It’s time to talk about food and common sense again. Well, I am not sure how much I will actually talk about common sense but that’s what I want to call it. So buck up! Gear up! Get ready to pay attention!

What’s the point of writing about food? What’s the point about caring about what we eat? 

Some people say “we are all going to die anyway” (which I agree, of course) and others say “let’s not make too big a deal with what we eat” or “it doesn’t really matter”… all to which I say fooey! And I rarely say fooey… so there!

You are not going to spend one day more than what God has appointed for you on this earth. Also, you are free to eat what you want and have the consequences of those actions.

The purpose of this site, EAT TODAY TO LIVE TOMORROW, is to join in with me and you on the journey to make wise decisions with the food that we eat so that we can better fulfill the purpose of life, and that is namely to glorify God. I believe God will give each person the strength and resources they need to accomplish His will in their lives.

So when a person has understanding about eating correctly… or eating wisely (a better description), then that is a gift from God. Not everyone’s eyes will be opened to the benefits or even the desire to eat wisely. That is fine. But wisdom is worth pursuing… in all areas of life whether it is finances, food, family, friends, or faith. f f f f and f.

Eating wisely also has practical everyday benefits for which people do not normally connect the dots. Like being able to enjoy each day better because your body has the energy for the day, it has the strength for the day,  it is able to meet physical demands, it is not inhibited from doing things because of unhealthy weight issues, it doesn’t have a sore throat, it is free from headaches, it doesn’t have stomach aches, it doesn’t have toxic metals and chemicals, it doesn’t have cancer ravaging it, it isn’t overwhelmed trying to prevent diseases from taking over, and on and on.

God has created the body with the ability to continually fight off disease and infection. If the body is strong it has the ability to do its job, but if the body is weak then the disease and infection take over. Most people fail to realize that they are all infected with something. It’s like when you go to a different country and they say “don’t eat the street food”… all the while the locals eat the street food and are fine. The reason is because the foreigner (typically U.S. traveller does not have enough healthy bacteria to keep the ’scavenger’ bacteria at bay, while the locals do.

Many times there are people who are ‘carriers’ of germs and microbes who do not get sick. We all have pounds of bacteria in us. There are ’scavenger’ bacteria that feed on decay or harmful substances just like flies on… yeah. If you don’t “clean house” then you are just swatting at flies but the poop is still there. Get it? The people who do not get sick from such bad bacteria have a “clean house” (or prepared defenses) and their body is able to quickly deal with threats that come to the body and eliminate them.

So we are all infected and the body is continually working to maintain a state of stability and equilibrium (homeostasis if you will). The body works to prevent free radical damage from oxidation with anti-oxidants… yes we have all heard that word. 

So there is a wisdom in the choices that you make with what you put in your body. AND it takes reading and learning what is good and what is not. So for example, which of the ingredient lists will be the wiser choice for helping bring stability to your body:

A. Frosted Devil’s Food Donuts: Sugar, Partially Hydrogenated Vegetable Shortening (Soybean, Cottonseed), Water, Unbleached Enriched Wheat Flour [Flour, Malted Barley Flour, Reduced Iron, Niacin, Thiamin Mononitrate (B1), Riboflavin (B2), Folic Acid], Cocoa (Processed with Alkali), Egg Yolks, Natural & Artificial Flavors, Leavening (Baking Soda, Sodium Acid Pyrophosphate, Sodium Aluminum Phosphate), Glycerine, High Fructose Corn Syrup, Salt, Dextrose, Corn Syrup, Wheat Starch, Soy Flour, Nonfat Milk, Modified Food Starch (Corn, Tapioca), Soy Lecithin, Sorbitan Monostearate, Mono- and Diglycerides, Polysorbate 60, Potassium Sorbate (Preservative), Guar Gum, Cellulose Gum, Karaya Gum, Xanthan Gum, Tapioca Dextrin, Calcium Carbonate, Calcium Sulfate, Agar, Carob Bean Gum, Sodium Phosphate, Caramel Color.

