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Ghee: A butter rich in fats and vitamins

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Ghee is a type of clarified butter that originated in India and remains popular in South Asian cuisine. It is made by removing the milk proteins and water from raw, unsalted butter, resulting in a lactose-free, nutty flavored butterfat that is packed with nutrients.

According to the Ayurveda, ghee has essential healing properties that are distinctly lacking in other butters. These properties, which are slowly being validated by Western science, include:

Rich in high-quality fats

Being pure, clarified butter, ghee is extremely rich in good fats. One serving (56 grams) of ghee contains 46 grams of pure fat, of which 29 grams are saturated. Moreover, these fats contain 179 milligrams of omega-3 fatty acids and 1,548 milligrams of omega-6 fatty acids, as well as butanoic acid and conjugated linoleic acid, which possess antibacterial and anticancer properties.

Though allopathic medicine has demonized saturated fats for decades, studies are starting to prove that they’re essential for optimum health. One three-year study conducted by researchers at the University of Washington, for example, found that women who had eaten the highest amounts of saturated fats throughout their lives were less likely to suffer from arterial plaque, and more likely to enjoy a healthier balance of good and bad cholesterol, than women who avoided them. Studies have also shown that a moderate consumption of saturated fats increases the metabolism, leading to weight loss.

Good source of vitamins

One serving of ghee contains approximately 1,418 IU of vitamin A, which is 28 percent of our recommended daily intake. Vitamin A, which is lacking in other edible oils, is nicknamed the “medicine of the immune system,” since it helps to keep our mucous membrane and skin cells healthy, thereby guarding us from cell damage. Vitamin A also helps fight cancer by inhibiting DNA production in cancerous cells.

One serving of ghee also contains 1.3 milligrams of vitamin E (7 percent of our RDI), an essential cancer-fighting antioxidant, and 4 micrograms of vitamin K (5 percent of our RDI), which plays a key role in blood health, including helping the blood to clot.

Aids digestive health

Unlike many other oils and butters, which can make us feel sluggish and bloated, ghee actually improves the digestive process by stimulating the secretion of stomach acids. This helps increase the absorption of other nutrients, including the fat-soluble vitamins present in the ghee itself. Consequently, moderate, long-term consumption of ghee can help treat ulcers, acid reflux, constipation and other digestive issues.

Tolerates heat well

Ghee can tolerate high temperatures, which gives it an advantage over regular butter (which can scorch due to its milk proteins) and many other oils (notably olive oil, which becomes carcinogenic when heated). Ghee’s smoke point is between 325°F and 375°F, making it suitable for cooking, frying and sauteing. Moreover, ghee’s nutritional structure remains intact when subjected to heat, prompting nutritionist Paul Pitchford to declare ghee as one of the greatest cooking oils in his 2002 book, Healing with Whole Foods.

Learn more: http://www.naturalnews.com/043114_ghee_saturated_fats_essential_vitamins.html#ixzz2mYODk4Lo

Recourses:

http://ajcn.nutrition.org

http://nutritiondata.self.com

http://www.indiawest.com

http://completewellbeing.com

Farmed salmon more toxic than wild salmon, study finds

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BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — A study of more than two metric tons of North American, South American and European salmon has shown that PCBs and other environmental toxins are present at higher levels in farm-raised salmon than in their wild counterparts.

Researchers at Indiana University and five other research centers say increased toxin levels in farm-raised salmon may pose health risks to people who eat the economically important fish. Their study, which appears in this week’s (Jan. 9) issue of Science, is the most comprehensive analysis to date of salmon toxin concentrations.

“We think it’s important for people who eat salmon to know that farmed salmon have higher levels of toxins than wild salmon from the open ocean,” said IU School of Public and Environmental Affairs Distinguished Professor Ronald Hites, who led the study.

The researchers applied U.S. Environmental Protection Agency fish consumption advisory methods to determine consumption recommendations. Farmed salmon purchased for the study from supermarkets in Frankfurt (Germany), Edinburgh (Scotland), Paris (France), London (U.K.), Oslo (Norway), Boston, San Francisco and Toronto (Canada) triggered consumption recommendations of one-half to one meal of salmon per month. (A meal is defined as 8 ounces of uncooked meat.) Farmed salmon from supermarkets in Los Angeles, Seattle, Chicago, New York, Washington, D.C., and Vancouver (Canada) triggered a recommendation of no more than two salmon meals per month. Farmed salmon from Denver and New Orleans supermarkets both triggered a consumption recommendation of two meals of salmon per month. With very few exceptions, farmed salmon samples tested significantly exceeded the contaminant levels of wild salmon, which could be consumed at levels as high as eight meals per month.

