The Problem with Processed and Packaged Food

 

Processed and packaged foods have become increasingly popular in modern times, due to their convenience and long shelf life. However, there are several problems associated with these types of foods.

• Lack of Nutrients: Many processed and packaged foods are stripped of their natural nutrients during the manufacturing process. This can lead to a diet that is low in essential vitamins, minerals, and fiber.

• High in Salt, Sugar, and Fat: Many processed and packaged foods are high in salt, sugar, and fat, which can contribute to health problems such as obesity, diabetes, and high blood pressure.

• Additives and Preservatives: Processed and packaged foods often contain additives and preservatives to improve their flavor, texture, and shelf life. However, some of these additives may be harmful to health in large amounts.

• Environmental Impact: The production and packaging of processed foods can have a negative impact on the environment, through the use of chemicals, packaging waste, and energy consumption.

• Cost: Although processed and packaged foods are often cheaper than fresh, whole foods, they can be more expensive in the long run due to their negative health impacts. Eating a diet high in processed foods can lead to increased medical costs and lost productivity due to illness.

While processed and packaged foods may be convenient, it is important to consume them in moderation and focus on a diet that is rich in fresh, whole foods to ensure optimal health.

What ingredients in Processed foods harmful to humans

 

The ingredients in processed foods can potentially be harmful to humans, depending on the type and quantity of ingredients used. Some processed foods may contain high levels of added sugars, salt, and unhealthy fats, which can contribute to chronic health conditions such as obesity, heart disease, and diabetes. Additionally, some processed foods may contain artificial colors, flavors, and preservatives, which have been linked to negative health effects.

Some specific examples of potentially harmful ingredients in processed foods include:

• High-fructose corn syrup: This sweetener is commonly used in processed foods and has been linked to obesity, diabetes, and other health problems.

• Trans fats: These unhealthy fats are commonly found in processed foods such as fried foods, baked goods, and snacks, and have been linked to heart disease.

• Artificial sweeteners: These sweeteners, such as aspartame and saccharin, have been linked to negative health effects such as headaches, dizziness, and digestive issues.

• Sodium nitrate and nitrite: These preservatives are commonly found in processed meats and have been linked to an increased risk of cancer.

• MSG (monosodium glutamate): This flavor enhancer is commonly used in processed foods and has been linked to negative health effects such as headaches and allergic reactions.

What is meat glue and does it have artificial ingredients in it?

 

Meat glue, also known as transglutaminase, is an enzyme that is used to bind together smaller pieces of meat into a larger, more desirable cut of meat. The enzyme works by cross-linking the proteins in the meat, creating a strong, natural bond that is similar to the way muscle fibers are held together in a whole cut of meat.

Meat glue is derived from natural sources such as bacteria, and is not considered an artificial ingredient. However, some forms of meat glue may be produced using genetically modified organisms (GMOs) or other non-natural methods, which some people may consider to be a potential concern.

While meat glue itself is generally considered safe to eat, there have been some concerns raised about its use in processed foods. Specifically, some experts have expressed concerns about the potential for meat glue to be used to hide lower-quality meat or to create fake or imitation meat products, which may be misleading to consumers.

Additionally, the use of meat glue may make it more difficult for consumers to know exactly what they are eating, as it can be difficult to determine the origins of the smaller pieces of meat that have been bound together. As a result, some people may choose to avoid meat glue or processed foods that contain it, in favor of whole cuts of meat that have not been treated with the enzyme.

Read more about meat glue here  https://www.glutenfreesociety.org/meat-glue-sabotaging-gluten-free-diet-improvements/

It's important to note that not all processed foods are harmful, and some may even be fortified with essential vitamins and minerals. However, it's always a good idea to read food labels and limit consumption of processed foods that contain high levels of added sugars, salt, and unhealthy fats, as well as artificial colors, flavors, and preservatives. Eating a diet that is rich in fresh, whole foods is generally considered the healthiest option for humans.

To Restore Soils We Need To Feed The Microbes

Our soils are in trouble. Over the past century, we've abused them with plowing, tilling and too much fertilizer. What many think of as "just dirt" is actually an incredibly complex mixture of rock-derived minerals, plant-derived organic matter, dissolved nutrients, gases and a rich food web of interacting organisms.

Minerals in soil play a critical role in our bodies and they have specific cofactors that help them to work properly so that everything we eat is perfectly assimilated. 

By plowing and overtilling, we have increased erosion on agricultural fields by 10 to 100 times natural rates. Over just the last several decades, we may have lost about half of the topsoil that natural processes produced over thousands of years in the U.S. corn belt.

Topsoil is rich in soil organic matter -- dark spongy material formed from decomposed plant and animal tissue. Soil organic matter is critically important: It helps soils hold onto water and nutrients and supports soil microbes that recycle nutrients. Loss of soil organic matter has made many farms increasingly reliant on fertilizers, pesticides and herbicides.