B. Blueberries (or pick any berry that you like)

I am not even going to tell you that B is the correct answer! Oh. Well. If you don’t want to take the time to learn, then a quick way to go about it is to not buy or eat it if you don’t know what it is or what is in it! That should help you a ton! Most likely you will be staying away from packaged and processed foods because they have plenty of things which you have no idea what they are… and for good reason.

I do not mean to come across too harsh by any means. I grew up eating lots of typical American fare. Heck, after band practice when I was a teenager we used to go to Krispy Kreme Doughnuts and down a dozen. I had a major sweet tooth growing up… I know all about Entenmanns and Chips Ahoy and Oreo and little elf dude. BUT that was when I was a child, when I was uninformed, ignorant, stupid, and unhealthy. So were my parents. Most people are. BUT now I have more understanding. (There are much better ways to aid your sweet tooth: it’s called make it from scratch, at home, with good ingredients)

Too my knowledge I have never had a serious illness or disease (as I said we never know what may be in our bodies). My mom did though and passed away from it. That is one of the things that awakened me to the choices I make with my body… and that awakening is a gift from God. Maybe this will be your gift.

After changing my diet over 4 1/2 years ago so many things have changed. It is strange because on the outside, by all appearances, not much has changed at all, but on the inside I feel different and I am different. It is in the little things. I used to always be able to predict when I would get sick and I did about 4-6 times a year no matter what I did. Now I rarely do and if I do, I know how to make it easy for my body to get over it. Also, my digestion is way better.

Digestion is a good indicator of overall health (your gut is a good indicator). It doesn’t entirely matter if you never get sick or if you are “regular”… it matters how the process takes place. Are you able to assimilate (use or integrate) the food you eat? Are you getting value from it? Do you not get sick because your immune system is so weak that you do not show any symptoms when infected? Things are not always as they seem.

Things take time for most of us though. Years of ‘garbage in’ may produce ‘garbage out’ for some time to come. However eating today to live tomorrow will help with the process as you will put ‘good in’ and get ‘good out’… that is, you will reap what you sow.

So don’t ‘live to eat’… but eat today to live tomorrow and eat wisely with good food. “Every good thing given and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shifting shadow.” (James 1:17)

Yes it takes time, money, and work, because fake and processed food is more convenient, cheaper, and readily available. Real food costs more than fake food and takes time to prepare (as it always has for thousands of years). I guess to sum it all up: When it comes to food most people have sacrificed understanding and health for ignorance and convenience.

Fast food is out, slow food is in. 

Feel free to email me if you have any questions or would like to chat. Tim (at) ettlt.com

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Food and Common Sense (numero uno, the first, volume 1, in the beginning)

A new study by the US Geological Survey had some sad findings that I wanted to highlight.

-In the past 15 years, mercury levels in the Northern Pacific have increased 30% and are expected to rise another 50% by 2050.

-about 40% of all mercury exposure in the U.S. comes from eating contaminated Tuna from the Pacific, and roughly 75% of all exposure to mercury comes from eating fish. That’s a wowzer.

You can read the article here.

There are still some safe choices for wild fish… even in the pacific. Wild Alaskan Salmon is still the safest choice for salmon. Also, look for smaller fish that do not have as high levels of contamination. The larger fish such as Tuna, King Mackerel, Swordfish and other large fish are much worse than fish such as salmon, sardines, and herring.

Let’s talk about green beans. I am a huge fan of green beans… especially Italian style. Almost every time I go to visit my grandma she makes green beans cause she knows how much I like them. She knows I like them with some extra virgin olive oil, sauteed garlic, and tomatoes and then cooked down till tender.

Unfortunately most people’s experience with green beans is having a can of them dumped into a pot with pieces of bacon… blah. Canned green beans are just blah.

