Thursday, October 30, 2014
Hello you readers!
Welcome to my world of discoveries of the absurdities in the food chain. I am not actively writing here anymore because I kind of understood the greater picture and moved on. Now I am working full time on making food based on real ingredients, give classes on how to bake without sugar, milk products and gluten, raise three (!) children (instead of only two as when I started this blog), make real baby food and keep my own production going... and then of course, what gives me my intellectual kicks: write a thesis on sustainability and conflicts.
I am also involved in the Slow Food movement, and in that local group we are working on a plan of how to revolutionize school and daycare food in the nearby municipalities! :-)
So there, not much time for this blog anymore. But the archives might be very useful, please be my guest and stroll around as you please!
Monday, August 25, 2014
Parents and (ab)normality when it comes to food
Every fall the discussion on daycare food flares up in media. Since I started to care, it has become more intense every year and each year more parents join the battle. Right now the Finnish daycare parents are starting to wake up about the crap that is being served to their children, it is not only about the sugar but also the additives, the margarine, the food-like products that are nothing more than a cheap cover-up for the real thing; served to our children every day in kindergartens across the country. What surprises me the most is the reaction of other parents. It shouldn't really, I once was the target of the angry outcry of fellow parents myself. But still it does. You would think that when parents try to improve the food situation and daycare other parents who will equally benefit from these efforts would be supportive, or at least not try to destroy the efforts. But they do. Time and time again.
I ask myself why? Is it the feeling of not wanting to admit that the place that is taking care of their child does not necessary have the same nutritional standards as yourself? The feeling of not wanting to cause problem, everything seems so fine; the daycare personnel is reporting that your child is eating well, your child is growing and you see no reason to worry, so why start a conflict? When other parents start digging in the daycare food you become upset, not with what they find but with the fact that everything is maybe not alright and you just do not want to deal with the arising conflicts. Or is it because of what you yourself are feeding your children: way to much artificial juices, sugary yogurts, sugary berry creams, ice creams and you have convinced yourself that the amount of sugar that your child is getting through your own hands is completely harmless? So when somebody starts questioning those juices and those yogurts it is not the fact that they are trying to improve the food that your child is getting while you are working that bothers you, but the feeling of guilt in yourself. You know sugar is bad for your child but without it your child will not eat at home. Or at least you think so. You have tricked yourself into believing that "a little bit" won't hurt. Now that these hysterical and crazy anti-sugar freaky parents start making a lot of noise you become just a tiny bit uncomfortable about your own choices in the food isles in the supermarkets. And so you react. You react not by doing what would be in the best interest of your child, supporting the efforts of getting them better food in daycare, but by attacking the other parents accusing them of being fanatic, crazy and out of control.
As long as these sugar-parents are the loudest nothing will change. Luckily everyday there are more parents that find sugar coated daycare institutions unacceptable. Soon, they are louder. By that time the parents who say "a little won't hurt" will have to revise their stand on what they mean by "a little". Soon normal is something else than the normal of the past. I have hope. I see change coming. Keep on fighting parents! Dare to speak up! Dare making noise at those parents' meeting coming up soon at your daycare. It is in everyone's interest!Together we can make a difference in our children's current well-being and future health! Let's make real and organic food the norm in every place where children are served food in this country!
I ask myself why? Is it the feeling of not wanting to admit that the place that is taking care of their child does not necessary have the same nutritional standards as yourself? The feeling of not wanting to cause problem, everything seems so fine; the daycare personnel is reporting that your child is eating well, your child is growing and you see no reason to worry, so why start a conflict? When other parents start digging in the daycare food you become upset, not with what they find but with the fact that everything is maybe not alright and you just do not want to deal with the arising conflicts. Or is it because of what you yourself are feeding your children: way to much artificial juices, sugary yogurts, sugary berry creams, ice creams and you have convinced yourself that the amount of sugar that your child is getting through your own hands is completely harmless? So when somebody starts questioning those juices and those yogurts it is not the fact that they are trying to improve the food that your child is getting while you are working that bothers you, but the feeling of guilt in yourself. You know sugar is bad for your child but without it your child will not eat at home. Or at least you think so. You have tricked yourself into believing that "a little bit" won't hurt. Now that these hysterical and crazy anti-sugar freaky parents start making a lot of noise you become just a tiny bit uncomfortable about your own choices in the food isles in the supermarkets. And so you react. You react not by doing what would be in the best interest of your child, supporting the efforts of getting them better food in daycare, but by attacking the other parents accusing them of being fanatic, crazy and out of control.
As long as these sugar-parents are the loudest nothing will change. Luckily everyday there are more parents that find sugar coated daycare institutions unacceptable. Soon, they are louder. By that time the parents who say "a little won't hurt" will have to revise their stand on what they mean by "a little". Soon normal is something else than the normal of the past. I have hope. I see change coming. Keep on fighting parents! Dare to speak up! Dare making noise at those parents' meeting coming up soon at your daycare. It is in everyone's interest!Together we can make a difference in our children's current well-being and future health! Let's make real and organic food the norm in every place where children are served food in this country!
Tuesday, April 15, 2014
Sugar is hot stuff!
Now we are talking! Sugar is no longer only hot stuff out in the food isles... people have started to react to the absurdity of us consuming so much sugar, often without even knowing about it.
Here are some updates.
Today there was a long program on Finnish state owned channel YLE5 about the hidden sugar. Ann Fernholm, the Swedish expert that I blogged about here (hell hour) and here (when tides turn), and who we invited to Vaasa not so long ago to a full house seminar in the old cinema, was one of the experts being interviewed about harms of sugar.
You can see the program here (in Swedish with Finnish subtitles):Det dolda sockret
Then there is this incredible couple that has set out to row from California to Hawaii to raise awareness about how sugar is killing us. You can support their cause here: Fat chance row. The good thing is that the guy is Finnish - so he will be getting a lot of media attention here. And we do need all the help we can get in debunking old myths about the fat free but high in sugar diet that the authorities are recommending to the people!
And here is a video clip on them:
And on their website, I found these youtube videos that I hadn't seen before:
First "Sugar is killing us":
And then, how it affects the brain:
The other ones (CBS and Robert Lustig) have been referred to several times before on this blog.
In Finland we also have a new book that was released just the other day. It is called "the Food Pyramide Scam" (Ruokapyramidihuijaus). I haven't read the book yet, but looking forward to getting my hands on it. Maybe this is the book that makes the tides turn also in our country? At least you could hope so!
Here are some updates.
Today there was a long program on Finnish state owned channel YLE5 about the hidden sugar. Ann Fernholm, the Swedish expert that I blogged about here (hell hour) and here (when tides turn), and who we invited to Vaasa not so long ago to a full house seminar in the old cinema, was one of the experts being interviewed about harms of sugar.
You can see the program here (in Swedish with Finnish subtitles):Det dolda sockret
Then there is this incredible couple that has set out to row from California to Hawaii to raise awareness about how sugar is killing us. You can support their cause here: Fat chance row. The good thing is that the guy is Finnish - so he will be getting a lot of media attention here. And we do need all the help we can get in debunking old myths about the fat free but high in sugar diet that the authorities are recommending to the people!
And here is a video clip on them:
And on their website, I found these youtube videos that I hadn't seen before:
First "Sugar is killing us":
And then, how it affects the brain:
The other ones (CBS and Robert Lustig) have been referred to several times before on this blog.
In Finland we also have a new book that was released just the other day. It is called "the Food Pyramide Scam" (Ruokapyramidihuijaus). I haven't read the book yet, but looking forward to getting my hands on it. Maybe this is the book that makes the tides turn also in our country? At least you could hope so!
Sunday, February 9, 2014
The paleo guidelines
I am no strict follower of any diet, my personality does not allow such thing. However, I find that our daily meal mostly resembles the paleo diet and I found this picture quite amusing. Here you have it all spelled out. Dairy products are not included in the chart, it might be because it is not clear where the paleo community stands on that one (some accept raw goat or cow milk, others do not) - or its just because there was not enough space for it on the chart.
Saturday, December 14, 2013
Christmas recipes
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Christmas cake
5 eggs
180 g dates
1,5 dl water
0,5 dl raisins
1 dl fine chopped dates
0,5-1 dl handcrushed walnuts
1,5 dl coconut oil
1,5 dl almond flour
1 dl coconut flour
1,5 tsp baking powder
(some dried apricots/dried apples cut into small pieces)
1 tsk clove
1,5 tsk cardamom
2 tsk cinnamon
Whip the eggs with electric whisk until fluffy (not stiff as in merengue). Boil dates with water until the dates dissolve and mix with handmix until smooth. Add coconutoil to the dates and mix with the eggs. Mix all the dry ingredients together with the spices in a separate bowl before addid to the batch. Finally add the nuts and dried fruits. Bake in a baking dish greased with coconut oil (I use silicone) in 180-220 degrees celcius for aprox. 60 minutes (until the middle of the cake is stiff). Let cool before taking out of baking dish.
This cake just as the Chilean version that I mimicked (pan de pascua) has a tendency to fall apart. Do not dispair - it is supposed to be this way! :-)
The brown flowers next to the cake is this next recipe:
Christmas ice chocolate
200 g >70% chocolate
0,5 dl coconut oil
2 tsk cardamom
2 tsk cinnamon
1 dl quinoa puffs
10 hand crushed pecan nuts
4 apricots (cut into small pieces)
Melt the chocolate and the coconut oil (we have a chocolate fondue, otherwise in a bowl in water in a pot on the stove) Add the other ingredients. Let cool a bit before you add to silicone ice cube tin and place in fridge/freezer until stiff. Keep the chocolate in the fridge before you eat them, otherwise they might melt.
