Why Does It Matter What We Eat?

Why does it matter, right? I mean we are all going to die someday, right? I hear this every time I visit my grandfather, but then again he always enlightens me on what he learned on that Food Network and what kind of salad he had this week... So, I feel like he knows better... Ha, I love you, Papaw!

I believe that all men are created equal, but all foods are not! Dr. Colbert says, some food should not be labeled "food" but rather "consumable product" or "edible, but void in nourishment." I say, Amen Brotha! There are two types of foods: Living & Dead foods!

LIVING FOODS:

Living foods are fruits, vegetables, grains, seeds, and nute- exist in a raw or close to raw state and packaged in divinely created wrappers called skins and peels. Living food looks in fact alive. Living foods are plucked, harvested, and squeezed- not processed, packaged, and put on a shelf.

DEAD FOODS:

Dead foods are everything that living foods are not. They have been altered and deconstructed in every way imaginable way to make them last as long as possible and be addictive as possible! So, in order to do this manufacturers have to add sugar and salt and man-made fat.

Let's talk about the sugar real quick... Ever had a large party? Do you typically buy filet mignon for your cookouts or hot dogs... That is what I thought! When we are feeding the masses, we buy the cheaper alternative; manufacturers do the same to you and me. They have such a large quota to fill, so they cut corners. When adding to sugar to processed food, they add the cheapest sugar- bleached, refined sugar.

Now, I said, they use salt as well! Well, most of us know that is to preserve our food andenhance the flavor. What's a matter with salt? Well, nothing! In fact, even though it is zero calories it is an electrolyte and brings balance in our bodies. However, if we take in too much, pressure starts building in the body! We take in too much salt, and then required to take in too much water to filter out the increase in salt. Recommended Daily Allowance of sodium is 2400 mg to 3000 mg! Next time you are eating out, check the sodium count on your favorite dishes! Be aware, you cannot afford not to!

What's man-made fat? It is man made by taking natural oils such as vegetable oil for example (again cheapest oils) and heating them to dangerously high temperatures so that the nutrients die and become reborn as something completely different- a deadly, sluggish substance that is toxic to our bodies.

What do we do about these living and dead foods? Life breeds life. Death breeds death. When you eat living foods, the enzymes in their pristine state interact with your digestive enzymes. The other natural ingredients God put in them- vitamins, minerals, phytonutrients, antioxidants, fiber, and more- flow into your system in their natural state. These living foods were created to cause your digestive system, bloodstream, and organs to function at optimum capacity.

Dead foods hit your body like a foreign intruder. Chemicals, including preservatives, foodadditives, and bleaching agents, place a strain on the liver. Toxic man-made fats begin to form in your cell membranes; they become stored as fat in your body and form plaque in your arteries. Your body does its best to harvest the tiny traces of from these dead foods, but in the end you are undernourished, overfed, and overweight.

Recipe: Stuffed Garden Tomatoes

     In the summer, I eat some sort of tomatoe-y something everyday! I l-o-v-e- love tomatoes! Did you know that tomatoes work as natural sunscreen when you consume them everyday! Pretty cool! I truly think that has something to do with why I never burn, and I have to be the sun for quite some time to get a minimal tan. So, I am a believer! Here's how you too can include more tomatoes!

Yields: 4 servings

Ingredients:

• 4 medium fresh tomatoes

• 1 medium carrot, coarsely chopped

• 8 radishes, coarsely chopped

• 2 green onions, thinly sliced

• 1 small cucumber, peeled, seeded, and coarsely chopped

• 1/2 cup of fresh or frozen peas

• 1 tablespoon fresh parsley, chopped

• 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano

• 2 garlic cloves minced

• 1/2 teaspoon, sea salt

• 4 tablespoon butter, divided

• 4 teaspoons Parmesan, grated

• 4 teaspoon seasoned dry bread crumbs*

• 1 teaspoon sugar

* Use stale bread for and crumble it or take a slice and toast it till stiff and crumble it.

Method Of Preparations:

1. Cut a think slice from top of each tomato... If you are trying to spruce up appetizers then cut in a zig-zag way like a pumpkin carving. Leave a 1/2 in.-thick shell, scoop out pulp and discard. Invert tomatoes onto paper towels to drain.... When you get good, you can do this with large cherry tomatoes!

2. Meanwhile, in a skillet, saute the carrot, radishes, green onions, cucumber, peas, parsley, oregano, garlic and salt in 2 tablespoons of butter until the veggies are tender... If you need more fat, add olive oil.

3. Stuff tomatoes and place in a greased shallow baking dish. Melt remaining butter; stir in the parmesan cheese, bread crumbs and sugar. Sprinkle over tomatoes. Bake, uncovered, at 400 degrees for 20 minutes or until crumbs are lightly browned.

