Friday, September 27, 2013

For Gut Health, Eat Fermented Foods

It turns out that if you're looking for a healthy gut and healthy gut muscle tissue, it's not enough just to eat good, leafy green vegetables.  To restore gut health, one needs fermented foods, like sauerkraut, dill pickles, etc.  Fermented foods seem to be particularly effective, more so at least than sweetened keifer drinks.  And the fermented foods don't just release digestive enzymes to break down protein found in meat, but it actually restores vital gut flora.  This is essential. What are fermented foods?  Not all fermented foods are created equal, nor do all fermented foods provide equal amounts of healthy bacteria.  For example, beer has fermented yeast as does bread.  Are these health foods good for you?  Will these foods get you out chronic conditions?  You know the answer to that.  Here's an additional list of fermented foods.

Eating meat becomes more enjoyable and healthful when you combine cabbages or sauerkraut with the meat.  Check out this dish:

Think of the foods that already come with sauerkraut, like a kraut dog or a dog and slaw:
 
(Though I've eaten hotdogs and have loved them when I did eat them, they do have lots of preservatives and sweeteners in them.  Want health?  Eat fewer hotdogs.)

A Reuben sandwich:
 
A lot of people love pasta because of the chewiness and taste and tradition.  It's a staple in their diet.  Their moms at it before them as did their grandparent.  But try sauerkraut as a substitute with meat and find some delightful surprises.  If you're seeking to maximize energy and vitality while enduring specific conditions or trying to increase your overall health, I strongly recommend eliminating breads, pastas, and other food grains.  Though it is true that there is fermented foods in bread, like fermentation of yeast, your gut, muscles, and nerves will really appreciate the fact that you abstained from wheat.  If you haven't seen it or read it, be sure to check out Dr. William Davis' reports on wheat and his indictment of it in a slew, not a slaw, of chronic health situations.  His lectures are excellent, too.

According to Dr. Natasha Campbell McBride, author of the Gut and Psychology Syndrome, your gut flora is determined, or given to you, by your mother.  She makes the claim that abnormal gut flora plays an important role in immune maturation.  Following vaccines, well the damage to the immune system is worse.  She connects an abnormal, pathogenic bacteria damage the gut lining, making the gut leak and unable to digest food properly.  She makes the claim that the pathogens from a toxic gut get absorbed into the central nervous system and cause autism.  Without checking the data, I think that she is correct.  Ms. Donna Gates, who speaks with McBride, says that children need several pounds of fermented foods.

Here is Dr. Natasha Campbell-McBride's website, and here is Donna Gates' site is here and her site Body Ecology.

This presentation is given over 6 videos. The rest of them are here: Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, and Part 6.  Source of the above video is here.

This article read pretty well and pretty consistent about which foods are good for your gut.  The bacteria in keifer and yogurt survive passage through your digestive tract and into your colon where it does it good work.

Thursday, September 26, 2013

Joel Salatin on Grassfed Beef and the Renaissance Farmer

"Cholesterol found in butterfat is essential to children's brain and nervous system development"
I notice a significant energy difference when I eat raw butter.  I don't know about you, but the '80s with Ansel Keys and George McGovern's lipid hypothesis [great timeline here] and anti-cholesterol campaign scared people away from healthy, nutritious food and asked us to accept pasta and multi-grain breads as health food.  I bought that and I paid for that.  I used to consume large amounts of spaghetti for dinner, topped with butter, pesto or tomato sauce.  It was tasty.  I loved the chewiness of pasta, but it was filling.  
The 20 Health Benefits of REAL BUTTER:
1. Butter is rich in the most easily absorbable form of Vitamin A necessary for thyroid and adrenal health.
2. Contains lauric acid, important in treating fungal infections and candida.
3. Contains lecithin, essential for cholesterol metabolism.
4. Contains anti-oxidants that protect against free radical damage.
5. Has anti-oxidants that protect against weakening arteries.
6. Is a great source of Vitamins E and K.
7. Is a very rich source of the vital mineral Selenium.
8. Saturated fats in butter have strong Anti-Tumor and Anti-Cancer properties.
9. Butter contains conjugated linoleic acid, which is a potent anti-cancer agent, muscle builder, and immunity booster
10. Vitamin D found in butter is essential to absorption of calcium.
11. Protects against tooth decay.
12. Is your only source of an anti-stiffness factor, which protects against calcification of the joints.
13. Anti-stiffness factor in butter also prevents hardening of the arteries, cataracts, and calcification of the pineal gland.
14. Is a source of Activator X, which helps your body absorb minerals.
15. Is a source of iodine in highly absorbable form.
16. May promote fertility in women.
17. Is a source of quick energy, and is not stored in our bodies adipose tissue.
18. Cholesterol found in butterfat is essential to children's brain and nervous system development.
19. Contains Arachidonic Acid (AA) which plays a role in brain function and is a vital component of cell membranes.
20. Protects against gastrointestinal infections in the very young or the elderly.

Sunday, September 22, 2013

Solid & Liquid Brain Boosters

Water & Blueberries Make You More Alert

According to Dr. Edward Group, blueberries are an excellent brain food.  He says that "Berries are rich in antioxidants which protect your brain cells from oxidation and free radical damage [1]. This means antioxidants may slow down brain aging and prevent disease, while promoting the growth of healthy brain cells."  So when you're looking for food to increase brain energy, reach for blueberries.  Think blueberry brain.

Spinach does the same things.  Create a spinach salad with blueberries and some goat cheese.

If you're abstaining from food for the time being for whatever reason, Dr. Group recommends water as brain stimulant.  He says water increases your alertness, "Did you know that water can actually increase your alertness? When you’re feeling sluggish in the afternoon, instead of grabbing a caffeinated, carbonated drink, pour yourself a tall glass of purified water." 



http://www.globalhealingcenter.com/natural-health/foods-that-boost-your-brain-power/