Archive for the ‘Food-Nutrition-Health’ Category

« Older Entries
Newer Entries »

A healthy – and healthful – garden/landscape

Saturday, January 21st, 2017

Veggie Landscape Garden

By Catherine Haug, Jan 21, 2017 (photo, right, from Mercola (2))

I am viewing the online docu-series: The Truth About Cancer, by Ty Bollinger, and I’m picking up on a few of garden/landscape tips that yield healthy plants and a healthier you when you eat them.

One of the things I’ve learned from this series is that cancer cells have more insulin receptors (that initiate take-up of sugar from the blood) than normal cells, and that cancer cells get their energy (life) from only two sources: sugar and glutamine (amino acid). So if you want to protect yourself from cancer or slow tumor growth, avoid sugar.

However, that doesn’t mean to avoid whole-food sources of sugar such as fruits and vegetables, because in whole-food form, the sugar is part of a larger matrix of fiber, antioxidants, and other phytochemicals that protect you. (Caveat #1: fruit juices don’t provide this protection because the matrix is broken, so eat your fruits whole; caveat #2: those fruits and veggies should be organically grown for maximum benefit).

But I digress. The purpose of this posting is to collect gardening and landscaping tips. I will update this posting as I learn more. (more…)

Posted in Agriculture, Ecology, Gardening, Health, Landscaping, Organics | No Comments »

Dietary fish & seafood: Which are/are not healthful – and why

Sunday, January 8th, 2017

Salmon for sale

By Catherine Haug, January 8, 2017 (Photo right, from Wikimedia Commons)

Growing up here in the Flathead, I loved fish – hook to table – from the very beginning. Back then we had landlocked salmon and lots of native cutthroat trout in Flathead Lake, not to mention the huge salmon run up the Swan River every fall. Other than lutefisk, I’d not had much exposure to ocean fish (other than canned tuna). That changed when I went moved to the west coast for college and my career.

Things have changed since my 1950s childhood. Many wild fisheries are now endangered, or gone (like Atlantic salmon). Science has found dangerously high levels of toxic methyl-mercury in the larger game fish. Fish from fish farms are nutritionally deprived and may carry disease. What’s a fish lover to do?

Read on for discussion on which fish are more healthful than others. See also my 2014 posting: Sustainable Seafood in Summertime.

(more…)

Posted in Food-Nutrition-Health | No Comments »

What is a microbiome and why it is important

Monday, December 12th, 2016

Bars of Snowbunny Soap

by Catherine Haug, December 11, 2016 (Photo of handmade soap, right, by Kathy Mansfield from her ESP presentation, Making Soap at Home)

Often when I mention the microbiome in conversation, people ask me what it is. So I figure our readers might like to know more about it. It is an ecological community of microbes – microscopic species – that share climatic or environmental conditions in which they live; a sort-of mini-ecosystem. These species include bacteria, fungi and viruses. (1)

A  hot topic in health news these days is the human microbiome, which usually refers to the microbes in the gut, but all parts of our bodies each have their own microbiome, including our skin and our eyes. These communities include both ‘good’ and ‘bad’ microbes; even the ‘bad’ or pathogenic microbes have beneficial effects for our health, when kept in balance. (1)

The important take-away is that we, as humans, would not survive without our microbiome. They provide our initial immune response, make vital enzymes, play a role in our psychological health and so much more yet to be understood.

See also my 2014 post: The importance of the microbiome (essential microbes in and on our bodies)

(more…)

Tags:, , ,
Posted in Agriculture, Food-Nutrition-Health, Health | No Comments »

Continuous-Brew Kombucha

Sunday, December 11th, 2016

Kombucha SCOBY

By Catherine Haug, December 11, 2016 (Image, right, from Wikimedia Commons)

Kombucha is one of my favorite fermented beverages, and a great way to add more fermented foods to your diet, to support your microbiome and immune system. But making serial batches can get old and tiresome. What if you could just make one batch and add to it regularly for a continuous brew?