If you don’t know how good green beans are then let me help you get acquainted with them. Green beans are chocked full of vitamins, minerals, and goodies like: vitamin K, vitamin C, vitamin A, vitamin B1, vitamin B2, vitamin B3, manganese, magnesium, potassium, folate, iron, calcium, copper, phosphorus, tryptophan, protein, dietary fiber, and omega-3 fatty acids!

Wow. What a vegetable… I mean bean. Green beans are in the same family as shell beans but unlike them you can eat the whole thing (pod and bean) and eat them raw. I especially like this about green beans… they just seem so fresh. I mean… if you eat other beans raw you can get some nice/terrible stomach cramps… but oh no not with Mr. Green Bean. I especially like french green beans (haricot verts). 

Oh the days of cleaning and picking off the stems of green beans for my mom or grandma. Nostalgia. Sigh.

The study from Germany was published in The Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry. You can read the  write up at Nutraingredients.com.

And in case you didn’t know non-alcoholic fatty liver disease leads to insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes. Check out this article. Diets high in fructose (especially with refined forms like high-fructose corn syrup) lead to fatty liver disease. Being that about 80 percent of things in the typical grocery store use high-fructose corn syrup… well that should simplify your grocery shopping!

The problem with a study like this is that they do not take to account the quality of red meat in the study. As can be clearly seen, the benefits of red meat from grass-fed cows, lamb, and bison, are far superior to that of conventionally raised animals. Judging from the nitrates and nitrites in processed meats, combined with poor nutrition, it is pretty easily surmised that red meat would pose greater risks. BUT, it also has the potential for greater reward.

The levels of omega-3’s and CLA simply are not there when you study the typical meat that the typical person gets at the typical grocery. Ironic that a product of our advanced times is having nutritionally inferior food.

For some examples of people who are doing it right and doing it well (in their respective areas), check out:

www.organicpastures.com

www.gourmentpasturebeef.com

God knew what He was doing when He made cows to graze on grass.

Being that most men will develop prostate cancer in their lifetime… this is pertinent to… well, most men. Having appropriate levels of vitamin D is an important thing you can do in fighting or preventing many different cancers.

The best way to obtain vitamin D is through sunlight. By getting plenty of sunlight you can get your vitamin D without overdosing and creating vitamin D toxicity (easily done by taking too many pills).  If you are unable to get enough sunlight, then taking a vitamin D3 supplement makes sense… it is just hard to know your blood levels of vitamin D unless you get tested… so it is much more advisable to spend time in the sun.

And no, you do not need to worry about getting skin cancer from the sun. In fact you are more likely to get it by avoiding the sun and using toxic sunscreens on your skin. That doesn’t mean you should go outside and fry yourself candy apple red, but it does mean you should gradually increase your sun exposure till you can regularly be in the sun without worrying of getting burnt. In fact, chances of melanoma decrease with greater sun exposure.

Related Articles:

Fun In The Sun

So many people look to one thing… that is, they look to one pill, one area of nutrition, one doctor, and think they can have a miracle cure or weightloss. While results may vary they are not the kind of results that satisfy. Living healthy and being healthy is a lifestyle. It is the way you eat, the foods you eat, the exercise you get, the faith you have, the thoughts you think, and the relationships that you foster.

It takes time to put changes in place, but you can do it one step at a time. I know how overwhelming it can be to change so many things in your eating habits. Just start somewhere and each day or week or month add something new. So maybe you start increasing the amount of vegetables that you eat and the quality (local and/or organic)… and then you change where you buy your dairy from… and then what grains you buy and how you prepare them… and then where you buy your meat from… and then the products that you put on your skin… and then on and on… you grow.

Where To Find? Where to Find?

It can be frustrating when looking for many food items which you are not used to consuming. Especially since the typical grocery store has so many processed items in it. The internet can be a very valuable tool in connecting with other people who can provide high quality food. Also stores like Whole Foods Market, Wild Oats (which was bought by Whole Foods), and Trader Joes focus on Natural and Organic Foods. In addition, many other national grocers have small natural food sections and carry some organic produce. One of the best sources is to find a local farmers market and/or contact local farmers. Buying locally is good for the local economy and enables you to get fresher foods.  (I am not against importing by any means either… it is nice to be able to get a wide variety of foods internationally as well).

