THE GREATEST MEDICINE OF ALL… IS TEACHING PEOPLE HOW NOT TO NEED IT
IF YOU DON’T MAKE TIME FOR YOUR WELLNESS - YOU WILL BE FORCED TO MAKE TIME FOR YOUR ILLNESS!
Why I Eat Pasture Raised Eggs
What You Should Know About Pasture-Raised Eggs
"Free-range," "pasture-raised," and "cage-free" are just a few labels you might see plastered on a carton of eggs - and if you're (understandably) confused about the difference, you're not alone.
As the name suggests, pasture-raised eggs come from hens that spend a majority of their lives on outdoor pastures that are covered with living plants. They have year-round access to the pasture (weather and safety permitting, of course), with at least about 108 square feet of space per hen.
"This keeps hens healthy, fertilizes the soil, and produces the highest-quality eggs through their diet - which consists of roughly 20% fresh grass,"
"Cage-free and free-range labels at the store come from stationary warehouse and barn buildings with maybe a small outdoor yard," added Hall. Because the grass in these yards is typically eaten quickly, the hens don't have as nutritious of a diet, which translates to lower-quality eggs.
So, why are pasture-raised eggs better? As it turns out, there are several noteworthy advantages.
Research has repeatedly proven that pasture-raised eggs are more nutrient-dense - and by a long shot. In fact, one study out of Penn State University found that pasture-raised eggs contain significantly more vitamins and essential nutrients compared to hens raised in commercial cages on a grain diet:
- 7 times more beta-carotene, an antioxidant that your body uses to make vitamin A
- 4 times more vitamin E, which protects your cells from free radical damage while keeping the immune system strong
- 3 times more vitamin D, which helps your body absorb calcium for strong bones
- 3 times more omega-3 fatty acids, which have anti-inflammatory effects and can help support heart, brain, and eye health
Not only that, but pasture-raised eggs often taste better, too, thanks to hens' more diverse diet from foraging for grasses, seeds, and protein-rich insects. In my experience, they don't necessarily taste different - the egg flavor is just richer and more pronounced overall. Texture-wise, the whites are more dense and the yolks are creamier and deeper in color.
Did I mention that pasture-raised animal products are also better for the environment? When hens can roam freely, they naturally help to control weeds and pests while fertilizing the soil, reducing the need for chemical pesticides, herbicides, and fertilizers.
Producing pasture-raised eggs generally involves more regenerative practices, according to a study in Poultry Science. There's also less reliance on heavy machinery for feeding, cleaning, and waste management, which results in lower greenhouse gas emissions, too.
My Comment:
Pasture Raised eggs can be expensive. Trader Joes sells them at a very reasonable price of $5.99 a dozen in my area. In addition to other Organic foods at lower prices than other grocery stores.
The Amazing Healing Properties of Fermented Foods
This article was written by GreenMedInfo
Between the hard and fast dichotomies of cooked and raw, dead and alive, is this beautiful thing called fermented...
A place where many of the digestive challenges associated with raw foods (e.g. enzyme inhibitors, anti-nutrients, lectins) are overcome in favor of not just preserving their benefits (e.g. enzyme activity, vitamin content, life energy), but amplifying them.
Also overcome are the adverse consequences of cooking, e.g. enzyme destruction, vitamin activity degradation, oxidized fats, denatured proteins, etc., while still benefiting from the enhanced digestibility and assimilation that certain cooking applications offer. Fermented food is in many ways the complementary union of cooked and raw, as well as their transcendence – an image, not unlike the Tai Chi, comes to mind.
In fact, fermentation has almost heretical power in the realm of both medicine and nutrition, being quite capable of literally "raising the dead," as well, revitalizing and infusing with living and breathing energy a food ingredient that has been cooked into oblivion, or, a human whose body has been poisoned close to the point of death with antibiotics, or similarly biocidal drugs or chemicals.
There is no lack of scientific confirmation for the indisputable value of fermented food for the promotion of health and wellbeing. In fact, one could consider fermented foods like kimchi, natto, apple cider vinegar, and even – in moderation – wine, coffee, chocolate and beer, 'medical foods' of sorts. At GreenMedInfo we have been indexing these functional applications in disease prevention and treatment straight from the research housed on National Library of Medicine, and have found over 140+ diseases that may be prevented or ameliorated by their use.
There are a broad range of fermented foods we could look at to illustrate their power to heal. After all, every single culture on the planet used (not a semantic coincidence:) culturing to sustain themselves. But for this short article we will focus on Asian traditional preparations, since there is already such a huge body of clinical research demonstrating their amazing health effects:
- Kimchi – a probiotic strain isolated from the fermented cabbage preparation kimchi known as Lactobacillus Brevis is capable of degrading organophosphorus pesticides.
