The Good Health and Wellness Blog » eating healthy

The Truth About The Health of Americans Versus The New “MyPlate” Government Food Guidelines

Good Health & Wellness Blog — Tue, 07 Jun 2011 22:40:36 +0000

New USDA MyPlate Food Guidelines Image

The new federal government’s evidence-based nutritional guidance to promote health, reduce the risk of chronic diseases, and reduce the prevalence of overweight and obesity through improved nutrition and physical activity is a giant step forward with the new MyPlate from the Food Pyramid it has been promoting for the last five years which has been responsible for too much of the obesity and disease in our children and adults alike.

This shift has come about thanks to such organizations as Organic Consumers Organization, Center for Science in the Public Interest, and the Environmental Working Group, all in spite of the vast multi-million dollar lobbying campaign to protect the Food Pyramid by major food processing corporations.

Our government was forced to face the fact that more than one-third of children and more than two-thirds of adults in the United States were overweight or obese, and that we are the sickliest developed country in the world!

As a result, the 7th edition of Dietary Guidelines for Americans places stronger emphasis on reducing calorie consumption, placing a heavier emphasis on vegetables and fruits, and increasing physical activity. The new guidelines promote a shift in food intake patterns to a more plant-based diet that emphasizes vegetables, cooked dry beans and peas, fruits, whole grains, nuts, seeds, seafood, fat-free and low-fat milk and milk products, and only moderate amounts of lean meats, poultry, and eggs.

Although our government has made a giant leap in admitting that obesity and disease are food based, it still bends to the will of the food processing and corporate farm industries. Both the U.S. Dept. of Agriculture and the Dept. of Health and Human Services, who jointly approved the new food guidelines, tell you, as a concession to the food processing industry, to minimize your intake of trans-fats instead of telling you never to eat any trans-fats. For good health, there can be no allowable level; trans-fats should be banned here as it is in other countries.

The government conveniently says nothing about the thousands of chemical additives and synthetic food coloring they allow food processors to use without having to list these additives on their labels. Many of these additives unfortunately are carcinogenic and/or promote obesity and poor health.

In addition, our government speaks nothing about the highly carcinogenic chemical pesticides and herbicides being used on the crops grown by the large corporate farms and sold in your local food market. (That is why we tell you to eat as much organic as you can.)

The following is a statement from our Secretary of Agriculture:

“The 2010 Dietary Guidelines are being released at a time when the majority of adults and one in three children are overweight or obese and this is a crisis we can no longer ignore,” said Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack in a statement released with the new guidelines. “These new and improved dietary recommendations give individuals the information to make thoughtful choices of healthier foods in the right portions and to complement those choices with physical activity. The bottom line is that most Americans need to trim our waistlines to reduce the risk of developing diet-related chronic disease. Improving our eating habits is not only good for every individual and family, but also for our country.”

The new guidelines include 23 specific recommendations for the general population and six recommendations for specific groups such as pregnant women.

Among the recommendations are:

No one should consume more than 2,300 milligrams of salt per day. Those who are age 51 or older and those who are African American or have high blood pressure, diabetes or chronic kidney disease should consume no more than 1,500 milligrams per day. This second group accounts for about half the U.S. population.
Everyone should consume less than 10 percent of their calories from saturated fats by replacing them with monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats.
Everyone should consume less than 300 milligrams of cholesterol each day.
Minimize trans fatty acid consumption by limiting foods that contain synthetic trans fats, such as partially hydrogenated oils.
Reduce calories from solid fats and sugars added to food.
Alcohol should be consumed only in moderation, which means up to one drink per day for women and two drinks per day for men.
Eat more fruits and vegetables. A good rule of thumb is that half the food on your plate should be fruits and vegetables.
Consume more fat-free or low-fat milk and milk products, such as yogurt and cheese.
Consume more seafood and replace some meat and poultry with seafood. Breastfeeding women should consume 8 to 12 ounces of seafood per week from a variety of seafood types. But breast-feeding women should limit their intake of white tuna to 6 ounces per week because of its high mercury content and not eat tilefish, shark, swordfish and king mackerel at all for the same reason.

“Helping Americans incorporate these guidelines into their everyday lives is important to improving the overall health of the American people,” said Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius in a written statement. “The new Dietary Guidelines provide concrete action steps to help people live healthier, more physically active and longer lives.”

It is sad to think that the above guidelines have taken many months of work, millions of dollars, and hundreds of hours, and we still do not have a food program from our government that will truly insure your total health program.

Actually, the guidelines to good health are very simple.

