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Goin' Gluten-Free...and $25 Gift-Certificate Giveaway

The Healthy Apple — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 08:00:43 +0000

Avoiding gluten, the protein found in wheat as well as grains rye and barley can be a challenge, but there’s no need to wave goodbye to your favorite foods. If you suffer from gluten intolerance or Celiac disease, you can build your diet from vegetables, rice, corn, legumes, fruit and other tasty gluten-free foods.

Vegetables, Fruits, Seeds and Nuts

All fresh vegetables, fruits, seeds and nuts are gluten-free. Be aware of packaged, processed vegetables and fruits such as jellies, preserves, soups, nut butters and processed, pre-made meals, which may contain gluten. You can easily prepare homemade soups, salsa, smoothies, dressings, marinades, parfaits, casseroles, salads, chutneys and nut or seed butters using fresh fruits, vegetables, seeds and nuts in their natural state. Green, leafy veggies such as kale, collards, chard and spinach are great options steamed as a side dish or tossed into a green smoothie. Hearty veggies such as carrots, parsnips, sweet potatoes, squashes, eggplant, broccoli, cauliflower and legumes are perfect for making chili or stew, while artichokes, avocado, asparagus, celery, Brussels sprouts, corn, peas and peppers are tasty in a stir-fry or stuffing. As for fruits: apples, oranges, grapefruit, berries, melons, bananas, pears and peaches are a flavorsome addition to smoothies, desserts or parfaits with yogurt and nuts. Try freezing grapes for a satisfying, refreshing treat and create a homemade trail mix using nuts, seeds and dried fruit for a convenient snack. Looking for flavor? Fresh herbs add a powerful aroma and zesty taste to any dish; toss rosemary into marinades or cilantro into gazpacho.

Dairy, Eggs, Meat

Eggs and meats are gluten-free, however, be sure to read the ingredient list for processed meats such as luncheon meats, breaded variations and sausage, which may contain traces of gluten. Dairy is gluten-free, as well, however processed dairy such as ice creams, yogurts and butters may contain gluten. Enjoy any of the following in their natural state: chicken, beef, bison, ham, turkey, eggs, seafood, lamb, fish and wild game.

Flours and Grains

All forms of wheat, barley and rye contain gluten; however, there is a vast array of naturally gluten-free flours available, which are created from beans, seeds or nuts. Oats are naturally gluten-free, however, cross-contamination may occur during processing, therefore purchase oats with the certified gluten-free label. The following gluten-free flours and grains can be enjoyed guilt-free: rice, buckwheat, teff, corn flour, corn meal, lentils, flax seed, potato, polenta, millet, soy flour, tapioca, quinoa, amaranth, almond meal, arrowroot and gluten-free flour blends. These gluten-free options require easy prep and can be used to create a hot breakfast, casserole, stir-fry or dessert. If you have trouble adjusting to gluten-free varieties, try adding fruit puree such as canned pumpkin or prune to moisten and add flavor.

As a rule of thumb, steer clear of processed foods and reach for foods as close to the original source as possible. Using fresh ingredients rather than pre-made, processed options is a safe way to ensure a gluten-free lifestyle. Your best bet is to prepare meals at home so you have control over the ingredients and ensure there is no cross-contamination with gluten.

Regarding my $25 Give Certificate, the nice folks over at Open Sky are offering a limited time $25 Gift Certificate Promotion…so head on over to Open Sky and check out my fabulous products to use your $25 free gift certificate. Here’s the information you’ll need to get shoppin’ at Open Sky and receive your $25 certificate:

The Healthy Apple’s coupon code is: talli2509

Rules:
-          $25 off coupon
-          Good for any OpenSky item
-          No minimum purchase
-          Free shipping
-          Limit one per customer
-          Starts: Monday, November 30, 2009

Ice Cream Cone

derekcalavera — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 07:59:49 +0000

A softserve cone
swirl
half-anger, half-denial
sprinkles of shock
and after it goes down
smooth and creamy
lactose-intolerance
acid-reflux

the hearth in my chest
cannot be fed with sugar
and the kindling is screaming
as the fire dies down

Also, eggs

Cami — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 03:29:23 +0000

Tap to Crack

Brulees
Ice-covered snow
Emergency glass
Facades

Just Barely Made It...

martinatm — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 02:26:28 +0000

I made the monthly quota of at least 1 post per month! Yay me!

Super Mario is the greatest freaking game ever created in the history of forever. I would write more and try to be funny or something but I have to play more Mario so i’ll make it brief.

I’ll never get bored of it, and i’m sure you won’t (but maybe I should speak for myself cause I can’t make it past the first level in this version of the game (I can in others, i promise)), but to spice things up, here’s a suggestion:

-Put the game on mute, and play techno/house (david guetta’s sexy bitch, daft punk’s harder better faster stronger, or kanye’s stronger as personal pump-up favorites of mine) as you play, and you’ll feel a totally new connection with mario/luigi and play harder, making you feel invincible. The downside is that you’ll be like 10 times more crushed when mario dies.

To make more time for Super Mario:

-play on a laptop, you can bring mario anywhere (unless of course you have a nintendo GB, GBcolor, or anything along the timeline up to DSlite).

-eat dairy products, and bring mario to the bathroom when the baby starts a-kickin’ (of course this implies that you’re lactose intolerant and that you have a laptop).

More tips later, maybe. So much for brief.

Love, Mario Martina.

kbye!

dark days challenge #2: post-Thanksgiving corn chowder

Eugenia — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 00:07:54 +0000

For the second week of the Dark Days Winter Eat Local Challenge, I was indeed challenged. The days

Farmer Invents Solution to Cattle Greenhouse Gas Emissions

Farmboots — Sun, 29 Nov 2009 20:11:08 +0000

Farmers in Uproar on Cow Tax Issue

Leave it to a farmer to outsmart all the politicians. Instead of coming up with yet another tax, and I’m sure he was hoping to avoid the “cow tax” that is supposed to tax cow emissions/manure (or to be blunt, cow farts), this farmer went to work using his noggin’

Here is a photo of his invention. Let’s hope he can patent it so us farmers don’t get stuck with a cow tax.

