Food Coloring & Aggressive 'Bully' Behavior

Published August 13th, 2009

By Wendell Fowler

"Pass me those freakin’ M&M’s or I’ll rip off your face!”
Sound familiar? “Every day my child kicked, spit, hit, bit and punched. He had sudden, alarming mood changes accompanied by a spacey look, dark eye circles and bags under his eyes. When I stopped feeding him artificially colored foods at home and began packing him a brown-bag school lunch, once again he became my sweet, normal child.”

Highly reliable news sources on TV and radio report increased violence and aggression in children and adults. The bully syndrome occurs from the playground to the factory floor and into corporate boardrooms. No one likes a bully.

The morally famished fat-cats operating the food industry have known for decades that shoppers gravitate towards vibrantly colored foods, such as Skittles, Fruit Loops, M&M’s, psychedelic birthday cakes, orange farm-raised salmon, packaged red meat and pre-cut tuna steaks and cheese. Chicken, eggs and salmon are often artificially tweaked to appear appetizing. Plump chicken sitting on the supermarket shelf is likely to have been fed canthaxanthin, a pigment added to chicken feed to enhance poultry’s yellow color and make it look palatable. Egg-laying hens are also given dye with their feed, making egg yolks vary from light yellow all the way to bright orange.

Shoppers perceive these deceitful products as fresh and oh-so-tasty, but at a rather high cost to health. What food scientists don’t want known is the physiological consequences these man-made compounds cause the temple. Well, I do, because of the endless buffet of science supporting ADHD can be caused and worsened by artificial food colorings.

For example, The Oregonian reported European countries had already seized dozens of tons of farmed salmon from Chile contaminated with malachite green — a fabric dye banned in the U.S. as a suspected carcinogen. Pellets of orange dye are fed to otherwise grey-fleshed farm-raised salmon. The universe weeps.Dr. Andrew Weil continues, “The danger is the chemicals used to create color are energetic molecules, many of which are capable of interacting with and damaging DNA. Anything that damages DNA can injure the immune system, accelerate aging and increase the menace of cancer. Indeed, many synthetic food dyes once considered safe have turned out to be carcinogenic.”

Sadly, children whose precious little bodies are still developing are often the most vulnerable to the “smart bomb” marketing assault of artificially enhanced snacks, beverages and desserts which are the most likely to contain artificial color. Remember green ketchup?

Many parents swear dietary changes have helped their ADD child, yet most doctors and researchers deny food allergies or sensitivities can cause the behaviors associated with ADD or ADHD. Their conclusions were supposedly based on studies. Ritalin is highly profitable and often abused.

For those of you preparing for the return of H1N1, food colorings suppress immune function. Dr. Weil explains it has to do with the inhibition of movement of white blood cells to locations in the body where they are needed to fight infections. Read labels and do your best to avoid these pernicious colorings. You know what petroleum is? Well, that’s what artificial colors are made of, in addition to acetone and oh-so-mouth-watering coal tars. Oh, yeah, these colors are approved by the FDA.

FD&C Blue #1

FD&C Blue #2

FD&C Green #3

FD&C Red #3 (Erythrosine)

FD & Red #40FD&C Yellow

#5 (Tartrazine)FD&C

Yellow #6

Children's Nutrition-Parental Role Modelling

Be a Role Model When Eating with Your Children
By Chef Wendell Fowler, author of “Eat Right, Now!”

Helping precious children maintain healthy bodies and minds doesn’t need to be a dreaded topic. The perfect time to begin influencing children by example is when they’re impressionable, before outside influences become way of life.
Your negative or positive eating rituals can and will sway a child’s eating habits. Chances are, if you have a healthy diet and maintain a healthy weight, you will your offspring.

