In Defense of Home Canning

 

In a perfect world we would all eat 100% live food all of the time.  Everything would be raw and free from bacteria that make us sick.  Fruits and veggies would be abundant every season of the year and wild game (that isn't feeding of off GMO crops) would be right outside of our back door for us to consume whenever we need it.

Obviously, we do not live in a perfect world.  Food-borne illness exists.  Seasons change, making it impossible to grow fruits and veggies at times.  Modernization and industrialization have changed our environment and the way we have to grow and preserve food.

Our ancestors had many different ways to deal with these problems.  Some of them were nomadic and moved with the changing seasons so that fresh fruits and veggies would always be available no matter where they were.  Others stayed put through the harsh winters and relied on traditional methods of preserving food in order to survive through "hibernation".  Most of them, though, resigned to only eating what is in-season and available locally for them.  If that means you only ate apples in the fall or berries in the spring, that's the way it had to be.

Thankfully, through time, new methods of food preservation have evolved and we're not forced to let the season determine our menus.  While the tried and true methods of lacto-fermentation, smoking, and drying food will always be best, they are not always convenient or possible for everyone.  Freezers and canning methods are the solution for those people.  Some will look at these methods of preservation and say that because they are new and not what our ancestors used they are unhealthy, un"primal", or "processed", but I argue that just because it's new, it doesn't necessarily mean it's bad or evil.  Not everything that is "processed" is the equivalent of a Twinkie, and in fact, the processing can make some foods even healthier for us to digest.

Why Preserve Food?

Environmental responsibility is just as important as the food we put into our bodies, mainly because it affects what we put into our bodies in the long-run.  Because there are changing seasons, many areas of the world are unable to grow fresh produce for a large part of the year.  In order to get their required nutrition, people living in these areas need to either preserve foods when they are in season or have fresh foods shipped to them from other parts of the world when they are out of season.  Preserving the food while in season so it can be eaten throughout the year is the more environmentally responsible option.  On top of that, it is better for your local economy, as you're supporting local farmers during their growing seasons by buying their products in bulk instead of supporting farmers overseas throughout the rest of the year.

Frozen or Canned

There are many people who are very anti-canned foods, because they feel canning leaves the food dead and denatured.  These people will, however, rely on freezers to preserve their foods.  While canning does create a sterile, dead food (void of both bad AND good bacteria), it does not mean the food is entirely denatured.  My purpose in this post is to show you how and why.

I would also argue that while freezing is a wonderful method of preservation, it also, technically, creates processed food, and simply isn't practical for the average family to practice for ALL foods.  In my family of six, it can take hundreds of quarts of canned applesauce from apple season in order to provide enough for us to eat just 2-3 times a week during the off-season.  Just the applesauce alone would require an entire chest freezer for preservation.  If you're a family that also buys your local, pastured meat in bulk, preserves many different varieties of foods other than applesauce, or perhaps has a breastfeeding infant that requires pumped milk, freezer space is precious and not readily available for bulk food preservation.  A solution could be to buy multiple freezers, but once again, environmental responsibility is just as important as the food we consume.  Freezers use a lot of energy.

While canning does create a sterile, dead food (void of living bacteria - both good and bad), it does not mean the food is entirely denatured.  We have to make choices about how we preserve food based on the amount of space we have, what the heating process does to the specific food, and what is best for the environment.

What does the canning process do to the nutrients in food?

Studies have shown that there are both good and bad things that happen to the nutrients in foods that are canned.  Vitamin C is lost during the canning process, but what little remains afterwards is stable throughout storage.  The same for many of the B Vitamins.  During the freezing process, on the other hand, very little of these nutrients are lost during blanching, but they are not stable during storage due to oxidation.  Frozen produce consumed within a month is going to be more nutritious than if it was stored in the freezer for six months, whereas the nutrients in canned foods will remain stable throughout the shelf-life of the food.  So a year after preservation, the canned food will usually be more nutrient dense than the frozen food, depending on moisture levels and the temperature of the freezer, of course.

On the other hand, the canning process opens up the cell walls of fruit flesh, making things like Vitamin A and carotenes more readily available.  Very few of these nutrients are lost during the canning process, and in the case of things like tomatoes, the carotenes, like lycopene, will actually increase.  Freezing produce, however, does not cause an increase in nutrients, with the exception of things like peaches where freezing yields 21 times more Vitamin C than fresh (canning yields only four times more than fresh - but the canned peaches have more Vitamin E than both frozen and fresh).

Fiber is another thing to consider when canning.  The high heat does not affect fiber content, but rather makes it more soluble and useful to the body.  Freezing does not do this.

The bottom line is this - both methods of preservation have their pros and cons.  Canning creates a sterile, dead food that in some cases can be lower in nutrients, but it allows for more convenient storage and does not cause long-term nutrient loss.  Freezing means less nutrient loss up front and leaves both good and bad bacteria intact, however it allows for more nutrient loss during the storage process due to oxidation.  It also takes up more room in your freezer, and preservation of the food is dependent on access to electricity.  If you've ever had a full freezer during a long-term power outage or have had a freezer door accidentally left open (like me), then you understand how inconvenient and costly this problem can be!

When to Can and When to Freeze?

Bone Broth

I've posted before about how I can my bone broths.  There are many who think this is an unwise thing to do, as the high heat of the canning process can affect your gelatin.  This is true - not all canned broth will gel afterwards.  But, that doesn't mean that there is no benefit to canned broth.

When buying processed gelatin in the store, you can usually find two types - regular gelatin powder and collagen/gelatin hydrolysate.  Gelatin powder is like the equivalent of uncanned bone broth reduced to a powder.  It will gel and create things like gummy snacks.  Collagen hydrolysate is like the equivalent of canned broth.  It is heated at a higher temperature than regular gelatin powder, which increases the number of amino acids.  While collagen hydrolysate will not gel, much like canned broth, it is better assimilated into the body.  Collagen hydrolysate is actually better for people like me, with Crohn's Disease, as it is easier on digestion.

I see benefit to both freezing and canning bone broth.  It is good to have some fresh off the stove or crockpot, some kept in your fridge for quick use, and some in either the freezer or canned for those times when you need it and don't have it fresh.  Canned broth, since already heated, is perfect for things like soups and stews.  Frozen is good for thawing and warming as a beverage.

Meat

Canning meat is one of the easiest things in the world to do.  You simply take the raw meat, chop it into little pieces, fill the jar with water, and process in the pressure canner.  When you are done you have a preserved jar of canned, pastured meat for those days when you may not have had time to thaw your meat before cooking or you need to take a meal with you somewhere.

Meat, unless you're eating it raw, is going to lose nutrition through preparation regardless of the method.  Canning the meat brings it to a temperature of 240 degrees for a few hours and then allows all nutrients to remain stable throughout storage.  You may end up cooking fresh or frozen meat at the same or higher temperature, losing the same nutrients.  Canning will render the meat sterile, whereas cooked meat can quickly lead to food-borne illness if not handled and preserved properly after it is taken off of the heat.

