The reason I didn’t include fish oil in my supplementation post is because I don’t see it as supplementary to your diet, I see it as essential!

We have long known that an improper balance of the omega-3 to omega-6 fatty acid ratio is a key factor in many illnesses and ailments that plague millions of people who are hooked on a Westernized diet. in fact, a study from The Center for Genetics, Nutrition and Health has shown that human beings evolved on a diet with a ratio of omega-6 to omega-3 essential fatty acids (EFA) of approximately 1 whereas in Western diets the ratio is 15/1-17/1. A prime reason for this deficiency in our omega-3 levels is due to our lowered consumption of cold-water fish.

The pile of research papers being published showing the benefits of taking about 2-15g (depending on body size) of high quality fish oil per day grows at an almost exponential rate, as well as the list of “itis’s” that seem to be prevented by taking a fish oil supplement and maintaining a healthy omega fatty-acid balance.

Still not convinced? Here are 7 proven omega 3 benefits you should know about:

1. Less Pain and Inflammation. Omega 3 fatty acids, particularly EPA, have a very positive effect on your inflammatory response. Through several mechanisms, they regulate your body’s inflammation cycle, which prevents and relieves painful conditions like arthritis, prostatitis, cystitis and anything else ending in “itis.”

2. Cardiovascular Health. Omega 3 fatty acids have also been proven to work wonders for your heart and the miles and miles of arteries and veins that make up your cardiovascular system. They help to lower cholesterol, tryglicerides, LDLs and blood pressure, while at the same time increasing good HDL cholesterol. This adds years to your life expectancy.

3. Protection from Stroke and Heart Attack. When plaque builds up on arterial walls and then breaks loose, it causes what’s known as a thrombosis, which is a fancy way of saying clot. If a clot gets stuck in the brain, it causes a stroke and when it plugs an artery, it causes a heart attack. Research shows omega 3 fatty acids break up clots before they can cause any damage.

4. Better Brain Function and Higher Intelligence. Pregnant and nursing mothers can have a great impact on the intelligence and happiness of their babies by supplementing with fish oil. For adults, omega 3 improves memory, recall, reasoning and focus. You’ll swear you’re getting younger and smarter.

5. Less Depression and Psychosis. Making you smarter is not all omega 3 does for your brain. Psychiatry department researchers at the University of Sheffield, along with many other research studies, found that omega 3 fish oil supplements “alleviate” the symptoms of depression, bipolar and psychosis (Journal of Affective Disorder Vol. 48(2-3);149-55).

6. Lower Incidence of Childhood Disorders. Just to show how fish oil fatty acids leave nobody out, studies show that children (and adults) with ADD and ADHD experience a greatly improved quality of life. And those with dyslexia, dyspraxia and compulsive disorders have gotten a new lease on life thanks to omega 3 oils.

7. Reduction of Breast, Colon and Prostate Cancer. And finally, omega 3 fish oil has been shown to help prevent three of the most common forms of cancer – breast, colon and prostate. Science tells us that omega 3s accomplish this in three ways. They stop the alteration from a normal healthy cell to a cancerous mass, inhibiting unwanted cellular growth and causing apoptosis, or cellular death, of cancer cells.

* The above list was taken from work by nutrition and physical therapy expert, Michael Byrd. Byrd writes about his pursuit of wellness, the extraordinary healing power of natural whole foods and many of fish oil’s benefits at this omega 3 web site.

Some other benefits that Byrd doesn’t mention are the effects that supplementing with fish oil can have on body composition. A study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition showed that taking a daily intake of fish oil and regular exercise both reduce body fat and improve cardiovascular and metabolic health. The reason being that fish oil lowered triacylglycerols, increased HDL cholesterol, and improved endothelium-dependent arterial vasodilation, or, in understandable terms, lowered fat stores, increased good cholesterol levels, and improved blood flow.

