Last month I promised an article about two other “pioneers” of nutrition – Sylvester Graham and John Harvey Kellogg – yes the “graham” cracker and the cereal company. To be honest, I’ve been crazy busy with other stuff, so I didn’t get around to writing the article. So, I’ll do the next best thing. Here are excerpts from two articles from the Weston Price Foundation.
“The American Vegetarian Society was founded in 1850 by Sylvester Graham (1794-1851), an early advocate of dietary reform in United States and the inventor of Graham bread, made from chemical-free unsifted flour. Highly influential, Graham promoted vegetarianism and a high-fiber diet as a cure for alcoholism and lust. Graham preached that an unhealthy diet (one containing the confounding variables of meat and white flour) stimulated excessive sexual desire, which irritated the body and caused disease.
John Harvey Kellogg (1852-1943) followed in Graham’s footsteps. Inventor of corn flakes and a process for making peanut butter, Kellogg advocated a high-fiber vegetarian diet to combat the twin evils of constipation and “natural urges.” Kellogg preached against sexual activity even in marriage.”
To read the full article go to: http://www.westonaprice.org/Twenty-Two-Reasons-Not-to-Go-Vegetarian.html.
“Brown and Presley also cover what I call the birth control diet. Reverend Sylvester Graham was a preacher in the 1800s who had a thing against sex. He figured out that a vegetarian, grain-based diet reduced sex drive. He and Dr. John Harvey Kellogg (also against sex) were instrumental in promoting the base of today’s government approved food pyramid.”
For the full article: http://www.westonaprice.org/The-Liberation-Diet-by-Kevin-Brown.html.
Enough said!
Sunday, February 28, 2010
Thursday, February 11, 2010
Are You Weight Loss Resistant?
Ever notice what happens at the beginning of the year? The New Year’s resolution. This is the year you vow to get healthier, to lose those extra pounds, and to keep them off. The health clubs are jammed with others making the same resolution. There are lines of people waiting to use the stepping machines and the exercise bikes. But, within a few short weeks the crowds disappear and there are no more lines.
Why does this happen? You’ve cut back on the alcohol, are eating salads for lunch, skipping a meal here and there, and are working out hard at the gym. Yet the pounds are not flying off. This is not uncommon as over 95% of all diets end in disappointment. However, don’t be discouraged. If you read on you’ll learn how you can get lasting results.
We are told the formula is simple – less food plus more exercise equals less weight. Truth be told, the formula is much more complex. You may be what is termed by leading nutritionists as “weight loss resistant.” What does this mean? Put simply it means having difficulty or an inability to lose weight. There are several factors that contribute to this and here’s how:
•Chronic stress – raises cortisol which breaks down muscle, puts sugar in the blood stream, and promotes fat storage which increases the likelihood of insulin resistance; and lowers DHEA (an anti-aging, libido stimulating, and fat burning hormone).
•Insulin resistance – blocks the burning of fat, causes fat storage around the abdomen, and causes inflammation.
•Hormone imbalances – imbalances of estrogen and progesterone in women promote fat storing; low DHEA and testosterone in men and women reduce the ability to burn fat and build muscle; high estrogen in men promotes fat storage; and high progesterone in women promotes insulin resistance.
•Hypothyroidism – muscle building is slowed, metabolism is slowed, sex hormones are not produced sufficiently and are out of balance, and general low energy and fatigue.
•Brain chemical imbalance - neurotransmitter imbalances cause cravings and inappropriate eating behaviors.
•Chronic sleep deprivation – increases cortisol, creates sugar cravings, lowers thyroid function, lowers energy, and increases appetite.
•Low Fat Free Mass – a low muscle mass to fat mass ratio keeps metabolism slow (this is often a result from chronic dieting).
•Food allergies – can cause cellular fluid retention or “false fat” and create cravings for these foods.
•Gut dysbiosis and yeast overgrowth – healthy bacteria is an important part of digestion as they consume calories, otherwise an increase of fat storage.
•Toxic burden – disrupts pH balance in gut, blood, and tissues; slows metabolic rate; disrupts absorption of minerals; disrupts hormone receptor sites creating imbalances; and lowers thyroid function (hypothyroidism).
Most programs just measure pounds lost and are successful in that realm. However, that is only part of the picture. Soon after the program is completed the weight begins to come back on. The reason – the underlying behaviors and lifestyle have not changed. With the metabolism slowed from dieting and a return to prior habits, the pounds quickly come back on.
The best program for long term health and vitality will be one that addresses your individual needs. Working with a qualified nutrition consultant you can determine your areas of weight loss resistance and develop a plan to address them. As these areas are brought back into balance your metabolism will improve, enabling you to lose weight in a healthy manner. It may take some time to get the body back on track. The body has built-in healing mechanisms and with proper nutrition and healthy behaviors the body will heal. As the body heals you will lose fat and weight.
