diabetes

Please see below for some very good corrections and clarifications to this post from a respected diabetes blogger & author.  Then don’t forget to check out the comments for more great input!

Thanks to Ronda & Diana from the comments at the recent rotten hospital food post for telling me about this clinic in Kansas where they are CURING diabetes.  Yep, you read it right.  The article is so unbelievably fantastic that I’m not even going to add excerpts here.  If you or someone you love has diabetes, you’ve got to go read this article, and then FORWARD IT TO EVERYONE YOU KNOW WHO HAS DIABETES – we all know someone, it’s an absolute epidemic!  As it said in the article, diabetes is not an infectious disease, but it’s spreading like one.  Together, we can stop it!

(Also, please forward this to anyone you know who works in the medical field!)

photo by Christine

When you read the article you’ll also find out about all the bad advice most doctors (not all) and the American Diabetic Association (ADA) are giving to diabetics, and why it isn’t working.  Advice like this:

• You have to eat enough carbs so your blood sugars don’t drop when you take your insulin (instead of advising to watch the BS and lower the insulin accordingly!)
  
• Avoid saturated fats because you have a higher risk of heart disease
• Try getting your blood sugar under control with your diet, but in the meantime, here, take this medicine…
• Follow the dietary guidelines on the USDA Food Pyramid (Yikes!)
• Exercise will help your blood sugars come down (this one is true, but it won’t help as much as really limiting the carbs, but they often don’t tell you that)

READ ABOUT HOW DIABETICS ARE BEING CURED!

***Jenny from Blood Sugar 101 has given me permission to share her thoughts on this post and the above article, which I’m very thankful for since she knows more about this than I do:

Kelly,

Dr. Vernon is well known in the low carb diabetes community, but what she is describing is NOT a cure, nor does it work for all people with Type 2 diabetes. It works for people whose diabetes is entirely attributable to insulin resistance, but many of us have more going on than that. A significant number have an autoimmune attack going on against the beta cells. Some have genetic flaws which limit their ability to secrete insulin. Some have disruptions in the timing mechanism that produces basal insulin. I could go on and on. That is why quite a few high profile low carbing people with diabetes still need insulin even though they have been eating a low carb diet for many years.

That is why Bernstein’s book has so much information in it on how to use insulin for Type 2 when his very low carb diet doesn’t control it.

I hear from people all the time who have been eating low carb and getting extremely high blood sugars. Typically they also have low thyroid. Some have symptoms suggestive of Cushings. Some have things going on that science does not understand, like the man who was able to drop from using 200 units of insulin a day to 10 after taking Byetta for several months. Another friend is currently using the equivalent of 270 units a day while eating 20 grams a day.

Articles like this are useful in countering the dreadfully bad ADA advice, but overstating the case will defeat our purposes. I recently saw some published research where people with long-standing diabetes who were eating an Atkins very LC diet still ended up on average with blood sugars higher than  is ideal, and I am pretty sure it was published in the journal Vernon is associated with, Nutrition & Metabolism.

–Jenny
http://www.bloodsugar101.com

My reply for more clarifications:

Jenny,

But wouldn’t you say that eating very low carbs could be a cure for MANY, especially those whose diabetes began with weight issues, which accounts for the huge jump in diabetic cases in recent years?”

Thanks so much Jenny!!

Kelly

Her reply:

I think that the “weight issues” that have emerged recently are more likely due to exposures to air and water pollution, Bisphenol-A and other plastics that have hormonal effects, flame retardants that soak our homes, etc. etc.  There is a lot of evidence pointing to this. These chemicals may change how genes express so weight loss alone does not reverse the damage.

As I said, I think the LC diet “reverses” not “cures” diabetes when it is caused primarily by insulin resistance. All the genetic research into diabetes genes, however, is finding that 98% of them cause insufficient insulin secretion, not insulin resistance.

–Jenny

My comments:

As I said, Jenny knows more about this than I do, so you should probably give more weight to what she says than what I do.  I’m very thankful for her input.

That being said, I’m still going to add a little more of my own thoughts on this.  While I totally agree that we can’t say anything cures everyone, there is no doubt that there has been a huge jump in obesity and diabetes in recent years, even in young children.  If I had diabetes, I would certainly be giving a very low-carb diet a good go.  (As a matter of fact, I don’t have diabetes, and I’m still doing low-carb because I think it’s healthier overall.  I’m having varying degrees of success, it depends on the day!  But as I said in my other low-carb post, I want this to be a life-long way of eating for me now, so when I mess up, I try to say “oh well”, and just keep on.)

I have to say that I disagree with Jenny’s comments on where the weight problems in our society have originated from.  I think pollution, plastic dangers and other environmental issues definitely play a role, but mostly people are getting fat and unhealthy because of the crap we are eating and our sedentary lifestyles.

UPDATE:

Jenny just sent me one more comment that I thought was worth adding:

The word “cure” should never be used in connection with Diabetes. If a person develops diabetes it means they have an underlying metabolic flaw–one that occurs in something like 15% of the population, which is not curable. It can be controlled. People with diabetes can have normal blood sugars and normal health. But to me a  “cure” for diabetes would be a treatment that allowed me to eat the same foods as my 92 year old mom who has a fasting blood sugar of 83 while eating a diet that is almost all starch.

COMMENT BELOW AND SHARE YOUR THOUGHTS ON ALL THIS!

