Amanda:
I’ve always had a love of cooking. I think when the Food Network was beginning, they were marketing towards me. When I first heard about it, I thought what a weird topic to dedicate a network to. But, I fell in love. To this day, I have to have the best in my kitchen. I don’t use too many measurements when I cook, just a lot of love. I have opened up this blog to my family and some friends, so there will be a lot of recipes to enjoy. As always, please leave comments, and suggestions. If you try one of our recipes, please let us know what you thought of it! To find out more about me, visit my personal blogCurrently I’m doing a weightloss program called The Liberation Diet that falls in line with the principles set forth by the Weston A. Price Foundation and the Real Food Movement. The Liberation Diet is a very low carb diet that focuses on good quality high fats and oils. When I first was reading some of the literature it was quite mind blowing to see how the journey our culture took to leave behind butter, lard, ghee and other quality, vitamin-rich fats for the likes of margarine, soy-oils, canoloa and vegetable oils. If you follow the history it is all about making money and marketing.

For instance, the makers of Crisco were just trying to find a way to get rid of their industrial sludge leftover from making candles. Some one along the way thought it looked like lard (not too unlike the time my very own Mema thought she could substitute a bay leaf for basil in a pasta dish since they were both leaves and started with ba… they might have looked similar but they were definitely NOT similar!) This person took this lard look alike and baked a pie with it. Surprisingly it worked out okay and tasted okay. Viola! A new (cheaper) oil was introduced to the market. What they didn’t know then was that it is very damaging to humans in a very slow and unapparent way. For more of the whole story on Crisco, please see: The Rise and Fall of Crisco. Here is a link that talks about fats in depth, with several other informative links at the bottom of their page: Know your Fats

Well back to my recipe… I love mexican food! I often have made burritos and quesidallas and other tex-mex delights. But since I’m going low carb, I needed to find a way to have my favorite flavors without the tortilla. Then the other day when I was picking up my Kombucha scoby from Nicole she had a dish similar to this bubbling away on her stove. I told her I wanted the recipe but since she left for vacation the very next day she hasn’t had time to post. So I made something up myself.
-Amanda

HOTEL RESERVATIONS
We are currently sold out at the Radisson Hotel Valley Forge and the Scanticon Hotel.  We have arranged additional rooms at the Hyatt Place 484-690-3000 and The Holiday Inn Express 610-768-9500.  Both hotels are within a mile of the Convention Center and are $105.00 plus tax per night.  When booking your room, please mention the Wise Traditions Conference to secure the conference rate.  Please contact Paul Frank 304-724-3004 if you have any questions.

CHILDRENS PROGRAM
Details of the Childrens Program are now posted at
http://www.westonaprice.org/childcare.html

Fees are $100 per child. Children 3 – 12 who are potty trained are welcome to Wise Traditions 2010 as long as they are enrolled in our children’s program. For the sake of other conference attendees, we ask that parents refrain from bringing children to the conference sessions.

Please note that this year the childrens program is NOT serving regular meals.  The childrens program will be closed during lunch and dinner so that parents can take their children for a meal.  Parents can bring food for their children, purchase food from conference vendors, or purchase conference meal tickets.

New this year: A special room has been set aside for mothers of infants who want to attend the conference. There will be a live audio feed from one of the sessions to that room throughout the day’s events. There will be no child care provided for infants and children under age 3. Breastfeeding children may be in the conference rooms with their mothers as long as they are quiet and not disruptive.

EXHIBITOR HALL OPEN TO THE GENERAL PUBLIC
The exhibit hall on Saturday and Sunday is open to the general public.  You do not need to be registered for the conference to visit the exhibit hall.

MONDAY ACTIVITIES
Dont forget our unique Monday activities.  You must sign up in advance.  To register,  visit https://www.ptfassociates.com/secure/wisetraditions/2010registration.htm or call (304) 724-3006.

1. Chapter Leaders Meeting* with Sally Fallon Morell

2. Farm Tour with Kathy Kramer and Will Winter*: Visit Millers Organic Farm and Spring Creek Farm in Pennsylvania, with fascinating narration by Will Winter.

3. Porkshop with Brooks Miller*: Learn to butcher, cut up and cure a whole pig.

4. Movement Workshop with Kim Thompson*: Emphasis on movements that restore ease and balance.

5. Cooking with Monica Corrado*: Fitting nourishing traditional food into your busy life.

6. Homeopathy Seminar with Joette Calabrese, HMC, CCH, RSHom (NA)*: Homeopathy that works for you and your family.

*Additional fees apply

VOLUNTEERS AND FINANCIAL AID
We are no longer accepting volunteers; all positions have been filled.  If anyone should inquire, they may contact Misty Frank at 304-724-3004  to be placed on a waiting list.  We have given out all financial aid as well and are wait-listing anyone else who inquires

YOU CAN HELP US PUBLICIZE WISE TRADITIONS 2010
Here are links to the cool participation badges and beautiful banner ads that are available to promote the conference. When you run them on your website or blog sidebar, folks can click through to our conference page! Fly your banner of support proudly for Weston A. Price Foundation! You never know whose life you will change!

http://www.westonaprice.org/2010-badges.html

http://www.westonaprice.org/banner-ads.html

CONTINUING EDUCATION UNITS AT WISE TRADITIONS 2010
We are pleased to offer CEUs for several professions.  Nurses, Acupuncturist and Registered Dieticians anywhere in the U.S., and Chiropractors for certain states can get credit for attending our conference.

