Hello my readers!
My apologies.Seems it's been quite some time since my last blog entry.I didn't mean to let things slip and slide for so long.
I'm not posting a home-made recipe.I am again posting an article written by Dr. Mercola.
As you know, my husband and I are Paleo eaters.Paleo is a diet that is heavy on the vegetables and includes proteins, but eliminates dairy, grains, beans and lentils.Most of our protein is meat although we do eat a limited amount of fish.We would eat more fish if we could find some that is not contaminated, high in heavy metals, fished from dirty and toxic waters or packaged in filthy and unregulated manufacturing plants and facilities, but I digress.
Meat.It, like fish, can be a controversial topic.I don't want to debate all the pros and cons, or get into discussions about kosher versus grocery store versus grass-fed and organically raised meats.These are debates that could take pages and pages of space.
What I will say is that after spending a couple of years doing a lot of reading about the farming industry I hesitate to eat any meat that isn't grass-fed and naturally/organically raised.I have been convinced this is the only healthy meat available.
Having said that, one cannot make oneself crazy.My husband and I have a rule.In our home, where we are in control, we will only eat organic meat.And the truth is, we eat most of our meals in (or from) our home.My husband takes his lunch to work from food I cook at home.If we're out, on the road, I generally bring food with us in a cooler. We rarely go to restaurants.We rarely eat at friends' homes.And most of our friends do purchase organic meats. But that's not to say that we never eat regular grocery store meat.There are rare occasions when we do, and we have to be flexible enough to do that.And we have to know that for those rare occasions when that occurs we will be okay.Nothing terrible is going to happen to us.
This is not about eating in moderation.I hear this argument all the time."Just eat (insert food name) in moderation and you'll be fine."I have no idea what that really means.Does that mean that people are choosing to sometimes eat healthy and sometimes not?Moderation is not what is called for in this instance.It's not about balance.We tip the scales in our favour by adhering to a fairly strict diet.When it comes to meat one cannot be too careful.
And so that is why I am posting this article by Dr. Mercola.I am encouraging all of my readers to understand the importance of buying grass-fed naturally raised organic meats.
As an aside, I will tell you that I have what seems to me to be an inordinately large group of friends who, along with their children, suffer from Celiac disease, or gluten sensitivities, who have gastrointestinal issues, suffer migraines, don't sleep well or regularly, or have other ailments, all of which they think are "normal" or which they somehow just live with.And where my friends' children are concerned, this also includes what seems to me to be an inordinately high number of them who seem to be dealing with behavioural issues or anxiety-driven issues.
I'm not suggesting that eating organic meat is a cure for any of this.But I will say that I believe a healthy Paleo diet will go a long way towards alleviating many of these symptoms and problems. What I'm saying is that foods can hurt or they can be used to help and to heal.
Everyone is different. You need to find what works for you.But if you don't feel that you (or your children) are in optimal health then please consider eating a Paleo diet, and one with grass-fed organic meats. Try to incorporate fermented vegetables, eat more greens, and puree and blend your foods more so they are easier to digest.Start making some small adjustments to how you eat.Take things one step at a time, but try to move towards eating healthier.There's no reason to suffer and every way to help ourselves feel better, at least a little bit, through our diet.
With love, light and healing thoughts,
Eileen F
CDC Reveals Disturbing Truth about Factory Farms and Superbugs
October 02, 2013 |49,416viewsAccording to the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC), antibiotic resistance is a major threat to public health, worldwide, and the primary cause for this man-made epidemic is the widespread misuse of antibiotics.
Antibiotic overuse occurs not just in medicine, but also in food production. In fact, agricultural uses account for about 80 percent of all antibiotic use in the US, so it's a MAJOR source of human antibiotic consumption.
According to a 2009 report by the US Food and Drug (FDA) on this subject, factory farms used a whopping 29 million pounds of antibiotics that year alone.
Animals are often fed antibiotics at low doses for disease prevention and growth promotion, and those antibiotics are transferred to you via meat, and even through the animal manure that is used as crop fertilizer.
Antibiotics are also used to compensate for the crowded, unsanitary living conditions associated with large-scale confined animal feeding operations (CAFOs).
CDC Confirms Link Between CAFOs and Superbugs
Now, the US Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has finally come out saying that yes, antibiotics used in livestock plays a role in antibiotic resistance and "should be phased out." According to the CDC's report, 22 percent of antibiotic-resistant illness in humans is in fact linked to food. As reported by the featured article:
"The Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) said that the report shows that drug-resistant hazards in the food supply pose a serious threat to public health. One-third of the 12 resistant pathogens that CDC categorized as a "serious" threat to public health are found in food."