Here are a few tips to help you be the role model you want to be when it comes to your kids and eating:
Resist the temptation to use food as leverage. Withholding food as punishment or giving it as a reward sends out a confusing message. Food should be associated with fun, adventure, staying fit and fending off the flu and cold bugs.
Eat meals as a family. Flying out the door to get to work or school? Set the breakfast table the night before so everyone can look forward to breakfast. At dinner time, shut down the TV and Facebook to establish dinner-time conversation and share the day’s activities.
Let’s your kids help in the kitchen. Children are more prone to eat what they've prepared. Spending quality family time washing, chopping, cooking and serving creates loving family relationships and memories.

Here are some quick substitutions for those less-than-healthy habits that linger in your family. Parents, instead of…
· ice cream; eat probiotic yogurt, fresh fruit, nuts and dried fruit to boost immune system.
· fast food, shop at the grocery.
· pizza; bake whole grain English Muffins with pizza sauce and low-fat mozzarella.
· grilled cheese with butter on white bread; whole grain quesadillas with low-fat cheese, tomato and chicken leftovers.
· soda pop; 2% milk or water.
· bologna & hot dogs; turkey breast.
· mayonnaise; mustard.
· diet-cola, fresh water and pure juices.
· chips: carrot and celery sticks, radishes, red peppers with light dressing.
Show how much you love your kids by practicing healthful eating behaviors. They want and need boundaries, and will love you for them!

Broccoli Bigotry

Broccoli: Imagine there’s No Cancer

Go ahead, admit it. You’re a broccoli bigot.

For decades, society has feloniously asphyxiated broccoli with molten cheese; baked it into oblivion; boiled it into nothingness; drowned it in butter, bespeckled it with bacon, and slandered this bewildered cruciferous vegetable into a stupor.

Broccoli, an associate of the cabbage, lettuce, radish and cauliflower clan, was cultivated in Italy and France in the 16th century. During the 1920s, broccoli was commercially cultivated in the US for the very first time in the state of New York.

The name, broccoli, comes from an Italian word meaning branch or arm, giving the appearance of reaching up, perhaps for a heapin’ helpin’ of artery-detonating Hollandaise. The historical record on broccoli is scant and leaps from the Roman Empire to 16th century France with large gaps in between.

Leave it to ex-president George H. W. Bush to co-mingle politics and produce. He was heard to say, “Just as Poland had a rebellion against totalitarianism, I am rebelling against broccoli, and I refuse to give ground. I do not like broccoli, and I haven’t liked it since I was a little kid and my mother made me eat it. And I’m president of the United States, and I’m not going to eat any more broccoli.” So there, neyaah, neyaah!

The American Institute for Cancer Research has shown cruciferous vegetables display the ability to stop the growth of cancer cells in various cells, tissue and animal models.
Especially, broccoli sprouts. So, why in heavens’ name do we vilify broccoli when it’s a life extender? Dunno?

Large human studies suggest the complex systems of enzymes in cruciferous vegetables defend our families against cancer of the lung, breast and colon, speeds estrogen removal, are antiviral, and regulate insulin and blood sugar; a miraculous gift of the universe. Broccoli abounds with plant-chemicals, bio-active chemical compounds possessing health-promoting, disease-preventing or medicinal properties.

The ‘B’; word is one of the world’s healthiest, low-calorie foods virtually exploding with vitamin K, C, folate, B vitamins, fiber, potassium, manganese, and iron.

Has a cure for cancer been in our gardens all along? Yep. If you’ve declared war on cruciferous vegetables, step back and become a peacenik for health.

Clear your mind, treat the body and fear no food. Broccoli’s your buddy. Please, support your local Farmers Market and other Locavore sources, including your own back yard. The vast majority of conventionally grown broccoli lining the grocer’s shelves is genetically modified from its original, heavenly composition. No long term studies have been performed on the effects of eating humanly altered produce, so WE are the experiment. Such madness.

Szechuan Broccoli

Delight your taste buds with this dish. Broccoli brims with anticancer sentries, safeguarding your loving family’s precious health. Stir-frying happens rapidly, so have all ingredients by your side and rock the wok.

