To cleanse or not to cleanse

Hyped as a means to remove harmful pollutants from the body and lose weight, cleanse and detox diets are all the rage. But despite their popularity, research has revealed that cleansing – especially via restricting intake and fasting – brings about unwanted side effects and weight re-gain after restoring a normal diet. These cleanses can be relatively healthy if approached cautiously, such as simply incorporating more fruits and vegetables into the diet. On the other hand, they can be darn right dangerous. Always bear in mind that most cleanses are dreamed up by individuals lacking nutrition credentials – and therefore should be reviewed carefully before trying.

Here are a few things to think about with cleansing:

• Excess energy intake – juice is a high caloric drink often incorporating much more fruit and vegetables than one could consume in whole form.
• Liquid meals cause lazy guts. Our gastrointestinal tract needs solid foods including those with fiber and protein to stay healthy and maintain integrity.
• Decreased satiety, liquid meals take longer for you to feel full causing cravings earlier, not to mention irritability from blood sugar spikes and falls.
• Our bodies remove toxins; it’s how we’ve survived for thousands of years. So there’s really not much of an incentive to detox via dieting.

The bottom line: There is no evidence that any of these “cleanse” diets enhance the bodies own detox mechanisms. Concentrate on fueling your body right, hydrating appropriately with low-sugar drinks, getting good sleep, and staying active. Take a moment to appreciate the remarkable way the body protects and cleanses itself safely and naturally, without any help from the outside.

By Liz Schneider, guest blogger and nutritionist

Would you eat a lab-grown hamburger?

I would. As a clean-eater I enjoy the occasional grass-fed beef dish, but inevitably I find myself at a barbecue or restaurant that serves factory-farmed beef. And as to not be a pain in the butt, I eat it. One day in the future we may have they choice of ordering a hamburger made from either conventional beef or lab-grown beef, I’d choose the latter hands down every time and here’s why.

Benefits and possibilities of lab-grown beef:

• Hormone free and antibiotic free
• No pesticides, tranquilizers, or de-wormers needed
• Cruelty free
• Decreased factory farms = less environmental impact
• Competition with conventional beef may make room for more sustainable livestock farms
• and more land for sustainable fruit and vegetable farms!
• Safer in terms of food borne illness
• Less water used…
• less energy required…
• and more ethical compared to conventional beef production
• Healthier in terms of fats

So how does this cultured meat grow? It’s actually quite simple really. Using stem cell technology, a muscle cell originating from a real cow is programmed to divide over and over again in vitro ultimately producing a meat patty. This cutting edge technology has the opportunity not only to succeed but also to transform the way we feed the world. Did you know what ~70% of antibiotics used in the US are for cattle? How about ~20% of greenhouse gasses coming from cattle farms? It’s time to quit ignoring these issues and start solving the environmental and societal problem of factory farming – lab-grown beef could do just that.

Until cultured beef becomes mainstream – which could take decades – it’s important to weight the potential benefits. There’s a lot of people to feed on this earth and the population is only getting larger.

By Liz Schneider, guest blogger

Eating for beauty

The best compliment I’ve received is that I have great skin. I was actually taken a back given that I have freckles and a long clash with acne. But I’ll take what I can get. After years of trying every cream, lotion, pill on the market I stopped focusing on the things I put on top of my skin and instead focused on what I was putting into my body. Maybe I just grew out of the acne, but I’m eating healthier than ever before and my skin has never looked better. My tip is to try and eat antioxidant and anti-inflammatory rich foods every day, simply put: eat your fruits and veggies.

Antioxidant rich foods are those that contain:

• Vitamin A aka beta-carotene, the orange/red pigment that gives carrots and squash their color, can also give your skin a healthy glow as the pigments accumulate under the skin’s surface.
• Vitamin C and E are often paired together as they help protect against cellular damage in our bodies including skin. In fact a vitamin c deficiency usually manifests with dry, scaly skin and bleeding gums – a testament of vitamin c’s influence of tissue health.
• Selenium is a mineral found in the earth, and thus many foods contain it including seafood, meat, and plants. Depending on soil conditions, the same food grown in different soils can contain varying amounts of selenium. One Brazil nut is usually all you need for a days worth of this antioxidant.
• Zinc – although not really considered an antioxidant, zinc is essential for the proper functioning of the antioxidant pathways in the body.

Anti-inflammatory rich foods are those that contain:

• Healthy fats like those found in ground flax and fatty fish. A soft fluid-like membrane (made up of the fat you eat) protects all of your trillion cells, so you can imagine they are extremely important for skin structure. In the omega-6-fat laden society we live in, it is hard to obtain omega-3 fats, which research has shown to decrease inflammation in the body. A great goal is to incorporate fish into your meals twice a week.

Tips for eating clean

• Go slow. Especially if you are not use to regularly eating whole foods. Try adding one fruit or veggie at a time. Pay close attention to your body. There is such a thing as too much fiber!
• Drink more water. Fiber requires lots of hydration to pass through your gut comfortably and efficiently. Extra water is good for your skin too. Everyone’s hydration needs vary, but generally 6-12 glasses per day will do the trick.

I hope this inspired you to eat your fruits and veggies if not for anything else, for a glowing complexion!

Did you know? Acne is a disease of western civilization. It does not exist in certain countries like Paraguay and New Guinea. As expected, these cultures eat very clean diets excluding processed and refined foods…

Need help finding healthy foods containing antioxidants? Check out this website at www.WHFoods.org

PS – you don’t need to take supplements for great skin. Eat the food, the whole food, and nothing but the food! It’s how nature intending us to get our vitamins and minerals.

By: Liz Schneider, guest blogger

Growing your own food

Have you ever sunk your teeth into a freshly picked tomato right from your very own garden? If not, you’re missing out. Growing your own food offers many benefits such as delicious taste, cost savings, healthfulness, and the peace of mind by controlling your own growing conditions.

Don’t know where to begin? Start with tomatoes, peppers, or herbs – they are the most forgiving even for a novice gardener.  Try growing from seeds and watch your veggies sprout up from the soil or buy starter plants that have already been established. Ask your local gardening center for tips, they are the experts.

No land? No problem. Today, gardeners are using all kinds of places to grow food like containers, windowsills, rooftops, and balconies. Collect your own water with a rain barrel and create your own plant food by composting. Gardening opens the door to sustainability.

The more I grow my own food, the more I realize what it actually takes to get food onto the table. For me, gardening has become a gateway to leading a more healthy life. Growing foods in my backyard gives me the power to choose how I will fuel my body. Plus, it makes way for discovering new cuisines through cooking at home. Lastly, growing your own food is an excellent source of exercise. It takes perseverance but it is totally worth it.

Backyard gardens have the power to increase access to healthy foods for everyone. With the 4th of July approaching, why not tap into our American heritage and start planting some food this summer!

I hope this inspires you to plant your own edible garden – you’ll be rewarded with what good soil can provide if you just give it a seed.

By Liz Schneider