Some things to look for when choosing a fish oil supplement:

Pharmaceutical Grade

• Check that your bottle of pharmaceutical grade fish oil has a Lot Number that has been posted on an official IFOS (International Fish Oil Standards) consumer report site such as IFOS.
• Check to ensure that you are buying a TG (natural) PGFO and not an EE (synthetic) PGFO.
• Check the ingredient label to ensure that the pharmaceutical grade fish oil has a 60% Omega-3 concentration and complies with the CRN and WHO standards.
• Ask your supplier for a Certificate of Analysis and look for its 5 star rating to confirm that the pharmaceutical grade fish oil has exceeded these international standards.

Oil Source

You want your fish oil to come from a source that is as close to the bottom of the food chain as possible. Heavy metals (such as mercury) that accumulate in the body’s of fish get amplified as they move up the food chain. Many commercially sold fish oil’s use wild salmon as their oil source however, as salmon is a predatory fish, it tends to have high trace levels of heavy metals.

Search for fish oils that are sourced from smaller fish species, like sardines and anchovies, that have eaten the omega rich algae directly.

Docosahexaenoic acid (DHA)

There are two main types of Omega 3 fatty acids found in fish oil, DHA and EPA. DHA plays a most vital role in promoting good health. More than half of our brain’s mass is made up of fats, and of these fats, DHA accounts for over half. This is one of the most reveling factors that show why DHA is so important to us.

It has been proven that numerous mental conditions such as depression, anxiety, mood swings, bipolar disorder, Alzheimer’s disease and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), among others, are caused due to a DHA deficiency. DHA is also the more important omega 3 in reducing tryglycerides (blood fats closely related to cholesterol) and in helping to reduce or prevent heart rhythm abnormalities, one of the major causes of heart disease deaths. Heart disease is accompanied by cardiovascular inflammation, and DHA has the most potent anti-inflammatory effect of the omega 3 oils. Memory and focus have also been proven to improve with consistent use of fish oil supplements. Therefore, if you want to benefit from fish oil supplements, make sure you are using one that has high DHA levels.

Related Topics

• Supplementation. Macronutrients vs. Micronutrients.
• Gary Taubes Defends Eating Fat.
• Milk. Part 1

Popular media is filled with reports on “the newest health study”, and ” the latest health product”, and the sad truth is that we eat it up. We have become lazy as a society, and are always looking for the next magic pill that will make us look better, or feel more healthy. The hard to swallow (no pun intended) reality is that there is no magic pill, and healthy eating can be achieved only through smart choices and hard work.

The general vibe I get from people when talking about nutrition and their diet is a feeling of being overwhelmed, and understandably so. It is hard not to feel overwhelmed by today’s health crazed media constantly feeding us study after study after study all based loose correlations and bad science.

I am here to tell you that it doesn’t have to be so difficult. You may not know it, but your body knows exactly what is and isn’t good for you. Acne, allergies, diabetes, heart disease, cancer… the list is long on human ailments that have been linked to a Western diet that is high on carbohydrates and refined sugar. A short search on Google Scholar reveals study after study showning that cultures with diets that have remained relatively unchanged for hundreds if not thousands of years show little to no signs of most common Western diseases. Could it be that perhaps our brains have gotten too smart, and left our bodies in the evolutionary dust? I would argue yes.

If we look at the time line of human existence on Earth (roughly 2 million years), modern agriculture, cooking, and food production practices have only been around for about 10 000 years. That’s less than 1% of out time on this planet. Taking this into consideration, it should come as no surprise then when our radically changed diet causes all kinds of diseases to pop up. Our bodies simply haven’t had time to adjust. Though we may be sending people into space with our brains, we are still living in caveman bodies, and it is for this reason of slow digestive evolution that I advocate a Paleolithic way of eating.

Meat, vegetables, nuts and seeds, some fruit, little starch and NO SUGAR!

Pretty simple.

Don’t be fooled by the four letter word, this is not a diet in the modern definition of the word. This is the way your body wants to eat. It is the way we have evolved to eat. It requires no special foods, no book you must follow, has no late night infomercials, and no easy payments of $49.99. All it requires is a choice. A decision to choose not to eat products that aren’t food. Everything you really need to know about diet, nutrition, and food is summed up in these simple words:
YOU ARE WHAT YOU EAT.