Bernard Rosen, PhD is a Nutrition Consultant and Educator. He works with individuals, groups, and at corporations to create individualized nutrition and wellness programs. His office is in Thiensville, WI. To learn more or to schedule an appointment, call (262) 389-9907 or go to www.brwellness.com.
Why does this happen? You’ve cut back on the alcohol, are eating salads for lunch, skipping a meal here and there, and are working out hard at the gym. Yet the pounds are not flying off. This is not uncommon as over 95% of all diets end in disappointment. However, don’t be discouraged. If you read on you’ll learn how you can get lasting results.
We are told the formula is simple – less food plus more exercise equals less weight. Truth be told, the formula is much more complex. You may be what is termed by leading nutritionists as “weight loss resistant.” What does this mean? Put simply it means having difficulty or an inability to lose weight. There are several factors that contribute to this and here’s how:
•Chronic stress – raises cortisol which breaks down muscle, puts sugar in the blood stream, and promotes fat storage which increases the likelihood of insulin resistance; and lowers DHEA (an anti-aging, libido stimulating, and fat burning hormone).
•Insulin resistance – blocks the burning of fat, causes fat storage around the abdomen, and causes inflammation.
•Hormone imbalances – imbalances of estrogen and progesterone in women promote fat storing; low DHEA and testosterone in men and women reduce the ability to burn fat and build muscle; high estrogen in men promotes fat storage; and high progesterone in women promotes insulin resistance.
•Hypothyroidism – muscle building is slowed, metabolism is slowed, sex hormones are not produced sufficiently and are out of balance, and general low energy and fatigue.
•Brain chemical imbalance - neurotransmitter imbalances cause cravings and inappropriate eating behaviors.
•Chronic sleep deprivation – increases cortisol, creates sugar cravings, lowers thyroid function, lowers energy, and increases appetite.
•Low Fat Free Mass – a low muscle mass to fat mass ratio keeps metabolism slow (this is often a result from chronic dieting).
•Food allergies – can cause cellular fluid retention or “false fat” and create cravings for these foods.
•Gut dysbiosis and yeast overgrowth – healthy bacteria is an important part of digestion as they consume calories, otherwise an increase of fat storage.
•Toxic burden – disrupts pH balance in gut, blood, and tissues; slows metabolic rate; disrupts absorption of minerals; disrupts hormone receptor sites creating imbalances; and lowers thyroid function (hypothyroidism).
Most programs just measure pounds lost and are successful in that realm. However, that is only part of the picture. Soon after the program is completed the weight begins to come back on. The reason – the underlying behaviors and lifestyle have not changed. With the metabolism slowed from dieting and a return to prior habits, the pounds quickly come back on.
The best program for long term health and vitality will be one that addresses your individual needs. Working with a qualified nutrition consultant you can determine your areas of weight loss resistance and develop a plan to address them. As these areas are brought back into balance your metabolism will improve, enabling you to lose weight in a healthy manner. It may take some time to get the body back on track. The body has built-in healing mechanisms and with proper nutrition and healthy behaviors the body will heal. As the body heals you will lose fat and weight.
Bernard Rosen, PhD is a Nutrition Consultant and Educator. He works with individuals, groups, and at corporations to create individualized nutrition and wellness programs. His office is in Thiensville, WI. To learn more or to schedule an appointment, call (262) 389-9907 or go to www.brwellness.com.
Tuesday, January 26, 2010
Pioneers of Nutrition: Dr. Royal Lee
In previous posts you’ve met Dr. Price and Dr. Pottenger and now I’d like to introduce you to Wisconsin’s own Dr. Royal Lee. He was a graduate of Marquette University’s Dental School, but even more - a researcher, inventor, scientist, scholar, and businessman.
Like Price and Pottenger, Lee was interested in nutrition, believing there was an undeniable link between what we eat and how we feel. He was particularly focused on the value of whole foods versus the processed foods that were being pushed on the public. During his senior year he wrote a paper discussing the relationship between vitamin deficiency, tooth decay, and healthy endocrine gland function.
Dr. Lee devoted significant energy to his inventions and acquired about 100 patents. He was able to combine his passion for inventing, scientific research, and nutrition in his work. In the early 1920’s heart disease suddenly appeared on the American scene. It is a little known fact that there were not many heart attacks until this time. Dr. Lee was certain that the refining of flour and rice (the processing of food) was a major contributor to this growing problem. He believed that the removal of real vitamins and minerals from our food supply and their replacement with synthetic vitamins was the root cause of the increase in heart disease and other illness as well. His research and practical experience showed that real and synthetic vitamins did not function the same in the human body.