3 tablespoons of water
1 teaspoon of cornstarch
2 tablespoons of dry sherry
3 teaspoons of low sodium soy sauce
1 tablespoon Hoisin sauce (Chinese barbecue sauce found is most major American or Asian grocery stores)

2 heads of broccoli florets, washed thoroughly!
1 tablespoon peanut oil
1 tablespoon fresh, peeled, minced ginger
3 cloves of minced garlic
Pinch of hot peppers
1 teaspoon of toasted sesame oil

In a small bowl, stir together the water, cornstarch, sherry, soy sauce, and Hoisin. Make sure the cornstarch lumps liquefy.
Using a small paring knife, cut the heads of broccoli into small, bite size florets; peel the stems and slice them into circular “coins.” Discard the woodsy, pulpy part.
In a large nonstick skillet heat the oil over high heat. Add the ginger, garlic, hot peppers, and stir with a wooden spoon for 30 seconds. Don’t walk away; keep things moving.
Pull out the ginger. Quickly add the broccoli, stirring until the broccoli is tender, yet crisp, maybe 3 minutes.
Add the sauce and stir-fry until the broccoli is coated. Put in the sesame oil, toss and serve.
-30-
2009

White Foods; Not So Pure

White Foods

September 2009
Chef Wendell
http://www.chefwendell.com/

Deeply rooted in cultural tradition, our daunting eating journey embarks early in life. Americans eat a dangerously unbalanced diet high in processed foods saturated in white sugar, salt, fat and low in fruits, vegetables, whole grains, but plum full of 'white' stuff; substances harmful to our innards.

Growing up, life revolved around parishioners, choir practice and gluttonously delightful pitch-ins. A bustling battalion of Aunt Bea's scurried about, setting tables, preparing vats of coffee and cream while lace-topped buffet tables grumbled from the mass of multiple versions of white foods such as gravy, mac’ and cheese, stuffing, potato salad, mashed potatoes, Ambrosia, white bread, tuna and green bean casserole and desserts festooned with dollops of Cool Whip and butter cream icing. It’s too soon to digress, but somehow I missed out on the cosmic okey-dokey regarding the peccadillo of gluttony.

White, powdery MSG, Aspartame, Splenda, Sweet and Low, tallow, shortening, white chocolate, hot dog and hamburger buns, marshmallows, ice cream, protein powders, full-fat sour cream and cream cheese, candied yogurts, full- cheese, mayonnaise, tartar sauce, chipped beef gravy, Ranch Dressing and Alfredo Sauce fall into this pallid category.
Recently I watched a podgy 'man o’ the cloth' blissfully pleasing himself with a Grand Slam containing ham, bacon and sausage, fluffy biscuits and sausage gravy, fried eggs, pancakes, accompanied with an extra side of hash-browns asphyxiated in more unctuous pan gravy. Every year the average American’s digestive tract processes over 50 pounds of white marbled meats, hamburger and fat-trim into their temples even as authorities caution a diet heavy with meat diet causes colon and breast cancer, clogged arteries, Crohn’s, ulcerated colitis, obesity, gout, arthritis, adult onset diabetes and B.O.. He was dancing the polka on his holy temple
Of course no one can totally outmaneuver the ingredients in restaurant, processed and packaged ‘white’ food unless you meticulously read ingredient labels or interrogate your perky server. If you can’t identify the alien ingredients, look them up on the net. Product and menu labeling can be misleading. To be forwarded is to be forearmed.