Feed your body crap, feel like crap. Simple.

Eat real food.

Related Topics

• Paleo Diet in a Nutshell.
• Supplementation. Macronutrients vs. Micronutrients.
• Which diet is the best?

Related Topics

• Supplementation. Macronutrients vs. Micronutrients.
• Milk. Part 1
• The Paleolithic Diet

Meat, vegetables, nuts and seeds, some fruit, little starch, an NO SUGAR. Quite simply the easiest and cheapest change you can make to your lifestyle if you want to mprove your overall quality of life.

Related Topics

• The Paleolithic Diet
• Supplementation. Macronutrients vs. Micronutrients.
• Which diet is the best?

Supplementation implies that you have a void in your basic diet that needs to be filled. It is a solution to a symptom, and not a cause.

Nutrition is at the foundation of health and well being, and every culture in the world already knows the secret to good health: You are what you eat!There is little room for argument surrounding the fact that your body can only repair and fuel your body with the food that you are feeding it. If you are feeding yourself refined, modified, denatured, and otherwise chemically altered variations of food, then how do you expect your body to perform? To use an analogy, would you pour dirty gas into your car and expect it to perform at an optimal level? Probably not.

To restate what I have said in earlier posts, food should not be broken down into micronutrients. There is a popular trend in the media right now to tout the latest magic bullet pill, vitamin, or antioxidant as the cure to X health risk. The problem with this approach is that our place in nature is a part of a larger system. Our genome didn’t evolve to eat the extracted vitamin C from citrus fruits, or isolate whey protein from milk, or iron pills, we evolved to eat the WHOLE FRUIT, and drink WHOLE MILK, and eat WHOLE VEGETABLES… seeing a trend here?

The three macronutrients of protein, carbohydrate, and fat are the building blocks of human life. Keeping your food in the rawest form you can before digestion ensures that you are getting as much nutrition as you can from the food you eat. Excessive heating, processing, and nutrient isolation removes much of the digestive enzymes from food that helps your body process and break down these foods into useful compounds. Without these enzymes, many foods get treated by the digestive system as a threat and trigger a stress response.

Supplements often lack many of the chemical components that allow the body to use them properly. To compensate for this, most supplements increase the amount of raw product you have you ingest to absorb a significant amount of whatever nutrient you are supplementing for. This practice can often lead to allergies caused by repetitive exposure to compounds that agitate the digestive system.

If you feel that you need to supplement your diet with a protein source, or vitamin, you should probably step back and take a look at where your real food diet is failing. A paleo based diet of meat, vegetable, nuts and seeds, some fruit, little starch and no sugar, combined with proper proportions for your body type, should be providing all of the macronutrients, and consequently all of the micronutrients that you need to thrive.

Related Topics

• Milk. Part 1
• The Paleolithic Diet
• Milk. Part 2

The key ingredient in the process of creating good quality meats and dairy from cows is grass. Grasses are the natural food source for cows, and the reason they have rumens. Modern factory farming however, has decided to go over the head of nature.

Factory farmed dairy cows are now fed mixtures of corn, soy, grains, and other “high energy” feed stocks to make sure the cows are producing as much milk as possible, for as little money as possible. A major problem with this diet is that many non-grass foods (such as soy and alfalfa) contain compounds that mimic the actions of the female hormone, estrogen. While these can cause cows to produce more milk than they normally would (and thus increase profit per animal), some studies have called into question possible impacts on animal health and nutrient content of the milk.

Also, a major issue with cows eating mostly a grain based diet has to do with the cow’s biology. As I mentioned before, cows have an organ called the rumen, that functions to break down cellulose in grass into simple sugars through a mixed process of mechanical churning, and a symbiotic relationship with plant digesting microbes. The problem comes with the fact that these microbes perform best in a pH neutral environment, like the one created in the rumen when cow saliva mixes with fermenting grass. When cows are feed too much grain, the pH balance in the rumen turns acidic, and the bacteria that break down cellulose can no longer do their job, and bacteria that can survive in an acidic environment flourish and begin eating the walls of the rumen. This is where all the antibiotics come in.

