"Fasting is a challenge to your brain."

Love this quote, "Humans live on one-quarter of what they eat.  On the other three quarters live their doctor." 
 Dr. Mark Mattson above explains the benefits not only to your overall health but also to brain health of fasting.  Huh.  Who would have thought?

In almost all things established in politics, economics, history, and whatnot, what I love most is questioning conventional wisdom.  This presentation does just that.  

The presentation begins by questioning the conventional wisdom of eating three meals plus one or two snacks a day.  One, who set this regimen?  And two, who benefits financially?  To answer the second question I would think that the food industry benefits, no?  I mean wouldn't it get people addicted to, well, food, all kinds of food from snacks to cereals to fruits even vegetables?  And even if one is not addicted to the foods, they can easily be keyed into the oversold benefits of different kinds of foods and be thinking about food, about getting to the grocery store, about preparing and cooking their next meal which if done three times a day including snacks is only minutes away.  

Why is it that the normal diet is three meals a day plus snacks? It isn’t that it’s the healthiest eating pattern, now that’s my opinion but I think there is a lot of evidence to support that.  There are a lot of pressures to have that eating pattern, there’s a lot of money involved. The food industry—are they going to make money from skipping breakfast like I did today? No, they’re going to lose money. If people fast, the food industry loses money.  What about the pharmaceutical industries? What if people do some intermittent fasting, exercise periodically and are very healthy, is the pharmaceutical industry going to make any money on healthy people?  

That should be an eye-opener.  Do you really need those three meals plus snacks?  Hmm.  Maybe.  I know that Barry Sears' Zone Diet recommends three meals, light but functional meals mind you (and who also understands calorie restrictions--hence, the smaller sized meals), plus two snacks in his diet.  I should I know.  I studied it and followed it religiously until all the benefits, at least for me, plateaued.  But I still observe many aspects of his Zone Diet.  I still try to keep my hormones in balance with a low protein profile, a higher healthy fat content, and vegetable enzymes to break proteins down and enhance digestion. 

One of the key points that Dr. Mattson makes above is that "fasting twice a week could significantly lower the risk of developing both Parkinson’s   and Alzheimer’s disease."  Okay, this should stand out as news to anyone, I mean anyone concerned about their long-term health. I wonder if one of the reasons that people who are very ill or injured tend to eat less or don't want to eat at all.  And folks who are healthier tell them, "Well, you've got to eat."  Ah, no, I don't. 

The benefits of fasting to the brain are impressive.

Fasting does good things for the brain, and this is evident by all of the beneficial neurochemical changes that happen in the brain when we fast. It also improves cognitive function, increases neurotrophic factors, increases stress resistance, and reduces inflammation.

Fasting is a challenge to your brain, and your brain responds to that challenge by adapting stress response pathways which help your brain cope with stress and risk for disease. The same changes that occur in the brain during fasting mimic the changes that occur with regular exercise. They both increase the production of protein in the brain (neurotrophic factors), which in turn promotes the growth of neurons, the connection between neurons, and the strength of synapses.

Challenges to your brain, whether it’s intermittent fasting [or] vigorous exercise . . . is cognitive challenges. When this happens neuro-circuits are activated, levels of neurotrophic factors increase, that promotes the growth of neurons [and] the formation and strengthening of synapses. . . .

Fasting can also stimulate the production of new nerve cells from stem cells in the hippocampus. He also mentions ketones (an energy source for neurons), and how fasting stimulates the production of ketones and that it may also increase the number of mitochondria in neurons. Fasting also increases the number of mitochondria in nerve cells; this comes as a result of the neurons adapting to the stress of fasting (by producing more mitochondria).

By increasing the number of mitochondria in the neurons, the ability for nerons to form and maintain the connections between each other also increases, thereby improving learning and memory ability.

Intermittent fasting enhances the ability of nerve cells to repair DNA.  

Remarkable. 

Think about what this means.  You eat less you'll do better following an illness and injury.  Eat less.  A lot less.  And when you do eat, eat functional foods.  Think bone broth for recovery.  

