Phytic Acid!

That exclamation mark is to encourage the fascination that I have with this new found problem/solution.

I recently learned that many grains have naturally occurring enzyme inhibitors, which make them much harder to digest, which means you don't get the nutrients from them that you thought you were getting.

In addition to that, Phytic acid, or Phytate, is also a naturally occurring substance in grains, seeds, nuts and legumes. It binds to minerals and then carries them out of your body through your bowels (yum!). This could mean that you are absorbing very little of the nutrient content of those nutrient packed whole foods!

Fortunately, simply soaking the grains in water overnight dissolves the enzyme inhibitor, and putting a small amount (approx 2 Tbl. per dry cup ) of whey, kefir, or yogurt (or in a pinch, lemon juice) breaks down the phytic acid.

Phytase (the "ase" ending indicates an enzyme ) is the enzyme that breaks down phytic acid, so that you can actually absorb more of those minerals, (iron, calcium, magnesium etc.) from your grains and legumes. From what I understand, the water combined with the acid (whey, kefir, yogurt) is what helps the phytase do its job. I'm not sure why this wouldn't occur in your stomach, perhaps it does, but to a much lesser degree. Apparently (see Amanda Rose and her research below) tests have shown the lack of absorption of these important minerals.

And the worst part is (after I had just discovered how amazing steel cut oats were as opposed to instant) oatmeal retains its phytic acid even after you go through this extra step! I got a lot of great information from Amanda Rose, and she recommends mixing some freshly ground wheat berries into the oatmeal before you start soaking, because wheat has high amounts of phytase to break down the phytic acid. You can enroll in a free email "course" (from Amanda Rose) about phytic acid HERE! It's been interesting, she sends an email everyday (I'm on day 16, not sure how long it goes) with just a few points on a topic related to phytic acid and health or cooking. I've started a Word document to combine them all, because I don't do well with daily emails :)

One easy way to get whey is to strain some plain (organic!) yogurt through cheesecloth or muslin. Then you can use the strained yogurt to make a dip! We like to put garlic and basil in it 'round here.

Practical details: Leave the grains and water on the counter, or even in a warm place overnight covered with a plate, or clear plastic wrap, as the warmth seems to be essential to this process.
With the grains you don't have to throw out the water afterwards, as the phytic acid has been broken down so will not bind anymore. One exception might be quinoa, as you do need to rinse it to get rid of that natural bitter flavor...we rinsed ours before we soaked and after. It's not clear to me whether or not minerals are lost if you do end up throwing out the water. A bonus to this extra step is that cooking times will be MUCH shorter.

Most of the info I've just given applies to grains(which I eat the most, so I was most interested in), but could be a bit different for seeds, nuts and legumes. In addition to Amanda Rose, the Nourishing Traditions cookbook, by Sally Fallon talks about why and how we should soak these things as does one of the the blogs I have listed to the right The Nourishing Gourmet. It's a wonderful blog with lots of great cooking ideas, and she bases a lot of her cooking philosophy on Nourishing Traditions.

The Stevia Question

Stevia is a plant-derived sweetener that you're going to be hearing a lot about in the coming months. It is made from the leaf of the plant and can be 400 times as sweet as sugar, but without the blood sugar variations that most sweeteners inflict on us. In fact, it has been shown to improve blood sugar responses. The FDA just approved an extract (from what I understand, the sweet part) of the stevia plant called Rebaudioside-A for use in food products.

As most things, the sweetener's proponents and detractors have a lot to say. And I'll admit, I'm confused. When I was first introduced to the sweetener several years ago, I heard all the positives. When I read about the FDA approval yesterday I got more and more confused. Stevia's history with the FDA is apparently long and storied. In 1991 in the midst of some controversy, it was banned as a food product in the US, even though normal procedure is to consider foods safe until they have been proven otherwise. It was still allowed to be sold, but as a supplement (which is even more confusing because in the US the DHEA regulates vitamins and supplements as foods!). The thought was, in 1991, that the FDA was feeling pressure from the soda corporations that were entrenched with nutra-sweet/aspartame and other artificial sweeteners and so put the kibosh on approving it as a food additive.

All that aside, when I first read the news yesterday, I thought I was reading a criticism of the latest approval because it is only an approval of an extract of the plant, and therefore might be missing some of the better properties that a "whole food" could provide. But no, I guess that's just (part of) my bone to pick with this whole thing.

If any of you have tried stevia in the past, you may have noticed a slightly bitter aftertaste. Another troubling nugget that I learned while researching all of this is that many companies that now sell it claim to make it from a plant that basically has less of what makes it bitter. Combine that information with the fact that the Stevia plant doesn't produce many seeds, and is therefore easier to clone than breed (apologies if I'm using the wrong lingo here), and you've got plenty of reason to believe that the Stevia you buy is probably from a Genetically Modified Organism(GMO).

