Fast Food, 9 things you should consider.

It's been in our lives for what seems like forever.  It's perceived as perfectly normal to have a McDonald's or Burger King, etc on every corner.  There are families in the western world that hardly eat anything else and have never had a home cooked meal.  So just how bad is fast food for us?  If we are to believe the advertising, it isn't bad for us.  But then why are there so many over weight people in the western world?  Why is childhood obesity a problem?

If you need a visual aid to understand the dangers of Fast Food, then you should watch Supersize Me - yes, it isn't new, and I hope that many of you have already seen it, I found it devastating.  And yes, I know you are going to tell me that you don't eat in fast food restaurants (I use the term loosely) as the subject of the film did, but what happened to him is happening to you, but at a slower rate.

I hope you find the following enlightening:

1. Fast food manufacturers don't list all the ingredients.
Fast foods are prepared at very high temperatures.  Grills are set to 750ºF (almost 400ºC) that means your regular burger is cooked in 38 seconds and a quarter pounder is cooked through in 70 seconds!  Also strong chemicals are used to clean cooking equipment at the end of the day so quite often if you are the first in in the morning you will probably have residue of these chemicals mixed in with your food, such as solvent residues, pesticides, etc..  The ingredient list will not display all the harmful things that the product contains.  Also if you think yo are being healthier by ordering a salad, think again!  Some McDonald's salads have about as many calories as a Big Mac.  In fact a small order of French Fries has 4g of fat LESS than a packet of ranch dressing.

2. Fast food companies spend a lot on advertising to small children.
Billions of dollars are spent on attracting small children into the fast food trap.  Estimates as high as $10 billion spent on advertising all types of food and beverages to young people in USA.  According to the Federal Trade Commission report, "Marketing Food to Children and Adolescents: A review of Industry Expenditures, Activities, and Self-Regulation," 44 major food and beverage marketers spent $1.6 billion to promote their products to children under 12 and adolescents aged between 12 and 17 years of age in the USA in 2006.  The report found that companies use an integrated approach to advertise food to young people that combines traditional media such as television, packaging, in-store advertising, sweepstakes, and the Internet and often involve cros-promotion with a new movie or popular television program.  The Kaiser Family Foundation found in its report "Food for Thought:  Television Food Advertising to Children in the United States" that children and adolescents see up to 6,100 televised food advertisements a year.  Only 5% of which are for foods/beverages perceived as healthy such as dairy produce and fruit juice.  None of the advertisements were for fruits and vegetables.

3. Fast food producers tend to minimize health concerns that are associated with their products.
If you compare the results between and industry sponsored health study and one sponsored by a fast food producer, you'll find that the former is more honest and accurate.  This is because a study sponsored by a fast food provider usually plays down the harmful aspects of its food.  A study that the fast food industry funds is quite likely to be closer to advertising than it is to science.  There is also the concept that manufacturers of fast food tend to donate money to scientific nutrition associations.  They do this to cover their malpractices.  Coca-cola pays money to the American Dietetic Association to publish nutritional fact sheets.  This is called food politics, but it is mostly a self-serving act by fast food manufacturers, in a bid to gain positive perception.  Right now Coca Cola has launched new advertising that seems to admit it is partly to blame for obesity in young people... or does it?

4. Additives in fast food compromise the endocrine system.
Many fast food companies add Monosodium Glutamate (MSG) to their products.  This is a flavor enhancer but it imbalances the endocrine system function making people feel hungrier and enticing them to eat more.  MSG contributes directly to nationwide obesity and keeps these fast food companies in business.  MSG is hidden in yeast extracts and hydrolyzed vegetable protein.

5.  Artificial colorings and refined carbohydrates cause ADHD in children.
This is scientifically proven.  In an experiment, several children with ADHD were taken off processed foods.  80% of these ADHD children were found free of ADHD in just 2 weeks.  If you believe your children are hyperactive, feed them on whole foods cooked at home for a few weeks and see the difference.

6.  Aspartame causes many nervous system problems.
Aspartame poisoning is a well-known fact and yet millions of products come out each year containing aspartame.  These products have a printed warning for those allergic to aspartame and nothing more.  Aspartame is known to cause seizures, migraines and several issues with the nervous system along with blurred vision.

7.  The  plastic in which some foods are packaged is hazardous to health.
Plastics leak bisphenol A into food and people eat the food without realizing they're actually absorbing a hormone disruptor.  Food heated or stored in hot plastic containers will contain more of this chemical. Bisphenol A is known to facilitate the formation of male breasts and disrupt female hormones.  This chemical is also suspected to contribute to prostate, breast and other hormone-related cancers.