Bless Uncle Ben’s heart. His good intentions went awry. The bran and germ his process removed are super sources of nutrients and fiber. White rice, AKA glucose, lacks even the fundamental nutrients even after 'synthetic enrichment.' No, this doesn’t mean completely avoiding white rice; opt for long grain basmati. Add some wheat germ, oat bran or ground flax seed.
As society reaches for another fizzy beverage from a vending machine, they may not be conscious the fructose portion of refined sugar is a building block for cholesterol, obesity and Metabolic Syndrome. A small amount of glucose which feeds hungry human cells is compulsory. Regrettably, cancer cells dig it too. Did you know just 10 teaspoons, the amount of addictive sugar in one soft drink, debilitates the immune system by 33%? Thirty teaspoons shut it down for an entire day, so it’s time to dose down in view of the looming, grey storm clouds of H1N1 suspended on the horizon.

Alternatively speaking, try Stevia, (Sweet Leaf Brand) Sucanat (sugar cane natural), Agave nectar, raw locally produced honey, real maple or brown rice syrup. Sucralose, Splenda, Truvia, Sweet and Low, maltitol, xylitol, and sorbitol are marginally unhealthy. There are voluminous studies indicting aspartame should not be on this planet. And, if you’ve had the unfortunate experience of eating too much alcohol sugar, you’re privy to the subsequent flatulence fiesta.
Man’s the only species on earth that drinks pure, white milk from another species. The Harvard Nurses' Health Study and an Australian study have found no protective effect of daily bovine milk calcium on bone loss. It’s more natural and effective to increase the intake of fruits and dark-green veggies, exercising and insuring adequate calcium intake from plant foods such as green leafy vegetables and beans, as well as calcium fortified cereals and juices. Consult a holistic professional regarding supplementation of a calcium, magnesium, zinc and vitamin D-3 combo. Any health food store has one on staff.

White salt freaks the heart and lungs. Its excess amplifies risk for high blood pressure, stroke, heart failure, kidney disease, diabetes, cataracts, brittle bones, asthma, dementia and untimely death. The American Heart Association says one teaspoon is safe. Americans consume three to five times what they need, making it transparent why we get ill.
AP white flour contains aluminum chloride, azocarbonamides (antifogging), benzoyl peroxide, calcium propionate, calcium sulfate, chlorine, nitrogen dioxide, potassium bromate, and isodate. The FDA allows coal-tar-derived vitamins to enrich the devitalized grain. It’s curious the enrichment of white flour and white bread was proclaimed ‘safe’ with little direct research.
.
My gentle admonition is not to focus solely on white flour, white rice, dairy, sugar, salt, cream and potatoes, but the constellation of ‘edible food-like’ goodies prepared with them. Deferring disease, feeling young, vibrant with a fully functioning mojo are the most meaningful actions for the holy temple. Avoiding the funky white stuff is effective towards nurturing your family’s wellbeing.
Don’t cave in at the next Sunday-go-to-meetin’ food-orgy. The physiological and spiritual payoff is truly worth the effort and exhibits respect towards our Creator.

An Antidote for a BBQ 'Meat Festival'

Sweet and Spicy Summer Slaw

Abundant and inexpensive, cabbage is a longstanding dietary staple throughout the world
July 4th is a traditional American meat-eating competition; a day when folks see who can eat the most meat. If you plan to inhale large quantities of ribs, burgers and hot doggies and then chase them down with gallons of ice-cold beer, wine, or cocktails, then it’s a very good idea to include a cruciferous side-dish to protect your innards and to flush out your exhausted liver.

Fortunately for your colon and prostate, it’s only once a year. Red meat is associated with colon and prostate cancer; however cabbage helps to prevent it.
Why and How? Meat combined with alcohol is very hard for your body to digest. Cabbage induces the production of Phase II enzymes in the liver, which binds to potential carcinogens and removes them from your body. That way, perhaps you’ll not feel so bad the next day.

Cabbage is also an excellent source of vitamin K & C, fiber, manganese, folate, vitamin B6, potassium, and omega-3 fatty acids. Cabbage is also a good source of vitamin B1, vitamin B2, calcium, magnesium, and vitamin A.

To balance your meat consumption and support proper digestion, serve this bold-flavored cabbage salad. We using Bok Choy, but you can use whatever cabbage you prefer. Fresh is best, however. Bags of pre-shredded cabbage have been setting around for a long time and have lost their nutritional oomph.