- Kimchi – a probiotic strain known as Bacillus pumilus found within this fermented food is capable of degrading bisphenol A, a powerful endocrine disruptive chemical.
- Miso – a fermented soy food has been shown, when consumed regularly, to reduce the risk of breast cancer in women by up to 54%.
- Miso – capable of regressing colon cancer growth in the animal model.
- Natto – A fermented soybean extract that has been shown to suppress plaque buildup (as measured by the intima-media thickness) in the arteries in an animal model.
- Natto – capable of contributing to nerve regeneration following sciatic nerve crush injury.
This is, of course, only the tip of the iceberg when it comes to illustrating the remarkable properties of fermented food. We encourage our readers to take a look at our extensive database on the subject of the health benefits of fermented food.
Another important point to make about fermented food is that it generates an entirely novel set of nutrients and medically important phytocompounds, in addition to what is found in the starter culture ingredients themselves. This is not unlike what happens when we consume a raw or cooked food, and the beneficial bacteria within our gut go to work to break down anti-nutrients, or secrete enzymes we ourselves are not capable of producing, or at least not in adequate quantities. There is something known as the food metabolome. It is that set of small-molecule metabolites of foods – numbering over 3,500 – that are byproducts of our organism interacting with food to produce novel new byproducts. For example, flaxseed contains high levels of lignans, which once thrown into the fermenting crucible of our digestive process, are broken down into at least two important metabolic byproducts: enterolactone and enterodiol – both which are phytoestrogens, and are largely responsible for flaxseed's tumor regressive actions in estrogen-sensitive cancers such as breast and prostate cancer. These two compounds only exist in between the human organism and the flaxseed organism, and would not exist without the "third organism," if you will, which is the vast populations of beneficial bacteria within our alimentary canal.
So important are these microflora to our existence, that some scholars have suggested we reclassify ourselves as a "meta-organism," as we are a composite of a wide range of organisms – in fact, 10 times more numerous are these "other" organisms than our own cells. Indeed, as we discussed in a previous article, even our own mitochondria – the powerhouses of our cells – were once bacteria living outside of our bodies.
Ultimately, a return to fermented foods is a return to our own ground of being and well-being. There are profound challenges that stand in our way, of course. We microwave, we cook, we fry, we dehydrate, we spray our food into certain death. And now new research shows that even the very food starter bacteria normally found in healthy soil are being decimated by Monsanto's ROUNDUP herbicide glyphosate, which is destroying its microbial biodiversity and hence fertility. Certain regions of the world that have depended on these indispensable dairy-culturing organisms for countless generations now have none to be found.
So, we must hunker down. And work on cooperating locally to produce, and support the producers of, organically grown food. Sharing raw cultures. Becoming intimately involved with the quality of the food we consume. And remembering that fermented food is one of the key, if not indispensable ingredients in attaining and maintaining optimal health. And furthermore, that one cannot separate out personal or human health from planetary health; they are, and always have been indivisible.
Should You Add Whey Protein to Your Daily Routine?
Using whey protein has the potential to enhance your overall health and longevity
Whey is a protein complex made from milk that has healing properties including immune-boosting, antioxidant, antihypertensive, antitumor, hypolipidemic, chemoprotective and anti-inflammatory. Clinical research shows whey protein's benefits in fighting cancer, age-related diseases, obesity, cardiovascular disease risks and cognitive disorders while enhancing exercise performance and muscle recovery.
Cancer Prevention and Treatment
Great emphasis on cancer prevention and treatment has been given to whey protein (WP) by the scientific community, validating whey''s anticancer and chemotherapy toxicity-fighting effects through in vitro, in vivo and human studies. For example, through in vitro study of mice, whey protein isolate (WPI), bovine collagen hydrolysate (BCH) or its fractions all inhibited melanoma cell growth.
Similarly, the best combination for decreasing proliferation of mice melanoma cells was combining one of the collagen hydrolysates (BCH or BCH-P1) with WPI, along with paclitaxel -- a chemotherapy treatment.
In an animal study, researchers found that dietary exposure to whey proteins alters rat mammary gland proliferation, apoptosis and gene expression during postnatal development and reduced breast tumor incidence compared to those fed a casein diet. The whey protein hydrolysate''s (WPH''s) protective effects against breast cancer were associated with altered mammary gland differentiation and increased expression of a tumor suppressor. In another rat study, both soy and whey proteins changed mammary differentiation, which protected the protein-fed rats from developing induced-mammary cancer.