So if you are looking for something like buckwheat flour, most likely you will not find it at a typical grocery store. You have a good chance of finding it freshly ground at a farmers market, and you most definitely will find it at a store like Whole Foods… which you hope it is not too old

I Don’t Know What To Do or Make With This Food!

What? Are you kidding me? The options are not that limited! There are a gazillion things you can do with all of the food items mentioned in this series. You should be creative and test all sorts of things. Something I frequently do is take random recipes and substitute almost all the ingredients in them for better (or the same but higher quality) ingredients and create something new but similar.

So one day you should make:

Breakfast:

Buckwheat pancakes (you can mix buckwheat flour with spelt or whole wheat)
Blueberries
Real Maple Syrup or Honey

Lunch:

Mexican Quinoa
Fruit

Dinner:

Wild Caught Alaskan (or Pacific) Salmon
Green Beans (fresh)
Faux potatos (cauliflower mashed potatos)
Salad (Use all different types of lettuces - romaine, green leaf, red leaf, arugola, spinach, endive, etc)

What Now?

Well, I hope that this series has helped you get an idea of the foods that you can learn about and change in your diet especially if you are looking to lose weight, but also for healthy living in general. I also hope that these foods have given you ideas for incorporating them together and creating simple dishes and meals that you can be thankful for. Fast food is out, slow food is in. Dig it.

If you have any questions feel free to contact me: tim (at) ettlt.com.

Foods For Weight Loss - Part 1
Foods For Weight Loss - Part 2
Foods For Weight Loss - Part 3
Foods For Weight Loss - Part 4
Foods For Weight Loss - Part 5

Water Helps

So first let’s talk about water. Most people have heard of the vital importance of water to our bodies. Our bodies are mostly water. Yeah, strange, I know… but we are 60-90% water… I like a wide range cause everyone is different, and some people are really dry. That was joke.

Water is the medium for so many different processes in the body. It helps to digest, breakdown, and excrete our food. It helps dissolve and distribute vitamins and minerals through the blood. It helps to remove toxins. It helps to regulate body temperature. It helps, it helps, it helps. Get the picture?

So is water, water? Are all waters the same? First of all, the water in our bodies is very different in that it contains all sorts of proteins and like I mentioned it carries vitamins, minerals, and even toxins. 

Problems? Who’s Got Problems?

Water that you drink may have all sorts of stuff in it. It may have chemicals leftover from your local wastewater treatment plant (have you visited one of those?). After all, there are regulations requiring water to be at a certain pH. So how about they just throw some stuff to change the pH, like lye… no one is gonna get hurt by that… not like in this article. Oh yeah, and to disinfect let’s use toxic chlorine… which while a lot of it may evaporate it will also form cancerous compounds called chloramines which will not.

So I guess you can already tell that I highly recommend that you filter your water. I have written about it in previous posts (like here and here) and in doing further research since then I am even more convinced that you should filter your water. I have also studied some of the so called science against filtering your water. That is, the scientists who call it pseudoscience to drink filtered water. They clearly haven’t been to a third world country. 

Just because Americans are not infected by dangerous bacteria that we know about in a rapid manner does not mean that we are not taking in toxic substances in our water that accumulate and/or cause chronic illness or illness that presents itself later in life. Common sense.

What To Look For, What To Look For…

Before moving on, I will tell you what I believe to be the best water. 

1. Water that is clean, natural, and unadulterated as God intended.

2. Water that has a neutral pH or is slightly alkaline (def on the alkaline side as opposed to acidic).

3. Water that preferably has an anti-oxidant effect on the body.

4. Water that is preferably ‘wetter’… that is, has a lower surface tension (it’s a better solvent).

By having lower surface tension, and by being a better solvent (being able to dissolve things easier), water is not only better able to help the body assimilate and transfer nutrients it is also better able to remove toxins.

