After the wheat is put through screens it is either enriched or fortified.  Food fortification or enrichment is the process of adding essential trace elements, vitamins and minerals to food.  In fortification the content of the vitamins, minerals, and vitamins are increased and added whether the nutrients are originally in the food or not.  Enrichment is the additions of micro nutrients which were lost during processing.  Safety worries concerning these additions have lead some countries such as Denmark to restricting certain exports that were fortified with extra minerals or vitamins.  These foods include: Kelloggs Corn Flakes, Rice Krispies, Special K, Shreddies and Ovaltine.  The types of nutrients added to flour are: Folic Acid, this nutrients prevents anemic cardiovascular diseases and some cancers; Niacin which prevents pellgra, vascular and GI track Diseases; Iodized Salt, a deficiency in this will result in goiters and iodine deficiency disorder; and lastly,Fluoride, not enough fluoride in the body results in dental decay and osteoporosis.  There is still some discussion on whether consuming extra vitamins and minerals will cause toxicity. 

Once the wheat is fortified, it is sold as flour and used as the major ingredient in most breads, rolls,crackers, cookies, biscuits, cakes, muffins, pancakes, waffles, noodles, pie crusts, ice creams, pastas, pizzas and prepared breakfast foods.  Studies have noted in the past that whole grain flours when compared to low-fiber refined flours have a positive effect on bowel health and metabolic markers of insulin and glucose. The studies further show that increased consumption of low-fiber refined flours increase the risk of type 2 Diabetes. However,the problem is those high-fiber flours are not used for hardly any food that is prepared in the United States.  Little wonder that epidemic of type 2 diabetes is ever increasing.

To be continued…

Wheat as been around since the beginning of man.  In 8000 BC the “Natufians” became the 1st farmers.  They were the first to cultivate modern wheat.  The Natufians harvested the wheat and each time they did the wild wheat grain was replaced with a mutated form of the grain.  Now jump to 1492.  After Columbus discovered America he brought wheat to America on his second voyage.  Wheat was grown in the early colonial years.  It wasn’t until the 19th century about 1850′s that a new form of wheat was brought to the United States.  Russian immigrants brought a hardy strain of wheat known a “Turkey Red Wheat”.  This wheat was used until the middle of the 20th century.  It was in the early 1940′s when things changed.  A new type of wheat was introduced.  This was a “soft wheat”.

When wheat is made into flour, air currents blow the outer layer of the kernel away from the rest of the wheat.  The wheat bran and germ are removed leaving only the endosperm.  The wheat bran is the protective coating of the kernel which is rich in nutrients and fiber.  The wheat germ is the nutrient-rich inner part of the grain.  Most of the minerals taken out are chelated (wrapped in protein) minerals.  Minerals in this chelated form are easily absorbed into the body.  The amount of B Vitamins taken out when both the wheat bran and germ are removed is approximately 66%, 70% of all minerals (chelated),79% of fiber, and 19% of protein.  This leaves a product that is carbohydate high and nutrient poor.

When the wheat is made into flour, it is shifted through many screens.  Sometimes as many times as 25.  After screening the flour is aged and whitened.  the flour is then Enriched or Fortified. 

To be continued….

Celebrate the Holidays with Gluten-free appetizers.  Some of the obvious choices are Shrimp with cocktail sauce, veggies with dip, cheese ball with gluten-free crackers like Glutino.  Other ideas include: mini-meatballs(using gluten-free bread crumbs) with sauce; wrapped melon and prosciutto; toothpicks each with a cube of mozzarella, 1//2 salami slice, basil and grape tomatoes; stuffed mushrooms; endive leaves with a blue cheese mix; toast points with toppings such: as smoked salmon, bruschetta, or cheese mix.  That seems easy but now try and make the appetizer so they are not all acid.  Most holiday parties have nothing but acid food.  This sets up an acid reflux later in the evening for the party goers.  So give your guests the gift of balanced foods so their night is a pleasant one instead of a painful one.  This takes a little more thinking on your part.  Let’s go back to our list of appetizers.  The shrimp is acid.  The sauce can be a little alkaline but barely.  The veggies are alkaline, but if you use cream cheese that is acid.  Instead make a dip out of organic yogurt which is alkaline.  The cheese ball with the crackers are both acids only way to even it out is to use sliced apples or pears instead of crackers.  The mini-meatballs are acid, but you could make a sauce that is alkaline.  The melon is alkaline, the prosciutto is acid.  The toothpick appetizer is half acid and half alkaline as are the mushrooms and endive with cheese.  The toast points are acid as are the smoked salmon and cheese topping, the bruschetta can be alkaline if you make it yourself.  Serving mulled Apple Cider will help neutralize the alcohol served.  Making these changes, you have done your best to present a Gluten-free and balanced appetizer party. Happy Holidays!