Eat as much organic as you can.
Do not eat any processed food.
Never eat the food in fast food restaurants.
Minimize your intake of sugar and never eat artificial sweeteners, high fructose corn syrup or syrups high in fructose such as agave syrup.
Drink lots of filtered plain water. Say no to soda or power drinks. Drink no bottled “supposedly better” water unless nothing else is available. Bottled water packaged in plastic bottles are generally unhealthy to drink. You are better off with filtered tap water.
Do not eat anything white. No white flower, white pasta nor white rice.
Eat whole grain bread, pasta, and brown rice.
Do not eat farmed fish such as Atlantic salmon for example. Eat wild fish.
Eat lots of mixed greens. About 70% of your diet should be raw.
Eat grass fed beef whenever possible, free range chicken and eggs.
Cooked vegetables should be steamed and no longer than 4 to 5 minutes or you destroy their enzymes.
Eat beans (soak them overnight and they will be less gassy) peas and raw nuts.
Eat lots of raw fruit. Mostly organic if possible.
Buckwheat pancakes are a good treat and so is steel cut oats for oatmeal.
Packaged ready-to-eat cereals are a no-no. They are bad foods!
Drinking a cup or two of coffee is ok. Work to get organic fair traded coffee.
Having an alcoholic drink is ok, but no more than 2 for men or one for women in any single day.

With today’s food supply, getting the full spectrum of vitamins, minerals, trace minerals, phytochemicals, and fatty acids is almost impossible, and in many areas around the country, totally impossible. That is why we are now distributing reasonably priced organic SweetWheat® to fill in that deep hole of nutrient deficiency.

SweetWheat® will give you all 105 vitamins and minerals known to man, and an abundance of phytonutrients and amino acids. People allergic to wheat can eat Sweet Wheat as it contains no glutton.

Go to our web site at www.GoodHealthSupplements.com for more information and to purchase and give yourself a real health and energy boost!

To your good heath & longevity.

Ira Marxe
“The Good Health & Wellness Guy”

Note: Good Health Supplements are dietary supplements and are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease. Any statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. Readers should consult appropriate health professionals as necessary on any matter relating to their health and well-being. Individual results will vary and statements mentioned are anecdotal and may not represent typical results.

I Eat Healthy — So Why Am I Sick?

Good Health & Wellness Blog — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 19:03:26 +0000

Is Your Diet Making You Sick?

I have lost count of the times I hear the lament “I always eat healthy — so why am I sick”?

What is distressing is that these people really work at eating healthy, but to no avail.

They don’t drink soda. They do drink lots of water. They don’t eat cold cuts that contain nitrates or other prepared meats or foods. They eat lots of fruits and vegetables as they should and as is recommended.

You would think, as they think, that with such a healthy diet, they would be getting all the nutrients they need for a healthy life.

So why are they getting sick?

The answer is—because consuming conventional food, they are not getting the vitamins, minerals and other nutrients they think they are getting.

Their life is being sabotaged by the large conglomerate farms who are the major producers of our conventional fruits, vegetables, grains, milk and cheese.

The same is true for the factory farms that provide us with the major supply of our meat and fish.

The soil of conventional farms is depleted and has been for the last 80 years.

Conventional farming (i.e., intensive farming that uses chemicals) returns little or nothing to the soil and gradually depletes the soil of minerals.

Because only a small number of nutrients are replenished when using chemical fertilizers, (especially nitrogen, potassium and phosphorus), the soil gradually loses its trace elements that are essential for health, such as boron, chromium and selenium.

The mineral content in our food has become severely diminished.

Fruits, vegetables and other plants that we rely upon to supply minerals in our diet cannot take adequate amounts of minerals from the soil if there are no minerals there to take.

In 1940 and again in 1991, tests were performed on various fruits, vegetables (including carrots, broccoli, spinach and potatoes) and meats for mineral content.

It was found that the amounts of calcium, magnesium, iron and copper in our vegetables had declined during those 51 years by as much as 75 to 96 percent, while meats had lost 41 percent of their calcium and 54 percent of their iron.

Fruits had lost 27 percent of their zinc. Apples and oranges had lost 67 percent of their iron.

The tests were repeated in 2002 with similar results.

It is not only mineral content that has declined over the past half century. Levels of vitamins A and C have also dropped dramatically.

Wheat has lost much of its protein since 1900.

Nitrogen fertilization in conventional farming was found to decrease vitamin C concentrations in many fruits and vegetables.

