Eliminating just this scary trio would take you so much closer to a healthier existence. The advertising media have tried to convince us that using a microwave oven and eating margarine whilst washing it all down with a glass of ‘whole some soy milk’ will do wonders for our cholesterol, weight and rebalance our hormones. We have been led to believe that science has delivered a superior solution, when in actual fact these nutritional ‘lemons’ are a pale imitation of their natural alternatives.
These three products are perfect examples of the pursuit of profit at the expense of our wellbeing. Some of us have intuitively known that this trio was up to no good and avoided them accordingly, but unfortunately millions of people have become caught up in the hype and perceived convenience. What a sell they did on us with the ‘heart healthy’ unsaturated, margarine alternative with the tone of Alan Morris’s legendary ‘you oughta be congratulated’ possibly still running round your head.
How many people do you know who feed their family soy milk because they have been led to believe it is a great gift from the vegetable kingdom to counter the artery-clogging bovine alternative. Hopefully this article will inspire you to reconsider the role of these ’anti-nutrients’ in your diet, or at least encourage you to embark on further research if questions have been raised.
THE MICROWAVE MENACE
The safety of this technology should have been seriously questioned, but with the benefits of hind-sight so should have the filling of teeth with toxic mercury or the prescriptions for antibiotics at the first sign of a cold. The fact is that we tend to silently accept that ‘science knows best’ and that our best interests are at the top of the agenda. Do you know how a microwave cooks food? Microwaves generate heat through friction. The food is bombarded with massive doses of radiation, forcing the molecules to reverse polarity billions of times per second and the molecular structure of the food is seriously altered during the process. There is even a technical term related to these changes. It is called ‘structural isomerism’. Why would we think that this violent, friction-based heating system would not compromise our cooked food when there is no conceivable way that it couldn’t? The problem was that no one thought to evaluate the impact of this ‘altered’ food on the human organism, prior to launching this time-saving technology on a time-starved world.
Anyway we can hear you saying ‘but what naturopath would condone microwave cooking’ no surprise here. Our objective is to encourage you to look more closely – do your own research so you can make an informed decision:
A common response amongst the more trusting amongst us is total disbelief that this type of research could possibly be ignored or overlooked when it places the consumer at obvious risk.
Here are some little trials you can undertake to confirm to yourself that something is dramatically amiss with the concept of cooking from the inside out, via irradiation.
Test 1. Buy two punnets of seedlings and water one of them each day with 200ml of tap water. Water the other punnet with 200 ml of water from the same tap that has been boiled in the microwave and cooled beforehand. If your test mirrors some of the projects reported on the net then the plants in the treated punnet should die within a week to ten days.
Test 2. Take 10 pea seeds and wrap them in a wet paper towel. Take a further 10 seeds and place them in a paper towel that has been moistened with microwaved water (after cooling completely). Observe the two samples and monitor their germination & survival rates.
The lesson from this exercise, assuming that ‘the microwave effect’ is highlighted for you through your experiment, that if this technology can deform the water molecule to this extent then what on earth is it doing to the water component of the cooked food and what is it doing to our bodies which are 70-80% water?
In conclusion, there is really no need for a microwave. You can defrost food at the same speed, if you put it on a defrosting plate and immerse it in hot water and you can cook it almost as fast in a fan-forced oven. If you do decide to get rid of your microwave please don’t sell it in a garage sale to some other poor, unsuspecting sucker. Put an axe through the top of it and send it to the dump where it belongs.
MARGARINE MADNESS
The mass move from the widespread consumption of butter to ‘more healthy’ margarine is a study in poor scientific methodology and the opportunism that followed in the wake of a major mistake. It all began in 1957 when Aneel Keys, a leading US nutritionist, announced his findings about the link between saturated fats and heart disease. Aneel had based his research upon a ridiculously small sample of just six countries when there was actually data available for a sample four times that size. Aneel reported that consumption of saturated fats appeared to be a major causative factor in the emerging plague of Coronary Heart Disease. The American food industry seized the moment, as there were vast profits to be had from the production and processing of cheap vegetable oils as a heart-safe alternative to butter. There were a couple of weaknesses in the saturated fat hypothesis however. For a start it didn’t fit the historical evidence. Coronary Heart Disease (CHD) was only officially discovered in 1910 and prior to that time our diets were swimming in animal fats. We chewed at the fat on the bacon rind, savoured the fat on beef and mutton and lard was the most popular bread spread. When nutritional anthropologist, Dr Weston Price researched the relative health and longevity of numerous cultures, he was unable to find any link at all between heart disease and saturated fat. In fact, often the reverse was true- the more saturated fats that were consumed, the healthier the culture. The East African Sambuku people, for example, drink 10 lts of unpasturised full fat milk each day and yet suffer no heart disease.
The Masai in Kenya live on a diet that consists almost exclusively of meat, milk & blood and are free from heart problems. The longest living Georgians in Russia are those that eat the most saturated fats and the list goes on and on…………….