His major contribution to the world of nutrition was the development of nutritional products from raw food concentrate. He believed and proved that in concentrated form these foods had therapeutic applications. His products were distributed through medical doctors providing nutritional alternatives to drugs to treat illness and disease. As a result of his success in helping people get healthy through the use of these products he created the Vitamin Products Company in 1929. It is today known as Standard Process, one of the world’s leading provider of nutritional supplements. In 1941 he organized the Lee Foundation for Nutritional Research, a nonprofit organization to conduct and share nutritional research across the globe. It became a world wide clearinghouse for hundreds of thousands of research articles and thousands of books presenting the latest nutritional information.
Dr. Lee was way ahead of his time. Here’s a quote from October of 1933, "Candy, all white sugar or its products, and white flour including its products such as macaroni, spaghetti, crackers, etc., should be absolutely barred from the diet of the child. All these are energy-producing foods that contain no building materials for the body. The consequences of their toleration are susceptibility to infections, enlarged tonsils, carious teeth, unruly dispositions, stunted growth, rickets, maldevelopment and very often permanent damage to many organs of the body (especially the endocrine glands) that depend upon the vitamin supply for their normal function and development."
Every time I read this or similar quotations from these nutrition pioneers all I think of is – wow, they knew this in the 1930’s!
However, for statements such as this he became a target of the food industry and the FDA. They got particularly upset as he would run newspaper advertisements pointing this out. They went after him, labeling him a “racketeer” because he promoted whole, natural foods that had their vitamins and minerals intact. After several years of proceedings, in the late 1950’s the final court decision was handed down. While Dr. Lee was never found guilty of anything, he was prohibited from speaking publicly or writing on health, medicine and nutrition. (So much for the First Amendment!) His research and published papers were ordered destroyed (can you say censorship) and he was forced to close several of his companies. Fortunately, the FDA did not get all his papers, and many of them are still preserved today by several organizations determined to keep his memory alive and to continue to spread the word.
It is unfortunate that you can still find people today who still call label him a “quack” and write deceptive and misleading articles about him. Of course they never talk to the people who have greatly benefited by this man’s contributions.
Bernard Rosen, PhD is a Nutrition Consultant and Educator. He works with individuals, groups, and at corporations to create individualized nutrition and wellness programs. His office is in Thiensville. To learn more or to schedule an appointment, e-mail at bernie@brwellness.com, call (262) 389-9907 or go to www.brwellness.com.
Like Price and Pottenger, Lee was interested in nutrition, believing there was an undeniable link between what we eat and how we feel. He was particularly focused on the value of whole foods versus the processed foods that were being pushed on the public. During his senior year he wrote a paper discussing the relationship between vitamin deficiency, tooth decay, and healthy endocrine gland function.
Dr. Lee devoted significant energy to his inventions and acquired about 100 patents. He was able to combine his passion for inventing, scientific research, and nutrition in his work. In the early 1920’s heart disease suddenly appeared on the American scene. It is a little known fact that there were not many heart attacks until this time. Dr. Lee was certain that the refining of flour and rice (the processing of food) was a major contributor to this growing problem. He believed that the removal of real vitamins and minerals from our food supply and their replacement with synthetic vitamins was the root cause of the increase in heart disease and other illness as well. His research and practical experience showed that real and synthetic vitamins did not function the same in the human body.
His major contribution to the world of nutrition was the development of nutritional products from raw food concentrate. He believed and proved that in concentrated form these foods had therapeutic applications. His products were distributed through medical doctors providing nutritional alternatives to drugs to treat illness and disease. As a result of his success in helping people get healthy through the use of these products he created the Vitamin Products Company in 1929. It is today known as Standard Process, one of the world’s leading provider of nutritional supplements. In 1941 he organized the Lee Foundation for Nutritional Research, a nonprofit organization to conduct and share nutritional research across the globe. It became a world wide clearinghouse for hundreds of thousands of research articles and thousands of books presenting the latest nutritional information.
Dr. Lee was way ahead of his time. Here’s a quote from October of 1933, "Candy, all white sugar or its products, and white flour including its products such as macaroni, spaghetti, crackers, etc., should be absolutely barred from the diet of the child. All these are energy-producing foods that contain no building materials for the body. The consequences of their toleration are susceptibility to infections, enlarged tonsils, carious teeth, unruly dispositions, stunted growth, rickets, maldevelopment and very often permanent damage to many organs of the body (especially the endocrine glands) that depend upon the vitamin supply for their normal function and development."
Every time I read this or similar quotations from these nutrition pioneers all I think of is – wow, they knew this in the 1930’s!