Monday, December 9, 2013
Sweet dreams on holiday
We have been visiting family in Chile for a couple of weeks. I decided not to get to hung up on organic food while we are here. I know it is impossible to live as we do in Finland and instead I decided to enjoy every bite of good food without thinking of the source, the pesticides or the GMO ingredients in some of the food. In the middle of the winter I have indulged in fresh locally produced vegetables and fruits; hey it is summer here so you can imagine what that means as far as diversity goes! I have eaten my fair share of (cooked) seafood and fish, and a lot of fatty beef! As the days have gone by I have also let the kids try foods that they usually have to avoid in Finland. And strangely enough we have not noticed too bad side effects (makes me wonder once again - am I imagining, or is there something more to wheat and milk and the place where these are produced?).
I have tried to only drink bottled water but some days I have been too lazy (particularly in the night) and just had tap water. This does produce some concern, I knew they add chloride here and now I found out that also flouride is added. Not good for the baby I am carrying...
Another thing I have maybe been a little bit too loose on is herbal tea... Because of my holiday from strict diet, I have also had some digestive issues (too little good fiber and fat I think). So I drank some Boldo tea and boldo water a couple of days right when I got up. This is supposed to help digestion. Today I stopped by my herbal dealer in twon, thought I'd take some boldo and other herbs with me. Talking to the lady in the store I found out that as pregnant I should really not be drinking any herbal teas whatsoever. Uups... First maca, and now this. When we got home I googled boldo+embarazo and found out that very little is know of the effects, there are some scientists that mean that there is a connection to Parkison, and in huge amounts it is used as an abortive method (hey we are in Chile, where legal abortion is practically impossible....). Well, this one is still kicking, and I am not going to freak out about Parkisons when it grows old just because I drank a glass of tea three mornings while here... But I'll stay away from herbs from now on... One thing I will have to check is the effect of ginger on the baby. I have used this as a natural remedy before, together with garlic, and since I found this combination I have not needed any antibiotics again... but the lady at the store said something about ginger as well... so I will do some research!
Anyway, I think it does good to the body when the soul finds some rest from not stressing too much about the food around it. I have avoided gluten all the time, and most of the sugar, but for the rest, it has been a really nice holiday food-wise!
I have tried to only drink bottled water but some days I have been too lazy (particularly in the night) and just had tap water. This does produce some concern, I knew they add chloride here and now I found out that also flouride is added. Not good for the baby I am carrying...
Another thing I have maybe been a little bit too loose on is herbal tea... Because of my holiday from strict diet, I have also had some digestive issues (too little good fiber and fat I think). So I drank some Boldo tea and boldo water a couple of days right when I got up. This is supposed to help digestion. Today I stopped by my herbal dealer in twon, thought I'd take some boldo and other herbs with me. Talking to the lady in the store I found out that as pregnant I should really not be drinking any herbal teas whatsoever. Uups... First maca, and now this. When we got home I googled boldo+embarazo and found out that very little is know of the effects, there are some scientists that mean that there is a connection to Parkison, and in huge amounts it is used as an abortive method (hey we are in Chile, where legal abortion is practically impossible....). Well, this one is still kicking, and I am not going to freak out about Parkisons when it grows old just because I drank a glass of tea three mornings while here... But I'll stay away from herbs from now on... One thing I will have to check is the effect of ginger on the baby. I have used this as a natural remedy before, together with garlic, and since I found this combination I have not needed any antibiotics again... but the lady at the store said something about ginger as well... so I will do some research!
Anyway, I think it does good to the body when the soul finds some rest from not stressing too much about the food around it. I have avoided gluten all the time, and most of the sugar, but for the rest, it has been a really nice holiday food-wise!
Wednesday, December 4, 2013
I am not alone anymore
I have for long been waiting for the big bang in Finland. Having followed the fat/carb debate in the country right next to us, I have been astonished by the silenced, or sometimes demonized, resistance to the state dietary recommendations at home. I have been frustrated to my ears (read this: What's eating my children?) over the bad daycare food, and the effect this is having on my own children, but often feeling completely alone in my observations. I have pondered my options (of opting out of the whole daycare/school lunching offering) and looked for allies to start a food revolution. But although there is a handful of allies, I have still felt terrible alone against the big giants: state dietary recommendations & the drive for industrial sized school kitchens - There is no way out of this has been my conclusion - just try to 'keep calm and carry on'. And so we did, we got the worst health villains out of our childrens' diet (gluten for one, dairy for the other) by a medical license and the kids started being healthy. I shut my eyes for all the potentially harmful additives that my kids now are getting instead of clean real food (when substituting gluten and dairy they fill the gap with industrially processed crap) and went on with my business. Have to say, it's been very nice to have four months straight of not one sick leave day this fall. Unheard of in my motherly working life until now.
Anyways, the struggle for better food for the children is still a priority for me although not as urgent as before. It helps that we now live in a municipality where sugar intake has been restricted (but instead they now order the schools and daycares to feed the kids with only margarine, no butter...). I am still very mad that while I am literally working my ass of to keep processed crap out of my children's body, the state education system is doing all it can to sabotage my efforts. Sometimes I think to myself what the point is of running around like a mad woman to get organic this and organic that for our dinner table, when the school and daycare lunching decisions are based on the cheapest alternative option (read: lost of fake food, additives, non-organic, non-local cheap ingredients). But I still continue, because I am convinced that good food at home still does make the difference for us. So when suddenly there are several Facebook-pages appearing on this very same topic (Laatua lasten lautasille, Ravintotieteiset vanhemmat) and even plans to create a registered association that will drive the interest of 'nutrient aware parents', I feel overwhelmed by happiness. Finally! Not alone anymore! Reading through the posts and comments on these pages, I then realize that many other parents are going through the same agony as experienced in our family, some have found solutions, others are still struggling in the dark. The support you can feel from just one comment, one parent commenting that they have been experiencing something similar, it is just overwhelming! And so as this school semester is about to end, I start to have faith again: tides are turning also in Finland. And knowing the Finnish Sisu- spirit, I am more than convinced that these tides will be able to move mountains. Hooray for food conscious-parenting! We can maybe still change the world, and maybe one day our children don't have to eat, as Michael Pollan put it: "...anything your great grandmother wouldn't recognize as food".
Anyways, the struggle for better food for the children is still a priority for me although not as urgent as before. It helps that we now live in a municipality where sugar intake has been restricted (but instead they now order the schools and daycares to feed the kids with only margarine, no butter...). I am still very mad that while I am literally working my ass of to keep processed crap out of my children's body, the state education system is doing all it can to sabotage my efforts. Sometimes I think to myself what the point is of running around like a mad woman to get organic this and organic that for our dinner table, when the school and daycare lunching decisions are based on the cheapest alternative option (read: lost of fake food, additives, non-organic, non-local cheap ingredients). But I still continue, because I am convinced that good food at home still does make the difference for us. So when suddenly there are several Facebook-pages appearing on this very same topic (Laatua lasten lautasille, Ravintotieteiset vanhemmat) and even plans to create a registered association that will drive the interest of 'nutrient aware parents', I feel overwhelmed by happiness. Finally! Not alone anymore! Reading through the posts and comments on these pages, I then realize that many other parents are going through the same agony as experienced in our family, some have found solutions, others are still struggling in the dark. The support you can feel from just one comment, one parent commenting that they have been experiencing something similar, it is just overwhelming! And so as this school semester is about to end, I start to have faith again: tides are turning also in Finland. And knowing the Finnish Sisu- spirit, I am more than convinced that these tides will be able to move mountains. Hooray for food conscious-parenting! We can maybe still change the world, and maybe one day our children don't have to eat, as Michael Pollan put it: "...anything your great grandmother wouldn't recognize as food".
Sunday, November 17, 2013
Expanding knowledge boundaries
Things are moving along maybe faster than what I am capable of handling right now. But it seems ok still, time is ready for this...While the storm is ranging outside our house, I feel relaxed and filled with the energy from the full moon.
My thirst for knowledge has brought me into new areas again. Had already decided that I will not open up Pandora's box of vaccinations before I am ready for it. It just felt too loaded with "bad energy" - and conflicts, and bringing me more problems with my closest and dearest surrounding. Well, guess what? As I am pregnant again, and Kidtwo is soon up for some shots, I decided that time has come to take on the bull fight. Today both hubby and I participated in a Pandora's box opening lecture on how the whole vaccine paradigm works. I might give you the details at some point but right now I've decided to let myself get accommodated with the new information. Actually, I can tell I was ready to receive this information because nothing of what I heard was shocking or unexpected. In fact, it was the part of the health puzzle that was missing for me. Now I understand more clearly why kids are so sick these days, and why people of my generation go around with so many autoimmune diseases. What I still cannot understand is the blindness of the practitioners in the field of medicine - how on earth has this been possible?
The second thing I wanted to share is that I am looking into "painfree" delivery through hypnobirthing. This is exciting stuff - learning to connect to the inner you, breath well, prepare for a fearless delivery, and thereby also a painfree delivery. I might tell you more as I move along my preparations. Not sure yet if I will be able to release all that subconscious fear hiding inside of me to be able to pull this through when time comes. But tomorrow I am having lunch with a friend that happens to be a doula - and I will definitely ask her advice on this subject!
