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Following is an article that appeared in the Washington Post in 2002. We doubt that most people have seen this information and we feel it is vital that we share it. Please note that this information actually applies to baking, frying and flame-broiling or grilling, according to other research. Boiling seems to be okay. Here is the article: — Link Seen Between Cooking and Cancer By Mark Kaufman The process of frying and baking starchy foods such as potatoes and bread causes the formation of potentially harmful amounts of a chemical listed as a probable carcinogen. Swedish officials said they were so surprised by the information that they decided to make it public immediately, rather than wait for publication in a scientific journal. The chemical, acrylamide, which is used industrially in the manufacture of some plastics, is also apparently formed by the heating of starches. Foods with especially high levels of the chemical included french fries, potato chips and crackers. The governmental agency, following up on research by a group of scientists at Stockholm University, studied more than 100 foods bought in Swedish stores and restaurants and determined that “fried, oven-baked and deep-fried potato and cereal products may contain high levels of acrylamide.” The high acrylamide levels were initially discovered during a University of Stockholm study at a factory that used them industrially. A Food and Drug Administration official said that the agency had not reviewed the report but that it considered the source to be “credible.” The Swedish report said that high doses of acrylamide have been shown to cause cancers and that “it seems reasonable to conclude that a significant number, perhaps several hundred, of the annual cancer cases in Sweden can be attributed to acrylamide.” The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency describes acrylamide as white, odorless, flake-like crystals that are used mainly in treating drinking water and for industrial purposes and can cause cancer in people exposed to high levels for a long period. Findings unveiled at a news conference called by the food administration showed that an ordinary bag of potato crisps may contain up to 500 times more of the substance than the top level allowed in drinking water by the World Health Organization (WHO). WHO recommends one microgram (one-millionth of a gram) per litre as a maximum permitted for drinking water. Researchers were surprised by the high levels found in both the workers and the people used for a control study. The Swedish government began testing acrylamide levels late last year and found that they were elevated in many starch-rich foods that had been baked or fried. They were not found, however, in raw or boiled foods, leading researchers to conclude they were formed by the cooking process. Washington Post, April 25, 2002; Page A13 — In addition to forming very toxic chemicals, cooking simply degrades the nutrients in most foods. Is it time that most of us moved over to a mostly raw-food diet? Consider this: Man is the only species that cooks its food. Our bodies were never designed to deal with the fantastic amounts of toxic chemicals created by heating foods to high temperatures. The smart thing for us to to do is go natural, and consume plenty of fresh, organic, raw foods, and to supplement with super-concentrated natural foods such as barley grass, wheat grass, etc. We hope you find this information helpful to you and your family.
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Author: EvansGarden
028 – The Five Best and Worst Foods You Can Eat
Around this time of year (March), right after the Academy Awards, you see lists like “The Best and Worst Dressed” in the magazines.
We thought we’d extend this to “The Best and Worst Foods List.”
So, here we go!
The 5 Worst Foods You Can Eat:
1. Doughnuts
2. Soft drinks
3. French fries and most other fried foods
4. Chips
5. Most processed carbohydrates
Why they’re the worst
Doughnuts are not only pure refined carbohydrates with no real nutrients, they are also dangerous nonfoods. Fried in oils that have been damaged by heat, they contain very toxic compounds. The same is true for most fried foods. Furthermore, the oils used to fry these foods are usually unbalanced (lacking the essential omega-3 fatty acids) so you get too much of certain things and not enough of others.
Soft drinks, of course, contain vast amounts of refined sugars or toxic artificial sweeteners and other chemicals.
Chips and fries are virtually empty of nutritive value. They are simple carbs that turn to sugar quickly and adversely affect insulin levels. So also are most cereals, breads, pasta, etc.
Although at times tasty, these “foods” are unfit for human consumption. If included in the diet too often, we eat ourselves sick.
The 5 Best Foods You Can Eat:
1. Balanced dietary oils (quality fish oil, coconut oil, and “Udo’s Perfected Oil Blend”, available at health food stores)
2. Fresh, raw, whole organic sprouts, vegetables and fruits (especially good when juiced)
3. Fermented vegetables (sauerkraut, Asian “kimchee,” etc.)
4. Concentrated “Super Foods” such as chlorella algae, barley grass.
5. Raw organic eggs and grass-fed organic meats if you’re not vegan
All of the above “best” foods should be unrefined, unprocessed and organic. For instance, the coconut oil should not be hydrogenated, heated or solvent-extracted.
