Salt: The Delicious Health-Buster

Salt: The Delicious Health-Buster (And What to Use Instead)

Yes, there are lots of different kinds of salt: pink, iodized, kosher, sea, etc.

They come from salt mines in the ground, or from evaporating the water out of salt water. What they all have in common is that infamous mineral that I’m going to talk about below: sodium.

In food, salt is used for both flavor, and as a preservative. Salt helps to preserve food by drawing out the water that bacteria and mold need to grow. Hence, preserving the food from spoiling as quickly.

Would you be surprised to know that 75% of our salt intake comes not from the salt shaker? It comes from processed foods. Snacks like chips, pretzels and salted nuts are included here. But so are canned foods, pickled foods, boxed foods, deli meats, restaurant food, and fast food.

Salt vs. Sodium

Salt is actually “sodium chloride.” It’s about 40% sodium and 60% chloride; this means that one teaspoon of salt (5,000 mg) contains about 2,000 mg of sodium.

Sodium itself is not that bad! In fact, it’s an essential mineral and an important electrolyte in the body. It helps with fluid balance, and proper nerve and muscle function.

 

Too much sodium can is not great! Regularly getting too much sodium can increase your risk of high blood pressure, stroke, heart attack, stomach cancer, and kidney stones.

That one teaspoon with about 2,000 mg of sodium is pretty much your entire day’s worth of sodium. People who eat a lot of pre-made, packaged foods tend to eat way too much sodium. In fact, 90% of American adults consume more than 2,300 mg per day. The average intake is closer to 3,400 mg of sodium per day!

 

If you’re at high risk for those conditions, then you probably shouldn’t have more than just 1,500 mg of sodium each day.

 

Sodium and high blood pressure

How does salt increase blood pressure?  And what does that have to do with it making you thirsty?

Well, there actually is something called “salt-sensitive high blood pressure.”  Here’s how it works:

The salt you eat gets absorbed quickly and goes into the blood.

Your body recognizes that the blood is too salty, so more water is added to the blood to dilute it (i.e. with thirst signals to make you drink more fluid). More water in the blood means more fluid your heart needs to pump and more fluid pushing against the walls of your vessels. It also sends more blood to the kidneys so the sodium can be filtered out into the urine.

This is how too much sodium increases your blood pressure. Increased blood pressure also puts a strain on your kidneys and other sensitive vessels, including critical vessels in your brain and heart.

You can counteract this effect by reducing the amount of salt you eat (from both processed foods and the salt shaker). In fact, limiting salt intake has been shown to slightly reduce blood pressure.

 

Pro Tip: You can reduce high blood pressure by eating more whole foods, and more mineral-rich plant foods.

 

Conclusion

If you are healthy and eat mostly whole, unprocessed foods, then you probably don’t need to worry about your salt intake. Feel free to add a bit of salt during cooking or at the table for flavor.

 

If your doctor has told you to reduce your salt or sodium intake, then you can do this by reducing your intake of processed foods, adding less salt to the food you make, and eating more plant-based foods.

 

Recipe (Low-Sodium Spice Mix): Italian Spice Mix

 

1          tbsp dried oregano

1 ½      tbsp dried basil

1          tbsp dried parsley

1          tbsp dried thyme

½         tbsp onion powder

½         tbsp garlic powder

 

Mix all ingredients and place in a sealed container. Sprinkle where you would normally use salt. This is especially good with Italian-style dishes.

 

Serve & enjoy!

 

Tip: Feel free to play around with the ingredients. If you hate oregano, leave it out. If you love garlic, add more.

The Real Deal About Artificial Flavors

Let me ask you this: Have you looked at the ingredients on a food label lately? How about a “processed” food label; like famous brands of cookies, cereals, or junky snack foods?

Do you have those ingredients in your house? Do you even know what all of those ingredients are?

There are a ton of artificial, chemical, “junky” ingredients in foods these days.  If you see an ingredient called “artificial flavor,” what exactly is it?

For the most part, it’s a secret! Seriously! Big food companies don’t want their proprietary flavors to be known, so they’re allowed to say “artificial flavor” and leave the details out.

That alone gets me upset.

But what makes me more upset is what artificial flavors represent when they’re in your food.

I’m going to give you the real deal below.

 

Why use “artificial flavors” in a product?

When you make an apple muffin at home, what gives it the apple flavor?

Apples of course! Like real, whole, chopped or shredded apples or applesauce.

But, let’s say you’re a big food company and you’re making thousands of apple muffins every day. In a factory. On an assembly line.

How would you process the huge amount of apples that are to be chopped, grated or made into applesauce? Would you have a separate “Apple Room” where all the apple processing happens? What if one batch is slightly riper, or tastes slightly different from the rest? Will your customers notice a different taste?