The four drug-resistant pathogens in question are Campylobacter, which causes an estimated 310,000 infections and 28 deaths per year; Salmonella, responsible for another 100,000 infections and 38 deaths annually; along with E.coli and Shigella. To this growing problem, the CDC's report issues the following recommendations:
Avoid inappropriate antibiotic use in food animals
Track antibiotic use in food animals
Stop spread of Campylobacter among animals on farms
Improve food production and processing to reduce contamination
Educate consumers and food workers about safe food handling practices
Source: CDC.gov, Antibiotic Resistance Threats in the United States, 2013
MRSA Spreading Via Hog Farms?
Two drug-resistant pathogens more commonly associated with antibiotic overuse in human medicine include Clostridium difficile and Staphylococcus aureus. Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) infects more than 80,460 people and kills 11,285 people annually. Disturbingly, as discussed in a recent Mother Jones article, MRSA infection has been rapidly increasing among people outside hospital settings as well.
As stated in the article:
"Increasing evidence points to factory-scale hog facilities as a source. In a , a team of researchers led by University of Iowa's Tara Smith found MRSA in 8.5 percent of pigs on conventional farms and no pigs on antibiotic-free farms. Meanwhile, a study, just released by the journal JAMA Internal Medicine found that people who live near hog farms or places where hog manure is applied as fertilizer have a much greater risk of contracting MRSA."
In the latter study, people with the highest exposure to manure were 38 percent more likely to contract community-associated MRSA, and 30 percent more likely to get health-care-associated MRSA. Level of exposure was calculated based on proximity to hog farms, the size of the farms, and how much manure the farm in question used.
Back in 2009 a University of Iowa study found that a full 70 percent of hogs and 64 percent of workers in industrial animal confinements tested positive for antibiotic-resistant MRSA. The study pointed out that, once MRSA is introduced, it could spread broadly to other swine and their caretakers, as well as to their families and friends.
In other parts of the world, such as the European Union, the use of antibiotics as growth promoters in animal feed has been banned for years. Yet in the US this is still a topic of debate, with industry supporters trying to downplay the inevitable fact that this irresponsible use of antibiotics is most likely posing a serious risk to human health and the environment.
As reported in 2011, you have a 50/50 chance of buying when you buy meat from your local grocery store. This shocking finding came from a study by the Translational Genomics Research Institute, which revealed that 47 percent of the meat and poultry samples tested contained antibiotic-resistant Staphylococcus aureus bacteria. These were samples from 80 different brands of beef, chicken, pork and turkey from more than two dozen grocery stores scattered across the United States, in large cities from Los Angeles to Washington D.C.
The fact that antibiotic-resistant superbugs are found so widely in US meat supplies is a major red flag; a sign that we are nearing the point of no return where superbugs will continue to flourish with very little we can do to stop them. While I am not one to recommend many medications, antibiotics can be VERY useful when you need to treat a serious bacterial infection. When used properly, in the correct contexts and with responsibility, antibiotics can and do save lives that are threatened by bacterial infections. But they will only remain effective if urgent changes are made to curb the spread of antibiotic-resistant bacteria and diseaseand this will only happen with a serious reduction in their use now.
Choose Your Foods Wisely
Conventional medicine certainly needs to curtail its prescriptions for antibiotics, but even if you use antibiotics judiciously you're still exposed to great amounts of antibiotics from the foods you eat, and this is entirely unnecessary. This is one of the primary reasons why I ONLY recommend or organic pastured chickens, as non-medical use of antibiotics is not permitted in organic farming. They're also far superior to CAFO-raised meats in terms of .
To source pure, healthful meats, your best option is to get to know a local farmer -- one who uses non-toxic farming methods. If you live in an urban area, there are increasing numbers of available that offer access to healthy, locally grown foods even if you live in the heart of the city. Being able to find high-quality meat is such an important issue for me personally that I've made connections with sources I know provide high-quality organic , both of which you can find in my online store. You can eliminate the shipping charges, however, if you find a trusted farmer locally. If you live in the US, the Weston Price Foundation also has local chapters in most states, and many of them are connected with buying clubs in which you can easily purchase these types of foods, including grass fed raw dairy products like milk and butter..
How CAFO Meats May Decimate Your Gut Health
Antibiotic-resistant disease is not the only danger associated with the misuse of these . Excessive exposure to antibiotics--which includes regularly eating antibiotic-laced CAFO meats--also takes a heavy toll on your gastrointestinal health. This in turn can predispose you to virtually any disease. Protecting your gut health and reducing the spread of antibiotic-resistant bacteria are significant reasons for making sure you're only eating grass-fed, organically-raised meats.