Much recent research has focused on adding organic material back to soils to restore them. This is an important strategy, but I believe we also should aim to enhance the microbes that are responsible for soil formation. I was part of a research team that demonstrated in a 2015 study that adding efficient microbes to soils can enhance the percentage of plant carbon that is transformed into soil. New research suggests that by fostering an efficient and active soil microbiome, we can accelerate soil regeneration far beyond typical rates seen in nature.

It Takes a Village To Make Healthy Soil

Natural soils are thriving with life. They contain an incredible diversity of microscopic bacteria, fungi, viruses and other organisms. A single handful of soil can contain tens of thousands of different species.

These microbes interact closely with each other, forming complex networks. They communicate with chemical signals. They work together to break down complex organic materials, including dead plants and animals. They often work in teams to complete biochemical processes, such as transforming nitrogen from an inert gas to plant-usable forms, and recycling it from dead plant materials back into dissolved forms.

In healthy soils, organic matter is protected from decomposition inside clumps of soil called aggregates. But tilling crushes aggregates, unlocking their carbon and allowing microbes and soil fauna to attack it.

Components of soil organic matter. USDA NRCS

This creates a temporary feast for soil microbes, but eventually they deplete their food supply and die off. Without a healthy microbial community, nutrients are no longer recycled, opportunistic pests can invade and farmers rely increasingly on chemicals to replace biological soil functions.

Reviving Agricultural Soils

Soil degradation is a critical problem because it threatens our ability to produce enough healthy food for a growing human population and contributes to climate change. In response, large companies, nonprofits, scientists and government agencies are working together to restore soil health.

For example, General Mills is working with the Nature Conservancy and the Soil Health Institute to encourage farming practices that begin to rebuild soils.

The first step to improving soil health is to stop the bleeding. Instead of leaving fields barren in between crops, which leads to erosion, farmers are increasingly planting cover crops such as rye grass, oats and alfalfa. They also are replacing intensive tilling with no-till practices to prevent the breakdown of soil structure.

Soil organic matter contains over 50 percent carbon. Globally, soils contain more carbon than plants and the atmosphere combined. Losing carbon-rich organic matter from soils releases carbon dioxide, a greenhouse gas, which can accelerate climate warming. But by regenerating our soils, we can sequester more carbon underground and slow climate warming.

In addition to protecting soil, cover crops take carbon out of the atmosphere as they grow and funnel it into the soil. Unlike cash crops that are harvested and removed from the soil, cover crops are left to decompose and contribute to soil formation.

Increasing the supply of plant carbon in this way is an important first step in rebuilding soil carbon. But new research suggests that it may be insufficient.

A New Paradigm of Soil Formation

We used to think that soil organic matter was formed from leftover bits of plants that were difficult to degrade. Over time, we thought that these plant particles became chemically transformed into what was called humus -- dark, long-lasting material left over when dead plants and animals decay. This view suggested that the key to building soils was getting a lot of dead plant material into the ground.

Recently, however, technological advances have transformed our understanding of soil formation. There is now strong evidence that that the most persistent forms of soil carbon are formed primarily from dead microbial bodies rather than from leftover plant parts. The vast majority of old soil carbon appears to have undergone microbial decomposition. While plants are the original source of carbon for soils, microbes control its fate by using it as food, thus ensuring that at least some of it will remain in the soil.

Feeding The Soil By Feeding Microbes

Microbes can take a simple compound like sugar and transform it into the thousands of complex molecules found in soils. When microbes break plant matter down, they use some of the material they consume for building new biomass -- that is, to fuel their own growth -- and exhale the rest as carbon dioxide. The efficiency with which they create new biomass varies widely. Some microbes are like weeds: They grow quickly in food-rich environments, but are sloppy eaters and waste much of what they consume. Others are slow-growing but hardy, waste little and are able to survive times of starvation or stress.

To maximize the proportion of plant carbon that is transformed into soil organic matter, we should aim to support and enhance soil microbiomes that quickly and efficiently transform dead plant materials into soil organic matter. Healthy soils should also contain microbiomes that help prevent disease, cycle nutrients and help reduce plant stress.

My research group is now bioprospecting for groups of microbes that are especially efficient at forming new soil and recycling nutrients. We are also researching which crop traits support microbiomes that help enhance soil health. Making soils more healthy will make it possible to grow more food with fewer inputs, which will make farming more profitable and protect our air and water.

Fast Growing Veggies in an Emergency

There is a growing trend to home garden or be able to 'live off grid' in an emergency.  As gardeners we know the easy to grow veggies from the hard ones so here is your Emergency Garden Plan.
  

This tubs are large.  You can use ones
half this size

GOAL:  Plant to have food in 30 days.

Day 1.

Grab 2 dozen plastic 2 foot by 18 inch by 10 inch totes.    Drill holes in the bottom.   Fill with potting soil and plant 6 tubs with.

 carrots
 spinach
 green onions

Set the tubs on the lids and use the lids as drainage saucers.