Sweet and Sour Spicy Slaw -serves 12
1/4 cup rice vinegar

½ tsp. toasted sesame seed oil

2 teaspoons honey

2 teaspoons Dijon mustard

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 cup slivered almonds

6 cups very thinly sliced bok choy (about a 1-pound head, trimmed)

2 medium carrots, shredded

1 red pepper, sliced thin

2 scallions, thinly sliced

Instructions:
Whisk vinegar, oil, honey, mustard and sea salt in a large bowl until the honey dissolves. Add bok choy, carrots, red pepper, nuts and scallions; toss to coat with the dressing. Chill for a while then dig in.

Every body deserves a happy colon

Onions and Health

The Odoriferous Onion

Stinking News Brings Tears to the Eye

‘If an onion rings in the forest, does anyone cry”?

As odd, whiff, honk… as it, drip, wipe ...may seem to you, an onion a day keeps the doctor away. And you thought it was your breath.

The National Cancer Institute peeled away some layers to report the 19 tear-jerking pounds of fresh onion the average American eats per year, scallions, leeks, sweet onions, contain antioxidants help block cancer, lower cholesterol, and thwart a horde of degenerative diseases. These soil-dwelling culinary icons belong to the lily, amaryllis, and Alliaceae family. The 145,000 acres planted each year by the 1000 onion farmers of America make sure that each Americans gets their fair share. Libya boasts the highest per capita consumption of onions at 66.8 pounds consumed per person each year.

Apparently our ancestors were not too far off embracing the underground bulb as so much more than a lowly root vegetable. Paintings of onions appear on the inner walls of the pyramids of the Old and the New Kingdom. Mummies were discovered with antiseptic onions stuffed in their pelvic regions, chest, legs, and the soles of their feet and tearfully within the eye sockets. It was believed that the pungency and magical powers would prompt the dead to breathe again. You think? The Israelites lament their Spartan desert diet enforced by the Exodus, “We remember the fish, which we did eat in Egypt freely, the cucumbers and the melons and the leeks, and the onions and the garlic.” During hard times, onions prevent thirst and were dried then preserved for later use.

The Egyptians tallied 8000 aliments of which onions would relieve. Sixth century BC India wisely celebrated onion as a diuretic, food for digestion, the heart, the eyes, and the joints. In Roman times, Pliny the Elder, catalogued the Roman beliefs that onions cured vision, induced sleep, healed mouth sores, dog bites, toothaches, dysentery and lumbago: It had to be the antibacterial and antiviral properties of the healing onion, the edible bulb guards our health with vitamins B6, B1, Folic Acid, fiber, potassium, and selenium, along with Quercetin, an Antioxidants which delays or slows the oxidative damage to cells and tissue of the temple. Studies have indicated that quercetin helps to purge free radicals from our dark, inner ecology,
Onion, leeks and their other family members contain 25 magically active compounds which inhibit the growth of cancerous cells, combat heart disease, inhibit strokes, lower blood pressure, LDL, protects against cataracts, and incites the immune system.

The heroes are not simply the nutritious vitamins, but Alliums, which incidentally, are anti fungal and antibacterial.

Put a close pin your nose and start peeling! However, deep-fried, greasy, onion rings, regrettably, don’t count. Sorry.

How can I keep my breath fresh?
· Chew on fresh parsley, but check a mirror before smiling
· Remember Chlorettes Gum and the green tongue?
· Chew on a citrus peel, anis or dill seed.
· Slowly chew on a fresh apple. This also reduces cavities!
· Munch on roasted coffee beans.
· Rinse your mouth with equal parts lemon juice and water. Pucker up!
· Go suck a cinnamon stick or a clove.

Perhaps, we should un-pucker a bit and get over the misunderstood odor and focus the glorious, health enhancing, distinctive, pungent flavor of onions. If your friends are true, they’ll accept you with open arms.