Farmer's Solution to Cow Tax & Greenhouse Gas Issue

Cal Poly SLO Needs YOUR Help to Protect the Cows and Save the Dairy

dairygoddess — Sun, 29 Nov 2009 18:11:00 +0000

The student rally was a huge success in enabling extra time to “save the cows”. The fight continues! Though positive, we must continue our support to help Cal Poly San Luis Obispo dairy with this devastating year that effected all of us in dairy industry. David Macedo of Tulare Sales Yard has agreed to waive the commission for cows coming through December 1st, 2009. The check will go directly to CP Dairy. If we get dairyman to donate 1 beef cow the support will be huge.

If you are unable to donate a beef cow a donation of any amount will help enable the Cal Poly Dairy to continue their “learn by doing” motto. It also enables so many people who would have no farm experience and ability to see a true farm and their food source. Mail your support to CP Dairy, Cal Poly University- California Polytechnic University, San Luis Obispo, CA 93407. Your support and generosity will insure the future of the dairy program and future dairy farmers.

Thank you!done

自分の時間

singo405 — Sun, 29 Nov 2009 13:24:06 +0000

自分は結婚して、幼稚園に通う子供もいます。
なので、独身時代と比べ自分の時間と言うものが激減しました。
まぁ、自分だけじゃなく他の人もそうだと思いますけど。
平日は仕事、週末は子供と遊んだり家族と買い物やお出かけ。
でも考えてみれば平日は帰宅後に4時間、週末は子供寝かせて起きていられれば3時間位は時間があります。
しかし、最近はTwitterなるものに嵌っているのでついついそっちをやって、気がつけば寝ないと！な時間に。
このままじゃいかんなぁなんて思っているんですが、なかなか止められない。。。

限られた時間でやりたい事をやるにはどう過ごすかを考えないといけないですね。
とりあえず家に居る時は寝る前だけTwitterする事にしようかと。

ちなみに今やりたい事＆しなきゃ行けない事は下記の通り。
1.年賀状のデザイン作成
2.ダイエットの為の運動
3.Objective-Cの勉強
4.ブログの記事作成
5.SK8の練習
6.ギターを弾く
7.スノーボード
8.スケーターネーション(iPhoneのスケートボードのゲーム)w

1.については期限があるので、こちらのプライオリティをNo1としなきゃなりません。
とすると、年賀状作成終了まではこのルーチンにするかな。
・平日：帰宅→飯→メールチェック→運動→風呂→年賀状デザイン→Twitter→就寝
・休日：子供に起こされる→朝食の準備＆飯→子供と遊ぶ→買い物やおでかけ、SK8？→（略）→子供寝かす→メールチェック→運動？→年賀状デザイン→Twitter→就寝

で、年賀状作成後は以下のルーチンになるかな？
・平日：帰宅→飯→メールチェック→運動→風呂→Obj-C勉強→Twitter→就寝
・休日：子供に起こされる→朝食の準備＆飯→子供と遊ぶ→買い物やおでかけ、SK8？、ギター弾く？→（略）→子供寝かす→メールチェック→運動？→Obj-C勉強→Twitter→就寝

むむむ。。。いくつもはやっぱできなさそうだなw
冬になればスノーボードに行きたいし。
必ず何かをやらねばと思ってやると続かなそうだしなぁ。。。
12月は飲み会やイベント多いし更に時間はなさそうだ。
ブログの下書きを通勤時間にするとか工夫するかね。

とりあえず、年賀状とダイエットかなぁ。

Paleo, archived (Acne)

Jan Turner — Sun, 29 Nov 2009 07:00:30 +0000

www.ThePaleoDiet.com
Loren Cordain, Ph.D.

November 27, 2009 Volume 2 Issue 1
(Originally published May 15, 2006)Jan,
Hello! Welcome to The Paleo Diet Update. For the next few weeks we will be publishing archival issues of The Paleo Diet Update while we work on our new monthly edition of the newsletter. We appreciate your readership, interest, and enthusiasm for The Paleo Diet and hope that you find items of interest from our archival editions of the newsletter.

The Paleo Diet Blog

We’re pleased see the response from the Paleo Diet community to our new Paleo Diet Blog! We will continue to provide useful nutritional information to our our readers, as well as an interactive format for our readers to view past questions submitted from the Paleo Diet community and the answers provided by our team. We encourage you to check out new articles, browse our Q&A, and submit your own questions or comments.

Loren Cordain, Ph.D., Professor

Loren Cordain, Ph.D.

In This Issue

The Dietary Cure for Acne

A 10,000 Year Old Riddle
of Bread and Milk Solved

Fruit and Vegetable Waxes:
Are They Safe?

Recipe of the Month

Success Story of the Month:
Optimize Fitness and Well Being

The Dietary Cure for Acne

At the time of this newsletter’s original date of publication, May 15, 2006, Dr. Cordain announced the release of his third book, The Dietary Cure for Acne. In the original article in that newsletter Dr. Cordain states:Although the medical and dermatology communities generally have gone on record stating that diet and acne are unrelated, there is now extensive evidence to show otherwise — including a recently completed clinical trial from my colleague Neil Mann’s laboratory at RMIT in Melbourne^{1, 2}. In this book I review the four immediate causes of acne and then show how various elements of diet ultimately influence these four immediate causes. In addition to the high dietary glycemic load that is ubiquitous in the typical Western diet, I explain how other common foodstuffs, including dairy products³, may provoke acne symptoms. The book is available as an e-book at my web site: http://www.dietaryacnecure.com.

A 10,000 Year Old Riddle of Bread and Milk Solved

IntroductionMost nutrition students know that dietary proteins are not absorbed by the intestines because they are broken down into their component amino acids by enzymes in the gut during the digestive process. Even if dietary proteins escape proteolytic (protein shearing) degradation in the gut, they are normally denied entry into the bloodstream by various gut, liver and immune system barriers.