This is the book I am reading: Hypnobirthing
Here a video clip on what it is all about:
My thirst for knowledge has brought me into new areas again. Had already decided that I will not open up Pandora's box of vaccinations before I am ready for it. It just felt too loaded with "bad energy" - and conflicts, and bringing me more problems with my closest and dearest surrounding. Well, guess what? As I am pregnant again, and Kidtwo is soon up for some shots, I decided that time has come to take on the bull fight. Today both hubby and I participated in a Pandora's box opening lecture on how the whole vaccine paradigm works. I might give you the details at some point but right now I've decided to let myself get accommodated with the new information. Actually, I can tell I was ready to receive this information because nothing of what I heard was shocking or unexpected. In fact, it was the part of the health puzzle that was missing for me. Now I understand more clearly why kids are so sick these days, and why people of my generation go around with so many autoimmune diseases. What I still cannot understand is the blindness of the practitioners in the field of medicine - how on earth has this been possible?
The second thing I wanted to share is that I am looking into "painfree" delivery through hypnobirthing. This is exciting stuff - learning to connect to the inner you, breath well, prepare for a fearless delivery, and thereby also a painfree delivery. I might tell you more as I move along my preparations. Not sure yet if I will be able to release all that subconscious fear hiding inside of me to be able to pull this through when time comes. But tomorrow I am having lunch with a friend that happens to be a doula - and I will definitely ask her advice on this subject!
This is the book I am reading: Hypnobirthing
Here a video clip on what it is all about:
Wednesday, November 13, 2013
I have a choice - so why don't I use it?
This morning I had an early departure, heading for a Nordic conference on Development held in Helsinki these days. On the way to the train I remembered that I forgot to pack my dark chocolate for the road. Then my next thought was: well, do I really need it? I have two eggs, a gluten-free sandwich (with my new obsession: Philadelphia cheese...), and avocado and some water. That will keep me in good shape until the conference coffee somewhere around ten o'clock. Besides, the chocolate I had bought (Marabou) is not "clean" - it contains at least soy lecitin, which most probably is derived from genetically modified soy. So why do I insist buying these products for consumption, although they contain substances that I in principle do not support? The question becomes even more relevant as I think of the long term effect on the child that I am bearing. How do I know that strange substances that are not natural are not affecting my off spring? This should be the most dominant human drives of all, to produce healthy off springs so that the genetic code is passed on into the future. Then I think of my laziness to bring food for lunch lately and instead eating at the university canteen - well aware of all the strange extracts and substances like maltodextrins that hide in the food-like stuff served during lunch. Or the fruits for that matter - we have "fruit week" this week for the personnel at the school. Nice beautiful fruits fill up the teachers room and everybody is indulging - also I am enjoying this extra treat, although I know that there must be pesticide residues on and in them - they are not organic. Why do I do this when I have a choice? Why not just stick to my home-cooked meals, make an extra portion each day and be happy with the organic fruits that we buy for our local veggie dealer? Why isn't that enough?
Well, first because I hate fanaticism (yeah, really - who could have imagined? Me, the sugar busting fanatic number one!). In case of products that I have not found a direct link to health concerns,I just can't stay away all the time. Particularly not when we talk about chocolate....Second, eating habits are very hard to change! Just take the example of Philadelphia above, I have been off dairy products for a considerable amount of time and just recently reintroduced raw milk to my body - after noticing that this was fine I am now also indulging in Phillly-cheese... it is just sooooooo gooooooood, and so is chocolate, did I forget to mention? Third, my lack of planning ahead with any other meal than our dinner is just beyond my capacity right now. In the morning we have oatmeal and eggs in some form and I get the kids to day care, to still remember to pack down my own lunch is just too much, really, come on, I am only human. And so it goes, I have a choice to eat according to my best of knowledges, I even have the capacity to turn raw real food organic ingredients into nutritious food, and I have the motives - but I lack the coordination and the determination. There is long road from principles to practice... but at some point I might be getting there. And in the mean time I just tell myself that I am way better off than during that first pregnancy when I blindly trusted both the state dietary recommendations and the authorities that are supposed to guarantee that the food-like products on our supermarket shelves are indeed: safe.
And then, as I am finalizing this writing, I see a post on Facebook on a new study on the side effects of the most popular herbicide in the world, glyphosate, the most popular herbicide in the world today. The abstracts starts off nicely: "Glyphosate, the active ingredient in Roundup®, is the most popular herbicide used worldwide. The industry asserts it is minimally toxic to humans, but here we argue otherwise." And the conclusions aren't that hard to understand either: "Consequences are most of the diseases and conditions associated with a Western diet, which include gastrointestinal disorders, obesity, diabetes, heart disease, depression, autism, infertility, cancer and Alzheimer’s disease. We explain the documented effects of glyphosate and its ability to induce disease, and we show that glyphosate is the “textbook example” of exogenous semiotic entropy: the disruption of homeostasis by environmental toxins."
So what was I saying again about my choices and the future health of my off spring? Maybe I should really start using that choice of mine in a more coordinated and determined way...
Well, first because I hate fanaticism (yeah, really - who could have imagined? Me, the sugar busting fanatic number one!). In case of products that I have not found a direct link to health concerns,I just can't stay away all the time. Particularly not when we talk about chocolate....Second, eating habits are very hard to change! Just take the example of Philadelphia above, I have been off dairy products for a considerable amount of time and just recently reintroduced raw milk to my body - after noticing that this was fine I am now also indulging in Phillly-cheese... it is just sooooooo gooooooood, and so is chocolate, did I forget to mention? Third, my lack of planning ahead with any other meal than our dinner is just beyond my capacity right now. In the morning we have oatmeal and eggs in some form and I get the kids to day care, to still remember to pack down my own lunch is just too much, really, come on, I am only human. And so it goes, I have a choice to eat according to my best of knowledges, I even have the capacity to turn raw real food organic ingredients into nutritious food, and I have the motives - but I lack the coordination and the determination. There is long road from principles to practice... but at some point I might be getting there. And in the mean time I just tell myself that I am way better off than during that first pregnancy when I blindly trusted both the state dietary recommendations and the authorities that are supposed to guarantee that the food-like products on our supermarket shelves are indeed: safe.
And then, as I am finalizing this writing, I see a post on Facebook on a new study on the side effects of the most popular herbicide in the world, glyphosate, the most popular herbicide in the world today. The abstracts starts off nicely: "Glyphosate, the active ingredient in Roundup®, is the most popular herbicide used worldwide. The industry asserts it is minimally toxic to humans, but here we argue otherwise." And the conclusions aren't that hard to understand either: "Consequences are most of the diseases and conditions associated with a Western diet, which include gastrointestinal disorders, obesity, diabetes, heart disease, depression, autism, infertility, cancer and Alzheimer’s disease. We explain the documented effects of glyphosate and its ability to induce disease, and we show that glyphosate is the “textbook example” of exogenous semiotic entropy: the disruption of homeostasis by environmental toxins."
So what was I saying again about my choices and the future health of my off spring? Maybe I should really start using that choice of mine in a more coordinated and determined way...
Sunday, November 10, 2013
News from over here
I need to keep the flow going here on this blog, although I mostly working locally now, blogging in Swedish on my other blog. But I still think this blog is worth keeping alive: just to focus on food and well-being and dismantling myths about the two.
So here are some significant news from over here:
1. My rashes are GONE!!! It only took 10 months but they are gone. And you can't believe how happy I am to look myself in the mirror and not see a snorting-kind-of-face staring back at me. I still think my gut needs some more healing but at least it doesn't seem to be so acute anymore.
2. I stopped eating maca. Two reasons: you are not supposed to eat it for a prolonged time according to the research I did for the previous post, and maybe more importantly, several of the sources I used mentioned that pregnant women should not consume maca. Before I have talked to any indigenous health experts from Peru on the subject, I thought I'd better be safe than sorry because, yes, this is my other big news of the day: I am pregnant. A little bit of a surprise but as the tummy grows and the kicks get stronger I can feel the love building up inside of me.
3. Because of my "blessed situation" I am now both freaking out and embracing the situation. During my two previous pregnancies I have not been remotely aware of all the things I know today. This is both empowering and scary. I am trying to deal with my knowledge so that it is mostly empowering and I am glad to say that my health care sister is quite understanding of my increased knowledge on most subjects. Last time I paid here a visit I had to fill in the papers on my eating habits. As I ticked the "saturated fat" boxes I said to her "you will probably kick me out after this", and when she said that if I wanted she could book me an appointment at the dietitian's office I politely declined. I said that appointment will only end up in a debate on who is right and wrong, I'd rather see a dietitian that follow the same stream of "belief" as myself. So then I turned to another one, just over the chat, checking whether what I am eating is ok... and it should be - in the end, who knows really what is ok and what not?!?
4. I am going into the "next level", from mostly being concern about food related stuff to achieve well-being I am now stepping into the mental awareness phase. We laughed with a colleague the other day, because we have both done the same journey, we agreed that this is how it goes, first you become aware of you body and from there you move over to the mind. So with the mental thing comes this next thing, which I hope I will be blogging more about in the future: Hypnobirthing. I have discovered a book by this name and it is all about going through labor without fear and pain - just as women used to do it thousands years back. Fascinating stuff and I am determined to at least give it a chance. I have the book, I am learning every day, and if it won't give me a painless birthing experience, at least it will give me tools on how to relax - and already that would be a tremendous victory in my life!
So these were my updates for today. Let's see if I can start squeezing in some more informative posts in the near future again!
