The Doctor Cooks

What's Up with the FDA?

There appears to me a clear trend by FDA and USDA to limit our access to pure, clean food or at least make it impossible to tell if it is pure and clean.  Please read this edition of Organic Bytes, and consider supporting the work of the Organic Consumers Association.

Sweet Tempeh-tations!

The Doctor Cooks is taking a vacation for the next two weeks.  In the meantime I will share two articles from Holistic Primary Care.  While aimed at clinicians, there are many lay friendly articles.  It's worth subscribing online.  Enjoy this article on the benefits and preparation of my favorite fermented soy food, tempeh.  The author of this article initially found it difficult to stomach, but has found a  "tempeh-ting" way to cook it.  Tempeh is now one of his favorite foods.  Read on>>>

Foiled in MO, GMO Rice Moves to KS

Organic food producers and concerned citizens prevented Ventria Bioscience from bring GMO rice to Missouri.  Now they've crossed the state line and are attempting to bring this rice to Kansas.  GMO manufacturers emphasize benevolent motives behind genetically modified organisms.  But the impact of GMOs is clearly unproven.  The companies themselves have stood in the way of this by using patent rights to prevent research institutions, such as universities, from conducting experiments to prove GMO safety.  Learn more>>>

Take a Walk on the Alkaline Side

Yet another spring cleaning strategy is juicing.  Juices are an easy way to shift your pH to the alkaline side of normal.  I explain to patients that biochemical reactions work more efficiently in an alkaline environment.  Now we know why.  Intercellular channels called gap junctions are more open in an alkaline environment than an acid one, permitting the transfer of ions, metabolites and messenger molecules, such as hormones from one cell to another.  You detoxify better in an alkaline state.

Battle of the Olive Oils

The best way to judge an oil is by how it tastes.  Healthful oil tastes good!  Here's an opportunity to experience this for yourself.  Slow Food Kansas City is hosting the Battle of the Olive Oils, April 18th at 6:30pm at the Cellar Rat, 1701 Baltimore, Kansas City, MO, 64108.  About the event:

"You be the judge! You will enjoy olive oil tasting while discussing such topics as health benefits of olive oil, cooking and baking with olive oil, quality and production methods. Sample olive oils and test the difference between Tuscan, Sicilian, Umbrian, Greek, Spanish and California olive oils!  Enjoy Italian, Missouri, Kansas and California wines along with artisan cheese and salami."

Click here to register.

Warm and Delicious Spring Cleaning Dish (khichari)

What we thought was an early spring has quickly reverted back to winter in Kansas City.  I hope you had a chance to see the Nichols Fountain adorned in icicles and sno-cone froth.  Cold food, such as the watercress salad I posted last week, aren’t warming enough for most of us in chilly weather.  But, winter’s return doesn’t mean you have to stop your internal spring cleaning.  For thousands of years yogis have eaten a bean and rice dish called khichari (KICH-ar-ee) to cleanse and strengthen their bodies.  They typically eat it in the spring and fall, while undergoing a cleansing program called panchakarma.

Khichari is made from basmati rice, mung or moong beans, spices and vegetables.  Basmati rice and mung beans are restorative and cleansing for all types of constitutions.   The spices and vegetables have known anti-inflammatory, detoxifying and reparative effects.  Click on the links in the ingredient list to learn more.

New Book Helps Busy People Break the Fast Food Cycle

Integrative Nutrition Publishing is pleased to announce that their first alumni-authored book will be released this spring. Whole Life Nutrition, by graduates Jeannette Bessinger and Tracee Yablon-Brenner, is designed to help busy families break the cycle of fast food and fast entertainment and upgrade to lives of greater health and balance. The book combines simple lifestyle guidelines with an innovative approach to everyday cooking. For a sneak preview, click here.

More Spring Cleaning with Watercress

Watercress is another great detoxifying food.  A cruciferous vegetable, like broccoli, it contains sulfur compounds that protect cells and their DNA against antioxidant damage.  One of these compounds, Phenethyl isothiocyanate or PEITC, neutralizes a compound in tobacco smoke know to cause lung, mouth and throat cancers.  Watercress is rich in vitamins C, E, A and folic acid.  It increases bile flow from the liver, which improves fat digestion.  Bile also carries toxins stored in the liver out of the body through the gastro-intestinal tract.  Bile stimulates peristalsis, promoting healthy bowel movements.  Watercress is an expectorant, clearing mucus from the respiratory tract.

Bisphenol A Leaches into Canned Foods

An alarming new study from the Environmental Working Group analyzed samples of canned fruit, vegetables, soda, and baby formula on sale in the nation's supermarkets and found that more than 50% were tainted with a chemical linked to birth defects, ADHD and cancer. The chemical, bisphenol A (BPA), is an ingredient in plastics that lines food cans. According to the study, the chemical has been leaching into foods at levels up to 200 times the government's recommended "safe" level of exposure. According to Dr. Frederick vom Saal, a professor of biology at the University of Missouri-Columbia, and a long-time expert researcher of BPA, there are 94 scientific studies indicating deleterious health effects from BPA. "If BPA was treated as a drug, it would have been pulled immediately. This chemical can be replaced right now by safer materials, and the public would never notice the difference." OCA is planning to launch a campaign later this year to pressure food companies, especially organic companies, to stop using BPA-tainted cans and other toxic or non-sustainable packaging.

How to Avoid Bisphenol A

• Metal canned beverages appear to contain less BPA residues, while metal canned pasta and soups contain the highest levels.
• Canned foods in glass containers are not a BPA risk.
• Plastics with the recycling labels #1, #2 and #4 on the bottom are safer choices and do not contain BPA.
• One-third of liquid baby formulas have high levels of BPA. Powdered formula packaging is generally considered safer. Dr. Klug notes: Breast is best!  There are many ways to help you and your baby successfully breast feed.
• Avoid heating foods in plastic containers and do not wash plastic containers in a dishwasher.
• When possible, opt for glass, porcelain and stainless steel containers, particularly for hot food or liquids.
• Do not let plastic wrap touch your food in the microwave, or better yet, avoid microwave ovens altogether.
• Many metal water bottles, such as those sold by the brand Sigg are lined with a plastic coating that contains BPA. Look for stainless steel bottles, such as those sold by Real Wear and Kleen Kanteen that do not have a plastic liner.

Learn more: http://www.organicconsumers.org/articles/article_4414.cfm