What does Roundup do to Health and which foods is it on?

I am re-printing a letter (partially) that I wrote to Stephanie Seneff who is a Senior Research Scientist at the MIT Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory.  She received her B.S. degree in Biophysics in 1968, the M.S. and E.E. degrees in Electrical Engineering in 1980, and the Ph.D degree in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science in 1985, all from MIT.  

Dr. Stephanie Seneff,

You don’t know me but I have been following your interviews, speaking presentations, and science publications, as much as a lay person seeking health can.  

I am so thankful you are speaking about Roundup and Glyphosate and it’s affects on health.  To me, GMOs are only part of the picture.  People need to be monitoring and understanding this very powerful herbicide and chelator Roundup which is sprayed not only onto GMO foods but ALSO non-GMO foods.  See this article for more on Genetically Modified Foods and health.

I went GMO free after watching Jeffrey Smith's Genetic Roulette documentary and was a GMO labeling activist in California, but I was not looking at Roundup specifically and it's deleterious health affects.  I just learned from you that they are spraying Roundup (Glyphosate) not only on GMO crops but also on around 160 varieties of food crops in America that are Non-GMO crops like; grains, rice, legumes, sugar-cane, tubers, dried peas, nuts, fruits, vegetables, cacao beans, herbs, teas, coffee, stevia, etc. (wheat, barley, rye, oats, sorghum, rice, all variety of beans and lentils, sugar-cane sugar, sweet potatoes, white potatoes, and other foods, think gluten free items) with Roundup (Glyphosate) Herbicide and Chelator.  In many cases it's to aid in the harvest/drying process and frequently is sprayed on them just prior to harvest, being put to market, and consumed on our dinner tables.  

So, technically those above mentioned foods are not GMO foods, but they have Roundup (Glyphosate) sprayed on them just prior to harvest, unless organic.  So, we are most likely eating Roundup (Glyphosate), which is an Herbicide and Chelator of nutrients, when we eat non-organic versions of those foods.  My family was not organic on these items, in all cases.  Just GMO free.  Roundup is a whole other area, I think.

You have shown my family enough research so that we are now eating an ALL Organic food diet, not just non-gmo.  Eating ALL Organic is unfortunately the only way to eliminate, or at least reduce as much as possible, this toxic herbicide and chelator from our food choices.  This was a light bulb moment for me.

It shouldn't be this hard for a Mom to feed her family a healthy meal!

Thank you for speaking out.  I know scientists are sometimes apprehensive to go up against such powerful entities as the producers of this toxic substance.  

The way I understood the science of your findings:

Roundup/Glyphosate Interferes with and Disrupts:

• The Shikamate Pathway in plants -and- the microbes/flora (gut bacteria or microbiome) in our gut and are both disrupted by Roundup/Glyphosate.
• The three Essential Aromatic Amino Acids Tryptophan, Tyrosine, and Phenylalanine, get jammed and aren’t able to make the conversion to Serotonin, Thyroid Hormone, Dopamine, DNA signaling, and Melatonin.
• Also, it interferes with the Cytochrome P45 (CYP) Enzymes in our LIVER making problems for us to detoxify, make Vitamin D, convert nutrients into Sulfate (very important) and more.

Roundup/Glyphosate Inhibits:

• LIVER CYP Enzymes
• DETOXIFICATION Pathways (Sulfite to Sulfate)
• Metabolism of FATTY ACIDS
• Damaging Gut Bacteria – preferentially the Good Bacteria (worse than antibiotics)
• Absorption Problems w/Nutrients (Chelating them)
• Amino Acid Disruption
• Minerals are either deficient in food or our body

So, what do the above disruptions or inhibitions do to the health of a body?

• Detoxification pathways are inhibited - backing up toxic overload
• Methylation is inhibited - Important for brain function and detoxification
• Sulfite conversion to Sulfate (very important) is jammed
• Feel good hormones don't get made, think depression, angry behavior and irritability
• Mitochondria (powerhouses for our cellular energy) are disrupted
• Dopamine is hindered, think Parkinson type conditions here
• Gut (Microbiome) Dysfunction - Pathogenic Bacteria thrive while Good Healthy Bacteria are preferentially killed
• Fatty Acids are not metabolized - think Fatty Liver, Fat Storage (body fat) on the body, and GI issues such as IBS and Fat Soluble Vitamin(s) Toxicity or Deficiency
• Liver Malfunctions - sluggish or not able to make the conversions with the right nutrients/enzymes
• Nutrient absorption difficulties - it's either not in the food, or it's being hindered from being utilized in the body
• Sensitivities to wine (flushing) as Sulfites are not able to be converted into Sulfates
• Hyper-Allergenic - Food or Environmental Sensitivities
• Brain Function hindered - lack of Serotonin (or low levels) to the brain is highly associated with Autism

For the first time in the world Roundup (not just glyphosate) has been studied in the blood of rats, showing at .1ppb ( 50% less than is allowed in EU drinking water and thousands of times lower than is allowed in USA drinking water) rats showed sex hormone changes. The study shows that the adjuvents (other chemicals) in Roundup make glyphosate 1000 more toxic. This ground breaking study proves the EPA does not have evidence to say Roundup is safe and should be recalled immediately. Nicholas, in the clip shown above, speaks with Zen Honeycutt of Moms Across America at the "Food Safety and Sustainable Agriculture Forum 2014".

If you want to learn more you can go to Moms Across America which Professor Seralini, and French Researcher seen below, mentions several times.  He has conducted the only long-term study on GMO's and Roundup.

Just some FOOD for thought.  Organic food that is.

GMO's and other Food Myths

Some people think that Soy is good for a person to eat for good health.  I completely disagree.  Please do not give infants soy formula without knowing the side effects and risks to health.  Click here to view an excellent article by Dr. Marlene Merritt who explains soy and its potential risks.  Other than that, you can view a bullet point style brochure about Soy from Weston A. Price by clicking here and printing it to view or pass on to someone.

Note:  Weston A. Price Foundation does not receive donations or funding from industries that would benefit from informing the public of  the science it reviews.  Therefore, in my view, they are not influenced to promote any biased conclusion of the nutritional advise they provide.  I feel that this makes them a trusted source to view and learn what the current science of nutrition really does show.  If a cereal company, pharmeceutical company, or big manufacturing industry funds a study, be very wary of THEIR published conclusions.  I personally feel that the information that Weston A. Price Foundation provides on nutrition is not skewed by profit or prejudice.