In related news researchers at Oregon State University point out the close links between your gut health and a wide range of health issues. As noted in the University press release:
"Problems ranging from autoimmune disease to clinical depression and simple obesity may in fact be linked to immune dysfunction that begins with a "failure to communicate" in the human gut, the scientists say. Health care of the future may include personalized diagnosis of an individual's "microbiome" to determine what prebiotics or probiotics are needed to provide balance.
Appropriate sanitation such as clean water and sewers are good. But some erroneous lessons in health care may need to be unlearned--leaving behind the fear of dirt, the love of antimicrobial cleansers, and the outdated notion that an antibiotic is always a good idea. We live in a world of "germs" and many of them are good for us.
An emerging theory of disease, [Dr. Natalia] Shulzhenko said, is a disruption in the "crosstalk" between the microbes in the human gut and other cells involved in the immune system and metabolic processes. "In a healthy person, these microbes in the gut stimulate the immune system as needed, and it in turn talks back," Shulzhenko said. "There's an increasing disruption of these microbes from modern lifestyle, diet, overuse of antibiotics and other issues. With that disruption, the conversation is breaking down."
The widespread deterioration of people's gut health can be traced back to the change in our modern diet. This includes the introduction of meats from unnaturally-raised livestock, fed genetically engineered corn and soy along with a mixture of antibiotics and other drugs. But another important dietary factor is the shunning of traditionally fermented foods, which are naturally high in the beneficial bacteria necessary for optimal gut health. Mounting research shows that beneficial bacteria in your gut is likely to have significant benefits to your health and may be essential for:
Protection against over-growth of other microorganisms that could cause disease Digestion of food and absorption of nutrients and certain carbohydrates Producing vitamins, absorbing minerals and eliminating toxins Preventing allergies Maintaining natural defenses
Numerous studies have also shown that your gut flora plays a role in:
Mood, psychological health, and behavior
Celiac disease
Diabetes
Weight gain and obesity
Metabolic syndrome
Nurturing Your Gut Flora is One of the Foundations of Optimal Health
Besides antibiotics, your gut bacteria are also vulnerable to factors such as chlorinated water, antibacterial soaps, pollution, and agricultural chemicals--especially which, incidentally, is the most widely used herbicide in the world... To protect your gut health, it's important to avoid processed, refined foods in your diet and to regularly reseed your gut with good bacteria by eating non-pasteurized, traditionally fermented foods, such as , or taking a high-quality probiotic supplement.
One of the reasons why fermented foods are so beneficial is because they contain a wide variety of different beneficial bacteria. Also, if fermented with a probiotics starter culture, the amount of healthy bacteria in a serving of fermented vegetables can far exceed the amount you'll find in commercial probiotics supplements, making it a very cost effective alternative. Ideally, you want to eat a variety of fermented foods to maximize the variety of bacteria you're consuming. Healthy options include:
Lassi (an Indian yogurt drink, traditionally enjoyed before dinner)
Various pickled fermentations of cabbage sauerkraut,, turnips, eggplant, cucumbers, onions, squash, and carrots
Tempeh
Traditionally fermented raw milk such as kefir or yogurt, but NOT commercial versions, which typically do not have live cultures and are loaded with sugars that feed pathogenic bacteria
Natto (fermented soy)
Kim chee
When choosing fermented foods, steer clear of pasteurized versions, as pasteurization will destroy many of the naturally occurring probiotics. This includesmost of the "probiotic" yogurts you find in every grocery store these days; since they're pasteurized, they will be associated with all of the problems of products. They also typically contain added sugars, high corn syrup, artificial coloring, or artificial sweeteners, all of which will only worsen your health.
When you first start out, you'll want to start small, adding as little as half a tablespoon of fermented vegetables to each meal, and gradually working your way up to about a quarter to half a cup (2 to 4 oz) of fermented vegetables or other cultured food with one to three meals per day. Since cultured foods are efficient detoxifiers, you may experience detox symptoms, or a "healing crisis," if you introduce too many at once. That said, three very positive changes occur when your good-to-bad intestinal bacteria ratio is brought back into balance:
Digestive problems diminish or disappear Your immune system de-stresses and is better equipped to fight off disease of all kinds, contributing to a longer and healthier life
Your body begins to use all the good food and nutritional supplements you feed it
Full Post
No comments:
Post a Comment