Hey Low Crap Foodies – its time to stand up for health and stop big agribusiness from taking over our food!

You can get tons of information at the free Food Revolution Summit hosted by bestselling author John Robbins (Diet for a New America, Food Revolution.) John will be interviewing 21 amazing leaders in movements for healthy, sustainable, humane and delicious food.

From April 28-May 6, 2012 there will be three interviews broadcast daily that you can access by phone or internet. You’ll get cutting edge disease-beating, health-activating, age-reversing information. These tools can help you and your family thrive and with those newly awakened brains cells make a real difference in the way our food industry operates.

I’m going to be listening to every word and I hope you will too!

Get more info and register today:

http://foodrevolution.org/cmd.php?af=1452194

Lawsuit Alleges Frito-Lay’s GMO Snacks Aren’t “Natural”

OMG! Really? I thought corn chips grew on trees ….

Frito-Lay chips not “all natural”: lawsuit

Lawsuit Alleges Frito-Lay’s GMO Snacks Aren’t “Natural”.

Time Magazine recently posted two photo essays documenting what families from around the world eat in a week and how much it costs (in US$).

I invite you to spend time with each photo and consider the nutrition and waste of the different foods eaten.

What The World Eats Part 1

What the World Eats Part 2

Fluoride in municipal tap water is a hot topic. Where I live, Calgary Canada, City Council will vote January 10, 2011 on whether Calgary should remove fluoride from the municipal water supply.

I would like to offer a ‘Low Crap’ approach to this topic.

We must always remember that we don’t know what we don’t know.

We do know that that scientific studies can be, have been, and forever will be manipulated to ‘prove’ a hypothesis for individuals’ and companies’ political, social and/or financial gain. This happens all the time in big-pharma, big-agra and, dare I say big (and small) -‘natural health’ industries.

And we don’t know what studies will be disproven at some point in the future.

See? We don’t know what we don’t know.

We all agree that our collective state of health is not great. We all agree that rates of cancer, heart disease, diabetes, obesity, thyroid irregularities, autism, and other health issues are rising at an alarming rate. We don’t need science to prove this. We can see it happening all around us.

Theories and hypothesis are plentiful and are continually being disproven.

We still don’t know what we don’t know.

So why not error on the side of caution, and remove, wherever possible, chemical additives from our diets… including fluoride.

Fluoride has been linked to pitting and discolouration of teeth, osteosarcoma and other cancers, dysfunction of the thyroid and pineal glands, lethargy, osteoporosis and bone fragility, skin eruptions, calcification and arthritis, environmental pollution and destruction of crops and animals.

Instead of waiting for scientific studies to prove or disprove any virtues and/or dangers of fluoridated water … why not just take it out of the picture. Forget about fluoridating municipal water supplies!

If you believe that fluoride prevents tooth decay go ahead and brush as often as you like with fluoridated toothpaste. Even the cheapest toothpaste has been ‘fortified’ with fluoride. And while you are brushing, it would be a good time to read the warning label on the toothpaste tube about the dangers of ingesting fluoride …

Yup is a crazy ass world we live in.

Cut the crap … Lets go fluoride free!

I thought you might enjoy this poignant commentary on how health care is more about big business than health.

Happy Friday!

If you can’t see the embedded video below click here to watch.

This afternoon I listened to a radio host interview a doctor about … what else … H1N1.

The slant to his interview was “Are children at risk of contracting H1N1 when they go trick or treating?”

The host asked the doctor questions like: “Can H1N1 be transmitted through candy.” “Are children at risk by touching a door knob that a bunch of other kids have touched?”

And my personal favourite question: “Could a ‘bad guy’ use Halloween candy to deliberately spread H1N1?”

I think the doctor was as frustrated as I was with the way the interview was going and he gave a calm and courteous, but firm “No” answer to all these questions.

I wish the media would stop.

If the media really wanted to do service to the public they would talk about how eating a whole bunch of sugar laced with food colouring, preservatives, and artificial stuff wreaks havoc on a child’s immune system.

And not only does all that crap food almost instantly deflate immune function, but researchers now say that repeated high spikes in blood sugar greatly contributes to one’s risk for developing Type 2 Diabetes.

Oh ya … don’t forget the damage that sugar can do to your child’s beautiful second set of newly forming teeth!

If you really want to protect your children this Halloween, limit the amount of candy they eat to one treat per day for a just a day or two, then quietly throw the rest in the garbage.

Want to know more? See “What’s so bad about junk food.”

These days a lot of people ask me what I think about the much talked about coming flu season that is predicted to disrupt society.

Almost daily I’m asked if I am going to be vaccinated against H1N1 or the seasonal flu.

More than daily I receive emails warning about some grand conspiracy purporting to use the flu vaccine to spread disease, not prevent it.

Let me start by telling you what I think about all the hype around H1N1. Its a flu. Some type of flu virus moves throughout communities every year … always has … probably always will. Some years are worse than others. These days our community is global, so there are a lot more people who could potentially be carriers of the virus.

Am I going to be vaccinated against H1N1 and/or the seasonal flu? No. But that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t. I believe vaccinations are a personal decision based on personal circumstances and beliefs.

There are risks with any decision. Do your own research. Check in with your own inner knowing. And don’t let anyone bully you to get, or not get, any vaccine.

And please do me a favour. Once you have made your decision, don’t go around bullying other people to make the same decision you’ve made.

What about all those conspiracy theories that are floating around? In my opinion they are about as amusing as all the mainstream media hype. I don’t forward those emails.