Coming soon: what to do when your sick loved ones eating the SAD (Standard American Diet) don’t get it, and don’t want to get it – when to back off!  (This post is from the above-quoted author, Jenny, and it sure seems like it was written just for me!)  Don’t miss any new posts – get a free Kelly the Kitchen Kop subscription to your email box or your feed reader.

• Read more about low-carb diets – lots of meal ideas here
• DOES FAT MAKE YOU FAT? Part 2 – how dietary fat affects weight loss
• Does Fat Make You Fat? Part 1 – saturated fat, cholesterol, and heart disease issues
• More posts about healthy dieting
  

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If you’ve been following my Tweets over the weekend, you know that I was at the hospital up North with my Mom.  She was taken there by ambulance Friday night with a few different problems that you can read a bit about at that link.  Thankfully, she is much better, but this post, however, is basically a get-it-off-my-chest post…

It wasn’t easy for me to let it go when I saw what was coming up on her meal tray, or the food choices on her list to pick from.  First of all, she’s diabetic, you’d think her food options might look a little better.  Maybe they were better than the average patient’s choices, and that is a scary thought, indeed.

Here are some examples of what got me all riled up:

• Margarine comes up routinely on the trays.  When I asked if they had any real butter, the dietary aide looked at me like I had 3 heads and said, “Well, I don’t know.  People so rarely ask for it…we might have some in the freezer.”  Thank God she found some, so we could keep it nearby and promptly toss the “Promise” packets in the trash when they showed up.  But what about all those patients who don’t know to ask for it?
• The “SF” option was all over the menu list.  “Sugar free yogurt”, “Diet Jelly”, “Sugar free syrup”, “Sugar free jello”, “Sugar substitute” for her coffee, “Sugar free ketchup”.  Yes, since she has diabetes, she can’t have much sugar, but why not only a small amount of real sugar, and that’s it?  Or a natural sugar substitute, like Stevia?  All those chemicals in her system can’t be good.  (She uses these at home, too.  That’s what the dietitians tell her to use.)
• There were no healthy fats in sight.  How can patients heal without healthy fats?  As I said, margarine is all you see, and there’s also plenty of 2% milk offered, along with low-fat yogurt, and non-dairy creamer.  (Find out why low-fat dairy is terrible for us.)
• Mom said the scrambled eggs tasted like “egg beaters”, and if not, they were barely yellow and made with more egg white than egg yolk, the most nutritious part!  (Eggs are a superfood!  SO good for us!)
• The one that really got me going:  an option for breakfast was (of course Mom didn’t choose it), are you ready for this?  SUGAR POPS cereal!!!  Oh, what’s a little high fructose corn syrup, trans fats, super processed corn, & chemical preservatives to help a patient recover?!  Check out this Sugar Pops ingredient label.
  

It’s an uphill battle, but we’ll win for sure!

Some days when writing this blog and interacting with all of you, my awesome informed readers who are open to the truth about nutrition, it’s easy to think that we’re getting there!  The truth is getting out!  Then I sit up at the hospital a few days with Mom and I’m head first back into the realization of how far we have yet to go.

It’s not their fault

Believe me, I get it that the dietitians putting the junk on the hospital trays are A. stuck within their budget, and B. only doing what the “higher ups” tell them to do and what they have taught as “healthy food gospel”. Before we can change what the registered dietitians are feeding hospital patients (and school kids), first we need to reach the doctors, but before we reach them, I believe we’ll have to teach them.  I suppose the only way to do that is to continue teaching each other and hope it trickles up.  One thing that comes to mind is how my doc didn’t have a real high regard for organic foods when I first brought it up to him a few years ago, but now that it’s all over the stores due to consumer demand, I’ll bet he’s thinking more about it these days.  Also, it’s encouraging to see that the WAPF is gaining ground and spreading the word far and wide.

What are your ideas? Where do you see the important battles taking place?

• My other post on this topic:  not-so-healthy hospital recipe substitutions
• Read more about breakfast cereals
• 10 Healthy Breakfast Ideas
• 10 Steps to better health
  

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I doubt you’d like something else to worry about, but if you’ve read my other plastics safety post, you’re probably already being careful about the plastics in your life. Now we have even more reason to do so…

Read an excerpt from the article:

Bisphenol A or BPA, a chemical found in plastics, has been linked to some of the most deadly and rapidly increasing medical conditions in American adults.

A research team from the University of Iowa, the Peninsula Medical School, the University of Exeter, and the University of Plymouth found evidence that links BPA to heart disease and diabetes in adults. BPA, which is used in polycarbonate plastic products such as refillable water bottles, some plastic eating utensils, compact disks and many other everyday products, is one of the world’s most widely-used chemicals.

Earlier studies in mice and rats shown that exposure to BPA could lead to diabetes, liver damage, obesity, and insulin resistance. Earlier this year, experts raised the concern that BPA could leach into plastic baby bottles and cause developmental and reproduction problems.

photo by andres guevara

Read the whole article: Plastics Chemical Linked to Disease in Adults

• Read my full post on plastic safety - find out what all the fuss is about, what the numbers on plastic containers mean, safe alternatives, etc. This is still my most visited post.
• A “feel good” story from FOX News on bottled water…NOT! (This will probably really irritate you like it did me.)
• Organic Virgin Coconut Oil Deals/Best Prices
• Wondering about breakfast cereals?
• Many more topics & recipes along the right in the sidebar

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FAST FOOD FEAR

If you fear fast food and what it does to our bodies, that’s great, because you should. If not, then I’m hoping some of the disgusting information I have to share might help you along.