For the past 20 years the pharmaceutical industry has been keenly interested in figuring out a way in which to get intact proteins past the gut barrier and into the bloodstream — and rightly so. A billion dollar market would be instantly opened up to any company that could develop a procedure to transport insulin (a large protein molecule) across the gut barrier without directly injecting it into the bloodstream. An insulin pill would be a diabetic patient’s dream come true. Well guess what? The day in which an insulin pill will become a reality is getting closer.

As a Paleo Diet fan, you may be scratching your head and saying, “So-what – why should I be interested in an insulin pill. Shouldn’t proper diet and exercise be the preferred approach for treating type 2 diabetics?” You are absolutely correct, but the relevance of the insulin pill for Paleo Diet devotees is not to be necessarily found in the clinical application, but rather in the pathway whereby intact proteins gain access to the bloodstream. This pathway and its nutritional ramifications represent one of the most fascinating and relevant evolutionary tales in all of human history.

Lectins

Although cereal grains, legumes and dairy foods represent staples for most of the world’s people, these foods were infrequently or never consumed by humans living prior to the advent of agriculture 10,000 years ago⁴. Both cereal grains and legumes are rich sources of proteins called lectins. In particular, whole wheat contains the lectin, wheat germ agglutinin (WGA), peanuts contain the lectin, peanut agglutinin (PNA), and kidney beans contain the lectin, phytohemagglutinin (PHA).

Because of their sturdy molecular structure, lectins are resistant to the gut’s proteolytic enzymes and have been found fully intact in the guts of both humans and animals^{5, 6}. Further, at least two animal studies have demonstrated that dietary WGA and PHA are rapidly transported across the gut wall into systemic circulation^{7, 8}. Following consumption of tomato juice, tomato lectin (TL) has also been found in systemic circulation of both rats and humans⁹. More recently, a single study in humans reported the presence of intact PNA in the bloodstream of healthy adults following ingestion of 200g of salted roasted peanuts¹⁰.

Because of their resistance to digestive enzymes and their ability to rapidly cross the intestinal barrier, lectins have been intently studied by pharmaceutical scientists interested in creating a vehicle for delivering drugs into systemic circulation without the need to directly inject them with a hypodermic needle¹¹. Until 2003 it was unknown how lectins could so rapidly cross the gut barrier and enter the systemic circulation.

However, recent studies using WGA as a drug delivery vehicle have identified the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGF-R) as the “back door” by which WGA gains entry into gut cells and then into circulation¹².

Hormones and Receptors

A hormone is a chemical substance that is secreted into body fluids and transported to another organ or tissue, where it produces a specific effect upon metabolism. Hormones most frequently gain entry into organs and tissues by binding a receptor on the surface of the organ or tissue. You can think about the hormone as a key (referred to as a “ligand”) and the receptor as the lock. If the key fits the lock, then metabolic processes are put into place in organs and tissues which influence their metabolism.

The EGF-R is an unusual receptor in that it is expressed on the inside (luminal side) of the gut rather than on the blood (serosal) facing side¹³. The reason for this anomaly is that saliva contains a hormone, epidermal growth factor (EGF), which binds to the EGF-R. So when you swallow saliva, you swallow a hormone (EGF) which may bind the EGF-R located on the luminal side of the gut. EGF found in saliva facilitates gut healing when it binds the EGF-R.

Since WGA, PHA and PNA¹⁴, as well as high wheat diets in normal, healthy humans¹⁵, may cause extensive damage and disruption to the epithelial cells lining the gut, it is likely that these lectins induce gut cells to up regulate (increase) the numbers of EGF-R to facilitate healing. However, the down side of increasing gut EGF-R in the continued presence of dietary lectins in the gut is that it creates a vicious cycle for enhanced lectin entry into these cells, and thence into the systemic circulation.

Whole Grain Cereals and Vitamin D Metabolism

Nutritional scientists have known forever and a day that excessive consumption of whole grain cereals severely impairs vitamin D metabolism and can lead to the bone disease, rickets¹⁶. In fact, as far back as 1918, before vitamin D was discovered, a scientist in England by the name of Mellanby routinely induced experimental rickets in puppies by feeding them an oat diet¹⁷. Epidemiological studies of human populations consuming high levels of unleavened whole grain breads show vitamin D deficiency and rickets to be widespread ^18-20. A study of radio-labeled vitamin D in humans consuming 60g of wheat bran daily for 30 days clearly demonstrated an enhanced elimination of vitamin D in the intestines²¹.

The EGF-R, WGA and Rickets

Mechanistically, scientists have never really understood why excessive consumption of whole grains, particularly wheat, could cause rickets. However, with the recent discovery that WGA gains access to the systemic circulation by binding the EGF-R in the gut, it became increasingly clear that WGA and similar whole grain lectins could impair vitamin D metabolism.

Because of its affinity to the EGF-R, WGA circulating in the bloodstream has the capacity to gain entry into any cell expressing the EGF-R. It should be noted that epithelial cells located in skin tissue express the EGF-R. Consequently the keratinocytes within the epidermis, because of their expression of the EGF-R will internalize WGA if it is present in peripheral blood. Keratinocytes are also the site of vitamin D synthesis upon ultraviolet (sunlight) irradiation of 7-dehydrocholesterol in the cell.

Once within skin keratinocytes, WGA blocks the nuclear pore ^{22, 23}, a structure that normally allows passage of certain cellular hormones and large molecules into the nucleus which then cause gene transcription. In particular, WGA blocks the cellular transport of the vitamin D receptor and its endogenous ligand (vitamin D) to the nucleus^{24, 25} which may result in impaired vitamin D utilization, and systemically increases the risk for rickets.

Neolithic Food Introductions and Rickets: Evolutionary Implications

The Neolithic (new Stone Age) was the period between 6,000 and 10,000 years ago when Agriculture first began in the Near East and then gradually spread to Northern Europe and elsewhere. As former hunter gatherers adopted a farming way of life, their diets changed rather dramatically. Whereas cereal grains were rarely or never consumed by hunter-gatherers, whole grain emmer wheat and barley became staples as hunter gatherers transitioned into early farmers (4, 16). Because whole wheat flour contains sizeable amounts of WGA (30-50 mg/kg)²⁶, a typical Neolithic farmer could easily have consumed 15-25mg of WGA per day on a regular basis. High intakes of WGA like these have the potential to severely impair vitamin D metabolism and thereby increase the risk for developing rickets.