The holidays are upon us.  Holiday meals should be a joyful gathering of relatives and friends.  To make sure that is the case here are some tips for food served:

Utilize safety first with turkey defrosting and cooking.  Follow the instructions on the packages.  Try to avoid cooking the dressing in the turkey, it can cause problems with bacteria growth.  Understand that relatives may have some health issues.  Some of the most prominent health issues found during the holidays are: Allergies, Diabetes, Heart conditions, and GERD.   People with allergies will not be shy about letting you know.  A peanut allergy is one of the hardest to deal with.  The entire house has to be peanut free otherwise the oil from the peanuts could stay on some one’s hands and cause a reaction.  Individuals with diabetes has to stay away from too much carbohydrates.  Also this individual needs to eat protein whenever he/she are consuming carbohydrates.  They also need to eat foods high in fiber.  Suggestions for foods for these individuals are:  appetizers that have fiber such as a veggie tray, if you have a cheese tray make sure there are sliced apples instead of crackers. For individuals with Heart conditions appropriate foods are the following: green leafy vegetables, other vegetables such as carrots, broccoli and greens, nuts in moderation, fresh fruits such as apples and oranges with skin on, onions and garlic. A good veggie suggestion would be green beans, steamed, then sauted with garlic and almonds.  Another suggestion would be Spinach salad with almonds and fruit such as oranges.   Highly salty foods such as shrimp, processed cheeses and foods with salt like deviled eggs should be avoided.   The individual with GERD or just gastric reflux, they will not let you know about their condition.  Assume that your older relatives that are overweight may have it.  Having a meal that has too much acid will cause a reaction.  Unfortunately, Thanksgiving dinner is the recipe for a Very Acid meal.   The turkey, mash potatoes, rolls, and gravy are all acid. Here is how you can get your Holiday meal back to alkaline.   Some alkaline foods are needed to get the meal balanced.  Try veggie plates with yoyurt dip, cheeses with apples not crackers, grapes and nuts as appetizers.  Maybe start the meal with Squash soup.  Then on a salad plate have a small spinach salad.  String beans are extremely alkaline, but do not add cheeses to make a casserole, instead steam and saute as noted before.  Try and leave out the rolls.  The pumpkin is alkaline but not the pie crust.  Have another side dessert that contains figs or dates (not good for diabetes) such as my dessert “Rue’s fruit bars” in my Back-to-School recipes.  Figs, dates, prunes and raisins are highly alkaline.   About beverages; soda is the worst thing anyone can drink.  It takes 10 glasses of water to neutralize one can of soda (both regular and sugarfree) because of the acid in the drink.  Alcohol is also very acid.  Have water glasses on your table.  Also have fresh apple or apple cider drinks.  Finally, it takes 15 hours for our stomach to digest any meal.  The holiday meals can be extremely heavy.  Do not let you relatives lay down for three hours after the meal.  Plan an activity to keep them vertical for that amount of time.  If they insist, let them lie on a lounge chair that will keep their head above their stomach.  These tips will hopefully keep your holidays healthy and happy.

P.S. Be aware of choking hazards.  Large bites of food accompanied by animated conversation can present a choking hazard, especially with the elderly and children.

Simple routines of eating good fruits, vegetables, and exercising really does keep us healthy. It is true that an apple a day does keep the doctor away.  Consuming a diet high in vegetables and fruits helps maintain slightly alkaline body PH.  Other good alkaline fruits are sweet grapes, raisins, dried fruits, bananas, peaches and the highest alkaline fruit: figs.  Exercise is the other part of preventing Osteoporosis.   Researchers know that Mescenchymal stem cells can turn into one of three types of cells: bone cells (osteoblasts), cartilage cells (chondrocytes), or fat cells (adipocytes).  The most recent research found that exercise has the ability to stimulate the Mescenchymal stem cell toward becoming a bone cell rather than a fat cell.  Exercising three times a day was shown in the research to be the trigger.  Sedentary individuals have a better chance of these Mescenchymal stem cells turning into fat cells.  The magic formula seems to be exercise at least 3 times a week plus eating alkaline fruits and vegetables to keep the body PH alkaline.   This combination will keep bones cells forming rather than being leached out of the bones.

Wouldn’t be wonderful if all we had to do to prevent Osteoporosis was to eat one food.  However, it is a little more complicated than that.  Our body is constantly striving to maintain a proper acid/alkaline (PH) balance.  The optimum PH of blood is about 7.3 to 7.4.  In this range the blood is supplied with oxygen.  To keep our blood in this PH range we need to eat a 60% alkaline/40% acid meals.  Unfortunately, the American diet is about 80% acid and 20% alkaline.  With so many acid foods being consumed in America, many individuals are walking around with bodies overloaded with acid.  The body tries to eliminate the excess acid to buffer the blood.  After a while with an extremely acid diet, the body has trouble eliminate the acids to balance the PH of the blood.  The body goes into a protective mode to protect the organs.  It first buffers the acids with fats.  These fats are bound to the acids and are not eliminated in the proper way. Rather they end up in the hips,thighs, stomach, and other areas.  Alkaline salts are another way excess acids are buffered.   The body will pull alkaline salts (calcium and magnesium) from the bones and muscles.  The alkaline salts bind to the acids.  One of the results of this defense mode of the body is Osteoporosis.  Changing the diet from too much acid will prevent Osteoporosis and a plethora of diseases.  This means not eating so much meat (acid), grains(acid),diary (acid) and eating more fruit (alkaline) and vegetables (alkaline).  A reverse of America’s eating pattern needs to be implemented.  Back to the grapefruit- Citrus fruits, which are a great source of Vitamin C, will go into the body as an acid but turns into alkaline when it gets absorbed  into the blood.  So add a grapefruit, orange, other fruits and vegetables to your meals daily and change your percentages of food intake.  If not you will up taking medicine to deal with you diseases.   Medication is acid.