Until then, I thought I should let you know about the new lecture from Robert Lustig that was recently released on Youtube. I watched it today and feel a little be more informed once again on the connection between sugar, obesity, diabetes and metabolic syndrome! And above all, in his lecture he shows that it is the processed foods (not the sodas) that are the number one reason to this obesity epidemic. This is what I have been trying to say all the time: stay away from that stuff, you never know how much sugar they manage to hide in there! He talks especially about the unhealthy sweetened yogurts. This is also why I feel we are so misinformed in this country, most people think that our eating habits are so different in comparison with those fast food eating and soda drinking North Americans... but really, if we give processed food the space it really deserves in this debate, then we are not that much better off than what they are on the other side of the big pond...
Here the clip:
Tuesday, October 29, 2013
The Power of Maca!
You might now that I have been struggling with a skin rash (and here) next to my nose. In the beginning I was really annoyed and tried everything to get rid of it. I was even about to start the GAPS diet, but then life happened I never had energy to do it... Then suddenly, after four months without any milk products, it disappeared on one side of the nose to only appear on the other. I had a theory that the second appearance had to do with heavy apple fermentation in my tummy as this happened just as our apple trees had me eating some 5 apples a day... Well, now as the apple season is over, and 3 months later I can report that the rash is slowly going away. I have even started to include raw milk back to my diet and it does not seem to affect the intensity of the rash (but does seem to balance my sleep in the night!).
Instead this time I have a new theory (part from not eating so much apples anymore...) and this one is called MACA.
I read somewhere that Maca is good for female hormonal balance, and since I can never be balanced enough I thought I'd try. Now I drink a glass of water with a tiny bit of Maca powder in it almost every day and the days when I forget I kind of have a feeling that the rash is a bit redder than usual.
So what is this wonder power? I set out to find out and this is what I found:
The Maca root is part of the radish family and it is also called the Andean Gingseng. It is grown in Peru and used widely in cooking in Peru (have I ever mentioned that my best food experiences have always been in Peruvian restaurants! - We need one of those here....). When starting with Maca, just as any other power food, the path to success is: slowly. First half a teaspoon of powder and then increasing up to 1-2 teaspoons a day, having a day off once a week. No side effects reported but there can be a detox symptom in the beginning if not careful. Mix in smoothies, soups or stews. I guess I could even try blending it into my wonder raw chocolate dates balls if ever needed to trick it to the kids...
And what is it good for? Well, just to save some time, here is a list that I got from Vegkitchen:
So just as I once figured out that serving frequently bone broth to the kids was a good idea, I also think that maca may be a very good idea when I myself feel out of balance... But it seems quite powerful, so better be careful! Would love to have a chat with someone from Peru who really knows the power of maca in detail!
Edited later: Maca is also supposed to be natures own tyroxin, it balances the thyroid function and it also activates the hormone production of the pituitary gland and the hypothalamus (Source: Proyecto bebe).
Instead this time I have a new theory (part from not eating so much apples anymore...) and this one is called MACA.
I read somewhere that Maca is good for female hormonal balance, and since I can never be balanced enough I thought I'd try. Now I drink a glass of water with a tiny bit of Maca powder in it almost every day and the days when I forget I kind of have a feeling that the rash is a bit redder than usual.
So what is this wonder power? I set out to find out and this is what I found:
The Maca root is part of the radish family and it is also called the Andean Gingseng. It is grown in Peru and used widely in cooking in Peru (have I ever mentioned that my best food experiences have always been in Peruvian restaurants! - We need one of those here....). When starting with Maca, just as any other power food, the path to success is: slowly. First half a teaspoon of powder and then increasing up to 1-2 teaspoons a day, having a day off once a week. No side effects reported but there can be a detox symptom in the beginning if not careful. Mix in smoothies, soups or stews. I guess I could even try blending it into my wonder raw chocolate dates balls if ever needed to trick it to the kids...
And what is it good for? Well, just to save some time, here is a list that I got from Vegkitchen:
Vitamins
Maca is rich in vitamin B vitamins, C, and E. It provides plenty of calcium, zinc, iron, magnesium, phosphorous and amino acids.
Sexual function
Maca is widely used to promote sexual function of both men and women. It serves as a boost to your libido and increases endurance. At the same time it balances your hormones and increases fertility.
Women’s health and mood
Maca relieves menstrual issues and menopause. It alleviates cramps, body pain, hot flashes, anxiety, mood swings, and depression. If you are pregnant or lactating you should avoid taking maca.
Read more at http://www.vegkitchen.com/nutrition/7-top-health-benefits-of-maca/#wxfe3Pg6RoRXx7Fh.99
Maca is rich in vitamin B vitamins, C, and E. It provides plenty of calcium, zinc, iron, magnesium, phosphorous and amino acids.
Sexual function
Maca is widely used to promote sexual function of both men and women. It serves as a boost to your libido and increases endurance. At the same time it balances your hormones and increases fertility.
Women’s health and mood
Maca relieves menstrual issues and menopause. It alleviates cramps, body pain, hot flashes, anxiety, mood swings, and depression. If you are pregnant or lactating you should avoid taking maca.
Read more at http://www.vegkitchen.com/nutrition/7-top-health-benefits-of-maca/#wxfe3Pg6RoRXx7Fh.99
Vitamins
Maca is rich in vitamin B vitamins, C, and E. It provides plenty of calcium, zinc, iron, magnesium, phosphorous and amino acids.
Sexual function
Maca is widely used to promote sexual function of both men and women. It serves as a boost to your libido and increases endurance. At the same time it balances your hormones and increases fertility.
Women’s health and mood
Maca relieves menstrual issues and menopause. It alleviates cramps, body pain, hot flashes, anxiety, mood swings, and depression. If you are pregnant or lactating you should avoid taking maca.
Read more at http://www.vegkitchen.com/nutrition/7-top-health-benefits-of-maca/#wxfe3Pg6RoRXx7Fh.99
Maca is rich in vitamin B vitamins, C, and E. It provides plenty of calcium, zinc, iron, magnesium, phosphorous and amino acids.
Sexual function
Maca is widely used to promote sexual function of both men and women. It serves as a boost to your libido and increases endurance. At the same time it balances your hormones and increases fertility.
Women’s health and mood
Maca relieves menstrual issues and menopause. It alleviates cramps, body pain, hot flashes, anxiety, mood swings, and depression. If you are pregnant or lactating you should avoid taking maca.
Read more at http://www.vegkitchen.com/nutrition/7-top-health-benefits-of-maca/#wxfe3Pg6RoRXx7Fh.99
- Vitamins: Rich in B,C, and E. Contains calcium, zink, iron, magnesium, phosphorous and amino acids.
- Sex function: promotes sexual function in men and women.
- Women's health and mood: brings relief to menopause and menstrual issues, be cautious if pregnant or lactating.
- Energy: increases energy levels and stamina, used by top athletes for peak performance (natural doping?!?, my comment)
- General Health: helps to restore blood cells, be cautious if you have a condition of high blood pressure!
- Skin: clears acne and blemishes (well, well - so there might be some truth to my observation then! :))
- Mood balances: alleviate anxiety, depression, and stress
So just as I once figured out that serving frequently bone broth to the kids was a good idea, I also think that maca may be a very good idea when I myself feel out of balance... But it seems quite powerful, so better be careful! Would love to have a chat with someone from Peru who really knows the power of maca in detail!
Edited later: Maca is also supposed to be natures own tyroxin, it balances the thyroid function and it also activates the hormone production of the pituitary gland and the hypothalamus (Source: Proyecto bebe).
Vitamins
Maca is rich in vitamin B vitamins, C, and E. It provides plenty of calcium, zinc, iron, magnesium, phosphorous and amino acids.
Sexual function
Maca is widely used to promote sexual function of both men and women. It serves as a boost to your libido and increases endurance. At the same time it balances your hormones and increases fertility.
Women’s health and mood
Maca relieves menstrual issues and menopause. It alleviates cramps, body pain, hot flashes, anxiety, mood swings, and depression. If you are pregnant or lactating you should avoid taking maca.
Read more at http://www.vegkitchen.com/nutrition/7-top-health-benefits-of-maca/#wxfe3Pg6RoRXx7Fh.99
Maca is rich in vitamin B vitamins, C, and E. It provides plenty of calcium, zinc, iron, magnesium, phosphorous and amino acids.
Sexual function
Maca is widely used to promote sexual function of both men and women. It serves as a boost to your libido and increases endurance. At the same time it balances your hormones and increases fertility.
Women’s health and mood
Maca relieves menstrual issues and menopause. It alleviates cramps, body pain, hot flashes, anxiety, mood swings, and depression. If you are pregnant or lactating you should avoid taking maca.
Read more at http://www.vegkitchen.com/nutrition/7-top-health-benefits-of-maca/#wxfe3Pg6RoRXx7Fh.99
Vitamins
Maca is rich in vitamin B vitamins, C, and E. It provides plenty of calcium, zinc, iron, magnesium, phosphorous and amino acids.
Sexual function
Maca is widely used to promote sexual function of both men and women. It serves as a boost to your libido and increases endurance. At the same time it balances your hormones and increases fertility.
Women’s health and mood
Maca relieves menstrual issues and menopause. It alleviates cramps, body pain, hot flashes, anxiety, mood swings, and depression. If you are pregnant or lactating you should avoid taking maca.
Read more at http://www.vegkitchen.com/nutrition/7-top-health-benefits-of-maca/#wxfe3Pg6RoRXx7Fh.99
Maca is rich in vitamin B vitamins, C, and E. It provides plenty of calcium, zinc, iron, magnesium, phosphorous and amino acids.