Members in good standing of God’s magnificent apothecary: Scallions, Spanish, Vidalia, Bermuda, or leeks, allium cepa and family are at most an indispensable, tasty food, and at best, magical medicine nurturing our Holy Temple.







.

Lemon and Parsley Pasta with Walnuts

Sicilian Penne Pasta with Lemon Zest, Walnuts and Parsley

Serves 4

Economical, fun to eat and healthful, this full flavoured dish cost about $2.00 a portion to prepare.
Everyone loves pasta! However, diabetics, health-nuts like me, and those wishing to lose weight needlessly avoid their beloved, pasta due to its high glycemic index.
Friendly health authorities emphasize AP White flour is not so good for our diabetic friends and their pancreas. On the grocers shelves there are a plethora of tasty, satisfying alternatives such as whole wheat, brown rice or quinoa pasta. Some pasta is made from fibrous beans, too.
Four ounces of parsley contains more vitamin C than any other standard culinary vegetable; three times as much as oranges and about the same as blackcurrants. The iron content is exceptional and the plant is a good source of manganese and bone-building calcium. It is also exceptionally high in potassium. The nuts and flax add an omega-3 essential fatty acid boost we need to prevent heart disease and to clear out congested, plaque-filled arteries. If salt is an issue, please reduce the suggested portion.

Ingredients
1 pound whole wheat, penne pasta (try quinoa pasta)
½ cup EVOO (extra virgin olive oil) Antioxidant
1 organic lemon, (vitamin C)
1 tbs. ground flax seed (Omega 3)
1 cup walnut pieces (Omega 3)
1/2 cup Parmesan, freshly grated
1 bu. parsley, washed and finely chopped
Freshly ground pepper
Sea Salt

· Zest the lemon with a zester or vegetable peeler, add it to the EVOO; let it stand / marinate for 20 minutes while you boil the pasta and prepare a nutritious salad.
· Cover with cling film to retain the aromas of the oil.
· Bring a large stockpot of water to boil. Add the salt and cook the pasta according to package instructions. Reserve a little of the starchy pasta water.
· In the meantime, mix the Parmesan with the oil, freshly ground pepper, half the parsley and three spoonfuls of cooking water.
· Drain the al dente pasta well, pour onto serving bowl and mix thoroughly with the oil and lemon zest until well combined.
· Add a spoonful of pasta water if necessary to dilute sauce further to a creamy consistency.
· Garnish with chopped walnuts, a wedge of lemon, and more parsley.
· Sprinkle with remaining parsley, lemon zest and serve immediately with more Parma on the side.
· Serve this dish with a salad of dark leafy greens like spinach, romaine, or arugula.
Do your best to not over-cook the pasta. It should have a little firmness to it



Nutrition Facts
6 Servings
Amount Per Serving
Calories
359.6
Total Fat
18.3 g

Saturated Fat
2.6 g

Polyunsaturated Fat
10.0 g

Monounsaturated Fat
4.0 g
Cholesterol
3.6 mg
Sodium
1,257.9 mg
Potassium
213.5 mg
Total Carbohydrate
41.7 g

Dietary Fiber
8.8 g

Sugars
0.7 g
Protein
13.2 g

Vitamin A
17.7 %
Vitamin B-12
1.2 %
Vitamin B-6
11.8 %
Vitamin C
26.9 %
Vitamin D
0.0 %
Vitamin E
5.6 %
Calcium
12.0 %
Copper
28.5 %
Folate
10.6 %
Iron
15.4 %
Magnesium
20.4 %
Manganese
131.7 %
Niacin
7.7 %
Pantothenic Acid
7.7 %
Phosphorus
23.7 %
Riboflavin
7.2 %
Selenium
54.9 %
Thiamin
15.4 %
Zinc
13.5 %


*Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet. Your daily values may be higher or lower depending on your calorie needs.