Okay, so now about the other issue of Soy. More than 80% of it is Genetically Modified.  Corn is the only other food crop that is Genetically Modified as much as Soy.  What does that mean?

Please watch this short 2 minute 27 second clip.  http://youtu.be/Vv96D_ZURzs

What is Genetically Modified Food? 

Besides the numerous health consequences and risks of consuming unfermented soy that is not GMO (see brochure or the article for more on the science on that), I feel the most important reason to NOT consume soy is because more than 80% of it is Genetically Modified or Genetically Engineered. 

I learned recently what Genetic Engineering food (GMOs) means.  I knew it was something I didn't want to consume, but what exactly was GMO (Genetically Modified Organisms)?  In crude, basic terms, what I understood from the article I read is that they take a pesticide gene and force the DNA from one species (a toxin, antibiotic, etc.) and put it into a natural seed of an entirely different species.  This process produces a genetically modified seed to be planted and grown.  This makes it so that when an insect or pest bites the plant in the growing process, its' stomach explodes and the insect dies.  This is called the Bt Toxin form of GMO.

The problem with this scenario is that nature is ever evolving.  Eventually, she figures out how to evolve and survive.  So insects get stronger.  Their species want and need to survive and mother nature is very good at making that happen.  It's just like the overuse of anti-bacterial products and anti-biotics, which have created Super-Bugs that are now resistant to our current treatment options.  Nature is pretty darn smart, and species change to adapt to the conditions we create science to change.  Thank goodness, because all living species are critical to our delicate ecosystem.

The other scenerio of GMO is that they Genetically Modify by forcing the DNA of a completely different species into a seed "hoping" to make it resistant to being killed by their patented and toxic weed chemical (to kill the weeds but the plant tolerates the weed killer.  This is called a Roundup Ready plant).  One of the toxic chemicals in Roundup is called "Glyphosate" and it is found in the pesticide Roundup Herbicide that Farmer's spray on GMO crops.

SAFETY?  We are told by the huge industries that want to supply GMO, sell GMO's, and profit from GMO's, that it is safe for the pesticide gene inserted into natural seeds -and- the Roundup Pesticide to be consumed (by humans) and that it gets eliminated by our stomach acid and does not cross into our human blood.  This is NOT what the studies are beginning to show.

It has been shown in recent studies that the toxic GMO pesticide Bt is found in human blood of pregnant women and in their developing and unborn fetus.  You can see here where there was a study in Canada that showed that the GMO "Bt" DOES cross into the human blood stream and does CROSS INTO THE PLACENTA TO AN UNBORN FETUS.  See this short article reporting the study that shows Bt Toxin was found  in the blood of women and unborn children here.  This could mean that the Bt toxin that splits open the stomach of the insect that bites the growing corn plant does the same thing in us.  We eat the corn with the Bt toxin, it crosses into our human system, it pokes holes in our own stomach walls - creating leaky guts.  That says autoimmunity, allergies, and IBS, and so much more, to me.  This Bt toxin may remain in our system altering our own DNA and staying active.  That is a very scary thought to me.

These GMO's are shown to have effects on many parts of the body including the organs (brain, heart, liver, kidneys, pancreas, and reproductive organs).  This is REALLY NOT good. 

UPDATE TO BLOG - Cancerous tumors were the result of GMOs! - Click here to view a brand new study showing the effects of both the Bt toxin and the chemical Glyphosate.  The photos are graphic tumors produced by eating GMO corn and Roundup Insecticide in trace amounts.

Another point to know is that Farmers are having a hard time after about the third year after switching to GMO crops with weeds becoming a problem (Glyphosate not working) with the weeds becomming resistant to the herbicide/pesticide Roundup, the insects becoming resistant to the "patented" Monsanto Bt Toxin within the plant itself, and other issues cutting into their profit; wishing they hadn't made the change to GMO's.  They resort to hand labor in some cases.  Other herbicide alternatives are just not that available anymore.  They may have to resort to begin using Agent Orange or DDT to effectively kill the weeds

The GMO seed is owned and patented by Monsanto and they require the Farmers to sign a contract to agree that they WILL NOT re-use seed from their harvested crop (which is a normal practice for farmers to do). So, the next year the Farmers must purchase the higher cost GMO seed over and over again, each and every year. 

The GMO Bio-Tech Industry is buying up a huge number of Natural Seed companies; systematically eliminating Natural Seed. 

If GMOs are allowed to persist, Monsanto will have the monopoly on our Food supply and Seeds to plant, to a degree that NO company should have.  See this short film for more on there situation.  http://youtu.be/jEX654gN3c4

What do the Farmer's Say about GMO's?

It threatens the Organic farmers ability stay Organic or to stay in business.  Organic Farmers are being sued by Monstanto for "stealing" their patented seeds from the "wind" blowing the seeds that Monsanto owns into their crops.  It should be the other way around and Monsanto should be sued for contaminating their Organic crops with their science produced GMO seeds.  But, the small farmer is up against very large corporations, and very powerful people, that have unlimited resources.

What do GMO's do to the Organic Farmers and can GMO and Organic farming co-Exist?

The FDA says that NO SAFETY TESTING IS REQUIRED....WHAT?

Even with the URGING of THEIR OWN "FDA" SCIENTISTS to test for human safety before having people (and our children!) begin consuming GMOs and putting them into our food system, the FDA decided it did NOT need to conduct the appropriate studies to determine if GMO's were safe to put into our food system and still haven't.  So, in 1996, they began to put GMO's into our food.  Do we know enough about Genetically Modified foods to know what harm it can or does do?

The FDA Scientists at the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) had warned about all these problems even in the early 1990s. According to documents released from a lawsuit, the scientific consensus at the FDA was:

That GM foods were "inherently dangerous", and might create. . . 
1.) hard-to-detect allergies
2.) poisons
3.) gene transfer to gut bacteria
4.) new diseases
5.) nutritional problems

They urged their superiors to require rigorous long-term tests - see memos at www.biointegrity.org

All I know is that I do not want to be part of that human experiment.  If you want to eat them you can, but the people who don't, should be able to opt out of this currently ongoing Human Study, happening now, without our consent or agreement. They should need a persons consent to do such a potentially life threatening, human race experiment, with such unknown health risks (because they decided not to perform the appropriate studies on animals first).  I want nothing to do with that experiment.