Mattson refers to Upton Sinclair's essay, called The Fasting Cure.  Give a read.

Our Food Supply Is Controlled by Chemical Giants

A class-action lawsuit for false advertising has been filed against Quaker Oats after traces of the pesticide glyphosate were found in samples of oatmeal.The complaint is not that the levels were thought to be dangerous, but that the company was not telling the truth when it labeled the product as 100% natural. Glyphosate is the active ingredient in Monsanto’s weed-killer, Roundup. Plaintiffs are seeking refunds and asking PepsiCo (Quaker’s parent company) either to reformulate the product or disclose the presence of glyphosate in it. Eater 2016 May 2 

Here is the full story.  

"80% of beef in America is controlled by only 4 companies"

John Moody is back on the Tom Woods Podcast, where he talks about the "Wholesome Meat Act of 1967."  Government destroys both the means and the end. 

What follows are my notes from the show, from John Moody and Tom Woods.  Enjoy.

3:15  Just last week 2.5 million pounds of poultry were recalled because of what the FDA called "extraneous contamination," meaning that when you bite your chicken nuggets [or some other chicken product], you get bits of plastic or rock. 

Statistics show that it has made our food supply less safe.

Why would the food be not safe?  Food system used to work and look, and legislation distorted the food system and how it works.  Cows used to be butchered at 10,000 locations and be fed a lot less grain.  Meat in America used to be a highly diversified and competitive industry.  When you see all these different labels and different products

Now we have it where 80% of all meat in the US is controlled by 3 to 5 companies.  With this consolidation of control, you have consolidation of processing. 

The meat you have in the hamburger you ordered at a local restaurant comes from the beef of tens of thousands of cows that have been all ground together, whereas in the old days we had 10,000 different locations that used to butcher the beef.  Today we have only a few. 

If there was one sick cow or one sick employee or one improperly sanitized step in that process, with all of these commingled cows, you now get the multi-million-pound food meat recalls.  Only way people could keep up with meat regulations and additional costs they created was by consolidating to keep up.  And the consolidation made the meat supply less and less safe.  It's astoundingly sad to see an action how badly this legislation turned out for the American people and the American farmer.

Meat wasn't unsafe before the wholesome meat act.  It was driven by the fictional writing by Upton Sinclair.  He had in his sites labor and not so much the meat industry.  If these foods meat and raw milk were so unsafe, none of us would have ever gotten here.  We're indoctrinated into believing that before the government got involved in these industries, these industries were killing people left and right. 

If we want a safe meat industry . . . , no such thing in a no-risk option, it would be a decentralized meat system, where animals are not being commingled, where you're not putting 3000 chickens an hour through a multi-step chlorine bath from chickens that have been raised in their own fecal matter. 

A few years ago, ConsumerReports did a study where they sampled poultry right off the shelf for its safety.  USDA Inspected, FDA Approved.  The CR results were terrifying.  3/4 of the chickens tested positive for pathogenic bacteria and over half tested positive for strains that are antibiotic resistant. 

Woods, "this helps to account for the increasing interest of getting all foods from local farms."   It is illegal for farmers to choose where they have their animals butchered because of the Wholesome Meat Act, 1967.  Some states for instance, one farmer lives right along the state line, he has to take his animals all the way to the

Custom slaughterhouse.  He took two cows to be butchered.  Took two weeks to pick them up when they're all done--they need to be hung and aged.  the packaging said "Not for Sale."  Because the meat was butchered at a custom slaughterhouse.  It magically becomes unsafe when

Who is the beneficiary in all of this? 

The processing cartels and the larger players in the meat industry.  80% of beef in America is controlled by only 4 companies.  They enjoy cost advantages and economies of scale over small farmers that would not exist if local farmers were allowed to sell directly to the consumer.  He can give the meat away, have friends over to eat that meat at this house, eat himself, but once he tries to sell it it becomes unsafe and he would be a criminal.  Enjoy massive subsidization because of the Farm Bill. 