Put these in a sunny window or sliding door.  They will be harvest able in 30 days.  They can be added to rice or potatoes.   The Spinach will regrow.  The ends of the onions can be replanted as can the carrots.   Just keep replanting them.  

Easy

1. Lettuce – 2. Chard –3. Kale –

4. Chinese Greens –Bok choi or sui choi

 Moderately Easy - 

5. Beets – 6. Carrots – 7. Radishes – 

Moderately Difficult

8. Beans – 9. Peas –10. Tomatoes – 

11. Squash – 12. Cucumber – 13. Lemon –

14. Strawberries – 15. Potatoes – 

Day 2

Plant the other 6 tubs  with

zucchini
beans
cherry tomatoes
peppers

These do better outside, but can "can' be grown  inside.  They will start to be ready to harvest in 35-55 days.

Day 3

Potatoes.   In 5 large  milk crates line with landscape cloth (or newspaper to keep the dirt in) and fill 1/4 way with dirt.  Plant Potato eyes.   As the green tops get to be 4 -5 inches cover all but the top 1 inch with dirt... repeat.   These also do better outside but can be grown inside.

Potatoes can be harvested in 10 weeks.
Store the potatoes and beans after harvest.
Repeat the planting.

Day 15

Plant the remaining 12 tubs just like the first 12


Hints

1) DO plant a regular garden  when the weather is right....  Use the technique above year round in an emergency to make sure you have something 'green' and fresh in 30 days and for the following months.

2)  If you don't have sunny windows... use a south facing patio and make sure you have  6 MM opaque film you can tack between your roof edge and the ground 7  feet away.  You will need a  4 X12 foot area.

This is a fancy lean to.  Plastic tacked to the drip edge and
stretched down works too

3) One large bag of potting soil will fill 3 small tubs or two buckets.  You can buy 8 bags for 9.00 a bag.

You can get fancy and add starter beds with glass tops
 using tubs with old windows laid on top

Material list to store

A box with 6mm opaque plastic 20 feet by 50 feet.   (this will give you two years worth.. cut it in half at 25 feet.

4 2X 10s
Staple gun
A few nails
Step stool
25 bins or buckets
9 bags of topsoil
a 1/2 dozen milk crates (for potatoes)
Heirloom seed packets for the veggie list above. Use Heirloom Seeds because you can collect the seeds and replant.  Hybrid or GMO seeds won't work beyond the initial seeds in the package.

You can stack and store the list above in a corner of your garage and the bags of soil outside out of the way.  Put the seeds in a shoe box in a dark cool closet.   Cost?  under 200.

How to make the leanto greenhouse

On the south side of the house...Cut your 50 foot plastic wrap into two 25 foot pieces.  Take one piece and wrap the 20 foot side of the 6 mill plastic around the (2)  2 X 4s (staple) and nail to your roof eve.... then  wrap (2) d two by for in the other side (staple) .  and set it away from the house.   Done.  plant your buckets.

Hint About Water

Do set set up a rain catchment system or have a pool.  Times each square foot by .65 and that is how many gallons a week you will need.   So a 144 square foot garden (12 bins or buckets) needs 93 gallons a week.

Fad Diets Are Out - Eaters For Health Who Focus On Non-GMO, Organic and Toxic-Free Foods Are In

A wave of highly informed seekers of clean and healthy food is taking over the information highway and leaving yo-yo and fad dieting methods in the dust. They are representing a new generation of educated consumers who seek not only to maintain a healthy body, but supercharge their longevity and well-being with foods which are free of toxins and genetically modified organisms. They do not necessarily fall into any specific category whether vegetarian, fishetarian, vegan or any other known pattern. They're simply interested in eating clean, fresh, unadulterated foods that agree with both their palate and physiology.

 

The old tried and claimed true methods of eating less fat have clearly failed millions of people on these types of calorie reduced diets. More importantly, they damage long-term health by lowering critical cholesterol levels which may cause more serious diseases such as cancer.

The masses are currently gearing up for a nutritional revolution that is likely making its mark for decades to come. Eaters for health (EFH) is about clean food, free of toxins such as chemical additives, coloring and preservatives. It's about foods free from genetic modification, pesticides, herbicides and anything "cide". We're talking organic, wholesome, nutritionally dense, full of antioxidants, vitamins and minerals. 

Eaters for health are not necessarily concerned about going vegetarian, fishetarian or vegan, despite the claims from these groups that their way is the only path to true health. Many who pursue these lifestyles actually end up discovering the opposite and that veganism and some forms of vegetarianism can actually be very detrimental to certain metabolic types especially with ancestral origins that relied on some type of animal protein as a primary food source. Sooner or later, many (not all) of these ethical eaters dabble back into animal protein simply because it makes them feel better.

Regardless, that is not the concern for EFH. They embrace those who choose the path of ethical eating practices and don't judge them based on their decisions. If it works for them--great, but if it doesn't, that's fine too and there's no shame in selecting another path that focuses on clean, toxic-free eating.