However, for statements such as this he became a target of the food industry and the FDA. They got particularly upset as he would run newspaper advertisements pointing this out. They went after him, labeling him a “racketeer” because he promoted whole, natural foods that had their vitamins and minerals intact. After several years of proceedings, in the late 1950’s the final court decision was handed down. While Dr. Lee was never found guilty of anything, he was prohibited from speaking publicly or writing on health, medicine and nutrition. (So much for the First Amendment!) His research and published papers were ordered destroyed (can you say censorship) and he was forced to close several of his companies. Fortunately, the FDA did not get all his papers, and many of them are still preserved today by several organizations determined to keep his memory alive and to continue to spread the word.
It is unfortunate that you can still find people today who still call label him a “quack” and write deceptive and misleading articles about him. Of course they never talk to the people who have greatly benefited by this man’s contributions.
Bernard Rosen, PhD is a Nutrition Consultant and Educator. He works with individuals, groups, and at corporations to create individualized nutrition and wellness programs. His office is in Thiensville. To learn more or to schedule an appointment, e-mail at bernie@brwellness.com, call (262) 389-9907 or go to www.brwellness.com.
Sunday, December 27, 2009
Client Satisfaction Survey Results
Feedback is important to all of us. We all want to know how we are doing and through constructive feedback we learn how to get better. One of the best ways to get feedback is to ask. Back in my corporate days at Norlight Telecommunications we were very serious about making sure our customers were satisfied with our services. We did an annual customer satisfaction survey and a monthly new customer survey. Since it worked so well at Norlight, I knew it could help me too.
In October I asked my clients for feedback and heard back from almost 50%. For those of you not familiar with market research that is an excellent response – so thank you to everyone who participated. And, in December, I started my monthly new customer survey, which provides timely feedback. If someone is not happy with something, I can rectify the situation quickly. Fortunately, I learned this is hardly ever the case. In fact, I was very pleased with the results and would like to share them with you.
As far as overall satisfaction with the services provided and results achieved:
97% of respondents were satisfied with the services provided, with 88% being either extremely or very satisfied.
95% of respondents were satisfied with the results they have achieved, with 63% being extremely or very satisfied.
100% of respondents would recommend my services.
These are awesome results!
Some additional findings:
95% of respondents have been motivated to adopt a healthier lifestyle.
93% say I’m responsive to their individual needs.
86% have identified and changed unhealthy patterns or behaviors.
85% have made significant changes in their eating habits.
Pioneers of Nutrition: Francis Pottenger, Jr., MD
In a prior article I introduced you to Weston Price, the dentist who traveled the world studying the nutritional qualities of native traditional diets that produced very healthy humans with no dental problems (cavities and crooked or crowded teeth) and not plagued by the degenerative diseases of modern man – cancer, heart disease, and diabetes. He contrasted the native diets with the Western diet based on processed foods and the accelerating increase of cavities and crooked or crowded teeth he observed in his patients along with the rise of other degenerative diseases. He found the native diets vastly superior to the Western diet in terms of nutritional quality. They contained ten times the amount of fat soluble vitamins A, D and K and four times the amount of water soluble vitamins and important minerals than the Western diet. He concluded that the Western diet and its sub-standard nutritional qualities was a major cause behind the increase in disease (a cavity is one of the most basic forms of disease) he was observing.
Now I’d like to introduce you to another pioneer of nutrition – Francis Pottenger, Jr., MD. He is famous for his exploration of cats – over 900 cats were studied from 1932-1942. Dr. Pottenger’s interest was in preventing chronic illness, thus his research looked for its causes and focused on the role of nutrition in maintaining good health. His findings were remarkably similar to those of Dr. Price.
Like many discoveries, the basis for his research came about by chance. Here’s the “not so nice” part of the story. He was developing a formula to support adrenal gland function and as was practice of the time was using cats for the study. Part of the study was to remove their adrenal glands and then provide them the formula to see if it was effective. He noticed that most of his animals were not very healthy and many would not survive the operation thus impacting his ability to complete his study. He was feeding them what all the experts of the time said was a healthy diet for cats – raw milk, cod liver oil, and cooked meat. Then a funny thing happened. His supply of the cooked meat was cut off and he had to switch to raw meat. Then he observed something remarkable. The cats eating the raw meat were healthier and survived the operations.
With his scientific curiosity peaked he began to refine his studies looking at the meat and the milk he provided the cats. He investigated raw meat, cooked meat, raw milk, pasteurized milk, evaporated milk, sweetened condensed milk, raw milk from cows fed grains, and raw milk from cows fed grass.
What he found was that only diets containing raw milk and raw meat produced optimal health, with the raw milk from grass fed cows superior to that of grain fed cows. Cats on this diet had healthy bone structure and density, no crowded teeth, shiny fur, no parasites, and no disease. In addition, they had no problems reproducing and were well behaved. They lived happy lives.
