Comments on: Keep it together: The need for whole food

By: Sage

Sage — Wed, 12 May 2010 05:41:30 +0000

Grant, I have seen that site…it will be interesting to see the results of the treatment. But I do hold to the fact that Vitamin D is only found in nature in select foods for consumption and the body has very careful mechanisms for absorption. I wonder if the deficiency trend has more to do with how we use/synthesize D rather than our consumption/exposure to it.

The purslane story is a great example of the awkwardness of federal level policy particularly when it comes to the connections between land/ag health and health of the people. Ideally health care reform would start with intensive soil restoration!

Thanks for your thoughts Grants. And we do have purslane in our yard…guess I’ll try it out.

By: Grant

Grant — Wed, 12 May 2010 05:12:09 +0000

Have you heard of Dr. Trevor Marshall who has postulated that Vitamin D may not be a simple vitamin at all and that large amounts of it-either natural or supplemental, may interfere with the body’s immune response and actually aid in the spread of TH1 diseases? Here is a link to some good information. http://bacteriality.com/about-the-mp/

Also, one of the most amusing things I have seen lately: The FDA has listed a weed called Purslane as the 7th most noxious weed threat in the world, while the USDA has arrived at the conclusion that it could be cultivated in almost all areas of the world and has such unusual qualities that it could help in the effort to alleviate world hunger. Here is part of their findings: “Purslane is receiving much attention for cultivation by the United States Department of Agriculture as part of their effort to bring about a modification in the western diet with increased intake of fresh fruits and vegetables.”
Purslane just happens to contain alpha-linolenic acid, one of the highly sought-after Omega-3 fatty acids. Why pay money for fish oil when you can grow your own Omega-3 fatty acids as part of your edible landscaping? Especially when it takes little effort to grow purslane, since it does grow like a weed.

I have a ten foot back yard and have identified 4 or 5 of these ‘weeds’ growing and used to throw away buckets of them while ‘weeding’ my flower garden! They are already flat, easy to clean and fit just right on a sandwich. My aunt tried to get me to eat them 55 years ago and we all thought she was kookoo. I have a plant spec sheet with a picture of the plant if you want to see how many are growing at your house.

By: The Goods Are Odd › D is for Duh

The Goods Are Odd › D is for Duh — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 08:25:44 +0000

[...] substances in other substances where they don’t necessarily belong. (I talked about this before here, and it doesn’t seem beneficial) Maybe, just maybe, the world works the way it does for a [...]

By: Sage

Sage — Mon, 04 Jan 2010 07:44:42 +0000

Well, ideally all meals would be a good balance of these important (and delicious) pairings. A checklist for any meal you are inspired to cook might be helpful…Let’s take my lunch as an example. I melted raw monterey jack cheese on a sprouted grain tortilla (from Ezekiel brand) which was sort of frying in some olive oil and butter (butter helps raise the smoking point of olive oil because the butter is saturated which is better for heat). I also put some black beans which had been soaked for about 20 hours and then simmered for about 4 hours and some cilantro. This quesadilla-esque thing was topped with some hot sauce. The fat of the cheese, butter, and olive oil was necessary to absorb the fat soluable nutrients in the soaked legumes and the sprouted grains, the cilantro and in the cheese itself. There are myriad other processes that occurred that we lucky don’t have to know about. To really make a nutrient dense meal that was easily absorbed I might have eaten some sauerkraut or washed it all down with some kombucha. Creme fraiche is a nice cultured dairy that goes beautifully with beans and spice.

You can take any given meal you are preparing and check, how are the grains and legumes prepared? What quality of fats am I using? Are they whole fats that are helping my body use this food? Where is the life in my food? Do I have anything active to replenish my gut? Are the vegetables I am eating pepared and paired in a way that makes them useful? Do I have anything that is harmful or diminishing like the anti-nutrients in grains/nuts/legumes, foods damaged with high heat like puffed things, or refined grains/sugars?

I think generally these are good broad guides. I love meals which lend themselves easily to a good balance of all this (like rice with eggs and sauerkraut, see post below), but I would think a balance over a day is fine too if each meal doesn’t have everything.

By: Mom

Mom — Sun, 03 Jan 2010 00:32:07 +0000

Sage, I appreciate your focus on the benefits of quality whole fats in our diet and the knowledge I gain through your introduction to and summaries of references such as Nina Planck’s work. I particularly liked your specific examples of pairings. Could you suggest examples of some meals that include multiple pairings (i.e., fermented, raw, fat + protein…). Thanks.