Your Grandma Was Right!

Your Grandma Was Right…

I remember my mother telling me stories about my grandma giving her cod liver oil as a child. I still, to this day, remember her shuddering as she described the taste cod liver oil. My mother’s memories left an impression with me, only being a five year old little girl- that cod liver oil must be worse than death. Needless to say I never really gave it much thought until many years later sitting in the doctor’s office.

The Doctor came into the room with my chart in his hands and gave me” The Look”. You know that “look” -the one that says it all. He is about to tell something you DON’T want to hear and you actually going to pay him to hear bad news. Right then and there I REALLY did consider sticking my fingers in my ears. No new, is good news, RIGHT?! Well… I sighed and braced myself like the adult I was supposed to be- for the news.

It wasn’t exactly what I was expecting. “Your Vitamin D levels are way too low.” The doctor announced, writing a prescription. Well that explained a lot of my symptoms!

Vitamin D is needed in our bodies for:

• Healthy skin
• Strong bones and teeth
• Healthy joints
• A healthy cardiovascular system
• A healthy nervous system and prevention of depression and other mood disorders
• A healthy lining for your digestive tract[1]

“Vitamin D prevents osteoporosis, depression, prostate cancer, breast cancer, and even effects diabetes and obesity. Vitamin D is perhaps the single most underrated nutrient in the world of nutrition. That's probably because it's free: your body makes it when sunlight touches your skin. Drug companies can't sell you sunlight, so there's no promotion of its health benefits.”- Mike Adams and Dr.Michael Holick

Our diet provides the rest of our Vitamin D through concentrated whole food sources such as fish, butter, eggs or even cod-liver oil. I guess is safe to say the average American diet has really moved away from tradition forms of whole foods. Oddly enough, I read somewhere that about 40% of the American population is deficient in Vitamin D[2]Not surprising considering that- raw butter/ milk, and eggs (the yoke is FULL of vitamin D) have been demonized by the food industry. Not only do we as a society eat the incorrect things we have exceeded in perfection of becoming THE ultimate cave dwellers-we have no reason to spend time outside. Euerka! All I have ever wanted to do is eat real food. I mean, can anyone REALLY tell me that MARGARINE tastes good (It taste like plastic to me) or that they LOVE fat-free food?? I have always assumed that there is a reason why food tastes good, -we are driven to eat what our bodies require. So… go take a walk on the wild side- in the sunshine-…go eat some butter (raw of course), take some fermented cod-liver oil…I DARE YOU!!! You may NEVER come back… On the Less Serious Side- So…. Are They Vitamin D Deficient or Crazy? You do the math Dear Reader….I would say a little bit of both! So what do YOU think? [1] Vitamin D Chart compiled Mike AdamsCompiled by Mike Adams, based on an interview with Dr. Michael Holick, author, [2]The UV Advantage)Vitamin D Chart compiled Mike Adams

Source: VEER.COM/DIGITAL VISION PHOTOGRAPHY Source: health.ezinemark.com

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...Healthy Cook Wear Continued

Cast Iron Cookware

Plain Jane, right? Unglamorous but unsurpassed in heat production, like Harrison Ford. These weigh a ton and take a bit of time to heat up. I find that I have to warm up the pan while finishing my food prep, I can save a lot of time. There are three principals to keep in mind when using cast-iron:
1. A well seasoned pan will not stick.
2. Don't use dish soap. If something stick use hot water and a bristle brush, then re-coat your pan with oil.
3. Food cooked in a no-coated cast iron pan contains twice the amount of iron. Good news for anemic me!


Enameled Coated Cast-Iron
As far as enameled coated cast-iron cook wear, I hear, that not only is it safe but far superior in quality. I don’t personally own any. I do hope to someday in the near future! I have read about Le Creuset cook wear. Le Creuset is a French company that has specialized in enameled coated cast-iron pots and pans since 1925.
“Le Creuset is consistently chosen by leading chefs, restaurateurs, and those who just enjoy cooking; all of whom appreciate its performance, cooking advantages and style. “-Le Creuset Website
It stands to reason that’s on Le Creuset’s reputation alone, it would be a great addition to any healthy kitchen(no, I have no connection to them). I have heard from several people that it is very functional and easy to clean up. Not to mention attractive. So….sigh…I will keep saving my pennies.

I have found that Stainless Steel and Cast-Iron are efficient, healthy and relatively easy to use. I am by no means a master chef; rather I am sharing my experiences with you. I am a stay at home mommy with three little children on a mission to provided healthy food for my family. I have health problems that I am trying to address through nutrition. I can’t eat gluten (Celiac Diseases), certain chemicals, or food preservatives, pretty cool huh? Basically, all my cooking is from scratch. So efficiency, durability and easy to use cook wear is important to me.

-So here is to a healthy kitchen and lifestyle!-

P.S. These guys don't give a rats ()() about eating well.

Healthy Cook Wear

There seems to be a debate going on. And the answer is yes, a single payer system will both save money (classic David Copperfield misdirect) AND kill your grandma. Yet, I don’t really believe that a single payer system is the complete answer but this is a rabbit trail; let’s start over, Gentle Reader.

(Take two)

There seems to be a debate going on between Health-Nerds about what is considered "healthy" cookware. Cookware comes in many different materials*, but are far from equal. You have lot of options to consider; safety, price, aluminum, stainless steel, Teflon- coated, enamel, cast iron, and frankly, with this being the final season of Lost, who has the time? So here you go, and of course you're welcome!

Aluminum-

Aluminum is you’re basic, easy to find light weight low cost cook wear. It's the Honda Accord of the kitchen. In my experience, and yes, I do have experience; acidic foods and food storage utilizing aluminum are an exercise in futility. It will oxidize, and there is nothing that can done about this. Clean up, forget about it. I've had these soaking overnight (at least pretend to surprised). I also find that when aluminum is used to cook food in it leaves a hard to pin down after-taste, hereby know as...... aluminumy?

There’s also is the non-scientifically proven link between risk of alzheimer and aluminum. Still why risk it? I don't use anti-perspiant with aluminum so I'll be consistent. Where DID I put my keys?

Stainless Steel

Stainless steel is a corrosion resistant steel. It's easy to use, and in my opinion the safest to use in the healthy kitchen. They do tend to be heavier then standard pots and pans, so you will get a forearm workout. I don't notice any kind of after taste associated with it. I haven't noticed any particular reaction to more acidic foods. If you take care of them, they'll outlast a human. I HEART stainless steel. As I say, like Iron Man, "It's is sexy and indestructible!" They are available in a variety of prices. The more layers, the more expensive the set. I picked up an eight piece, five-ply set, for about $200. Name brand sets will run you about $500. Layers offset with other conductive materials like copper and aluminum spread the cooking heat around, so make sure you cook at lower temperatures.

Teflon Coated

These are a light weight pan with a non-stick coating. I owned a set of these, then I woke up. I noticed the nonstick coating was flaking off. Yikes! It accrued to me I was ingesting this stuff. Apparently there are rumors of toxic fumes and perflorooctanoic acid. This potentially carcinogenic chemical is used to make the non-stick coating. I have read about this being found in the blood streams of unborn children. So I got rid of those! Better safe than sorry!

*Welcome to Health School, suckers!

Continued….on next Blog.