Many EFH do eat animal protein, but their focus and prerequisite insists on consuming products from animals that are treated humanely, allowed to graze fields, fed organic produce which is as close as possible to their natural diets. They choose non-vaccinated, hormone-free and toxic-free animals that are traditionally raised in loving farm environments where farmers actually care about the well-being of their livestock. They also emphasize humane slaughtering methods and insist that many of the animals enjoy several years of their life without being slaughtered a year after birth. 

They understand that all life is consciousness and there is no such thing as eating a plant, sprout, grain, or anything that is a lower life form that lacks consciousness. If they are eating eat, it is consciousness, whether it is a plant or animal. From that perspective, it allows them to make conscious decisions to consume plants, animal or marine life on the same level of reasoning and depending on the individual needs of each person.

An important part of the EFH drive for healthy eating is to follow their instincts. If a food doesn't taste or feel right to their palate or digestive system, they will not continue to consume it regardless of the touted health benefits. They educate themselves on their ancestry, what their ancestors subsisted on, including climate, soil, and even air quality. EFH are also very interested in their genetic and metabolic predispositions and select many foods based on this research.

They consider how a food is produced, how the various foods they eat interact with each other, and how they can balance nutrition with food enjoyment and our overall well-being. When shopping at the grocery store, they make conscious decisions that can have profound effects on their life and on the world as a whole.

Losing and maintaining healthy weights will just be par for the course with EFH and it's a welcome benefit that many of them are experiencing.

"This is great news because studies have shown that even a 5 percent reduction in weight can lead to improved health," said author Jacinda M. Nicklas, MD, MPH, MA, a clinical research fellow at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and Harvard Medical School. "With more than a third of Americans now obese and fifty to seventy percent of them trying to lose weight, this is important because the health risks associated with carrying that extra weight are substantial." 

The authors found that, "self-reported use of popular diets, liquid diets, nonprescription weight loss pills and diet foods/products were not associated with weight loss."

"It's very encouraging to find that the most of the weight loss methods associated with success are accessible and inexpensive," says senior author Christina Wee, MD, MPH who conducts research on obesity and health disparities as the Co-Director of Research in BIDMC's Division of General Medicine and Primary Care. "There are lots of fad diets out there as well as expensive over-the-counter medications that have not necessarily been proven to be effective."

Nutritionist and raw food expert Eugene Hillary says the EFH movement is gaining credibility without a label. "These people have not even label themselves, yet they know exactly what they want to achieve and how to increase their health," he stated. Hillary asserted that those who escape from the yo-yo fad dieting trends and adopt EFH type lifestyles immediately see modest weight loss within a few short months without any exercise because they cut out all toxins and tailor diets to their specific metabolic types.

This first appeared in Prevent Disease  

Pediatricians Say Scrap The Fruit Juice

Fruit juice has been marketed (and in some cases, recommended by physicians) as a healthy, natural source of vitamins and calcium. Kids like the way it tastes -- in fact, children and adolescents continue to be the highest consumers of fruit juice and juice drinks, but nutritional benefits are very questionable.

There is no reason to include them in the diets of children less than a year old, the American Academy of Pediatrics now says.

Steven Abrams, MD, chair of the Department of Pediatrics at Dell Medical School at The University of Texas at Austin, co-authored the policy statement, released today. It also recommends limited consumption for older children and adolescents.

"There's never been a question that whole fruits are the best choice for children -- adults, too, for that matter," Abrams says. "We just have to take a step back and realize that there are harmful consequences to consuming large amounts of juice by children."

Fruit juice, defined separately from fruit-flavored and other juice drinks not made from 100 percent fruit, lacks the dietary fiber of whole fruits. Since juice can be consumed more quickly than whole fruit, a child who sips fruit juice throughout the day may fall into a pattern of consuming excessive sugar and calories and experience weight gain later in life.

Not From Concentrate?

You may think ‘not from concentrate’ juice means a more authentic product. You’d be wrong.

Manufacturers say they help give their product a consistent flavour. They also explain why juice in cartons doesn’t taste like fresh juice.

‘Naturalness’ isn’t the only dubious claim made for juice. For decades, health gurus, and some doctors, have claimed the vitamin C in juice fights common colds.

Helen Bond, spokeswoman for the British Dietetic Association, says: ‘People have lost sight of how much sugar is in food and portion sizes have got bigger. A 150ml glass provides one of your five a day and anything more than that doesn’t count. But measure people’s glasses and they are often 250ml.

‘Juice provides a lot of vitamins and minerals, but unlike fresh fruit you don’t get the healthy fibre.’

Doctors say the huge volume of sugar in our diet is contributing to the obesity epidemic, causing heart disease, cancer and diabetes.

A shocking investigation has also revealed that some of the best known brands of apple juice contain arsenic.

American apple juice is made from apple concentrate, 60% of which is imported from China. Other countries may use pesticides that contain arsenic, a heavy metal known to cause cancer and heart disease.

Findings of a Consumer Reports investigation about arsenic and lead levels in apple juice and grape juice have prompted the organization to call for government standards to limit consumers’ exposure to these toxins.