Although rickets is rarely fatal in children and adolescents, it can cause flattening of the pelvic bones in females which may permanently narrow the birth canal. A rickets-induced, narrowed birth canal would have greatly increased mortality for mother and child during childbirth²⁷. In England between the 16th and 18th centuries, the maternal mortality rate was estimated to be 24 to 29 deaths per 1000 births, and many of these deaths were directly attributed to maternal rickets²⁷. It is likely that maternal mortality would have been higher still under the more primitive birthing conditions during the Neolithic. Hence, the reliance upon whole wheat as a staple food in Neolithic people would have represented a powerful negative evolutionary selective pressure that surely was responsible for millions of deaths over the course of thousands of years.

Prevalence of Lactase in Northern Europeans

Northern Europeans and their descendants are unusual amongst the world’s peoples in that they maintain the ability to consume cow’s milk without digestive discomfort because their guts produce lactase, the enzyme necessary to digest lactose, the sugar found in milk. Between 70 to 90% of Northern Europeans maintain the adult lactase persistence (ALP) gene, whereas the presence of ALP in most of the world’s people is much lower, ranging from approximately 3 to 25 % (Figure 1)²⁸.

Figure 1. The percentage of some world’s people with the ability to digest lactose in milk.

The standard evolutionary explanation for the presence of ALP in Northern Europeans is that once they had adopted dairying, selection for the ALP genes allowed lactose in milk to be digested without gastrointestinal disturbances and diarrhea. Consequently, ALP enabled calcium and other nutrients in milk to be readily digested, thereby enhancing nutrition and increasing survival²⁸. One of the problems with this explanation is that many of the world’s societies with long histories of dairying, such as the Mongols, the Herero, the Nuer, the Dinka, the Zulu and the Xhosa have low levels of the ALP gene and are generally lactase deficient^{28, 29}. These people have taken a behavioral approach to reduce the lactose in milk by consuming it as fermented products (sour milk, kumis, and yogurt) or as cheese. Certainly, Northern Europeans could have taken this approach. So the evidence suggests that the selection for ALP in Northern Europeans must have occurred for reasons other than the additional calcium and food calories found in fermented milk products.

Extreme Dermal Depigmentation in Northern Europeans

In addition to maintaining a high frequency of ALP, Northern Europeans are unique amongst the world’s people in that they exhibit extreme dermal de-pigmentation. Blond or red hair, very light skin and blue or gray irises are external characteristics that rarely occur together in any other people of the world. The standard evolutionary explanation for extreme dermal de-pigmentation is that Northern Europeans resided at high latitudes where sunlight was seasonally restricted causing impaired vitamin D metabolism^{30, 31}. Accordingly, the selection for light skin enhanced vitamin D synthesis during brief periods of sunlight exposure in these high latitude, sunlight compromised people. The problem with this explanation, as has been previously pointed out, is that other world’s people living at similar or higher latitudes have not evolved extreme dermal depigmentation³² as depicted from the Biasutti map below (Figure 2).

Figure 2. The Biasutti map depicting skin pigmentation in the world’s peoples²⁹.

Putting It All Together: The Bigger Picture

The reason why Northern Europeans evolved extreme dermal de-pigmentation was two fold. First vitamin D metabolism was slightly compromised in these people from reduced sunlight exposure by living at higher latitudes. But more importantly, regular consumption of whole wheat, because of its high WGA content, pushed vitamin D metabolism to the breaking point, likely causing an epidemic of rickets during the Neolithic. Remember that WGA gets into the bloodstream by binding the EGF-R, and then impairs vitamin D metabolism by blocking the nuclear pore, thereby preventing vitamin D from doing its job. So, one evolutionary strategy employed to overcome WGA’s deleterious effect upon vitamin D metabolism was to select genes coding for lighter skin so that more vitamin D could be synthesized during intermittent sunlight exposure.

The second evolutionary strategy taken by natural selection was to reduce or impair the uptake of any WGA that was ingested from wheat. This is where the selection for the adult lactase persistence (ALP) gene comes in. Raw cow’s milk is a rich source of epidermal growth factor (EGF) and contains 325ng per ml³³. In contrast, the processing of milk to make fermented milk products will greatly reduce or destroy EGF as it is unstable when exposed to heat, light and acidity^33-35. By ingesting raw cow’s milk Neolithic people would be directly dosing themselves with EGF which then could compete with and displace WGA for the EGF-R. Further, EGF from cow’s milk would facilitate gut healing to reduce the number of EGF receptors elicited by the destructive effect of WGA on the gut lining. The net effect of additional EGF from cow’s milk would be to impede entry of WGA into the bloodstream thereby improving vitamin D metabolism, which in turn would reduce the incidence of rickets.

Neolithic individuals bearing the ALP genes would gain selective advantage over those who didn’t have this gene because they could drink EGF containing cow’s milk without gastrointestinal discomfort. Consequently, over the course of hundred of generations, there would have been a rapid selection for the ALP genes, not because the calcium and food calories in milk provided crucial nutrition, but rather because the EGF in milk countered the rickets producing effects of WGA from whole wheat consumption. Thus, the extreme dermal depigmentation and high prevalence of the lactase enzyme in Northern Europeans were caused by the same negative selective pressure: high consumption of WGA containing whole wheat. Perhaps there are additional lessons to be learned by us all from this 10,000 year evolutionary experiment in eating whole grains.

Fruit and Vegetable Waxes: Are They Safe?

When you visit the produce section of your local supermarket, have you ever noticed the glossy wax that is frequently present on cucumbers and apples, and sometimes on bell peppers and other fruits and vegetables? Have you wondered why these waxes were applied and if they are safe or if they may have any deleterious health effects?The purpose of fruit and vegetable waxes are fourfold: 1) to reduce shrinkage from water loss, 2) to provide a barrier to gas exchange which prolongs shelf life by simultaneously reducing the oxygen content and increasing the carbon dioxide content of the fruit or vegetable, 3) to improve appearance by adding a shiny film, and 4) to sometimes provide a carrier for fungicides or other chemical agents to prevent microbial decay^36-38.