Sexual function
Maca is widely used to promote sexual function of both men and women. It serves as a boost to your libido and increases endurance. At the same time it balances your hormones and increases fertility.
Women’s health and mood
Maca relieves menstrual issues and menopause. It alleviates cramps, body pain, hot flashes, anxiety, mood swings, and depression. If you are pregnant or lactating you should avoid taking maca.
Read more at http://www.vegkitchen.com/nutrition/7-top-health-benefits-of-maca/#wxfe3Pg6RoRXx7Fh.99
Vitamins
Maca is rich in vitamin B vitamins, C, and E. It provides plenty of calcium, zinc, iron, magnesium, phosphorous and amino acids.
Sexual function
Maca is widely used to promote sexual function of both men and women. It serves as a boost to your libido and increases endurance. At the same time it balances your hormones and increases fertility.
Women’s health and mood
Maca relieves menstrual issues and menopause. It alleviates cramps, body pain, hot flashes, anxiety, mood swings, and depression. If you are pregnant or lactating you should avoid taking maca.
Read more at http://www.vegkitchen.com/nutrition/7-top-health-benefits-of-maca/#wxfe3Pg6RoRXx7Fh.99
Maca is rich in vitamin B vitamins, C, and E. It provides plenty of calcium, zinc, iron, magnesium, phosphorous and amino acids.
Sexual function
Maca is widely used to promote sexual function of both men and women. It serves as a boost to your libido and increases endurance. At the same time it balances your hormones and increases fertility.
Women’s health and mood
Maca relieves menstrual issues and menopause. It alleviates cramps, body pain, hot flashes, anxiety, mood swings, and depression. If you are pregnant or lactating you should avoid taking maca.
Read more at http://www.vegkitchen.com/nutrition/7-top-health-benefits-of-maca/#wxfe3Pg6RoRXx7Fh.99
Vitamins
Maca is rich in vitamin B vitamins, C, and E. It provides plenty of calcium, zinc, iron, magnesium, phosphorous and amino acids.
Sexual function
Maca is widely used to promote sexual function of both men and women. It serves as a boost to your libido and increases endurance. At the same time it balances your hormones and increases fertility.
Women’s health and mood
Maca relieves menstrual issues and menopause. It alleviates cramps, body pain, hot flashes, anxiety, mood swings, and depression. If you are pregnant or lactating you should avoid taking maca.
Read more at http://www.vegkitchen.com/nutrition/7-top-health-benefits-of-maca/#wxfe3Pg6RoRXx7Fh.99
Maca is rich in vitamin B vitamins, C, and E. It provides plenty of calcium, zinc, iron, magnesium, phosphorous and amino acids.
Sexual function
Maca is widely used to promote sexual function of both men and women. It serves as a boost to your libido and increases endurance. At the same time it balances your hormones and increases fertility.
Women’s health and mood
Maca relieves menstrual issues and menopause. It alleviates cramps, body pain, hot flashes, anxiety, mood swings, and depression. If you are pregnant or lactating you should avoid taking maca.
Read more at http://www.vegkitchen.com/nutrition/7-top-health-benefits-of-maca/#wxfe3Pg6RoRXx7Fh.99
Friday, August 23, 2013
Investigative journalism
There is a new book out in Swedish, it is called Salted Bill (Saltad nota) and refers to the hidden ingredients in the food that we are served at restaurants. The author, Mats-Eric Nilsson, is already well-known up here in the North for his other three books of investigative journalism discovering what is in our (processed) food.
Come to think of it, his first book, the Secret Chef, must have been the first food-related book that ended up in my book-shelf. Not sure how surprised I was at that time of what he wrote, or how much it bothered me. I bought the book back in 2008 when I was still living a life of ignorance in relation to food (and most other things around me). Not complete ignorance, of course I tried to avoid "bad foods", but I had never really taken the time to reflect over all that junk that my poor body has to cope with every day when I do not take the time to read labels and look for natural alternatives. Over the years that changed... as you might have noticed if you have followed this blog from the start. Now I am HIGHLY critical to ANYTHING that is sold in a package with more than 1-3 ingredients, and particularly with ingredients that I cannot read out loud, or remember the next day. May I add that most things that come in a package include such ingredients.
Anyway, so now Nilsson has dug into the restaurant food. I haven't read this book yet but based on the previews he seems to succeed in exposing many bad practices in the Swedish restaurants, like the tiramisu cake that is sold at many places. It is not made by the restaurant itself, but bought from a French food chain with subsidiaries around Europe. Nilsson counts 14 preservatives (E-numbers) on the ingredient list. The result is even worse when he looks at the ingredients of a crab-cream offered in a sandwich chain around Sweden.
I salut Nilsson.I only wish that his next project would be the food served in schools. Then again, I started thinking of it. Do I really need a Swedish journalist to do the job that I need to get done in order to feel some peace? Nope. I google the municipality pages, call the receptionist, and ask for the name of the person in charge of school and daycare food. She didn't answer the phone. But I have her number and name now.
Before you can start doing something, you need to know what it is you need to know...On Monday I'll call again.
Come to think of it, his first book, the Secret Chef, must have been the first food-related book that ended up in my book-shelf. Not sure how surprised I was at that time of what he wrote, or how much it bothered me. I bought the book back in 2008 when I was still living a life of ignorance in relation to food (and most other things around me). Not complete ignorance, of course I tried to avoid "bad foods", but I had never really taken the time to reflect over all that junk that my poor body has to cope with every day when I do not take the time to read labels and look for natural alternatives. Over the years that changed... as you might have noticed if you have followed this blog from the start. Now I am HIGHLY critical to ANYTHING that is sold in a package with more than 1-3 ingredients, and particularly with ingredients that I cannot read out loud, or remember the next day. May I add that most things that come in a package include such ingredients.
Anyway, so now Nilsson has dug into the restaurant food. I haven't read this book yet but based on the previews he seems to succeed in exposing many bad practices in the Swedish restaurants, like the tiramisu cake that is sold at many places. It is not made by the restaurant itself, but bought from a French food chain with subsidiaries around Europe. Nilsson counts 14 preservatives (E-numbers) on the ingredient list. The result is even worse when he looks at the ingredients of a crab-cream offered in a sandwich chain around Sweden.
I salut Nilsson.I only wish that his next project would be the food served in schools. Then again, I started thinking of it. Do I really need a Swedish journalist to do the job that I need to get done in order to feel some peace? Nope. I google the municipality pages, call the receptionist, and ask for the name of the person in charge of school and daycare food. She didn't answer the phone. But I have her number and name now.
Before you can start doing something, you need to know what it is you need to know...On Monday I'll call again.
Wednesday, August 21, 2013
Rash update
Since May I have been on a strict diet because of some skin rashes that would not go away. I have had to exclude strictly everything that includes milk protein (and sugar, gluten and yeast which anyway were not part of my diet before). It has slowly been getting better but the problem still persist. Most frustrating about the whole thing has been that I have still not been completely sure what is causing the rash. The doctors I've seen have recommended some sort of creams, and I myself have tried many different antibacterial creams. The last doctor that I saw in May gave me this long list of what to eat and what not. Well, as said, it has been getting better. But every once in a while the rash pops up again, red and itchy. Once after having eaten at a Nepalese restaurant, chicken masala, which I thought was gluten and dairy free - now I think it might have had both in it. I ate there two weeks ago, the rashes are still there... And then yesterday, I couldn't figure out why the rash just suddenly got worse. Until this morning, I had a look at the dark chocolate package from where I had eaten one (!) piece of chocolate yesterday. I thought it was milkfree, dark chocolate 70%, normally safe. But no. Fazer has the bad habit of adding milk powder into their dark chocolate mix. Goodbye chocolate - I will have to donate to someone else. And well, at least one thing seems to be clear: the rashes ARE connected with dairy, even in tiny tiny amounts. ARRRRGH!!!!!
Monday, August 5, 2013
The Big FAT War - or how a truth is being dismantled.
Sweden is on top of things. The good thing about being a small and open society is that when things start moving, they move fast. Many who have been convinced about the mistakes in the Nordic dietary recommendations might feel that change is not coming fast enough. Still, we do not know when the paradigm shift will happen, but that it will happen that is already a fact. It is a remarkable battle that is going on over who is right and who is wrong and since Sweden has some of the lead figures in this debate, and a very active (cyber) society, it is also showing the way. The Food Revolution is already a fact. How it will play out in the state dietary recommendations and the acknowledgement from the current cholesterol-frightened experts is something that only time will tell.
I have been amused by following the storm that arose last week after the letter to the editor in one of Sweden's biggest newspapers, Dagens Nyheter. Original text to be found here: De populära fettdieterna är ett hot mot folkhälsan. Five professors of medicine and nutrition warned the Swedes of the dangers of eating a low carb and high fat diet: strokes and heart disease. This because according to the article, there have lately been an increase in the statistics of these diseases, particularly in young women and men age 35-44 years old. The professors go on making fat into the devil and explaining that red meat and fat, combined with sitting still and not getting enough exercise will basically eventually kill a big bunch of Swedes. They demonize the Low Carb High Fat Movement for spreading non-scientifically based information and that the effects can now be seen in an increased consumption of butter, sour cream and red meat. This while the consumption of sugar and salt continues on the rise.