For some meats, such as fish, the canning process will actually increase nutrition.  The high heat causes bones in fish meat to leach calcium into the meat.

Vegetables

Let's face it, canned veggies often don't taste as good as fresh or frozen.  Green beans, for example, can end up mushy.  And the longer the jars sit in storage, the worse the flavor seems to be.

But some veggies, like leafy greens, actually benefit from the heat.  Spinach that sits in your fridge can lose nearly all of its nutrient content in one week (that doesn't count the 2-3 weeks it can take for it to get to your fridge from the farm during winter).  Cooked spinach increases iron, protein, fiber, zinc, thiamine, and calcium; and has higher amounts of vitamins A and E.  Spinach that is picked ripe and canned immediately will have much more nutrition than store-bought spinach that you bring home and immediately use up, and way more than spinach that sits in your fridge for a week longer.

With any veggies, if you're worried about nutrient loss during the canning process, remember that most of what is lost ends up in the cooking liquid.  Since canned veggies are only really good in cooked foods like stews or soups, it is best to use the liquid from your jars in the soups in order to increase nutrition and make up for what was lost in the veggie itself.


A 2005 Dutch study suggested that canning fruits and vegetables decreases glucosinolate content - a phytochemical that may fight cancer and memory loss.  Glucosinolates are primarily found in cruciferous veggies like cabbage or broccoli. Since broccoli is high in Vitamin C, it is not recommended that you can for preservation.  And cabbage is best preserved through lacto-fermentation as sauerkraut.  To benefit from the protection of glucosinolates, just preserve the foods high in them with other methods and serve them as a side with your home-canned foods that lack them.


Fruits

As is the case with broccoli, it is best not to can fruits that are high in Vitamin C.

Some people have luck canning pumpkin, although I have never tried.  Canned pumpkin has 30 times more vitamin A than raw pumpkin and 20 times more than fresh-cooked.

Other fruits, such as apples, provide fiber as their benefit.  Since the canning process does not affect fiber, and actually enables better digestion, apples are one fruit that is best preserved through canning.  You could argue that it would be best to freeze applesauce, as not to make it a dead food, but the heating process used to create the applesauce itself has already rendered it dead.  Freezing will not make it live again.  Canning will free up freezer space for items that cannot be preserved through canning, such as squash and citrus fruit, and allow you to buy apples in bulk during the growing season.

Fruits such as berries are best when frozen if you're looking to consume them for nutrition, but since they aren't a main source of vitamin C to begin with, canning will not make much of a difference.  It is nice to have some frozen berries to enjoy in things like smoothies for a nutrient punch, with some canned berry jams in the cupboards to use as condiments and for flavor.

As mentioned above, always can your tomatoes instead of freezing, as the process increases the amount of lycopene in the fruit.

Conclusion

All food methods have benefits.  When you're looking at 15 bushels of fresh apples, it would be impossible to freeze it all.  Dehydrate some into chips.  Freeze some for baking.  Can some applesauce.

When you get your full beef you can dehydrate or smoke some for jerky.  Can some for a convenient meal later.  Freeze the rest to enjoy throughout the year.


Unfortunately, we can't always forage and hunt for the freshest of foods.  We have to make sacrifices in order to be able to live in the modern world.  Raw, live foods are rare and when they are plentiful, they are rarely safe when eaten raw.  Even most of the "raw" almonds you find in the store are irradiated and left dead.  It's the unfortunate consequence of desiring almonds when you don't live in almond country.  In order for to food to get to our doors year-round, whenever we're craving them, they have to be made safe for transport.  The same will be true when you're desiring berries in the winter or bananas in the North.

Don't let your fear of eating "dead" foods (in moderation) keep you from enjoying the art of canning your own delicious foods.  Yes, a raw egg is best for you nutritionally, but you will still eat it when it is cooked and dead, won't you?  Just because a food is canned, it doesn't mean it's not good for you.

As with any meal, it's always good to eat more live than dead foods and no one is advocating a diet consisting solely of home-canned foods.  If you decide to have some of your canned applesauce with a meal, make sure that you add some homemade yogurt or large portions of raw veggies to the meal.  If you're eating canned meat, top it with a fermented cruciferous veggie, like homemade sauerkraut.  If you're enjoying some of your homemade unsweetened berry jam with a meal, add raw, local honey to it before serving to "liven" it up.  Balancing dead foods with live ones will create a healthy, nutritious meal that is also environmentally-friendly and supports local farmers year-round.

A jar of in-season, home-canned produce is going to be more nutritious than out of season produce at the grocery store, and also better for the environment.  Period.  You also can't downplay the security in knowing that the organic, local food you worked so hard to preserve will be stable regardless of whatever happens to the power.

Finally, remember that whenever you're canning, always use proper sanitation and hygiene guidelines.  Use lids that are free of BPA and other toxins, and always make sure to dispose of any jars that show signs of seepage or spoilage.

-Jessica


Sources

http://ucce.ucdavis.edu/files/datastore/234-779.pdf

http://nutrican.fshn.uiuc.edu/studyfinal.html

Homemade Liver Powder

I struggle with anemia.  Between my Crohn's Disease and having been pregnant and/or nursing for over seven consecutive years, my iron levels can get pretty low.  While pregnant I always experience a dip in my hemoglobin levels in the beginning of the third trimester, where I test around 8.0 (normal range for women is between 12.0-15.5 and slightly lower at 11.0 during pregnancy).  I've also had flare-ups of Crohn's Disease in which my anemia is so bad that they were considering blood transfusions.

Because of this problem, I've had to find ways to deal with my anemia through diet.  Traditional iron supplementation is not a good solution, as most iron supplements can make constipation even worse during pregnancy and are typically made up on non-heme iron that does not absorb well at all.  And if you have a child who is suffering from anemia, supplements can be dangerous because children often overdose on iron.  It really is best to focus on getting your iron through your diet and also making sure you aren't eating foods that leach the iron from your system or inhibit its absorption.

There are two forms of dietary iron - heme and non-heme.  Heme iron comes from animal-based sources that are full of hemoglobin, such as meat and fish.  Non-heme iron comes from plant-based sources like beans and fortified grains and is not absorbed as well into the body.  In fact, the reason that grains are fortified with things like iron is because the food itself, when improperly prepared, can actually leach iron from your body.

Besides avoiding grains and improperly prepared beans and legumes, when I'm dealing with anemia I also avoid black tea, which is full of tannins that decrease iron absorption (lighter teas, like white and green do not seem to have the same effect).  I also make sure not to eat any dairy or other calcium-rich food with my iron-rich foods.  Just making those small changes to my diet has increased my hemoglobin score four points in one month during pregnancy, without having to take an iron supplement.