If you want to see what Genetically Modified food does do to the animals and livestock that eat them, and human's that work in the fields of GMO's, they explain it (and show you) in this film called Genetic Roulette.  After watching this film I now understand what GMO foods are likely doing to the health of our Nation and the effect it will have on the ability to have future generations go on healthfully, or at all.  GMO's effect the reproductive organs of the study animals causing Sterility, Infertility, Birth Defects, Premature Death to Offspring, and failure to thrive in their newborns.  There are numerous Veterinarians, Medical Doctors, Farmers and Scientists speaking out in this film.

Learn about our food supply and which foods to eat and which ones to avoid to keep GMO's out of your diet and why it's VITAL for health, especially the health of our kids!  Kids are more vulnerable because there metabolisms are faster and there cell turn over is quicker (because they are growing so fast) and they are smaller and they don't need as much of a toxin to produce many harmful side effects.

Click here to view the film:  Genetic Roulette – The Gamble of Our Lives   

Watch it, preferably with your spouse and kids if you can.  Our children need to know about this too as our actions today will most impact their generation and all future generations.  

The film shows a list of THE MOST COMMON foods that contain Genetically Modified foods, how to best avoid them (if you choose), and which companies do not use GMO's.  Please understand this issue! 

I feel that nutritionally, this will have one of, if not THE biggest impact on our future generations.  Your kids don't get a vote, and don't always have a choice on what they get to eat, but YOU SHOULD HAVE A CHOICE for your kids and yourself.  We have a right to know what food we are eating, what's in our food, and a CHOICE to eat the foods we feel good about. 

Should we Gamble the Health of a population?



Please know that the public school lunches that are provided to our children are extremely high in these GMO foods.  I would say about 50% - 75%  of the foods provided to our children, in the school lunch program, is GMO.  What does this do?  Think about that.  Do you know?  http://youtu.be/TVH9x4s-5Pc



What happens when Children Eat GMO's?

Hidden Health Dangers to Children

To read further on GMO's, this article entitled Why We Need to Label Genetically Modified Foods is an excellent overview of the details and what you need to know.  Here is another excellent article explaining GMO health risks to weight gain and other significant health ramifications of eating GMO's.

Let's Review the Health risks of eating Genetically Engineered Foods or Genetically Modified Organisms in this short clip 1 minute 47 second clip: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nXoZoZS-sB4&feature=youtube_gdata_player:

Quick Overview of what are the Health Risks of eating GMO foods?

If you want to know more (to read further) about non GMO Soy, and the effect of consuming it, aside from being GMO (if that wasn't bad enough), this article is an excellent explanation of how soy works in the body and the health risks of overexposing children (and adults) to its estrogen-like substances in the amount of around 5 birth control pills, and its ability to block "essential" minerals (through its anti-nutrients) from being able to be absorbed.  It not only blocks the minerals within the soy itself, but also the foods consumed with it.  The article was published in Acupuncture Today and was written by Dr. Marlene Merritt.  You can also view some of her you-tube clips on health and weight loss below this post or going to the blog at www.health-seeker.blogspot.com.  You can view her article by clicking here .  

The most powerful influence on health; FOOD!

Why would someone forgo a food they desire?  This is extremely important for an individual, or a family member, to get so they understand why they would eat foods that are healthy and avoid ones that are not. 

Maybe a goal is lowering the risk of modern diseases or being free of prescriptive medication, which almost always have side effects or consequences.

 

Only when you have a reason, is it even important to know and understand which foods in the diet are actually healthy to eat. 

 

Without the why, it just feels like a punishment.  It is important to absolutely know why you would be determined to obtain something more valuable than eating the easiest way; to just consume the most accessible, available and convenient foods.  These convenience foods are so common and accessible why would you choose not to eat them? 

  

The way you cook, the foods you bring into the house, or put into your body, are almost assuredly helping or hindering you or your families ability to create health in the body.  But, why would anyone be willing to NOT eat what's convenient, common, and easily accessible and available (and cheaper).

 

Some people are unwilling to abstain from a food they like and to make changes to obtain health. That is any persons right, I feel. 

But, for me, I prize health (and weight control) that is what motivates me.  It is more important than eating a convenience food.  Everyone will have a different why.  Some people have life or death reasons to make the necessary food choice changes. 

It has to be important enough to someone; like being well throughout the aging process.  I think this is a big one.  For me, being mentally present and in good physical health for my young daughter, for as long as possible, is absolutely worth giving up sugar, wheat, soy, most blood sugar triggering starches and grains, and replacing them with nutrient-dense replacements.  I love the way I eat now.  You have to figure out what works.  Everybody is different.

 

A person ultimately has to decide they want to obtain optimal health by eating nutrient-dense, non-inflammatory, foods.  It has to be important to them to make certain food choices (to eat, or sometimes more difficult in the beginning, NOT TO EAT something - making better choices to get full or satisfied). 

Then you need to know what foods are anti-inflammatory and nutrient-dense for health.

You have to want health, joint flexibility, the ability to maintain mobility till the end of life, to have balance, agility and strength in the body, remain disease-free, experience optimal aging without the need for costly prescription drugs, have better looking and acting skin, and a high mental capacity so you are not viewed as old and without input.

 

If you don't want the outcome or know why you would avoid foods, it just feels like punishment. 

When you understand that food is THE most powerful influence on health, aging gracefully, mobility and independence through the aging process, thus sustaining a healthy body and mind, it becomes a no-brainer decision to make healthy food choices. 

Then, and  only then, do you have to know which foods are healthy and do not promote inflammation and therefore disease. 

 

Otherwise, you don't need to know what to eat, because there is no reason to make healthy food choices.

Inflammation in the body, (a response mostly caused by our food choices we eat) is ultimately the cause of all modern disease. What do I mean by modern disease; Muscular Schlerosis, Parkinsons, Alzheimer's (now being called Type 3 Diabetes or Diabetes of the Brain), Cancer, Heart Disease, Leaky Gut Issues that are being linked to promote Auto-Immune Diseases like fibromyalga and chronic fatigue.