The production of farmed salmon has increased 40-fold over the last two decades, thanks in large part to the world’s salmon farms. Over half the salmon sold globally are raised in Northern Europe, Chile and North America.

While the health benefits of eating salmon have been established by numerous studies, concerns about the fish’s tendency to accumulate toxins have gone largely unaddressed. As fish-eaters themselves, salmon occupy fairly high positions in their food chains. As a general rule, carnivorous animals tend to have higher concentrations of toxins in their bodies than herbivores.

To test this ecological principle, Hites and his colleagues measured organochlorine toxin levels in about 700 farmed and wild salmon. Farm-raised Atlantic salmon were purchased from retailers in London, Frankfurt, Edinburgh, Oslo, Paris, Toronto, Vancouver, Boston, Chicago, Denver, Los Angeles, New Orleans, New York, San Francisco, Seattle and Washington, D.C., and from wholesalers in North America, Chile and Europe.

For comparison, the researchers collected samples of five wild Pacific salmon species — Chinook, Coho, chum, pink and sockeye — from three different regions in North America. The researchers did not study farmed Pacific salmon or wild Atlantic salmon because fish from the two groups are difficult to obtain.

The researchers analyzed the concentrations of 14 organochlorine toxins in salmon from each collection site, using gas chromatographic high-resolution spectrometry. The toxins they studied were polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), dioxins, toxaphene, dieldrin, hexachlorobenzene (HCB), lindane, heptachlor epoxide, cis-nonachlor, trans-nonachlor, gamma-chlordane, alpha-chlordane, Mirex, endrin and total DDT. Many of these toxins, including PCBs, dioxins and toxaphene, are “reasonably anticipated to be a human carcinogen,” according to a recent report by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

When samples from all over the world were grouped, the researchers found farm-raised Atlantic salmon had significantly higher levels of 13 toxins when compared with wild Pacific salmon. Breaking it down by region, the researchers found levels of all 14 toxins were significantly elevated in both European and North American farm-raised salmon when compared with wild Pacific salmon. Levels of only six toxins were significantly elevated in South American farm-raised salmon. Levels of two toxins (HCB and lindane) were actually significantly lower in farm-raised South American salmon than in wild salmon species.

Only PCBs, dioxins, dieldrin and toxaphene were used to calculate consumption safety guidelines, because the researchers deemed these four toxins to most strongly impact human health.

The researchers also found that toxin levels in European farm-raised salmon were significantly higher than in North American or South American farm-raised salmon. Levels of PCBs, dioxins, toxaphene and dieldrin were highest in farmed salmon from Scotland and the Faroe Islands (Denmark) and lowest in farmed salmon from Chile and Washington state, though Hites pointed out that even these comparatively uncontaminated South American salmon had high levels of other toxins.

Hites and his colleagues also measured toxin levels in “salmon chow,” a mixture of ground-up fish and oil fed to farm-raised salmon. They found a strong correlation between the toxicities of chow and salmon, suggesting toxins are passed into the salmon from their feed.

Jeffrey Foran (University of Michigan), David Carpenter (University at Albany), M. Coreen Hamilton (AXYS Analytical Services Ltd.), Barbara Knuth and Steven Schwager (Cornell University), and Amy Matthews Amos (Turnstone Consulting, in West Virginia) also contributed to the study. It was funded by a grant to the University at Albany from the Pew Charitable Trusts’ Environmental Division.

Raw vs Cooked Food

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How much of your food should be cooked? Proponents of the newly popular raw food diets claim that cooking ruins vitamins and enzymes, making food difficult to digest and therefore contributing to disease.



All the traditional peoples cooked some or most of their food. Even in the tropics, where people did not have to build fires to keep the food warm, they built fires every day to cook. In addition to cooking grains and legumes, they usually cooked their vegetables, the very foods some recommend to people to eat raw.

Why cooking? Cooking, helps neutralize many naturally occurring anti-nutrients and irritants in food, also breaking down indigestible fiber. Many foods, such as beans and potatoes, are indigestible until cooked.

While cooking, especially at very high temperatures, does destroy some nutrients but it makes minerals more available and it increase the antioxidants; a surprising benefit of cooking is the fact that it makes proteins more digestible by gently unfolding these large molecules so that the digestive enzymes can latch on and do their work.

For example, if you cook a tomato you will be losing 1/3 of the vitamin C it contains but the amount of available antioxidants increase of a 75% fold. Another problem in eating raw vegetables is that they are high in hard to digest fiber cellulose which will negatively affect your digestion, some are high in oxalic acid which bond with calcium and may lead to kidney stones or low bone density. People suffering of any gut related issues should avoid eating raw vegetables and fruits.