Another concern is all the processing that happens to get that sweet part out of the plant, as well as why Coca-Cola and Pepsi-Co are so interested in this...

I'm curious to see what happens next, and if maybe there's a piece to this puzzle that I'm missing. At the end of the day, it's always better to eat the whole food instead of some isolated element(that seems to be highly processed to boot). And it's good to know where it came from and what happened to the seed/plant before that. Nature! What a novel idea.

Some of the literature I've read now makes it unclear whether or not the FDA really gave the go ahead, or if they are just about to...

FYI: Trademarked stevia sweetners are Truvia™ (Coca Cola and Cargill) and PureVia™ (Whole Earth Sweetener Company LLC and PepsiCo).

Feeling Derailed

With New Years coming, it's a good time to start fresh, and get things back on track. I feel a little like December got stolen away, first I had three wisdom teeth taken out, and then all the traveling for Christmas, I've been eating poorly, and falling behind on everything, and I feel it.

I have to say, New Year's Eve has always been my least favorite holiday. Mostly because there's always a sort of unspoken pressure to "be" somewhere or "do" something. Last year I decided that this year I would ring in the new year by having some close friends over, and making things that help us fulfill our resolutions, (i.e. non-plastic bags, a meal planning chart, any kind of organizational tool to keep you on track, or just fun crafts) and then I up and moved. I pictured being in a cozy apartment, surrounded by friends, not back in my parents house, surrounded by...my parents.

So once again, expectations must shift. A quiet productive New Years still sounds lovely. And the friends might be included next year. I am going to take some time figuring out what will make my life work better. What the top priorities need to be, and where the motivation comes from to keep at it! I'm wishing you all the time to stop, take a breath and re-align for a happy, healthy 2009.

Mind over Matter

I recently read that if you're having problems with re-occurring, shall we say, obsessive thoughts that if you repeat to yourself factual statements, you can start to break the cycle, or, at the very least, give yourself a respite. I have to say, I was impressed. It can just be very simple statements like "It's snowing outside", or "My feet are cold", etc. It seemed to help using the things in my immediate space to take the place of those re-occurring things.

Iridology

So, as some of you know, I finished my course in Iridology. Which is the study of the iris to reveal the health of the body. Of course, I just read the book, so I don't have a lot of actual experience, but I appreciate those of you who have guinea pigged your eyes for me to study!

Above is a picture of my left eye. According to Iridology, a healthy person's eye will be all one color, usually blue or brown, have tightly woven fibers, and not a lot of spots, yellowing, or "lesions" (those oval shaped "holes"!). As you can see, I have some work to do. The interesting part is that Dr. Jensen talks a lot about toxicity, and how it can settle into our weakest parts. In my eye, you can see that I have two ovals, between 2 and 3 o'clock, which correspond to my neck and shoulder (on the left side, because it's the left eye).

Since I left New York, about 2 months ago, I hadn't really had any alcohol to drink, until Halloween. I didn't have very much, a little whiskey (my usual) and some wine. I felt it a little bit, but I didn't feel an especially low tolerance at the time. Then, the next day, I woke up with a headache, and for the next few days I had a sort of underlying headache and a large rope-like knot going from my neck down into my shoulder on the left side. Right where those ovals indicating a weakness are in my left eye. Maybe it's a coincidence, but suddenly it felt like some things were coming together.

The funny thing about healing is that it seems to come in stages. You can't detox and rebuild before your body is strong enough to handle it, and if you're in the middle of one of those stages, I suppose the worst thing you could do is purposely give your body extra poison/toxins (alcohol) to neutralize and get rid of. So, no more alcohol for me until I've had some serious detoxing and rebuilding happening. Which, besides feeling, I will hopefully see in my eyes. To that end I've been thinking about the other things I have done differently since the move.

Things that have changed since I left NYC:

I get more rest. (This was one of the main things I was missing, and the first thing that seemed to go in nyc. Although, I can't totally blame the city, I think I've had this underlying "fatigue" thing happening since I was a teenager.)

I have less physical stress(though I enjoyed parts of it a lot, the physical stress of my previous job constantly wore me down to nearly nothing.), and virtually no work stress.

I drink no alcohol.

I have almost no refined sugar or flour.

I take vitamins A, B-complex, C and E everyday, and a vegetarian supplement which includes extra fiber and enzymes to help with the detox process (because if your body is using the regular avenues of elimination: liver, kidneys, intestines, lungs, it's less likely to resort to using your skin. Although I'm still getting some chin pimples. Chimples?)

I have at least a heaping teaspoon of coconut oil each day. (It's supposed to have many amazing properties, including boosting metabolism and your immune system)

I drink supergreens most days.

