Here's Why You Love Salt:

As with fat and sugar, you are hard-wired to love the taste of salt - and it's no wonder why, as salt, like fat, is also essential for health. However, unlike fat (and sugar), your body can't produce salt on its own - it has to come from dietary sources. Salt is included in many, many bodily processes - and I won't get too technical here, but if you're an athlete, you know how important electrolytes are for maintaining hydration and keeping your bodily functions going. Salt is included in every bodily fluid, and sodium chloride is the major electrolyte that your body uses to keep your cells properly balanced and functioning. Salt also helps transport toxins out of the body, conduct electrical impulses in the brain and body, keep your blood at the right pH level, and much more. As with fat, you would die without salt. Your taste buds know this - and so do the food processing companies!  So they give it to you - and a lot of it - in just about every processed food known to man.

Personally, salt is my main craving. I can do just fine without sugar (unless I've become temporarily addicted to it - which happens a couple of times per year - especially around the holidays), and I love fat, but I don't feel deprived of it, since I make sure to include enough good fats in my diet. I can walk right by a plate of brownies, cookies, or a cake at a party, with barely a glance. But that bag of Doritos is another story.... (Yes, I - a self-proclaimed health nut - love me some spicy nacho cheese Doritos!) Who knows why that's my weakness? The rest of my family are all sugar-a-holics, but I've always been all about the salt.

Back to Our Sugar Addiction for a Moment....

Eating junk food and processed foods is probably the main cause for obesity in this country. And it's not that people aren't aware of this - we all understand there's a reason they're called "junk foods" - it's because nutritionally they're junk. Or to put it plainly, we know they're bad for us, and yet we all eat them anyway!

Now, I'm not talking here about things like the difference between good and bad fats, or whether fat or carbs are worse for you, or the mountains of conflicting and confusing information about nutrition that are thrown at us every day. Today I'm not talking about any of those seemingly complex issues (although you can find many enlightening posts on those topics on this blog - just click the "Food & Nutrition" category).

Today, I'm talking about the highly processed and nutritionally unhealthy foods that the majority of Americans already know as "junk food," and guiltily eat anyway - many of us almost daily. (And with all my passion for health, you may be surprised to learn that....I'm not immune to junk food cravings! More on that later....)

So why do we eat them? If we know they're unhealthy, we know they're bad for our bodies, we know they make us fat, what keeps us returning to the bag of chips over and over? Why do we continue to scarf down a half package of Oreos at a time, when we know it can only have negative consequences? Are junk foods really addictive? Do food processing companies add some secret substance that makes us unable to control our urges to eat more and more of them, despite knowing they are bad for us?  And beyond that, is there anything we can do about it?

This week and next, I will unpack answers to all of these questions and more.

 It both amazes and frustrates me how pervasive the low-fat myth has become. Despite dozens of books, and hundreds of research studies, articles, and reports in medical journals demonstrating proof to the contrary, the vast majority of people still seem to believe that foods like butter (and other saturated fats) are bad for you.

In actuality, this was never a proven fact to begin with. As I explained a couple of months ago, the originator of this myth, Ancel Keys, actually described his conclusion as "the lipid hypothesis" (meaning it was only a theory). But somehow, the idea got into the mainstream media, and before you know it, the low-fat frenzy was on. With thousands of food companies now mass producing low-fat processed food products by the millions, and doctors still recommending a low-fat diet to patients right and left, it's going to be a slow process to turn the tide of public opinion.

That's why I was both surprised and elated to see BUTTER featured on the cover of Time magazine last month!

There has been a lot of controversy over the past several years about the value of taking vitamins and nutritional supplements. Some swear by them, and others say they are unnecessary and expensive. Conflicting studies have shown they have no effect, and conversely that they are very helpful in maintaining health and preventing (sometimes even treating) various diseases and conditions.

So what is the truth?

Should you take supplements or not, and if so, which ones?

As with so many things when it comes to health, the real answer is...it depends.

We're back!!  Jamaica was amazing - beautiful, relaxing, and fun - everything a honeymoon should be.... I'm still getting caught up on all of the things I missed while gone, so I don't have a long rant or expose' for you today. Instead, I thought I would review for you one of my favorite food-related movies I have seen; it's called Fresh: New Thinking About What We're Eating. It's definitely worth a watch, and here's why.