I love America and am truly thankful to live here, but there are some aspects of what America has become that I’m not proud of. We (myself included) are all so stuck on convenience, the fast and easy way to do things, that we’re getting too lazy and/or too busy to think ahead a little and cook nutrient-dense, delicious meals at home for our families. I have to admit, I’m just as frazzled as any busy Mom on any busy evening, but since I know now that fast food isn’t an option, it’s amazing what other quick meals I can come up with. (Check out this post with our versions of fast food these days – with healthy and super-quick meal ideas.)

Do any of these excuses for eating fast food sound familiar?

1. “It’s cheap and it just tastes so good!”
2. “I don’t have time to cook.”
3. “It can’t really be that bad for us.”
4. “I’m too busy, how else am I supposed to get everyone fed on our crazy evenings?!”
5. “I work hard/I had a crazy morning/It’s going to be a crazy afternoon/I’m so tired/I just got a promotion/I didn’t get my promotion/the kids are driving me nuts… I deserve something easy and hot for lunch”
6. “I don’t have time to pack a lunch”

If you’ve used any of these excuses recently, keep reading…

FIRST, I’LL FESS UP

As I’ve shared in my “food conversion” story, we used to eat fast food a lot. When our oldest son was little we’d think nothing of eating fast food 2-3 times/week! I pray he isn’t harboring some nasty festering condition in his body from all the years we were so lazy and ignorant about the dangers of eating out so much.

If you read about My Dark Secrets, then you know that these days we might still order a pizza now and then from a local place when we have friends over, and if we’re out of town, we may hit a Subway, but this is rare. (However, I’ve been on their site to look up nutrition information and know that none of their breads have trans fats, and I also know to ask for the shredded cheese, not the “American” slices.) Thankfully, I can’t even remember when we were at a fast-food join last.

Read an excerpt from a book written a while ago, “Fast Food Nation, The Dark Side of the All-American Meal” By Eric Schlosser:

OVER THE LAST THREE DECADES, fast food has infiltrated every nook and cranny of American society. An industry that began with a handful of modest hot dog and hamburger stands in southern California has spread to every corner of the nation, selling a broad range of foods wherever paying customers may be found. Fast food is now served at restaurants and drive-throughs, at stadiums, airports, zoos, high schools, elementary schools, and universities, on cruise ships, trains, and airplanes, at K-Marts, Wal-Marts, gas stations, and even at hospital cafeterias. In 1970, Americans spent about $6 billion on fast food; in 2000, they spent more than $110 billion. Americans now spend more money on fast food than on higher education, personal computers, computer software, or new cars. They spend more on fast food than on movies, books, magazines, newspapers, videos, and recorded music – combined.

photo by rensenbrink78

SANTA CLAUS, JESUS, & RONALD MCDONALD

According to the book above, Fast Food Nation, only Santa Claus is recognized more than Ronald McDonald, and the golden arches are now more widely recognized than the Christian cross – what a great job McDonald’s marketing department has done through the years. (I even found some McDonalds play food in our kid’s toys the other day…I threw it away.)

Is it really cheap?

A 99 cent burger may seem cheap, but when you get your pop and fries to go with it, and you do it very often, it adds up fast. Add in the future health care costs and the price becomes much higher. Is that short-term fix really worth it? When you’re done your stomach may be full, but don’t you ever think, “I paid how much? I don’t even feel so good. And I wonder how many pounds I just put on or how much closer I am to cancer, diabetes or heart disease after ingesting all the chemicals preservatives, pesticide toxins, vegetable oils/trans fats, MSG and high fructose corn syrup? Nothing but a bunch of empty calories!” OK, maybe you aren’t thinking that, but that’s the kind of twisted thoughts in my head these days. (I’m beginning to sound like a food snob after all…OK, only when it comes to fast food!)

How much is too much?

Personally, I think anything more than rarely is too much. Once you are educated about what crap fast food is, then it’s not so difficult to drive right on by those joints. When you start eating healthier foods and start to enjoy the taste of real food, then the junk isn’t even appealing anymore. Besides, it’s not like you’re getting it for FREE, you’re PAYING people to feed you food that will make you fat and unhealthy! It doesn’t make sense. I try to train our kids early – when our daughter was 2 or 3 and we’d go by a fast food place, she’d say, “Dats bad for our bodies.” What a proud Mom I was! (Too bad our teenager doesn’t say the same things!)

NEED MORE CONVINCING?

If you still aren’t convinced about how gross fast food is, you’ve got to rent the movie, “Supersize Me“, and be sure to watch it with your kids (only the PG version). It will surely help you even more to fight the temptation for a “quick fix” on the dinner problem. I learned a lot from watching it, but here are a couple of the more disgusting tid-bits:

• One fast food burger could easily have meat from 1000 different cows
• They did an experiment and set out a few different foods out to see how long it would take to mold and get all nasty; after a couple days most things started to mold and by a week or two the sandwiches were almost all black, but the McDonald’s poison sticks (french fries) looked EXACTLY the same, even after MONTHS! That is how nasty and full of chemicals they are and how much they are not even REAL FOOD! (Be sure to click on the link below to watch the french fry experiment on YouTube.)

photo by ElektraCute

WHEN IS YOUR TEMPTATION THE STRONGEST?