Using potatoes as one of the examples, in a study to find out what nutrients the potato has lost over the last 50 years. This is what was concluded:

100% of Vitamin A
57% of Vitamin C and Iron
28% of Calcium
50% of Riboflavin
18% of Thiamine

Here are further examples, taken from the USDA’s own studies of the loss of vitamins and minerals in fruits and vegetables. Today as compared to 1975.

Apples: vitamin A is down 41%
Sweet peppers: vitamin C is down 31%
Watercress: iron is down 88%
Broccoli: calcium and vitamin A are down 50%
Cauliflower: vitamin C is down 45%; vitamin B1 is down 48%; and vitamin B2 is down 47%
Collards greens: vitamin A is down 45%; potassium is down 60%; and magnesium is down 85%

The USDA reported some 30 years ago that, “the highest death rate areas in the US generally corresponded to those where agriculturists had recognized that the soil was depleted.”

Degenerative diseases are prevalent in North America and Europe, in contrast with the absence of these diseases in places that have maintained natural farming methods.

Human milk has been found tainted with over 350 man-made contaminants including pesticides.

In the United States, dairy cows may be injected with a genetically modified growth hormone (rBGH also known as rBST, recombinant bovine somatotropin) to increase milk production.

Canadian and European governments have refused to permit the use of this hormone.

Not only does it increase the incidence of mastitis in cows, but it also increases the incidence of cancer in human beings.

The Pesticide Action Network reported that the overall incidence of cancer has risen by about 50 percent since 1971, and pesticide residues in food may be a contributing factor.

International authorities have listed 160 extensively used pesticides as possible human carcinogens.

Tests carried out in 2003 found chemical residues in one third of fruits and vegetables, with some containing as many as five different chemicals, some present in amounts exceeding government-set limit.

Chemicals applied to the surface of a fruit or vegetable can be partially removed by washing or peeling, but some chemicals enter and permeate the plant or are designed not to wash off in water (rain).

Safety tests do not consider the ‘cocktail effect’ of the many agro-chemicals and food additives that are simultaneously present in the human body.

Many pesticides are suspected of being endocrine disrupters, affecting sexual characteristics, hormone production or metabolism, thyroid function or brain function.

Children are especially susceptible, and later in life, may suffer disorders of behavior and reproduction and be more prone to disease. These chemicals affect not only human beings but also other animals.

On the other hand, fertilization of crops with cow dung (as may occur on organic farms) can increase vitamin B12 to a level that may contribute significantly to the diet of vegans. Secondary nutrients also tend to be more abundant in organically grown fruits and vegetables.

A well-enriched soil resulted in excellent plant health, which, in turn, produced healthy animals that fed upon well-nourished plants; and human beings whose diet consisted of these fresh and wholesome healthy plants and animal products also enjoyed abundant health.

Organically reared cows, which eat fresh grass, clover pasture and grass clover silage, produced milk on average 50 percent higher in Vitamin E (alpha tocopherol), 75 percent higher in beta carotene (precursor of Vitamin A) and two to three times higher in the antioxidants lutein and zeaxanthine than non-organic milk.

Organic milk not only has more antioxidants but also higher levels of omega 3 essential fatty acids.

More recently, doctors and nutritionists administering “alternative” cancer therapies have found that a completely organic diet is essential for a successful outcome.

According to the Nutritional Cancer Therapy Trust (NCTT), nutritional cancer therapies that involve the avoidance of pollutants and toxins as much as possible, the exclusive consumption of organically grown foods and increases in nutrient intakes, have yielded good results.

The director of NCTT said that “the overwhelming number of patients following alternative cancer therapies are those who have been declared terminal, with minimal life expectancies following initial allopathic treatment. The ability of these patients to gain remission from all clinical evidence of cancer is therefore very significant.”

To sum up, food produced according to organic principles is superior to that produced by conventional means, i.e., with chemical inputs.

Organic foods are likely to have higher nutritional content, such as vitamins and minerals.

They also rarely contain residues of harmful agricultural chemicals or additives, and for the time being, they exclude GM foods that could damage the immune systems and/or internal organs of experimental animals.

Out of all of the nutrients analyzed only niacin levels actually did increase.

The conclusion was very similar for 25 fruits and vegetables under the same test conditions.

Broccoli had a huge reduction in which all nutrients had significantly declined, surprisingly including niacin.

An article from (Natural News) states that soil scientists have known for many years about the decline in soil fertility.

To address the problem, farmers, agricultural companies and governments have advocated a number of solutions which, however, have not ensured that our food is more nutritious.

Farming is big business and the aim is to give people cheaper food and make profits.