The waxes applied to fruits and vegetables can take on many different formulations incorporating a variety of waxes and other substances. Listed below are five common waxing formulas³⁷:

18.6% oxidized polyethylene, 3.4% oleic acid, 2.8% morpholine, 0.01% polydimethylsiloxane antifoam.
18.3% candelilla wax, 2.1% oleic acid, 2.4% morpholine, 0.02% polydimethylsiloxane antifoam.
9.5 % shellac, 8.3% carnauba wax, 3.3% morpholine, 1.7% oleic acid, 0.17% ammonia, 0.01% polydimethylsiloxane antifoam.
19% shellac, 1.0% oleic acid, 4.4% morpholine, 0.3% ammonia, and 0.01% polydimethylsiloxane antifoam.
13.3 % shellac, 3.0% whey protein isolate, 3.1% morpholine, 0.7 % oleic acid, 0.2% ammonia, 0.01 % polydimethylsiloxane antifoam.

Note that morpholine is a common element in almost all waxing formulas and is permitted for use in the U.S., Australia, Canada and other countries, but not in Germany. Morpholine’s function is to serve as a solvent and fungicide^{39, 40}. Morpholine, by itself, in the doses that are present in fruits and vegetables probably does not constitute a health risk^{39, 40}. However, during the digestive process, if there are nitrites simultaneously present, morpholine is chemically changed into Nnitrosomorpholine (NMOR), a potent carcinogen in rodents. The estimated safe lower limit for NMOR is 4.3 ng/kg body weight per day. It has been estimated that for adults, consuming waxed apples and a mixed diet, NMOR ingestion can approach (3.6 ng/kg body weight) the lower limit of safety. However, these estimates did not actually measure NMOR formation in humans⁴⁰. Additionally, nitrite ingestion is quite variable in humans⁴¹. Hence, it is entirely possible that chronic consumption of waxed fruit and vegetables containing morpholine could present a slight risk for cancer in certain individuals.

Shellac is a common ingredient in many waxes and is derived from the hardened secretion of the lac insect, Laccifer lacca. It has been reported to elicit allergies in some susceptible people, as has carnauba wax³⁶. Waxes generally cannot be removed by regular washing. So if you prefer not to consume waxes, you must buy un-waxed produce or peel the fruit or vegetable.

Fruits and vegetables which are waxed include: apples, avocados, bell peppers, cantaloupes, cucumbers, eggplants, grapefruits, lemons, limes, melons, oranges, parsnips, passion fruit, peaches, pineapples, pumpkins, rutabagas, squash, sweet potatoes, tomatoes, turnips and yucca. Since many of these fruits and vegetables are typically peeled and the peel is not consumed, only a few common fruits and vegetables present a problem.

Until only very recent times, fruits and vegetables were generally harvested when ripe and brought to market without wax coatings. Even today, fruit and vegetables can be harvested, packed, and stored without the use of waxes, and storage life can be extended through careful handling³⁶.

The relative cancer risk of not eating fresh fruits and vegetables is much greater than the small risk posed by consuming waxed fruits and vegetables. Personally, I prefer my produce wax-free, and as fresh as possible.

Recipe of the Month

Broiled Pork Tenderloin Zesty Rub1 minced garlic clove
1 tablespoon paprika
1 tablespoon dry mustard
1 tablespoon ground coriander
1 tablespoon canola oil
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon red wine
1 pound of very lean pork tenderloin, trimmed of all visible fat

Mix dry spices and garlic in a mortar and pestle – add in the oils and wine to make into a paste. Rub the paste onto the pork one hour before broiling. Broil pork 2 to 3 inches from heat source for about six minutes per side or until it is cooked to desired condition.

Success Story of the Month

Dr. Cordain,My name is Jonathon Edward, I’ve corresponded with you via e-mail on many occasions. I just want to let you know how incredibly grateful I am for your research. I own both of your books and have read through all of the research on your site (can’t believe it’s free!). I’ve been following the plan for well over a year now and have never looked or felt better. Headaches, allergies, and skin problems that used to constantly plague me have vanished and people constantly comment on my “radiant appearance.” The Paleo diet combined with an excellent exercise program (CrossFit) has allowed me to effortlessly optimize my body composition. I’ve stabilized at a lean (single digit body fat)/muscular 160 lb (I’m 5′6). My workout performance continues to increase as well. The benefits have extended to my family as well. In the past couple of months I’ve managed to get my mom and dad on the wagon and they have both experienced enhanced health and vitality. The plan has helped to alleviate aches and pains and is providing a route for my mother to get back to her ideal weight. Both of them are also experiencing higher levels of energy and greater resistance to fatigue. Needless to say, the plan has been a panacea for all involved.

The intention of this e-mail was not to write a testimonial, but I figured you ought to know the impact your research has had on the lives of my family and myself. I am an undergraduate student majoring in Biochemistry and I am seriously considering graduate level work geared toward research in evolutionary diet and medicine. I was wondering if you offer any type of summer internship to bright students (currently have a 3.91 GPA and am pursuing honors in the major) interested in Paleo nutrition oriented research? If not, do you have any suggestions? I genuinely would like to start contributing to the field while still an undergraduate.

Last but not least, I am a personal trainer and have been, with great success, implementing the Paleo Diet with all of my clients. Their first homework assignment is to pick up your book and read it cover to cover. After that, I like for them to go to your site, among others, and familiarize themselves with the vast amount of science backing up the plan. The individuals who fully commit themselves to the regimen + the training program I develop, progress toward and reach their goals with unbelievable rapidity. Along the way to reaching their aesthetic and performance goals, they optimize their health and well-being without trying. Your research lends itself to optimized body composition, performance, health, and longevity. Truly amazing! In the future I’ll be writing various articles outlining how to integrate intermittent fasting into the plan and how to tweak the plan for muscle/strength gain, performance enhancement, and fat loss.

I know that one of your main goals is to disseminate scientifically validated information that will change people’s lives for the better. I want to let you know that you’re accomplishing that goal in the lives of my family, clients, friends, and in my own life. Thanks again.