Nutritionists and other professions can request a Certificate of Attendance to submit
for possible credit ($5 fee).

Details are found at: http://www.ww.westonaprice.org/continuning-education-units.html.  If you have questions, please contact Kathy at info@westonaprice.org

PLANNING TO ATTEND? DONT DELAY YOUR REGISTRATION!
Interest in this years conference is the highest ever, and space is filling up fast. In fact, we may end up with a sold-out situation.

If you are planning to attend, we urge to pre-register as soon as possible. To register, visit https://www.ptfassociates.com/secure/wisetraditions/2010registration.htm or call (304) 724-3006.

TROPIANO AIRPORT SHUTTLE SERVICE
The Shuttles departs from the Airport Ground Transportation Center every 30 minutes from 6am-midnight. Reservations can be made by calling Tropiano at 215-616-5370.
Rates:
One Way: $29   Round Trip: $53.00

SEMINARS AND SESSIONS ON
Gut and Psychology Syndrome
Holistic Cancer Treatment
Traditional Diets
The Politics of Food
Pasture-Based Farming
Weight Loss and Wellness
Native Diets
Alternative Theories on Heart Disease
Environmental Hazards
Hormone Health
Holistic Dentistry

FEATURED SPEAKERS
Ted Beals, MD, raw milk expert
Janez Bogataj, PhD, author of The Food and Cooking of Slovenia
Kevin Brown, author of The Liberation Diet
Jerry Brunetti, soil and animal health specialist
Joette Calabrese, HMC,CCH, RSHom(NA), expert on homeopathy
Natasha Campbell-McBride MD, author of Gut and Psychology Syndrome
Kari Carlisle, LinkedIn.com expert
Monica Corrado, holistic nutrition and food educator
Thomas Cowan, MD, author of Fourfold Path to Healing
Andrew Cutler, PhD, PE, author of Amalgam Illness: Diagnosis and Treatment
Kaayla Daniel, PhD, author of The Whole Soy Story
Maureen Diaz, author of Traditional Food Preparation Techniques
Robert Disney, environmental scientist
Sally Fallon Morell, MA, author of Nourishing Traditions
Wayne Feister, DO, holistic practitioner
Anne Fischer Silva, CNT, LE, founder and owner of A New Leaf Nutrition
Cathy Garger, founding Charter member “Chesapeake Safe Energy Coalition”
Nora Gedgaudas, author of Primal Body-Primal Mind
Nicholas Gonzalez, MD, author of The Trophoblast and the Origins of Cancer
Stephan Guyenet, PhD, health blogger at wholehealthsource.blogspot.com
James Hague, soil and animal health specialist
Kimberly Hartke, WAPF publicist
Magda Havas, PhD, expert on biological effects of environmental contaminants
Shannon Hayes, author of Radical Homemakers
Dean Howell, ND, expert on neuro-cranial restructuring
Anore Jones, author of The Fish We Eat
Kelly the Kitchen Kop, real foods blogger
Mark Keating, writer for Acres, USA
Felix Liao, DDS, expert on Dental-Systemic Connections
Chris Masterjohn, expert on fat-soluble vitamins
Mark McAfee, owner of Organic Pastures dairy in California
Judith McGeary, Esq, farmer and founder Farm and Ranch Freedom Alliance
Jenny McGruther, Nourished Kitchen blogger
Ann Marie Michaels, Cheeseslave.com blogger
Ken Morehead, DOM, holistic practitioner
Rami Nagel, author of Cure Tooth Decay
Jill Nienhiser, WAPF webmaster
Bruce Rind, MD, holistic medical doctor and authority on endocrinology
Joel Salatin, farmer and author of Everything I Want to Do is Illegal
Annette Schippel, DC, thyroid expert
Stephanie Seneff, PhD, authority on the effects of drugs on human health
Jeffrey Smith, bestselling author of Seeds of Deception
Kim Thompson, movement educator
Tim Wightman, president of Farm-to-Consumer Foundation
Will Winter, DVM, expert on sustainable agriculture and pastured livestock
Gary Zimmer, soil specialist

CONFERENCE FOOD
As always, the conference will feature delicious traditional foods.  To view the menus, visit http://www.westonaprice.org/menus-food.html. (Menus are subject to change without notice.)