Apples are perishable – they go bad.  So how would you guarantee the apples won’t go bad? (Remember the saying “it only takes one bad apple to ruin the whole bunch?”).

AND what if you can have an apple flavor that tastes better than using real apples? Something that makes people want to keep buying them every week.  It’s true – some of the artificial flavors are engineered to give an even better taste than the real food.

Companies will often opt for the easier and more profitable option like artificial flavors.

Artificial flavors last longer and will be virtually identical batch after batch.  In our apple muffin example, artificial flavors used to make an apple muffin are ready to go, so you don’t need to peel, cut, or worry about apples going brown, or that they’re not tasting “appley” enough.

Oh, and it’s way cheaper than using real, whole apples.

Pro Tip: If the package says “flavored” in the description, then the flavor is artificial. For example, “apple muffin” contains at least some apple. But, “apple flavored muffin” contains artificial flavor and no apple.

Safety of artificial flavors

While there are some flavors banned for use in many countries, other countries allow them.

There is an approved list of flavors that are accepted to be safe, and are used by the food industry. They are considered GRAS, or “generally recognized as safe.”

Even if they are 100% safe to ingest, the mere fact that an artificial flavor is in food makes it an artificial food.  It’s not a real, whole food. Having an artificial flavor as an ingredient almost defines that food to be a processed, “food-like product.” Sometimes referred to as “junk.”

Artificial flavors in food indicate that the food, regardless of the marketing, or health claims, is not a healthy choice.

 

Conclusion

Big food companies use artificial flavors to reduce costs, make the manufacturing process simpler, reduce waste and even enhance flavor way beyond what the natural ingredient would taste like.

They are not added to improve the “healthfulness” or nutrition of the food.

Artificial flavors in the ingredient list indicate that the food is not going to optimize your health. These processed foods are most certainly “junk.”

Don’t buy them. Make this recipe instead.

 

Recipe (All-natural): Apple Muffin

Serves 12

1 cup quick oats, uncooked

1 tsp cinnamon

1 cup cooked quinoa

3 tbsp maple syrup

1 cup chopped apples

2 eggs, lightly beaten

Preheat oven to 350F.
In a large bowl, mix the quick oats and cinnamon. Add the quinoa and mix again. Now add maple syrup, apples and eggs, and mix until just combined.

Place 12 muffin liners into a muffin pan. Fill each muffin cup about ⅔ of the way.

Place in oven and bake for about 25-30 minutes.

Serve & enjoy!

Tip: Before baking, sprinkle each muffin with a touch of cinnamon for extra (natural) flavor.

 

Reading References:

https://authoritynutrition.com/9-ways-that-processed-foods-are-killing-people/

https://authoritynutrition.com/junk-foods-chemical-engineers/

http://www.inspection.gc.ca/food/labelling/food-labelling-for-industry/common-name/snack-foods/eng/1348251469504/1394902794643

Phytic Acid, The Mineral Reducer

Do you soak or sprout your nuts, seeds, grains and legumes?

Is it to help improve their digestibility? To help increase their nutrition?

Perhaps, it’s to reduce phytic acid?

Phytic acid is naturally present in most nuts, seeds, grains and legumes; it is the plant’s storage form of the mineral phosphorus and is used as energy when the plant starts to grow.

The highest levels of phytic acid are found in rice bran, wheat bran, wheat germ, almonds, and walnuts.

Phytic acid and minerals

Have you heard of phytic acid being referred to as an “anti-nutrient?”

Phytic acid binds to the minerals iron, zinc, and calcium preventing them from being fully absorbed when eaten; this is why phytic acid is known as a “mineral reducer.”

 

FUN FACT: Phytic acid’s effects only apply to mineral-containing foods in the current meal. Once digested, there is no mineral reduction on any future meals and there is no impact to the minerals your body has already absorbed.

 

Phytic acid’s health benefits

Phytic acid isn’t all bad – it has some health benefits too.

It can act as an antioxidant. It can also help reduce your risk of kidney stones, heart disease, and even some cancers.

Because it loves minerals (which are metals), phytic acid in your gut can also bind to any heavy metals (the metals we don’t want too much of) that may have hitched a ride with your food.

How to reduce phytic acid

As you can see, phytic acid shouldn’t be a huge concern, unless your main foods at most meals are nuts, seeds, grains, and legumes. Because many of these are nutritious foods, you probably don’t want to cut all of them completely out of your diet.

 

Considering both the good and bad properties of phytic acid, you may still want to reduce how much you consume. Maybe you want to increase your mineral intake.