Regards,
Jonathon

References

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Homemade Butter

aastricker — Sun, 29 Nov 2009 06:23:02 +0000

Shetler's Heavy Cream

I love butter. There’s just something about freshly-baked bread smeared with butter that seems almost magical. If you love butter as much as I do, you have to try homemade butter. Making butter yourself is really easy. All you need is some heavy cream and a way to shake it. I salt mine, but salt is optional.

One day at school the kids and I made butter. I filled a pint jar a third full with milk and let the kids take turns passing the jar around shaking it until the butter magically separated from the buttermilk. The kids really thought this was magic and loved it on the homemade bread we made that morning. If six-year-olds can make butter, so can you.

Relax, you don’t even have to spend all morning shaking a jar full of cream to make your own butter. If you have an electric mixer, you can make butter in just a few minutes. First, get a jug of heavy whipping cream, NOT half and half. I used a quart of cream and got a pint of butter and a pint of buttermilk, but there was a lot of splattering involved.

Cream in Mixer Bowl

Next, pour the cream into the bowl of your mixer and turn it on a medium high-ish setting. Make sure the cream is very cold. You will have a harder time getting warm cream to turn into butter.

After a minute or two, the cream will start to whip and peaks will form, just like it would if you were making whipped cream.

Whipped Cream

Let the mixer keep running. It will start to shake as the butter forms and starts to thump around in the bowl. This is when the splattering starts! As the butter forms, it will cling to the whip and separate from the buttermilk. I actually had to drain some of the buttermilk off so that I could finish whipping the butter.

Yellow butter separating from the whitish buttermilk

Once the butter has formed, it needs to be washed in cool water. This rinses the buttermilk out of the butter and helps prevent the butter from spoiling. I rinsed mine by draining off all the buttermilk, adding cool water to the bowl and mixing it. I drained the water and added fresh a couple times until the water was clear.

When I was finished, I packed the butter into this cute little canning jar because I didn’t have a fancy butter dish; I’ll have to watch for one of those.

Finished butter and leftover buttermilk

Living in the seventies: Fondue, baby!

Charlotte — Sun, 29 Nov 2009 00:55:11 +0000

The topic of fondue arose recently, as it does now and then among friends when drink has been taken.

Everyone in the room recalled their parents’ fondue set and its occasional outings along with the funky pantsuits and false eyelashes of yore. But there was general disagreement about what fondue actually involved – some purists insisted that only cheese and bread was called for, while others of us recalled boiling oil and lumps of meat.

Serendipitously, the day after this conversation my beloved spied this book at a market and swooped. I suspect we will never actually use it, but it does make an entertaining conversation starter if you leave it on the coffee table. Published 1971, and in mint condition, Fondue and Table Top Cookery by Marion Howells runs the gamut of things-cooked-at-table, from your trad cheese fondues to your Oriental Fondue (meat in stock) to some rather desperate inclusions such as omelettes and dubious-sounding desserts (Apricots Jubilee, anyone?).

On fondue, Marion tells us that:

This popular dish originated in Switzerland. Many stories are told of the villagers being isolated in the long winter months, and supplies of food becoming short, they were forced to rely on local produce like cheese, wine and home made bread. As the cheese became dry they melted it in their wine.

So there we have it – a yicky gloopy mix borne of near-starvation becomes a classic fad for ‘entertaining of the more intimate type’, and into the bargain produces perhaps the earliest example of Fusion Food. As evidence, I leave you with the list of ingredients for my favourite recipe in this collection.

Fondue Bengali

1 clove garlic
1.5 cups dry white wine
1 tsp lemon juice
4 cups grated Gruyere cheese
2 cups grated Emmenthal cheese
2 tsp cornflour
2 tablespoons curry powder
3 tablespoons Kirsch
white pepper, cayenne pepper
mango chutney
French bread

公園へおでかけ

singo405 — Sat, 28 Nov 2009 23:46:42 +0000

今日は天気も良かったので、午後はちょっと離れた公園に家族で出かけてきました。
サッカーボール、柔らかい素材のフリスビー、スケートボード、キックボードを持っておでかけ。

公園につき、息子はキックボードを、自分はスケートボードに乗って移動。
しばらくプッシュで移動して息子がここがいいと言う場所でフリスビーやサッカーをして遊んでました。
自分は時々、iPhoneで写真を撮ったりしてましたが、あまりいい写真を撮れず。。。
休憩をはさんで場所を移動。

息子はキックボードに乗って遊び、自分もスケートボードの練習を。
プッシュは相変わらず安定して乗れない。。。
チクタクも最初はうまく出来なかったけど、途中からコツを少し掴めたのでいい感じに進めるようになりましたﾜ─+｡:.ﾟヽ(*´∀`)ﾉﾟ.:｡+ﾟ─ｲ♪
あと、オーリーの練習もやったけどやはり難しい。ぜんぜん出来ませんorz
かれこれ1時間程やってました。
かなり汗をかいたのでいい運動になりました。
いや〜楽しいわ。SK8って。

スケートボードを購入したのは約10年前。
両手で数える位しか乗ってなかったけど、楽しさを再確認。難しいけど。
板1枚で楽しめるので、これからはもっと乗って練習して上手くなりたいと思った。
下手なせいで結構な汗かくのでダイエットにもいいかも？w
近所にやってる人いれば一緒に遊べるので、友達(　ﾟдﾟ)ﾎｽｨけど、いなさそうだわ。

今の板は10年以上経ってるのでちとボロボロなとこあるんで、新しい板(　ﾟдﾟ)ﾎｽｨなぁ。。。
また物欲が。。。ww

daring dairy

greenapplesorbet — Sat, 28 Nov 2009 18:41:15 +0000

I first became obsessed with the idea of making my own yoghurt when I lived in France for six months

Pressure...28112009

sanjeel — Sat, 28 Nov 2009 11:32:11 +0000

I write this at peace and wanted to understand how to move life forward.

A silent sitting in front of the heater and candles didnt help, but reduced the stress levels so can understand what I had to do to achieve inner peace.