We also provide gluten-free, casein-free alternative meals. Participants requiring gluten-free or casein-free meals will be served in a separate buffet with the exception of the Saturday banquet which is GF/CF with sauces served on the side. If you wish to have this option, please select the GF/CF option on your registration form.

ROOM SHARES AND RIDE SHARES
Connect with other conference attendees using the Room Share/Ride Share Forum: https://www.ptfassociates.com/secure/wisetraditions/forum/default.asp

EXHIBITING AND SPONSOR INFORMATION
For information about becoming a sponsor or exhibiting at the conference please visit https://www.ptfassociates.com/secure/wisetraditions/sponsor_exhibitor_2010.pdf or, contact Paul Frank at PTF Associates at (304) 724-3006 or via email to pfrank@ptfassociates.com. Space for sponsors and exhibiting is very limited; early registration is encouraged!

POSTER PRESENTATION: Submissions of abstracts for poster presentations from health professionals on a broad range of topics relating food and nutrition to health are welcome. Contact info@westonaprice.org for further information.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION, http://www.westonaprice.org/2010-conference-navigation.html or call (304) 724-3006.

Communities Alliance For Responsible Eco-Farming SUMMER/FALL 2010

Food Safety, the Race Card of the Food System

The following Testimony was submitted by CARE President, Tom Maurer, at a Town Hall
meeting held by Pennsylvania State Senator David Argall.

COMMENTS OF TOM MAURER

My name is Tom Maurer. I farmed for 35 years and now I consider myself a spokesman for local/regional agriculture and food choice. This past spring I also started a store designed to serve people who understand the value of quality local food for themselves, the community and the farmers who are part of that community.

The issues facing agriculture are numerous and complicated. Correcting some of them will require action by the Federal government but many can be addressed at the State level. However, to do so will require some out-of-the-box thinking.

One cannot begin a discussion of the problems facing agriculture without a discussion of food safety. Unfortunately, food safety has become the race card of the food system. It is used to shut down intelligent discussion or to try to make someone who questions a proposed action or policy look like they oppose safe food. Nothing could be further from the truth. The knee-jerk reaction for more regulation is, at best, an easy, ill-conceived response, making people think something is being done when, in reality, nothing is. If regulations were the solution, there should be no problems in the US as we have the most highly regulated food system in the world. Yet we still have hundreds of thousands of eggs, tons of ground beef, and other products recalled with sufficient frequency that people are concerned but not surprised. Before you rush to enact even more regulations, it is time for you to stop and identify the real problems. I’ll come back to the food safety issue in a moment.

Part of the problem facing agriculture is that, because there are so few farmers, the understanding of the role of farming in our overall economy has been lost. Without that understanding and the associated national policies, the economy will continue to run in circles just as it has for the last century, except for three periods over those 100 years. So how do we turn things around? There is a body of work compiled by Carl Wilken and several others covering the 1930s to the 1960s. During that period, Wilken testified before committees of Congress about this work more than any other individual on any subject. His work is not a theory but rather an analysis of the mountains of data on agriculture collected by the Federal government. It shows the relationships between the various aspects of the economy.

A group of people have continued Wilken’s work right up to the present. Analyzing this data shows that in the period from 1950 to 2004, Pennsylvanians lost more than $4.3 TRILLION because of the national agricultural policy. If New York and Ohio are included, the three states’ residents lost in excess of $14 TRILLION. We, and our Federal Representatives and Senators, need to be paying more attention to national farm policy. Unfortunately, much of the input for policy and legislation comes from special interests and an insurance company that masquerades as a group representing agriculture and has, for the last 75 years, opposed the policy that would have produced $4.3 trillion dollar of real wealth, not subsidies or government payments, for Pennsylvania’s residents.

In the past, Pennsylvania has also relied heavily on these special interests and bogus farm groups for its position on issues including raw milk, food labeling, food safety, etc. In addition we have allowed the Federal Government to ignore our 10th Amendment rights and interfere in issues that are solely Pennsylvania’s responsibility to address as its citizens see fit.

So let’s think outside the box and go back to the food safety issue. You need to first understand and accept that it is impossible to protect us from everything. We neither expect nor want government to assume that role. Life is a risk, and we the people are capable and willing to take responsibility for our choices. In the past we were able to know where our food came from and who to see if there was a problem. What we need is for government to level the playing field and then be the referee.

As current polls and the news media clearly show, the public has a less than favorable view of government. That, however, does not mean that government should not be involved in regulating aspects of our food system. The state’s authority to regulate food comes from its power to create artificial people called corporations. When creating these corporations, the corporations, not the Constitution, give the state the authority to regulate them. And with that authority, the state has the obligation to regulate them.

The large corporations are perpetrating the myth that food safety is size neutral. Common sense should tell us this is bogus. Size, in fact, is the problem and as we have seen, the big public health problems have originated from the big corporations. In any operation, the more complex it is and the more people that are involved, the more difficult it is to maintain quality. Furthermore, in the case of food production, we continue to separate, and in fact isolate, the farmer and the eater, resulting in the eater losing control or recourse if there is a problem. We are told we can vote with our wallets. But I find it hard to believe that a company selling hundreds of thousands of eggs will quake at the thought that I would stop buying my weekly dozen eggs if there’s a problem. Government, and that means the states because only they can approve the creation of a corporation, needs to be responsible for the children (i.e. the corporations) it has propagated.

The solution to the food safety, farmland preservation, and health/wellness issues is a healthy local/regional food system. We need to make Pennsylvania food independent. Energy independence would be nice – food independence is critical. In Pennsylvania we have the unique capability to produce almost everything we need to eat. Why not capitalize on that strength? A healthy local/regional food system has a number of benefits
including:

Raising quality and safety standards because there is a direct connection between the farmer and the eater. Making the farmer directly responsible to the eater if there is a quality or safety issue. A poor or unsafe product can put the farmer out of business or cost him his farm. He cannot close shop and reopen down the street nor does he have a high-priced PR or legal staff to “manage” the problem.

• Giving eaters choices of what they buy and from whom they buy it, such as raw milk and raw milk products, and produce from farmers whose horses may poop in the field, as they have for generations.
• Preserving farmland, and more importantly farmers and the next generation of farmers, by making farming profitable.
• If you want to help farmers and eaters, you need to allow them, not government to build healthy local/regional food systems. For this to occur, you need accept some basic assumptions/policies.
• Food choices are our lawful right, not a privilege bestowed by government.It’s a farmer’s right, not a privilege granted by government, to grow or produce any lawful food and sell it to whomever he chooses.

Neither the state nor the federal governments have the lawful authority to interfere in direct sale transactions for lawful products. This does not apply to incorporated activities, as corporations gave that authority to the state in return for permission to incorporate. This puts the duty to regulate them squarely with the state that created them. Eaters’ ability to regulate corporations is essentially limited to suits. However, their impact on corporations, particularly the large ones where the bulk of the problems occur, is limited due to the disparity of available resources between the corporation and the eater.

Stop giving the State’s rights to the Federal Government.

Stop relying on the Federal government, special interests and bogus farm organizations for your information, policy and legislative input. They led us into the wilderness. Obviously they don’t know or don’t want to find the way out. Listen to the farmers and eaters you were elected to represent.

So How Do You Accomplish This?

1. When any legislation or regulation is proposed, read it and understand how it will impact the local and regional food system, particularly how it will impact all the family farms in the state, not just a few large agribusinesses.

2. When any legislation or regulation is proposed, read it and understand how it will impact consumers’ food choices.

3. Refuse to propose or support legislation, or encourage the bureaucracy to enforce legislation, regulations or policies that reduce or interfere with the farmers’ right to produce or the consumer’s right to purchase lawful products directly from farmers or from stores that resell the product without repackaging or altering the item so that the product or the producers’ identities are hidden or compromised.

4. Encourage and support a policy of food independence. Pennsylvania talks a good game with its Farmland Preservation, PA Preferred and Buy Fresh Buy Local programs. However, if a vibrant local/regional food system is to continue to grow and flourish, Pennsylvania needs to view its role as that of an enabler, not a regulator.

If Pennsylvania is only interested in controlling and regulating direct sales between farmer and eaters under the guise of public safety, it will prevent the development of such a system and deprive Pennsylvanians of safe, nutritious and reliable food. It will also deprive citizens of the associated financial, health, environmental benefits.

Finally, Pennsylvania needs to direct our Federal Representatives and Senators to pressure the Federal government to start doing what the Constitution requires and they took an oath to protect and defend.

The Country’s survival is at stake. It needs leadership. Is Pennsylvania up to the task?

Tom Maurer
President,
CARE Board of Directors

If you have a letter to the editor, questions, would like more information or would prefer to receive an electronic version of this newsletter, contact us at: CAREFARMERS@yahoo.com 

]]> http://liberationwellnessblog.com/2010/10/01/food-safety-the-race-card-of-the-food-system/feed/ 0 40.004377 -75.028988 40.004377 -75.028988 Kevin Brown CareSnip http://liberationwellnessblog.com/2010/07/28/bugs-are-on-the-menu/ http://liberationwellnessblog.com/2010/07/28/bugs-are-on-the-menu/#comments Wed, 28 Jul 2010 21:33:15 +0000 Kevin Brown https://liberationwellness.wordpress.com/2010/07/28/bugs-are-on-the-menu/ ]]> In the vast new world of nutrition misinformation, Americans are authorized by public officials like the USDA and medical professionals like the AMA to eat many small meals a day.

I believe this directive to be one of the biggest reasons for the obesity crisis in our modern culture, it has a devastating negative effect on health, and promotes only the enormous profits of the Fake-Food Industry and Big Pharma!

But that is another story,

I would like to talk about small meals and fast food, but what I mean is some the smallest and the fastest of the animal foods – BUGS!

Entomophagy (from [Greek ἔντομος éntomos, "insect(ed)", and φᾰγεῖν phăgein, "to eat", which together means "insect eating") is the practice of eating insects as food.

"every creeping thing that is alive, to you it is for food"; Genesis 9:3 Young's Translation

The Bible points out that all animal food is authorized by God to be eaten for food. In fact, God particularly mentions the bugs, lizards and snakes (called creeping things) as to let us know that they are allowed and would be appropriate for human consumption.

Dr. Weston Price, known as the Father of clinical nutrition, reported that the some of the healthiest people groups in the world, were eating bugs and the eggs of bugs at certain times of the year for the nutritional value. In fact millions of people for thousands of years have been and continue to eat insects as part of a very healthy diet.

Insects often contain the fat soluble activators A,D and K2 and some have B12 as well as other important nutrients.

Here is the nutritional profile of 100 grams of crickets:

121 calories,
12.9 grams of protein,
5.5 g. of fat,
5.1 g. of carbohydrates,
75.8 mg. calcium,
185.3 mg. of phosphorous,
9.5 mg. of iron,
0.36 mg. of thiamin,
1.09 mg. of riboflavin,
3.10 mg. of niacin

This little bugger is nutrient dense!

Tastes Like Crab! According to this Epicurean

Bizarre Foods

Recently there has been a very interesting TV show airing nationally hosted by food explorer Andrew Zimmern. The show is called Bizarre Foods.

Andrew travels the world and has a meal with local people who’s culinary practices are very different from modern America, but I have noticed they are not so different from each other.

I enjoy the show very much and secretly wish I could taste at least some of the these exotic recipes from around the world.

I do think that the chemical compounds and artificial fake foods that make up much of our modern American so-called food choices, it is we who are eating the Bizarre Foods, and it is they that are eating more like a human being!

Fast Food

Although I am not a proponent of snacking or fast food, it seems if there was every a healthy, convenient, inexpensive snack food, insects are it. An entire industry of McDonald’s, Burger King, etc as well as the convenience stores like 7-11 would be in a very different environment if Americans were eating bugs.

You know, seeing how clever and entrepreneurial they are, I could foresee French Fries being replaced with French Fried Bugs!

Now that I think about it, we could call them McBugs or McFrogs!

The Importance of Vitamins A, D, K2

The foundation of human health is FAT. and many cultures get the all-important nutrients found exclusively in saturated animal fat from livestock and fish.

If however a people group do not have access to fish or cannot afford livestock, God’s exquisite design is that bugs are very readily available almost anywhere and loaded with the nutrition people need the most!

So How Do They TASTE?

That is a good question. I have a saying concerning food taste, which is, follow the law of the jungle. The law of the jungle says “eat what’s best for you, not what tastes the best!.”

If you have a plate of liver and onions, and a plate of ice cream, and you have a taste test, the ice cream will win almost every time. BUT- the liver is much better for you. We should not always make taste the decider in our food choices, as this leads to sweeter and more flavor enhanced foods getting eaten more often.

I must admit however, I have never eaten bugs! According to many, they taste great, but I cannot speak from experience.

Here is a recipe for insects

Ant Brood Tacos

2 tablespoons butter or lard
1/2 pound ant larvae and pupae
3 Serrano chilies, raw, finely chopped
1 tomato, finely chopped
Pepper and Cumin, to taste
Oregano, to taste
1 handful cilantro, chopped
Taco shells, to serve(you can pass on the shells)

Heat the butter or lard in a frying pan and fry the larvae or pupae. Add the chopped onions, chilies, and tomato, and season with salt. Sprinkle with ground pepper, cumin, and oregano, to taste. Serve in tacos and garnish with cilantro. (Not living in an area exceptionally prolific with ants, I have never been able to try this recipe. But it sounds perfectly delicious! I found it in ‘Creepy Crawly Cuisine’, an excellent recipe book.)

Kevin Brown is President of Liberation Wellness and co-author of the Liberation Diet. He serves as a Fellow on the National Board of Fitness Examiners, and is president of Visionary Trainers. Kevin and his wife Tracy are Chapter leaders for the Weston A. Price foundation, a non-profit organization that is helping restore real food to its rightful place in the American diet.

In Episode 384 of “The Livin’ La Vida Low-Carb Show with Jimmy Moore,” we hear from registered dietitian Annette Presley who is the co-author of the book The Liberation Diet: Setting America Free from the Bondage of Health Misinformation! with Kevin Brown.

She taught nutrition from the perspective of conventional wisdom for 14 years before she came across the great revolutionary work of Dr. Mary Enig on the healthfulness of consuming saturated fat. Ever since, she has become an activist sharing the truth about nutrition and its impact on health.

Listen to Annette share about why it confused her to learn that nutrition is more about disease management rather than prevention, her exposure to the late, great Dr. Robert C. Atkins at a dietitian’s conference, her asthma diagnosis in 2002 which led her to find alternative nutritional therapies to taking steroids, how Dr. Enig’s book Know Your Fats radically changed her thinking on diet, the anger she felt that almost made her quit nutrition for good, why it’s so difficult for dietitians to break free from the conventional wisdom they’ve been taught, how she got hooked up with Kevin Brown and wrote The Liberation Diet with him, how her frequent letters to the editor about consuming saturated fat raised the ire of some local dietitians to the point they reported her to have her credentials revoked (she won by presenting the science), the quirky disclaimer she uses about the work she is doing now, why you have to eat processed foods to eat a low-fat diet, whether lawsuits about diet are forthcoming, how to get people to break free from their fear of fat, her high saturated fat remedy for heart disease, why fat is so delicious and nutritious in your diet, why she shared the history behind the failed low-fat diet in her book, what role exercise plays in her program, her personal negative experience eating a high-carb diet, how the Internet is leading the revolution for spreading the truth, and her quick thoughts on agave nectar, exercise for weight loss, butter vs. margarine, the so-called “healthy” foods that are anything but, and the profit motive that dominates much of the promotion of food in America.

Click here to access this fascinating conversation with a registered dietitian who truly understands the importance of saturated fat in a healthy diet.

Kevin Brown is President of Liberation Wellness and co-author of the Liberation Diet. He serves as a Fellow on the National Board of Fitness Examiners, and is president of Visionary Trainers. Kevin and his wife Tracy are Chapter leaders for the Weston A. Price foundation, a non-profit organization that is helping restore real food to its rightful place in the American diet.

SUNLIGHT, VITAMIN D & HEALTH

Laurance Johnston, Ph.D.

Over the years, I have noticed many friends and colleagues with physical disabilities basking in the sun’s warmth, an activity they can partake in as readily as any able-bodied individual. With moderation, they should keep on basking; it’s healthy.

Although dermatologists advocate avoiding sunlight to prevent skin damage, a growing body of science suggests that the sun exerts many healing benefits. In fact, epidemiological studies indicate that you are much more likely to die from disorders aggravated by chronic underexposure to the sun than disorders aggravated by overexposure. In just one of many examples, epidemiologists estimate at least 55 men die prematurely from prostate cancer from too little sun for every man that dies from too much sun.

This article’s purpose is to describe some of the sun’s healing benefits, especially for spinal cord injury (SCI) and multiple sclerosis (MS) and how they are mediated through vitamin-D metabolism.

History

Throughout history, many healing modalities have cycled in and out of favor. Sunlight (heliotherapy) was often a part of mankind’s healing armamentaria, including that of Hippocrates, the Father of Western Medicine. In the early twentieth century, heliotherapy was used to treat many disorders, such as tuberculosis, rickets in children, and war wounds. Its importance was underscored when Dr. Niels Finsen was awarded the 1903 Nobel Prize for developing an ultraviolet (UV) treatment for tuberculosis.

Boston’s Floating Hospital got its name because it originally was located on a floating boat, in which children with rickets could sunbathe. At that time, many hospitals were built to allow access to more sunlight. Sunlight remains an important hospital-design consideration as documented by a recent study showing that spinal-surgery patients assigned to bright, sunny rooms needed much less pain medication.

However, as our increasingly pharmaceutically oriented medical profession developed powerful, infection-fighting antibiotics and drugs, and as milk and other foods were supplemented with vitamin-D, heliotherapy faded to the background.

Its decline was greatly accelerated by the fear of acquiring skin cancer. In my lifetime, I’ve seen a great shift on this issue. For example, when I was a child, my mother told me to play outside and get some sun. In contrast, today’s mothers lather sunscreen on their children, which, in spite of good intentions, evidence suggests may promote a vitamin-D deficiency that may have life-long implications.

Heliotherapy is once again emerging from the dark; there is simply too much evidence supporting its use to ignore.

Ultraviolet Light

Sunlight is composed of electromagnetic radiation of varying wavelengths, ranging from the long-wavelength infrared light to the short-wavelength ultraviolet. The ultraviolet light is further subdivided into UVA and the even shorter-wavelength UVB radiation. Although UVB causes sunburns, it is also the component that initiates Vitamin-D production in the skin.

Unfortunately, earlier sunscreens only blocked UVB, allowing full exposure to skin-damaging UVA light. These UVB sunscreens allowed people to absorb much more UVA radiation before becoming burned than if no sunscreen was used at all. As such, scientists now believe that past sunscreen use actually promoted skin damage, while, at the same time, blocking beneficial vitamin-D production. (Sunscreen reduces the skin’s ability to produce vitamin D by at least 95%.)

Exposure to vitamin-D-producing UVB light can vary greatly depending upon many factors, including time of day and year; and the latitude, altitude, and prevailing weather conditions of where we live.

Latitude is especially important. For example, if you live north of about 37o (roughly, a line from Richmond to San Francisco), you will be exposed to little UVB from at least November through February because the sun’s zenith angle is so low that the atmosphere absorbs most UVB before it reaches you.

Because it is fat soluble, excess, sun-produced, vitamin D is stored in body fat, and, to some degree, can be later used in sun-deficient periods.

Vitamin-D Production and Metabolism

The process by which vitamin D is produced and exerts its biological effects is complicated, involving several vitamin-D-related molecules (see illustration).

Basically, UVB light triggers a modification of a cholesterol-related molecule located in the membrane of skin cells. The vitamin D that is created is then ejected from the membrane into our circulation system, where it travels to the liver. In this organ, it is transformed into 25-hydroxyvitamin D, the derivative that doctors use to assess overall vitamin-D status.

The kidney, as well as some other tissues, further converts this precursor into 1,25-hydroxyvitamin D, the most physiological active vitamin-D metabolite, which is also called calcitrol. Traditionally, calcitrol is understood as a hormone that, together with parathyroid hormone, regulates blood calcium levels and, in turn, bone density. In this role, calcitrol targets the intestine, where it promotes calcium absorption; and bone, where it catalyzes calcium release to help restore depleted blood calcium levels.

However, recent studies indicate that viewing calcitrol just in this role is quite limited. In fact, the hormone exerts a plethora of biological effects on diverse tissues, implying that this sunlight-generated hormone sustains health throughout the body.

Although much remains to be understood, basically, circulating calcitrol enters cells and complexes with the genes in the cell nucleus. This affects DNA expression and, in turn, overall cell functioning and growth. Because calcitrol maintains normal cell proliferation, it inhibits cancerous growth. In addition, calcitrol influences immune-cell activity, helping to explain vitamin D’s seemingly beneficial role in infectious disease and immune-related disorders, such as multiple sclerosis, rheumatoid arthritis, and diabetes.

Given these considerations, the implications of preventing vitamin-D deficiency, either through sunlight or diet, are now more profound than ever.

Vitamin-D Food Sources

Relatively few foods naturally contain vitamin D, the most abundant being oily fish like salmon, sardines, and mackerel, or old-fashioned, cod liver oil. Because of limited natural sources, numerous foods, such as milk, are vitamin-D fortified.

Many scientists now believe we need 1,000 IU per day of vitamin D (IU = international units, a measure of vitamin potency) to avoid deficiency.  For reference, a salmon serving contains about 360 IU, a glass of fortified milk about 100 IU, an egg 25 IU, and a tablespoon of cod liver oil 1300+ IU.

In comparison, full-body sunbathing for a period of time that will just make you turn pink will produce 10,000-20,000 IU of vitamin D, equivalent to 100 to 200 glasses of fortified milk. Given such copious production, relatively casual sun exposure (arms, etc) should meet vitamin-D needs.

Remember, however, that no vitamin D will be generated in short-daylight months above certain latitudes. In these periods to avoid vitamin-D deficiency – especially if you don’t like oily fish or are lactose intolerant – you will need to consume a supplement or use a UVB-emitting tanning bed. Studies have shown that individuals who use such a tanning bed in winter have serum levels of 25-hydroxyvitamin D (the marker for vitamin-D status) that is 90% higher than controls.

The importance of solar-produced vitamin D was underscored in a study that evaluated vitamin-D status in a submarine crew after two months of acute sun deprivation. Although the crew consumed a vitamin-D fortified diet, their levels of this nutrient plummeted.

Vitamin D can be toxic if too much is consumed from supplements or mistakenly over-fortified foods. However, prolonged sun exposure does not generate toxic vitamin-D levels due to the body’s feedback regulatory mechanisms.

At-Risk Groups

Although everyone is vulnerable to vitamin-D deficiency, especially in winter, certain groups are particularly predisposed. First, when exposed to the same amount of sunlight, elderly individuals produce only 20% of the vitamin-D young adults do. As a result, more than half of individuals older than 65 are vitamin-D deficient.

Second, due to their skin pigmentation, African Americans require much more sun to produce the same levels of vitamin D than do fair-skinned Caucasians. At least 50% of African Americans, who are also less likely to drink fortified milk due to lactose intolerance, are vitamin-D deficient sometime during the year. Apparently, as a consequence, they have a much greater incidence of disorders associated with reduced sun exposure of northern latitudes.

Finally, people with spinal cord injury and multiple sclerosis often have decreased vitamin-D levels.

SCI

As summarized in two key articles, research carried out by Dr. William Bauman and colleagues, Bronx VA Medical Center indicates that individuals with SCI are often vitamin-D deficient (see Metabolism 44(12), 1995; & J Spinal Cord Med 28, 2005).