Kombucha has many health benefits. It contains high levels of antioxidants, b-vitamins, probiotics and glucaric acid in addition to the beneficial microbes. It has been reported to have a variety of health benefits including (1):

  • liver detoxification
  • improved pancreas function
  • increased energy
  • better digestion
  • improved mood (helps with anxiety/depression)
  • keeps Candida (yeast) under control
  • helps nutrient assimilation

See also Continuous Brewing: Tastier, Easier and Superior Kombucha, by John Moody (2) for the Weston A. Price Foundation (WAPF) website for more about the benefits of Kombucha and the continuous brewing method. Read on for a review of what is needed, and for references.
(more…)

Tags:,
Posted in Fermentation, Culturing & Curing, Food-Nutrition-Health | No Comments »

International Monsanto Tribunal

Saturday, December 10th, 2016

Frankenfood

By Catherine Haug, December 10, 2016 (Image, right, from Organic Consumers Association (6) used with permission)

Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs) and Genetically Engineered (GE) foods are very common in today’s processed food supply and have even invaded the produce section. States have tried to halt it by passing laws requiring labelling of such foods, but last July, those efforts were invalidated by a sham GMO-labelling law passed by Congress and signed by our President. This law did not specifically require text stating the product contains GMO/GE ingredients, but rather allows printing of an 800-number or QR codes for more information. (See my article Pres. Obama signed the Dark Act (faulty GMO-labeling law) for more).

In October 2016, countries around the world participated in the International Monsanto Tribunal in The Hague, Netherlands. This “Tribunal was a show of international solidarity for a regenerative food and agriculture system — the antithesis of Monsanto’s toxic, degenerative model.” (1) The tribunal cannot impose penalties, nor is it a mock-trial, but rather a citizens tribunal, which “have a long history of bringing justice to issues where governments etagere act corruptly or fail to act.” (1) This tribunal was based on the “Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights” adopted by the United Nations in 2011. It was “an international court of lawyers and judges  who assessed the potential criminal liability of Monsanto for damages inflicted on human health and the environment. [The tribunal’s] final verdicts can serve as foundation for future legal cases against not only Monsanto, but also Bayer, Syngenta, Dow and others.” (1)

Ronnie Cummins, International Director of the OCA and a member of the Regeneration International (5) steering committee. wrote: “Ultimately the People’s Assembly agreed that we need to not only get rid of Monsanto, but the entire degenerative system of food, farming and land use that is driving global warming, catastrophic droughts and floods, soil erosion, desertification, water shortages, mass biodiversity loss, rural poverty and war, and deteriorating public health. (4)

For more about the tribunal see references 2 – 5.
(more…)

Tags:,
Posted in Agriculture, Ecology, GMO | No Comments »

Stop GE/GMO Wheat

Saturday, December 10th, 2016

Frankenfood

By Catherine Haug, Dec 10, 2016 (image, right, from Organic Consumers Association, used with permission)

The Montana Organic Association’s ‘Organic Matters‘ newsletter, Fall 2016 (1) included an article by Green America titled “Stop GE Wheat.” Its intent is to encourage people to sign a petition to prevent the introduction of genetically engineered (GE) wheat.

This campaign is critical to all of Montana’s wheat farmers who grow wheat for flour sold in the US, but also imported around the world. The types of GE wheat currently being developed/tested are herbicide-tolerant varieties, such as Roundup-ready. Note: wheat is in so many processed foods, not just breads and cookies. See Kids with Food Allergies (2) for list of what to look for on labels.

If this campaign is important to you, consider signing the petition at stopGEwheat.org.

NOTE: GE and GMO both refer to artificial modification of genes, producing varieties that could not otherwise be produced by breeding.

Read on for my transcription of the article. (more…)

Tags:, ,
Posted in Agriculture, GMO | No Comments »

« Older Entries
Newer Entries »