Dangerous Soy!

Hello again, today we will be addressing a common misconception. That's right, soy the ingredient in a lot of conventional and "healthy" foods. I have been known to be quite opinionated on health related subjects, and of course this will be no exception. I seem to love being healthy and vibrant or something like that. Well it seems to be the latest, greatest thing out there, soy that is. Let me be the first to tell you that it isn't as great as it has been hailed. I will do my best to tell you why in a short summary of the ingredient. First of all, I call it an ingredient because it has found it's way into just about everything on the market. From baby formula right down to pig feed. This so called "miracle food" is robbing us of our vitality and is by no means a health food. Although many in the healthcare industry, as well as the "exercise and eat right" community have been singing its praises for a long time. Something about how its good for your heart and can stop cancer, or how soy will aid in muscle growth and bone structure. These statements are very misleading. Soy got its start in the far east, but not as a food. The Chinese actually didn't eat it for some time. They worked with it till they could get it to sprout and that's when they started to experiment with soy and its edibility. Back then it was mainly used as a condiment by the Chinese. Even now we have commercialized soy to the extent that it is one of the most genetically modified foods on the market, about 99%. That's crazy! We have played with the structure of the legume till there is very little nutrition left at all. As a matter of fact the bean itself goes through quite a transformation on its way to your plate. After of course being fertilized and sprayed with insecticides while growing in a conventional field soybeans are then harvested, heated, and stored. Before they can be eaten they have to take a bath... not a bubble bath either. These beans will be washed in acid to remove their "beany" taste. They then are rinsed in an alkaline solution. These two processes should be enough to make you want to stop consuming soy. Additionally, soybeans are further extracted, isolated, refined and then added to many different foods. Today it is being used in everything from oil for margarine, to potato chips, to protein and energy bars, to fish food for our "fresh farmed salmon". I share this with you so that you will take some time to educate yourself. It seems like we spend too much time in this world running around doing everything for everybody else and we don't take the time to do what is right for our families and ourselves. A common practice for us should be to take everything we eat (such as soy) as close to it's natural state as possible, in other words eat it how God gave it to you. Do not mess with anything that has been altered or preserved or that the government calls a super food until you know for yourself that it is safe, besides you don't like being told what to do anyway. I know I don't, especially when it comes to food. Now now, after giving you that bit of information, I will tell you that soy can be enjoyed. Just like anything else make sure you get the best quality that you can. This usually means getting organic, non-gmo soy that ideally is sprouted. Just like other grains and beans, soy has a high amount of phytates (enzyme inhibitors) and trypsin inhibitors and so they are much easier to digest when they have been sprouted. Also, if you like soy milk your best option is to make it fresh at home with a press. Not only is store bought soy milk pasteurized but the oils in soy are very perishable and being a vegetable oil can go rancid easily. I would never recommend store bought soy or cows milk for that matter. That is all I have to say about. The subject of health is a passion for me... I love it and I live it. So without sounding to cheesy I will leave now with this... it is safer to smoke a cigarette than to eat one McDonalds French fry, but kids can't buy cigarettes. Interesting!

Life Giving Food

I have been a fan of mercola.com and coconut oil so here is the best information on this great fat. From a highly respected doctor.

All fats are not equal.

And just so we're clear, the terms "fats" and "oils" are often used interchangeably, but fat is more correctly considered solid at room temperature, while oils are liquid. But what's really important is the structure.

The unique health benefits of coconut oil are directly related to its chemical structure, or more precisely, the length of its fatty acid chains.

Coconut oil is comprised of medium-chain fatty acids (MCFAs), also called medium-chain triglycerides or MCTs.

Coconut oil is nature's richest source of these healthy MCFAs.

By contrast, most common vegetable or seed oils are comprised of long chain fatty acids (LCFAs), also known as long-chain triglycerides or LCTs.

There are several reasons to explain why these long-chain fatty acids are not as healthy for you as the MCFAs in coconut oil:

• LCFAs are difficult for the body to break down — they must be packaged with lipoproteins or carrier proteins and require special enzymes for digestion.
• LCFAs put more strain on the pancreas, the liver and the entire digestive system.
• LCFAs are predominantly stored in the body as fat. (That's why most people buy into the myth that fats are automatically "fattening".)
• LCFAs can be deposited within arteries in lipid forms such as cholesterol.

