What's for Lunch? Saturated Fat

... I'll Have Lard with My Soup Please!

(soup with a healthy serving of lard)

A healthy serving of animal fat (lard, duck fat, tallow) or even coconut oil which is a saturated fat could just be the trick that you need to further optimize your health. Here are a few benefits of eating saturated fat which turns out to be healthy with daily consumption.

* Helps to improve digestion and is great for nutrient absrobtion

* Provides energy

* Helps to seal the lining of the gut (needed for leaky gut syndrome)

* Has vitamins A, D and K in an easy to a digest form

* Improves immune system health

* Has cholesterol which helps to develop and nourish our brains to function optimally

* Helps to build strong bones

* Holds up to heat well during cooking and will not go rancid

(a package of unrendered lard shown with a jar of rendered lard)

To further summarize, Jennifer McLagan author of “Fat: An Appreciation of a Misunderstood Ingredient, With Recipes” explains in a online interview entitled "Why You Should Eat Fat":

"Unlike vegetable oils, animal fats are very stable and don’t turn rancid easily. This makes them ideal for cooking, which involves heating the fat. And they have no trans fats.

It is much easier to roast a bird or a joint of meat if it has a good quantity of fat. The fat guarantees taste and succulence. Without it, the meat will be dry and tasteless.

Animal fats have lots of good fatty acids that fight disease, help absorb vitamins and lower cholesterol. Your body burns the short-chained fatty acids found in animal fats and stores the long-chained ones found in polyunsaturated fat. It is a myth that eating animal fat makes you fat.

Animal fat also has a good ratio of essential fatty acids. Many of us have a skewed ratio thanks to too much vegetable oil. When this ratio is out of balance, it results in illness and depression.

But best of all, fat — with its big round molecules — tastes good, it feels good in your mouth, on your tongue and it carries flavors.

So, if you haven't already, try exploring an animal fat in your next dish. You might be surprised at how tasty it is.

Resources and References:
http://www.salon.com/2008/09/25/jennifer_mclagan/

http://www.healthy-eating-politics.com/saturated-fats.html

http://www.westonaprice.org/know-your-fats/cholesterol-friend-or-foe

http://hartkeisonline.com/2010/03/03/fat-on-grassfed-meat-is-healthy-claims-cookbook-author/

http://www.cholesterol-and-health.com/Cholesterol-Cell-Membrane.html

http://detoxinista.com/2012/10/the-benefits-of-saturated-fat/

-Have Fun with Fashion and a Healthy Life!

Wishing You a Healthy Life!

DEHYDRATION!–Is Lack of Water Causing You Problems?

...That's Health Problems. Are You Drinking Enough Water to Avoid these Symptoms?

Water is the staff of life. We've all heard this many times before but do we drink enough water to avoid dehydration and are we drinking it in the right way? Could it possibly help to heal us of nagging pain and disease?

Dr. F. Batmanghelidj came across the concept of the "The Water Cure" while a prisoner of war during the Iranian Revolution in 1979. He helped to treat prisoners with chronic dehydration cases such as peptic ulcer pain. The cool part is that he only had water to give them while imprisoned---no medications. He put them on a "water cure" routine and as you can probably guess, it cured them of the pain.

He helped to save many lives during his own lifetime with the discovery of the "magical" powers of water.

According to Dr. Batmanghelidj, we should drink half of our body weight in ounces. For example, if you weigh 150 pounds, you should drink approximately 75 ounces which is a little over 9 cups per day.

So how can we maximize our intake of water? Dr. Batmanghelidj explained on his website the secret:

"It is very important you balance your sodium intake with your water consumption. Take 1/4 teaspoon of salt per quart of water - every 4-5 glasses of water. Be sure to get sea salt. The best is Celtic sea salt or Himalayan sea salt, both of which are readily available at any health food store.

You should always drink water prior to eating, and after eating, to support the digestive process. The stomach depends on water to help digest food, and lack of water makes it harder for nutrients to be broken down and used as energy. The liver, which dictates where all nutrients go, also needs water to help convert stored fat into usable energy."

Dr. Batmanghelidj's site is very thorough and an interesting read. He lists several health problems that plague our society such as autoimmune diseases, arthritis, back pain, pain in general and migraines among other health challenges that are signs of chronic dehydration.

He goes on to say:

"Persistent dehydration inside some vital cells, in its extreme stages, will result in a number of disruptive conditions that have been labeled as different diseases - depending on the specialty of the "medical specialist" who first labels the problem.

...In short, when dehydration produces health problems, instead of correcting the dehydration and its metabolic complications, people are given toxic medications."

So let's not let dehydration get the best of us. All it takes is a slight change in routine to consume good quality salt before drinking water. If you're already on this kick, comment and let us know how it's working for you.

Carol Wachinak healed herself of a chronic disease when doctors could not help her. She came across the concept of drinking seedmilk (more on that later). Well what does this have to do with drinking water? She describes that before drinking the seedmilk, she does salt and water first. This helps to allow the cells to receive the hydration. If we don't use salt in conjunction with drinking water only our tissues are hydrated. In order to heal on a cellular level we must take the salt.

Personally, I feel that having salt before water is very hydrating. I just take a pinch of salt and let it dissolve on my tongue and then drink a cup of water.

So as we move into summer where dehydration can set in so quickly yes, hydrate your tissues but also hydrate your cells by consuming salt first.

-Have Fun with Fashion and a Healthy Life!

References:
http://www.watercure.com/index.html

http://www.watercure.com/wow_autoimmune.html

In this interview, Carol Wachinak speaks about the concept of seedmilk as well as the purpose of consuming salt before drinking water:
http://seedmilkcom.wordpress.com/

Could Phytic Acid be the Cause of Your Stomach Bloating?

Does your diet consist of a lot of nuts, seeds, grains, beans and legumes? Do you have bloating or gas as a result?

If you're looking to optimize your health and relieve yourself of symptoms caused by eating the above mentioned foods without proper prepartion, then try this traditional tip.

Soak all nuts, seeds, grains, beans and legumes before consumption.

Take this even further and try fermenting after soaking or sprouting. It all depends on the dish that you want to create. Have fun using these traditional processing methods that are easy to implement. You and your family will receive the nutritional benefits that a few extra prep steps take.

In this post we're focusing on soaking. Soaking is a traditional process that takes us back to a time when our ancestors prepared foods to consume for the highest benefit.

(sunflower seeds soaking)
Yeah but, it's so much more convenient and quick to just buy a trail mix and eat raw nuts as is. Or, I'm making rice and beans tonight, mmmmmmm, mmmmmm---innocent and tasty but what could be the problem? With a simple prep the day before, you'll gain more benefits with your rice and beans.

So, what could possibly be the cause of bloating and gas after consuming the above mentioned foods without proper preparation?

Could it be phytic acid which?:
*binds to minerals in your body and creates mineral deficiencies

*inhibits enzymes in your body to do their job to help with food digestion

According to the research done at the Weston Price foundation in their article titled "Living with Phytic Acid" it's bought to light that there are other reasons why we may have the symptoms that we have with nuts, seeds, grains, beans and legumes that's not processed properly:

"Phytates represent just one of many anti-nutrients in grains, nuts, tubers, seeds and beans. These include oxalates, tannins, trypsin inhibitors, enzyme inhibitors, lectins (hemagglutinins), protease inhibitors, gluten, alpha-amylase inhibitors and alkylresorcinols.

Anti-nutrients exist in these plant foods because they are part of the process of life. The natural world requires them in order to perform many important tasks, including protection against insects, maintaining freshness of seeds for germination, and protection against mold and fungus. In order to consume these foods on a regular basis we must remove the phytates and other anti-nutrients through processing in harmonious ways."

Here's how to soak. Plan the day ahead for food that you want to consume the next day.

1) *Simply put your choice of nuts, seeds, grains, beans and legumes in a glass jar filled with the best water that you have and cover. I like to use a paper towel so that it will still get air and not ferment if not desired. Use enough water to allow for the food to expand.

2) Rinse the next day. Rinse approximately three times which seems to get the water clear enough.

3) Then follow your recipe as normal for cooking.

*Almonds---We let almonds soak for two days, changing the soaking water once per day and peeling and discarding the skin.

*Black Beans---We let soak for a full 24 hours.

It's very easy to optimize your diet and have it work more for you than against you with these simple steps. Personally, I've noticed that I don't have the stomach bloating problem that I used to have with eating commercial raw or roasted nuts and seeds. Now that I've been processing them myself, these foods have become my friends. When I'm out and about and have to resort to store bought snacks, I'll buy some organic dry roasted almonds and guess what? You can best believe minutes later, I'll have boating :(

Do the best you can and enjoy your food. Learn and employ techniques that will have you feeling good and looking good from the inside out!

(pan roasted sunflower seeds that were soaked overnight)


-Have Fun with Fashion and A Healthy Life!

Reference:
http://www.westonaprice.org/food-features/living-with-phytic-acid

Resources:

http://chriskresser.com/another-reason-you-shouldnt-go-nuts-on-nuts

http://katedeering.com/archives/1397

Have Fun with Fashion!

Last weekend I decided to wear a vest that I designed way back in the day for my senior fashion design collection. For my project, I chose to create a men's wear line using different types of linen fabrics. The line had an edgy look but with the casual feel of linen.

For some reason, when I was donating the rest of the pieces of this collection to a clothing drive last month, I decided to keep this vest and I'm glad that I did. For all of those years it's been sitting in storage and now I've decided to wear it.

You never know when inspiration will come!

Here are a few snap shots from my senior fashion show at Marymount College in Arlington, VA back in '99! We really did Have Fun with Fashion back then :)

The vest that I've revamped is shown on the far left.

Have Fun with Fashion and A Healthy Life!

Claim your unique style and Rock It!