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Posts tagged ‘Milk’

The Good Bugs: Why You Absolutely Need Them

Lactobacillus acidophilus

Image by AJC1 via Flickr

Probiotics, we hear all about them now. TV, radio and print ads! It’s great, considering that just a few years ago, most people didn’t know what they were. Probiotics, otherwise known as “good germs”, are part of the normal flora of our intestinal tract. They begin to inhabit our intestinal tract as soon as we’re born (by vaginal delivery, rather than caesarian delivery). They are nourished by eating healthy foods from infancy, starting by drinking mother’s milk (rather than cow’s milk or soy milk). As we age and are exposed to poor diet, antibiotics, chlorinated water, steroids and environmental pollutants (xenoestrogens), their numbers begin to decline. When their numbers decline, pathogenic yeast begin to overgrow (as well as bacteria), causing symptoms in both men and (more obviously in) women (such as vaginal discharge). Known functions of probiotics include: 1. the manufacture of B vitamins (such as folic acid, biotin, B3 and B6); 2. the manufacture of the enzyme “lactase”; 3. produce antibacterial substances; 4. produce anti-carcinogenic compounds; 5. help reduce high cholesterol levels; 6. improve the efficiency of the digestive tract; 7. help recycle hormones such as estrogen; 8. protect against radiation;  and 9. deactivate certain toxins, among many others. The primary bacteria inhabiting the small intestine is Lactobacillus acidophilus while that of the colon is Bifidobacterium bifidum. It is essential that these organisms be replaced when taking antibiotics of any kind. In today’s world, it’s a good idea to incorporate probiotics in a wellness program because of the antibiotics that we’re unknowingly exposed to (from food and perhaps, our water supply). There are different brands available. Some need to refrigerated while others do not. They come in various forms such as powders, liquid, capsules or “pearls”. To find out which brands are better, check out a study done by Consumer Labs. In the study, they found out that claims made by some companies such as number of viable organisms in their product somehow vary from the actual live cells. Factors such as improper storage and handling as well as shelf life affect these numbers. Therefore, it’s always important to do your own research.

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Healthy Dessert for the Holidays

Chocolate mousse with strawberries prepared us...

Image via Wikipedia

Chocolate Tofu Pie

Ingredients:

Organic chocolate chips-1 bag

Organic tofu – firm, 2 cartons

Organic soy milk- 1-2 cups

Organic whole wheat crust (or spelt)

Directions: Melt chocolate in medium heat. Stir continuously to prevent chocolate from clumping. Put 2 blocks of firm tofu in a blender and add soy milk. Blend until smooth consistency is achieved. Add melted chocolate into the mix. All this time, bake crust in oven. Pour mix into the crust and refrigerate. Add organic berries on top when ready to serve.

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Drink Milk, Not!

Espace Opéra Milk

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Drinking milk has always been thought of as a healthy thing. I remember as a kid, almost being forced into drinking my glass of milk. I was really stubborn then and I’m glad I was. Being of Asian heritage, it doesn’t make sense to drink milk because most of us (and for that matter, people of African descent as well) are lactose-intolerant. Even organic milk won’t work if you’re lactose intolerant. Besides, there’s so much “stuff” in regular milk that you may not want to drink it. Among these include antibiotics, hormones and pesticides. What’s fed to commercially-farmed animals ends up in their body fluids (and that includes their milk). Anyway, one of the reasons they’re promoting it widely is because of it’s benefit of improving bone density because of it’s calcium content. But, there’s more to healthy bones than taking calcium alone. A preferable source of calcium would be green, leafy vegetables. But of course, it’s not “cool” to promote veggies in large media advertising campaigns. See how they use celebrities with milk in their upper lips? How many of them actually drink milk? What about celebrities with green plant material between their teeth suggesting that they’re eating veggies? Won’t that be a funny picture? I heard one of my mentors several years ago talking to his obese client jokingly. Why do you need (cow’s) milk? Is your mother a cow? Don’t you know that milk is probably making you fat? Funny, but it’s true. One of the results of food sensitivities is weight gain but that another topic we have to discuss in the future. One more thing to think about is that we’re the only mammals that drink milk in their adulthood. Is there a reason why other creatures don’t drink milk in their adulthood? Just wondering…..

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