To be continued…..

In my prior blog, I noted some of the benefits of Omega-3s.  These fatty acids are required by our body but they are not produced by us.  We need to eat them.  Fish is of course one of the best way to get these fatty acids.  Fish oils rich in eicosapentenioc (EPA) and docosahexaenoic (DHA) are one way to get the benefits if you cannot handle fish.  The recent studies show that a diet lacking the Omega-3s will not help prevent many diseases.  Some diseases  Omega- 3s have shown beneficial qualities are: breast cancer- 32% reduction; heart disease – 35 -40 % reduction; Depression — 40% reduction; ADD/ADHD – questionable reduction; Macular Degeneration of the eyes- undetermined slowing over time.  Eating more Omega-3s has shown to increase HDL cholesterol and decrease triglycerides.  One interesting study showed that Omega-3s reduced inflammation in chronic diseases such as heart disease, cancer and arthritis. Omega-3s should definitely be are part of our diet for us to live a healthy life.

For many years the Public Health officials have suggested a diet of carbohydrates, vegetables, fruits, and low-fats.  However, the nation as a whole has not become healthier, in fact diabetes and obesity have increased dramatically.  Other diseases such as Alzheimer’s Disease have also increased dramatically.  What to do? Maybe a re-evaluation of the food recommendations needs to be made.  Omega-3 fats are emerging as a top disease fighter.  Recent research is revealing that Omega-3 fats are: 1. Reducing the risk of Advanced Prostrate Cancer, Shown as a way to improve heart health, Can limit the tumor growth linked with Cancer, Have a positive effect on behavior and cognition for children with ADHD, Reduce the chances of colon cancer, and Reduce the event of Stroke severity.  All this research noting the benefits of Omega-3s. Why did I have to search hard to find this information? 

To Be continued…..

Data from studies around the world has found the biggest risk factors related to Alzheimer’s Disease.  They are: smoking, lack of exercise, high blood pressure, and the Western Diet.  Lack of education concerning risks also contributes to the Disease.  As noted before in my last blog, the amount of individuals that will get Alzheimer’s Disease is expected to triple around the world.  That type of growth is not connected to genetic heredity.  Though there is some research concerning the relationship between parents who have Alzheimer’s and their children.  Mostly, the research is pointing to changing lifestyles.   More studies are reporting that lifestyle change will help prevent Alzheimer’s Disease.  Ceasing smoking is very hard and takes motivation.   The Western Diet of 60 percent carbohydrates, 30 percent protein and 10 percent fruits and vegetables, is just the opposite of what our body needs.  Individuals consume in the Western diet approximately 200 pounds of sugar a year.   With all the unhealthy processed food people are consuming, more and more individuals are becoming over- weight and obese.  At this point in time the future of soceity does not look good with preventable diseases multiplying.  For the individual that really wants to reduce their risk, here are some basic suggestions: Start eating a diet of 60 percent fruit and vegetables, 20 percent protein, and 20 percent “complex” carbohydrates.  Learn to cook.  Stop eating processed food and get your food from local farmers not food that has been flown in with preservatives.  If you smoke- stop;you have a very high risk of Alzheimer’s Disease and Type II Diabetes.  Exercise daily, if you can if not try at least three to four times a week.  Try to prevent hypertension by decreasing alcohol and sugar consumption.   The information coming from the recent research claims Alzheimer’s Disease may be preventable, it is up to you.

Unfortunately the answer to that question is – Yes.  At least two very highly regarded researchers have found the link between Alzheimer’s and Type II Diabetes.  Does that mean that if you have type 2 Diabetes you will automatically get Alzheimer’s? NO.  However, statistically the numbers show a great intermingling between Alzheimer’s and type 2 Diabetes.  Researchers have found in the early stages of Alzheimer’s Disease the brain becomes resistant to insulin.  Then, as with type 2 Diabetes, the body decreases the ability to pick up sugar from the blood.  The pancreas will then increase the amount of insulin to encourage the body to pick up the sugar.  This higher level of insulin damages the blood vessels in various areas of the body including the brain.  This in turn leads to poor brain circulation.  In Alzheimer’s Disease the brain cells important for communication and memory tasks are not stimulated, shrink, and become non-functional.  Like all diseases there can be heredity factor involved, but the projected increase by researchers show that it is not just heredity.  Unless large changes in our lifestyle occur it is projected that Alzheimer’s will quadruple worldwide.

To be continued…..