Weaning populations off fruit juice may be difficult. Market research firm Mintel says 83 percent of us drink fruit juice at least once a week, while 76 percent believe fruit juice to be healthy.

But if you need motivation when you sit down to breakfast, remember this: there is more sugar in a 250ml glass of fruit juice than in a large bowl of Frosties with milk. The sugar is not all natural either.

For a Flexible Fruit Choice, Proceed With Caution

The concerns are fewer for older children and adolescents. In small amounts, 100 percent fruit juice may even be a good way to increase fruit intake, particularly as a child's caloric needs increase with age.

Since juice has a longer shelf life and is easily transportable, it offers a flexible option for families who may not be able to provide whole fruits to meet 100 percent of a child's recommended daily intake. Even still, juice should be limited to half of a child's daily fruit consumption -- two 4- to 6-ounce servings is more than adequate.

"At the end of the day, it's about instilling good eating habits in kids," Abrams said. "Establishing a healthy, balanced diet early in life is one of the best ways to ensure that kids grow up healthy and stay healthy as adults."

This first appeared in Prevent Disease

Cannabis Prevents Brain Aging

Memory performance decreases with increasing age. Cannabis can reverse these aging processes in the brain. Low doses of the active ingredient in cannabis, THC, has the opposite effect on the elderly, reversing brain aging and restoring learning and memory.

This was shown in mice by scientists at the University of Bonn with their colleagues at The Hebrew University of Jerusalem (Israel). Old animals were able to regress to the state of two-month-old mice with a prolonged low-dose treatment with a cannabis active ingredient. This opens up new options, for instance, when it comes to treating dementia. The results are now presented in the journal Nature Medicine.

* 5 Diseases Proven To Respond Better To Cannabis Than Prescription Drugs *

Like any other organ, our brain ages. As a result, cognitive ability also decreases with increasing age. This can be noticed, for instance, in that it becomes more difficult to learn new things or devote attention to several things at the same time. This process is normal, but can also promote dementia. Researchers have long been looking for ways to slow down or even reverse this process.

Scientists at the University of Bonn and The Hebrew University of Jerusalem (Israel) have now achieved this in mice. These animals have a relatively short life expectancy in nature and display pronounced cognitive deficits even at twelve months of age. The researchers administered a small quantity of THC, the active ingredient in the hemp plant (cannabis), to mice aged two, twelve and 18 months over a period of four weeks.

Afterwards, they tested learning capacity and memory performance in the animals - including, for instance, orientation skills and the recognition of other mice. Mice who were only given a placebo displayed natural age-dependent learning and memory losses. In contrast, the cognitive functions of the animals treated with cannabis were just as good as the two-month-old control animals. "The treatment completely reversed the loss of performance in the old animals," reported Prof. Andreas Zimmer from the Institute of Molecular Psychiatry at the University of Bonn and member of the Cluster of Excellence ImmunoSensation.

Years of meticulous research

This treatment success is the result of years of meticulous research. First of all, the scientists discovered that the brain ages much faster when mice do not possess any functional receptors for THC. These cannabinoid 1 (CB1) receptors are proteins to which the substances dock and thus trigger a signal chain. CB1 is also the reason for the intoxicating effect of THC in cannabis products, such as hashish or marihuana, which accumulate at the receptor. THC imitates the effect of cannabinoids produced naturally in the body, which fulfil important functions in the brain. "With increasing age, the quantity of the cannabinoids naturally formed in the brain reduces," says Prof. Zimmer. "When the activity of the cannabinoid system declines, we find rapid aging in the brain."

To discover precisely what effect the THC treatment has in old mice, the researchers examined the brain tissue and gene activity of the treated mice. The findings were surprising: the molecular signature no longer corresponded to that of old animals, but was instead very similar to that of young animals. The number of links between the nerve cells in the brain also increased again, which is an important prerequisite for learning ability. "It looked as though the THC treatment turned back the molecular clock," says Zimmer.

Next step: clinical trial on humans

A low dose of the administered THC was chosen so that there was no intoxicating effect in the mice. Cannabis products are already permitted as medications, for instance as pain relief. As a next step, the researchers want to conduct a clinical trial to investigate whether THC also reverses aging processes in the brain in humans and can increase cognitive ability.

The North Rhine-Westphalia science minister Svenja Schulze appeared thrilled by the study: "The promotion of knowledge-led research is indispensable, as it is the breeding ground for all matters relating to application. Although there is a long path from mice to humans, I feel extremely positive about the prospect that THC could be used to treat dementia, for instance."

This article first appeared in Prevent Disease

10 Best Companion plants for Tomatoes

Companion planting is part science and folklore. Putting plants together in the garden can help enhance growth and flavor they say.  I know that planting some of them together does help deter insects and make for pretty containers.

If you can't grow them yourself pick up great
heirloom varieties at your farmers market

Here are 10 companion plants I grow with my tomatoes in containers.  Great Recipe at the Bottom so keep reading...

