HEALTHY BITES #7

SPINACH

Like kiwi, spinach is loaded with vitamin E. But that’s not all. Spinach really packs a huge nutritional punch. it has loads of beta-carotene, folate and vitamins A, C and K, as well.

Written and Published by

 

THE SUBWAY DECEPTION!

We are all aware of Jared’s incredible transformation from “blimptom” to normalcy by eating Subway sandwiches and the resulting “Eat Fresh” slogan that put Subway on the top of the map.

Being a vegan, I only ate a foot-long Veggie, no mayo or cheese, with mustard and some oil and vinegar, on toasted whole wheat. When they offered avocado I got a bit skeptical because when Quiznos added avocado it was a paste and not what I had hoped.

So, one day at my local Subway, I asked the woman behind the counter if the avocado was fresh. Her reply, and I really appreciated her honesty despite her lack of marketing skills, was, “Yes, we opened the can this morning.”

That got me to thinking, “what else?”

I have come to learn that every one of their “6 grams or less” items contains preservatives to keep it, if you will pardon the expression, “fresh.”

Okay, they make the sandwich in front of you, but behind the scenes they get boxes of already cut up and pre-packaged processed foods, with chemical additives, that are shipped from Big Food factories to all their locations.

Did you know that the 9-grain whole wheat bread that looks and smells freshly baked contains around 50 ingredients including refined flour, conditioners, MSG, refined sugar and more? Me either! How can a bread so processed ever come close to being a real food?

Did you ever hear of a chemical ingredient called azodicarbonamide? Me either. It’s banned as a food additive in the U.K., Europe, and Australia. But not at Subway. Interestingly enough, if you get caught using it in Singapore you get up to 15 years in prison and a fine of $450,000.

And why? Because it’s primary use is in the production of foamed plastics. But in the good ole U S of A, it can be used as a food additive, a flour-bleaching agent, and a dough conditioner because it improves the elasticity of bread.

The U.K. has found that azodicarbonamide is a potential cause of asthma if inhaled, and for people that have sensitivity to food dyes and other allergens in food, this can increasingly aggravate the symptoms.

Somebody should inform Subway that to make real whole-wheat bread all you really need is whole-wheat flour, yeast, salt, water, and maybe some honey. But that doesn’t really do anything for shelf life or the fact that the stores do not bake their breads.

HEALTHY BITES #6

KIWI

Kiwifruit is a great natural source of vitamin E, a key nutrient for your immune system. Vitamin E helps protect your body from viral and bacterial infections. Though the jury is still out on whether or not vitamin C helps boost immunity, kiwifruit does have more of the stuff than most citrus fruits, including oranges!

Written and Published by

HEALTHY BITES #5

GARLIC

People have been using garlic to ward of disease for thousands of years. And, more and more research suggest, it’s more than just folk medicine. One prominent study (PDF) found that people who took garlic supplements got few cold symptoms, and, if they did get sick, they were ill for less time than the placebo group.

If you can handle it, try eating a clove of garlic every day. But it does not just have to be the hard way — adding some minced garlic, fresh or cooked, is beneficial.

Written and Published by

HEALTHY BITES #4

CARROTS

Though they probably won’t help you see in the dark, carrots might just help you ward off seasonal colds and flus. Like sweet potatoes, carrots are full of beta-carotene. For the best immune system-boosting results, stick to eating raw carrots.

Written and Published by

DAIRY MILK OR OSTEOPOROSIS?

Dairy milk, that one chocolate that most of us love  is singled out as the biggest dietary cause of osteoporosis because more than any other food it depletes the finite reserve of bone-making cells in the body.

So although milk makes bones stronger in the short term, in the long term it erodes bone-making cells, increasing the risk of osteoporosis. This explains a paradox: black people are known to be less tolerant to lactose in milk, and consequently they drink less milk, yet they get much less osteoporosis than white people. This new research resolves the paradox because by consuming less milk you are less likely to get osteoporosis.

Growing evidence is showing that calcium in milk does not protect against osteoporosis. For example in a 12-year Harvard study of 78,000 women, those who drank milk three times a day actually broke more bones than women who rarely drank milk. Similarly, a 1994 study in Sydney, Australia, showed that higher dairy product consumption was associated with increased fracture risk: those with the highest dairy consumption had double the risk of hip fracture compared to those with the lowest consumption.

HEALTHY BITES #3

MUSHROOMS

Mushrooms are one of, if not the best, vegetarian foods for preventing and fighting disease. That’s because mushrooms help the maturation of your white blood cells, and, as some research suggest, might actually help them ward off disease better!

Written and Published by