In contrast, cooking the meat or any milk other than the raw milk resulted in physical degeneration and reproductive difficulties which increased with each generation. By the time of the third generation, kittens of these cats died within six months and they were unable to reproduce. Even worse, these cats had miserable lives – parasites, skin diseases, allergies, weak bones, and behavioral issues. They died out completely by the fourth generation.
Now here’s the link to the work of Weston Price – they found the same results – poor nutrition leading to facial structural issues and the onset of degenerative diseases! Interesting enough is that many of the traditional diets studied by Price included raw milk and raw animal product.
What does this all mean? There is a definite link between the nutritional quality of the food we consume and our health. As we continue to consume processed foods our health continues to deteriorate. Another side note - do you know anyone who has had trouble or is having trouble reproducing? If you study the fertility rates now being experienced in the Western world you will learn that many fine people struggle to reproduce. And a little “food for thought” - what generation of processed food are we now on? And what health issues are we observing becoming more prevalent in today’s children?
If you’d like to learn more about the cat study the book to read is Pottenger’s Cats: A Study in Nutrition by Francis Pottenger, Jr. MD. I’d also direct you to the official website of the Price Pottenger Foundation – www.ppnf.org – a non-profit organization dedicated to educating the public regarding nutrition. And, if you’d like to learn more about healthy diets and nutrition, there are many wonderful resources available.
Bernard Rosen, PhD is a Nutrition Consultant and Educator. He works with individuals, groups, and at corporations to create individualized nutrition and wellness programs. His office is in Thiensville. To learn more or to schedule an appointment, e-mail at bernie@brwellness.com, call (262) 389-9907 or go to www.brwellness.com.
Now I’d like to introduce you to another pioneer of nutrition – Francis Pottenger, Jr., MD. He is famous for his exploration of cats – over 900 cats were studied from 1932-1942. Dr. Pottenger’s interest was in preventing chronic illness, thus his research looked for its causes and focused on the role of nutrition in maintaining good health. His findings were remarkably similar to those of Dr. Price.
Like many discoveries, the basis for his research came about by chance. Here’s the “not so nice” part of the story. He was developing a formula to support adrenal gland function and as was practice of the time was using cats for the study. Part of the study was to remove their adrenal glands and then provide them the formula to see if it was effective. He noticed that most of his animals were not very healthy and many would not survive the operation thus impacting his ability to complete his study. He was feeding them what all the experts of the time said was a healthy diet for cats – raw milk, cod liver oil, and cooked meat. Then a funny thing happened. His supply of the cooked meat was cut off and he had to switch to raw meat. Then he observed something remarkable. The cats eating the raw meat were healthier and survived the operations.
With his scientific curiosity peaked he began to refine his studies looking at the meat and the milk he provided the cats. He investigated raw meat, cooked meat, raw milk, pasteurized milk, evaporated milk, sweetened condensed milk, raw milk from cows fed grains, and raw milk from cows fed grass.
What he found was that only diets containing raw milk and raw meat produced optimal health, with the raw milk from grass fed cows superior to that of grain fed cows. Cats on this diet had healthy bone structure and density, no crowded teeth, shiny fur, no parasites, and no disease. In addition, they had no problems reproducing and were well behaved. They lived happy lives.
In contrast, cooking the meat or any milk other than the raw milk resulted in physical degeneration and reproductive difficulties which increased with each generation. By the time of the third generation, kittens of these cats died within six months and they were unable to reproduce. Even worse, these cats had miserable lives – parasites, skin diseases, allergies, weak bones, and behavioral issues. They died out completely by the fourth generation.
Now here’s the link to the work of Weston Price – they found the same results – poor nutrition leading to facial structural issues and the onset of degenerative diseases! Interesting enough is that many of the traditional diets studied by Price included raw milk and raw animal product.
What does this all mean? There is a definite link between the nutritional quality of the food we consume and our health. As we continue to consume processed foods our health continues to deteriorate. Another side note - do you know anyone who has had trouble or is having trouble reproducing? If you study the fertility rates now being experienced in the Western world you will learn that many fine people struggle to reproduce. And a little “food for thought” - what generation of processed food are we now on? And what health issues are we observing becoming more prevalent in today’s children?
If you’d like to learn more about the cat study the book to read is Pottenger’s Cats: A Study in Nutrition by Francis Pottenger, Jr. MD. I’d also direct you to the official website of the Price Pottenger Foundation – www.ppnf.org – a non-profit organization dedicated to educating the public regarding nutrition. And, if you’d like to learn more about healthy diets and nutrition, there are many wonderful resources available.
Bernard Rosen, PhD is a Nutrition Consultant and Educator. He works with individuals, groups, and at corporations to create individualized nutrition and wellness programs. His office is in Thiensville. To learn more or to schedule an appointment, e-mail at bernie@brwellness.com, call (262) 389-9907 or go to www.brwellness.com.