Cans of Coca Cola are cheaper than carrots. 

The Federal Government recently approved American raised chicken can be killed in America and frozen, then shipped to China, unfrozen there and processed, then refrozen and shipped back to the United States, and allowed to be labeled "Raised in America."  You as a consumer will not know it is Chinese processed chicken.  The feds will allow the chicken to be labeled "Grown in America" or "Raised in America."   

You as a consumer will not know.  Cheaper for a chicken to cross the road to China and back than it is for a chicken to come from a local farm. 

WHAT COULD THE MOTIVATION BE BEHIND THIS FEDERAL ACT? 

To create trouble for small business owners. Temporary inspector was so bad, that a few employees quit in tears.  How does this affect the big players?  They're having 3,000 chickens an hour going through the process line.  How much control is the inspector exerting on the large farms?

Only when undercover whistle blowers have recorded abuses by the Federal food inspectors.   If the animal is 30 months or older, that animal must be condemned.  This is for animals with the best cuts of meats.  Smaller and local farmers don't use grain.  It takes longer.  Here's a regulation that tilts in favor companies he's competing against.  If the inspector decides that the animal is older than 30 months, the small farmer can lose all those good cuts of lucrative meat.  Those Chinese chickens receive literally billions of dollars per year in government subsidization before they go to China through the perverse incentives of grain subsidization.  See Denis Minger's, Death by Food Pyramid.  No section of the economy that has been as tampered with as food and farming.  So you have these massive grain subsidies that prop up the feeding of animals who aren't designed to eat grain feeding them grain.  Then you have these regulatory frameworks that favor massive consolidation as the only way to comply with these huge costs of these regulatory structures for the butchers.  And every step of the way, small farmer can't externalize his cost onto others.  As a small farmer, manure is an economic benefit, not an economic liability.  CAFO's, Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations, have manure lagoons that contaminate ground water, causing the collapse of aquifers all over the country and externalizing all of these environmental costs onto their communities in terms of gobbling up all of the groundwater, contaminating ground water supplies, odor issues, other noxious issues.  His friends in Indiana where the farmers can't go outside their homes because the smell of the manure is so bad and the government protects this pollution.  Property rights are being denied to them because of big agra businesses.  Subsidization to the Agricultural giants.  "Beef: it's what's for dinner."  Industry trade groups?  No.  Quasi governmental trade group that the supreme court ruled can force all farmers to contribute to them.  They're called "Check-offs."  The Supreme Court said these check-off programs can force all farmers in the nation to contribute money to them even if you don't agree with them, even if you don't want to support them.  They're basically a government mandated cartel.  The Supreme Court treats it as a tax.  These programs are shielded from FOIA requests.  Because the check-off programs are using the money they're extracting from all farmers to basically lobby against and hurt others who are forced to contribute to them. 

WHAT IS THE PRIME ACT?  WHAT WOULD THIS DO AND WHAT'S DESIRABLE ABOUT IT? 

The Prime Act would be the first rollback to federal meat inspection in history.  Called the Prime Act.  Would allow individual states to opt out of the requirement for USDA Inspection for by-the-cut meat butchering sales.  If he were trying to sell ground beef from a cow he butchered, he would become a criminal.  So his meat would have to go to a USDA meat-inspected facility.  If that were to pass, it would allow farmers to sell meat from custom slaughterhouses.  It's a bill.  Not law yet.  Done fairly well in the house.  Thomas Massie introduced the bill.  Found sponsors and co-sponsors in the Senate.  It would have traction because people on both sides see this bill as being a win.  For Republicans, it's a limited-government bill.  On democrat side, it's local government. 

His site is a 501C4, Not for Profit.  It advocates for a truly free food system to protect consumers and producers and access to food with no government regulation and regulations.  Taking away the ability of government to be taken away from corporations.  Wants people to have the ability to opt out of the regulated food system.  Engage in lobbying, litigation, and education.  1960, 10,000 to 20,000 of butchering options to now less than 3,000.  Went from a beef industry with thousands of players and businesses to a beef industry of four.  None of this would have ever happened had the government not stacked the deck to eliminate competition to encourage and create consolidation.  Woods shows how government inhibits competition. 