Falling victim to the food fabricators:
How did margarine come to fill our supermarket shelves if there is no evidence to support its superiority? As usual it’s all about marketing a myth to make large amounts of money. Usually there is some smoke that can be used to generate the desired fear factor. In this case the ‘smoke’ relates to the calorie content of saturated fat. There is no doubt that the obesity epidemic is related to heart disease, so high-calorie foods make a great target.
The problem is that the shops are full of low fat, no fat and 98% fat free foods yet we keep getting fatter. While fat contains more calories than carbohydrates, there is more tendency to pile on the pounds if carbohydrates are over consumed and that is exactly what is happening. When we pull the fats from our diet, we stimulate a craving for carbohydrates. The subsequent over-consumption of carbs leads to increases in blood sugar levels, which must be managed, with extra insulin production.
Insulin stores glucose, first as glucagon and then as fat. Excess insulin also deactivates a fat burning compound called glycogen. In short, it is more often carbohydrates that are making us fat than fat! The reality is that saturated fat is an important nutrient, particularly for brain health, as this organ is 60% fat by dry weight. Saturated fat is essential for the uptake and utilisation of several nutrients including omega 3 fatty acids and carotenes. Saturated fats are anti-microbial and can offer protection from pathogens that affect the digestive tract.
What about cholesterol I hear you say? Surely margarine is a far safer, low cholesterol option. Research now shows that there is no relationship between the food you eat and your serum cholesterol levels. Your body produces the cholesterol nutrient as it is required and the cholesterol content of butter and eggs for example, has no link to your serum cholesterol levels. This rule does not apply to oxidised cholesterol however. This dangerous material which sticks to artery walls if found in powdered milk, powdered eggs and most microwaved meats.
The making of an abomination:
The manufacture of margarine usually begins with the hydrogenation of polyunsaturated oils, often rancid from heat-based extraction. The hydrogenation process is designed to stabilise these notoriously unstable oils so they will have greatly extended shelf-life and are thus much more profitable. This involves removing the natural kink ( called the cis formation) from the fatty acid chain to make unsaturated fats act more like saturated fats, ie making them stay solid at room temperature like butter. Unfortunately, un-creasing the kink, creates an unnatural, toxic fat called a trans fat. Hydrogenation involves the addition, under pressure, of tiny hydrogen bubbles using nickel oxide as a synergist. Following this process the margarine is a stinking grey gunk. This muck is then heated and cleaned prior to bleaching and dyeing to mimic the colour of butter. The end-product is the epitome of the industrial bastardisation of food. Nothing on this planet including scavenging rats will eat this abomination except man. Trans fats are now found in 40% of supermarket foods and many natural health practitioners believe they represent the single most damaging aspect of the modern diet. Butter is a tremendous food, which bears no resemblance to this unnatural alternative. Even so don’t overdo it as it does contain calories along with the valuable nutrients.
SOY STUPIDITY
The soybean is a form of protein and other nutrients that has been the basis of several Asian dishes for thousands of years. It wasn’t a big stretch for the industry to claim that, if this food is good for Asians, then surely a concentrated juice of this food must be good for us all. It certainly caught the imagination of many of the baby boomer generation and they enthusiastically embraced the new ‘milk without guilt’. Soy growers contribute a substantial levy which is used to market soy products and the marketing has been a major success story with soy milk sales in the US rising from two million dollars in 1980 to 300 million dollars last year. The problem was that no one told the health-minded consumers that the Asians wouldn’t touch soy milk with a barge pole. They understood that there were some problems with this legume so they only ate it in fermented form, ie lactofermentation neutralises the negatives associated with soy products. So what is wrong with this miracle health food’? Let’s look behind the big budget advertising.
Six serious soy problems:
- Soy milk is one of the highest known sources of phytates.
Phytic acid is a natural acid found in cereal grains and legumes which inhibits the uptake of important minerals like zinc, magnesium and calcium. The body contains relatively large amounts of magnesium and calcium but very low stores of the trace mineral zinc. The vast majority of us are deficient in zinc and yet this is the main mineral involved in the health of the prostate gland and prostate cancer is set to become the largest killer of Australian men. Zinc is also linked to breast health and it is essential for the thymus gland and the associated production of killer T cells for the immune system. Zinc is often called ‘the intelligence mineral’ because it also plays a major role in the development and health of the brain and central nervous system. Phytates form insoluble zinc phytates so it is always best to supplement your zinc some time after food especially if you have eaten cereals or grains.
2 . Soy milk contains huge amounts of enzyme inhibitors.
If Dr Edward Howell is correct then we are born with a certain capacity to produce enzymes and when we have exhausted our enzyme capacity then we die. Every time we eat cooked food we withdraw from this bank account as opposed to consumption of raw foods which contain the enzymes which help to digest it. Every function from breathing to thinking to digesting is enzyme-dependent. If we over-stress the digestive system then metabolic enzymes from the immune system or detox system, for example, are directed to help out with digestion. The very worst thing we can do is to speed up the ‘use by’ date of our enzyme capacity by consuming foods or taking drugs which inhibit this precious workforce. Aspirin is a serious enzyme inhibitor, for example, even when it is taken at low doses to thin the blood. The soya bean contains very high levels of enzyme inhibitors to help prevent premature germination. The most important enzyme affected is trypsin which is involved in the digestion of protein. As a result, soy products can lead to gastric distress, reduced protein digestion and serious deficiencies in amino acids. Animal research has shown that diets high in trypsin inhibitors are linked to serious pancreatic disorders, including cancer. Soy milk effectively concentrates the enzyme inhibitors found in the bean.