Tuesday, November 24, 2009
Pioneers of Nutrition: Dr. Weston A. Price
I am often asked by my clients or after a group presentation, “So, what do you eat?” My answer - I follow the dietary guidelines of Weston Price. Which of course leads to the next question, “Who is Weston Price?”
Weston A. Price was a pioneer in the world of nutrition. Through my next couple of articles I will introduce you to several more of these pioneers who have had great influence on the nutritional practices that I follow and teach.
So, who is Weston Price? He was a dentist from Cleveland, Ohio who lived from 1870-1948. Back in the early 1930s he began to notice an increase in cavities and crooked teeth in his patients. Whether you know it or not, dental caries (cavities) are one of the most basic forms of disease that is common in many humans. And, teeth come in crooked and/or crowded due to deformed dental arches due to not enough space in the mouth for the teeth to come in correctly.
His mission – to discover what was causing the degeneration in dental health he was witnessing. Coincidently, he repeatedly heard stories of isolated peoples in distant lands who supposedly had no cavities and perfectly straight teeth. If this were so, then what he was experiencing in his practice could possibly be the result of nutritional deficiencies and not inherited genetic defects (the prevailing thought of the time).
Over the next ten years he traveled around the world to every continent (except Antarctica). And what did he find? When native people ate their traditional foods – sure enough – there were no cavities and they had perfectly straight teeth. However, here’s what makes the study fascinating. This was a time when our Western processed foods were just beginning to creep into these native cultures. “Foods” such as canned milk and vegetables, white flour, and sugar were being introduced to those natives who wished to “modernize.” This is critical because it allowed the same genes to be analyzed based on the nutritional quality of the diet. What he found was that as the native people adopted a Western diet, they had more cavities and crooked, crowded teeth. The more they abandoned their native diet, the worse their teeth were. His travels are documented in his classic book Nutrition and Physical Degeneration. It contains many pictures and stories about what he encountered along the way.
The next question was – how did these diets differ? What was in the native food that was not in the Western food? Since he traveled all over the world he saw a wide variety of diets. There were Eskimos that ate almost exclusively animal products; there were others who ate more grains and vegetables. As a side note, he did not find any native diet that was strictly vegetarian; they all relied upon some animal foods for survival.
He took samples of their foods and brought them back to the United States to be analyzed. What he found was that the diets of the isolated peoples in comparison to that of the American diet of the day contained at least four times the water soluble vitamins, calcium and other minerals, and at least TEN times the fat-soluble vitamins from animal foods such as butter, fish eggs, shellfish, organ meats, eggs, and animal fats! Certainly not the foods your cardiologist will tell you to eat!
The specific nutrients in these foods are the fat soluble vitamins A and D, along with one that wasn’t yet identified. Price called it “Activator X”, which we now understand is vitamin K. These fat soluble vitamins are vital to health as they act as catalysts for mineral absorption and protein utilization.
And depending upon how closely you read the preceding paragraphs, what are some of the key nutrients missing? They happen to be ones we often hear today we don’t get enough of are we are deficient – calcium and vitamin D!
So, does this way of eating work? Well, it has proven successful for me and many of my clients. Following the guidelines we have lowered our cholesterol and triglyceride levels, increased our energy, and lost weight. But, I have an even wider audience. Recently I attended the annual conference of the Weston A. Price Foundation. I have referred to their excellent web site in the past (www.westonaprice.org). The conference had over 1200 attendees. Statistics for our general population show that 75% of adults are over weight (25% of them being classified as obese). At this conference, my quick visual assessment was that maybe 5% were over weight. Plus, when I talked to other attendees they all told the same stories of weight loss, improved digestion, and overall better health!
Bernard Rosen, PhD is a Nutrition Consultant and Educator. He works with individuals, groups, and at corporations to create individualized nutrition and wellness programs. His office is in Thiensville. To learn more or to schedule an appointment, e-mail at bernie@brwellness.com, call (262) 389-9907 or go to www.brwellness.com.
Weston A. Price was a pioneer in the world of nutrition. Through my next couple of articles I will introduce you to several more of these pioneers who have had great influence on the nutritional practices that I follow and teach.
So, who is Weston Price? He was a dentist from Cleveland, Ohio who lived from 1870-1948. Back in the early 1930s he began to notice an increase in cavities and crooked teeth in his patients. Whether you know it or not, dental caries (cavities) are one of the most basic forms of disease that is common in many humans. And, teeth come in crooked and/or crowded due to deformed dental arches due to not enough space in the mouth for the teeth to come in correctly.
His mission – to discover what was causing the degeneration in dental health he was witnessing. Coincidently, he repeatedly heard stories of isolated peoples in distant lands who supposedly had no cavities and perfectly straight teeth. If this were so, then what he was experiencing in his practice could possibly be the result of nutritional deficiencies and not inherited genetic defects (the prevailing thought of the time).