1.  Thyme - My favorite for spilling over the edges of containers full of tomatoes.  

2.  Basil - I turn my tomato containers into herb gardens.  And almost everything you grow a tomato for can use a little basil.  Since both are annuals, at the end of season it all comes out.

3.  Chives - Another easy grower. Since theses can be perennial i tuck them into the corners of my containers... (with thyme trailing down.. so pretty)

4.  Peppers - I have a theme here... if it goes into cooking with tomatoes it goes into grow pots either with them or right next to them.  I put both peppers and tomatoes iinto  the same 20 gallon container and let them both grow up through a trellis and then tie them to my fence.  

5.  Onions - I tuck these into all the edges of my containers where i DON'T have chives although they can go right together.  I find when they are little i can't tell them apart. 

6.  Leaf Lettuce - Since lettuce likes a little shade and a tomatoe plant gets big i simply trim back the bottoms of tomatoe plants and plant around them. Lettuce has a shallow root so it doesn't compete with the deep root tomatoes.

7.  Marigolds - again.. these come super easy from seed so i plant them everywhere.. they help keep bugs away since they make a natural pyrethrin.

8.  Sage - i don't cook much with it but some of the new sages have pretty flowers and bugs hate them and stay away from the plants they are near.  

9.  Borage - This helps keep hornworms away... or so they say.  I think all the companions that deter bugs help so plant this one too.  You can pluck it and add it to your leaf lettuce.

10.  Cilantro - Another herb that we use daily in our cooking that bugs seem to hate to be near.  There is a rumor that cilantro improves tomatoes flavor.  Don't know the science about that.  I simply regrow amazing heirloom tomatoes that have beautiful flavor.  

Companion planting is an easy way to get more usage out of your garden and everything listed on our companion list is super easy to grow.. have fun...

Tomato and White Bean Salad

2 cups of Cherry tomatoes

1 cup of cooked, drained and cooled white beans

Small clove of garlic diced

Small onion sliced

1/4 cup basil diced

Olive Oil

Red wine vinegar to taste

Toss it all together and serve...  we make a different version of this with cilantro instead of the basil and add peppers and green chilies making it a western salad.

'Use By' Food Dates Are Responsible For Billions In Food Waste

Norbert Wilson who joined the Friedman School as a professor of food policy, has been investigating food waste, building on his past research on food choice, domestic hunger, food banking and the international trade of food products. What motivates people to spend good money on food they don't intend to eat?

According to the United Nations' Food and Agriculture Organization, a staggering 1.3 billion tons -- is lost or wasted every year.

The impact of food waste is not just financial. Environmentally, food waste leads to an exagerrated use of chemicals such as fertilizers and pesticides; more fuel used for transportation; and more rotting food.

When Wilson turned his attention to issues related to food waste, he theorized that consumers buy food even when they're aware they may not finish it. It's a concept that anyone who has purchased a container of sour cream can understand--we buy it knowing we may toss the container with a hefty portion still clinging to the sides.

Wilson found a clue in 2013, when the Natural Resources Defense Council released a report showing that a substantial portion of America's $160 billion food-waste problem could be traced to those "use by" and "sell by" dates on food containers. It turns out that many consumers, worried that food that has passed the date on its packaging is no longer worth eating, throw out plenty of perfectly good stuff. Could consumers be thinking about those labels as they buy the food?

To find out, Wilson devised an experiment that involved putting differently worded date labels on yogurt, cereal and salad greens. The labels used a variety of terms--"use by," "best by," "sell by" and "fresh by"--and included an expiration date. Wilson wanted to know whether certain language would result in people buying food with a greater expectation that they would waste some of it--what Wilson and his colleagues called the "willingness to waste."

The 200 participants in the study were asked to examine food carrying the different labels and then say how much of each product they expected their household to consume. In nearly every case, the subjects' answers indicated that they would be more willing to toss out food if it had the "use by" wording. The researchers theorized that may have been because "use by" implies that the food would no longer be safe to eat after that date.

The study found that date labels were influential even when it came to a food like boxed cereal, which is less vulnerable to spoilage. In fact, the willingness to waste was actually higher for cereal than it was for more perishable items like yogurt and bagged salad.

The cereal example also showed that the perception of a bargain can influence willingness to waste amounts. For instance, when participants in the study perceived that they were getting a better deal by buying a larger box of cereal (think Costco-size double boxes of Cheerios), they anticipated wasting more of it, even if the "use by" date was a year in the future.

"I was surprised by how strong a response they had to the cereal," Wilson said, "and that people were willing to waste more when they saw the larger size." The pitfall for consumers, he said, is that tossing more of the cereal may have canceled out the savings they thought they were getting.

The findings imply that the way foods are packaged can enable waste. Tweaking package sizes may keep consumers from buying more than they'll eat. But one wide-reaching change would be to standardize date labels--currently unregulated at the federal level--so that they have a consistent meaning. "To move forward on reducing food waste," Wilson said, "we will need collaborations between industry, consumer groups and the government to change labels."