Are there other things we can do to promote health?  Yes, of course.  Yoga is one thing that comes to mind that does promote most of the anti-aging benefits mentioned in this post and one additional thing; reduces stress.  But, without the proper fuel in the body, you would not have the energy, joint health, and desire, to practice yoga.  It all starts with FOOD.

Okay, so you say you want to obtain your own personal health goals and they are important enough to make better food choices, what then?

 

Here's two thoughts on health goals that I think of often and what I feel is THE most powerful influence on health in the body; FOOD.

• If a food causes spikes in blood sugar and insulin, I feel it negates any and all health benefits of the food because Insulin causes low grade and chronic inflammation in the body and inflammation promotes ALL modern disease.  

• There isn't a need to lower blood sugar with medications, if blood sugar is not being raised by the wrong blood sugar producing foods, in the first place.

The USDA says to eat so-called "healthy" whole grains and other blood sugar producing foods, so they must be good for us, right? 

I call them "filler-foods" which replace real food.  These are the foods that are most convenient, common, and accessible, and are also parading as healthy foods, but are not.  Cheap grain and cereal foods are just CHEAP "filler-foods" (which government promotes as a health food because it's their job to).  Our Department of Agriculture (USDA) is supposed to support and promote US agriculture like grains, wheat, corn, soy, and increase its yield - a complete conflict of interest to the American public.  Unfortunately, these filler-foods end up replacing real, traditional, nutrient-dense foods, to a much too high degree, and should be avoided or kept to a minimum in the diet. 

I recently heard on Jimmy Moore's podcast interview with Adele Hite that The "USDA" food guidelines (pyramid or food plate) that recommend our food choices are a department directly under, and part of, the U.S.Department of Agriculture "USDA" which is rarely understood fact.  The people making the healthy food recommendations are part of the same governmental department or division as the people promoting agriculture.  In fact, the food recommendations are UNDER the control of the Agriculture Department.  So, the fox is guarding the hen-house.  USDAgriculture wants to promote and sell our countries agriculture, that's one of their jobs and goals. 

The food recommended to us to promote health has little to do with the current science and more to do with promoting and increasing profit of these foods and stimulating the economy.  They want us to eat these very cheap "filler-foods" that support our agriculture, but are they making us a healthier nation?  It is sad. 

Take a look around the streets where you live and decide for yourself.

We want to eat (and sometimes crave) these CHEAP filler-foods because they produce a blood sugar roller-coaster effect (so we HAVE to eat something, and fast, to help bring our blood sugar back up) and they produce an addictive response in the body to want more. 

Huge positive changes with blood sugar control, and therefore reducing inflammation in the body and creating a healthy response, can occur by eliminating (or significantly reducing) starch and sugar.  Starch just turns IMMEDIATELY AND DIRECTLY into sugar in the body.  Most importantly sugar is the most important thing to stop consuming.

That's what I did when I was pregnant and had gestational diabetes.  I controlled my blood sugar with diet, so I know it can be done. 

Do you want to do what it takes to get the results though?

It doesn't mean you can't find alternatives like I do with alternative sweets that I make myself and LOVE.  More to come with that topic.

Think about what's important to you!

Remember; inflammation, not cholesterol, causes risk to most ALL modern disease. 

Insulin causes an inflammatory response in the body.  Spiking blood sugar causes insulin.  Eating starch and sugar cause blood sugar to rise.

Look at it from start to finish.  The wrong food (starch and sugar) raises blood sugar, spiking blood sugar causes the body to produce insulin, insulin is inflammation, inflammation causes risk to most all modern disease.

If you are on a Statin to lower Cholesterol, watch this 1 minute 22 second clip:

Do Kids Need Carbohydrates for Energy?

What foods do our Kid's Brains need to grow and work well?

And, 100 years ago, did people live long enough to die of heart disease?

I was recently asked, by a friend of mine, these very important questions that really need to be understood. So, after thinking about it, and answering my friend, I felt it might be helpful to pass on my response in a blog post here.  Additionally, I will attempt to address the questions below that were also asked.  I felt they were all valid questions and that many people aren't really sure of what the answers are:

These are some important questions:

1. Do Kids Need Carbohydrates, specifically “Whole Wheat” for Energy?
2. Do they need carbs (pasta/bread/etc.) for brain development/energy? 
3. Do Kids need carbs if they don’t need to lose weight?  What if they do need to lose weight, what then?
4. Do they need carbs to run fast and get good grades on tests and to be alert? 
5. Is the Paleo way of eating a bogus diet for Children? 
6. Do the Cells in our Brain that are made out of fat benefit from Animal Fat, or is it Carboydrate that creates the brain neuron connections? What fuel source best helps the brain function at its best?
7. Does our Fat in our Fat Cells (in our body) get stored easiest from Fat or Carbohydrates?
8. Or, are ALL Carbohydrates horrible for Kids?

My most passionate intent in creating this blog is to try and give science-based information about Children's health, to parents.  To try and sort these questions out would be a great place to start. If all you do is watch the videos in this post, you will have a great understanding of which Nutrient-Dense Foods we should be feeding our children, and why!

So, How do Carbs, or the lack of Carbs, affect Kids?

Do Kids NEED the macro-nutrient Carbohydrate?

Did people live long enough to die of heart disease 100 years ago?

Here is my response I gave to my friend on these questions (with a few minor edits for readability). . .

It's more than okay not to know all the answers relating to your new way of eating (since you are new to the Paleo diet).  Give yourself some time, you are still learning.

The best place to start is to view THE YOU TUBE-VIDEOS (see clips below) AS THEY ARE THE FOUNDATION we are going to build on.  So watch those first.

Weston A. Price Foundation - Nutrition 101

Conclusion - Part 2

I get it; it's hard to wrap your brain around these different, publicly untaught, nutrition facts you are learning, even though they are science-based.  It's hard to give up the diet recommendations that we have been told by the news media and government to follow – in which these nutrition guidelines, and our health epidemic crises, have exponentially risen at the same rate, and at the same point in history, that we were told to make these dietary changes - and that they could be wrong?