For some they’re most tempted on busy nights when running the kids around, and for others it’s during their workday. Whenever you’re biggest temptation occurs, start trying to think ahead more – I know it’s not always easy, but it IS ALWAYS WORTH IT!

“I DON’T HAVE TIME”

How much extra time and energy would it take to grab a few more healthy lunch items while you’re at the store and take 10 minutes before bed to put them into a lunch sack? If that doesn’t fit into your schedule, is it really a time issue? Could it be a lack of self-discipline or a need to re-examine your priorities? It’s true that we make time for the things that are important to us. If you don’t the have time now to think ahead a little, think of how much more time it will take when you’re old before you need to be and it takes triple the time to get up a set of stairs than it should because your pumper can’t work like it used to, or because your arthritis is so bad. All the years you sucked down pops with high fructose corn syrup or fries and buns with nasty vegetable oils and trans fats really does catch up with you.

LET’S ALL STEP UP TO THE PLATE

Who doesn’t enjoy instant gratification? But we need to have the mental maturity to look ahead a few years for our family’s sake – they will be the ones caring for us when we’re too unhealthy to take care of ourselves. We don’t have to feel 20 years older than we are, it’s not just something we have to accept. Let’s commit to leaving the next generation better off than we are. It’s not our parent’s fault that they were fed so much bogus information for years, but now look at us! Many of us are overweight, we lack energy, we’re depressed, our joints hurt, our digestive systems are messed up, we’re infertile, we look much older than we are, and we’re on all sorts of medicines.

Let’s make it stop!

• Healthy alternatives to fast food
• Does McDonald’s have healthy food?
• Here’s a really cute children’s book that teaches about what fast food can do to our bodies, and what a difference being active and eating well can make. It’s called, “The Gulps”.
• What’s in that Happy Meal besides the cheap toy? Brace yourself.
• See the french fry experiment from Supersize me on YouTube. Gross!
• Check out this all-natural/organic fast food chain.
• Study shows fast food linked to obesity & diabetes. Big surprise.
• DOES FAT MAKE YOU FAT? Dieting answers.
• Healthy School Lunch Alternatives
• Check out the new blog I just found and read how one guy gave up fast food, also read part 2: stop eating fast food in 3 steps, and part 3: 20 tactics to kill the fast food habit

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I can’t wait for you to “meet” and learn from Lynn. I first connected with her through this informative site: WeWantOrganicFoods.com, where she is a contributing author. She’s full of knowledge about anything related to health & nutrition! (Note: if you are a beginner to eating healthier, don’t let the information here overwhelm you. Lynn has been on this path for many years and has much to teach us, but it begins with baby steps. I hope you’ll keep reading and I’ll try to help you along as I continue to learn, too! Also, check out this new “rookie tip of the week“ post for those of you who are beginners at eating and cooking healthier.)
KELLY’S INTERVIEW with
LYNN CAMERON

1. What is your #1 motivation for eating/feeding your family healthier meals?

My primary motivation is life extension in health and well-being. Since 1970, I’ve been down many nutritional paths with this same goal. One of the most important results of this abiding study and practice over the years has been the self-reliance acquired in matters of personal health maintenance. My family medical history was grim; I’ve learned that genetics are less important than the establishment would have one believe. My husband’s type 1 diabetic condition has responded positively over the years; better, I believe, than had we subscribed to orthodox medical protocol. A main factor of our continued good health has been avoidance of medical advice, laboratory tests, and pharmaceutical remedies. This was not an avowed goal at the outset; it just evolved as we lived in our small cabin isolated on our mountain lake and learned self-empowerment through many avenues. AND, I like to cook; he needed to eat!

2. What started you on your path to better nutrition?

I was not a breast-fed baby and was “allergic” before it became the prevalent buzz-word it is today. Consequently, I was a picky eater; food was of very little interest to me. For more, see my article about my grandmother online. When first married in 1970, I decided that I was missing all kinds of taste sensations by not eating vegetables and so became a vegetarian in an effort to grow my kitchen skills in a positive direction. I began my lifelong study of nutrition with Adele Davis’ book; Let’s Eat Right to Get Fit. The veggie diet lasted for a few years; in retrospect, I see that my reliance on cheese and eggs at that time was a craving for the rich bounty of nutrients available from animal products that my body craved. Organic food just isn’t what it used to be.

3. What is your biggest struggle in eating/feeding your family healthier meals?

Nowadays my biggest hurdle is to actually have time away from the kitchen to build the network of educated marketers I think this country needs if we are to combat the misinformation that agri-biz touts and to save the health of future generations – since 2000 the first generation of babies has been born who statistically are not likely to outlive their parents! I strive for patience when required to divert my attention from business back to food preparation because I have come to the realization that the heart and mood of the cook when making meals can be transferred unintentionally into what is served. This dilemma is a recent development that I attribute to some concern about retirement income and a need for an expanded platform after many years in the library and kitchen.

4. What is your favorite healthy recipe?

I’ve had many favorites over the years – haven’t we all? Lately I’m having a love affair with whole, unprocessed organic milk from a local farm. I’ve recently written about cholesterol and whole, real milk. Pasteurized milk products have always made my stomach ache, so I didn’t have milk in my organic kitchen for 30 years and never missed it. Now, it is amazing to me that I cannot cook the way I want with less than 2 quarts each day! I culture half of it into kefir and yogurt for smoothies, and the rest gets served as between meal snacks, made into cream soups, sauces and casseroles, and as a warm bedtime drink. I also use the culinary essential oils in recipes. Such pungent edgy therapy is a “match made in heaven” that I urge all cooks to explore.

