Nell Stephenson's Blog, page 52

Butter is Better (Than Margarine), But It’s Still Not Paleo

 

The idea of eating an occasional serving of uncured bacon from pastured pork gets taken out of context all too often within the Paleo community, and many find themselves eating frequent servings of poor quality bacon of the Oscar Meyer calibre as part of their daily regime.

Not a great idea, neither for the person eating it, nor for the animal who lived a miserable, tortured life in a cage too small to even turn around in.

Similarly, the confusion about dairy abounds.

Even if dairy is sourced from grass-fed animals, it is still not Paleo.

And whether or not someone feels they can ‘tolerate’ it still doesn’t mean milk is something we’re meant to be consuming (unless we’re talking about infants drinking their own mother’s milk!).

Same goes for butter…even grass-fed, organic local butter.

However- if you’re in the process of getting to a purely Paleo regime and you’re inching your way there, at least making the switch from margarine to butter (and then from there, hopefully to coconut oil, olive oil or yes, even lard from a pastured pig from time to time) is a step in the right direction.

The Weston A. Price Foundation has published an article on the benefits of butter, but if one is following a True Paleo approach (again- without butter) all the listed attributes are already being filled by the balance foods that are part of the regime, including supporting:

Thyroid Function
Osteoporosis Prevention
Weight Loss
GI Health 
Immune System Health

Take away message?   Yes, butter is better than margarine but I have yet to see a reason why one needs to include it as a fat source when the regular consumption of olive oil, coconut oil, avocado, wild fish and grass fed meats and pastured pork are part of one’s routine.

Claims to Healthy Eating Approaches That Are Just…Not

Why bother?

What is the point of stating that something is a healthy food choice when it’s just outright rubbish?  

We see this time and time again.  

Sugar-rich cereals that claim to be a great source of calcium.   Enriched white bread whose package screams how much fiber it contains.   Entire, neatly branded approaches to eating that pretend to have the consumer’s best interest at heart yet suggest using margarine and low calorie, packaged snack  items  as great options for on the go snacks.

Even worse, perhaps, is the number of consumers who actually believe what they’re being fed- both literally and figuratively.

Take the abundance of wrong information in the media and  combine it with not believing that healthy eating can actually be one in the same with a very satisfying, tasty, vast array of real, fresh food and add a dose of the impatience with wanting results yesterday and the result is a disastrous roller coaster of yo-yo dieting, binging an purging, self-loathing, depression, sickness or a combination of all of the above.

What if we just called  a spade a spade?   Would it really change the amount of product sold?

I doubt it.

Let’s use ice cream as an example.  Will people buy and eat more if they try to justify it by telling themselves it’s just a bone-building, great way to get calcium and vitamin D?   What if it was just packaged as …. ice cream?

I don’t have the answers.

It just bothers me to no end to see people inhaling 60 ounce vats of sweetened green tea under the impression that they’re only getting all the antioxidants from the leaves, a tiny side of steamed broccoli smothered in cheese thinking it’s a good source of veggies or, quite possibly the most common Faux (Paleo)-pas – eating copious amounts of bacon at every meal.  Not the same as a serving of wild salmon, thank you very much.

It always comes back to simple, basic common sense.

Eat veggies, with natural proteins and some healthy, unadulterated fat.  Don’t eat packaged items with ingredient labels 30 chemicals long.

And if something doesn’t sound quite right- like a cookie diet or a brownie filled with protein, even if it is vegan or ‘Paleo’, it probably just isn’t.

Go with the apple instead.

Taste the Olive Oil, No Bread Needed

I’ve grown quite used to tasting olive oil on its own.  

At home, whenever we go out to dine and the ubiquitous bread basket is placed on the table, I’ll often dip my spoon in the small dish filled with oil before anyone has dunked their bread in, simply to taste.

So, you can imagine my delight when I discovered that at nearly every place we’ve eaten at here in Tuscany, the oil has been served in a small dish…without bread, for no other reason that to taste it, just like I do in California.

If you’re at an actual olive oil tasting, doing so with bread is simply not necessary.

Why complicate things by adding gluten to an otherwise quite enjoyable experience?