Water as an anti-oxidant? When studying water, you may hear a lot about ORP or Oxidation Reduction Potential… basically it’s ability to act like an anti-oxidant and reduce oxidative stress on the body. Most water you drink does not have this ability and it has an oxidizing effect in your body (think about all those blueberries you eat because they are high in anti-oxidants… this has the opposite effect). That is why so many people buy something like an ionizer as it creates water that has this anti-oxidant potential by using electricity. I think this is one of the areas where you can cheat on when looking for water, especially if you are getting good water otherwise (judging from the points mentioned).

So What Can/Shoulda/Coulda I Do?

Judging from these things it would be best to get your water from a clean mountain stream… which for many is not an option. So many people while understanding the importance of clean water look to all sorts of filters, gadgets, and devices. Stuff like reverse osmosis filters (I have had), distilled water (had), carbon filtered (had), ionizers (studied), natural substances to add to water (studied), and any combination of the above.

Reverse osmosis filters out everything. It is basically sterile water, which I do not think to be beneficial, especially over long term (it may be fine for short term cleansing and it tastes clean). In nature as God made it, there are many trace minerals in water that are excellent for the body and that make the water alkaline. Just like certain foods (mostly vegetables) can have an alkalizing effect on the body despite being digested in acid (we are not talking strictly about acid) so water can have the same effect by the minerals it provides.

So right away you can see it would be best to have a filter that after filtering out any impurities would also add back some minerals to be closer to or more like water found in nature as well as have an alkaline pH. So that rules out reverse osmosis water (long term) and distilled water. Even though these are clean waters they are acidic and have no trace minerals or electrolytes.

What about ionizers? While I think that ionizers can be a benefit to those who are sick, I think that they are unnecessary for most people. Many ionizers even add chemicals or substances to help them obtain the pH and water properties that they obtain. For the price there are much better options.

Simple carbon filters are a decent option but they usually do not add minerals back in, which leaves the water with an acid pH, and they usually do not make the water ‘wetter’ (do not lower surface tension), and they typically do not create water that has an anti-oxidant effect on the body.

After all of this further study, I like the Wellness Filter even more. The wellness filter not only has a regular carbon filter, but it also re-introduces minerals back into the water after filtering (creating an alkaline water), it introduces negative ions which help to get the water acting like an antioxidant (negative ORP), and it also gives a water that is noticeably ‘wetter’ (has a lower surface tension). I like how they have several options (from expensive whole house filters to pitchers) and even though some are built better than others they all have much better than average filtration. Of course if you never change your filters it is harder to notice. I can tell the difference between tap and even a really old filter (yeah, I know I forget sometimes). When I change the filter I usually can notice a marked difference in the water.

Common Sense… Come On Sense

Taste your water. Filtered water just tastes better. When I moved to Nashville, I couldn’t stand the taste of the tap water… it tastes like chorine. If nothing else do it for the taste! Food that you make from filter water tastes way better, tea tastes better, coffee tastes better, and on and on. Also, some of the obvious common sense things you can do and experiment with are watering plants with different waters and seeing how they respond. 

All water is not equal. Electricity affects it, magnetism affects it, and non-ionizing radiation definitely affects it (ie microwaving your water) and can buildup tremendous energy in water. We receive plenty enough electromagnetic radiation from computers and cell phones, who wants it affecting our food and water?

So What About Weight Loss?

This part 5 is no different than all the others in that, these are foods and water that help get the body in a state of equilibrium. They help you lose weight effectively if you are trying to lose weight. If you are not trying to lose weight they help you maintain your health. These are things that everyone should be doing anyway. Due to our ignorant society (I know I grew up completely ignorant about what I put in my mouth), it seems rather strange to many people and also makes it more difficult… no one said it would be easy… but it is definitely worth it.