5. What is your best kitchen/nutrition tip?

If I had just one point to make, it would be to learn about and nurture the lactobacillus bacteria (LAB) living within all organic life. These commensals – another name for LAB – make up the majority of our body tissue. It turns out that we are only about 10% human DNA. After hearing about lactic acid for many years, as most all of us with food passion have, lately the research has been proving how very astonishing their myriad species are to vibrant health. So, my advice is to choose foods that are whole and as field fresh (local) as possible and to ferment and culture as many varieties as your family will eat in order to keep gut flora working efficiently at their crucial functions. This may prove to be the ultimate anti-aging agenda. Culturing LAB within the fresh foods (preferably organic) that are their preferred growth medium requires pristine premises free of toxic residues from kitchen cleaners, as well as harmful bacteria that make us ill. It is important to “go green” if you will accomplish this in your kitchen. Doing this effectively would pose a real problem if it weren’t for the blessing of pure therapeutic grade essential oils. Because the oils (not real lipids) piggy-back oxygen, they perform a dual function. When eaten and breathed in, they assist the LAB in creating a hostile terrain for disease-causing pathogens (confer immunity) and they prevent harmful bacteria from colonizing when used as cleansers on environmental surfaces. You cannot find a more natural all-around support product for your kitchen and those in it than the Young Living Essential Oil Blend THIEVES and the household products that contain it.

6. What did you have for dinner last night?

Please keep in mind that it is deep winter here. We have to snow mobile to our car and then to the local grocery store. I am using my larder (winter storage cupboard/cellar) to pad out my meals. Last night I made some rice (combined wild, brown and Japanese germinated) using my homemade organic chicken stock as the liquid. I used it as the base layer in a casserole dish onto which I piled the chicken picked from the cooked carcass, some frozen peas, a can of water chestnuts and a can of drained asparagus. Over the top of this I poured a medium white sauce made with cultured butter and raw milk into which raw Colby cheese had been melted and added a few chopped capers. With it, we had a beautiful mixed green salad with grated carrot, homemade pickled beets, pumpkin seeds and vinaigrette (raw apple cider vinegar) dressing and homemade sourdough onion rye rolls w/cultured butter. I had a glass of milk to drink; my husband prefers kefir with his evening meal. Tonight we had the leftover casserole reheated into which I nested poached organic, free-range chicken eggs, salad of fermented veggies, etc. An evening meal of leftovers is like a little gift I give myself.

NOTE: As more attention is paid to eating quality food with life in it, the more dissatisfied one becomes with anything less.

Be warned – this is a path of no return!

LYNN CAMERON

website: http:

//aromavital.com/

e-mail: foods@aromavital.com

RELATED POSTS/LINKS:

• Why drink whole, unprocessed/raw milk?
• Still don’t think you’ll switch to raw milk? Here are the next best options for healthy milk
• Other guest interviews

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WHERE TO BUY organic virgin coconut oil.

Or keep reading for more info…

“COCONUT OIL IS THE HEALTHIEST OIL ON EARTH”

Coconut oil is a healthy fat that can help to kick-start your metabolism and assist you in weight loss – it is very different from other fats because it turns into instant energy and isn’t stored in fat cells. (Remember not all fats and calories are alike!) It is a lot like butter, cod liver oil and olive oil when you’re thinking of traditional fats and oils that have been used for thousands of years. Compare them to newer fats and oils like margarine, soy, canola, safflower, corn, sunflower and any of the others that you’ve only heard of in the past few decades, and think of how heart disease, diabetes and other issues are on the increase; whereas people have consumed coconut oil in many parts of the world for centuries. You may not have heard what a healthy fat coconut oil is due to it’s high saturated fat content, but coconut oil contains medium-chain fatty acids and does not have a negative effect on cholesterol, it actually can help protect your heart. Coconut oil is also rich in lauric acid. Read more at this “new look at coconut oil” link about the benefits of coconut oil and lauric acid and also find out about the latest studies on coconut oil.

photo by Koshyk

This post would go on forever if I tried to cover each topic at length, so here’s what I suggest: Google it! Whatever your issue is, type that in along with “coconut oil” and you’ll find all sorts of research and help. (If you need my help, leave a comment below.)

HOW TO GET MORE COCONUT INTO YOUR DIET

If you’re like me and don’t like the flavor of coconut (unless it’s in smoothies or in my popcorn), it’s trickier getting it into your diet, but usually you can find some recipes you like it in. Just Google “coconut recipes” and you’ll find a ton. If you find one you like, PLEASE leave a comment below and share it with us!

Also, if I’m making a recipe that I know I don’t want the flavor of coconut in, then I’ll use the unflavored, but that’s refined. From what I’ve been able to figure out, this coconut oil is no where near as beneficial as the unrefined virgin coconut oil that I’m talking about in this post, but it’s still better than none at all. See this post for info on where to get that at the best price.