What does this mean for human?

Humans have an acidic stomach for a reason, to kill harmful bacteria. It is a safety mechanism that evolved partly because of our taste for meat. Because cows that eat grass grow bacteria that thrive in a pH neutral environment, most bacteria that was left on the meat after slaughter could not survive in our acid stomach. It was a fine balance.

Does the problem now become evident?

Factory farmed cows, which are fed a net acidic producing diet of grains, grow bacteria in their rumens that THRIVE in acidic conditions. This means that any bacteria that is left on the meat when we eat it can no longer be killed by our acidic stomachs.

The message to be taken away from all this info is do your research, and look for high quality sources of meat and dairy. There has been a movement recently back to pasture, or grass-fed beef, and many small farms are beginning to raise cattle again as the demand for high quality meat grows. A Google serach is your best bet to find grass-fed beef in your area.

The issue of factory farming and it’s effects on the health of our society is no stranger to controversy. Corn surplus, a high demand for dairy, and cheap antibiotics have all contributed to the relatively recent decline in nutrition and quality of a food source that has been a staple of the human diet for hundreds of thousands of years.

Michael Pollan talks extensively about the corn and dairy industry’s intimate relationship and how it is degrading out standard of living in his excellent book The Omnivore’s Dilemma. The book is also a must read for anyone concerned about what they are putting in their mouths (read: EVERYONE).

Related Topics

• Milk. Part 1
• Supplementation. Macronutrients vs. Micronutrients.
• The Paleolithic Diet

What is the truth behind chocolate milk? I have heard that it is better for you than regular milk, and that you should drink it after a hard work out.

The answer to this question requires some background information on milk, so lets take a step back and look at the broader topic of dairy in general.

The verdict on dairy’s effectiveness as a healthy nutrient source has not been passed yet. There seems to be a war raging between those for the consumption of milk, mainly the dairy industry, and those against it, mainly vegan activists, and People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA).

As in most wars unfortunately, truth is usually the first victim, and the dairy battle is no exception. Propaganda put out by both parties of the debate have left little room for objective investigation, and truthful reporting of the facts.

Milk, it would seem is yet another case of the West’s industrial complex destroying a food that was once a valuable source of nutrients. Much like beef, chicken, and pork, our quest to squeeze the most profits out of a resource has left it barren of nutrients, and full of unknown additives. This shift is not just happening in animal products. Fruits and vegetables have long been selected for genes that express themselves as the best looking, best tasting, and longest lasting produce. Sounds good doesn’t it? Unfortunately, these traits have come at the detriment of our nutrition and health, as nutrients were needlessly bred out in favour of a taste (Read: Higher sugar content).

Similarly, through the processeses of pasteurization and homogenization, milk has been effectively stripped of most of it’s natural enzymes and bacteria that are necessary for the proper digestion of dairy products.

Furthermore, the common misconception that fat is evil has lead to the mass production of reduced fat milk.

Never drink reduced fat milk. (skim, 1%, 2%…)

Fat is taken out milk through a process that over-heats the milk until is it becomes a powder. The fat is separated, and then water is added back to the powder until a milk like consistency returns. You are essentially drinking water with milk ingredients to it. Not milk.

The heat, and exposure to oxygen during the powdering process also damages cholesterol in the milk, which can cause injury to your arterial cells, as well as cause a pathological buildup of plaque in the arteries similar to having high triglycerides.

Heating milk also:

• Alters milks amino acids, lysine and tyrosine, making the proteins in milk less available for use.
• Lowers Vitamin C content as much as 50%.
• Lowers the water-soluable vitamin content as much as 80%.
• Destroys vitamin B12 completely.

To mention just a few…

These destroyed vitamins are added in artificially after the pasteurization and fat reduction processes so that they may appear on the nutrition label.

If you would still like to consume milk, your best option is to try and find a source of raw milk. Unfortunately, raw milk is illegal to buy in Canada, however, the option does exist to buy a share in a cow. Drinking raw milk from a cow that you own is not illegal. Also, cheese is still allowed to be made from unpasteurized, raw milk. Emmental and Gruyere are just a few of the options.