It didn't take long for the LCHF-gang to react. Andreas Eenfeldt, author of the book "Food Revolution" (available in Swedish, Finnish, Norwegian and German) is quick to dismantle the arguments by showing the same statistics from a different light: how Swedes since 1995 have actually been suffering less from heart diseases and strokes. He then points to scientific studies that show the detrimental effects of a diet based on low fat products. What then follows is a war over who has the juiciest piece on the "fat war" in media. Eenfeldt himself is invited to a tv channel to explain his points. The other experts, those who wrote the original piece in the newspaper do not participate in person. Instead one of them goes to another tv channel to give her opinion on the dangers of the fat diet. The evening press paints big first page headline news on how the fat diet is dividing the Swedish people. And all the LCHF-bloggers mark their stand on their own pages. And there are some very balanced (in favor of fat) texts published on DN debatt webpages from other experts (Sugar is the villain, Saturated fat is neutral for the brain,There are many types of fat), who have taken the time to read all new scientific studies on the connection fat- hear disease: the verdict is clear: it is not the fat, it is the low fat/high sugar/high carb intake that is problematic. Still media continues being obsessed with finding the victims of this new dangerous trend of eating saturated fats.
What is my take on all this? First of all, I find it utterly exciting that in a matter of days, the Swedish media has made a storm out of the fat debate. And although the intentions once again were to demonize the dangerous fat diet, the effects seem to (once again) be the opposite. Dr Eenfeldt's blog reaches an all time high in daily visitors, the success stories of those who have been able to turn around their paved road to destruction through a dietary change is made visible through these blogs, and the very important debate on what is actually wrong with the current state dietary recommendations gets attention both on the prominent pages of newspapers but also out on blogs (this one piece is particularly amusing: Professor Hellenius is worried). We have to remember that the change is coming from below, through the told experience of those who have seen their lives turn around just by changing their diet towards eating more REAL FOOD and that is why the blogs play a very important part in this 'war'. I prefer referring to real food rather than LCHF because LCHF is a polemic wording. It has created a lot of association to bacon at butter, to cream and cheese, as if that was all that people on this diet ate. I'd say this picture of LCHF is mostly due to the demonization in the press...there is always a picture of bacon and egg when the demonization starts. But really, what most people do when they start eating this kind of diet is that they turn away from processed crap, including fat free sugary yogurts and industrial processed margarine and instead they start paying attention to that what they actually put in their mouth is real food and not any industrial made mimics.
So what started as yet another demonization of real food has in just a few days unfolded into a very good debate over what is real food, and who is to gain and loose from eating/supporting this kind of lifestyle. It has also brought up the false assumptions embedded in the fear for cholesterol (if you didn't know, cholesterol is not bad for you, it is your friend!). And so my take on this big Fat War in Sweden is that we are one step closer to a real paradigm shift.
So that is Sweden, and I live in Finland. What's the deal? Well, if the Swedes manage to overthrow all these faulty assumptions and really get their message through to those who can do anything about the state dietary recommendations, then I believe it will not take long before we here in Finland will see some radical changes as well. I mean, if the Swedes can be healthy on real food, why shouldn't we? Although I started off saying that change is coming fast in Sweden, I still feel it is not coming fast enough. My children go to daycare everyday and are served low-fat (including margarine) food every day. The food they are served are based on the state dietary recommendations, and although this municipality has decreased the use of sugar in daycare food, it is still alarming that the milk and the bread spread are highly processed and lack all the important nutrients that a child needs. The same goes for hospitals and senior homes. They are all bound to the state dietary recommendation. Not to speak of our state budget on health care. How much couldn't be saved if the people were given the right kind of advice on what to eat? Heaven forbid, they could be off (state subsidized!) medication and not be in need of so many doctor's appointments anymore. I mean, if this country is really struggling with its state finances, and if it really wants to continue to pretend to care for its citizens under the banner of a "welfare society" - well wouldn't these state dietary recommendations be the first ones that we need to fix.
Quick fix - direct results!
Oh I forgot, we also have to defend the right of the prestigious experts that ones made up the cholesterol myth, we have to defend the right of the pharmaceutical companies and the processed food industry, we have to defend the right (to work) for the state nutritionists, even the right of the garment industry. Because once people starting real food all these people and institutions will suffer. The old professors will lose their prestige. The pharmaceutical companies will lose many highly profitable products. The food industry will lose many market shares as people turn to eat veggies and unprocessed food. The nutritionist services will not be needed anymore as people will start understanding what is real food and what is fake. And the garment industry, particularly the big-size-producers will lose out once people stop yoyo-dieting and not need to buy new clothing every time they gain/lose 10 kg. All this, together with a lot more, is what is preventing us from having real food at the table! But the fat war in Sweden is leading the way! So keep on fighting, the change is coming!
I have been amused by following the storm that arose last week after the letter to the editor in one of Sweden's biggest newspapers, Dagens Nyheter. Original text to be found here: De populära fettdieterna är ett hot mot folkhälsan. Five professors of medicine and nutrition warned the Swedes of the dangers of eating a low carb and high fat diet: strokes and heart disease. This because according to the article, there have lately been an increase in the statistics of these diseases, particularly in young women and men age 35-44 years old. The professors go on making fat into the devil and explaining that red meat and fat, combined with sitting still and not getting enough exercise will basically eventually kill a big bunch of Swedes. They demonize the Low Carb High Fat Movement for spreading non-scientifically based information and that the effects can now be seen in an increased consumption of butter, sour cream and red meat. This while the consumption of sugar and salt continues on the rise.
It didn't take long for the LCHF-gang to react. Andreas Eenfeldt, author of the book "Food Revolution" (available in Swedish, Finnish, Norwegian and German) is quick to dismantle the arguments by showing the same statistics from a different light: how Swedes since 1995 have actually been suffering less from heart diseases and strokes. He then points to scientific studies that show the detrimental effects of a diet based on low fat products. What then follows is a war over who has the juiciest piece on the "fat war" in media. Eenfeldt himself is invited to a tv channel to explain his points. The other experts, those who wrote the original piece in the newspaper do not participate in person. Instead one of them goes to another tv channel to give her opinion on the dangers of the fat diet. The evening press paints big first page headline news on how the fat diet is dividing the Swedish people. And all the LCHF-bloggers mark their stand on their own pages. And there are some very balanced (in favor of fat) texts published on DN debatt webpages from other experts (Sugar is the villain, Saturated fat is neutral for the brain,There are many types of fat), who have taken the time to read all new scientific studies on the connection fat- hear disease: the verdict is clear: it is not the fat, it is the low fat/high sugar/high carb intake that is problematic. Still media continues being obsessed with finding the victims of this new dangerous trend of eating saturated fats.
What is my take on all this? First of all, I find it utterly exciting that in a matter of days, the Swedish media has made a storm out of the fat debate. And although the intentions once again were to demonize the dangerous fat diet, the effects seem to (once again) be the opposite. Dr Eenfeldt's blog reaches an all time high in daily visitors, the success stories of those who have been able to turn around their paved road to destruction through a dietary change is made visible through these blogs, and the very important debate on what is actually wrong with the current state dietary recommendations gets attention both on the prominent pages of newspapers but also out on blogs (this one piece is particularly amusing: Professor Hellenius is worried). We have to remember that the change is coming from below, through the told experience of those who have seen their lives turn around just by changing their diet towards eating more REAL FOOD and that is why the blogs play a very important part in this 'war'. I prefer referring to real food rather than LCHF because LCHF is a polemic wording. It has created a lot of association to bacon at butter, to cream and cheese, as if that was all that people on this diet ate. I'd say this picture of LCHF is mostly due to the demonization in the press...there is always a picture of bacon and egg when the demonization starts. But really, what most people do when they start eating this kind of diet is that they turn away from processed crap, including fat free sugary yogurts and industrial processed margarine and instead they start paying attention to that what they actually put in their mouth is real food and not any industrial made mimics.
So what started as yet another demonization of real food has in just a few days unfolded into a very good debate over what is real food, and who is to gain and loose from eating/supporting this kind of lifestyle. It has also brought up the false assumptions embedded in the fear for cholesterol (if you didn't know, cholesterol is not bad for you, it is your friend!). And so my take on this big Fat War in Sweden is that we are one step closer to a real paradigm shift.
So that is Sweden, and I live in Finland. What's the deal? Well, if the Swedes manage to overthrow all these faulty assumptions and really get their message through to those who can do anything about the state dietary recommendations, then I believe it will not take long before we here in Finland will see some radical changes as well. I mean, if the Swedes can be healthy on real food, why shouldn't we? Although I started off saying that change is coming fast in Sweden, I still feel it is not coming fast enough. My children go to daycare everyday and are served low-fat (including margarine) food every day. The food they are served are based on the state dietary recommendations, and although this municipality has decreased the use of sugar in daycare food, it is still alarming that the milk and the bread spread are highly processed and lack all the important nutrients that a child needs. The same goes for hospitals and senior homes. They are all bound to the state dietary recommendation. Not to speak of our state budget on health care. How much couldn't be saved if the people were given the right kind of advice on what to eat? Heaven forbid, they could be off (state subsidized!) medication and not be in need of so many doctor's appointments anymore. I mean, if this country is really struggling with its state finances, and if it really wants to continue to pretend to care for its citizens under the banner of a "welfare society" - well wouldn't these state dietary recommendations be the first ones that we need to fix.
Quick fix - direct results!
