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Big Bidness, Meat, Update Alzheimer's

Don't get me wrong, I am not dissing these well-meaning organic startups - their hearts were certainly in the right place and of course they (thought they) were helping God and the planet, but then Big Bidness reared it's opportunistic head and tired of the nitty-gritty, the planet-savers caved and sold their initial investment for a thousand times over. I first lost my naiveté when Ben and Jerry's was bought by the Unilever conglomerate in the mid-90's and now both Ben and Jerry are richer than Croesus and probably a lot more relaxed than they were churning out Cherry Garcia. Look, I know it's "just bidness, don't take it personally" but I dislike heartily the lost innocence part of it all.

Grody yet unavoidable bidness practices: It is rather disheartening to really understand (and moreover, to actually grok what this really means) how many Big Food companies are buying up the little organic startups - those original Moms and Pops of the natural food industry. No longer can we envision the army of young men and women ardently toiling in the fields working their liberally educated fingers to the bone, the purchase of the land/machinery/factory/raw material/what have you by a "grant" from maybe a Mom and Dad with a few extra bucks.

Just so we can all share in my misery, here are some companies sold and purchased by Big Foods, like Nestle, Coca cola, Pepsi, M&M Mars, Campbell Soup, ConAgra, Hain Celestial. And need I remind you that these are the very same companies that gave a gazillian monies to defeat GMO-labeling ballot measures in California and Washington. (By the way, please avoid ALL corn and soy products unless the label clearly states that it is organic or non-GMO.)

"In 1995 there were 81 independent organic processing companies in the United States. A decade later, Big Food had gobbled up all but 15 of them." Jon Rappoport, March 7, 2014. www.nomorefakenews.com

For example, starting in the mid-1990's, Hain has purchased companies like Earth's Best, Maranatha, Westbrae, Westsoy, Little Bear Bearitos, Nile Spice, DeBoles, Garden of Eatin', Arrowhead Mills, Health Valley, Casbah, Imagine and Celestial Seasoning. Investments from HL Heinz and George Soros helped Hain financially. Among the top shareholders of Hain Celestial is Goldman Sachs and Blackrock, the world's biggest asset manager. See how the worm is turning? And this is just the tip of the iceberg, folks. The big fish are ruthlessly eating all the little fish in the name of the bottom line and because they can. I have no clue what to do about it other than to continue seeking out local foods and making the effort to support what's left of the little guys, all 5 of them.

What about Meat? To eat or not to eat meat, that is the question. Here is the latest from the 2014 Updates in Environmental Medicine Conference, held in Phoenix in early March. They asked the question, "Does eating meat increase your risk of dying?" And, sadly, yes it does and according to the Agriculture Department, Americans eat over 110 pounds of red meat each year (2 lbs. per week.) However, the controversy of vegetarian/vegan vs. paleo rages on and I see no end to it; the plant-based people make a great argument for their way of life, as do the Paleo people but it all boils down to this as far as I am concerned. When do you feel your best? Eating only veggies or adding a bit of meat to your daily healthy portion of vegetables? And then eat accordingly. (I am a reluctant meat eater for many reasons but I do eat some grass-fed beef because I feel my best on small amounts of heavier protein.) So, for us Paleo People out there, eat grass-fed beef, wild-caught salmon and organic chicken in moderate portions and I think you will be just fine.

The cooking of the red meat may be the culprit here. Seems that there are cancer causing compounds created when red meats are cooked, like heterocyclic amines, (HCA's) polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH's) and advanced glycation end products (AGE's). But here are a few things you can do if you want to reduce your risks while eating your Saturday night perfectly done sirloin: 1) Take a digestive enzyme before you eat your red meat 2) Choose red meat sources that are "local" or grass-fed 3) Avoid ALL CAFO, factory farmed meats 4) Consider slow-cooking all of your red meats and don't char your meat 5) Marinate your meats; it can reduce the HCA's 5) If you buy lunchmeats and bacon and sausage, buy the Applegate Farms variety. It is nitrite-free. Or ask the butcher.

Update Dementia: One in eight people aged 65 and over are living with Alzheimer's and that is about 5.4 million Americans. This is epidemic in proportion. Don't be a victim. Here are three proven ways to avoid the dreaded diagnosis of Alzheimer's: 1) Antioxidants can combat the destructive effects of free radical damage in the brain reducing the protein deposits and cellular debris that muck up our thinker. Eating food antioxidants is always best, so (here I go again), eat lots of fruits and veggies, high potency antioxidants like blueberries and currents and then take supplemental antioxidants if you like. I can help you with that. 2) A lack of B12 is a big brain drain. So make sure you are getting enough of that plus large amounts of folate. I can help you titrate this. 3) Don't use aluminum. It's found in aluminum cans, cookware, foil, tap water, antacids, baking powder and table salt. Researchers studied patients with Alzheimer's and when they injected desferrioxamine, an aluminum chelating agent, for two years, the rate of their mental decline was significantly slowed.

Additionally, there is new research that shows that Vitamin E slows down Alzheimer's disease. The study involved 613 patients, average age 79 all with mild-to-moderate Alzheimer's. They were all being treated with anti-Alzheimer's drugs of the acetylcholinesterase inhibitor class. These drugs help control the symptoms, but do not slow the disease's progression. The subjects were randomly divided into 4 groups: 1) Vitamin E only (2,000 iu's daily of synthetic vitamin E) 2) Namenda only 3) both vitamin E and Namenda and 4) placebo. The vitamin E alone group on average, had a 19% slower rate of decline than the placebo. Namenda alone showed no benefit compared with placebo and also had the highest mortality rate. Vitamin E plus Namenda showed no benefit and of course, Placebo showed no benefit.

Vitamin E was the clear winner here even though it was the inferior synthetic variety. I can only imagine that "real" vitamin E would do even better. If you want to increase your Vitamin E foods you could include wheat germ, sunflower seeds and all nuts plus eggs and leafy greens.

Additional research shows that the best hope in the prevention of dementia is to focus on diet and exercise, specifically replacing carbohydrates with higher amounts of healthy fats and moderate amounts of high-quality protein. Also, gluten sensitivity appears to be involved not only in Alzheimer's but in most chronic disease states. Glucose and fructose can also have powerful toxic effects. Dr. David Perlmutter, a neurologist, has just published a book called Grain Brain, in which he suggests that preventing and treating not just dementia, but all neurological disorders (ADHD responds very well to the elimination of gluten, for example) requires severe restriction of gluten and casein, the protein in cow's milk. "This (Alzheimer's) is a disease that is highly revenue-producing for mega factories of various so-called Alzheimer's drugs. The point is there is no meaningful treatment in 2013. It is a disease predicated on life-style choices primarily, because of the high amount of carbohydrates/sugar that we now, as Western-culture individuals are consuming. It is a preventable disease."

I will leave you with this: I just read an article entitled "Is it dementia or dehydration?" So, obviously drink plenty of water! And if you find you aren't thinking clearly, it's mostly likely thirst, not dementia.

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