In 1977, we really started to hear, listen and follow, the government's message that we needed to switch to eating a low-fat, low cholesterol, high carbohydrate, diet.  Look at the trend lines for obesity rates in the chart below since we implemented that advice.  Wow.  That doesn't look too good.

I think we can find some common ground here.  First, we can agree, I think, that Sugar is not good.  They are empty, non-nutritive calories with no health benefit.  In fact, sugar is extremely harmful, especially if over-consumed. 

Watch clips to see - Sugar's impact

Dr. Robert H. Lustig, MD, Pediatric Endocrinologist at UCSF Benioff Children's Hospital

Professor of Clinical Pediatrics, at the University of California, San Franscisco (UCSF)

Did you know that 2 slices of Whole Wheat bread raises blood sugar higher than 6 teaspoons of sugar (per Cardiologist Dr. William Davis, MD)?  It's a little known fact.  That's a huge amount of sugar to consume at one sitting, just eating a sandwich.  Your body breaks down "whole" wheat into sugar in the body.  It's just what happens.  By the way, I made an AWESOME loaf of bread this week made with coconut and almond flour - no wheat – which would not promote a high blood sugar response!  There are better choices for nearly everything.  Good, better, best, is my motto!

The U.S. government's nutrition guidelines recommend
300 grams of Carbohydrate per day...
  

That's a cup and a half of sugar - in the Blood!

"Starch is just Sugar by another name."

Dr. Mary Dan Eades MD, Dr. Mike Eades MD, and Dr. Al Sears MD

What we try and do in our home is concentrate on adding in a large amount of the Nutrient-Dense foods (I'll go over those later - see the you-tube clip at the bottom of the post) and limit the foods that are not as healthy.  That has been my goal with my 8 year old daughter for several years now.  It's working.  She is on the honor roll and is receiving an award for Citizenship too!  Okay, that was the proud mother in me.

So, let's focus on which are the BEST sources of Carbohydrates to eat, for nutrition.  I'm not advocating zero carbs (although your body would hum along just fine there).  But, what are the best sources to choose?

So let's look at Grains - we have to put whole wheat into the grains category.  Now, starches, grains and fruits (and sugar), turn into glucose (blood sugar) in the blood.  It's a biological fact.  The body can't tell the difference between white table sugar and grains/fruit/starches except that it breaks down whole grains slightly slower, not enough to make a big difference.  The body doesn't make a distinction between sugar and grains/starches/fruits; it just breaks them down into glucose (blood sugar).  It still has to release the hormone insulin to bring blood sugar into a healthy range which, as it turns out, is a very low level, to be healthy. Your body wants to be at a very narrow, low, blood sugar range. 

All grains (even the so-called "healthy" whole grains), starches and fruits, turn into glucose and then blood sugar goes up and then insulin comes in to bring it down.  That's one of insulin's jobs - to bring our blood sugar into a healthy range.  If insulin doesn't do this for us, it is very bad for us, and can even be deadly, if blood sugar is allowed to get too high.  This continuous process wears on the body (the pancreas cells become bathed in insulin over and over and become tired, in a lot of people). 

Some children do have a greater ability to burn carbohydrates off, but it does tax the body and place a burden on the pancreas doing this continuously, over and over.  As we get older, it gets harder to keep up with this load, for a great number of people (like me - I wish I knew this so much earlier and younger, and had changed my diet before insulin resistance had set in).  The cells in the pancreas become tired from having to keep working so hard and then Insulin Resistance can develop, and then Type 2 Diabetes, in many people.  This is why those conditions happen.  Children (as young as 8 years old) are getting these conditions in much greater numbers. It's NOT a good thing!  It doesn't matter if it's white table sugar or so-called "healthy whole grains" the body reacts exactly the same way.

"Why we get Fat clip"

That said, I'm not advocating zero carbs, I am saying let's choose the best ones for health.  Whole wheat, as it turns out, is NOT the best choice.  I limit this one BIG TIME with Eva and I don't eat it AT ALL.  She only eats a small piece of (properly prepared) Fermented Sour Dough Bread with a good amount of KerryGold Butter, occasionally, in the morning with some eggs or nitrate-free bacon.  We pick and choose our carbs carefully.  Click here to read a short article, about wheat, by a Cardiologist, Dr. William Davis.

One should consider getting the book "Wheat Belly" by a well-respected Cardiologist, Dr. William Davis, MD, who put a great deal of research and science into the subject of wheat.  The Wheat of today IS NOT the same wheat that our Grandmother and Great-Grandmother's ate.  He found that the Wheat of today is VERY addictive and triggers reactions in the same part of the brain as addictive drugs do.  From how I understand it, the GLIADIN component in today's wheat (click link here to read an article from Dr. Davis) is one of the problems with eating wheat.  The Gliadin in wheat causes an addictive response, inflammation, as well as weight gain, among MANY other health problems.  

The majority of the wheat today is a modern wheat that has been modified to what is now called a "Dwarf wheat".  To really understand all of the health ramifications of wheat, the benefits of eliminating wheat from the diet, and to understand that the so-called "healthy Whole Grains" might not be so healthy, consider reading the book Wheat Belly by Dr. Davis, or see an article by him in Life Extensions (click link here).

Okay, with all that said, Eva in no way eats zero carbohydrates.  What we do is limit SUGAR as much as possible.  This is a big one.  We use (natural from a plant with zero glycemic index) Stevia at home, a lot in baking and in drinks; she doesn't even know the difference.  She just thinks it's sweet and that it's what we use in our home to make something sweet.  Additionally, she eats very limited amounts of properly prepared grains and legumes (soaked, sprouted, and fermented) to help reduce the toxins / anti-nutrients in them (phytates and lectins and such) that ARE present in them.  I don't eat them at all.  These toxins and anti-nutrients in grains and legumes inhibits the absorption of minerals (among other problems), from the food itself, and other foods eaten with them.

I am most concerned with adding in to her diet the "Nutrient-Dense" Super-foods to compensate for any treats at school when I am unable to be there to intervene (especially wheat).  She actually is really good about self-limiting a good number of treats that are offered to her at school now, do to me educating her about what foods are truly healthy and which ones are not.  I am most proud of this accomplishment with her.  So, I concentrate on adding in the Nutrient-Dense Foods to compensate for any treats from school that I don't have control over.  This is our middle-ground. 