Please note that if you consume animal products, you should eat grass-fed, not grain-fed meats. Consume eggs from hens that were fed a widely varied, organic diet.
We don’t mention dairy products in particular because it is almost impossible to get them in a form that has not been severely damaged and made dangerous. Pasteurization, homogenization, antibiotics, grain-feeding — these all render milk products harmful to anyone, including babies.
Note also that the types and quantities of protein that people need vary from person to person. There is no “one diet fits all.” Some people can handle a diet of fruits and vegetables very well; others “crash and burn” on this same diet. Thus, each person should find out what works best and stick with that.
An excellent book that can help you determine what diet will work for you is The Metabolic Typing Diet by William Wolcott.
Fermented foods help restore the proper balance of intestinal flora, produce B-vitamins in the body and leave the body’s iternal pH slightly alkaline, as it should be for optimum health.
We hope you find this information helpful. Let us know your “List of the Best and Worst Foods.” We’d love to hear your views on the subject!
027 – Preservative Warning: Parabens and Breast Cancer
A recent British study detected the presence of preservatives called parabens in human breast tumors. Parabens have been shown to have estrogen-like activity. It is known that estrogen can accelerate the growth of cancerous tumors.
Parabens are the most common preservatives used in cosmetics such as deodorants, face creams, body lotions, make-up, etc., and are even used in nearly all of the so-called “natural” brands.
British researcher Dr. Phillipa Darbre told the BBC:
“Their detection (of parabens) in human breast tumours is of concern since parabens have been shown to be able to mimic the action of the female hormone estrogen,” she said.
“Estrogen can drive the growth of human breast tumours. It would therefore seem especially prudent to consider whether parabens should continue to be used in such a wide range of cosmetics applied to the breast area including deodorants.”
Further research is needed but the current findings suggest that avoidance of parabens may be the wisest policy for consumers as well as spa and salon professionals who work with products containing these chemicals.
Read the labels of your current products and see if they contain such names as “methyl paraben,” “propyl paraben,” or “butyl paraben.” This exercise will reveal to you how widespread is the use of these chemicals.
Ask your spa technician or owner if that spa uses products that contain parabens.
Paraben-free products do exist so informed consumers have the opportunity to replace their existing products. We at Evan’s Garden have never used the parabens. We feel Nature has the answers! More data on our philosophy is available here.
Interestingly, reports in the British media were more detailed than those we’ve seen in the U.S.
Links to the BBC story and Dr. Darbre’s research:
For more useful information on other toxic or suspect ingredients in cosmetics and personal care products, please read our toxic ingredients article.
Bringing Sanity to Our Food Choices
At Evan’s Garden, we strongly advocate that people take care of themselves in sensible ways that will increase their health, energy and youthfulness. Using all-natural cosmetic products such as ours is just one component of a healthy lifestyle.
A healthful diet is hugely important. However, what IS a healthful diet?
Famous “diet gurus” have made $millions selling diets that offer opposite advice. Not one of these has ever impressed us enough to embrace or to recommend. Each seemed over-generalized to us and struck us as more fad than sensible science.
Fortunately for all of us, someone has come along to pop the balloon of over-hyped fad diets and bring real sense to a once confusing scene.
Researcher and author William L Wolcott has provided the most brilliant solutions to dietary issues that we have ever encountered. His landmark book, The Metabolic Typing Diet, is an amazing read.
Just looking at this book helped us shake off the effects of false data and generalities about diet that we had been fed for so many years by doctors and the media. We brightened up so much after reading it that we were overjoyed.
The main message of the book is that each person has a unique biochemistry, and that a diet that is “right” for one person may be entirely wrong for another.
And no, this is not a “blood-type” diet book. Those books are oversimplified and there are people for whom the blood type diets simply do not work. While blood type IS a factor, it is about 1/10th of the actual picture.
Here is a good example of how Wolcott’s book helps the individual. Many proponents of natural diets claim that fruits and vegetables move the body from an acidic condition to an alkaline state, which is more healthful. Surprisingly, Wolcott’s research shows that this is not always the case. What alklizes one person may actually acidify another. Again, this shows that trying to make one diet fit everyone is just not workable.
Diet gurus have offered wildly differing advice on the “ideal” diet. Some promote high-protein, low-carb diets, others push pasta, some advocate low fat, others suggest strictly vegetarian. Unfortunately, while some people do well on one or another of these diets, other people “crash and burn”. Many search for years and never find something that works for them.
