How Not to Die, Pumpkin Seeds, Animal Protein & Carbs, Toxic Wrappers, Foods for Sleep
In This Issue:
- Book Review – “How Not to Die”
- Pumpkin Seeds Super Food
- Eating Animal Protein with Carbs Can Cause Diabetes
- 1/3 of Fast Food Packaging is Toxic!
- Fruits that Help You Sleep
You’ll Find More Healthy Posts on Our Facebook Page –
https://www.facebook.com/HealItAll/
Message from Bernadette Wulf
Greetings!
I hope you haven’t been missing your newsletter this month. We had a death in my in-law’s family and I was on babysitting duty for several days. Just catching up now. Good to be back!
I am excited to share a review of Dr. Greger’s book, How Not to Die. I give it five stars! At first I was hesitant to tackle it, since it looked like a huge volume of scientific studies, but as soon as I started reading I was very pleasantly surprised. The book is fascinating and written in an easy style that makes it a pleasure to read. Furthermore, it effectively answered all my questions about the benefits and safety of a purely plant based, whole foods diet. Study after study after study came to the same conclusions. The higher the percentage of whole plant foods in your diet, the less likely you are to develop (and die of) any of the common causes of premature death in our modern world. If this book doesn’t convince you, nothing will.
One of the best things about Dr. Greger is that he isn’t getting paid by any special interests to make their products look good. His primary interest is health, so he only reports the findings that show the healthiest diet and lifestyle choices.
If you get nothing else out of this newsletter, please take the time to learn about what Dr. Greger has to offer. Your body will thank you.
As always, I would love to hear what you want to read about. Feel free to send requests, suggestions, or any sort of feedback. I appreciate hearing from my readers. Email Bernadette
To your health!
Bernadette Wulf
http://healitall.com – http://wulfworks.com
Book Review – “How Not to Die”
Odd title, but a great book. Of course we are all going to die eventually, but wouldn’t it be great to keep yourself as healthy as possible in the meantime? That’s what this book is all about. I wish I’d had it 50 years ago.
Dr. Greger and his staff have done an amazing job of gathering a massive amount of scientific data on nutrition and how it affects our health, particularly as related to the most common life-threatening diseases we face – and somehow they were able to make it enjoyable to read. This may be the definitive volume on healthy diet, especially when combined with the Medical Medium information. Finally!
Unlike many researchers, Dr. Greger donates all proceeds from his speaking engagements and the sale of his books and DVDs to his 501(c)3 nonprofit NutritionFacts.org, the first science-based, non-commercial website to provide free daily videos and articles on the latest discoveries in nutrition. He’s funny too, which makes it enjoyable to learn from him.
I love this last paragraph of the review, “Dr. Greger arms you with real knowledge and tools to complete your goal to reach a longer and healthier life. And though most people may be a little intimidated about a book that is so in depth and thoroughly researched, don’t be. It’s a fast read even at its length. And even better, it is accessible enough to make even the “I only read fiction” crowd stay engrossed. But although the book won’t frighten you to pieces, it will have you throwing out every piece of junk food, starting a meal plan right away and questioning your food choices….which is the point of the book.”
Here is an interview with the author, Dr. Michael Greger:
https://www.bluezones.com/2015/12/how-not-to-die-9-questions-for-michael-greger-md/
Pumpkin Seeds Super Food
Pumpkin seeds are a healthy treat that can really boost your nutrition. If you want to add them to salads, dips, or other dishes, buy the kind without the shells. You can even get them already sprouted and flavored at natural food stores. But if you like biting into the shells, you can use the seeds of any winter squash. Just wash and roast them until they turn golden brown. You can sprinkle on a little high-quality salt when they are wet to make a tasty snack food.
naturalmentor.com/are-pumpkin-seeds-an-antidote-for-nutrient-deficiency/
Eating Animal Protein with Carbs Can Cause Diabetes
Meat and potatoes, mac and cheese, spaghetti and meatballs, burger and fries, or a three-cheese crusty pizza may be some of the most common food combinations, but that’s not be such a good idea for your health. Here’s a fascinating article about how adding animal protein to a meal of rice, potatoes, pasta, or other starchy food will spike your blood sugar twice as much as eating the carbs on their own. Looks like the classic “balanced diet” may be one of the worst combinations you could choose!
From nutritionfacts.org – “One possibility is that animal protein is making the rice worse. If you feed people mashed white potatoes, a high glycemic food like white rice, you can see in my video If White Rice is Linked to Diabetes, What About China? the level of insulin your pancreas has to pump out to keep your blood sugars in check. But what if you added some tuna fish? Tuna doesn’t have any carbs, sugar, or starch so it shouldn’t make a difference. Or maybe it would even lower the mashed potato spike by lowering the glycemic load of the whole meal? Instead you get twice the insulin spike. This also happens with white flour spaghetti versus white flour spaghetti with meat. The addition of animal protein makes the pancreas work twice as hard.