8.  The less healthy the food... the better the profits.
When foods are highly processed, the profit margin increases, while the nutrition decreases.  Processed foods are not wholesome and fresh, to increase profits, food manufacturers add other ingredients to the food to increase the size and weight.  It is much better to eat whole foods such as an apple instead of eating applesauce or juice.

9.  Childhood obesity.
Now here I could go on and on and on about childhood obesity and what children are eating nowadays but I am just going to give one bit of information here and let your mind do the rest:

In 2001 Newsweek reported that 6 million children in America were seriously overweight.  That number has TRIPLED in a decade and the numbers are now surpassing 20 MILLION.


Social Nutrition:
You can make an appointment to improve your health with Social Nutrition either in person (Madrid) or online (Skype).  Just send an email to lucycarr@socialnutrition.com

Optimism or depression, are they caused by food?

Time and time again we have heard the eternal phrase "we are what we eat".  Many choose to ignore this and continue to fill their bodies with unhealthy foods.  I am a firm believer that our diet also effects our psychological state and vice a versa.  Many people can't make healthy changes to their diet simply because they can't get their head around it.  Or how many times have you been feeling great and then eaten a large piece of chocolate cake and instantly felt guilty or regretted even ordering it?  Well it has now been proven that your diet really does effect your state of mind.

For starters, sugar and artificial sweeteners may produce and increased risk of depression.  Both increment the risk of chronic inflammation, which can seriously upset brain function.

The preliminary findings in a study that will be presented at the 65th annual meeting of the American Academy of Neurology show that drinking sweetened drinks - it makes no difference if they are sweetened with sugar or artificial sweeteners - is associated with an increased risk of depression while coffee was associated with a slightly reduced risk.

WebMD: "Researchers say the findings suggest that cutting down on sweetened drinks or replacing them entirely with non-sweetened beverages may help lower depression risk."

The study included almost 264,000 American adults over the age of 50, who were involved in the AARP diet and health study.  At the beginning of the study, the participants completed a detailed dietary survey.  At a 10 year follow-up, they were asked if they had been diagnosed with depression at any time during the 10 years.

Researchers found that those participants who drank more than four cans or glasses of diet soda or other artificially sweetened drinks had a nearly 30% higher risk of depression compared to those who did not consume diet beverages.

Those who drank regular sodas had a 22% increased risk of depression.

Coffee drinkers who drank four cups of coffee per day were found to have a 10% decreased risk of depression, compared to those participants who drank none.  Researcher Honglei Chen, MD, PhD, of the National Institute of Health (NIH) commented on WebMD:

"While our findings are preliminary, and the underlying biological mechanisms are not known, they are intriguing and consistent with a small but growing body of evidence suggesting that artificially sweetened beverages may be associated with poor health outcomes."

This research does not prove causation, and some are of the opinion that people suffering from depression tend to turn to sweet foods and drinks for comfort, these is plenty of evidence to indicate that both sugar and artificial sweeteners can have a significant and detrimental impact on mental health.

On a more optimistic note, a study has been carried out at the Harvard School of Public Health, lead by Julia Boehm and published in the journal Psychosomatic Medicine.

These investigators have discovered that people who eat plenty of fruit and vegetables tend to be more optimistic about the future.  These more optimistic people have higher blood levels of plant compounds called carotenoids.

Carotenoids are one of many antioxidants which help keep other molecules in the body from producing free radicals which are harmful to cells and contribute to disease.

"Individuals with greater optimism tended to have greater levels of carotenoids such as beta-carotene," said Julia Boehm, "This is the first study of its kind to report a relationship between optimism and healthier levels of carotenoid concentrations."

The study centered on 982 men and women from the Midlife in the USA study and results were based on self-reported optimism (assessed with the revised Life Orientation Test) and serum concentrations of nine different antioxidants (carotenoids and Vitamin E).  For every standard deviation increase in optimism, carotenoid concentrations increased by 3-13% in age adjusted models.  Optimism was not significantly associated with Vitamin E.

The study concluded that optimism was associated with greater carotenoid concentrations, however, the direction of effects cannot be conclusively determined.  Effects may be bidirectional given that optimists are likely to engage in health behaviors associated with more serum antioxidants, and more serum antioxidants are likely associated with better physical health that enhances optimism.  For example, people who are optimistic or have a positive outlook on life, tend to take more exercise and eat a healthy diet... and vice a versa.

So, if you needed yet another reason to eat more fruit and vegetables, well here you have it, so dig in!