WHERE TO GET THE BEST PRICE AND OTHER IMPORTANT INFORMATION

• More info from Carrie about eczema!
• First, if you’re wondering about whether or not I make any money if you end up buying the below products, read #3 at my FAQ post and I’ll answer that question.
• Click here for the BEST PRICE on a good brand of organic virgin coconut oil
• Ways to get more coconut into your diet – ideas from YOU
  
• I highly recommend this book, Eat Fat, Lose Fat: The Healthy Alternative to Trans Fats, for more information on the benefits of coconut oil, especially as it relates to weight loss, along with some recipes to help you find ways to get more into your diet – and don’t forget to check out my popcorn recipe! Also, see the link below for more on coconut oil and weight loss.
• If you suffer from eczema, read the comment section at my cod liver oil post (scroll to the bottom) for more detailed information on that topic.
• You can also get the benefits of coconut oil through your skin when applied topically. Unless I’m going right to bed, I like the coconut oil cream on my skin because it soaks in better than the oil. It works well to help heal cuts or painfully dry skin, and is great on my hands after a day of changing diapers and washing a lot – they always heal quicker with this cream. Here’s what I use:
  Tropical Traditions Organic Virgin Coconut Oil Moisturizing Cream – Unscented – 4-oz. I also get this for dry lips:
  Tropical Traditions Organic Virgin Coconut Oil Lip Moisturizer – Unscented. And I really like their coconut oil/tea tree oil soap, which I tried based on Nina Planck’s recommendation. (I love her book, Real Food: What to Eat and Why.) Just do a search at the same link as above (for the cream or lip moisturizer) for “Tropical Traditions soap” and it will come up.
• For more interesting reading, especially for you skeptics out there, be sure to scroll down and check out the RELATED LINKS below!

Related Links/Posts:

• Think this is all a bunch of bunk? Check out this page full of coconut research links
• The fat that makes you thin
• Here’s a good overview on coconut oil benefits, and even though this site sells it (makes my radar go up), everything you read here is information found in many other places, this site just happens to explain it the best
• Some typical questions and misconceptions on fats and oils
• How coconut oil can help your heart!
• More here on coconut oil and weight loss
• Do diet foods make you fat?
• Healthy milk
• More info on coconut oil & dieting, along with the recipe that is mentioned in the comments below
• Coconut oil lowers cholesterol and improves thyroid function!
  

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(Note: if you’re here for the Agave Nectar information along with a TON of great reading about various sweeteners, it’s all below in the comment section – there’s a lot happening down there! Read more here on sugars and the best choices, including info from Sally Fallon on Agave Nectar.  Also, Anna told me about this informative post for more on the topic of sweeteners. Lastly, here’s why Cheeseslave says to avoid Agave Nectar.)

Yes, even though I’m passionate about feeding my family healthy meals, I’m coming out of the pantry with a few of my lingering issues…

1. We’ll get my most shameful secret out of the way first: I’m a sweets-aholic. I often sneak chocolate chips when the kids aren’t looking, and I order dessert in restaurants almost every time I go out. Thankfully I love to bake, so usually what I’m indulging in is something made with things like healthy fats (NO trans fat which is in most purchased baked goods), whole wheat organic flour (freshly ground here at home), regular sugar (NOT high fructose corn syrup), and more and more I’m experimenting and using Agave Nectar and other natural sweeteners in my baked goods. (Future posts will cover more on which sweeteners to use in which recipes.) ***Note added later: you may not want to use this product now – read the comments from Anna below. She has researched Agave Nectar extensively and shared some interesting information. She recommends organic evaporated cane sugar as a sweetener, or grade B maple syrup, but only in very small quantities.
2. I even compromise when feeding my kids sometimes. (Gasp…) As much as I know I should be totally rid of boxes and bags in my kitchen, I still might throw in a Jack’s frozen pizza now and then (no MSG, high fructose corn syrup or trans fats) or cook up a box of mac & cheese – but it is the Simply Organic brand, because that’s the only healthier one I found that is close enough to Kraft to fly with the kids. (Note: I wrote most of this post a few weeks ago and have since been convicted on this one. I’m always saying to others, “What is more natural?”, and the powdered cheese just can’t get through my filter these days! So I started thinking it wouldn’t be THAT difficult to make a little cheese sauce and stir in some cooked whole wheat organic pasta, for a homemade stove-top mac & cheese. Funny how we can resist some things for years, then when something in you “clicks”, it just doesn’t seem like such a big deal anymore. The question is whether or not my kids will eat it. (Posted later: it was a hit! Check out my stove-top macaroni & cheese recipe.)
3. Cheese. I’m lazy about my cheese. Especially with my home day care, we eat a lot of it, and I want it shredded or sliced or already into little sticks when I buy it. I want to pull it right out of the frig or freezer (yes, you can freeze cheese) and have it ready to eat. Here is some of that lazy-American mentality showing up in me. (Although I NEVER buy “processed cheese slices” or anything close, only the “natural” cheeses with no extra weird ingredients on the label.) As much as I spout off about shortening the distance from the farm to the table, I really need to get over this one. I think I’m getting closer, but I’m not there yet. I can probably get some good cheese right from the farm at the Amish store I often buy food from, and then cut or shred it up…I always laugh thinking of my friend, Anne, when I told her why I didn’t like buying cheese in big chunks. She said, “For goodness sake Kelly, get a knife!” UPDATE 10/18/08: My new BOSCH has changed everything! I buy my cheese in big hunks now (MUCH more economical) and easily shred it myself – no more worries about burning up my food processor motor trying to shred cheese (it happened to me before), this machine can handle anything!
4. Whether or not my coffee is a compromise is debatable, of course, as is every topic out there. Some research shows coffee is good for you in moderation, others say no way. Truth is, I’m not THAT big of a coffee drinker, it’s a “treat” I have 2-3 times per week, and I don’t like anything in my coffee, a fact I’m very thankful for, as I don’t need anymore sugar in my life. But I do loved the flavored coffees. Hazelnut and vanilla are my favorites – these just have a hint of flavor, no flavorINGS – big difference. One thing I should look into is buying organic flavored coffee, but just haven’t gone there yet. My healthy habits continue to grow here and there, even as I write. (Also, I bring my own stainless steel cup into my favorite place, Frenz coffee, so it’s only $1 each time I indulge.) UPDATE: Recently Sally Fallon personally told me I should give up my coffee! Oh no!
5. Because of the high cost of organic foods, I don’t buy every single thing organic, and I don’t always buy the best organic brands there are. (Some organics are not much better than conventional when it comes to their nutritional value – it all depends on how it was raised or made, I often call the companies and ask for information.) It depends on availability and on the price. We all have to pick and choose and do the best we can. One example for me is chocolate chips – I do not buy those organic because the price difference is so great and the ingredient list on the conventional chips doesn’t cause me to hyperventilate like some ingredient lists do. Besides, you’re getting sugar either way, which isn’t great for you whether it is organic or not. (By the way, there is no high fructose corn syrup in the chocolate chips or I would NOT buy them.) UPDATE: non-organic chocolate chips have GMO’s! Now I buy those organic, too.
   
