Avoid These 7 Foods and You're Off To A Healthier New Year

How healthy (or not) certain foods are—for us, for the environment—is a hotly debated topic among experts and consumers alike, and there are no easy answers. But when Prevention talked to the people at the forefront of food safety and asked them one simple question—“What foods do you avoid?”—we got some pretty interesting answers. Although these foods don’t necessarily make up a "banned” list, as you head into the holidays—and all the grocery shopping that comes with it—their answers are, well, food for thought:

 

1. Canned Tomatoes

The expert: Fredrick vom Saal, PhD, an endocrinologist at the University of Missouri who studies bispheno l-A

The resin linings of tin cans contain bisphenol-A, a synthetic estrogen that has been linked to ailments ranging from reproductive problems to heart disease, diabetes, and obesity. Acidity -- a prominent characteristic of tomatoes -- causes BPA to leach into your food.

2. Corn-Fed Beef

The expert: Joel Salatin, co-owner of Polyface Farms and author of books on sustainable farming

Cattle were designed to eat grass, not grains. But farmers today feed their animals corn and soybeans, which fatten up the animals faster for slaughter. A recent comprehensive study found that compared with corn-fed beef, grass-fed beef is higher in beta-carotene, vitamin E, omega-3s, conjugated linoleic acid (CLA), calcium, magnesium, and potassium.

3. Microwave Popcorn

The expert: Olga Naidenko, PhD, a senior scientist for the Environmental Working Group

Chemicals, including perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), in the lining of the bag, are part of a class of compounds that may be linked to infertility in humans. In animal testing, the chemicals cause liver, testicular, and pancreatic cancer. Studies show that microwaving causes the chemicals to vaporize -- and migrate into your popcorn.

4. Non-organic Potatoes

The expert: Jeffrey Moyer, chair of the National Organic Standards Board

Root vegetables absorb herbicides, pesticides, and fungicides that wind up in soil. In the case of potatoes they're treated with fungicides during the growing season, then sprayed with herbicides to kill off the fibrous vines before harvesting. After they're dug up, the potatoes are treated yet again to prevent them from sprouting.

5. Farmed Salmon

The expert: David Carpenter, MD, director of the Institute for Health and the Environment at the University at Albany

Nature didn't intend for salmon to be crammed into pens and fed soy, poultry litter, and hydrolyzed chicken feathers. As a result, farmed salmon is lower in vitamin D and higher in contaminants, including carcinogens, PCBs, brominated flame retardants, and pesticides such as dioxin and DDT.

6. Milk Produced with Artificial Hormones

The expert: Rick North, project director of the Campaign for Safe Food at the Oregon Physicians for Social Responsibility

Milk producers treat their dairy cattle with recombinant bovine growth hormone (rBGH or rBST, as it is also known) to boost milk production. But rBGH also increases udder infections and even pus in the milk. It also leads to higher levels of a hormone called insulin-like growth factor in milk. In people, high levels of IGF-1 may contribute to breast, prostate, and colon cancers.

7. Conventional Apples

The expert: Mark Kastel, codirector of the Cornucopia Institute

If fall fruits held a "most doused in pesticides contest," apples would win. And increasing numbers of studies are starting to link a higher body burden of pesticides with Parkinson's disease.

Article by Liz Vaccariello, Editor-in-Chief, PREVENTION
Source: Yahoo Shine November 24, 2009

Organic Milk Is A Good Healthy Food Option

By Albert Kang

There are many researches made comparing the benefits of organic milk with those of conventional milk. Every research points to the fact that organic milk has more benefits than non-organic milk. In 2005, during the annual conference of the Soil Association in Newcastle, a research study revealed that organic milk has higher levels of omega 3 essential fatty acids, antioxidants and vitamin E.

Most health enthusiasts know that Omega-3 is essential for the body to maintain healthy growth. It also helps reduce the heart from being affected by diseases. It helps people with eczema to fight inflammations caused by the skin disease. Studies also confirm that the levels of antioxidants, Lutein and Zeaxanthine, in organic milk are two to three times higher than those found in conventional milk.

The vitamin E in organic milk is obviously high because the organically raised cattle, graze on fresh grass, grass clover silage found in clover pastures. The scientists confirm that organic milk has 50 percent more vitamin E than that found in conventional milk. The beta carotene levels in organic milk are as high as 75 percent as compared to ordinary milk.

Organically raised cattle are healthier because they have 500 percent more Conjugated Linoleic Acid (CLA) than that of conventionally raised cattle. Such naturally produced CLA provides the cattle with better immunity against diseases, good muscle development and better metabolism rates. Recent scientific researches also indicate that the human body can benefit from CLA as it is good for cancer prevention. The human body does not produce CLA and so regular consumption of organic milk will help in keeping the body healthy.

In Europe, their scientists discover that mothers who consume organic milk and have around 50 percent more amount of Rumenic acid, also known as Bovinic acid in their milk.

In 2004, the USDA Pesticide Data Program (PDP) has discovered that the synthetic chemical pesticide, Pyrethroid is found in 24 percent of the non-organic milk samples. Whereas the organic milk samples do not have any of this pesticide residues. Carbofuran, another pesticide is found in 8.8 percent of the non-organic milk while the organic samples have zero amount.

From all these, we learn that organic milk definitely has its advantages as compared to the conventional milk. Apart from the health benefits for human beings, consuming organic milk also encourages the farmers to raise cattle the organic ways. These are free-range cattle and they are allowed to graze freely in clover and grass pastures. So, if at all possible, consume organic milk.