Social Nutrition:
You can make an appointment to improve your health with Social Nutrition either in person (Madrid) or online (Skype).  Just send an email to lucycarr@socialnutrition.com

The Milk Dilemma

First off I would like to apologize for not posting for a while.  The Christmas period has been full of life changes and a large dose of stress, so posting had to be put on hold for a while.

That said, let's get down to business.  Well, I hardly know where to begin on the milk dilema.  There is so much evidence AGAINST milk consumption that I still can't understand why milk is being pushed at us on such a constant and in your face way.

I am going to try and make this as brief as possible, but I might not manage it as there is so much to be said.

Cow's milk is for... cows

All mammals receive their mother's milk directly (in most cases) from the mammary gland.  That's what they're for.  But it is only for the first several months of life or for as long as possible in some HUMANS.  We all know there is a huge following to breast feed your child for as long as possible - it's a matter of individual opinion and to be respected.  However, in the animal kingdom (and let's not forget we humans are animals too), feeding on mother's milk is limited in time and limited to the same species.  Human breast milk has everything a human baby needs to develop in the initial stages of life in the outside world.  We don't give human breast milk to other animals. 

Why is cow's milk dangerous to human health?

The mass production of cow's milk has lead to cows being treated in some of the most abominable ways.  They are kept pregnant to increase and continue milk production, in order to do this they are injected with hormones.  Steroids are used to promote growth and antibiotics for all those diseases they have for living in poor, confined conditions and also genetically modified substances.  All cows release toxins through their milk, just as women are advised not to smoke, drink alcohol, take drugs, medication and spicy foods or drink caffeine, etc if breast feeding as amounts of these are found in breast milk and transferred to the baby, so do the toxins in cow's milk pass on to us humans.

So what exactly is in cow's milk?  Well, lots of potentially harmful substances for humans:

• A hormone cocktail of pituitary, steroid, hypothalamic and thyroid hormones.
• rBGH (Recombinant Bovine Growth Hormone) a genetically engineered  hormone directly linked to breast, colon and prostate cancer.  This is used in cows to increase milk production.  I would like to point out that this is banned in Europe.
• Pus:  National averages for USA show at least 322 million cell-counts of pus per glass of milk.  This is well above the human limit for pus-intake and has been directly linked to paratuberculosis bacteria, as well as Chron's Disease.  This happens because the cows suffer from mastitis from infected udders from too much milking.
• Gastrointestinal Peptides:  Nerve and epidermal growth factors, and growth inhibitors MDGI and MAF.
• Blood cells: The USDA allows up to 1.5 million white blood cells per milliliter of commonly-sold milk.  This means you and your children are drinking cow's blood in your milk!
• Antibiotics:  As previously mentioned, factory cows are in such a state of disease and are so mistreated that they are constantly injected with antibiotics to combat infections, and are rubbed down with chemical laden ointments.  Right now, regulatory committees only test for 4 of the 85 drugs in dairy cows.  This means that the other 81 drugs in cow's milk are poured directly into your glass or over your breakfast cereal and then ingested by you.  Estimates show that 38% of milk in the US is "contaminated with sulfa drugs or other antibiotics" according to a study by the Centre for Science in the Public Interest and published in the Wall Street Journal on December 29th, 1989.  A study from the FDA data showed that over half of all milk was laden with traces of pharmaceuticals yet nothing has been done to control or change this.

More Information?

If the above isn't enough to stop you consuming milk produce, here is some more interesting information to consider.  In 2008 Harvard researchers studied the effect of giving US commercial milk to third-grade students in Mongolia.  After drinking it for a month, their growth hormone levels increased dramatically by 40%  The children actually grew about 1cm during the month.  This was considered a significant statistical change by the researchers.  The researchers are currently studying whether growth spurts from milk will affect sexual maturity and puberty age.

It is known that puberty is starting at a younger age nowadays.  Some less enlightened people consider this to be evolution.  However, a lot of the problem is linked to diet and what many don't realize is that early onset puberty can lead to serious health problems in later life.

According to researchers at the US Center for Disease Control and Prevention, in Westernized societies, girls who start their periods before the age of 12 and who have the most menstrual cycles over a lifetime have a higher risk of dying from ovarian cancer than women with fewer periods.  The same appears to be true of breast cancer.  Earlier puberty means more menstrual cycles - and hormone laced milk produce, meat and poultry are associated with early puberty.  Childhood obesity also triggers puberty sooner.

But it isn't just the girls having all the problems.  US dairy produce accounts for 60-80% of estrogens consumed.  Excess estrogen not only makes boys mature later and have "man-boobs", but it can also delay emotional development.  Estrogen is also being studied as a possible culprit in declining sperm counts.

