food myths | Eat Laugh Craft- A Healthy Living Blog

Hi all!

Some gorgeous heirloom tomatoes from my CSA. Ahhhh sweet summertime.

I have been so, so, so, so awful about posting lately. I’ve been crazy busy with life! Life is great and some awesome things are happening in my life. Hopefully more on that later- but in the meantime I came across something I wanted to share with you all.

I’ll just preface this by saying that I am all for people eating healthy and improving their lives, but it breaks my heart and frustrates me to see them going about it all the wrong ways! There are 1000 ways out there that claim they are the “perfect” solution. I am a firm believer in eating as naturally from the earth as possible. No “low fat”, “fat free”, aspartame chocked full foods are “good” for you. Less calories? Sure, but the effects that the poisons, yes poisons that are the so called ingredients, in those things are down right scary. Lately I’ve been putting a HUGE focus on natural healthy eating for me and Jake. And the differences I’ve noticed are enough for me to never stop. So back to what I wanted to share.

Tanda Cook is an amazing person I cam across lately (read her book and visit her website) and I love her and her out look on pretty much everything. She posted this awesome article on her own blog today and I wanted to pass it on to all of you. She is an MD and a homeopathic/naturopathic. She shares her thoughts (very good ones at that!) on a list of foods that are often times labeled as “bad for you” but in all reality aren’t (in their pure natural forms).

“#1 butter

First off, why do we even need fat? (Cuz that’s what butter is mainly, right?) We need fat to provide concentrated sources of energy, it’s the building block for cell membranes and the precursor for a variety of hormones.

So we HAVE to have it to maintain health and balance.

Now lets talk about sources, in particular, butter.

Butter is awesome. Eat it.

Why you ask?

Many reasons.

Organic pasture butter is a short chain fatty acid, which means it does NOT have to be acted on by the bile salts (our gallbladder), it is DIRECTLY absorbed for energy use (and less likely to cause weight gain FYI).

It contains antimicrobial properties to help protect us from harmful microbs in the gastrointestinal tract. It is one of the greatest sources of fat soluble vitamins like A, D, E, and K.

Butter is mostly saturated fat. And lets set this straight as to WHY we NEED saturated fat as it has been demonized in the modern American diet.

Saturated fatty acids constitute about half of our cell membranes giving them the rigidity and structure to function optimally.

These fats help our immune system, specifically our white blood cells and enhances their ability to recognize foreign invaders like certain bacteria and viruses.

Saturated fat protects our liver from alcohol and medications.

Saturated fat also is essential for bone health as we need it to properly absorb calcium.

Not convinced yet?

How bout the fact that butter contains conjugated linoleic acid (a form of omega-6) that has strong anti-cancer properties as well as containing lecithin, which assists in the proper metabolism of cholesterol.

So go ahead and eat the stuff.

Oh, and what counts as butter?

That’s right, BUTTER

(not margarine, or Earth Balance, or spray butter, or I Cant Believe It’s Not Butter, or some other food-like-item claiming to be a butter-like-thing)

So pass the pasture butter deliciousness, please.

#2 red meat

I’ve already touched on a lot of this in the 5 Food Myths post AND I think its worth saying again.

Eat red meat. It doesn’t cause heart disease. And meat is only as healthy for you as the health of the animal. So eat sick cows, you, most likely, will be sick too.

Eat healthy animals, you will bring in all sorts of nourishment, vitamins, minerals and essential nutrients into your life and body.

Red meat specifically contains saturated fat, which we have talked about the why around needing it. It also is a great source of vitamin B12 and iron.

Why do we need these?

B12 is needed to prevent anemia, nervous system disorders, helps with energy, feeding our adrenals, maintains fertility and natural growth. Early signs of deficiency usually is indicated when there is irrational anger.

We need good ol’ iron for the health of our blood. And iron found in animal sources, aka: meat and eggs, is more readily absorbed than plant sources.

So, purchase 100% grass-fed, pasture raised, or grass finished meats. Or even better, raise it yourself if you have the time and space. OR go to your local farmer, shake their hand and buy and support them.

www.eatwild.com

www.localharvest.org

#3 mayo

This I have noticed as a food that people either LOVE or Despise. I fall in the LOVE category.

And when I tell the closet-lovers-of-mayonnaise that there is no reason to be ashamed its like I have given them the moon.

Think about this. What’s IN mayo?

Give up?

K, ready…egg yolks, mustard, olive oil, lemon, sea salt, vinegar. Boom. Done.

And yes, you can make your own, check out Jamie Oliver’s recipe here:

http://www.jamieoliver.com/recipes/eggs-recipes/my-beautiful-mayo

Pasture raised egg yolks contain the fat soluble vitamins such as vitamin A, D, and A a fat soluble vitamin needed for healthy eyes, hormones, immune system and blood clotting. They also contain essential fatty acids, iron, phosphorus and zinc.

There is nothing in mayo that’s not in homemade dressings. Its whole foods based, tastes amazeballs and goes well in my chicken salad recipe.

It won’t make ya fat if you’re worried about that.

Remember? Sugar has got that one covered for you.

Shhhpread away and enjoy it. And if you’re in the DESPISE camp, well, then use avocados instead.

#4 bacon

I think there are several crazed websites dedicated to the glorious food. And rightfully so, as everything’s better with it.

And it has gotten a bad wrap mostly because of its fat content.

And I’m gonna say this again, fat doesn’t make you fat, sugar does.

And pork in general has gotten a bad wrap, and no wonder because us Americans have taken a fabulous animal (the pig) and genetically mutated it so it grows super fast, is super lean, and is super unhealthy.

Pork and lard coming from pigs that have been raised on pasture is one of the best and most readily available sources of vitamin D (a fat soluble vitamin so we need to have fat present to absorb and utilize it)

Pigs, like humans, synthesize vitamin D in their skin. So when pigs are raised outdoors, in sunlight and on grass, that meat and fat has a TON of awesome vitamin D in it.

Sodium nitrates and nitrites are used to preserve color and prevent botulism in cured meats and have gotten badmouthed. Nitrites are compounds that are naturally found in plants like celery and butter leaf lettuce. They are also found in our saliva, and the studies done in animals that showed cancer development after large exposure to nitrates/nitrites have been discredited by peer review. So take all that with a grain of salt…eh, or bacon.

I’m more concerned about WHERE and HOW the pig was RAISED than anything else.

Eat bacon. Eat it in moderation. And love every bite.

#5 eggs

I get this one so much. “I can’t eat eggs, or egg yolks if I have high cholesterol.”

False.

100% false.

Eggs are the bomb. They are one of the most COMPLETE foods on the planet. And as I explained in the 5 Food Myths, if you have high cholesterol I can assure you it’s not eggs fault.

High cholesterol just tells me that the body is under a lot of physical and emotional stress and cholesterol is being made in the liver to do damage control. Remember 80% of the cholesterol in your body is made by the liver and only 20% is dietary.

And we NEED cholesterol, and here’s why:

It’s a precursor for hormones.

It’s a precursor for vitamin D.

Cholesterol acts as an antioxidant.

It’s needed for proper serotonin receptor function in the brain.

Eat. Eggs. Pasture raised farm eggs. Please. The whole part. Please.

And a quick thing on purchasing the dang things, which can be SO SUPER overwhelming, when I doubt I follow this logic:

Best option is to raise your own.

If that’s not possible, find a farmer that does.

If that’s not possible buy PASTURE raised eggs.

If you don’t see that option buy organic.

If that’s not an option pick up the cartons and turn them around to see where they are COMING from and buy the eggs that are CLOSEST to YOU.