Wondering how to cleanse your palate between tasting without the yeasty stuff?  A small slice of tart apple following by a swig of still water will do the trick perfectly.

Salute!

Traveling Paleo Is Not That Tricky

Whenever I’m  heading out of town, there’s always at least one client or friend that will jokingly ask me how I’ll possibly stay true to my Paleo regime even amongst all the ‘X’ food (whatever any particular country is known for).

When I headed to Madison for a race one year it was, “How are you going to avoid the beer and cheese?”; to France it was, “What about all the crepes and croissants?” and most recently, “How are you going to turn down all the pasta in Italy?”.

As if those items listed above were all the places had to offer, and as if I would be tempted to eat them anyway.

Gluten is still gluten.  It has always and will always make me sick, so making the educated decision to cut it out of my life permanently, nearly ten years ago, was not remotely difficult and continues to be a complete non-issue.

Same with the other foods I ate growing up that I thought were healthy and which I learned later on were actually rather toxic, like beans, organic dairy and soy.

Yes, there are foods I don’t eat.  But the focus is not on that because there are endless possibilities to the combinations of beautiful, local, seasonal foods I choose to eat that make me feel great!

And the same goes when I’m traveling.

This morning, for example, when we headed into the breakfast room at the lovely villa we’re staying at in Tuscany, I scanned the continental breakfast options.

I saw the expected breads with nutella, the muesli with milk and several varieties of cheeses.

There  was also, however, a large plate of beautiful fresh fruit, soft boiled eggs, and when I asked the chef if there were any veggies available, he served us the plate of zucchini, fennel, red pepper and eggplant, simply grilled then drizzled with olive oil, in about five minutes flat.

No hassle, no problem whatsoever.

Compare this to a lady I met last evening at a dinner we attended.   She overheard me telling the server I’d be passing on the pasta course and may I please have some salad instead, which was easily accommodated via a small plate of shredded radicchio and home grown tomatoes.

She commented that she, too, typically avoids gluten, as she has celiac disease, but she decided she’d throw caution to the wind and eat whatever she fancies because, after all, she was on vacation in Italy and didn’t want to miss out.

In her view, apparently, it was worth it to eat that pasta, knowing she’d be sick the next day, and contribute dangerously to her Celiac disease progressing.

I just don’t get it.  But then, it’s each individual’s choice.

Even if you haven’t got a diagnosed illness, but have already cleaned up your act enough to let it register that certain foods leave  you feel less than great, why would eating them on vacation and creating a situation where you’re walking around with a migraine, with acne and a bloated belly be a good idea when you’re traveling?

There is just a huge disconnect for so many with what we eat and how we feel.

Just thinking about a little in advance can often make all the difference in the world.

And, by the way, when followed properly, True Paleo won’t leave you wanting for anything. If it does,  there’s a good chance there is something amiss in your implementation.

Remember- veggies at every meal, a good portion of fat and natural protein.  Balanced.  Plenty of flavor, color and taste. That’s the ticket!

Bananas To Go For the Long Haul- Sol Simple

I love bananas.  

They’re quite possibly my favorite fruit for an important part of a post-endurance swim, bike or run recovery meal, as well as something I’ll eat during one of said activities if it’s one I’m approaching from the perspective of long aerobic versus short and fasted.

But what about the mess?

Yes, packaged items are definitely ‘neater’ than a potentially mushy banana, but that’s not reason to opt to ingest refined grains, whey and a plethora of other unfavorable ingredients.

Sol Simple to the rescue!  I picked up some of these tasty little dried bananas the other day at a local health food shop and they were absolutely perfect for a long ride.

Organic, Fair Trade and very forward thinking, this company not only produces a product that tastes good, it’s one you’d want to support for what they stand for:

Sol Simple hires single mothers in marginalized communities in an effort to advance the overall well-being of women and their families in Nicaragua
They partner directly with producers and development missions everyday on the ground to promote farm diversification and organic certification
Their fruit is hand-cut and packed, providing more jobs and eliminating the need for mechanized processing

Check out their bananas, as well as their other offerings today!