FOODS THAT REMEDY A LEAKY GUT

I thought that this was a pretty thoughtful article explaining how to repair a leaky gut.  The article is penned by Dr. Josh Axe.

He points to probiotics and bone broth, two of my favorite foods.  He begins by defining what a leaky gut is:

Leaky gut syndrome is a condition also referred to as increased intestinal permeability where the “net” in your digestive tract gets damaged which allows proteins (like gluten), bad bacteria, and undigested particles to pass into your blood stream.
These particles cause systemic inflammation and an immune reaction over time.

Where does a leaky gut begin?

The leaky gut disorder begins in a very important organ your small intestine. The small intestine is vitally important because the majority of the vitamins and minerals in the foods you eat are absorbed there.

In order for these nutrients to be absorbed, the small intestine contains very small openings so the nutrients can be transferred into the bloodstream. Once transferred, the nutrients are then shuttled and deposited all around the body by the blood.

But isn't the intestinal wall already a little permeable so that food can pass through it into the bloodstream?  Yes, it is.

The wall of the intestine is considered a semi-permeable. This means the pores (junctions) only allow certain things to enter the bloodstream and block other things from entering the bloodstream.

For instance, specific molecules and nutrients are allowed to pass through but toxins and large undigested food particles are blocked.

That last bit is a word of good news.

The first symptom I would presume of a leaky gut would be inflammation. But where?  I've experienced inflammation the lower legs and hip.

With leaky gut, your pores can continue to widen (like getting a larger hole torn in your net).  And as this happens, the undigested foods particles that are supposed to be kept out pass through into your bloodstream and then circulate throughout the body.  This causes systemic inflammation and leads to an immune reaction.

This doesn't sound too good:

Often times then your body will begin to recognize certain foods as toxic and will facilitate an immune reaction whenever you eat the food.  If this problem continues, leaky gut can then progress to autoimmune disease.

Some of the initial symptoms of leaky gut can include food allergies, skin issues like acne and eczema, digestive issues like bloating, gas and IBS.

In order to repair leaky gut you must make specific diet changes and look to leaky gut syndrome natural cures.

FOODS THAT REMEDY A LEAKY GUT

Here is a list of foods on the leaky gut diet. These foods support healing because they are easy to digest and can help repair the lining of the intestines.

Bone broth – Bone broth (made from scratch) provides important amino acids and minerals including proline, glycine and potassium that can help heal leaky gut and improve mineral deficiencies.

Raw cultured dairy – Probiotic rich foods like kefir, amasai and yogurt can help heal the gut by destroying bad bacteria like candida.

Fermented vegetables – Try to add fermented foods such as coconut kefir, kvass, sauerkraut or kimchi.  These fermented foods contain probiotics essential in helping repair a leaky gut that work by balancing the pH in the stomach and small intestines.

Steamed vegetables – Non-starchy vegetables that are cooked or steamed are easy to digest and are an essential part of the leaky gut diet.

Healthy fats – Consuming healthy fats in moderation like egg yolks, salmon, avocados, ghee and coconut oil are easy on the gut and promote healing.

Fruit – Consuming 1-2 servings of fruit daily is good on a leaky gut diet.  You can steam apples and pears to make homemade apple sauce or fruit sauce. Fruit is best consumed in the morning and not later on in the day and keep fruit intake in moderation.

FOODS THAT CAUSE A LEAKY GUT

Here are the biggest culprits that cause a leaky gut by creating intestinal inflammation and candida:

Gluten – A gluten free diet can help improve the symptoms of leaky gut. Gluten is the sticky protein found in most grain products including wheat and is difficult to digest unless it’s been brought through a sourdough or sprouting process. On the leaky gut diet you will want to avoid all foods that contain gluten and wheat products.