I wouldn't say I'm "energetic", but I think I have more energy. (When I first got here, afternoon naps always sounded like an excellent idea, now, not so much. Small victories!)
I get to think about, study and research things that interest me all day.

I move less, which has affected my circulation (poorly!).

I still have emotional stress from my new environment/slightly vague plan for the future...

I eat more meat(mainly turkey) on salads and sandwiches.

In the near future I'm probably going to start on some herbal remedies, and/or homeopathics. I feel okay most of the time, but my body is very sensitive to too many things, and I get run down much too quickly. And sometimes I feel like death when I wake up in the morning, although I think that's happening less. Bottom line is, I don't feel like I can help others until I have helped myself. And I think my eyes are supposed to be a nice, tightly woven blue.

Natural, Normal and Necessary

One of the books I read as part of my correspondence course (Health and Wellness, by Dr. M. Ted Morter) made the very helpful distinction between three words and what they should mean with regard to our health and wellness.

Natural, in this context refers to the state of a healthy body, without any conditions, or ailments, functioning the way it was meant to- healthy!

The next distinction is normal. What is "normal" these days is not necessarily natural, in any sense of the word. Examples of this would be the idea that urine is supposed to be yellow (it should be almost clear-unless you're taking b vitamins, or something else that changes its color); or being on blood pressure medication at age 35 (or younger). These are things that have become accepted as "normal" because they happen so often, not because they are natural occurrences.

The word "necessary" in this context refers to what the body can and will do to keep you alive. A good example of this would be developing osteoporosis...or having a weakening in the teeth. We don't want to think of this as a natural occurrence, and an Allopathic (Western medicine) view of the body would see this as a malfunction. But if we know that there is an innate wisdom in the body, we know that a problem is occurring because the body will do everything in its power to stay alive, and its priorities are in order. Number one is : keep the blood clean. If there are toxins, or acids in our bodies (and therefore blood) because of our environment, our food consumption or our emotions, our body will buffer it and eliminate it. If it doesn't have enough organic sodium (not table salt!) to buffer, the second best thing to buffer the toxins is calcium. Guess where we keep our calcium? That's right, teeth and bones. So on the surface of the situation, we see a problem with our teeth and bones weakening, but the body sees it as doing job number one: keeping the blood clean.

This is true for so much of what we call disease. If we never trace a symptom or symptoms back to its origin, and instead call that group of symptoms some disease name, how can we expect the body to properly heal?

Direct-to-Consumer Advertising

I was prompted to look up exactly how prescription drug commercials are regulated, because I noticed that each of them includes some different elements these days. It struck me that, while we used to hear a long list of possible side effects by a fast talking male voice(sometimes including "death"!), now, more often, there is a lovely woman doctor, talking to a patient about the possible "risks" involved with taking the certain drug. It's much easier to swallow that way (no pun intended)...

The FDA allows this because (according to Carol Rados) "Recognizing the time constraints of broadcast ads, FDA regulations provide that a broadcast advertisement may include, instead of a brief summary, information relating to the major risks." Okay. There's really no good way to go about this, and it is definitely controversial to advertise on television at all. This article on the FDA website is actually really interesting, and shed some light on how it all works. And it tells you the three different kinds of ads, each with its own set of restrictions (or lack thereof). You can find it here.

I know, not everyone can stop the medications that they are taking, and no doubt there's something to be said for prescription drugs at certain points in certain peoples lives, but my question is, at what point in medical school do future doctors get taught to ignore the fact that all drugs are poison? If drugs weren't toxic they would have no side effects, and all drugs have side effects. Scientists have been working very hard to build "better" drugs that "outsmart" the body instead of trying to work with the body to promote healing. Unfortunately the end product of that is we are left with a series of chemicals that mask the problem, and the cause of the problem stays hidden.

The body has an amazing capacity to heal itself when given what it needs. We need to come back to that faith in it. Not just faith, it IS scientific, all the body systems interact with one another, so isolating them and treating parts(with toxins/poisons), naturally would work against healing. Maybe this is obvious to most of you, maybe I'm feeling the need to rant. But if we are going to get some sort of truly affordable healthcare now, I think it should absolutely include a preventative system. That means covering non-invasive so-called "alternative" treatments before our bodies are further poisoned by drugs or surgeries to remove organs that have very specific and important jobs to do (contrary to popular belief, the gallbladder is not just an evolutionary relic)!

We can all change the way health is handled by taking an active interest in our own. That includes talking to your doctor about ALL the options available, and being up front about what you are okay with and what you aren't. They have years of training, yes. But you are the one who has to live (literally, live IN the body) with the treatments they prescribe. They are not the only authority, and there is no magic pill.