Looking for something more suitable to eat at the office or at a time when you’re not in need of the natural sugars in bananas?  Don’t worry- they also sell nuts!  Something for everyone!

Soy Protein Isolate is Not Really Food

I can’t tell you how many times I’ve heard this very statement:  My grandmother at soy every day and lived to be 105!

At nearly every lecture I’ve given, there’s always one person who, when they learn about the toxic properties of soy and why they’re not healthy, even beyond the fact that they’re not Paleo, cries out in disbelief that this couldn’t possibly be the case, as their grandmother ate soy every day and lived to the ripe of age of 105.

Or something like that.

Here’s the deal.

Chances are pretty high that the soy that grandma ate was not soy protein isolate, was not GMO (as 96% of the soy we have in the US is) and was not consumed in the copious amounts that far too many people ingest.

Grandma was probably eating edamame out of her own garden.

Still not Paleo, but far, far less offensive than Soy Protein Isolate.

According to the Agriculture and Consumer Protection Department, “Soy protein isolates have been known and produced for industrial purposes, mainly as adhesives for the paper coating industry, well before World War II. ISP’s for food use, however, have been developed only in the early fifties.“

Nice to know that eating it is a handy, additional use, aside from being a good type of glue.

Another interesting fact on the isolate is that at the start of WWII, it was discovered that “when a hydrolysate of isolated soy protein was fed into a water stream, the mixture was converted into a foam by means of an aerating nozzle. The soy protein foam was used to smother oil and gasoline fires aboard ships, and was particularly useful on aircraft carriers”,  according to Wikipedia.

Add to all this the fact that we, in the US, have the bad habit of thinking that if a little bit is good, a lot must be great, so lots and lots of soy (refined and highly processed, no less) must be a good idea, right?

So, so wrong.

Cut the soy.  All of it.  Even the edamame (it’s still a legume, packed with anti nutrients and helpful in causing leaky gut…)

Stop consuming bars, milks, shakes and who knows what else with this junk in it.   Don’t be surprised if you notice a huge improvement in how you feel…even if you didn’t realize you weren’t feeling all that great until you started feeling fantastic in comparison!

Good Morning, Paleo? Good Morning, America, You’ve Got it All Wrong!

Good Morning America featured a story about Paleo the other day.

Unfortunately, unlike the open minded and accurate view of Paleo I was able to present on Dr. Oz, this show got it so, so wrong that it pained me to watch it.

First of all, at the beginning of the segment, we see cream, green beans and edamame amongst the other foods which actually are Paleo.

Then, the horrible ‘caveman ‘ cartoon graphics which bring to mind Fred Flintsone.

Next, we see Lisa Drayer, RD, who tells us that Paleo is a high protein, low carb diet popular in the Cross Fit World.

Fair enough, yet not accurate as it’s not high protein/low carb, rather, it’s just higher in protein and lower (or actually, completely lacking) in the refined carbs that are part and parcel of the Standard American.

When describing the approach, she forgot to mention no dairy, too.

Then, we see a profile of a young mom who has done quite well for herself following a Paleo regime, which was a pleasant little high point of the segment which will hopefully appeal to that demographic and their kids.

Finally, we see Dr. Richard Bresser, MD, who tells us Paleo is a 

‘Good jump start to weight loss’ but not sustainable because it ‘eliminates healthy food’ and creates deficiencies where we will  need to supplement with Calcium.

He reminds us that caveman not did live past their 30s (oh, dear.  When are we going to let that myth die out?).

He also tells us that there are too many problems elimiating whole food groups-  grains and legumes and suggests peanuts are a good protein source.

Too $ and too hard to maintain

He wraps up by saying there is too much protein and we are better off going  back only two generations and look at our grandparents diet and mimicking that, rather than Paleo because, after all, Paleo really just hasn’t been proven.

So, so terribly wrong. Such a shame as the audience of over 5 million viewers, according to Nielsen, would have greatly benefitted if provided with the truth.

Click here to watch it for yourself!

 

Fortified. Enriched. How About Just Eating The Real Deal?