Only time will tell if my beliefs, my immune system, my lifestyle choices and my efforts to reduce stress in my life, will protect me from this winter’s flu.

Whatever happens, I am fully committed to continuing my exploration of a low crap lifestyle, and will dedicate the next few weeks to talking about how a low crap diet can shore up your immune system and increase your chances of enjoying a comfortable, flu-free winter.

To get started check out these past posts:
Ten ways to clean up your diet 
Eating clean
What’s so bad about junk food?
Carrot Ginger Garlic Soup
7+ servings of fresh produce … no fork required
Fresh Ginger Root Tea

A recent article makes the claim that “popcorn is a health food”. (Source Calgary Herald “Popcorn is a health food, says research” August 19, 2009 http://www.calgaryherald.com/health/Popcorn+health+food+says+research/1908039/story.html)

I don’t disagree with that in principle, and with so many forms of ‘popcorn’ out there it would be wise to examine which forms have the lowest crap factor.

High on my list of crappy popcorn would be any type of commercially prepared ‘candied popcorn’ … especially ones that contain high fructose corn syrup, food colouring, preservatives and other nasties.

Then there is the flavoured microwave popcorn. Just the smell of that stuff cooking puts my crap-factor-spidey-senses on full alert … not to mention the fact that some popcorn factory workers have developed lung cancer from breathing in the chemicals used to make fake butter and other flavourings. And what about the single use bag that holds the popcorn as it pops away in the microwave. While that bag may or may not be recyclable where you live, it is coated with chemicals that could contaminate the popcorn as it pops. Also, I’m just not a fan of cooking food in a microwave oven … just my personal preference.

I have heard it is possible to pop corn in the microwave using a paper lunch bag or glass bowl with a lid … but I have never tried it myself. This would seem to be a very low crap form of popcorn … except for the microwave part … again … just my personal opinion.

Then there is that pop in a jiffy stuff, specially created for popping over a campfire. Great idea, but I always wonder what nastiness the heated aluminum foil adds to the finished product … and again there is the issue of recycling the oil soaked aluminum after your done.

Those little hot air popcorn makers work well, although I have concerns about the non-stick coating and fumes from the plastic cover contaminating the corn as it pops.

Theatre popcorn, in my opinion, has a lower crap-factor rating, especially when I pay the extra 50 cents to have it topped with real butter and it is served to me in an environmentally friendly paper bag. I stay away from those flavourings in the shaker containers though … too many artificial ingredients that make my tongue feel yucky.

Popping corn in a pot on the stove with a little bit of oil, while not as convenient as other methods, is my favourite form of popcorn, mostly because I can purchase organic ingredients (popping corn, oil, sea salt) in bulk which cuts down on packaging and I can choose my own low crap flavourings.

Contrary to what your mother might have told you, you do not have to eat meat every day to get enough protein in your diet. In fact there is plenty of protein in non-animal food products to keep you healthy… just ask any vegan and they will tell you it is possible to live meat free. For example 1 cup of walnuts has the same amount of protein as a chicken drumstick; and 1 cup of quiona has a little more protein than 1/4 pound of lean ground beef.*

But Meat Free Mondays isn’t asking us to all become vegan. It is simply asking us to cut our meat consumption by about 14% to help lessen the impact that we have on our environment … and that fits beautifully with the low crap diet.
 
This movement is growing quickly. A Google search for “meat free Monday” returns over 20 million hits. Even Sir Paul McCartney has, not surprisingly, joined the movement and if you visit supportMFM.org you can watch Sir Paul strumming his guitar and singing a little song to get everyone in the spirit: “Meat free Monday… It’s a fun day… And its happ’nin …All around the world.”

Making Mondays meat free makes a lot of sense. To learn more watch the video below, or click here to watch on You Tube.

*Nutrition Facts Source: Dunne, Lavon J., Nutritional Almanac Fifth Edition, 2002 McGraw-Hill

A British study on the nutritional value of organic foods was released yesterday.  (source National Post: “No nutritional value added in organics: study.” Thur. July 31, 2009 http://www.nationalpost.com/news/story.html?id=1842708)

The study concluded that “Organically produced foods have no more nutritional value than conventionally grown products and consumers who pay a premium for organic foods are doing so based on perception, not fact” [my emphasis]

Are they daft?

Do they think that people who purchase organic food are daft?

I purchase organic products because I care about my health and the health of my planet.

I purchase organic products because of what it doesn’t contain . I personally do not want to eat residue from pesticides such as:

- Iprodione*. A known carcinogen used in the conventional production of almonds, Iprodione is also a potential ground water contaminant and suspected endocrine disruptor.

- o-Phenylphenol*. A known carcinogen used in the conventional productions of apples, o-Phenylphenol is also a developmental or reproductive toxin and a suspected endocrine disruptor.

- Chlorothalonil*, a known carcinogen used in the conventional production of tomatoes, that also has the potential to be a ground water contaminant.

By purchasing organic products I support biodiversity, environmental stewardship, clean water, clean air, safe work environments for farm workers, preservation of heirloom plants, soil nutrition, small-scale family farms, ethical treatment of animals, sustainable agriculture and the list goes on.

Purchasing organic isn’t about better nutrition.

Purchasing organic is a non-selfish way of saying “I care.” 

*Information sourced from PAN Pesticide Database http://www.pesticideinfo.org and What’s on my food? http://www.whatsonmyfood.org/index.jsp. Retrieved July 31, 2009.