Advanced cancer patients (lung, stomach, esophagus, pancreas, colon, blood, breast and head‐neck cancers) who are undergoing chemotherapy often become malnourished. In 166 of these patients, those who received both nutritional counseling and 20 grams (g) of WPI supplementation for three months experienced improved body composition, muscle strength, body weight and reduced chemotherapy toxicity compared to the control group of counseling only.
In another study of 42 cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy, those who took 40 g of WPI plus zinc and selenium outperformed the control group on increased glutathione (GSH) levels -- super antioxidants in the body -- and improved nutritional status and immunity.
Chemotherapy can also cause cachexia -- muscle wasting. To fight this, an immune-modulating diet (IMD) -- including immunonutrition elements such as vitamins A, C, E, zinc and selenium -- in combination with WP and chemotherapy prevented colon cancer cachexia without suppressing chemotherapeutic effectiveness. In an in-vitro study of mice, curcumin by nanoencapsulation with WP was highly effective in preventing colon and prostate cancers.
Age-Related Diseases: Sarcopenia, Dynapenia and Osteoporosis
Sarcopenia -- age-related loss of muscle mass -- dynapenia -- age-related loss of muscle strength and power (also called muscle atrophy) -- and osteoporosis -- age-related bone loss -- are prevalent in older people and associated with increased falls, functional decline and higher mortality. WP supplementation either immediately pre- or post-resistance training (RT) had a significant effect on skeletal muscle mass, muscular strength and functional capacity in a study of 70 older women compared to a placebo group.
In a comparison study, 22 healthy older women with an average age of 69 were randomly assigned to consume either a 30 g supplement of WP or collagen peptide (CP) twice daily along with RT twice daily for six days. WP was found to be more effective than CP in skeletal muscle retention in older women.
Elderly individuals who use both resistance training and WP ingestion -- particularly for its amino acid leucine -- close to the hours they exercise have shown marked improvement in maintaining their skeletal muscle mass, which is believed to decrease their overall disease burden and improve their quality of life.
Bone loss has been induced by ovariectomy in rats verified in vivo studies and a new report shows that a WP fraction isolated from milk may support the recovery of bone loss. In a similar animal study, after six weeks, feeding rats dietary WPH or WP prevented loss of bone, physical properties, mineral density and mineral content and improved breaking strength of femurs, demonstrating that both WPH and WP supplementation prevent bone loss induced by ovariectomy in rats.
In vitro, WP was found to stimulate the proliferation and differentiation of osteoblasts cultured in different concentrations, which highlights its important role in bone formation and as a therapy to prevent osteoporosis by activating osteoblasts.
Cardiovascular Disease and Obesity-Related Disease Risks
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), common risk factors and diseases associated with cardiovascular disease (CVD) (including heart disease and stroke) and obesity or being overweight are high blood pressure, high low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol, diabetes, unhealthy diet and physical inactivity.
In their meta-analysis of nine trials of overweight or obese patients, researchers found that WP significantly reduced body weight and fat mass and improved multiple CVD risk markers including systolic blood pressure, diastolic blood pressure, glucose, high-density lipoprotein and total cholesterol.
In 48 obese patients with insulin resistance, groups were randomly assigned to three 45-day very-low-calorie ketogenic diet regimens of less than 800 calories per day containing whey, plant or animal protein. Body weight, body mass index, blood pressure, waist circumference, insulin resistance index, insulin and total and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol decreased in all patient groups, but the WP group had the most pronounced improvements in muscle strength.
In 84 mice fed a high-fat diet, WP was more effective than soy protein in preventing obesity by significantly lowering body mass index, body weight, weight gain and the expression of lipogenesis-related genes -- which potentially could lead to dyslipidemia, Type 2 diabetes, fatty liver, autoimmune diseases, neurodegenerative diseases and cancers.
In two obesity-induced high-fat diet fed mice experiments, WP reduced whole body weight, adipose tissues and increased serum and brain glucagon-like peptide levels -- which are satiety-inducing hormones that suppressed the appetite and led to a significant decrease in food intake.
In a study of 70 obese and overweight subjects, supplementation with WP, casein or glucose for 12 weeks resulted in the WP group having significant decreases in total cholesterol and LDL cholesterol, fasting insulin levels and homeostasis model assessment of insulin resistance compared to the casein or glucose groups.