I obviously also try to increase my heme iron intake.  During pregnancy, I follow a form of the Brewer Diet and try to eat iron-rich organ meat at least once a week, usually in the form of pastured beef liver.  The problem with this is that there are times during pregnancy where nausea makes stomaching the very potent smell and taste of the liver nearly impossible.  Because of this, it helps to get creative with your liver consumption.  One way to do that is to freeze your liver in small chunks and swallow them whole like a pill throughout the day.  If you're like me and have a strong gag reflex during pregnancy, that may not be the best solution.

Making your own iron pills is easy and a great solution to this problem.  People often use this process after pregnancy to encapsulate their placenta - dehydrate the meat, grind it down into a powder, and fill your empty gelatin capsules.

Here is how I did it with pastured beef liver (remember to only use pastured beef liver that is from a reputable source).  First, I cut the liver into thin strips, placed it on a cookie sheet, and baked it in the oven on the lowest setting possible (170) for approximately ten hours.  You do NOT want to put the iron in your dehydrator inside of the house, because the smell will be horrible and will take a really long time to air out.  Having it in the oven is also pretty noxious, but not nearly as bad as it would be in the dehydrator.  Within 24 hours the smell was gone in my kitchen when I dried it out in the oven.

Once your liver is dry, put it in the food processor until it is ground into a fine powder:

Next, take empty gelatin capsules and fill them with the powder.  For mine, I used these:

I was making these for my six-year-old son, who has a hard time with swallowing bigger pills.  If you're making these for an adult, you may want to use a larger size capsule.  These #3 capsules only hold up to 360 mg of the powder, while the 00 size can hold up to 1092 mg.

To fill them you just dump all of your powder into a bowl, take apart the capsule, scoop the powder into both ends and then put the capsule back together.  So simple!

If you're like me and you battle anemia, you can feel it coming on.  Whenever you're feeling a little run-down and irritable, just pop a handful of the capsules and let the liver do its magic.  Remember to store your pills in the fridge.

You can also skip the encapsulation step and use your powder in other ways - put some in your meatloaf or burger patties for an extra iron punch, or in any other casserole that will hide the liver flavor well.

I add a tablespoon to my smoothies.  1 Tablespoon liver powder, 2 cups of homemade raw yogurt, 1 tablespoon of raw local honey, 1 tablespoon homemade nut butter, some raw spinach, and a cup of frozen fruit - talk about a superfood with all of the nutrients, probiotics, digestive healing, and allergy help!

My kids usually do well with eating cooked liver, but a smoothie is one way to get a picky child to consume it without a fight and to make it feel like a treat!

 
-Jessica

SCD/GAPS/Paleo Diet: The First Three Months

On October 1 my six-year-old son and I began our own version of the Specific Carbohydrate Diet/GAPS Diet/Paleo eating plan.  We made the decision to do it for a few reasons.  First, I have Crohn's Disease and over the course of the last five years have been able to wean myself down to the minimum dosage of my maintenance medication, but have never felt completely comfortable with quitting it cold-turkey because I've been either pregnant or nursing at the time.  I'm currently nursing a ten-month-old, but feel like it's a good time to try to go off the medication before another potential pregnancy.

The reason we decided to have my son do it is because he is allergic to peanuts and dairy.  He turned six years old last August and while he has outgrown many other food allergies over the last few years (eggs, soy, pineapple, and tomato), these two allergies have actually gotten worse according to test results.  My son nursed as a baby and never had a reaction to what I ate and was in my milk.  He even received pumped milk up to the age of nearly three without reactions to what was in the milk, but when I tried to give him some of my pumped milk for an added probiotic boost last year he reacted to it.  Even after avoiding dairy and peanuts for several weeks and trying again, he still had a reaction.  Because of this and the fact that very few children outgrow their allergies if they haven't already by Kindergarten age, we knew that it was going to take something drastic, combined with a lot of prayer, to heal his body.  Others have had luck with food allergies on the GAPS diet, so we thought we would give it a shot.  At this point we have nothing to lose.

I'd had Breaking the Vicious Cycle, the book about the SCD diet, sitting on my bookshelf for years and had been ignoring it despite having people in my life tell me I should try it.  It wasn't until a friend told me about her experience with her autistic son and the GAPS diet and then hearing about another woman at a Weston A. Price meeting who had "cured" her Crohn's Disease with the same diet, that I decided I needed to look into it.

The SCD, GAPS and Paleo diets are all very similar.  You avoid all grains (not just gluten), including things like rice, oats, quinoa, potatoes, and other foods that people with gluten intolerances can eat.  No sugar, preservatives, or other food additives are allowed.  Basically, you can eat pastured meats, pastured eggs, raw dairy, organic fruits/vegetables, properly soaked nuts (and nut flours and butters), lentils, split peas, navy beans, honey, oils (we only eat coconut and olive), and a few other things.  All of the diets vary a little in what they will and won't allow, but the point is the same - no grains and sugar, a therapeutic probiotic regimen, and clean eating so that your "leaky gut" can heal.

Preparing for the Diet

We spent the month of September preparing for the diet.  Since we are already dealing with food allergies, intolerances, and special diets in our home, going on such an intense diet wasn't nearly as scary as it would be for most people.  We haven't been able to eat at restaurants or eat processed foods for years now, so we didn't have to worry about adjusting our lifestyles to eat this way.  We also already had sources for many of the foods on the plan, like pastured eggs/meat and raw dairy.  We have basically been eating this way for years without completely cutting out sugar and grains, so that was going to be the hard part for us.  For others who have to completely change the way they look at food, this process would seem much more overwhelming and difficult.

I also think that this diet would be very difficult for the average child.  Most of the foods that children enjoy (and that are convenient for parents to feed them), such as breaded chicken nuggets, breads, cookies, crackers, french fries, candy, macaroni and cheese, etc. are not allowed on the diet.  We didn't have to deal with a child that was being forced to give up the foods he liked, because our son has never been able to enjoy many of those foods due to his food allergies.  He is used to not being allowed to eat what other people around him are enjoying.

There were some foods that were hard for my son to give up, mainly some of his favorite sugary treats.  For me it was sourdough bread, bacon, and homemade pancakes with maple syrup.  Eventually, we both weaned off of our grain and sugar addictions and I learned how to cook "legal" options that would replace them using nut flours and honey.  We used the month of September to wean ourselves off of those foods and for me to refine my skills in cooking with our new staples.

Starting the Diet

On October 1, 2013 we officially began.  We followed the GAPS protocol and for the first week we ate nothing but homemade bone broth to allow our digestive systems to heal.  On top of this, my son started a new therapeutic dose of probiotics (I was already on a therapeutic dose).  He went from taking 12 strains at 3 billion to 12 strains at 10 billion and I continued at 12 strains at 20 billion.

The first week was terrible.  We both experienced very severe-die off reactions as our bodies purged the bad bacteria.  By the second night we were both waking through the night and vomiting.  This lasted about five days before we finally felt better.