Answer was simple, take a stand and back down. I cannot cope with the stress I feel from my parents regarding the soul I still have access to. I lost the link but then it would only happen when the path changes and I am not meant to be with my other soul. Things have changed as the path had changed as I was reacting to what I knew. It was a kind of punishment and I accepted my mistake and apologised for my ego.

I have by far not established comms with the light on the physical plane to the extent everyone wants me to and logically I should pull the plug on pursuing this as if we cannot communicate now, even though I understand we are both under pressure then what chances do we have in doing so in future. We need to sync but fear might never allow us to ever open up. I have tried but then if she cannot put an effort into this then it wouldnt work. Time is against us as I am trying to introduce a new way of thinking to the elders which is not going well.

I havent even heard her voice or spoken to her. I tried to call but her circumstances dictated otherwise as I was courteous to ask as I always do so she was comfortable. I have tried but then I only try a few times before my pride kicks in and I never ever ask again.

She hasnt put any effort into communicating as others around us would like to see. I understand her fear but then she is probably not ready to give life another go. I dont want to disclose this to my family and so have decided to take the fall. A logical decision where I protect her and she would never know. She might be disappointed but then she would never know what my thoughts were. I am taking the fall for both ours incompetence due to our experiences and our fears.

I wish you well, my light, I am sorry, but I have to do this and its my decision. Should have been ours but we are not an entity yet and might never be.

I truly wish you happiness, but then I have only learnt to give happiness and light. I dont share my inner pain as I dont like pain, sadness and would love to take the pain of others. I dont want pain anymore, I get tired of it and I have a right to be happy and our circumstances and people around us once again fail to accept what we have gone through. I will be happy living alone all my life with the empty space. A price I am used to paying and it may just be my destiny as I have a good soul which only has light and nothing less. I will always take the fall for even the ones who have done bad to me. May the one above give me the strength to keep emitting light!

A Farmyard Surprise

Beyond Bluestockings — Fri, 27 Nov 2009 21:17:37 +0000

Yesterday was a momentous day for the Bluestockings. Quite by accident, we stumbled upon something

Dairy Dash: Play 'til the cows come home!

pragmatown — Fri, 27 Nov 2009 14:10:47 +0000

Dairy Dash (17 MB download)
Ah, life on the farm… what could be more relaxing? Just about anything, according to the Smiths! Help these city slickers get a grip on the family farm as the entertaining hustle of the Diner Dash series goes pastoral. Care for cows, goats, chickens, and sheep while growing tomatoes, corn and pumpkins. You’ll even enjoy the occasional glass of lemonade and fill an order or two for Flo! It’s all in a day’s work in Dairy Dash!

The best part of the cheese.

educationbyerror — Fri, 27 Nov 2009 10:33:04 +0000

The cheese of my childhood was the typical American cheese: a fairly unnatural yellow-orange shade, pre-cut, and wrapped in plastic. It made a good grilled cheese sandwich and was quite tasty on its own if you took a plastic straw and filled it with teeny cut circle rounds, then sucked them out. Rather fun, too.

I don’t believe it was until I was 20 that I began to eat what I prefer to now call “real cheese”. Whether or not that’s a proper term, I think it’s appropriate. I believe the first type I ever tasted (aside from the occasional bit of Parmesan or Gorgonzola on a salad) was a Belgian Trappist cheese, Chimay Grand Cru. And it was delicious. I have a habit of buying it when I get to Jungle Jim’s. A bit strong, but absolutely delicious.

I have a penchant for blue cheese. That mold contributes such a depth to the cheese, a contrasting bite to the smooth cheese surrounding it. I have set it as a goal to one day make my own, even if it’s just using Saga Blue as my starter cheese. I still put it down as something I want to do. Because I am that sort of person.

I have those sorts I’m not particularly fond of: Brie and Camembert, though maybe part of that is the unavailability of the younger versions in the US thanks to raw cheese regulations. I prefer cheeses made in the Brie style with goat milk. I don’t care for most Cheddars, which just seem to have little flavor; no matter whether they are from Vermont, Wisconsin, or Britain, unless they contain a flavor such as peppers or seeds, they are just dull. And Parmesan is truly uninteresting, at least the domestic American version. But what is the best part of that cheese? The rind. It’s the tastiest part and it’s always leftover in our house from anything needing Parmesan, just awaiting snackage. And breakfasts.

pumpkin-pecan and turkish delight cannoli (daring bakers)

mlle noëlle — Fri, 27 Nov 2009 05:01:03 +0000

I actually made my Daring Bakers challenge early this month, woot! Marvin informed me that we were g

Birthday Lunch cont'd

jaramae — Fri, 27 Nov 2009 02:58:00 +0000

First I wanted to feature my kitchen at home. The lady in red is the head of the kitchen, my lovely grandmother. My kitchen back home isn’t huge but it suits our family fine. It’s hopefully going to get renovated in the near future to a more dark wood finish, granite top, better shelving within the cabinet, a bigger fridge and better lighting. My parent’s vision for it will be amazing I’m sure. During the summers and when I’m home in Toronto, this is where I cook.

To continue my birthday lunch coverage, I wanted to show you what a typical Filipino get together looks like. Despite the seemingly mass amounts of food, it’s still a pretty casual affair and the food choices are much more extensive during a really big celebration such as christmas and new years. I only contributed by cooking the Prime Rib but the rest was cooked by my loving grandmother. I did all the set up and ensured that everything was warm and tasty with the help of my sister and father.

Pancit Palabok is one of my favourite Filipino noodle dishes. There are so many flavours and textures to it. There are two types of noodles normally used when making palabok, either bihon which is a thin round rice vermicelli or lulug which is a thicker yellow noodle. My mother prefers bihon since the sauce and toppings are filling enough. The noodles are mixed in a creamy, nutty shrimp sauce with other flavourings. The noodles and the sauce are delicious on its own but you can garnish it with cooked shrimp, crush pork rinds, hard-boiled eggs, green beans, carrots, tinapa, fried garlic, calamansi/lime/lemon juice and green onions. Mixed all together it is simply divine and truly satisfying. I know that it’s a LOT of toppings I know but all help to balance out one another and everything is optional. I’ve yet to taste anything better than my grandmother’s. This is something I definitely have to learn.