Cows Dairy – The protein in cows dairy, called A1 casein, can trigger a similar reaction as gluten and therefore should be avoided. In fact, A1 casein may be 26x more inflammatory than gluten!

Sugar – Feeds yeast and bad bacteria that can damage the intestinal wall creating a leaky gut. If you are going to use a sweetener raw local honey is your best option but even that should be consumed in moderation at 1 tbsp daily.

Unsprouted Grains – Grains and soy when unsprouted and unfermented contain phytic acid which can irritate the intestines causing leaky gut.

GMO – Genetically modified organisms contain herbicides and pesticides that damage the gut lining. Studies out of the Journal of Environmental Sciences have found GMO foods destroy the probiotics in your gut and cause organ inflammation.

TOP 5 REMEDIES FOR A LEAKY GUT

In following a leaky gut treatment plan you will want to take specific supplements to support digestion as well as protect the gut lining from further damage. Here are the most important leaky gut supplements you should consider taking:

#1 Probiotics (50-100 billion units daily)Probiotics can help re-colonize the gut with healthy bacteria.

#2 L-glutamine powder (5 grams 2x daily)Glutamine is an amino acid that helps repair the digestive tract, especially important for people with chronic diarrhea.

#3 Digestive Enzymes (2 before each meal) These enzymes will improve nutrient absorption and help break down food particles.

#4 Aloe Vera Juice (1/2 cup 3x daily) Aloe is healing to the digestive system.

#5 Fish oil (1000 mg daily) Fish oil contains the essential fatty acids EPA/DHA which reduce inflammation.

ESSENTIAL OILS FOR A LEAKY GUT

I've never heard of using essential oils for a leaky gut, but the ones he selected absolutely do sound promising.  And he suggests adding them to a beverage that you can drink.  I never would have thought of imbibing essential oils.  Put into baths and apply on compresses, yes, but not drink them.  So that is interesting.  

Essential oils of ginger and peppermint can soothe intestinal inflammation and support the healing of leaky gut. 

Interesting.  But I would suggest his next suggestion would work better if done at night or in the morning where you know you're not going out of the house for a few hours.  

Take 2 drops of of each oil internally in a glass of water.  Also mix 3 drops of oils with coconut oil and rub over abdomen 2x daily.

To learn more about how to repair leaky gut, read this article on 4 Steps to Heal Leaky Gut.

"The area of your life that is most controlled, regulated, and impacted by the government is your refrigerator." 

"Americans used to enjoy one hundred variety of apples.  Some farms offer twenty.  Today's supermarkets offer cardboard.  They are long-distanced, trucked apples, often kept in cold storage for long periods of time.  The loss of value and quality to our food supply because of the regulatory framework has been so immense and detrimental on so many levels both just from an aesthetic, enjoyment perspective what America offers culinarily in the standard grocery store and through the standard food system is appalling." 

"USDA just approved that chickens raised in America can be frozen, shipped all the way to China to be processed, then be refrozen, and then shipped all the way back to America and the label will never tell you that your chicken just enjoyed a dual transpacific flight . . . or whatever." 

"And why does the USDA and FDA not want you to know that your chicken did that, . . . at the same time a farm like [his] is only allowed to butcher a very limited number of chickens on farm under the governmental regulations.  Like the Prime Act introduced by Congressman Massie." 

"Why is beef from New Zealand cheaper than beef from his next door neighbor?  It's the insanely biased regulatory structure . . . ." 

The area of your life that is most controlled, regulated, and impacted by the government is your refrigerator and what's inside it.  There is no area of American life that is as twisted and out of sorts as our diets and our farming system and it's all because of the government.  Government subsidies, government regulations, so many different things.  You'll find an organization whose goal is to restore farm and food freedom."

Farm to Consumer.

Love #Love this @ThomasEWoods podcast https://t.co/iUd0WIu4Q5 #FoodMatters #FoodFreedom #Listen #Retweet

— Jenn Redd (@IntelliJennce) March 29, 2016