I watched the documentary film, Food, Inc. a few years ago, after it was recommended to me by several different people, many of whom described it as "shocking," "appalling," or "you'll never look at food the same way again." While I'm sure they felt that way, it didn't do much for me. Already being familiar with so many of the atrocities committed by our industrial food system, the film contained little that was new to me, and I was left wanting more.

For me, Fresh is that "more." In a way, Fresh picks up where Food, Inc. left off.

I actually didn't have time to write an article for you this week because.....I'm getting married this weekend!

That's right guys - this gal is officially off the market! :-)

Luckily, I've got a great guest post for you from one of my favorite health and fitness "gurus" - Mike Geary. Mike is best known for his great courses on fitness and weight loss, but what I like best are his hard-hitting articles exposing the truth about REAL health and nutrition. This week he's talking about the #1 food that causes faster aging. For those of us wanting to stay young and healthy as long as possible, you'll definitely want to sit up and take notice.

Also, due to honeymoon/travel plans, we will not be posting next week, but be sure to subscribe to our newsletter for a special peek at an article that goes hand-in-hand with this one - on a certain type of exercise that actually AGES you - you'll want to stop doing these exercises right away!

Check out the article below, have a wonderful week, and enjoy your Memorial Day!

Rose.


The #1 WORST Food that Causes Faster Aging
by Mike Geary - Certified Nutrition Specialist
& Catherine Ebeling - RN, BSN

Last week we discussed some foods that are commonly consumed in the US, but are banned in other countries for safety and health reasons. If you missed last week's post, be sure to check it out for the first 5 foods you should avoid, and why.

This week, we move on to the second half of the list. We're starting off with a doozy....

Banned Food #5: Chicken Containing Arsenic

Most people are aware of arsenic as a potent toxin (commonly used to off people in mystery novels), but did you know that it is fed to the conventionally raised chickens that end up on your dinner table? Arsenic-based drugs are often added to chicken feed to make the chickens gain weight faster, and also to make the meat appear pinker (corn-fed chickens usually have very pale flesh since they don't get to eat their natural diet of green grass and plants, which makes the meat of pasture-raised chickens naturally pink and fresh looking).

Arsenic has never been approved as a safe additive to animal feed in the European Union, and several groups are lobbying the FDA asking for its removal in the U.S. as well. But until that happens, it's up to you to protect yourself against this toxic carcinogen.

How to Avoid It:

When you look at our health as a nation, it may come as no surprise that many of the processed food additives we still use here in the US are considered dangerous, and are banned in many other countries. If you follow this blog and eat healthy (TRULY healthy) foods, as I do, you may not be eating a lot of these - but some are sneakier than you might think, and can pop up in foods that sound really good for you - like fish....

So check out these 10 banned foods, so you will know what to avoid next time you're shopping.  And remember, eat fresh, whole foods, eat local, eat organic, avoid processed foods, and you'll miss all the nastiness without even thinking about it!

As we discussed last week, dietary saturated fat actually has little influence on your blood cholesterol levels, and many researchers have shown this time and time again. As recent May 2013 article in Medscape journal stated, "the meager effect that saturated fats have on serum cholesterol levels, and the lack of any clear evidence that saturated fats promote any of the conditions attributed to them makes one wonder how saturated fats got such a bad reputation in the health literature."

The truth is coming out, and the truth is that fat was never the culprit in the diseases it has been condemned for causing. In fact, there are many positive health benefits to eating reasonable amounts of good fats.

But what are "good fats"?  How do you find them, and how do you tell if the ones you find are good or bad?  After all, there's nothing on the label that tells you if the fat is good or bad for you, is there?

Actually, there is. The way in which a fat is processed can tell you a lot about whether it is a healthy substance to consume, or an unhealthy one - devoid of nutrients, or even downright harmful.

One of the greatest (and possibly most dangerous) health myths out there has been a source of great confusion and frustration for many people over the past 60 years. People who subscribe to this myth in the interest of maintaining good health, have tried in good faith to follow the recommendations which somehow have now become "common knowledge," and have instead grown more and more unhealthy. Not only that, but they have sacrificed enjoyment of foods that were meant to be enjoyed, and now, all these years later, they are sicker than ever - is it any wonder why more and more people are seeking out information about nutrition and good health for themselves?

The Low-Fat Myth: