Whole Foods markets - leading the charge against GM

If you think that the US has dragged the anchor in regards to labeling of food containing GM ingredients and were disappointed by the defeat of Proposition 37 (California’s recent attempt to ensure all GM-containing foods appropriately labelled) you’ll be heartened to know that the massive Whole Foods Market chain has promised to have mandatory GM-labeling on all its products by 2018.

OK, so 2018 is a hell of a long way down the track, but there’s other encouraging news. At the moment, 22 US states are debating the need for GM-labeling, and as these state-level initiatives proliferate, the Natural Products Association (NPA) has called for all foods containing GMOs to be “accurately labeled under a national uniform standard so consumers can make educated decisions about foods they purchase”.

It seems that consumers are finally waking up to the need to know exactly what they are eating and if the regulatory and governing bodies don’t have the guts or the will to change the legislation, the grass-roots movements are prepared to take action. 

Co-CEO of Whole Foods Markets sums it up."This is an issue whose time has come. With cases like horse meat discovered in the U.K., plastic in milk in China, the recalls of almond and peanut butter in the U.S., customers have a fundamental right to know what's in their food ... 'The government has not been willing to take on this issue, so it's going to have to happen differently.”

While the move by a group like Whole Foods, purveyors of fresh, whole, organic, ready-to-eat and packaged produce through hundreds of mega stores across the US might be anticipated, their move must surely be echoed by other chains such as Wal-Mart and Walgreens. It seems that commercial interests are well-served by labeling of GM produce, with up to 15 percent increase in sales of products stating “non-GMO”. In a tight, very competitive market, those gains can’t be ignored. More power to Whole Foods, but also to those producers who have to work very hard to keep their crops free from GM contamination.

Melatonin - sleep inducer and cancer inhibitor, under threat

Over the years societies have extended their day with electric light, now many of us sleep in a light-infused limbo with text messages and emails coming and going, while a variety of light emitting devices - laptops, computers, TVs, DVD players, alarm clocks, phone chargers and more constantly glow and wink through the hours that Nature designed to be experienced in complete darkness. 

The victim of all these light-infused hours is melatonin - the hormone produced by the pineal gland and responsible for putting us to sleep. But melatonin does much more than make us dozy, it’s a powerful antioxidant, cancer-inhibitor and all round important good-guy in our biological armoury for immune support, hormone balance, and protection against brain-ageing... 

We’re victims of light-filled slumber hours in other ways. Societies who cannot extend their day with electric light (and sadly these are now extremely few in number) demonstrate vastly different sleep cycles. Rising with the sun and retiring at dark, the number of hours slept are much greater (and obviously vary with the seasons) and there are lucid or wakeful periods when the individual processes or makes sense of his dreams.

When was the last time you slept in a completely darkened room? When was the last time you went to bed when darkness fell? When was the last time you "processed" a dream? If your work and leisure habits mean an unwavering commitment to extending the daylight hours, red, orange and yellow light is healthier than blue and white. A salt lamp is a great way to spread a night time glow that leaves melatonin production relatively undisturbed. If you think you could do with a bit of night-time support, best option is the only plant-based melatonin in the world. Options for inducing sleep or preventing jet-lag.

"...despite significant concerns about marketing breast milk substitutes"

Danone has topped the Access to Nutrition Index (ATNI) for its efforts to address issues such as obesity and malnutrition.

Apparently those assessing the performance of the food and beverage manufacturers of the world don’t place much value on compliance with the International Code of Marketing of Breastmilk Substitutes. Danone rates 6.3 and and Nestlé 6.0, scoring out of possible 10 in the ATNI Index. Both were applauded for their efforts to address obesity and malnutrition, improving the health profile of their products, making them affordable and promoting them appropriately, yet their breastfeeding policies remain of “significant concern.”

Which means the ATNI score is a complete oxymoron. If these companies are still flouting the MAIF Code, they’re white-anting the most fundamental, preventive health promotion measure that should be the birthright of everyone on this planet! Whatever they do down the track to tackle obesity or malnutrition pales into insignificance. 

The International Baby Food Action Network (IBFAN) has branded the report a ”whitewash.” They say the ATNI Report is “a clever tactic that rewards companies for the wrong things!” Absolutely agree with that and the fact that Coca Cola and Friesland-Campina (one of the four largest Infant Formula companies in the world) don’t even rate a 0 on the ATNI scale should be cause for panic (but probably no surprise)! A long time ago, concerned women of the world boycotted Nestlé for inappropriate promotion of their breast milk substitutes in developing countries - maybe we need to mount another campaign? 

Look beyond obesity, the problem is more fundamental

Professor Robert Lustig says it’s time to change the conversation about obesity and to focus on all the metabolic syndromes that the world now suffers from. Hear, hear Prof Lustig! But let’s look beyond sugar as the poison that I agree it is, and get down to the basis of undoing the  effects of several generations eating “white” foods (sugar, refined flour etc.)

It’s almost eighty years since Dr. Weston Price’s studies of native communities around the world resulted in the publication of his seminal work -  Nutrition and Physical Degeneration. It’s eighty years since this enlightened dentist demonstrated the direct link between compromised reproductive outcomes and a host of chronic conditions (including diabetes), to the change from a traditional wholefood diet to one containing refined sugars and flour and hydrogenated fats. 

Sadly, only a few were listening to Weston Price’s message, so it’s now been a long time and a lot of generations. As he predicted, we now have massively compromised reproductive health (beginning with infertility and going all the way through to the epidemic of kids with metabolic, immune, neurological and digestive disorders) and chronic degenerative disease that occurs at younger and younger ages. 

By all means move away from the obesity focus, it’s just the tip of a massive iceberg. But let’s move to where the most effective solution can be found - with the health of prospective parents before conception. Then, even if every prospective parent were to modify their diet and lifestyle right now, it will be many generations before we have a hope of redressing the damage. But begin we must ... it’s entirely in our hands! The next generation deserves a whole lot better than their current unhealthy legacy!

 

Check recent blogs for my new mini ebooks, designed for the time poor, financially stretched, or for those who want more authoritative information than what's just a Google away.

Break in transmission

Yep, I've been off the air! First it was the Easter break in Tasmania - a wonderful chance to test the recovery of my kneecap (broken just one year ago) and catch a bit of R&R. The knee stood up to the rigours of the Bay of Fires walk as I’d assumed it would - thanks to all those extra nutrients backed up with a training and rehab program designed by a young man who knows more about the workings of the body than most.

What a magnificent part of the world - some images tell the story of this little adventure better than I ever could. 

Feeling rested and relaxed and happy to have my knee restored to normal I was only back in the office one day and was off to China. I was collected at Nanjing airport by two gorgeous girls who were to be my escorts and interpreter for 10 days. The English speaker learned in UK and was a delight, easy to understand and full of energy and enthusiasm. However, the presentation that was supplied to me needed beefing up with some slides on Olive Leaf Extract - hardly my area of expertise. However, rising to the occasion I cobbled something together at midnight (local time - 2am for me) and after collapsing between beautiful cotton sheets amid a plethora of puffy pillows I arose to face the day! 

First up a Chinese breakfast followed by a drive thru the pollution to an even grander hotel where the ballroom was choc-a-bloc with more than 300 customers waiting to hear all about Olive Leaf Extract. 

Show opens with a magician doing tricks, followed by beautiful girls in white ball gowns and red sashes. At 10am I am announced and said gowned girls escort me to the stage where, interpreter at my side I give the company trumpet a blast and air my new found knowledge on Olive Leaf for 30 minutes. Successfully delivered of that oration our driver takes us across town to a magnificent luxury shopping mall where the retail location is found. 

There I am again the subject of attention as customers queue to talk to me (ask about olive leaf and more via interpreter) and I manage to appear knowledgeable and confident about that and the rest of the product range which I am only very recently (like last 1/2 hour) familiar. Three hours on we depart via subway for the main Nanjing Railway Station. This is the biggest station in the country (for the moment) and would eclipse many major airports in size. Repeat that program in 9 different cities, totalling 11 presentations in 12 days and I’ve just told the boss I’m worth more money. Anyway, I'm back on the blogging airwaves ...

Your kids will thank you for their healthy weight!

Soaring intakes of sugar-sweetened drinks are associated with increased calorie consumption of other foods such as sweets and pizza in children, warn researchers.

Ten thousand children were studied. Those who consumed sugar-sweetened beverages such as soft drinks or fruit juice sweetened with sugar (SSBs) were found to consume more high-fat, high-sugar foods generally. And the higher their consumption of SSBs, the more fried food, pizza, cakes, cookies and sweets they ate! 

This study should come as no surprise - as I blogged recently - studies have proven that junk food is addictive and junk-food-addicted, fat kids frequently point the finger of blame at their parents. They mightn’t be aware of the reasons, but they’re right that the fault for the fat, in many cases, doesn’t lie with them.

What would it take for your kids to thank you for slim build, strong physique, mental acuity, immune competence, gut health and a host of other vital goodies? Optimal physical, mental and emotional health isn’t in the lap of the gods, it’s not just the luck of the draw. It’s in your hands! You and your partner have the chance to give your kids the greatest gift of all - a lifetime of preference for real, live, healthy food, normal weight control mechanisms and so much more. You can get started now!

Whole family's fat? Can your kids blame you?

Latest edition of Australia’s The Biggest Loser is about “family fat” - in other words “like father, like son”, or “like mother, like daughter.” Yikes - what a legacy!  One of TBL 's personal trainers has gone on record as being inspired by one of the Dads on the show, while being appalled at the behaviour of some of the young towards their parents ... whom they often blame.

As well they might ... the studies are relentless in their confirmation. The negative effects of a preconception/pregnancy junk food diet, high-sugar intake, obesity, Caesarean-sections and formula feeding are trans-generational, or at the very least, have the potential to consign a child to a lifetime of poorer health and weight management issues from birth. 

Don’t let your kid point the finger of blame at you ... there are enough pitfalls in being a parent, enough genetic effects over which you can exert little or no control, to be stuck with those about which you can do something. And it’s never too soon to get started. 

It’s a simple program, involves both prospective parents equally and should be in place for at least four months before you plan to conceive. Prebiotics and probiotics are an essential foundation but also ongoing step in your preconception preparation, lots more sound advice in my latest mini ebooks. And believe me, whatever effort you both make before you conceive, will pale into insignificance alongside the gut-busting exercise and gut-wrenching food restrictions (or worse) that might otherwise become your offspring's lot.

Be fearless - defy the doom-sayers

This story about “cancer-clusters” is interesting and raises a theory that I have long held. Modern medicine feeds on fear and as a population we are less “well” than we could or should be simply because we buy into the fear-mongering. But before I get started on that particular soap-box, back to the cancer-cluster story. It seems that there may be clusters (of any disease for that matter but cancer strikes fear into the hearts of most), however trying to pin-point a causative agent is usually a futile task, with clusters then dismissed as serendipity or random happenstance. 

Now back to the fear-mongering. It infects most of the population - none more so than the conceiving, reproducing, birthing and breastfeeding population, with whom I'm most familiar. It’s ubiquitous, it’s insidious and it’s under-mining women’s most fundamental beliefs in themselves and their bodies. But above all the fear-mongering is about big business. 

Prospective parents and new mums and dads listen up! Think of the massive commercial interests in IVF, pre-natal diagnostic screening, medical intervention and surgical births and breast milk substitutes before you buy into the spin of Dr. Fear and his cronies. 

“We'll assess how many healthy eggs you have left.” 

“We need to see if your baby's the right size for dates.” 

“We have to check the position of your placenta.”

“Your baby’s big, but your pelvis is small!” 

“Your baby’s not latching on, she’s still hungry!” and on and on ...

Step away, ignore the doomsayers and check out a different story. Find a story-teller that makes your heart sing, your spirits lift and infuses you with optimism, positivity and a belief in yourself. Then see if you can create a cluster of like-minded prospective and new mums! What would it take ... for you to be free of infection-with-fear?

Knowledge is power, and power trumps fear. Here are some brand new, inexpensive ways to wise up and get with the power.