I think concentrating on what the best sources of carbohydrates are, and then focusing on adding-in the nutrient-dense animal fats and proteins, is a good way to approach this.

"Is Saturated Fat good?"
Tom Naughton explains in this Fathead clip

If doing the Paleo diet, one might consider choosing the "so-called" safe starches (I'm not convinced those work for someone with Insulin Resistance or Diabetes) like sweet potatoes and starchy vegetables. One might also decide to choose the low-sugar fruits, like berries and kiwi, as good options of carbohydrates to give kids, and limiting the high-sugar fruits.  Those are good options.  That is a lot of carbohydrate right there without adding in wheat and grains.  (To see how much that is, take a look at the Paleo chart of carbohydrate ranges and options of the best fruit and starchy vegetable choices click link here.)  I always eat any fruit with a good source of Fat like nut-butter, nuts, avocado, full-fat cream or full-fat cheese, to better absorb the nutrients in the fruit, and to slow-down the insulin surge.

For weight loss, the amount of carbs NEEDS to be low, so you can access the fat stores for energy, rather than burning carbs for your daily energy.  Active people (of all ages) who's goal is maintaining weight, can eat slightly more and still maintain optimal health (click here for a dietitian's PDF chart for optimal carb targets).

Next, Brain development absolutely happens with Fats and Cholesterol.  That's what makes the neurons connect and is the building blocks for the myelin sheath in our brains, NOT CARBOHYDRATES.  (They are calling Alzheimer's Type 3 Diabetes now, because too much carbohydrate and sugar eaten, and broken down in the body, affects the brain VERY NEGATIVELY and it is very likely the cause of Alzheimer's).  Carbohydrates also have negative results for children's ability to concentrate, to be attentive at school, and to focus.  Even if a child is doing well at present, a child's (or an adult's) body can get worn down from the insulin surges constantly going on.  So, even though a child is doing well in school now, doesn't mean it will continue to be this way with a diet not supplying key nutrients in fats and cholesterol.

Over time, things can change for a child without a diet that includes ample amounts of the proper nutrients; True Vitamin A which only comes from animal sources (beta-carotene is VERY DIFFICULT to convert to Vitamin A in the bodies of children and many adults), Vitamin D, Vitamin K2, and Cholesterol. True Vitamin A, D, K2, and the all important Cholesterol, are ALL sorely missing in today's low-fat, high grain, diet. Our poor children's brains are screaming for these highly missing nutrients.  We need to keep feeding our kids brains these nutrients so they keep making brain connections properly, which is happening in them at such a high rate while they are young. 

Energy does not need to come from carbohydrate.  Carbohydrates are biologically unnecessary per the Institute of Medicine (IOM) 2005 Macro-Nutrient Report (I think it's a Medical Text Book).  Fats and Proteins are absolutely necessary.  Every body's energy (including kids) absolutely can and should come from fats (which are so desperately needed for brain function, as well.)  I HOPE YOU WATCHED THE SALLY FALLON YOU-TUBE CLIP ABOVE, FROM THE WESTON A. PRICE FOUNDATION, WHICH TOTALLY HITS THIS POINT.

Proteins are the building blocks (think of Protein from food like the "new you" as kids grow or as adults and kids regenerate).  And yes, it should come from Animal Protein because it is the BEST, most complete, form of protein.  We need the Vitamins A, D and K2, that ONLY come from "Animal" Fats (particularly Cholesterol which only comes from Animal foods) for our BRAIN function and our HORMONE function.  It NEEDS to come from Animal sources.

Okay, next question.  So, 100 years ago, people did live to a ripe old age.  I wrote to Comedian Tom Naughton of the Fathead Movie and Blog who is a documentary film maker, speaker, and who, I think, is very knowledgeable on this topic and Nutrition in general.  Here is what he said in response to my questions on the subject. (I believe his kids are around the same age as my 8 year old daughter). 
 

Oh, lordy … my daughters don't eat grains, but my oldest just scored 100 in both math and science on her standardized state tests.  Didn't miss a single question.  (But she only got a 97 in social studies and a 96 in English, so I guess she needs more whole-grain cereals in her diet). 

Funny that people think Paleo is a "fad" since it's how humans ate for more than 99% of human history. 

The idea that people didn't live long enough to have heart attacks 100 years ago is not true.  The life expectancy average was based on a high rate of infant and childhood mortality.  If you made it past your teens, the odds of living to be 70 or older were good, despite the lack of surgical procedures and medications we have today.  Look at the country's founders and their ages at their time of death:  Ben Franklin, 84.  Thomas Jefferson, 83.  James Madison, 85.  John Adams, 91.  

Red Cloud (the Indian chief who lived on buffalo meat for most of his life) was 87 when he died.  Geronimo died at 90.  Lots of people lived to a ripe old age back in the day, but lots of people also lost young children to diseases we can cure today.

I wouldn't feed my daughters bread and pasta any more than I'd let them eat Snickers bars for breakfast.  They not only DON'T lack energy despite not eating grains or sugar, sometimes I wish they'd slow down more often.

Perhaps hearing from doctors on the subject will help?

http://www.carbohydratescankill.com/1231/dr-ann-childers-returns-discuss-pediatric-nutrition-ep-31

http://www.carbohydratescankill.com/1356/james-carlson-md-on-neonatal-pediatric-nutrition-episode-33

http://www.carbohydratescankill.com/1479/dr-roxanne-sukol-adele-hite-more-on-pediatric-nutrition-ep-25

http://blog.trackyourplaque.com/2012/01/low-carb-is-heart-healthy.html

http://www.lef.org/magazine/mag2011/oct2011_Wheat-The-Unhealthy-Whole-Grain_01.htm

He suggested listening to this Internet recorded interview as well: Just click the link and then click the arrow to listen (note from Vicki; this is a great interview which I have listened to): 

http://www.askthelowcarbexperts.com/2012/01/3-healthy-whole-grains-dr-william-davis/

So, what the Science shows is that we do not need carbohydrates for energy, to run fast, get good grades on tests, or to be alert.  In fact, carbohydrates (even whole grains) do just the opposite, by releasing insulin and storing our food energy into our fat cells instead of allowing us to access our energy for the brain's and body's needs.  