6. We do not eat out often, and if we are thinking about fast food, I try to limit it to Subway (they have some sandwiches that aren’t too bad, check their website for which items have no trans fats, etc.) or maybe Taco Bell (their cheese only quesadillas aren’t TOO bad for the kids), but we only eat fast food once every 6 months or so. (Unless my sister is visiting and she takes the kids to McDonald’s as a treat…take a breath Kel…) Kent & I will eat at a sit-down restaurant now and then, and if we’re really feeling like we want to drop some cash and not enjoy or taste any of the food, we’ll take the kids with us. At those times, believe it or not, I try not to worry TOO much about nutrition. Within reason though. I still discourage fries (“poison sticks” as we call them) and ask if they have applesauce or another fruit instead. If, heaven forbid, there is a corn dog on the menu and my kids see it, I grit my teeth and say, “Sure honey…” I try to get away with water for them to drink, but my teenager usually wants a pop and we don’t make a big deal of it. We try to walk that line in feeding our kids healthy, but at the same time not being too bullheaded about it, in fear that when they move out they’ll go wild with junk food and never want to eat healthy again. We also still order in for pizzas every so often, and I try not to think about what trans fats or high fructose corn syrup might be in them.
7. Another compromise is one most of you might not think is much of a compromise at all because you may have never even heard of it, but because I know what is better nutritionally, I know it is one: it involves grains and how they’re prepared. For example, for optimal nutrition when I make pancakes and waffles, I start the recipe the night before using certain ingredients, and finish in the morning – by doing it this certain way, the phytic acid is broken down in the flour so all the nutrients in the pancakes and the big glass of raw milk we drink with it can be assimilated. The problem is, I don’t use that process in all my baked goods or breads yet. I’ve experimented some, and just need to get back to it again. (More on all this in future posts, or it’s also discussed in the books on my recommended reading page.) UPDATE: Read all about properly prepared grains!
   
8. At Meijer this morning it was irritating trying to find fruits and vegetables grown in the U.S.A. It’s bad enough that I know I really should only be buying produce that is in season and local, preferably organic. But if I did that, we wouldn’t eat many fruits or vegetables all winter, since I’ve not gotten into canning yet like I should. So as nutritious as fruits and vegetables are for us, in the winter I compromise by at least trying to buy those grown in the states. Well, this morning I needed some grapes for a yummy salad recipe I’m making Saturday when my family comes for our daughter’s birthday. All they had there were grapes from as far away as Peru or Mexico – I couldn’t stand having to buy those, and thankfully I rarely have to!

These are all things that I continue to chip away at through the years, as I keep learning more and modifying how we eat. I often think of a quote from Jeannie Weaver (a board member from the local Weston A. Price chapter) in a local newspaper story about eating healthy: she said that her family tries to go by the 80/20 plan – they eat healthy 80% of the time, and don’t worry so much about the other 20%. Mostly though, I don’t want to be a freak about it. Although many of my close friends and family surely believe this is already a lost cause.

• Healthy & delicious Waffles & pancakes recipe
• Great info from Lynn Cameron on sweeteners
• Eating healthy on a budget
• My “food conversion” story
• Are supplements necessary for good health?
• Why everyone should take cod liver oil

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COD LIVER OIL SERIES (See the complete index of posts about CLO)

UPDATE: FOR EVEN MORE NUTRITION, BE SURE TO READ ABOUT A NEW PRODUCT, FERMENTED COD LIVER OIL.

You won’t believe all the ways a daily dose of Cod liver oil can help you. Many pages could be written on this topic, but lest you fall asleep on me, I’ll give you the shortened version, and if you don’t even want to know that much (or you’re already convinced), just skip to the links below for:

• Part 2 - Cod liver oil: tips for getting it down
• Part 3 – Cod liver oil: what to buy, where to buy it, and how much to take
• This is part 1 – Do we really need to take it?