Though cooking does destroy enzymes, many foods we cook do not have many enzymes to start with. Consuming lacto fermented condiments, foods and beverages will more than compensate for enzymes lost in cooking.

Interestingly, all traditional cultures consumed at least some of their animal foods raw. Cooking destroys vitamin B6, derived from animal foods, and greatly reduces milk’s nutrients.

Traditional cultures consume some of their foods raw, which include:
Raw milk, butter and cream
Raw cheese
Raw marinated fish
Raw shellfish
Ethnic raw meat dishes
Lacto fermented fruits, vegetables and beverages

It is important to freeze meat for 14 days before using according to the USDA, to ensure that parasites are completely destroyed. Fish to be eaten raw must be marinated in lemon for several hours, equally effective for getting rid of parasites.

We should eat most of our food cooked, especially vegetables, grains and legumes but as traditional cultures did, we should consume some of our foods raw. I think we have so much to learn from the wisdom of past generation, I believe using that wisdom applying to our modern times would allow us to reach such potential that we do not even know, not only in sport or fitness. I think taking any concept or philosophy to the extreme is never the right choice so my answer to eating more raw foods than cooked foods my answer is as always moderation.

©2013 | Shantih Coro
V Art of Wellness
Director Functional Medicine.
Read Bio

5 Keys to the Pre-Workout Meal Everyone Should Know

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Gatorade doesn’t cut it
A few bad bonks have pretty much eliminated the chance of my starting a workout on an empty stomach, and I’m happy to say I hardly ever drink commercial sports drinks from 7-Eleven anymore. Having done a lot of reading on the topic of pre-workout nutrition, I present the five nutritional pillars I use to build the perfect pre-workout drink. (Note: “drink” implies the use of water. I didn’t list it as one of the keys, but for performance and safety’s sake, make sure you include water in your pre-workout meal.)

The 5 essentials of pre-workout nutrition
1. Consume carbohydrates and protein in a 3-to-1 ratio, and include healthy fat (but just a little).

There are few arguments about this point. The 3:1 ratio is almost universally advocated for optimal absorption of nutrients. For a big workout, or if you have some time to let your stomach settle, 30 grams of carbs and 10 grams of protein is great. Otherwise, halve the amounts. Mark Verstegen, of Athletes Performance Institute, recommends a scoop of protein powder in a half-glass of Gatorade or watered-down orange juice.

As for the fat, a teaspoon or so of healthy oil, such as flaxseed or Udo’s blend, is all you need to help deliver nutrients where they need to go. Coconut oil is even better for workouts, as the liver treats it similarly to glucose, a carbohydrate.

2. Include quick-working, high-glycemic carbs for energy now, sustained release (but not starchy!) carbs for energy later.

I first learned about this one from Brendan Brazier’s and Vega Sport. In many of his recipes for pre-workout drinks, Brendan uses dates (glucose) as the high-GI, instant-energy sugar, and agave nectar (fructose) for slower energy release.

Why no starchy bagels or bread? To convert starch into usable sugar requires your body to work, and during a workout you’d like to use your available energy for movement, not digestion. If you’re going to consume something starchy, a sprouted version is best.

3. If you’ll sweat during the workout, you need lots of electrolytes.

Lack of electrolytes can do more than just bring on a nasty bonk; in fact, it’s downright dangerous. Hyponatremia is the condition of having too much water and not enough sodium (an electrolyte) in your system, and it has proved fatal for endurance athletes who load up on water but don’t replace lost electrolytes.

Lots of salt is lost through sweat, and you should take in electrolytes during your workout. Coconut water contains electrolytes; so do most sports drinks and gels, so most of us get them during workouts. But you can get a head start on electrolyte replacement simply by adding salt or dulse powder to your pre-workout drink.

4. Consider caffeinating for improved performance.

Caffeine has been shown to significantly improve performance in endurance events and workouts. Whether you want to use it is your own decision, but it’s certainly not something you should rely on for every workout—doing so will result in increased adrenal fatigue and slower recovery afterward.

To add caffeine to your pre-workout smoothie, you can replace the water component or your pre-workout drink with brewed yerba mate or tea, or even add ground mate leaves directly to your smoothie. Alternatively, you can drink a cup of coffee as many runners do, but that can be rougher on both your intestines and your adrenal glands.

5. Add optional super-foods to go the extra mile.

While the above guidelines should be enough to give your workout a swift kick in the ass, you can always make your pre-workout drinks even better with the addition of a few superfoods. Chia seeds are a popular one these days, and your body will absorb them in either whole or ground form (be prepared for them to gel though). Maca powder is another one, great for helping the adrenal glands recover from the stress of a workout. Acai, goji, chlorella, greens powder, ground flaxseed, hemp… the list goes on.

Written by Matt Frazier
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