In summary, the best carbohydrates to feed kids are low-sugar fruits and vegetables (along with healthy fats with them to slow the insulin spike and for better mineral absorption).  If Paleo is your approach and you are not trying to lose weight, you are not diabetic, and you are not insulin resistant, you might also add small amounts of "safe starches" (click link here), again, with healthy fats, to slow the blood sugar response.  And, although it is not technically Paleo, I believe raw dairy (whole; milk, cream, cheese, sour cream, kefir, yogurt and butter) is also an excellent source of highly nutrient-dense fats, carbs and protein!

Take home message; Carbohydrates are biologically unnecessary to the body.  Protein and fat, however, are vital to our survival and health.  So, eat your animal proteins and fats (preferably grass-fed) for brain function and constant and steady energy to the body.

Kids would thrive eating this way, whatever you want to call it; Paleo, Traditional Foods, Low-Carb, Primal, Low-Glycemic.  I like to call it the "Nutrient-Dense Food Diet" and it would be the optimal diet for kids.  When humans did eat this way, the nation did not have the health problems we have now.

In conclusion, it might be hard to grasp that the diet recommendations that we have been given, might not be as healthy as we have been told.  It might be challenging to begin to understand that carbohydrates are not vital to our health, well being, and energy (in children or adults), as we have been led to believe. The Science is there to review.  People just need to hear the message.  Or, a better way to say it is that you can't change the facts of what the Science of Nutrition proves (and what it never did prove). 

I hope this helps and that it makes a lot of sense!

Vicki Keller

"What are the Nutrient-Dense or Super-foods I mentioned? 

Watch this!"

If you knew this, would you still believe it to be true?

What if a health theory had over 50 years to be proven, and it still wasn't able to be shown to be correct, with science?  Would you still believe it to be true after 50 plus years?  What if the studies conducted actually showed that the theory was not true and that it was a flawed hypothesis to begin with?  Would people still believe it to be true?  What if the data that was put together was manipulated to show what it wanted to show to be true?  Would you still believe it to be true?  That is what this blog post will explore.  A faulty theory we were fed and then didn't pan out in the end. (Watch the short clips linked in the article if that's all you do - it will show you the message very concisely in just a few minutes.  Look for the blue type, for the clip links.  The clip posted at the bottom of the post shows how this incorrect theory effects the health our children.)

The former Associate Director, Dr. George Mann, of one of the largest human health studies, "The Framingham Heart Study" said this... "The Diet-Heart hypothesis has been repeatedly shown to be wrong, and yet, for complicated reasons of pride, profit and prejudice, the hypothesis continues to be exploited by scientists, fund-raising enterprises, food companies and even governmental agencies.  The public is being deceived by the greatest health scam of the century".  This was the associate director of the study saying this.

The question I want to address in this blog post - "Is a clogged arterial wall in the human body caused by fats?"  I found this article on a website called Winchester Patch and felt it was such a great article, that it was better to just share the article itself, which was posted by Bob Kaplan. 

This article shows how the Lipid "Hypothesis", created by Ancel Keys, came about, and how it came to be understood as fact, when it is most definitely not fact. 

This "Hypothesis" is just that, a hypothesis, and has never been able to be proven by science.  The lipid hypothesis was presented in the 1950's.  That is over 50 years of time trying to get a study to prove the hypothesis correct -- without results.  You will plainly see why that is.

This article explains why study after study has not been able to prove that fat (or cholesterol) causes heart disease. 

So here it is, a very easy to understand article, with diagrams that make it simple.  You can click on the colored type above to view the original web page, or any other colored type, to link to and view further reading.  You can click on the diagrams themselves to view a larger format. 

Artery-Clogging-Saturated-Fat?
Posted on November 27, 2011 at 9:03pm

Is a clogged arterial wall in the human body caused by fats?

Beware of Artery Clogging Saturated Fat!!!

"If you eat too much [saturated fat], then over time fatty deposits can build up in your arteries, and this increases your risk of heart disease," says an advertisement by the Food Standards Agency (FSA) in the United Kingdom.

Sound familiar? If it does, then you have heard yet another nutrition fallacy!

This one is particularly pervasive, and the FSA goes so far as to use the visual link between the fat we eat and the blocking of arteries:

Watch the 40-second advertisement.

Wow. This advertisement literally interprets our digestive system as little more than a pipe, when in fact there is much more at work inside our bodies. This oversimplification endangers our understanding of how we actually process fat that we eat with an elementary visual effect, yet this juvenile interpretation is generally accepted as fact. 

The Six (or seven, or 22!) Countries Study

Where did we go so wrong? In the 1950s, a researcher named Ancel Keys published a study comparing heart disease and fat consumption in six countries, showing a positive association between fat and death from heart disease. The data was clear: the more fat the country ate, the more death from heart disease.

(Notice the "Six Countries Study" image for a visual representation.)

Well, that settles it. Looks like fat gives us heart disease. But hold on a second. The problem was that Keys admittedly left out existing data of countries that ate a lot of fat and had little heart disease, like Norway and Holland. Countries that didn't eat much fat, but had high levels of heart disease, such as Chile, were also ignored by Keys.

("Nine Countries Study?" image above for a visual representation. Note: Tom Naughton did an entertaining and informative job of covering the issue of saturated fat in the two-minute clip provided here.)

Oops. In all, Keys had reliable data from 22 countries with results all over the map in terms of implicating fat and heart disease. Keys discarded the data that didn’t fit his preconceptions and published the results as conclusive.

Out of the Keys’ study spawned the lipid hypothesis, which states:

1.   Saturated fat raises cholesterol.
2.   Cholesterol causes heart disease.

Both of these notions are almost assuredly wrong and there are copious studies that show saturated fat consumption has nothing to do with heart disease. But this contradictory data is often thrown onto the trash heap of inconvenient truths in nutrition.

There is also a logical leap of faith between the two steps, which is like observing that there is an increase of ice cream sales in the summer, and also during the summer, deaths by drowning increase, therefore ice cream causes death by drowning. Or as I like to call it: Drowning-Inducing-Ice-Cream. (Harvard alum Mat Lalonde, PhD, pointed this out at his nutrition seminar in Cambridge.)