I experienced a slight dip in my milk supply during the first few days, so I began eating homemade raw milk yogurt by day three.  Since my son cannot have dairy, he was simply on the bone broths.  Our next food we introduced was cooked vegetables in the broth and homemade sauerkraut, followed by egg yolks and cooked meats.  By week three we were eating nut flours made from nuts that I had properly soaked and dehydrated, along with cooked fruits.  The very last things we added were raw fruit and soaked lentils, split peas, and navy beans after the end of the first month.


Six weeks into the diet we were both feeling great and decided to up our probiotic dosage again.  My son began taking 12 strains at 13 billion and I upped it to 12 strains at 23 billion.  We did not experience a severe die-off the second time.

At the two month mark I hadn't taken my maintenance medication for my Crohn's Disease and was experiencing zero symptoms.  In fact, my body was having the opposite reaction and I became very constipated and was only having a bowel movement once a week.  Three months out and I'm still having problems with this issue.  For years with my Crohn's Disease I have had to avoid trigger foods that would cause symptoms to flare, such as raw peppers, lentils, onions, or broccoli to name a few.  I have learned that cutting out the fiber from all grains and then still avoiding those trigger foods makes digestion very difficult.  I've had to change the way I eat and allow myself to consume small amounts of the trigger foods in order to stay "regular".  It has been wonderful to enjoy a bowl of split pea soup or some raw peppers after avoiding them for nearly a decade.

The Results at Three Months

After three months I feel amazing.  My nursing baby still wakes three times a night to eat and with previous babies I was feeling very run-down and could feel my immune system crashing and the Crohn's symptoms beginning to flare by this point.  I feel like the diet has given me a tremendous amount of energy and I feel so healthy that the sleep-deprivation isn't as much of an issue.  I imagine that I would feel like a million dollars if I were also getting solid sleep on top of this diet. 

The effects of the diet on my son have also been amazing.  After that first week of die-off he began having formed stools for the very first time in his life.  His digestion is now very regular and solid.  Another amazing result has been his weight gain.  You would think that by cutting out nearly half of the foods he can eat, he would lose a lot of weight (which has been the case for me simply because I'm eating and craving less - I've lost all of my baby weight and then some, a total of 20 pounds in three months), however, he has had the opposite reaction.  My son has always been extremely tiny, under the tenth percentile on the growth chart for weight most of the time.  At age six he weighed 38 pounds, which was the same weight he had been for over a year.  He lost two pounds during the first six weeks of the diet, but right before Christmas he was weighed again and had gained that two back plus another three pounds.  Cutting out half of his diet and eating much more nutrient-dense food has resulted in a five pound weight gain after over a year and a half of no growth.  This proves to me that his body is now absorbing more of the food he is eating and his digestion is getting more efficient.  Since the goal of the diet is to heal the gaps in the intestinal wall, I have faith that this is a sign that something is happening there!

I plan to write more here about our journey, which will last at least two years, and also share some of our favorite recipes and tips for surviving this diet.  If you or a family member are suffering from an autoimmune disease, food allergy/intolerance, or other ailment in which traditional medicine is failing you or giving you few options for full healing, this is something that may be an option for you.  I won't lie, this diet is extreme and you have to follow it fanatically in order to see any benefit, but there are countless testimonies from people who have done it and have had great outcomes.

-Jessica

Making and Preserving Homemade Chicken Broth

Note: People often use the terms stock and broth interchangeably. Essentially, they are the same thing - water flavored with bones, meat, and vegetables. The main difference is that broth is seasoned and stock is not. I like to flavor before preserving, therefore what I make is a broth, but if you were to leave out the flavoring, you could have a bland stock to season as needed with your recipes.

As I am reaching the height of my canning season, I am working on a series of posts about food preservation. I think the best place to start is with homemade stock.

Do you ever wonder what to do with the carcass after you roast a whole chicken? Making a bone stock or broth out of it is easy and saves you a ton of money. Throughout history bone broths have been known to have healing effects: mitigating cold symptoms, helping with inflammation, relieving digestive issues, and just giving us a sense of comfort when we're under the weather.

The most common brands of broth, like Swanson, are misleading in their advertising.  Many brands contain MSG, a neurotoxin, so Swanson wants us to know theirs is healthier and makes sure to label it as "all-natural" and "MSG-free".  The problem is that Swanson chicken broth contains yeast extract, which means the broth does in fact contain MSG.  It's a labeling trick that is dishonest.  To learn more about MSG and yeast extract, read this.

Buying a good, organic bone broth in the grocery store is difficult, not only because they are often seasoned with items you don't want, but they are pretty expensive.  Take Pacific Foods Free Range Organic Chicken Broth, which contains organic chicken broth (filtered water, organic chicken), organic chicken flavor, (organic chicken flavor, sea salt), natural chicken flavor (chicken stock, salt), organic evaporated cane juice, organic onion powder, turmeric, and organic flavor.  I don't know about you, but I have no idea what "organic flavor" is and I prefer that there isn't hidden sugar in my broth. Besides, for $4.00 per 32 ounces, I would at least like to see some veggies in the broth.

Instead of spending so much on nutritionally inferior broth, why not make your own out of something that costs you nothing extra, as you intend to throw the carcass in the garbage anyways?

All the equipment you need to make your own broth is a large stock pot, something to strain it with (like cheesecloth), and eight quart-size canning jars/lids.  I use my Cuisinart 12 Quart Pasta Pot because it allows me to throw all of my ingredients in the pasta insert and once the broth is done simmering I can pull the solids out without having to strain the broth through anything.

If you don't have a pasta insert, just throw your carcass, veggies, herbs, and seasonings straight into your stockpot and strain it when it is done.

Remember not to use a stock pot coated with Teflon or other non-stick coatings and additives.  It makes little sense to worry about your food additives while cooking with pots that contain carcinogens. 

MAKING THE BROTH

8 quarts filtered water
1 organic, free-range chicken carcass
3-4 organic carrots
3 organic green onions
2 cloves organic garlic
10-15 whole peppercorns
2 T sea salt

I do not add herbs now, because I prefer to add them directly to whatever food I am using the broth as a base for, but you could add some now if you want to - bay leaves or rosemary would be nice.

Bring the water to a boil and then let it simmer on the stove for about four hours.  If you have your solids directly in a stock pot you're going to want to stir it every now and then to make sure the veggies aren't sticking to the bottom.  If you're using the pasta insert it is not necessary.

After four hours you have a delicious broth that you can either preserve by freezing or canning, or put directly in the fridge, where it will last for about one week.  Freezing is a great option if you have the space for it, however, I prefer canning my broth so I don't waste precious space in my deep-freezer.

CANNING THE BROTH

To preserve your broth you are going to need a pressure canner.  I have a Presto 16 Quart canner and it is easy to use, although quite intimidating the first time.  If you've never used a pressure canner you may want to invite someone over to help you initially, as it is very different than using a water bath canner.