If so, here are two popular methods to naturally reduce phytic acid:

• Soaking – Place nuts, seeds, grains or legumes in a bowl, cover with water and leave overnight. Then drain the water and rinse before eating or preparing.
• Sprouting – After soaking, draining, and rinsing, place damp nuts, seeds, grains or legumes into a container that’s exposed to the air (like a mason jar with a mesh lid). Every 8 hours or so, re-rinse them and drain the water. Continue doing this for a few days until you see sprouts peeking out.

 

Why do soaking and sprouting help reduce phytic acid in certain foods?

It is because being wet is a “sign” to leave their dormant (dry) state and start a new life.  Enzymes activated during soaking and sprouting deactivate phytic acid to use its energy and stored minerals for the plant as it begins to grow

Conclusion

Phytic acid has a bad rap as a mineral reducer. It’s found in nuts, seeds, grains, and legumes. Yes, it most definitely prevents absorption of critical minerals like iron, zinc, and calcium, if they’re in your gut at the same time.

Phytic acid in food can become a health concern if you are deficient in these minerals, or if your diet is largely based on nuts, seeds, grains, and legumes.

But, if you eat a varied diet, then phytic acid shouldn’t be as much of a concern. In fact, phytic acid does have some health benefits.

If you want to reduce it in your food, you can soak or sprout your nuts, seeds, grains, and legumes.

 

Recipe (soaked almonds): Almond Vanilla Latte Smoothie

Serves 1

¼ cup almonds, soaked overnight & rinsed

½ cup coconut milk

½ cup strong coffee, cold (or chai tea if you prefer)

½ banana, frozen

1 tsp vanilla extract

Add all ingredients to a blender and blend on high until almonds are smooth.

Add ice, if desired.

Serve & enjoy!

 

Tip: By using soaked almonds, they tend to blend up smoother than hard and crunchy dry almonds do.

 

Reading References

https://authoritynutrition.com/phytic-acid-101/

http://www.precisionnutrition.com/all-about-phytates-phytic-acid

https://authoritynutrition.com/how-to-reduce-antinutrients/

How to Improve Gut Health

Hippocrates said, “All disease begins in the gut.

And while this may not be 100% true for every disease in every person, more and more research shows that our gut (digestive system) has a bigger role in many diseases than we used to think. And we’re not just talking about heartburn, constipation, diarrhea, IBS, IBD, etc. We’re talking about all kinds of issues like allergies, pain, mood disorders, and nutrient deficiencies.

There are a lot of reasons for this. Our gut is the portal to the outside world. It’s here where we take in disease-causing bacteria, viruses, and parasites. We also take in nutrients (and toxins) through our gut. The nutrients we ingest and absorb are the building blocks of every single part of our body. We’re just learning the connections between our gut and other areas of our body, like our brain (have you heard of “the gut-brain axis”). Not just our gut per se; but, its friendly resident microbes too. These guys also have newly discovered roles in our gut health and overall health.

So, let’s talk about the roles that our gut and our gut microbes play in our overall health. Then I’ll give you tips to improve your gut health naturally.

Our gut’s role in our overall health

Our gut’s main role is as a barrier. To let things in that should get in, and to keep things out that should stay out. Think of “absorption” of nutrients as things we want to let in; and “elimination” of waste as things we want to pass right through and out.

 

This seemingly simple role is super-complex! And it can break down in so many places.

 

For one thing, our guts can “leak.” Yes, like a long tube with holes in it, it can allow things to get into our bloodstream/bodies that can wreak havoc (bacteria, undigested food, and toxins). You name it, whatever you put into your mouth can be absorbed by your gut and get into your bloodstream, even if it’s not supposed to. And when your gut wall gets irritated, it can “leak.” When this happens, you get inflammation, which is a starting point for many diseases that don’t seem linked to the gut but have a sneaky connection there.

 

FUN FACT: About 70% of our immune system lives in and around our gut.

 

A healthy gut is not a leaky gut. It maintains its barrier and shuttles things through to be eliminated. Maintaining a healthy gut barrier is the first pillar of gut health.

 

The second main part of your gut are the billions of friendly health-promoting microbes. Gut microbes help us digest and absorb nutrients. They fight off disease-causing microbes, make some vitamins for us, and have all kinds of other health benefits, like mental health benefits, reducing inflammation, and stabilizing blood sugar.

So, keeping your gut microbes happy is the second pillar of gut health

How to improve gut health

There are a lot of natural ways to improve gut health. Let’s start with what to stop. It’s always best to eliminate the cause, so let’s stop giving our guts junk to deal with. How about eliminating added sugars, processed foods, and alcohol? Try that for a few weeks, and you may be amazed at how much better your body (and gut) feels.

You may also want to eliminate other gut irritants. Dairy and grains contain common compounds known to irritate some people’s guts. Sometimes you only need to eliminate them for a few weeks to see if it makes a difference for your health.