Until the late 1940’s most Americans took this superfood every day. However, these days the typical American diet is full of foods that provide plenty of omega-6 essential fatty acids (found in vegetable oils, packaged foods, and more…), but not enough of the omega-3 essential fatty acids – DHA & EPA (found in cod liver oil, egg yolks from properly fed hens, organ meats from grass-fed animals, and some fish.) According to wikipedia.org, our diets typically have “omega-6 to omega-3 ratios in excess of 10 to 1, some as high as 30 to 1. The optimal ratio is thought to be 4 to 1 or lower.”

“Essential fatty acid ratios”…who cares?!

This all sounds like mumbo jumbo until you understand that when these ratios are off, studies are increasingly showing that it can affect many areas of our health. Even the American Heart Association, (who in my opinion don’t always give the best advice), say on their site, “Omega-3 fatty acids benefit the heart of healthy people, and those at high risk of — or who have — cardiovascular disease.”

Not just for your heart

However, the omega-3’s in cod liver oil aren’t just for heart health. Read the related sites below for more details.

If you have a specific ailment and you are wondering how cod liver oil can help you, do an internet search and see what you can find.

Read more here: Cod liver oil – the number one superfood!

It could make a huge difference for you

In some cases you may notice a big difference when taking cod liver oil, in other cases you may notice benefits slowly over time as you also implement other treatments and dietary changes. (Be in contact with a good naturopath or a doctor you trust who is open to looking at the whole picture, not just drug therapies.)

Why not just take flax seed or plain fish oil?

As explained above, one of the biggest reasons cod liver oil is so beneficial to us is because of the omega-3’s it contains, but if you take a good brand (see link to part 3 below), you’ll also be getting the very important A & D vitamins, and this is why cod liver oil is a better choice for omega-3’s than just incorporating flax seed into your diet.  (More on why you shouldn’t get too much flax.)

Also, plain fish oil (liquid or capsules) usually doesn’t have vitamins A & D (or it won’t have them in the correct ratios) as the fermented cod liver oil.

Lastly, as Nina Planck says in her book, Real Food: What to Eat and Why, “The body can make EPA and DHA from flaxseed oil, but the conversion is uncertain and imperfect. It bears repeating: fish is vastly superior to plant sources of omega-3 fats.”

Enough omega 3’s in cod liver oil?

Keep in mind that omega 3 amounts in cod liver oil, while significant, still need to be a part of a diet including omega 3 foods as well:  fish, grass fed beef and dairy, etc.

Too much vitamin A?

Doctors may advise against high amounts of vitamin A in your diet and tell you not to take a daily supplement like cod liver oil for that reason. But one thing important to know is that the KIND of vitamin A makes a big difference.  Read more here about the importance of proper ratios of vitamin A & D in cod liver oil.

Read about why vitamin A is so important, and another article about vitamin A benefits.

Sunlight and vitamin D

Read all about the benefits of vitamin D in your diet or from the sun.

(Read more about the bad rap sunshine has gotten.)

Important note about vitamin D and possible toxicity:

One thing to remember – as much as we need enough vitamin D, like anything, some say it’s possible to get too much as well, and sites like Dr. Mercola encourage you to get tested if you’re in the sun a lot. But according to this Vitamin D Council site, it’s very uncommon to get too much vitamin D. If you get a LOT of sun and are concerned, read here to find out more about testing your vitamin D levels. Also, read this about who should be extra careful about the amounts of vitamin D they take.

One more important thing:

When you’re taking good quality cod liver oil, you also need to be sure you’re getting enough calcium in your diet. Vitamin D regulates the amount in your blood, and if it’s not there, it will deplete it from your bones. As explained in the book, “Nourishing Traditions: The Cookbook that Challenges Politically Correct Nutrition and the Diet Dictocrats“, “make sure your diet contains adequate calcium and magnesium with plentiful whole dairy products, bone broths and lightly cooked green vegetables along with certain nutrient-dense animal products such as butter, organ meats and shellfish. These will provide a calcium- and magnesium-rich diet as well as the fat-soluble vitamins necessary for their absorption.”

That’s not all!

This was a just quick overview on how powerful and important cod liver oil is and why we need to make it a daily habit. Read the other parts of the series below to find out more…

Part 2 – Cod liver oil: tips for getting it down

Part 3 – Cod liver oil: what to buy and where to buy it and how much to take

Answers to common CLO questions Find out how much you should take.

• Are supplements necessary?
• Where is the truth on health and nutrition?
• Info on possible vitamin toxicity from Chris Masterjohn
• More info on possible vitamin toxicity in a cod liver oil update from Sally Fallon

• Pregnant or nursing moms, read this article on the importance of omega 3’s for your baby’s brain development!
• How cod liver oil can help if you have depression or anxiety issues
• More information on how much is too much vitamin A.
• Read this to find out if you should limit the amount of cod liver oil you take
• “Omega 3’s can prevent sunburn” – scroll down about 2/3 on this page to read about that and more on the many benefits of cod liver oil.
• A great overview for more detailed information on cod liver oil and it’s many benefits.
• Read about where exactly cod liver oil comes from and why some brands are much superior to others.
• Information on the correct amount of cod liver oil needed daily for adults, children, and pregnant or nursing moms.
• Cod liver oil and constipation treatment

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