“You can do it with straight sugar water too. If you do a glucose challenge test to test for diabetes, where you drink a certain amount of sugar and add some meat, you get a much bigger spike than without meat. And the more meat you add, the worse it gets. Just adding a little meat to carbs doesn’t seem to do much, but once you get up to around a third of a chicken breast’s worth, you can elicit a significantly increased surge of insulin. This may help explain why those eating plant-based have such low diabetes rates, because animal protein can markedly potentiate the insulin secretion triggered by carbohydrate ingestion.”
http://nutritionfacts.org/2017/02/02/what-not-to-add-to-white-rice-potatoes-or-pasta/
1/3 of Fast Food Packaging is Toxic!
This issue may be of particular importance to parents of teenagers. I hope my readers already know better than to frequent “the golden arches,” or other such establishments, but teens often have a hard time resisting the lure of junk foods, especially when their peers are pressuring them to join in the fun at the drive in. It may help to have them read this article. At the very least, they may be able to pick better choices from the chart below and influence their friends in a less toxic direction. Good luck!
From draxe.com – “It’s virtually impossible to completely avoid toxic nonstick PFC chemicals. They’re ubiquitous in the environment — and inside most of us. Until our country’s antiquated chemical safety laws are updated to better protect us, it’ll be impossible to avoid these chemicals.
“For instance, the Food and Drug Administration should close the loophole that allows companies to self-certify chemicals as Generally Recognized as Safe. In the meantime, you can still drastically lower your exposure of PFCs on a personal level by:
- Eat[ing] fresh meals you prep as home as much as possible.
- Avoiding paper tableware. (It’s often coated in these grease-proofing chemicals.)
- Steer clear of microwave popcorn. The bags are often coated with PFCs. Just make it the old-fashioned way on the stovetop.
- Avoid nonstick dental floss, like Oral-B Glide.”
That’s a good start. I would include avoiding all non-stick cookware, all cans not labeled BPA Free, and pretty much any kind of plastic touching your food.
I posted this handy chart on my Pinterest page, so you can see which companies use the most toxic containers and wraps. I don’t recommend eating at fast food joints for many other reasons, but if you do, you might want to take a look at the chart.
https://www.pinterest.com/pin/73535406396398555/
https://draxe.com/fast-food-packaging/
Fruits that Help You Sleep
Who knew that eating pineapple and bananas could provide enough melatonin to help you sleep? A fruit salad for desert makes a lot of sense, judging from this report. Let me know how it works if you try it. From greenmedinfo.com:
The researchers tested six tropical fruits among the volunteers, giving them a diet heavy in that particular fruit for one week following a one-week washout. During these periods the researchers analyzed the subjects’ urine levels of 6-sulfatoxymelatonin – also referred to as aMT6s.
Higher levels of 6-sulfatoxymelatonin or aMT6s in the urine indicates higher levels of melatonin circulating within the bloodstream.
With each different fruit, the subjects’ aMT6s levels were tested. The 6-sulfatoxymelatonin (aMT6s) levels after eating some fruits – notably pineapples, bananas and oranges – increased significantly. Pineapples increased 6-sulfatoxymelatonin (aMT6s) levels by over two-and-a-half times (266%) while banana increased aMT6s levels by 180% – almost double. Meanwhile, oranges increased aMT6s levels by 47%.
The other fruits also moderately increased melatonin content among the patients.
Other Foods also Provide Melatonin Safely
Other research – as reported by Realnatural – has shown that natural melatonin from red tart Montmorency cherries (Prunus cerasus) can increase sleep efficiency and quality. A study from an international group of researchers found that drinking tart cherry juice for seven days increased sleep by an average of 34 minutes a night – by speeding up falling to sleep – and increased sleep efficiency by 5-6%.
http://www.greenmedinfo.com/blog/food-sourced-melatonin-provides-natural-way-help-sleep
New Earth Ambassador — Sharing Health, Wealth & Faery Magic to Uplift the World!
What I love best is creating opportunities for people to tap into the New Earth reality — a reality of harmony, cooperation and prosperity for all. I call it the New Camelot!
I still recall the thrill of discovering how to break through the confusion and angst of struggling in the old 3D Matrix. That’s when I realized I had found something far more valuable than money or worldly “success.”
So now I spend my time creating courses, blogs and tools to support citizens of the New Camelot in their ongoing quest for vital health, abundant wealth and the magic of the faery realm (which is woven into the fabric of the New Camelot like silver threads of wonder).
I am also passionate about protecting Nature, educating people about a healthy whole plant foods diet, artistic creativity, graphic design, connecting seekers with the faery realm, Celtic and Arthurian lore, writing, painting and gardening.
My services are all listed at wulfworks.com (my portal site)