of the people who was rushed to an emergency room with symptoms of a stroke or overdose. I had consumed Atlantic salmon cooked in canola oil with salt & pepper. I was slurring and my blood pressure dropped; I passed out after vomiting. The emergency doctor wanted to order an MRI, but I was certain I wasn’t having a stroke, as there was no pain or confusion associated. Thankfully, my husband could understand me through my slurring (no one else could). We skipped the MRI, and blood tests confirmed for the doctor what I already knew: I hadn’t overdosed nor consumed a drug that would cause this. My husband was able to convince the doctor to give me treatment for food allergy (Benadryl, IV steroids, and epinephrine). Within several minutes I was feeling better and the slurring went away. I followed up with an allergist who tested for everything I’d consumed except canola oil (they don’t have allergy tests for canola, so of course it can’t be written in medical journals) and I tested with no allergies. However, each time I’ve been inadvertently exposed to canola oil, it’s happened again, only now I can feel the symptoms come on and take Benadryl before I become seriously ill. I must admit, it’s incredibly frustrating to read about this reaction being “a myth” since it’s not in medical journals. I dare say there are many illnesses not yet written about in medical journals. Assuming the illness to be a myth because it isn’t in a journal is probably the chief reason it isn’t in a journal.

David Seal writes:

My problem with Canola oil is that even small quantities causes low level nausea, night-time stomach upset, excess gas, and chronic diarrhea. Elimination of this oil from my diet (nearly impossible to do completely, it’s in almost every processed food now), has cleared these symptoms for over a year now. My body either finds it no more digestible than mineral oil, or the hidden toxins rife in the product from nature or processing simply disagree with my biochemistry. Either way, if I inadvertent consume some of this Canola Oil, the symptoms rapidly return and last for days. I really wish the food manufactures would come out with lines of products similar to the “gluten free” labels: like “Canola Free” or “No Rapeseed Oil Used”. Restaurants will not tell you, they will just say they use “vegetable oil.”

This oil is deadly.  Stay away from it.  I won't ask you to stay away from Whole Foods.  That is your decision.  Plus, there are things there that people benefit from I am sure.  Plus I don't telling people to ban things.