Oh I forgot, we also have to defend the right of the prestigious experts that ones made up the cholesterol myth, we have to defend the right of the pharmaceutical companies and the processed food industry, we have to defend the right (to work) for the state nutritionists, even the right of the garment industry. Because once people starting real food all these people and institutions will suffer. The old professors will lose their prestige. The pharmaceutical companies will lose many highly profitable products. The food industry will lose many market shares as people turn to eat veggies and unprocessed food. The nutritionist services will not be needed anymore as people will start understanding what is real food and what is fake. And the garment industry, particularly the big-size-producers will lose out once people stop yoyo-dieting and not need to buy new clothing every time they gain/lose 10 kg. All this, together with a lot more, is what is preventing us from having real food at the table! But the fat war in Sweden is leading the way! So keep on fighting, the change is coming!
Friday, June 28, 2013
On request: a bean based tiger cake
I am experimenting big time in the kitchen now. Wonder why? Well because I decided to take on the challenge of making another dream come true and went to the local "arbis" (community evening school, where you can take a class on anything remotely interesting) and offered my expertise. Knocked on the principals door and said: 'I'd like to give a class on how to bake without sugar, wheat and milk, how do I do that?' Ten minutes later we had set up the course with the head of cooking classes and it was all set for this fall. I will become a hands-on teacher. Then I returned to my abstract world of research literature. Absurd!
Now I need to get the recipes straight. No more experimenting with the family and friends. Now I have to get it right. So I am practicing. And may I add that the family actually has not been too upset about me taking on an extra job beside my already very time consuming researcher job. They love the side effects!
I already posted this following recipe on the other blog, but my one (and only?) fan on this blog insisted I'd translate. Apparently Google didn't do such a great job. So here it comes, may I present the....
TIGER CAKE (adapted with modifications from www.spunkycoconut.com)
Lighter batch:
3,5 cooked white beans
6 eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
50-100 grams of soaked dates
Mix until smooth and then add:
0,5 dl coconut oil
0,5 coconut meal (or less)
0,5 tsp sea salt or other quality salt
1 tsp bicarbonate
1,5 tsp baking powder
Mix well.
For the darker batch, do the same but instead of coconut meal use 0,75 dl (raw) cacao powder.
Grease the baking form with coconut oil. Add the two batches in layers. Bake in oven for 40 minutes in 200 degrees. Let cool before you take the cake out of the baking form.
Enjoy!
Monday, June 17, 2013
When tides turn
It is my experience from studying newspaper coverage of conflict situation that once the business/economics pages start writing about "the other side", that is when the tides turn. Might be that the marginalized part of the conflict get visibility through letters to the editor, through newspaper day-today reporting, but that is still not enough. It doesn't matter how much sensational news is writing about the stuff, but once the economics pages are in, we're talking business. Things get serious and we can talk about a real shift in the perception of what is considered legitimate and what not. Or at least we can see a serious debate getting started on the two different side, which means that the once marginalized now have a real voice to make an influence.
This is happening now in Sweden, at least partly. After having read Ann Fernholm's book "A Sweeter blood", I was convinced this book is serious stuff. Scientific evidence is killed with other scientific evidence. She is talking the language of the experts. I also saw an interview with her on telly, really convincing stuff. Sugar is bad, in so many ways that you can't even imagine, and she makes the case clear, as said, in expert language.
The problem? It was "only" a book (only those who are really interested tend to read it without widespread reviews) and the tv outlet was a marginal channel. Thus, the effects might also be marginal.
But what happened? Just today I read a column in the Swedish weekly business magazine magazine "Veckans Affärer" where the book is brought forward by a columnist stating:
"The fact is that the high bloodsugar levels have negative impacts also on healthy organisms. For example, tests have shown that sugar stimulate growth in the cancer cells, which could explain the increased amounts of cancer... A number of studies on diabetics shows clear results: diabetes can be fought with the right diet. Goodbye insulin shots." (Emanuel Sidea, my translation).
Well well, if my observations of what happens when news focus shifts from being something trivial, everyday to being of economic importance, then my friends, we are in for the big one soon! Soon we can start taking the harms of sugar seriously, also outside the health fanatics personal blog pages!
But it still needs to make it out of the "opinion" pages into the real business news. I am still waiting for articles on how much society could save by doctors making good dietary recommendations. How much we could save in tax payers money if the children at day care were fed real food. How much less ADHD medication society would need, if the food we feed our children would be less triggering... These are the stories I am waiting to see. Not hearing on the radio like today that ADHD medication has doubled in the past 5 years, and that this has brought on problems with people faking ADHD because the med includes amfetamin-like substances. I just... doooh! What is happening in society?!?! Why are we drugging kids with amfetamin-like substances when they are already high on sugar? What about first have the kids detox from sugar and other triggering foods and then see how much of the problems are left...
We need more coverage of books like "A sweeter blood". This was a first step. More certainly ahead. Particularly when it is about saving taxpayers $$$!
Interesting indeed!
You can follow Ann's webpage here in Swedish: http://ettsotareblod.se/ and I wrote a blog about the book earlier here: Hell hour.
Friday, June 14, 2013
Doing some serious thinking...
I'll try to make this short and quick, since what I am actually doing right now is writing a paragraph on "testimonies" as a research method, an major breakthrough in my own research, and I should not use my braincells to ponder about healthy food right now. By the way, I think testimonies would be an excellent research method for anyone who would like to study how the low-fat paradigm came to be challenged through personal testimonials on blogs and other social media outlets...
But about what I wanted to tell you now, I have to let off the lid a little bit. Because I wanted to let you know that I am changing my perspective from being an extremist that supports most of the paleo-preaching towards a more moderate food advocate. Why? Because I am starting to think that there might actually be some nasty side effects also to an extreme paleo diet that is being silenced in the fierce debate on who is right and who is wrong regarding what people are meant to eat. And because I have started to think that maybe some of my own problems lately are not only due to stress, but actually one of the main reasons I feel stressed in the first place. Could it be that I am stressing my body by being too harsh on it through what I eat? Could it be that when bloggers talk about magnesium deficiencies and problems to fall asleep, what they are actually telling us is that there are wide spread side effects to a very strict low carb diet? Dr Cate does talk about the risks of converting to a low carb diet too fast in that it can cause thyroid problems (read here).
So I have started to embrace some of the things Cheeseslave is talking about (here and here). However, I am still very aware that gluten might be dangerous particularly if celiac desease is the root of the problem. And by the way, when I say that my body is stressed because of food, I recognize that I might not be getting enough carbs (although I have been eating rise and potatoes for quite some time) but endulging in sugar and sweets are by no means the way back to a more balanced diet...although I am considering using cane sugar this fall to make jams and juices of the berry harvest...
I have been thinking a lot about what is the root problem of so many people having serious digestive problems these days. It is hard for me to swallow that grains are the evils on this planet. Afterall, they are (or at least used to be) a natural source for energy, particularly for us living on these altitudes in need of foods that can be stored over the winter. Instead, in my mind (when I am not thinking of my research project that is) I am coming up with two hypotheses, or actually three, hypotheses that needs further exploration. 1) the increased digestive problems among the Western population is due to the increased amount of pesticides and industrially processed ingredients in our food system. 2) the problems are related to our dependency on chemical medication such as antibiotics and pain killers, which has lasted for more than two generations already, 3) stress is causing major problems in our body.
These hypotheses above have completely wrecked havoc on our microbacterial flora in our gut making us more susceptible to allergies and food intolerance. These allergies and food intolerances appear gradually, almost so we do not notice them, but the foods that become first problematic are those that are the hardest for our digestive system to handle. This would be why many now react to dairy (milk protein casein is difficult to digest) and grains (gluten is not easy either). And if we do not clean up our system and the food we eat (read: start eating less pesticides and get rid of the processed foods completely) our body will react by making us allergic to an ever growing amount of foods (nuts, nightshades, fish, egg, etc). So what to do? Eliminate all healthy foods and live on air and water? No, absolutely not - fortify the good bacteria and clean up the kitchen mess, get rid off bad habits of popping ibuprofen every time a headache hits and start relaxing to give ourselves a stress free life. I think that is the way to go! For me, it is that last part that is the hardest: to relax! Just need to get the hang of it, that's all!
While I was writing this, an interesting text written by Michael Pollan appeared in my Facebook feed. He seems to be supporting similar hypotheses as I do regarding out food system! Look Processed food killing friendly bacteria-gut - Can eating home pickles fight infections?
Oh, and by the way - all the thoughts above are HIGHLY hypothetical. I do not have ANYTHING to support my claims! Just thinking out loud. That is all!
But about what I wanted to tell you now, I have to let off the lid a little bit. Because I wanted to let you know that I am changing my perspective from being an extremist that supports most of the paleo-preaching towards a more moderate food advocate. Why? Because I am starting to think that there might actually be some nasty side effects also to an extreme paleo diet that is being silenced in the fierce debate on who is right and who is wrong regarding what people are meant to eat. And because I have started to think that maybe some of my own problems lately are not only due to stress, but actually one of the main reasons I feel stressed in the first place. Could it be that I am stressing my body by being too harsh on it through what I eat? Could it be that when bloggers talk about magnesium deficiencies and problems to fall asleep, what they are actually telling us is that there are wide spread side effects to a very strict low carb diet? Dr Cate does talk about the risks of converting to a low carb diet too fast in that it can cause thyroid problems (read here).
So I have started to embrace some of the things Cheeseslave is talking about (here and here). However, I am still very aware that gluten might be dangerous particularly if celiac desease is the root of the problem. And by the way, when I say that my body is stressed because of food, I recognize that I might not be getting enough carbs (although I have been eating rise and potatoes for quite some time) but endulging in sugar and sweets are by no means the way back to a more balanced diet...although I am considering using cane sugar this fall to make jams and juices of the berry harvest...