Over the next ten years he traveled around the world to every continent (except Antarctica). And what did he find? When native people ate their traditional foods – sure enough – there were no cavities and they had perfectly straight teeth. However, here’s what makes the study fascinating. This was a time when our Western processed foods were just beginning to creep into these native cultures. “Foods” such as canned milk and vegetables, white flour, and sugar were being introduced to those natives who wished to “modernize.” This is critical because it allowed the same genes to be analyzed based on the nutritional quality of the diet. What he found was that as the native people adopted a Western diet, they had more cavities and crooked, crowded teeth. The more they abandoned their native diet, the worse their teeth were. His travels are documented in his classic book Nutrition and Physical Degeneration. It contains many pictures and stories about what he encountered along the way.
The next question was – how did these diets differ? What was in the native food that was not in the Western food? Since he traveled all over the world he saw a wide variety of diets. There were Eskimos that ate almost exclusively animal products; there were others who ate more grains and vegetables. As a side note, he did not find any native diet that was strictly vegetarian; they all relied upon some animal foods for survival.
He took samples of their foods and brought them back to the United States to be analyzed. What he found was that the diets of the isolated peoples in comparison to that of the American diet of the day contained at least four times the water soluble vitamins, calcium and other minerals, and at least TEN times the fat-soluble vitamins from animal foods such as butter, fish eggs, shellfish, organ meats, eggs, and animal fats! Certainly not the foods your cardiologist will tell you to eat!
The specific nutrients in these foods are the fat soluble vitamins A and D, along with one that wasn’t yet identified. Price called it “Activator X”, which we now understand is vitamin K. These fat soluble vitamins are vital to health as they act as catalysts for mineral absorption and protein utilization.
And depending upon how closely you read the preceding paragraphs, what are some of the key nutrients missing? They happen to be ones we often hear today we don’t get enough of are we are deficient – calcium and vitamin D!
So, does this way of eating work? Well, it has proven successful for me and many of my clients. Following the guidelines we have lowered our cholesterol and triglyceride levels, increased our energy, and lost weight. But, I have an even wider audience. Recently I attended the annual conference of the Weston A. Price Foundation. I have referred to their excellent web site in the past (www.westonaprice.org). The conference had over 1200 attendees. Statistics for our general population show that 75% of adults are over weight (25% of them being classified as obese). At this conference, my quick visual assessment was that maybe 5% were over weight. Plus, when I talked to other attendees they all told the same stories of weight loss, improved digestion, and overall better health!
Bernard Rosen, PhD is a Nutrition Consultant and Educator. He works with individuals, groups, and at corporations to create individualized nutrition and wellness programs. His office is in Thiensville. To learn more or to schedule an appointment, e-mail at bernie@brwellness.com, call (262) 389-9907 or go to www.brwellness.com.
Saturday, October 24, 2009
Trick or Treat..It’s Halloween Every Day at the Supermarket
To stay on top of all the latest nutrition news requires lots of reading, but also lots of sorting through the marketing hype of the latest super food or breakthrough study. I subscribe to many magazines, newsletters, web sites, and blogs to keep up with the latest and greatest so I can pass that information on to my clients. I read what the people I agree with say and I read what the people I don’t agree with say – my form of spying!
Every now and then I come across something that truly amazes me. This occurs when an author is so blinded by either their personal bias or the bias of the publication; they do not even see the inconsistency and hypocrisy of their own writing. I’ve written about the American Diabetes Association on my blog. Here, I’d like to bring your attention to the Nutrition Action Newsletter, November 2009 edition.
To their credit, they do have an occasional useful article. That is where I learned how people are walking out of their favorite coffee shop with sometimes over 700 calories in their cup! But, at the same time they’ve told me that aspartame is poison, but sucralose (Splenda) is safe. I’ve even learned which the best margarines to eat are. Guess if you’re going to poison yourself you should do it with the best!
Back in June I wrote a column entitled The Truth about Soy. If you’d like to read it you can find it on my blog at http://brwellness.blogspot.com/2009/06/truth-about-soy.html. So, where am I going with this? An article titled, Soy What? The jury’s still out on soy’s benefits. It looks at six areas where some have claimed that soy is beneficial – bones, prostate cancer, breast cancer, cognition, hot flashes, and heart disease. Each section discusses the latest research and then ends with what they call “The Bottom Line.” In each case “The Bottom Line” is a statement to make you think soy is healthy, even when the evidence cited basically says the opposite.
They have a quote that tells us, “Soy is a good food.” Yet, that is followed by, “But we can’t say right now that it has a positive effect on bones.” Or this one, “The idea that soy can stop prostate cancer is a wonderful hypothesis that hasn’t yet been adequately tested in men.” How about, “It’s unclear if any soy food reduce breast cancer risk.”