My canner fits 7 quart-size jars, and since I prepare 8 quarts of broth at once (1 inch of headspace), I leave one in the fridge for immediate use.  The rest go into the canner for 25 minutes at 10 psi.

And there you have it - 8 quarts of delicious homemade broth to use as a base in your soups and other meals.  Not only is it nutritionally superior to what you can buy in the store, but it saves you about $32 if you were buying the same quantity of organic broth there.

In case you're wondering, you CANNOT preserve broth with a water bath canner.  It is a low-acid food, which needs to reach 240 degrees for a specific period of time in order to kill the bacteria that would spoil it.  A water bath canner cannot reach that temperature.

 -Jessica

Homemade Sauerkraut

It's grilling season and my family loves a good steak or burger, but research tells us that cooking meat at high temperatures creates compounds that have been linked to cancer.  One way to clear your body quickly of those cancer-causing compounds is to make sure you eat some type of cruciferous veggie with your grilled meat.  These veggies contain sulforaphane, a molecule that helps fight cancer and microbes.

This makes sense, right?!  This is why a grilled bratwurst tastes so good slathered in sauerkraut.  It's the perfect combo for your health.

Sauerkraut is one of my husband's favorites.  I'm not a huge fan, but I tolerate the taste because I know it's good for you.  Besides being the perfect compliment for grilled meat, sauerkraut is great for digestion in general.  This is because of the lacto-fermentation process the cabbage goes through.

Many times, the sauerkraut you buy in the store has gone through a pasteurization process, which kills the good bacteria and negates these benefits to your digestive system.  To avoid this, why not make your own?  Sauerkraut is one of the easiest things to make and is really cheap.  You can get a fresh head of cabbage from the Farmer's Market for next to nothing, whereas a can of quality kraut at the store can cost you around $5.

To make my sauerkraut, I use nothing but sea salt and cabbage.  Many recipes call for homemade whey to give a little boost of Lactobacilli, but since we have a child with dairy allergies in the house that we want to share the sauerkraut with, we skip it.  Our kraut turns out just fine without it.

Here is how I make sauerkraut without a special crock.  Start with your cabbage.

Core and shred it.  Then add three tablespoons of sea salt (if you're using whey you use less salt - 1T salt/4T whey).

Now you start pounding.  I use a meat hammer and just beat and beat and beat at the cabbage until all of the juices are out of it.  It takes 10-15 minutes.  It's a good arm workout, which I guess is another health benefit of homemade kraut ;)

If you get tired, find some little helpers to beat it for you for a while.  It makes for a good science lesson. :)

Once you're done beating the cabbage, pack it into your canning jars.  For one medium head of cabbage I can usually get one quart plus one pint.  You want at least one inch of headspace and make sure all of the cabbage juice covers the cabbage in the jar.  In order to pack it in that way I use a large wooden spoon and press it down.

Make sure you completely seal your jars and place them on your counter to ferment for at least 3 days.  Once they are sealed, don't open the lid or you'll ruin the process. 

Here is my sauerkraut next to my sourdough starter.  That's a whole lot of fermentation going on!

After your three days you want to make sure to store your kraut somewhere cool.  You can use the fridge if you want.  I just put mine down in my basement food storage area with the rest of my canned goods.  You could technically eat your kraut after three days and you would get the benefit of the bacteria, however, sauerkraut is one of those things, like wine, that gets better with age, not just in terms of flavor. 

Remember that you don't need to use a water bath or pressure cooker to can your kraut.  In fact, the heat would kill the good bacteria.  The lactic acid preserves the cabbage, so you don't need to worry about bad bacteria until you open the lid.  Once it's open, make sure to store it in the fridge, where it will last for months.  And as with all home-canned items, check for signs of spoilage before you consume it.  If it looks like there is anything growing on your kraut or inside the jar on the top of the lid, if you see pink, or if there is seepage of some sort on the outside of the lid, it's better to be safe than sorry - don't eat it.

It is normal for your cabbage to lose it's bright green color with time.  That does not mean it is spoiling.  You'll notice that most krauts you buy in the store are more of a yellowish color than green.  Here is a batch of sauerkraut my husband made four years ago.  We will still eat it if it doesn't smell when we open it.

Cabbage is really cheap at this time of the year, so make sure to buy a few heads and start your own sauerkraut stockpile to get you through the winter.  Just make sure you buy organic cabbage that hasn't been sprayed!

I Love Bacteria

As someone living with Crohn's Disease, I am obsessed with bacteria (good and bad) and the role it plays in overall health.  While professionals in the world of alternative medicine have been screaming about this topic for decades, it seems that Western medicine is finally catching on.

An amazing article on the topic came out last month in The New York Times.  Written by Michael Pollan (author of some amazing books on food), the article titled "Some of My Best Friends Are Germs" talks about everything I've been trying to tell people ever since my diagnosis in 2006.  If you haven't read it yet, grab a glass of kombucha and settle in, because it's long, but extremely informative.

Basically, what Michael Pollan is trying to say is that our Western diets and medical model are horrible for the good bacteria in our body.  Antibiotic use, antibacterial obsessions, and processed foods DO have a negative impact on our bodies beyond antibiotic resistance and obesity. 

So, start eating those fermented prebiotic foods, stop worrying about cleaning your house, breastfeed those babies as long as you can, make sure you aren't accidentally eating antibiotics in your meat and dairy, and embrace the bacteria around you.  Life is dirty and sometimes that dirt is beautiful!

Coconut Oil

I became a big fan of coconut oil a few years ago, when I discovered that it helped my Crohn's symptoms.  Originally, I was concerned about the amount of saturated fat in the oil, but the more I researched it, the more I realized how good it actually is for you.

Coconut Oil Myths

Modern nutritionists try to tell us that eating plant-based oils are best for us, because they are unsaturated fats.  They do this because there is a fear that all saturated fat contributes to heart disease and obesity.  While most of the saturated fats in our diets do contribute to those health problems, it is the hydrogenated oils that are the contributing factor.  Throughout history there are populations of people that have lived off of natural saturated fats, like butter and coconut oil, without having heart problems like we see in our culture.  The butter and coconut oil are not the problem, the hydrogenated items like margarine are.

Here is a prime example of the misinformation I'm talking about.  How can an organic, pastured egg or fresh, wild-caught seafood be harmful?  A better list of fats, in order of best to worst for you, can be found here.

Sure, if someone eats nothing but butter and coconut oil all day long, their heart is going to pay the price.  But if you're eating a healthy, balanced diet full of organic fruits, veggies, grains, and meats, and staying away from the processed foods that are full of saturated fats, butter and coconut oil are actually very good for you.