Nowadays we have choices.  There are other products on the market to substitute cow's milk, cheese, yogurts, etc..  You can substitute milk for rice milk, almond milk, hemp milk, etc.. Yogurts can be substituted by soy yogurts.  Cheese doesn't really have a substitute yet but, believe me, you can live without it!

Are you fat because your house is fat?

This may seem like a ridiculous question to most of you out there but there could be logic to it.  Peter Walsh, author of "Does this clutter make my butt look fat?" maybe on to something.  According to him, and I tend to agree, overweight people tend to lead cluttered lives.  It appears that people who have untidy houses make it difficult to look after themselves.

We have often heard how our body is our temple, but how can you look after your body if your home is stressing you out?  For many people having a cluttered home means they don't want to spend time in it, so end up eating out more as their kitchen is too cluttered to cook in.  Or just feel so stressed when they come home that they don't know where to begin.

Peter Walsh started helping people to de clutter their homes.  Not even he could foresee the added health benefits from living in a cleaner, tidier house.  Many of his clients discovered that through purging their homes of vast amounts of stuff they didn't know what to do with, they were also cleaning themselves up from the inside.  A cleaner house leads to an unconscious desire to eat healthily and being busy at home meant less snacking on unhealthy foods.  They began to lose weight without even trying.

I have always said that there is a huge psychological problem when it comes to weight.  Lots of people say they hand't even noticed how much weight they had gained while dining on take aways every night until they couldn't fit in an airline seat, or they overheard other people talking at the school gates.  My question is, just why are you existing on take aways to start with?  What's so difficult about preparing a simple nutritious meal from scratch?

Maybe we need to look deeper than just the size of our bodies.  Maybe we should sit down and analyze our lifestyle - the way we live, work and play, how much exercise we are getting, what makes us happy or sad and what we can do to change it.

Many people eat for comfort, or emotional problems - how many times have we attacked a box of chocolates to fill an empty hole which is actually caused by something other than hunger?  You cannot fill an emotional hole with food.  You need to get to the root of the problem.

Start with your house.  The place where you live should be welcoming when you come home, a place you want to be, where you can relax and enjoy your spare time wither alone or with your family.

Peter Walsh advises people to look at their home, not for what it is, but what they want from it.  Each room should have a purpose, the kitchen for cooking, dining room for eating, sitting room for relaxing and spending time with family and friends.  The main bedroom should be the most important room in the house, where you and your partner can relax and enjoy each other's company.  It should not be littered with dirty laundry, children's toys, etc..  The kitchen should have clear, clean surfaces so you can cook without having to clear space first.  If you don't have enough room for a separate office, dedicate a corner of the sitting room to an office area where you can sit down and concentrate when paying bills and going through the post.

Organizing the space you live in means that you also put things in order mentally.  Your outlook on life will change and you will find yourself wanting to look after yourself as you look after your house.  When this change occurs, it is essential to clean out the kitchen - every utensil, dish, pan you haven't used in the past 6-12 months should go (these can be donated to charity), you should go through every cupboard and clean thoroughly and get rid of any out of date foods lurking at the back.

Humans have become hoarders - we tend to buy things "just in case" which inevitably end up going off.  It is essential to go through the fridge and throw away anything that's off BEFORE going shopping, this way you can see exactly what you have and exactly what you need.  Right up a meal plan for a week, make a shopping list and stick to it - no impulse buys!  You will eat healthier and you will also save money.

Lots of people use the excuse "I don't have time to cook", your average take away takes 10 minutes to order and 30 minutes to arrive = 40 minutes total!  There are hundreds of recipes you can knock up in 30 minutes - and most of them are for free on the internet.  There really aren't any excuses for not cooking a healthy meal.

My advice is to plan your week.  On a piece of paper draw a chart - or use a spreadsheet!  Monday to Sunday across the top and then breakfast, lunch and dinner with snacks midmorning and mid afternoon down the left hand side.  Decide which meals you are at home for.  you maybe at work every day for lunch, can you take lunch with you or do you have to eat in a staff canteen or restaurant?  What's your social life like?  Program in dinners out if necessary.  Decide what you are going to cook that week and make a shopping list - and stick to it.  Do not buy anything that isn't on the list.

The following week do the same, try to vary the recipes, remember that variety is the spice of life!  Also, if need be, you can make double the amount of a dish and freeze it.  You can then schedule in the leftovers so that nothing goes to waste and nothing gets forgotten in the freezer.  If you manage to build up 4 weeks of meals you can then rotate them as you wish.  Try to keep recipes simple so that they don't need hours of preparation and cooking.

After reorganizing your house and your temple, you might be surprised at how your life and body change without you even trying.