The true “Bottom Line” that they won’t come out and say is that there is not convincing evidence for any of the claims being made on behalf of soy. In fact, the FDA has been reviewing claims made for soy benefits and some of them are no longer allowed!
What does this mean to you and how does it tie to the Supermarket? There are so many health claims on all the boxes of packaged foods that are misleading and deceptive. Crackers are presented as “whole grain” or “multi-grain” and the main ingredient is white flour. Margarines say “Zero grams trans-fat” yet contain partially or hydrogenated oil. “Low fat” foods contain artificial sweeteners and more carbohydrates than the full fat versions which in your body actually produces more fat! “Natural” appears all over everything, but as I like to say – my wooden table is natural but that doesn’t mean I want to eat it!
If you like the information in these articles and have a Facebook account I’d encourage you to become a fan of Rosen Wellness. On a typical day I get many e-mails with all kinds of information about health and nutrition. The best ones I link to the Rosen Wellness Facebook page.
One other note – a book recommendation: Super Natural Home: Improve Your Health, Home, and Planet – One Room at a Time by Beth Greer. It provides useful tips for lifestyle shifts to enhance your health. “This practical guide offers page after page of tips for making the safest, healthiest choices in all kinds of goods including cosmetics, personal care products, household cleaners, furniture, food, and water.”
Bernard Rosen, PhD is a Nutrition Consultant and Educator. He works with individuals, groups, and at corporations to create individualized nutrition and wellness programs. His office is in Thiensville. To learn more or to schedule an appointment, e-mail at bernie@brwellness.com, call (262) 389-9907 or go to www.brwellness.com.
Every now and then I come across something that truly amazes me. This occurs when an author is so blinded by either their personal bias or the bias of the publication; they do not even see the inconsistency and hypocrisy of their own writing. I’ve written about the American Diabetes Association on my blog. Here, I’d like to bring your attention to the Nutrition Action Newsletter, November 2009 edition.
To their credit, they do have an occasional useful article. That is where I learned how people are walking out of their favorite coffee shop with sometimes over 700 calories in their cup! But, at the same time they’ve told me that aspartame is poison, but sucralose (Splenda) is safe. I’ve even learned which the best margarines to eat are. Guess if you’re going to poison yourself you should do it with the best!
Back in June I wrote a column entitled The Truth about Soy. If you’d like to read it you can find it on my blog at http://brwellness.blogspot.com/2009/06/truth-about-soy.html. So, where am I going with this? An article titled, Soy What? The jury’s still out on soy’s benefits. It looks at six areas where some have claimed that soy is beneficial – bones, prostate cancer, breast cancer, cognition, hot flashes, and heart disease. Each section discusses the latest research and then ends with what they call “The Bottom Line.” In each case “The Bottom Line” is a statement to make you think soy is healthy, even when the evidence cited basically says the opposite.
They have a quote that tells us, “Soy is a good food.” Yet, that is followed by, “But we can’t say right now that it has a positive effect on bones.” Or this one, “The idea that soy can stop prostate cancer is a wonderful hypothesis that hasn’t yet been adequately tested in men.” How about, “It’s unclear if any soy food reduce breast cancer risk.”
The true “Bottom Line” that they won’t come out and say is that there is not convincing evidence for any of the claims being made on behalf of soy. In fact, the FDA has been reviewing claims made for soy benefits and some of them are no longer allowed!
What does this mean to you and how does it tie to the Supermarket? There are so many health claims on all the boxes of packaged foods that are misleading and deceptive. Crackers are presented as “whole grain” or “multi-grain” and the main ingredient is white flour. Margarines say “Zero grams trans-fat” yet contain partially or hydrogenated oil. “Low fat” foods contain artificial sweeteners and more carbohydrates than the full fat versions which in your body actually produces more fat! “Natural” appears all over everything, but as I like to say – my wooden table is natural but that doesn’t mean I want to eat it!
If you like the information in these articles and have a Facebook account I’d encourage you to become a fan of Rosen Wellness. On a typical day I get many e-mails with all kinds of information about health and nutrition. The best ones I link to the Rosen Wellness Facebook page.
One other note – a book recommendation: Super Natural Home: Improve Your Health, Home, and Planet – One Room at a Time by Beth Greer. It provides useful tips for lifestyle shifts to enhance your health. “This practical guide offers page after page of tips for making the safest, healthiest choices in all kinds of goods including cosmetics, personal care products, household cleaners, furniture, food, and water.”
Bernard Rosen, PhD is a Nutrition Consultant and Educator. He works with individuals, groups, and at corporations to create individualized nutrition and wellness programs. His office is in Thiensville. To learn more or to schedule an appointment, e-mail at bernie@brwellness.com, call (262) 389-9907 or go to www.brwellness.com.
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