On the other hand, however, the MCFAs in coconut oil are more health-promoting, because:

• MCFAs are smaller. They permeate cell membranes easily, and do not require lipoproteins or special enzymes to be utilized effectively by your body.
• MCFAs are easily digested, thus putting less strain on your digestive system. This is especially important for those of you with digestive or metabolic concerns.
• MCFAs are sent directly to your liver, where they are immediately converted into energy rather than being stored as fat.
• MCFAs in coconut oil can actually help stimulate your body's metabolism, leading to weight loss.

Now you can see why I recommend this product so much. But you must remember that the highest quality will benefit you more because it is not stripped down. Organic, extra virgin, unrefined coconut oil and make sure it hasn't been heated.

Why Organic?

Well I chose organic because I am tired of the chemicals. Then as I got informed I also learned what those chemicals are doing to our bodies and how that relates to weight loss and over all fitness.

I have also found that it is easier to maintain a health body both mentally and physically when using foods that promote absolute health. Below is a article for you from the organic times that will shed some more light on the subject for you.

Protect Future Generations Children receive four times the exposure than an adult to at least eight widely used cancer-causing pesticides in food. The food choice you make now will impact your child's health in the future. Protect Water Quality Water makes up two-third of our body mass and covers three-fourths of the planet. Despite its importance, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), estimates pesticides (some cancer causing) contaminate the ground water in 38 states, polluting the primary source of drinking water for more than half the country's population. Save Energy American farms have changed drastically in the last three generations, from the family based small businesses dependent on human energy to large scale factory farms highly dependent on fossil fuels. Modern farming uses more petroleum than any other single industry, consuming 12 percent of the country's total energy supply. More energy is now used to produce synthetic fertilizers than to till, cultivate, and harvest all the crops in the United States. Organic farming is still mainly based on labor-intensive practices such as weeding by hand and using green manures and crop covers rather than synthetic inputs. Organic produce also tends to travel a shorter distance from the farm to your plate. Reduce Health Risk Many pesticides approved for use by the EPA were registered before extensive research linking these chemicals to cancer and other diseases had been established. Now the EPA considers that 60 percent of all herbicides, 90 percent of all fungicides and 30 percent of all insecticides are carcinogenic. A 1987 National Academy of Sciences report estimated that pesticides might cause an extras 1.4 million cancer cases among Americans over their lifetimes. The bottom line is that pesticides are poisons designed to kill living organisms, and can also be harmful to humans. In addition to cancer, pesticides are implicated in birth defects, nerve damage and genetic mutation. Protect Farm Workers A Natural Cancer Institute study found that farmers exposed to herbicides had a greater risk, by a factor of six, than non-farmers of contracting cancer. In California, reported pesticide poisonings among farm workers have risen an average of 14 percent a year since 1973, and doubled between 1975 and 1985. Field workers suffer the highest rates of occupational illness in the state. Farm worker health also is a serious problem in developing nations, where pesticide use can be poorly regulated. An estimated 1 million people are poisoned annually by pesticides. Several of the pesticides banned from use in the United States are still manufactured here for export to other countries. Help Family Farms Although more and more large scale farms are making the conversion to organic practices, most organic farms are small independently owned and operated family farms of less than 100 acres. It's estimated that the United States has lost more than 650,000 family farms in the past decade. And with the US Department of Agriculture predicting that half of this country's farm production will come from 1 percent of farms by the year 2000, organic farming could become one of the few hopes left for family farms. Support a True Economy Although organic foods might seem more expensive than conventional foods, conventional food prices do not reflect hidden cost borne by taxpayers, including nearly $74 billion in federal subsidies in 1988. Other hidden costs include pesticide regulation and testing, hazardous waste disposal and clean up, and environmental damage. Promote Biodiversity Mono cropping is the practice of planting large plots of land with the same crop year after year. While this approach tripled farm production between 1950 and 1970, the lack of natural diversity of plant life has left the soil lacking in natural minerals and nutrients. To replace the nutrients, chemical fertilizers are used, often in increasing amounts. Great Taste There's a good reason many chef's use organic foods in their recipes. They taste better. Organic farming starts with the nutrients of the soil which eventually leads to the nourishment of the plant and ultimately our palates. Organic Times, Spring 1992 Excerpted from an article by Sylvia Tawse Alfalfa's Markets, Boulder, CO

The Birth

Welcome to the first post of this new blog! In this blog we will be discussing diet and nutrition as it pertains to health and fitness.

I hope you find this blog to be both insightful and a vital part of your workout and diet routine.

Stay tuned as we will be posting regularly with all kinds of tips and recipes.