The second best alternative to raw milk is to buy whole milk, or switch to goats milk which can still be bought in a raw form.

It seems like many other foods, paying attention to the source is the best way to ensure you are eating quality dairy. Furthermore, just as our diet affects our health and performance, the diet of our dairy source is equally important. I will cover importance of what cows are built to eat, and how that is important to humans in the second part of this series.

I admit I have digressed from Shannon’s original question, but it was necessary to formulate a complete answer. As you have read, milk is a good source of protein and vitamins… in it’s original state. Commercial production however, has destroyed most of what is good about milk, and the nutrients that it does contain are artificially inserted backing into the milk product.
Also milk, being high in lecithin produces a high glycemic load, and thus a high insulin response. Adding chocolate syrup (sugar) to milk adds to insulin response, and should thus be avoided.

There was a study however, published in 2006 which indicated that chocolate milk aids in recovery when taken after intense athletic workouts. The study authors believe this to be due to its ratio of carbohydrates to protein, among other nutritional properties. The study was small in scale and partially funded by the dairy industry, but the results may warrant further study. (“Chocolate Milk: The New Sports Drink?”, Associated Press, 24 February 2006)

Related Topics

• Supplementation. Macronutrients vs. Micronutrients.
• The Paleolithic Diet
• Milk. Part 2

To paraphrase:

We all make decisions about what we want to eat and how we spend our money…some people want to buy Nike Shoes, two pairs. Others want to eat good, sustainable food.

Watch CBS Videos Online

The point being made here is that good food should not be some elitist luxury, but rather a restructuring of our priorities. Do you need another pair of Nike’s? Or would you be better off spending that money on good quality food?

From the perspective of a recent university student, a lifestyle often associated with late nights of partying and frequent binge drinking, it has been my experience that people are very quick to call organic food expensive, and complain about being unable to afford it. A claim not often grounded in logic however, as most students will spend more money in one night at the bar than on a typical grocery bill.

Good food should be the last item sent to the chopping block when funds are tight. In a down economy, the best resource you can invest in is your health.

Related Topics

• Supplementation. Macronutrients vs. Micronutrients.
• Milk. Part 2
• Milk. Part 1

An idea put forth by food expert Michael Pollan in his book In Defense of Food: An Eater’s Manifesto. (Check out the Recommended Reading section for more by Micahel Pollan)

These words are so simple, yet so powerful. It seems rather ridiculous that this idea needs to be sold back to the average North American consumer. Unfotunately, we have deviated away form real food.

Here is a video presentation from Mark Bittman, a food expert that is concerned with the ecological and health impacts of our modern diet. The video was recorded at the EG 2007 Conference in Los Angeles, California. Bittman offers further support to Michael Pollan, the idea that began this post.

Mark Bittman is a bestselling cookbook author, journalist and television personality. His friendly, informal approach to home cooking has shown millions that fancy execution is no substitute for flavor and soul.

You can read more from him on his blog: Bitten, his New York Times column The Minimalist, or check out one of the cookbooks he has authored, How to Cook Everything (Completely Revised 10th Anniversary Edition): 2,000 Simple Recipes for Great Food
and The Best Recipes in the World.

You can also check out Mark’s recent appearance on ObsessedTV.com with Samantha Ettus, a recent addition to the online TV domain from Gary Vaynerchuk of Wine Library TV fame.

TED stands for Technology, Entertainment, Design. It started out (in 1984) as a conference bringing together people from those three worlds. Since then its scope has become ever broader.

The annual conference now brings together the world’s most fascinating thinkers and doers, who are challenged to give the talk of their lives (in 18 minutes).

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• Supplementation. Macronutrients vs. Micronutrients.
• Milk. Part 2
• Milk. Part 1

With all the diets (meaning eating habits, not weight loss solution) out there, how do I know which one is right for me and my lifestyle, budget, etc. I assume you will promote the Paleolithic diet, which seems like one of the best to me, but what makes it better than the rest and do any other diets out there follow the same lines?