3. Soy milk contains haemagglutinin which compromises delivery of cellular oxygen.
Haemagglutinin is a clot-promoting substance which causes red blood cells to clump together. This, in turn, limits the capacity of these cells to absorb oxygen for delivery around the body and can compromise heart health. Haemagglutinin and enzyme inhibitors are both growth depressors so it is incomprehensible that infant formulas are so often based on soy milk. It becomes blatant stupidity when you understand that soy milk is also a goitrogen (causing enlargement of the thyroid gland)
4. Soy Milk negatively affects the health of the thyroid gland.
Soy milk contains genistein which can do irreversible damage to the enzymes that synthesise thyroid hormones. In 1991 Japanese researchers found that as little as 30grams of soy beans per day for one month resulted in a significant increase in the thyroid-stimulating hormone. In fact, several of their subjects developed diffuse goitre, hypothyroidism and hyperthyroidism. They complained of constipation, fatigue and lethargy, even thought their intake of iodine was adequate.
5. Soy milk contains unacceptably high levels of aluminium.
The soy bean is an aluminium accumulator and as a result soy milk contain 100 times more aluminium than cow’s milk. Aluminium has been heavily implicated in the current plague of Alzheimer’s disease. Alzheimer’s now affects one person in four, over the age of 65. Unlike cow’s milk, soy milk is highly processed material. Soy beans are first mixed with an alkaline solution to remove fibre, then precipitated and separated using an acid wash and finally, neutralised in an alkaline solution. Acid washing in aluminium tanks leaches aluminium into the end-product. Soy-based formulas contain over 1000% more aluminium than conventional milk- based formula due to the concentrating effect of the powdering process. During the spray drying process, used to create the high protein powder, unacceptable levels of nitrates are formed and a toxin called lysinoalanine is also formed during the alkaline stage of the processing.
6. Soy milk features high levels of phytoestrogens which are proven endocrine disruptors.
Soy contains isoflavones which are currently being researched in relation to treatment for osteoporosis, relief of menopausal symptoms, cancer prevention and heart disease. It sounds an impressive list and you might argue that ‘what could be wrong with consuming these compounds every day in your food’? The problem is balance a key factor influencing the health of plants, animals and humans. While isofavones are powerful compounds with undeniable medicinal potential, like any medicine, they should only be used for short periods to address specific issues. When we consume them, in concentrated form, on a daily basis, they can become both disruptive and dangerous. Dr Mike Fitzpatrick conducted an extensive literature review of soy research and was shocked to find links to endocrine disruption, infertility, increased cancer and infantile leukaemia. Some US commentators are even suggesting that soy has the potential to become the next asbestos. In a recent New York Times feature article, the author, a previous soy supporter, begrudgingly admitted that ‘not one of the 18 scientists interviewed for the article was willing to say that taking isoflavones was risk free’.
In Conclusion:
Both margarine and soymilk are examples of the opportunistic bastardisation of whole foods in pursuit of profit. There has never been a single example where industrial manipulation of whole foods has not seriously compromised the nutritional integrity of that food. At some point, perhaps we will finally recognise that man or science cannot improve on the original when it comes to food. Food has been sacred in every society prior to ours and the bombarding of our food with massive amounts of radiation is about as far removed from sacred appreciation as it possible. Removing margarine, soymilk and microwaves from our kitchen is a good start to reclaiming vitality in our diets.
Options for soy milk - rice milk – oat milk – nut milks
Options for margarine – pure organic butter – can be mixed with extra virgin olive oil to help it stay softer.
Basic rule to consider when shopping for food – Keep your food choices as close to those provided by nature in their purist form.
These foods are just the start of a very long list that is growing every day that is addressing genetically modified and otherwise inferior foods marketed to us by multinational corporations interested in profits before people’s health.
I was reading a post on face book to day from a young Mum stating how hard it is to find healthy products on the supermarket shelves. The more she reads the more it scares and confuses her. So don’t blindly believe all the advertising hype and do your own research.
As we stated, these are my opinions and hopefully serve to inspire you to make your own and become proactive in protecting your good health.
(c) Maxine Wright: Advanced Dip Naturopathy – Medical Herbalist – Nutritionalist – Iridologist – Hemaview Tech - Health Coach – Weight Loss counsellor – Massage Therapist – Beauty Therapist – Speaker. Step Into Health Wellness Centre - facebook - twitter.
Are you confused about exactly what they are?
(c) Maxine Wright: Advanced Dip Naturopathy – Medical Herbalist – Nutritionalist – Iridologist – Hemaview Tech - Health Coach – Weight Loss counsellor – Massage Therapist – Beauty Therapist – Speaker. Step Into Health Wellness Centre - facebook - twitter.