    

     If you are anything like my family... My sister won't eat these... My dad will wrinkle his nose, but he isn't picky... He will woof it down. So, mom and I are really the only ones who will appreciate this! So, we may make this for ourselves occasionally, but there are left over ingredients. So, use the leftover parmesan for pizza or pasta with added oregano in the sauce. Do asian food night and top with green onions or mix into a salad. Also, add the carrots, radishes, parsley to your salad! How to avoid having leftover ingredients is my specialty! Get creative and get your stuffed tomatoes today!

No Reservations: The Movie

I find that as I am getting older, my decisions are even more pressing. I see the choices being made around me, the circumstances, and wonder what I would do if that was me?..... I am seeing what it will take to hit my life long dreams, and its like trying to get a sip out of a fire hydrant... instead it just smacks you in the face and takes your breath away! Since cooking is my thing, just like you have your thing, I find deeper meanings in what I do in a kitchen. I wish there was a recipe for life... you know 8 cups of money is equal to 7 cups of work + 2 Tbsp. of good attitude + 2 Tbsp. of perseverance and so on...

What I appreciated so much about this movie (besides the food) was that the recipes we just throw together, tend to be the best ones! Not always, just like how we don't always make the right choices. What I do know to be true is that our choices say far more about us than our abilities. Also, we can make reservations to our favorite restaurants, and we can schedule till we are blue in the face (preaching to myself too) but life has no reservations! So, don't let relationships or situations keep you down if they don't go as planned (in your head), it wasn't like you ever had reservations to begin with!

"NO RESERVATIONS" Movie Trailer

Time Magazine: Inflammation Part 8 of 8

Asthma Without Allergies? 

One of the most intriguing questions in immunology today is why everyone doesn't suffer from asthma. After all, the air we breathe is full of germs, viruses and other irritants. Since half of the 17 million Americans with asthma are hypersensitive to common substances like cat dander or pollen, it stands to reason that their allergic reactions trigger the chronic inflammation in their bodies. Yet the people who develop asthma as adults — one of the most rapidly growing segments of the population — often don't have allergies. Doctors still don't know what's driving their disease, but the signs of inflammation are every bit as present in their lungs.

Many treatments for asthma are designed to control inflammation, although they still don't cure the disease. "It may mean that the inflammatory hypothesis is not entirely correct or the drugs that we use to treat inflammation aren't fully potent," says Dr. Stephen Wasserman, an allergist at the University of California at San Diego. "There are a lot of gaps to fill in."

Everywhere they turn, doctors are finding evidence that inflammation plays a larger role in chronic diseases than they thought. But that doesn't necessarily mean they know what to do about it. "We're in a quandary right now," says Dr. Gailen Marshall, an immunologist at the University of Texas Medical School at Houston. "We're advancing the idea to heighten awareness. But we really can't recommend specific treatments yet."

That may soon change. Researchers are looking beyond aspirin and other multipurpose medications to experimental drugs that block inflammation more precisely. Any day now, Genentech is expecting a decision from the FDA on its colon-cancer drug, Avastin, which targets one of the growth factors released by the body as inflammation gives way to healing. Millennium Pharmaceuticals is testing a different kind of drug, called Velcade, which has already been approved for treating multiple myeloma, against lung cancer and other malignancies. But there is a sense that much more basic research into the nature of inflammation needs to be done before scientists understand how best to limit the damage in chronic diseases.

In the meantime, there are things we all can do to dampen our inflammatory fires. Some of the advice may sound terribly familiar, but we have fresh reasons to follow through. Losing weight induces those fat cells — remember them? — to produce fewer cytokines. So does regular exercise, 30 minutes a day most days of the week. Flossing your teeth combats gum disease, another source of chronic inflammation. Fruits, vegetables and fish are full of substances that disable free radicals.

Apply What We Learned:

So, how do we avoid all the inflammation that we have learned about that causes such long-term damage to our bodies... capitalize on the natural things we can do everyday to maximize our health and increase the quality of our years here on Earth! What helps us do that? Look for items in the grocery store that advertise ' RICH IN ANT-OXIDANTS'! From there, flip over the package, If the ingredients do not read that the top 3 ingredients is where the anti-oxidants come from, it is not worth the buy. If you already experiencing some of the disease and inflammation already, take advantage of Sonoran Bloom Nopalea! This is going to flush the toxins from the body naturally and quickly! I challenge you to try it! If you see no results or are not 100% impressed then get your money back! Give yourself the chance to feel better and be better!

Time Magazine: Inflammation Part 7 of 8

When the Body Attacks Itself 

No doctors have more experience treating chronic inflammation than the physicians who specialize in rheumatoid arthritis, multiple sclerosis, lupus and other autoimmune disorders. For decades these diseases have provided the clearest example of a body at war with itself. But the spark that fuels their internal destruction doesn't come from excess cholesterol deposits or a stubborn bacterial infection. Instead, in a bizarre twist of fate, the body's supersophisticated, learned immunological defenses mistakenly direct an inflammatory attack against healthy cells in such places as the joints, nerves and connective tissue.