In a 12-week experiment, caloric intake was reduced 500 calories per day and subjects consumed either WP Prolibra -- a protein mix high in leucine, bioactive peptides and milk calcium -- or an isocaloric ready-to-mix beverage 20 minutes before breakfast and 20 minutes before dinner. Subjects in both groups lost a significant amount of weight but those in the WP group lost significantly more body fat and preserved more lean muscle compared to the other group and those reductions led to reduced risks for obesity-related diseases.
Neurological Disorders and Cognitive Decline
WP intake protected against memory loss or impairment and aging in a mouse model. Researchers showed that WP intervention alleviated neuronal damage and altered a gut microbe related to Alzheimer's Disease.
The milk fat globule membrane found in WP regulated the neuroinflammatory pathology of AD in a mouse model. The cognitive decline/dysfunction of Alzheimer''s-induced mice was significantly improved with WP treatment for three months.
In a crossover study of 23 high stress-vulnerable subjects and 29 low stress-vulnerable subjects with intake of either alpha-lactalbumin (WP diet) or sodium caseinate (control diet), the results suggested that the WP diet improved cognitive performance in subjects experiencing high stress and anxiety via increased brain tryptophan and serotonin activities when compared to the control treatment.
Athletic Performance and Exercise-Induced Muscle Damage
Thirty-two men were assigned to either a WP or control treatment group. Participants were also fed three meals per day and did a supervised resistance exercise program for 60 minutes per day, six days per week over four weeks. WP increased muscle and peak torque of the dominant knee flexors, dominant shoulder extensors and non-dominant shoulder extensors and the total work of the dominant knee and shoulder extensors compared to the control group.
Overall, WP enhanced muscle mass, overall muscular strength and endurance. Nine males completed four conditions randomly:
1. A control condition of a typical mixed diet containing 10% protein, 65% carbohydrate and 25% fat
2. A placebo condition diet with the same calories of the WP conditions
3. A low-dose condition of WP at 0.8 gram per kilogram of body mass per day (g/kg/day) in addition to the typical mixed diet
4. A high-dose condition of 1.6 g/kg/day of WP with the typical mixed diet
Following the final meal, significant increases in total amino acids, essential amino acids, branched-chain amino acids and leucine were observed in plasma with WP groups relative to their dosage but not in the control and placebo groups.
In a double-blind review study, 12 healthy trained men were tested after various conditions 10 hours and 24 hours after resistance exercises or no exercise as control group and either took 25 g WP or an energy-matched placebo treatment. The WP group significantly increased the whole-body protein metabolism and athletic performance recovery resulting from acute resistance exercises compared to the control or placebo groups.
Twenty physically active females who did repeated sprint exercises were assigned to consume two doses of 70 milliliters (mL) of WPH or placebo of isoenergetic carbohydrate for four days post exercise-induced muscle damage (EIMD). Compared to the placebo, the WPH treatment was highly beneficial for reducing symptoms of EIMD and improving recovery of muscle function for females doing sprints.
Researchers studied 92 nonathletic non-obese males, ages 18 to 55 years, for five days treating them with either 0.9 g/kg weight divided into three doses per day of WP or pea protein or a water supplement as a control group. In comparison to the control group of water, high intake of whey protein for five days significantly mitigated the increased muscle damage biomarkers over the long haul while the intake of pea protein had only an intermediate effect on muscle damage caused by eccentric exercises.
In a study of eight male and female participants resistance-trained for 12 weeks, between the ages of 18 and 30 years old, who took either WP or placebo, the WP with resistance trained group increased muscle mass with no effects on their muscle strength in comparison to the placebo.
The Power of Whey Protein
Using its antioxidant, anticancer, neuroprotective, cardiotherapeutic, chemopreventive and anti-inflammation superpowers, WP can be a masterful weapon against cancer, obesity, age-related diseases, cardiovascular risks and brain dysfunction as well as a booster to athletic performance and muscle recovery in both the young and the old.
My Comment:
With the booming trend to use GLP-1 drugs like Ozempic to lose weight, it would be very helpful to supplement with Whey Protein to prevent the loss of muscle along with the fat. Muscle loss is a large problem for people using GLP-1 drugs. And as we get older, muscle loss is a key contributor to falling and balance accidents that plague older people. I highly recommend adding WP to your diet and doing some resistance training to retain and build your muscle mass.
Until next time, stay healthy and happy
JD Roma
The information on this blog is provided for educational purposes only. It is not a substitute for professional medical care, and medical advice and services are not being offered. If you have, or suspect you have, a health problem you should consult your physician (preferably a Naturopath).
No comments:
Post a Comment