By eating nutrient-dense foods, we allow ample macro- and micro-nutrients into our gut to maximize the chance for absorption. These nutrients help our bodies build and repair our gut, and every other body part as well. Some of the most nutrient-dense foods include dark leafy greens, colorful fruits and veggies, liver, and fish.

 

The second pillar of gut health is our microbes. By ingesting probiotic-rich foods and drinks, we can help to replenish our gut microbes. These are found in fermented foods like kombucha, kefir, miso, sauerkraut, and kimchi. Make these a part of your daily diet.

 

Whole foods are full of gut-friendly fiber. Not eating enough fiber increases the risk of heart disease, cancer, diabetes, and obesity. Fiber plays lots of roles in our gut, including whisking away some of those pesky bad bacteria and toxins so they can be eliminated. Fiber also helps to feed our friendly resident microbes that help us absorb and digest our food better. What foods have a lot of fiber? Fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds, and even cacao.

 

And don’t forget the uber-important lifestyle factors like getting enough sleep, stressing less, and getting the right amount (and intensity) of exercise for you. It’s easy to forget some of the simple, but key links there are between what we do with our bodies and how well they function.

Conclusion

The function of your gut is key to your overall health. There are two pillars of gut health: maintaining a good barrier and maintaining healthy gut microbes.

 

The main ways to improve both of these naturally is by eating nutrient-dense whole foods. Foods filled with nutrition, probiotics, and fiber. And eliminating common gut irritants like added sugar, processed foods, and alcohol.

 

Recipe (Probiotic-rich): Fermented Carrot

Serves 12

 

1 L warm water

4 tsp salt

4 carrots, medium, peeled, sliced

1 clove garlic, smashed (optional)
Instructions

Make a brine by dissolving the salt in water.

Place carrots into a clean canning jar, packing them in tight. Make sure to leave about 1 inch of head space at the top.

Fill the jar with brine, making sure to cover the carrots completely. Weigh the carrots down to make sure they don’t float (you can use a “fermenting weight”).

Close the jar and let it sit at room temperature for 1-4 days. The longer it sits, the more the flavor will develop. Feel free to open and taste.

Serve & enjoy!

Tip: Use this as a side dish, or even a snack.

 

References

https://authoritynutrition.com/does-all-disease-begin-in-the-gut/

http://www.precisionnutrition.com/all-about-nutrition-gut-health

http://neurotrition.ca/blog/your-gut-bugs-what-they-eat-and-7-ways-feed-them

Gold Medal Winner!

Psalm 27:14  Wait on the Lord; be strong, and let your heart take courage; wait for the Lord. (ESV)

OK, since I vowed to be completely transparent and honest, I will be the first to admit it.  I am one of “those” who are glued to the TV watching the DVR’s recordings of most of the Olympic events.  I would like to say that if you were anywhere around my home, you may often hear me up late at night hooting & hollering at the television screen. Honestly though,  I spend most of my time holding my breath and white knuckling it through events and I probably make no sounds at all. By the end of the 2 minute or less, I find myself COMPLETELY and UTTERLY exhausted and emotionally DRAINED from JUST WATCHING them.   And don’t get me started on the athletes who fall, stumble, or hit a roadblock of sorts in their event and then just proceed on  with complete faith and perseverance   I mean, let’s take the now infamous Samir Ait Said, the gymnast who BROKE his LEG IN HALF, for example.  Did you know this was the SECOND time he did this.  Yep, he broke the OTHER leg in almost the same fashion just before the London Olympic games.  Seriously, if that were me, the first time around you would have heard me say, “Check Please!”  I am done.  I am outta here.  No more of this.  But NO, he got better, trained harder, made it back to Rio. He has now vowed to be back again in 4 years! I guess that is what makes  them  all “Olympians” though right?  They are cut from a whole other piece of fabric than me.

But I have got to thinking, just because we are not it Rio and competing in events doesn’t mean we are not a champion of sorts ourselves.  Think about it.  You have probably had something traumatic happen to you (big or small), lost a job, or went through some really unfortunate circumstances and events that did not go as you thought planned.  What did you do?  That’s right,  you picked yourself up, dusted yourself off, and kept going with faith and determination because you knew there was no other option in order to turn things back around.

See there.  We are ALL CHAMPIONS in our own right.  As soon as I am done typing this, I am going to make a victory lap around my office and give myself a hug.  I know that I hold several gold medals, maybe a couple silver & bronze too!  You do too!  Go now and run your lap!  Maybe even treat yourself to a bouquet of victory flowers.  (Throwback since they are not doing that this year. :0 )

If you think you need a coach for support in your Olympic health journey, please feel free to contact me on my Facebook page or website!

#bealush