Over the past few years, powerful drugs like Remicade and Enbrel, which target specific inflammatory cytokines, have worked wonders against rheumatoid arthritis and other autoimmune disorders. But as often happens in medicine, the drugs have also created some problems. Patients who take Remicade, for example, are slightly more likely to develop tuberculosis; the same inflammatory cytokines that attacked their joints, it seems, also protected them against TB.

Inflammation may be more of a problem in the earlier stages of autoimmune diseases like multiple sclerosis. So much tissue is eventually destroyed that nerve damage becomes permanent. "Your initial goal is to keep the immune response in check, but then you have to ask how you encourage regrowth of damaged tissue," says Dr. Stephen Reingold, vice president for research programs at the National Multiple Sclerosis Society. It could take decades to figure that one out.

Time Magazine: Inflammation Part 6 of 8

Asprin for Alzheimer's Disease? 

When doctors treating Alzheimer's patients took a closer look at who seemed to be succumbing to the disease, they uncovered a tantalizing clue: those who were already taking anti-inflammatory drugs for arthritis or heart disease tended to develop the disorder later than those who weren't. Perhaps the immune system mistakenly saw the characteristic plaques and tangles that build up in the brains of Alzheimer's patients as damaged tissue that needed to be cleared out. If so, the ensuing inflammatory reaction was doing more harm than good. Blocking it with anti-inflammatories might limit, or at least delay, any damage to cognitive functions.

The most likely culprits this time around are the glial cells, whose job is to nourish and communicate with the neurons. Researchers have discovered that glial cells can also act a lot like the mast cells of the skin, producIt appears that some people are more sensitive to plaques and tangles than others. Perhaps they have a genetic predisposition. Or perhaps a long-running bacterial infection, like gum disease, keeps the internal fires burning and tips the balance toward chronic inflammation.

Preliminary research suggests that low-dose aspirin and fish-oil capsules — both of which are known to reduce inflammatory cytokines — seem to reduce a person's risk of Alzheimer's disease. Unfortunately, most of these preventive measures need to be started well before any neurological problems develop. "What we've learned with dementia is that it's very hard to improve people who already have it," says Dr. Ernst Schaefer, a professor of medicine and nutrition at Tuft's Friedman School of Nutrition in Boston. "But it may be possible to stabilize people and to prevent disease."

Inflammatory cytokines that call additional immune cells into action. "The glial cells are trying to return the brain to a normal state," explains Linda Van Eldik, a neurobiologist at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine in Chicago. "But for some reason, in neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer's, the process seems to be out of control. You get chronic glial activation, which results in an inflammatory state.

Time Magazine: Inflammation Part 5 of 8

Cancer: The Wound That Never Heals 

Back in the 1860s, renowned pathologist Rudolf Virchow speculated that cancerous tumors arise at the site of chronic inflammation. A century later, oncologists paid more attention to the role that various genetic mutations play in promoting abnormal growths that eventually become malignant. Now researchers are exploring the possibility that mutation and inflammation are mutually reinforcing processes that, left unchecked, can transform normal cells into potentially deadly tumors.

How might that happen? One of the most potent weapons produced by macrophages and other inflammatory cells are the so-called oxygen free radicals. These highly reactive molecules destroy just about anything that crosses their path — particularly DNA. A glancing blow that damages but doesn't destroy a cell could lead to a genetic mutation that allows it to keep on growing and dividing. The abnormal growth is still not a tumor, says Lisa Coussens, a cancer biologist at the Comprehensive Cancer Center at the University of California, San Francisco. But to the immune system, it looks very much like a wound that needs to be fixed. "When immune cells get called in, they bring growth factors and a whole slew of proteins that call other inflammatory cells," Coussens explains. "Those things come in and go 'heal, heal, heal.' But instead of healing, you're 'feeding, feeding, feeding.'"

Sometimes the reason for the initial inflammatory cycle is obvious — as with chronic heartburn, which continually bathes the lining of the esophagus with stomach acid, predisposing a person to esophageal cancer. Other times, it's less clear. Scientists are exploring the role of an enzyme called cyclo-oxygenase 2 (COX-2) in the development of colon cancer. COX-2 is yet another protein produced by the body during inflammation.

Over the past few years, researchers have shown that folks who take daily doses of aspirin — which is known to block COX2 — are less likely to develop precancerous growths called polyps. The problem with aspirin, however, is that it can also cause internal bleeding. Then in 2000, researchers showed that Celebrex, another COX-2 inhibitor that is less likely than aspirin to cause bleeding, also reduces the number of polyps in the large intestine.

So, should you be taking Celebrex to prevent colon cancer? It's still too early to say. Clearly COX-2 is one of the factors in colon cancer. "But I don't think it's the exclusive answer," says Ray DuBois, director of cancer prevention at the Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center in Nashville, Tenn. "There are a lot of other components that need to be explored."