Fats All Live in a Yellow Submarine

Fat does not cause damage to the walls of an artery. Fat, cholesterol, platelets, and other repair components are deposited on the wall of a damaged artery. If you think about it, we always have an excess of fat and cholesterol circulating in our bloodstream. Our arteries don’t “take up” these constituents under normal circumstances, and it’s not one too many pats of butter that tips the scale in favor of a full-blown traffic jam.

The reality is that fats are safely carried around the body inside lipoproteins, which act like submarines, transporting the fat and making them soluble in water.

A quick, and definitely not exhaustive, summary: when you eat fat, the fat is mixed with saliva and digestive enzymes, and the fat gets disassembled. The fat then reaches the stomach and sets off a cascade of hormonal, enzymatic, peptidic, and biomolecular responses. Most of the digestion occurs in the intestines. Bile is released from the gall bladder as well as digestive enzymes from the pancreas. The fatty acids are combined with cholesterol (remember the lipoprotein submarine?) and the muscle and fat cells pull the fatty acids inside via enzymes.
   

(Notice the visual representation what would happen if Keys picked Japan, Ceylon, Chile, Mexico, and France, as his subjects for his study.)

Fatty acids are an incredible source of fuel for the body, not a toxic substance. Saturated fats may be able to clog a drainpipe at room temperature, but this says absolutely nothing about what happens inside the human body and is an utterly embarrassing and naïve way to think about it.

This didn't stop the Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) to perhaps coin the phrase in 1986, referring to palm, coconut, and palm kernel oil as "artery clogging saturated fat." This is the same group that promoted, and defended, man-made trans fats as a healthy alternative.
Saturated with Harm or Health (or Hydrogens)?

Saturated fats are "shelf-stable, resistant to heat damage, and essential to many bodily functions," wrote author and blogger Mark Sisson. "Roughly half of our cell membrane structure is composed of saturated fat, and saturated animal fats, like butter or fatty organ meats, contain huge amounts of essential fat-soluble vitamins (K2, A, D, among others)."   Note by Vicki:  You can not get true Vitamin A from plant foods (Beta-carotene in plant foods is difficult to convert into Vitamin A in the body, for most people - babies and young children cannot convert it at all).  True Vitamin A must come from the fats in animal products.  This nutrient is vital for our health and especially the health of our growing and learning children and their developing brains!

Another way to think about this debate is to consider that 'good' fats are really any fats that are found in nature that have been consumed in copious quantities for thousands of generations.

"The idea that unsaturated fats are good and saturated fats are bad is actually quite funny if you know the composition of food," noted Zoe Harcombe, author and obesity researcher. "Do we really think that the saturated fat is trying to kill us while the monounsaturated fat is trying to save us? It is utterly ludicrous."

(Visual representation of a very different interpretation if Keys had chosen Israel, Austria, Switzerland, Germany, Netherlands, and Norway as his 'Six Countries.')

I Heart Bacon?

Let's take a look at bacon as an example of an oft-cited artery-clogging food. A few slices of bacon contain saturated, monounsaturated, and polyunsaturated fats. Approximately 51% of the fat in bacon is monounsaturated, with virtually all of it comprised of oleic acid, the same fat found in olive oil, which is trumpeted for potentially having the dual role of increasing the 'good' cholesterol (HDL) and decreasing the supposed 'bad' cholesterol (LDL).

Saturated fat makes up 45% of the total fat in bacon, with a third of it coming from stearic acid, the same stearic acid that is found in chocolate that's touted as heart-healthy for raising HDL. The remaining fat is polyunsaturated, which has been shown to lower LDL.

"All of this suggests that eating [bacon] in lieu of bread or potatoes would actually reduce heart-disease risk," wrote Gary Taubes, author of Good Calories, Bad Calories, "although virtually no nutritional authority will say so publicly."

(Visual representation of what would have happened if researcher Ancel Keys picked Finland, Australia, Ireland, Switzerland, Netherlands, and Germany as his "Six Countries.")

 
 
Observation Nation

Throughout history and up to present day it is easy to find populations that primarily eat saturated fat and live long, healthy lives. The Tokelau Islanders, the Masai, the Plains Indians, and the Inuit are just a few examples of cultures that subsisted almost entirely on animal-derived energy, much of it in the form of saturated fat, and yet had some of the lowest incidences of heart disease on the planet.
 
(View the "Death Rates and Average Cholesterol Levels in the MONICA study" image at the top of this post, where Malcolm Kendrick, MD, plotted death rates from heart disease and average cholesterol data from the World Health Organization Multinational Monitoring of Trends in and determinants in Cardiovascular Disease (MONICA). Notice that the Aborginals have the lowest levels of cholesterol and the highest rate of death from heart disease. Conversely, Switzerland has the highest level of cholesterol and lowest level of death from heart disease. Please check out the one-minute video.)

What Fuels You?

Our bodies run on saturated fat. If we are operating efficiently, most of our energy is derived from our body's fat stores. We don't need to get up in the middle of the night to snack because we can live off of our own fat.

Of the typical energy reserves in a healthy individual, 78% is comprised of fat, 21% protein, and 1-2% glycogen (or carbohydrates).

The fact that the natural (saturated or unsaturated) fat you eat, is the healthy fat you are, should call into question the validity of such statements that fats are "artery clogging."

'You are what you eat?' Perhaps 'Eat what you are' may not be such a bad suggestion. This points to eating like our ancestors and living off of the land as part of a healthful lifestyle, rather than the cause of our cardiac demise.

Bob Kaplan holds advance degrees in exercise physiology and business, an undergraduate degree in nutrition, is a nationally certified personal trainer, and owns four Get In Shape For Women locations in Bedford, Wellesley, Westford, and Winchester.

For more information about Kaplan's services at Get in Shape For Women in Winchester, please call 781-729-8100 or visit at 564 Main Street, Winchester, MA  01890, or online at www.getinshapeforwomen.com for a free week trial.

 How this all works against our growing and learning children (and adults):

(View this short video clip)

 (Part 2 of this clip is below titled Weston A. Price - Nutrition Education)

Photos (7)

Credit: Bob Kaplan

Credit: Tom Naughton

Credit: Tom Naughton

Credit: Petro Dobromylskyj

Credit: Petro Dobromylskyj

Credit: Petro Dobromylskyj

Credit: Malcolm Kendrick