Salmonella... Here we go again

These days it seems salmonella goes with processed food like peanut butter goes with jelly, or hot goes with spicy, or flowers go with spring... It just seems inevitable that if we are buying food that has been handled or manipulated in any way prior to packaging, that sure enough you are playing Russian roulette with your health... your life for that matter!

The latest headline reads, "Shelled pecans recalled over salmonella fears", and it's just another example of the governments (FDA) incompetence when it comes to, well, doing their job; keeping our food supply safe.

When people think of processed food, shelled nuts usually don't come to mind, but shelling is no doubt a "process" that an otherwise healthy food undertakes. On that same note when people think of nuts they tend to focus on the actual nut inside and not the outer shell, but nature put that outer shell there for a reason; to keep the food inside fresh and the nutrients intact. Just like a fruit or vegetable begins to lose its nutrients once it has been peeled and chopped into those nice "ready to eat" size portions, nuts beans and grains do the same.

A nut with the shell can last years, but once that shell is removed so goes that shelf-life. And let's not forget about nutrients; a nut shelled right before eating it has more nutrients than a nut shelled at some processing plant months before. As for salmonella, you don't have to worry about a salmonella tainted nut if its shell is still intact.

So the choice is yours... Eat minimally processed organic whole foods and be healthy, or eat non-organic overly processed foods and add salmonella poisoning to any already long list of unwanted side-effects (obesity, diabetes, heart disease, cancer).

Taxing a Poor Diet is a Poor Idea

It's been in the news for some time now, as politicians push to pass legislation which would put a tax on sugary drinks (such as non-diet soda).

I think this is another typical example of our government and society trying to fix a problem with actually addressing the problem, and let me go on record by saying this is not the right approach. I think if history is any example, it should be obvious to see that putting an additional tax on something to try and sway the public not to purchase it does not work; case in point tobacco and alcohol.

How many times does the government have to raise the tax on tobacco products to get people to stop smoking... I'll let you know when it happens!

You cannot create a "healthy society" by making it too expensive to eat poorly.

You have got to educate people on the healthy truth...

• A healthy diet is everything (Fresh Organic Fruits and Vegetables, Natural Whole Grains and Legumes, Grass-fed Beef Free-Range Chickens and Wild Caught Fish)
• Processed food causes poor health (Diabetes, Obesity, Heart Disease, Chronic Pain and Inflammation, Cancer)
• Non-Organic cosmetics and household chemicals cause Cancer (Soap, Shampoo, Make-up, Skin Products, Perfume, cleaners, deodorizers, disinfectants...)
• Rx and Over-the-counter Drugs do more harm than good (Pain Killers, Anti-Inflamatories, Muscle Relaxers, Antacids, Antibiotics, Vaccinations, any Prescription Drug)

Do yourself and your family a favor and do the research; you will find that being healthy comes natural when you stop poisoning yourself.

Don't Be The Biggest Loser

Losing weight for most people, whether you're slightly overweight, obese or morbidly obese, can feel overwhelming and simply put an impossible achievement, which no doubt requires a major lifestyle change on many levels. This is why those brave few who dare take the leap are usually quick to jump on the "fad" band wagon in all its many seductive forms...

Be it the newest fad diet that's all the rave in Hollywood, or the newest fad diet pill that is being pushed hard and fast by some pharmaceutical company trying to make a quick profit before it gets overly scrutinized by the medical and nutritional communities, or let's not forget the network driven ratings hungry people exploiting prime time weight loss show the "Biggest Loser".

I can assure you if you choose any of these roads than you will surely end up right back where you are... over weight and unhappy! Weight loss has to start with diet, and that means throw out everything you currently think you know and START EATING HEALTHY! Your diet must consist mainly of fresh organic fruits vegetables and natural whole grains and legumes. You will not find a healthy diet in a bag, box, can, pill, bar, or cleverly marketed drink, despite the many impostors available at your local grocery or so called "nutritional" store.

This is why fad diets not only don't work but statistics show that those who fail (and the majority do) fall hard.Unfortunately now with ridicules TV shows like "The Biggest Loser", people are being unknowingly suckered into the dangerous belief; exercise hard like some sort of Marine in training and you'll be thin in record time. Unfortunately recent headlines reveal something else, something in the form of injuries and health problems due to over-exertion.

Exercise is an important part of a healthy lifestyle, but exercise doesn't have to mean psycho boot camp. Walking and hiking can be some of the best forms of exercise you can get, but start slow... try parking your car in the furthest available parking spot the next time you go shopping, or take the stairs instead of the elevator, and let's not forget simply taking walks outside (not in a gym) and reintroduce yourself to nature.

So remember, eat healthy (organic, fresh, free-grazed, grass-fed, wild caught) and exercise smart (walking and hiking, or body weight exercises like push-ups, pull-ups, and crunches)... A healthier you is right around the corner!

Lets Root for Anti-inflammatorys

Being someone who suffered from chronic inflammation for many years and continually came up short with any Rx or over-the-counter drug, it's no wonder why I have a special place in my heart for any natural anti-inflammatory. So if you're like me and have long given up on popping pills to relieve inflammation, then you're in luck because hands down nature has the best anti-inflammatorys around.

Fear not though, you won't have to Root around very long to find some of these little natural wonders. Actually many of them are right there in your spice rack, and if you buy organic food products, spices in this case, and you're actually using them, then you're definitely getting some of their benefits.

Why stop (short) there though... when a recipe calls for "freshly grated" or "freshly chopped" or "freshly minced" spices then do your food and your health a favor and use the actual root. One of the most commonly called for (fresh spices) and conveniently enough commonly offered "roots" is the ginger root, and take it from someone who cooks/eats homemade meals every day... it's well worth the minuscule amount of extra effort it takes to substitute a couple of shakes of dried powder with the fresh stuff, and the difference in flavor will amaze you.

Since health is always my first priority though, ending with the flavor benefits would be, well, incomplete to say the least. The fact is, studies show that ginger root has many therapeutic properties one of which is the ability to inhibit the formation of inflammatory compounds as well as having direct anti-inflammatory effects. Ginger has been used for thousands of years for alleviating gastrointestinal problems (gas to be exact) as well as to aid the digestion process. More recent studies confirm these beneficial qualities by proving ginger to be far superior to Dramamine (or equivalent drugs) for preventing symptoms associated with motion sickness and especially those of sea sickness.

It's true that organic processed foods are no doubt superior to non-organic processed foods, but the fact is that these processes, whether preformed to Organic standards or not, deplete foods of some of their nutritional properties. So remember, fresh is always best whenever possible.