Even though soybean, cottonseed, canola, sunflower, and safflower oils may appear to be healthier because they do not contain saturated fats, there are other factors to consider.  Most of these oils are derived from genetically-modified sources.  They are usually rancid due to their extraction processes, and wreak havoc on our digestive and immune systems.  If not rancid prior to consumption, they will oxidize inside our bodies due to the heat.  Coconut oil does not become rancid easily, and in fact can be held at room temperature for over a year without showing any signs, because of antioxidants.

The health benefits of coconut oil

Antimicrobal/Antiseptic - Coconut oil contains 40% lauric acid, the anti-viral component of breast milk. Our bodies convert the acid to a substance that protects us from infection.

Disease-fighting - Due to the high lauric acid content, coconut oil helps fight current illnesses.

Thyroid-Stimulating - Coconut oil stimulates the thyroid, giving you more energy and helping you lose weight.  Animals fed coconut oil are more lean, active, and have higher appetites.  This is why most farmers feed their animals diets that are high in unsaturated fats - they fatten them up with less food because of the anti-thyroid effects.

Anti-Aging - Due to the thyroid-stimulating properties of coconut oil, there are an increase of anti-aging steroids, pregnenolone, progesterone and DHEA - which help prevent aging and degenerative diseases.

Anti-Cancer - Animals fed diets high in unsaturated fats have more tumors.  Researchers have also noted that incidences of cancer have increased when native populations are introduced to our American diets.

Digestive -  Due to its antimicrobal properties, coconut oil fights indigestion and assists in the absorption of nutrients.

Skin and Haircare - Coconut oil is an excellent conditioner that helps repair damaged hair and fight dandruff, psoriasis, eczema, etc.  When applied to the skin, it also helps to heal a bruise more quickly and can treat rashes, like diaper rash and yeast.

To learn about the many other benefits of coconut oil, click here.

How to use coconut oil

Besides the uses for skin and hair listed above, coconut oil can also be used for a variety of other purposes.  It is a natural, safe alternative to other unnatural sexual lubricants, which contain many toxins.  You can also simply apply a generous layer of the oil to cuts and scrapes to provide a protective barrier that will also heal the wound.

Coconut oil is solid when at room temperature, so when cooking with it, you may need to soften it first.  I use it in place of butter in all of my baking recipes, as a dairy-free alternative for my allergic son.  The oil has a sweet taste that makes it perfect for sweets and breads.

I also use my coconut oil in place of butter or cooking sprays in prepartio for baking.  I just scoop out a small amount and smear it all over my pans and dishes in the same way I would use butter.

The bottom line

Most nutritionists have it wrong.  While their intentions are good, their focus in wrong.  Sure, we should all be trying to limit the amount of saturated fat in our diets, but we should be doing it by actually limiting the amount of food we eat, not by maintaining the same excessive diets and simply replacing the fats with unsaturated ones.  Those unsaturated fats pose entirely different health risks.  We need to also look at the health benefits of eating saturated fats in moderation.

So enjoy your butter and coconut oil - just don't overdo it.  Your waistline, immune system, heart, thyroid, skin, hair, colon, cells and taste buds will thank you!

Edited to add:  You want to use virgin coconut oil, not the refined types.

-Jessica

Sources:

"Coconutoil.com - Coconut Oil: Why It Is Good For You." Coconutoil.com - Research on Coconut Oil's Benefits. Web. 29 Apr. 2010. .



"Health Benefits of Coconut Oil Organic Coconut Oil Organic Oils." Organic Facts Home. Web. 29 Apr. 2010. .


Rubin, Jordan. The Maker's Diet. Lake Mary, Fla.: Siloam, 2004. Print.

The Whole Soy Story

After a visit to a homeopathic doctor in 2008, I discovered that I am soy intolerant, a diagnosis that has changed my life in many ways.*  I used to be a sushi addict and my mouth still waters at the idea of a spicy tuna roll dipped in soy sauce, but then I remember the days following my sushi binges and how the soy sauce would leave me curled in the fetal position on the floor of my bathroom, writhing around in pain. 

I also was a vegetarian for nearly ten years prior to this diagnosis.  I lived off of tofu burgers and veggies shreds.  As soon as I learned that the soy was making me sick, I had to completely change my lifestyle and begin eating meat again.

A few months prior to my diagnosis, it was also discovered that my older son, Gabriel, had a soy allergy.  His first bottle of soy-based formula caused a severe allergic reaction.

Because of this our home has been soy-free for nearly two years, except for a couple of foods that my husband enjoys to have around as snacks.  Gabriel and I are also unable to eat food that has been prepared at restaurants, because the only items on the majority of menus that do not contain a soy product are plain fruits and veggies that haven't touched the grill (which is usually covered in either margarine or soybean oil).

It is estimated that nearly 70% of the foods on our supermarket shelves contain soy.  It has become filler that is used in just about everything, because it is cheap.  But what's even worse is that over 60% of the soybean crop in the United States is genetically modified.

One day Adam heard a news story that linked soy to hormone imbalances in men, specifically that eating high levels of soy causes men to produce more estrogen, leading to a whole host of health problems.  That was the final straw - all of the negative information I had been hearing about soy made me want to learn more about why it is considered a "healthy" food in our culture.

I finished reading The Whole Soy Story by Kaayla T. Daniel, PhD, CCN and I learned more than I ever wanted to know about the food.  The book gives a background on how this crop that historically was used as a cover crop to enrich soil, became part of a health-food craze in America. It also breaks down all of the health concerns about eating soy.  I recommend the book for anyone interested in learning why you shouldn't be consuming this food in the amounts that we find in the average American's diet.

I just wanted to highlight some of the interesting things I learned while reading the book:

The study that really made soy a healthy food in America showed that the Japanese (who eat 30 times the soy we eat) have lower rates of breast, uterine and prostate cancer.  What the media coverage of this study failed to also tell us is that the Japanese have higher rates of esophageal, stomach, pancreatic and liver cancers.  Asians also do not eat soy in the ways we eat it.  They leave the soybean intact in fermented products like miso, tempeh and natto. 


The FDA approves soy protein as a heart healthy food but it is also found on their "Poisonous Plant Database."


Soybean oil is a mosquito repellant.  It actually kills the mosquito, which makes you wonder what it does to your insides.


People who eat ground meat with textured soy protein extenders (this is what is served to our children in school) lose 61% (at a 3:1 ratio) and 53% (at a 2:1 ratio) of their ability to absorb the iron from the meat.


Here are all of the toxins and antinutrients that soy contains: 

• allergens
• goitrogens - cause thyroid damage
• lectins - cause immune system reactions and play a role in allergic reactions because they destroy intestinal mucosa.
• oligosaccharides - cause bloating and gas
• oxalates - prevent the absorption of calcium and linked to kidney stones
• phytates - leads to poor growth and anemia.  Levels are higher in soy than in any other food.
• isoflavones - cause reproductive damage
• protease inhibitors - cause gastric distress, poor protein digestion, cancer, and damage to the pancreas.  Many foods contain them (grains, nuts, seeds, some veggies, etc.), but cooking deactivates them.  They are at higher levels in soybeans (and even higher in GM beans) and are more resistant to neutralization through cooking.