The fact that you even have to ask this question is a telling sign of the state of our general food culture right now. We have lost touch with what food once represented. An activity that used to be at the hub of our social culture, a daily ritual, that brought together whole communities and promoted social interaction has been reduced to fast food and protein bars.

The meaning of the word “diet” has been heavily construed in today’s saturated food market. From what used to simply mean the general kinds of foods we consumed as a community, has evolved into a definition that is now used excessively to mean a restriction of foods, or an adherence to only eating certain types of foods. The Atkins Diet, The South Beach Diet, The Graprefruit Diet, etc., the list goes on and on.

The major issue however, is not with the term diet, but in fact with the term FOOD. We have lost touch with what food really is to us as humans, mostly because we have far too much choice in the supermarket. In reality, we have gone almost full circle in our quest for sustenance. Hunting and gathering enough edible, energy providing food from our environment, which was once a daily task and required most of our time and energy, was eventually replaced by technology. Better tools allowed us to hunt more efficiently, cooking opened the door to new calorie packed plants that were once toxic, and eventually farming and agriculture allowed us to stop searching for food, but rather have the food come to us. Today however, as these technologies have advanced in leaps and bounds, we are faced with millions if not billions of choices, all touting themselves as food. To close the circle, we have returned almost to our hunting and gathering ways, only now we hunt for natural ingredients, and scour the supermarkets in hopes of gathering REAL food from the myriad of impostors.

Thus, the meaning of “diet” has transformed from all that we did eat, to all that we don’t eat in only a few short decades.

To answer your question, I want you to first figure out what food means to YOU. What is your end goal, the reason why you put
If you believe as I do that human brains have evolved much faster than human bodies, it is not a stretch to reason that the best choices we can make for fueling out bodies are one’s that closely resemble what our Paleolithic ancestors would have found in their natural surroundings. Meats, vegetable, nuts, seeds, fruit, and little starch and NO sugar.

Furthermore, the phrase “You are what you eat” still holds very true, and I will echo it many times in future articles. You can only rebuild and heal your body out of the proteins and fats you consume. If you are feeding your body processed, denatured, hydrogenated foodstuffs (I refuse to call these these chemical concoctions food), then it should come as no surprise to you when your health suffers.

That being said, this way of eating is not a “diet”, it’s a filter through which you should analyze any food that goes in your mouth. As author Gary Taubes captures in his must read book Good Calories, Bad Calories: Fats, Carbs, and the Controversial Science of Diet and Health, not all calories are created equal, and the quality of food you eat is just as important as the quantity.

Some tips on reshaping your lifestyle, and restocking your refrigerator:

• Try and keep your food shopping to the perimeter of the grocery store (this is usually where the fresh produce is).
• If it comes in a box, or needs a nutrition label to tell you what is in it, IT’S NOT FOOD!
• If doesn’t expire, IT’S NOT FOOD!
• If you are eating out, get extra veggies and skip the potatoes, fries, sweet potatoes, etc.
• Do not eat grains, pasta, bread, rice or beans, all of which wouldn’t have been available to our Paleo ancestors.
• Make sure you are eating enough good fats. (Fish Oil especially!)
• The further removed (both in processing steps, and in distance ) from the source your food gets, the less nutritious it is.

To address your budget concerns, following these simple steps when grocery shopping or eating out will also save you money, as you will no longer be spending it on useless foodstuffs that don’t provide your body with what it needs to thrive, nor will you be spending as much on medical bills when you stop getting as sick. The twisted relationship of the food and medical (read:pharmaceutical) industries is a subject for another article.

To finish this response, I will leave you with a question:

Why worry about saving pennies on good food, and then spend thousands of dollars on medical bills?

You are what you eat. Eat good food, stop getting sick, get out of the hospitals and off the drugs. Start living your life. Your body is a vehicle for fun. Fuel it properly, and keep it in good shape, it’s the only one you’ve got.

Live, laugh, love.

For more reading on the Paleo way of eating, check out my article on the subject, or visit the Paleolithic Deit link in the sidebar.

Related Topics

• Paleo Diet in a Nutshell.
• The Paleolithic Diet
• Diet: Another Four Letter Word