Check out the website of the good old USD (EatRight.org) and you can easily decipher the legal definition of the two food-industry terms:

“Both terms mean that nutrients have been added to make the food more nutritious. Enriched means nutrients that were lost during food processing have been added back. An example is adding back certain vitamins lost in processing wheat to make white flour. Fortified means vitamins or minerals have been added to a food that weren’t originally in the food. An example is adding vitamin D to milk“. 

So, we can ingest ‘food’ that have vitamins added back in to replace those during processing (so why not just eat the food that’s not processed in the first place?) or a ‘food’ that didn’t have the vitamins or minerals in it, to begin with.  

OK, then.

Kinda reminds me of a sign I saw outside of a frozen yogurt shop, advertising the added protein in the dessert, as if to make it a healthy option for a meal replacement.

Look, there’s not anything tricky about this.  Choosing a fortified or enriched product is never going to be a healthier option compared to a whole, real, fresh, unadulterated food.

Further, the whole, real, fresh unadulterated food is far less likely to cause or contribute to adverse health conditions compared to a refined, packaged, ‘vitamin-added’ food industry product.

Leaves over grains!

Super Food, Or Just Food?

Imagine if everything we ate really was food.

Recall the definition of it, from Webster’s Dictionary:

“any nourishing substance that is eaten, drunk, or otherwise taken into the body to sustain life,provide energy, promote growth, etc.”

Now, take a quick pause and ask yourself how much of what you put in your mouth fits that description.  Alternatively, what percentage of what you voluntarily ingest does not?

Cakes, cookies, candies, breads, soda, pasta, cereal, bagels, 100-calorie-diet-snack-packs and microwave popcorn all, unfortunately, would fall into the latter category.

Of course, there is more to eating than just fueling the body as all senses are engaged; if this wasn’t the case, I doubt anyone would have an issue with being overweight as no one would ever eat for a reason other than the obvious- being hungry!

However, that’s the beauty of Paleo living.  The food (and I stress- this is where food really does mean food) is so abundant, varied and plentiful, that one isn’t left yearning for anything, when True Paleo is implemented.

Thus, the question… why do we need to call certain foods ‘super’?  No different from why we have to call certain foods ‘organic’, rather than just living in a society where everything just is, or the ‘health food’ section in the grocery store- what does that say about everything else in the place?

I fear to think what’s next- are we going to start to call clean, filtered, alkaline water by a new term?  Or perhaps we’ll start referring to seasonal, local produce as ‘magical produce’?

It’s just so backwards.

Food should just be food.

Eaten in balance, in the proper time frame and with plenty of variety,  you simply can’t go wrong…nor do you need anything ‘super’.

Is Brita Water Paleo?

Hmmm.. let’s think. Did our ancestors take the time to filter their water?

No, but then, they didn’t have an environment filled with toxic chemicals and a depleted ozone that we have today.

So what to do?  Use a tried and true Brita filter?

Maybe, but what is the trader off if you’re filtering off some of the bad stuff, only to leave your water sitting in plastic in the fridge to leach chemicals out of the carafe and into your body?

I didn’t see a BPA-free symbol on a Brita box at the store, so I did a  little research.  According to a blog called The Green Blog ,  whose author contacted Brita directly, this was their response:

The pitcher lids and filter housings are made of Polypropylene plastic. The reservoirs and pitchers are made either from NAS (a Styrene based plastic) or SAN (Styrene Acrylonitrile). The soft-touch handles are made from an elastomer called Santoprene (not to be confused with Latex or Neoprene). Our products do not contain any bisphenol A and are all tested by the NSF (National Sanitation Foundation) for safety and wetted contact. Unfortunately the pitcher materials are not recyclable, and therefore do not have a plastic number. Please contact us at any time if you have additional questions.

The fact that the answer to ‘is your product BPA-free?’ is more than a single word, no, is enough cause for concern.

Even if a plastic is BPA-free, I still don’t know that it’s all that good to be exposed to it.

I did another search and found that Brita does offer a glass pitcher internationally, which would be something I, for one, would be far more comfortable with!

Do your own research, find your best filter, but only after finding out it you need one in the first place.  Some areas have water sourced from places so clean and pristine, a filter becomes superfluous.