Lost and Tossed

"Loss" means food that doesn't make it to market, while "waste" is the term for food that stores, restaurants and consumers toss. Loss is a greater concern in developing countries, accounting for 84 to 95 percent of the food that goes uneaten there. Waste is a bigger problem in higher-income countries, where about a third of uneaten food is simply squandered. Researchers see chances to fight both problems all along the supply chain.

FARMS
Harvests lost to poor storage and contamination. Farmers in low-income countries often can't protect harvested crops from the elements and pests. Simple technologies, such as metal silos, could help. Some farmers cut their losses by 40 percent when they started using specialized plastic storage bags.

TRANSPORT
Food lost in packaging and handling. Without refrigeration or other ways to preserve them, foods wilt and spoil. Rough handling damages produce and hurries rot.

RETAIL
Food wasted by stores and restaurants. American stores toss about 43 billion pounds of food per year--from dented melons to discontinued cookies to ham that is nearing its "sell by" date. Restaurants cook abundant amounts and then dump what's left at the end of the day.

CONSUMERS
Food wasted at home. What with buying too much, serving too much and not storing food properly, an average American family throws away up to $2,200 worth of food every year.

This first appeared in Prevent Disease

Refrigerated Fruit Loses Over 80 Percent of Its Antioxidants

Freeze-drying strawberries keeps all their Vitamin C and polyphenols and 92% of their antioxidants, saving more nutrients than by chilling which can lose over 80% of antioxidant concentrations.

It is well known that heat destroys most of the antioxidant potential of berries, making canned and juicing that involve friction and heat a poor choice to maximize their antioxidant potential.

The same is true for refrigeration. It appears that whenever fruit experiences temperature variants from its original state, antioxidant potential is affected, that is unless it is freeze dried. 

Researchers at Sheffield Hallam University, UK measured Vitamin C, total antioxidant capacity (TAC), and total phenolic content (TPC) in fresh, chilled and freeze-dried strawberries.

Freeze-drying had no significant impact on nutrient content, but refrigerated fruit experienced large losses.

Researchers at the Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center examined the effect of freeze-dried black raspberries on genes altered by a chemical carcinogen in an animal model of esophageal cancer. The carcinogen affected the activity of some 2,200 genes in the animals’ esophagus in only one week, but 460 of those genes were restored to normal activity in animals that consumed freeze-dried black raspberry powder as part of their diet during the exposure.

“Freeze drying the berries concentrates these elements about ten times, giving us a power pack of chemoprevention agents that can influence the different signaling pathways that are deregulated in cancer,” said principal investigator Gary D. Stoner, a professor of pathology, human nutrition and medicine who studies dietary agents for the prevention of esophageal cancer.

Packaging Research Planned

John McAughtrie, technical director, Chaucer Foods, said the research highlights the nutritional benefits of freeze-drying fruit and vegetables.

"We are now planning to undertake further studies to compare the nutrient retention of freeze dried fruit and vegetables against those that have been dried using alternative technologies, and to consider the effects of packaging and storage on nutrient retention."

In the fruit chilled for seven days, TPC was reduced by 82% from fresh, Vitamin C was down by 19%, and 23% of TAC was lost. These are similar losses experienced through friction and heating mechanisms while juicing.

TPC is a measure of polyphenols, chemicals with antioxidant health benefits found in fruits, vegetables, tea and wine. The largest group of polyphenols is flavonoids, which can contribute to food's color and mouthfeel.

Dehydration Technique

The study also freeze-dried lime, orange, blackcurrant, broccoli and red bell pepper, and found freeze-drying had little or no negative effect on TAC, TPC or Vitamin C content.

Freeze-drying preserves foods using a combination of cold temperature and dehydration.

Fruits and vegetables are frozen, and water is removed from the food by reducing the surrounding pressuring so the frozen water moves straight from solid to vapor.

HOW TO FREEZE DRY FOOD

1. Choose the types of food you want to freeze dry. Foods that contain high amounts of water work best for freeze drying. Their structure remains intact after the process. These foods hold up particularly well:

• Fruits like apples, bananas, berries, persimmons and pears.
• Vegetables like potatoes, peppers, carrots, sweet potatoes and parsnips.

2. Choose the freshest food possible. Freeze drying food at the peak of its ripeness or freshness helps make sure it will taste good when it's reconstituted. Fruits and vegetables should be freeze dried when they are in season and fully ripe.

3. Avoid freeze drying foods that won't taste good reconstituted. Berries and apples don't need to be reconstituted - the freeze-dried version of these fruits tastes good as it is. Freeze dried meat or spaghetti, on the other hand, will need to be reconstituted with moisture in order to be edible. Don't freeze dry foods for which this won't be possible.

4. Process the food for freeze drying. Get the food ready to be preserved by doing the following:

• If applicable, wash and dry the food thoroughly.
• Slice the food into small pieces. Cut apples, peppers, potatoes and other fruit and vegetables into small chunks, so that the moisture is easily removed.