You don’t often find too many strictly vegetables dishes in Filipino culture. Especially amongst our circle of family friends, we often don’t include it in party menus. My family always tries to serve up a simple salad for those willing to eat it. Most of it ends up as leftovers which we don’t mind since we’ll happily eat it the next day. We kept it super simple with just very fresh plum tomatoes, button mushrooms, red onion and baby spinach.

We also had a fruit platter consisting of whatever we had on hand; grapes, cantaloupe and oranges, all super cold, just the way I like it. Fruit bodes much better with our family friends than vegetables so this disappeared quick.

My grandmother also cooked dinuguan which is a traditional Filipino dish whose main ingredients are pig’s blood, vinegar, garlic and less popular parts of the pig such as its ears, intestines and snout). It is definitely an acquired taste. In all honesty, it only seems weird once you know what it is but by just looking at it, it appears like a dark earthy stew. I’ve been eating it since I was really young so I’m used to it. I suggest that you give it a try before you write it off completely. It is definitely hearty and big party fav amongst our friends. It is often eaten with rice or with a steamed rice cake called puto which is seen in the bottom on the green plate. I actually strictly eat dinuguan with puto. Puto can be used both for savoury or sweet purposes and can have added toppings if desired. We typically buy ours for parties although my grandmother makes a far better homemade cheese puto.

Another typical food found at a Filipino party is lumpia shanghai and fried chicken. Lumpia is essentially spring rolls that are fried. My grandmother is very meticulous about the process she goes through in making them and ensure that all the ingredients are of equal sizes for even cooking. I sometimes help out by rolling the filling to form the spring rolls. It’s a rather simple dish and the recipe can be easily found online. It is served with ketchup but I normally eat it with a spicy sauce to give it some heat.

This is also another party favourite. Rellenong Bangus is stuffed milkfish that are then fried to give a crispy texture to the skin. To create this dish takes an extensive amount of time to create. It requires the complete removal of the fish’s insides while keeping the entire thing in tact. You then need to steam the removed flesh of the fish and de-bone it (which trust me is the most time-consuming, insanity inducing task ever), flake it, mix it with the rest of the ingredients which normally includes finely chopped vegetables and raisins. After letting the mixture marinate for a while, you need to re-stuff the fish (again keeping it perfectly intact) and then fry. It is then cut up and garnished with ketchup. It’s a lot of meticulous steps. My grandmother normally makes huge batches of these and we give one fish to every family friend. It’s not my most favourite dish but I can certainly appreciate the work than goes into it.

Another Filipino dessert that I love is the fruit salad that my mother makes. It mainly consists of condensed milk, cans of fruit cocktail (typically the tropical version), fresh apples, nata de coco and shredded coconut. Some recipes call for cubed cheese (?) and my father’s side of the family opts to include this in their fruit salad but I’m not a fan. There are other variations easily found on the web but we like to keep it simple. We let the fruit salad sit in the fridge to keep it chilled until time to serve.

Other things on the menu were menudo, steamed white rice and chocolate cheesecake brownies made by one of our family friends. I believe it was one of her first baking experiences. There was also palitaw, another huge favourite Filipino dessert of mine and of course the mango birthday cake that we got from Aromaz bakery that I mentioned in a previous post.

My plate looked something like this. It was a lovely meal spent with lots of great friends. Unfortunately I ended up having to leave the party and pack my things as I had to catch a bus back to Kingston that afternoon. I also didn’t manage to bring home any leftovers which bummed me out. But there’s always another party another time; Filipinos are notorious for throwing parties constantly. Next big get together is christmas, can’t wait!

Five Things to Be Thankful For This Thanksgiving

sabrina829 — Fri, 27 Nov 2009 01:33:21 +0000

Thanksgiving is a time to stop and reflect on all the things that we are thankful for. It has been a

From Our Dairy to Your Home- Happy Thanksgiving!

dairygoddess — Thu, 26 Nov 2009 17:36:54 +0000

I am very grateful for the many blessings that surround my life. My children, my husband, family, friends and health.

This has been a tough year for our dairy industry. I am grateful to still be at it. I pray for the continued improvement of our economy.

I am grateful that I have been able to share myself with a few in attempt to put a face on the farmer. I hope to be able to continue to reach out to others to show them what I know….that our nations farmers are hard-working humble folks that put muscle and heart in all they do.

God bless you all! Happy Thanksgiving to you all!

Barbara Borges-Martin

We Give Thanks

zweberfarms — Thu, 26 Nov 2009 03:44:25 +0000

Tomorrow is Thanksgiving. A time to give thanks, spend time with family and friends and maybe watch some football. Even though the cows don’t give us a day off, we still take time to visit relatives and eat until we cannot eat any more. This year we have lots to be thankful for.

God: He is the provider of all and for all. Even though sometimes he makes us wait for what we want, the rains come, the crops grow, the cows produce milk and our family is kept safe.

Family: Our family is healthy and close. I am personally thankful that my children are able to live so close to both sets of grandparents. Of course the farm is 1.2 miles away and my parents live 8 miles away.

Farmers: Tomorrow’s feast would not be possible without the hard work and dedication of thousands of farmers: Turkey farmers, wheat farmers, cultivated wild rice farmers, pumpkin farmers, corn farmers, the list goes on and on. If you enjoy your meal tomorrow, thank a farmer.

Organic Valley: While some organic companies were not renewing contracts with their farmers, Organic Valley made a commitment to its farmers and kept everyone “on the truck.” Organic Valley is owned by its farmers. We are PROUD to be Organic Valley Family of Farmers. We have met many friends over the past year and half.

Our Customers: Whether you are one of our meat customers, or you are a dedicated Organic Valley buying, we thank you. With your commitment to our family farm, we are able to keep doing what we are doing.

Our family has a lot to be thankful for and we are truly blessed.

The Zwebers

Jon, Lisa, Sarah, Steven, Samantha, Tim, Emily, Erik and Jonathan