This has meant that crops are genetically modified to ensure resistance against disease and to stimulate faster growth, that pesticides and herbicides are used to control pests, that ammonium-based fertilizers are applied to try to improve the soil.

This business has created an entirely unnatural ecosystem, where the soil has become barren and devoid of micro-organisms that are needed to create organic mineral complexes.

The trace minerals have been used up and there is no immediate way to restore the micro-organisms.

The minerals from the soil contribute to producing nutrient rich food (including minerals).

These nutrients are absorbed by us when we consume food.

Like it or not we are connected to the soil. If it’s depleted, then so are we.

Unhealthy, barren soil does not produce food that is abundant in nutrients.

For example, between 1951 and 1999 Vitamin A was completely lost in onions and potatoes.

Soil that is depleted is unable to help nutrient deficient plants overcome attacks from pests and fungus. This means more pesticides are used.

Synthetic (inorganic) fertilizers have little benefit since they create insoluble mineral complexes which are difficult for plants to absorb.

Dr Richard Drucker (of Drucker Labs) reports that healthy nutrient-rich crops need 70 trace minerals, but that farming is only replacing 3-5 of these.

Government authorities have been aware of the problem for 70 years.

In 1936 it admitted that almost all soils in the US were depleted of minerals, and this was reiterated again in 1992 at the Earth Summit.

What does that say about progress?

Another reason why soils are depleted is acid rain.

The University of Maine published a study in the December 2003 issue of the Soil Science Society of America Journal which confirms that acid rain depletes nutrients from the soil.

Authorities have long ignored scientists’ reports that acid rain depletes the soil of nutrients needed for growing trees.

Can we then get minerals from other sources? Drucker believes that the best inorganic trace minerals from coral, colloidal or ionic, have very large and insoluble molecules that are difficult to absorb at cellular level.

Further, once they are absorbed, they accumulate in the body and are stored in fatty tissues. Over time, these substances become toxic leading to possible disease.

Given this problem, we can assume that it will be difficult to get minerals from other sources.

He does suggest that we need high quality supplements until a solution is found.

Organic minerals have very small molecules which are easily absorbed through the cells. The minerals work as activators in the body as they are required to set off chemical reactions.

For example, magnesium is an activator for over 300 enzymes and is important for the energy system of the body.

Dr Linus Pauling is famous for saying that every disease, sickness and ailment is related to mineral deficiency.

The reason is that minerals are required for every cell in our body to function.

If minerals are lacking in our food, vitamins are of no use because vitamins (and enzymes) need minerals for them to work in our bodies.

This means that vitamin supplements would be of no use unless we also have adequate minerals.

Organic crops contained significantly more vitamin C, iron, magnesium, and phosphorus and significantly less nitrates than conventional crops.

There were non-significant trends showing less protein but of a better quality and a higher content of nutritionally significant minerals with lower amounts of some heavy metals in organic crops compared to conventional ones.

Conclusions: There appear to be genuine differences in the nutrient content of organic and conventional crops.

In commercial conventional farming, minerals like iron and magnesium have dropped by more than 80 percent. That’s from the powerful fertilizers they use that practically sterilize the soil – leaving it with little to no mineral content.

Because of the lack of vital vitamins, minerals, trace elements, and phytochemicals in conventionally grown and raised food, those who are on conventional diets cannot possibly live a healthy life, even if they are taking an abundance of nutritional supplements.

The amount of herbicides, pesticides and hormones found in conventional farmed and raised foods make the bodies of those consuming these foods toxic and acidic.

That is a recipe for developing every major disease you can think of and the reason we have so many sick people among those eating a conventional western diet.

So now you know.

If you don’t eat organic, there is no way you won’t eventually get diseased given the lack of nutrients and the heavy content of herbicides, pesticides, and hormones that are in all conventionally grown and raised food.

People tell me that organic food is expensive. I tell them it is not.

When you consider that organic food has a 50% to 60% higher content of nutrients then conventional food, you will find that you will not have to eat as much.

Your body will get the nutrients it needs, with much less consumption, and no poisons.

Soil all over the US is so depleted of nutrients that even organic farms are feeling the pinch.

This is why it is so important to supplement your diet with all natural nutritional supplements even when you eat organic foods.

To balance the equation for a healthy life, if you drink, drink alcohol in moderation, drink at least 64 ounces of filtered tap water a day, no bottled water, no soda of any kind, no power drinks, and do exercise on a regular basis.

Your life is in your hands, not your doctors.

Be kind to your body and it will be kind to you.

To your good heath & longevity.

Ira Marxe
“The Good Health & Wellness Guy”