5. Place the food on a plate or tray. Spread it out so that the pieces of food are not clumped together.

6. Place the tray in the freezer. If possible, make sure the freezer is empty of other items.

• Don't open the freezer much while the food is freezing. This will slow the freezing process, and cause ice crystals to develop on the food.
• If you have a deep freezer, use it. The food should be frozen at the lowest temperature possible.

7. Keep the food in the freezer until it has freeze dried. Over the course of about a week, the process of sublimation will take place, and all of the moisture will be removed from the food.

• Test to make sure the food is completely freeze dried by removing a piece and allowing it to thaw. If it turns black, the food is not freeze dried yet.

8. Store the food. Once the food has completely freeze dried, place it in freezer storage bags. Push out the air, seal the bags, and store them either in the freezer, in your pantry, or in your emergency preparedness kit.

Other methods of freeze drying involve using dry ice and vaccum chambers.

Mae Chan holds degrees in both physiology and nutritional sciences. She is also blogger and and technology enthusiast with a passion for disseminating information about health.

This first appeared in Prevent Disease

Eating Blueberries and Strawberries Weekly Slashes Heart Attack Risk By 33 Percent

High levels of phytochemicals and antioxidants naturally occurring in blueberries and strawberries reducing the risk factors of many ailments including cardiovascular disease and metabolic syndrome. Three or more servings of blueberries and strawberries per week may slash a woman's risk of a heart attack by as much as 33%, says a new study from Harvard.

Data from 93,600 women aged between 25 and 42 indicated that the highest consumption of the blueberries and strawberries was associated with a one-third reduction in their risk of heart attack, compared to eating berries once a month or less -- even in women who otherwise ate a diet rich in other fruits and vegetables.

Writing in Circulation: Journal of the American Heart Association, the researchers attributed the benefits to the anthocyanin content of the berries, which may help dilate arteries, counter the buildup of plaque and provide other cardiovascular benefits.

"Blueberries and strawberries can easily be incorporated into what women eat every week," said Harvard School of Public Health's Eric Rimm D.Sc., senior author of the study. "This simple dietary change could have a significant impact on prevention efforts."

This is not the first time that berries and the compounds they contain have been linked to cardiovascular benefits. Anthocyanins, a class of secondary plant metabolites called flavonoids, are found in many fruits and berries.

Blueberry consumption has previously been linked to reduced risk of Alzheimer's, and the beneficial effects of the blueberries are thought to be linked to their flavonoid content - in particular anthocyanins and flavanols. The exact way in which flavonoids affect the brain are unknown, but they have previously been shown to cross the blood brain barrier after dietary intake.

Strawberries are rich in potassium, a mineral that helps regulate the electrolytes in your body, lowering your risk of heart attack and stroke. They also contain folate, a key ingredient in the manufacture of red blood cells.

Scientists from East Anglia recently reported that increased intakes of anthocyanins may reduce blood vessel hardening and improve overall heart health.

"These results are of public health importance because intakes of flavonoids associated with these findings are easily achievable in the habitual diet and make a significant contribution to the knowledge base needed to refine the current, rather general, fruit and vegetable dietary recommendations," wrote the researchers in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition .

In addition, a recent study from China indicated that 320 milligrams per day of anthocyanins for 24 weeks was associated with reductions in inflammatory compounds like C-reactive protein (CRP) and soluble vascular cell adhesion molecule-1 (sVCAM-1) of 22% and 12%, respectively.

Study Details

Working with scientists from the University of East Anglia in the UK, the Harvard scientists analyzed data from 93,600 women participating in the Nurses' Health Study II. Dietary data was obtained every four years via questionnaires.

During the study, the researchers documented 405 heart attacks. After crunching the numbers, Dr Rimm and his co-workers calculated that the highest intakes of blueberries and strawberries were associated with a significant reduction in heart attack risk.

"We have shown that even at an early age, eating more of these fruits may reduce risk of a heart attack later in life," added Aedín Cassidy, PhD, from the University of East Anglia.

The American Heart Association said it supports eating berries as part of an overall balanced diet that also includes other fruits, vegetables and whole-grain products.

Commenting independently on the study's findings, Victoria Taylor, senior dietitian at the British Heart Foundation, a charity, said that more research is needed to understand why this link between berries and better heart health exists.

"We would need to know more before we make specific recommendations about individual fruit and vegetables in relation to heart disease," she said.

"But in the meantime, this is yet another good reason to make sure we get our five-a-day and enjoy the wide variety of fruit and vegetables available to us."

Don't forget to buy organic. Some sources of blueberries and the majority of Strawberries are very heavily laced with pesticides so try and stick with organic sources. Organic varieties in season won't break the bank either as they're often 50 cents more than conventional.

Source: 
Circulation

Mae Chan holds degrees in both physiology and nutritional sciences. She is also blogger and and technology enthusiast with a passion for disseminating information about health.

This first appeared in Prevent Disease