If you are looking to lose weight, the better your water the better you will be able to shed pounds especially if you have years of fake food in your body’s stored fat (your arms, thighs, breasts, belly, butt, etc) (ie. you have drank or still drink diet sodas, and eat things like artificial sugars, flavors, colors, and trans-fats).

Wow

Wow, that was long. I hope you were able to stick with all of that. I will wrap all of this up next week and add any additional info as well as some grocery shopping ideas and menu ideas based on this series.

If you have any questions or something you would like to discuss, feel free to email me: tim_at_ettlt.com

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Foods For Weight Loss - Part 1
Foods For Weight Loss - Part 2
Foods For Weight Loss - Part 3
Foods For Weight Loss - Part 4
Foods For Weight Loss - Part 6

Meat is the best source of omega-3 fatty acids. Now wait wait… I am sure you are thinking “No, Tim, flaxseeds and walnuts are better sources”. Actually plant and nut sources contain omega-3’s in the form of alpa linoleic acid or ALA which then must be converted in the body to EPA and DHA. The conversion rate is not that great mind you… I have seen numbers all over the board from 1% to 35%… either way the omega-3’s found in fish are not only in high amounts but are also more readily available to the body as EPA and DHA.

Most people have an aversion to eating meat often and say “everything in moderation”. While it is true that we need to have things in balance in life and with moderation (everything can be overdone), with healthy meat this saying makes it seem as unhealthy. In fact, most people would be healthier if they had meat everyday and more than once a day… it all depends on the meat and the quality… which most people cannot get at the grocery anymore.

Overall the best foods are vegetables and animals that eat vegetables and fish. Having access to meat from grass-fed animals (cows, bison, lamb, chickens, turkey, etc) and wild caught fish will do wonders for the health of the body. Meat from grass-fed animals has over four times the amount of Vitamin E, two to four times more omega-3’s, and three to five times more CLA (conjugated linoleic acid) than meat from modern day grain-fed diets. Remember the discussion in Part 1 about CLA and omega-3’s? Good. All products from animals that are grass-fed are better for it… eggs, cheese, milk, butter, and meat.

There are numerous examples of people and farms that are going back to traditional methods and raising grass-fed animals. At the end of the series I will provide some examples of where you can get each type of food in the series (if you have trouble). One example that I would like to note for those in the Nashville area is: www.gourmetpasturebeef.com. There are places like this all over the country now. One key thing to look for is to make sure that the meat is truly grass-fed and “grass-finished”. Some farms say grass-fed as a marketing tool but they finish (prepare for butchering) with grain and it is the “finishing” period that is among the most important for the quality of meat.

Eating high quality grass-fed meats and fish will provide excellent nutrition as well as tremendous weight loss potential as they are packed with CLA, omega-3’s, and equally important, they will not cause massive insulin swings and raise your blood sugar and thereby cause weight gain that way.

Look for:

–Grass-fed (and grass-finished) Beef, Bison, Lamb, Goat, Dairy (raw)

–Pastured Chicken & Turkey (not just “free-range”, pastured chicked will eat grass, bugs which eat grass, and also be given some grain). Eggs from cage free hens are much better (these are an easy find in most groceries now, although eggs from pastured chicken and turkey will be better).

–Wild Caught Fish (preferably Pacific side and smaller fish because they have less mercury contamination) Examples are Wild Caught Alaskan Salmon, Wild Caught Sardines, Herring, some Halibut.  

Avoid:

–Pork, Ostrich, and I don’t have to say cat, dog, and all that stuff do i?

–Shellfish, Shrimp, Catfish, Shark, Lobster

Stay tuned… next week we are going to talk about water. And you thought water was water.

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Foods For Weight Loss - Part 1
Foods For Weight Loss - Part 2
Foods For Weight Loss - Part 3
Foods For Weight Loss - Part 5
Foods For Weight Loss - Part 6