I have been thinking a lot about what is the root problem of so many people having serious digestive problems these days. It is hard for me to swallow that grains are the evils on this planet. Afterall, they are (or at least used to be) a natural source for energy, particularly for us living on these altitudes in need of foods that can be stored over the winter. Instead, in my mind (when I am not thinking of my research project that is) I am coming up with two hypotheses, or actually three, hypotheses that needs further exploration. 1) the increased digestive problems among the Western population is due to the increased amount of pesticides and industrially processed ingredients in our food system. 2) the problems are related to our dependency on chemical medication such as antibiotics and pain killers, which has lasted for more than two generations already, 3) stress is causing major problems in our body.
These hypotheses above have completely wrecked havoc on our microbacterial flora in our gut making us more susceptible to allergies and food intolerance. These allergies and food intolerances appear gradually, almost so we do not notice them, but the foods that become first problematic are those that are the hardest for our digestive system to handle. This would be why many now react to dairy (milk protein casein is difficult to digest) and grains (gluten is not easy either). And if we do not clean up our system and the food we eat (read: start eating less pesticides and get rid of the processed foods completely) our body will react by making us allergic to an ever growing amount of foods (nuts, nightshades, fish, egg, etc). So what to do? Eliminate all healthy foods and live on air and water? No, absolutely not - fortify the good bacteria and clean up the kitchen mess, get rid off bad habits of popping ibuprofen every time a headache hits and start relaxing to give ourselves a stress free life. I think that is the way to go! For me, it is that last part that is the hardest: to relax! Just need to get the hang of it, that's all!
While I was writing this, an interesting text written by Michael Pollan appeared in my Facebook feed. He seems to be supporting similar hypotheses as I do regarding out food system! Look Processed food killing friendly bacteria-gut - Can eating home pickles fight infections?
Oh, and by the way - all the thoughts above are HIGHLY hypothetical. I do not have ANYTHING to support my claims! Just thinking out loud. That is all!
Monday, June 10, 2013
From dreaming to action!
I used to dream of a better world. Now I have my hands in the dirt, literally. May today be a proof of my road towards real action:
Set one big bag of potatoes in the ground. With the help of my uncle and his old potato setting machines (borrowing land from him as well, important acknowledgement). I hope the potatoes will make it and once we get them out of the ground, some two months from now, they will also last at least until Christmas. Storage? Well, we have a never used potato cellar in our house now. Let's see if it can keep up with the task!
I also picked nettles, a big bunch. And these were just lightly boiled. I'll get them through the food processor and then into the freezer for the winter. Replacing our use of frozen spinach (which is on the list of the dirty dozen, btw). And I saved the boiled water, it is supposed to be good fertilizer for the plants...
The other thing I picked was dandelions. A whole bunch of them. So now I am also trying out this recipe: Sunshine syrup, which I found through this excellent blog: Lev mer på mindre. She also gives this great link for what to do with dandelions: What to do with dandelions. I'll try to explore a bit more still, but time is running out with the dandelion season...
We had some really good polenta fried fish to lunch. Now the salmon is the oven. I usually do not make this much fish, but we had a fish market last Saturday in town, and I kind of overdid my shopping there...
Soon I am off to a cooking course on how to make use of the fresh and wild produce of the season! Kind of right up my alley.
Feels good to be alive and not only dreaming for a while.
Tomorrow I continue my day (dream) job. Have a lot of text lined up in my head that needs to get structured and sent out for review!
Enjoy the sun everyone!
Set one big bag of potatoes in the ground. With the help of my uncle and his old potato setting machines (borrowing land from him as well, important acknowledgement). I hope the potatoes will make it and once we get them out of the ground, some two months from now, they will also last at least until Christmas. Storage? Well, we have a never used potato cellar in our house now. Let's see if it can keep up with the task!
I also picked nettles, a big bunch. And these were just lightly boiled. I'll get them through the food processor and then into the freezer for the winter. Replacing our use of frozen spinach (which is on the list of the dirty dozen, btw). And I saved the boiled water, it is supposed to be good fertilizer for the plants...
The other thing I picked was dandelions. A whole bunch of them. So now I am also trying out this recipe: Sunshine syrup, which I found through this excellent blog: Lev mer på mindre. She also gives this great link for what to do with dandelions: What to do with dandelions. I'll try to explore a bit more still, but time is running out with the dandelion season...
We had some really good polenta fried fish to lunch. Now the salmon is the oven. I usually do not make this much fish, but we had a fish market last Saturday in town, and I kind of overdid my shopping there...
Soon I am off to a cooking course on how to make use of the fresh and wild produce of the season! Kind of right up my alley.
Feels good to be alive and not only dreaming for a while.
Tomorrow I continue my day (dream) job. Have a lot of text lined up in my head that needs to get structured and sent out for review!
Enjoy the sun everyone!
Monday, June 3, 2013
Got Milk?
I am in a process of grief. From denial to grief... and maybe back to denial again. When we returned from Chile to Finland and I suddenly had a skin rash appearing next to my nose I swore it was the rye bread. I was so sure about it. I hadn't had rye bread for a very long time and suddenly I just had to eat it. Well, the skin rashes started just about there. However, I was not able to see that the butter that I was putting on the bread, the full fat Greek yogurt that I had not enjoyed for many months either, or all that cheese could have something to do with the rash. Although I do not drink milk, there are so many milk products here in Finland that are so good that there was no way I was about to give it up. Not even although I was struggling to keep one of my children free from milk products for optimal health. Total denial. I made kefir yogurt, I made real yogurt. I used raw milk from special ecological cows. And the rash just got worse...
Until a doctor told me: get off the milk. See what happens and try to reintroduce it. I have now been milk free for three weeks. The rash is almost gone. You can still see the contures of the former rash. But it is nothing like it was a month ago. I still have hopes to be able to eat milk products now and then. But I am also painfully aware of that that might not be possible.
I am also more and more open for the message that milk is maybe not so beneficial as the formal verdict wants to portray it to be. Instead of strengthening bones, it might actually do the opposite. And a lot more. But I am still decolonizing my mind. Milk (and particularly cheese) is way to yummy to give up just like that. I need some time to digest my milk free lifestyle.
If you want to know more you can watch this youtube clip by the (paleo-inspired) medical doctor Mark Hyman. He gives a lot of insight to the subject:
Btw, I actually think that milk might be ok for most people, but that casein is problematic for those who have a digestive system out of balance (due to stress or other reasons). This is my personal speculation though.
Until a doctor told me: get off the milk. See what happens and try to reintroduce it. I have now been milk free for three weeks. The rash is almost gone. You can still see the contures of the former rash. But it is nothing like it was a month ago. I still have hopes to be able to eat milk products now and then. But I am also painfully aware of that that might not be possible.
I am also more and more open for the message that milk is maybe not so beneficial as the formal verdict wants to portray it to be. Instead of strengthening bones, it might actually do the opposite. And a lot more. But I am still decolonizing my mind. Milk (and particularly cheese) is way to yummy to give up just like that. I need some time to digest my milk free lifestyle.
If you want to know more you can watch this youtube clip by the (paleo-inspired) medical doctor Mark Hyman. He gives a lot of insight to the subject:
Btw, I actually think that milk might be ok for most people, but that casein is problematic for those who have a digestive system out of balance (due to stress or other reasons). This is my personal speculation though.
Saturday, June 1, 2013
Müsli
Inspired by Paleoparent's recipe in their book Eat like a Dinousaur, I made some of my own. It isn't exactly like theirs because I used ingredients that I know works for us. And it is not strictly paleo since I am using glutenfree oats. If you want to go paleo all the way you just eliminate the oats and add more of the other stuff, particularly the coconut flakes, almonds and walnuts. t.
3 dl glutenfree oatmeal
1 dl sunflower seeds
1 dl coconut flakes
1 dl semi-crushed almonds
1 dl semi-crushed walnuts
0,5 dl falxseeds
1,5 dl dates
1 apple, I threw it in the food processer to get good sized bites
4-5 tblsp cold pressed coconut oil
1 tblsp cinnamon
If you are allergic to nuts, just replace with more seeds and add pumpkin seeds to the mix. Also more coconut flakes should do the trick.
Mix everything in a bowl. Add to baking tray (cover with baking paper if you do not want fuzz with dishes afterwards...).
Bake in 130 celcius (270 F), 60 minutes. Stir every 15 minutes to bake crips and even müsli. Once ready let cool on the tray. Keep in air tight glas jar. According to Paleoparents, their müsli is ok in room temperature for several months. Well ours will not last that long, for sure... But if you want to be on the safe side, store in fridge.
Enjoy!
3 dl glutenfree oatmeal
1 dl sunflower seeds
1 dl coconut flakes
1 dl semi-crushed almonds
1 dl semi-crushed walnuts
0,5 dl falxseeds
1,5 dl dates
1 apple, I threw it in the food processer to get good sized bites
4-5 tblsp cold pressed coconut oil
1 tblsp cinnamon
If you are allergic to nuts, just replace with more seeds and add pumpkin seeds to the mix. Also more coconut flakes should do the trick.
Mix everything in a bowl. Add to baking tray (cover with baking paper if you do not want fuzz with dishes afterwards...).
Bake in 130 celcius (270 F), 60 minutes. Stir every 15 minutes to bake crips and even müsli. Once ready let cool on the tray. Keep in air tight glas jar. According to Paleoparents, their müsli is ok in room temperature for several months. Well ours will not last that long, for sure... But if you want to be on the safe side, store in fridge.
Enjoy!
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| On the way into the oven Check the hand...always there! :-) |
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| Done! |
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