The scariest information to read was about soy-based formula:

• The isoflavones in the formula effect hormones and can cause developmental problems in the reproductive system.  They also put children at an increased risk of thyroid problems (hypothyroidism and autoimmune thyroid disease). 
• Infants fed soy formula also produce more gas (CH4 and H2S), which has been linked to intestinal disorders, such as ulcerative colitis and Crohn's Disease. 
• Scientists have suggested expensive techniques that would neutralize the phytates in formula, but the industry prefers to go the cheaper route and enrich the formula with zinc, iron and calcium to compensate.  They are required by law to do this. 
• Iron absorption from soy formula is 27%.  It is 65% in breast milk, 60% in whey formula and 46% in casein formula.

Something I learned from the author's website - "The Israeli Health Ministry has issued a health advisory warning that infants should not use soy formula. So have the British Dietetic Association, the New Zealand Health Ministry, and the Swiss Federal Health Service."

Soy lectin may contribute to Type 1 Juvenile Onset Diabetes because it destroys pancreatic cells that secrete insulin.

Asian monks used to eat high levels of soy because it was known to lower their libido.

I have also read before that animals that are fed diets high in soy fail to thrive and show signs of malnutrition.  They also have a shorter lifespan and produce less offspring. 

When I put all of this information together, it's a no-brainer for me.  It's yet another reason to make sure the food I am feeding my family isn't processed and is prepared properly (soaked, cooked properly, etc.).  Since cutting out soy from my diet, I have not had a major flare-up of my Crohn's Disease and have been able to stay off of toxic drugs like Prednisone.  I think I now know why!

If you are interested in learning more about soybeans, I suggest reading this book!

-Jessica

I was not contacted by anyone to review this book.  I just enjoyed it and wanted to share some information with my readers.

*Diagnosis made through IgE fecal test.

How To Make Homemade Sourdough Bread

What are the advantages of sourdough bread?

• Sourdough bread is easier to digest because of the lactic acid created in the fermentation process.
• The soaking that is a part of making sourdough bread decreases phytate content, which allows for better nutrient absorption.
• It causes a lower spike in blood sugar than any other type of bread.
• It does not spoil as easily as bread made from brewers yeast because its acetic acid retards mold growth.
• It tastes DELICIOUS!

Your first step is to make a sourdough starter.

My recipe came from Nourishing Traditions.  It yields 3 quarts of starter.

I took 2 cups of rye flour and 2 cups of filtered water and mixed them together in a large bowl.  Then, I covered the soupy mixture with a double layer of cheesecloth and secured it with a rubber band.

You can see my bowl in this picture (note that my kitchen counters have become a "laboratory" for soaking and sprouting).

For the next 7 days, I transferred my soupy mixture to a different bowl each day and added one cup of rye flour and another cup of filtered water.  I would then mix it and put the cheesecloth back on top.

During the week, the cheesecloth allowed good bacteria (lactobacilli) and airborne fungus (wild yeast) to enter my soupy mix, causing it to froth and bubble.  After about 3 days it began to smell badly, but by the end of the week it smelled like wine.

This is what it looked like after 7 days.

At this point, it was ready to be used for making bread.

A sourdough starter is a living thing that needs to be cared for just like any other living thing.  If you aren't going to use it right away, you can store it in the fridge or freezer.  Just make sure that you "feed" the starter with one cup of flour/water at least once a week and allow oxygen to get to it.

Starters make a wonderful gift for friends and family - just give them a few cups and tell them to feed it every day until they build up their supply.

The taste of your starter and it's ability to leaven bread will get better with age, so be patient and don't give up if your first batch of bread doesn't taste perfect!

Note:  many websites will tell you that you shouldn't use metal bowls or utensils for your starter.  I used a stainless steel bowl for mine and did not have a problem.  Everything I've read says that anything other than stainless steel is not advised, but essentially the "no metal rule" is a myth.

Now you are ready to make your bread.

Once again, I used the Nourishing Traditions recipe.

I used 2 quarts of my starter (needs to be at room temperature) and added 2 1/2 tablespoons of sea salt and 1 cup cold filtered water.

Mix it until the salt dissolves.  Then, start mixing your flour (you will add 13 cups in all).  I used whole wheat.

Halfway through you will need to add another 1/2 cup cold filtered water and start mixing with your hands.




















Then, knead the dough for about 15 minutes.  This will be a workout, BELIEVE me!  My arms were sore afterwards. 
























Section your dough into your loaf sizes.  I made five medium-sized loafs.

Grease your loaf pans.  I used coconut oil because of Gabe's dairy allergy.

Form your loaves and put them in their pans.

Make sure to add some slices to the tops of your loaves.

Then cover your loaves and let them rise.

Leavening time will depend on the age and quality of your starter - the older the starter, the shorter the time.  Some starters may take as little as a few hours, but other may take a day or longer.  Remember that your dough will not spoil, because the fermentation process protects it.

I let mine rise for 19 hours and this is what they looked like afterwards.

Bake at 350 for an hour and your bread is done!

I sliced several of my loaves and froze them.  This will make it easy to grab a few pieces as needed for toast.

Enjoy!

-Jess

Q&A: High Fructose Corn Syrup

I was wondering if you have ever tried doing a high fructose corn syrup (HFCS) free diet. I recently saw a youtube video called "Sugar: The Bitter Truth". It's really long and kind of boring, but it scared me away from HFCS. I've been thinking about trying to do a HFCS free diet, but I've noticed it's in just about everything we have. Have you tried this? Have any tips?

My Views on Sugar

I limit the amount of sugar that I consume for many reasons.  Sugar consumption leads to obesity, heart attacks, artery disease, tooth decay, diabetes, metabolic issues, concentration issues, fertility problems, and upsets the balance of the endocrine and nervous systems. 

Our ancestors did not consume sugar in the same ways we do and our bodies were not designed to consume it in large quantities.  In the past, natural sweeteners were used sparingly to sweeten foods and desserts were viewed as a treat reserved only for special occasions.  But now, the average American consumes more than 22 teaspoons of sugar per DAY (mainly from beverages like soft drinks) and many children and teenagers consume almost double that amount.

If you shop in the grocery store and consume mostly processed foods, you can pretty much guarantee that everything you eat has some type of sweetener in it.  Our taste buds have grown so accustomed to tasting it, that we hardly recognize exactly how sweet our foods are.

And here is the problem with the way we consume sugar in our society - most of our sugary foods (like soft drinks and candy) do not contain fat.  Fat slows the sugar from entering our blood stream in a rush and stimulating insulin and hormone production.  Our "high carb/low fat" diets are literally killing us.  In fact, we should be doing the opposite - consuming higher levels of healthy fats and less carbohydrates.