What makes Wolcott’s work brilliant is the self-testing process that emables the reader to determine his own metabolic type and then customize his own diet to suit him now and also as his biochemistry evolves and changes over time.
The Metabolic Typing Diet is a truly revolutionary book that provides what has long been desperately needed: a systematic, testable, repeatable, verifiable means for each of us to find an answer to the question, “What’s right for me?”
You’ll be truly amazed at the many health and fitness benefits you’ll experience when you consistently eat according to your metabolic type. Here are a few highlights:
* achieve your ideal weight and stay there
* lose weight without deprivation and struggle
* free your self from food cravings and hunger
* enjoy sustained high energy and endurance
* bolster your immunity and resist infections
* conquer indigestion, fatigue, allergies
* overcome depression, anxiety, mood swings that have a physical basis
* prevent and reverse chronic illness
We HIGHLY recommend this book! Go get a copy right now. You will be forever glad you did this!
We hope this information proves as helpful to you has it has to us.
Book Review – Beauty to Die For
Book Review: Beauty to Die For by Judi Vance
Judi Vance, author of Beauty to Die For – The Cosmetic Consequence has been writing and lecturing on cosmetic safety for over a decade. Some years ago, we purchased her book and were very impressed by her courage in speaking out so openly. Here are a few quotes from the book.
“Not everything we women do in an attempt to enhance our beauty is necessarily good for us. Years ago, in the Elizabethan times, it was fashionable (and aristocratic) to present a pasty white complexion. Women powdered their faces with a mixture including white lead called ceruse, and colored their lips with a reddener containing fucus-red mercuric sulfide. Even though this beauty regime destroyed the outer layer of skin, they continued using these poison palettes well into the 18th century.”
“Today isn’t much different,” Vance contends. “Thousands of Filipino women expose themselves to the dangers of severe skin disorders and possibly even cancer through their desire to have paler skin. Although the full extent of the dangers of hydroquinone, the active ingredient in the skin bleaching cream are still unknown, U.S. studies have linked it with leukemia, liver damage, and thyroid disorders. Animal studies show that it could cause mutations in developing fetuses.”
“In our quest for beauty we forget that the skin is an organ that serves vital body functions.”
Says Vance, “most women have no idea that cosmetics could cause harm. They tend to think that the new “miracle” ingredients are coming from years of scientific discovery. Wrong! Most of the ingredients have been around for many years. It’s only now that they have moved from an industrial purpose into the world of beauty. The ultimate wrinkle removers (according to cosmetic ads) – alpha hydroxy acids – have been used for years in the processing of textiles, leather, and metal and also used in cleaning, polishing, and soldering compounds, copper pickling, adhesives, and electroplating.”
Vance, who is featured in the four-part Discovery Channel documentary called “Hope and Beauty: the Story of Cosmetics,” says “cosmetic chemicals are not adequately tested. The cosmetics business is a self-regulated industry and, as quoted by a Health Canada toxicologist, compliance is as low as 30 percent.”
The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) in Atlanta, Georgia recently published a study regarding the phthalates found in children’s soft plastic (vinyl) toys. The study showed that other phthalates, such as those used in fingernail polish, were at levels high enough to cause concern about birth defects. CDC issued warnings advising women not to use nail polish during pregnancy.
“Science doesn’t have all the answers,” Vance asserts. “There’s no scientific agreement on what tests can correctly determine whether someone’s immune or nervous system, or genes have been damaged. Nor is there a consensus on what constitutes a safe level of exposure. Reproductive, developmental and genetic damage is a non-threshold event and the only safe dose is zero. Until, science knows the answers to these baffling questions, avoidance of the suspect chemicals is probably our antidote.”
“Some women are becoming wise,” says Vance and calls the increase of natural cosmetic products available in the market as proof that safety is an issue. “Alternatives exist. Education is a must.”
Judi Vance is a speaker, author and publisher of the Cosmetic Health Report. She is an in-demand television and radio talk show guest. Her own hard-fought, emotionally harrowing journey back to health paved the way for the work she finds so fulfilling today — helping others see how our lifestyle choices contribute to ill health. Her philosophy and narrative comes from experience. She is the country’s leading crusader, demanding that cosmetics be brought out of their self-sanctioned immunity and reevaluated by way of long-term human studies. Vance’s book “Beauty to Die For” received much interest from the media in Canada and prompted Health Canada to adopt stricter laws to regulate cosmetic manufacture.