As a rule for myself, I avoid refined sugars, artificial sweeteners, and even some "natural" sweeteners.  The only sugars I consume are fruits, raw honey, and unrefined maple syrup.  Occasionally I will crave a soft drink or a cookie with sugar, but I reserve those foods for special occasions and do not keep them in the house for myself.

This year for Lent I gave up sugar (except fruit) - honey and maple syrup included - and have not intentionally consumed it for over a month now.  For the first four days my body crashed.  I was irritable, tired, and hungry all of the time.  We forget that sugar is actually a drug (an addictive one) that affects not only your blood sugar, but also your brain chemistry.

But once I made it past those first four days, I noticed that my energy levels started to increase and my mind felt clearer than normal.  After a few weeks more, my appetite started to decrease and I now don't feel the need to snack as much.  My body no longer craves those foods throughout the day.

So, you're probably wondering - what can a person eat if they avoid sugar completely?  Here was my food intake yesterday:

Breakfast - 2 slices of raisin toast with butter and 2 scrambled free-range eggs mixed with chopped spinach.

Snack - some almonds and a few apple slices

Lunch - canned tuna mixed with olive oil and salt/pepper, and a few slices of cheese on homemade bread

Snack - a banana and some pumpkin seeds

Dinner - chuck roast (with the broth used as a condiment for dipping), okra breaded in spelt flour and fried in olive oil, and a bowl of grapes

Snack - 3 pieces of cheese and a slice of homemade toast with butter

My beverages most days consist of unsweetened hot and iced teas, water, and fruit smoothies.

The hardest part about going sugar-free is not having condiments with your foods.  Most store-bought condiments contain HFCS - ketchup, barbecue sauce, taco sauce, salad dressings, mayo, salsa, etc.  In order to have condiments with your food if you are going to go sugar-free, you have to make your own.  If you are just trying to eliminate HFCS from your diet, most organic brands of condiments contain organic sugar or other sweeteners.  They are a little more expensive, but worth it in my opinion - just use a little less to make up for the cost.

Other ways to avoid HFCS and sugars:

• Make your own jams and jellies, or buy the brands labeled "no sugar added".  Fruit is sweet enough; it doesn't need more sugar to taste good on bread. 
• Make sure your fruit juice has no added sugar.  Many juices can contain as much, if not more sugar than a can of soda.
• Make your own salad dressings.  My favorite recipe is a mixture of virgin olive oil, lemon juice, a squeeze of raw honey, garlic, salt, pepper, and any herbs I am in the mood for (dill, sage, rosemary, etc.)
• Buy plain peanut butter.  The average brand of peanut butter contains more than one type of sugar - HFCS, molasses, honey AND sugar.  Usually when you eat peanut butter, you are spreading it on bread with jelly, which is sweet enough.  You don't need added sugar in your peanut butter.
• Bake your own bread.  You can even substitute raw honey for sugar in most bread recipes to avoid refined sugars.  Or even better, make some homemade sourdough without any sweeteners at all.
• Always read your labels and buy unsweetened/plain when available.  You can always add a little honey or sugar to your food if it needs it, but you rarely need the amount that is in the sweetened versions of foods (for example: applesauce and yogurt).
• Don't buy canned fruit.  Aside from the fact that the lining of the cans is toxic, most of the fruits are soaked in syrup.
• Cook your food at home.  Nearly everything you eat at a restaurant contains HFCS and sugar.
• Avoid buying processed foods that say "sugar free".  The sugar in these foods has usually been replaced with artificial sweeteners, which are just as bad for you as HFCS.
• Watch your processed meats.  Most of them contain sweeteners.

What is the difference between a natural sweetener and a refined sweetener?  Which ones are the best for me?

The following are natural sweeteners. This means they are the least processed and they contain more vitamins and minerals. Use these if you have a sweet tooth!

• Raw Honey
• Unrefined Maple Syrup
• Agave Nectar
• Date Sugar
• Sorghum Syrup
• Barley Malt Syrup
• Fruit

The following are natural sweeteners that should be avoided for various reasons.

• Concentrated Fruit Juices - They are composed mainly of fructose in levels so concentrated that your body is unable to regulate blood sugar properly.
• Raw, Natural, Turbinado, Sucanat, and Florida Crystals - They upset your body chemistry and are refined, which removes most of the nutrients.
• Brown Rice Syrup - The rice is cooked with enzymes, which are many times genetically modified.
• Stevia - It is a calorie-free, herbal substitute that does not affect blood sugar. Although it has many medicinal uses, including the treatment of heartburn, its safety is still questionable.
• Molasses - A byproduct of the processing of sugar cane with a strong taste and moderate sweetness. If it comes from sugar cane grown in the right type of soil, it can contain especially high levels of iron, calcium, zinc, copper and chromium.

The following are refined sweeteners that should be avoided.

• White Sugar (sucrose) - has little, if any, nutritional value
• Brown Sugar
• Refined maple syrup - formaldehyde is used in the production.
• Corn syrup - is usually genetically modified.
• Fructose - causes deleterious effects, especially in small children
• Glucose
• Dextrin - made by boiling corn starch with acid
• Dextrose
• Processed honey
• Maltodextrin

The following are artificial sweeteners, which have been linked to headaches, gastro-intestinal problems, panic attacks, depression, nervous system disorders (specifically fibromyalgia and multiple sclerosis), male infertility, cell damage, and cancer (specifically bladder and reproductive organs).  NEVER EAT THESE!

• Aspartame - linked to cancer of the reproductive organs.
• Saccharin - linked to bladder cancer
• Mannitol
• Sorbitol - labeled to warn of nausea, diarrhea, and vomiting.
• Xylitol
• Splenda (sucralose) - a chlorocarbon (contains chlorine) linked to organ, genetic and reproductive damage. Lab rats show a 40% shrinkage in thymus gland (foundation of immune system) when given Splenda.

Here's the bottom line!

Avoiding sugar is easy to do if you are willing to put in a little hard work first.  Your body is going to have to detox and it is going to be uncomfortable for a few days or even weeks.  But, once you get past the initial withdrawal, you will start to feel so good that you'll realize a soda isn't worth it.  Your taste buds will also change and most of the foods you once thought tasted good will become too sweet for you.

Make your own food and read your labels.  And as always - everything in moderation.  You're not going to die if you eat a cookie or drink a soda every now and then, but when you eat them day after day your body and brain become addicted and the sugar begins to get every system in your body out of whack.  Stick to natural sweeteners and use them in moderation.

-Jess

Sources

"Exactly What Is Splenda? .: Ask Dr. Hull." Dr. Janet Starr Hull, PhD, CN - Website. Web. 11 Sept. 2009. .

"Substitute Natural Sweeteners for Artificial Sweeteners." Body Cleansing / Detox Plan and Natural Cures. Web. 11 Sept. 2009. .

"Top 10 Dangers of Artificial Sweeteners." Nutrition Supplements News. Web. 11 Sept. 2009. .