Like astronauts who lose bone density from the lack of weight-bearing activities, paralysis causes osteoporosis. As much as 50% of lower-extremity bone mass is lost during the first several years after injury, people with complete injuries losing the most. Hence, a deficiency in bone-enhancing vitamin D further aggravates an already serious SCI problem, in turn increasing fracture risk.

Bauman believes SCI predisposes one to vitamin-D deficiency for several reasons. For example, he speculates that due to limited mobility, someone with SCI may not get as much vitamin-D-producing sunlight as the general population. Supporting this idea, other scientists have demonstrated that pressure-sore-afflicted patients with SCI, who have access to the least sunlight, have the greatest vitamin-D deficiency.

Bauman also suggests that a lack maybe be caused when health-care professionals recommend reduced consumption of vitamin-D-fortified dairy products under the mistaken belief that the calcium in such foods will aggravate kidney problems. And, he believes that many SCI-associated medicines reduce the body’s vitamin-D stores.

In his 1995 study, Bauman compared vitamin-D levels in control subjects and in 100 veterans with SCI who averaged 20 years post-injury. Subjects with SCI were twice as likely to have vitamin-D levels less than that considered normal (again, the marker for vitamin-D status in the body is 25-hydroxyvitamin D produced by the liver).

In his 2005 study, Bauman examined the effectiveness of several dosing regimens in elevating vitamin-D levels in people with chronic SCI. In one regimen, 40 subjects consumed 800 IU of vitamin-D per day for 12 months. Their mean age was 43; injury duration averaged 12 years; and 17 and 23 had quadriplegia and paraplegia, respectively. Before supplementation, 33 had below-normal vitamin-D levels; in contrast, after 12 months of supplementation, only 9 remained deficient.

Although average serum vitamin-D levels doubled in subjects, Bauman believes that even greater supplementation is needed to obtain nutrient serum levels needed for promoting optimal bone health in SCI.

Multiple Sclerosis

MS is influenced by multiple interacting genetic, environmental, nutritional, hormonal, immunological, and viral factors. It is strongly correlated with sunlight, which is a function of latitude, season, prevailing weather, etc. As summarized in UV Advantage by Dr. Michael Holick (2003), MS incidence is five times greater in North America and Europe than the tropics. In the southern US, MS prevalence is about half that of the northern part of the country.

In one example of interacting factors, Norwegians who live near the ocean and consume much vitamin-D-rich seafood have a lower MS risk than those who live inland, even though both groups lack sufficient sunlight to generate vitamin D through much of the year. In another example, Swiss who live at lower altitudes have a greater MS risk than those who live at high altitudes with greater exposure to vitamin-D-producing UVB radiation.

People with MS are often vitamin-D deficient. For example, Dr. Jeri Nieves et al. (New York) examined vitamin-D levels in 80 women with MS and determined that levels of the nutrient were often insufficient and associated with reduced bone density. The investigators found that dietary vitamin-D intake was less than the US Recommended Daily Allowance (RDA) in 80% of these women, and 40% reported no sunlight exposure, perhaps to avoid heat-aggravation of MS symptoms. In a later study, these investigators demonstrated that over a two-year period, fractures occurred in 22% of patients with MS compared to only 2% in age- and gender-matched controls. Patients with MS lost bone mass at a 3-7 fold greater rate.

Until recently, prevailing thinking was that sunlight exerted a protective influence only early in life. Specifically, if you got a lot of sun before age 15, your MS risk would be much less later in life.

This thinking, however, has been challenged by Dr. J.G. McLeod and colleagues (Australia), who examined MS prevalence in migrants to sunny, low-latitude, low-risk Australia from cloudy, high-latitude, high-risk United Kingdom/Ireland. Although theoretically only those who moved before age 15 should acquire the lower Australian MS-risk status, the investigators discovered that MS prevalence in those who migrated before age 15 was not different than those who migrated later in life. In other words, no matter how old you are, you may be less prone to MS after moving to a sunnier environment.

In a suggestive pilot study, Dr. P. Goldberg et al (Massachusetts) followed ten people with MS who consumed ~5,000 IU daily for a year of vitamin D from cod liver oil and found that such supplementation greatly reduced MS exacerbations. Once again, these data suggest that protective nutritional influences are not limited to pre-adulthood before you have ever heard of MS but may actually help when you have it.

Recently, Harvard University investigators examined data collected from two long-term studies involving 187,000 women. The data indicated that those who consumed the most vitamin D had a substantially lower MS risk than women who consumed the least amount.

Many scientists believe that vitamin D mediates its healing influence by interacting with MS’s dysfunctional immune system. Although this is a complex subject beyond this article’s scope, through its hormonal metabolites, vitamin D profoundly influences the expression of 1) a variety of immune cells, which possess gene-modulating, vitamin-D receptors, and 2) key immune-mediating molecules called cytokines.

Vitamin D’s immune effects are supported by research using a rodent model of MS called EAE (experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis). In this model, UV radiation or vitamin-D supplementation greatly inhibited the development, severity, and duration of EAE. In contrast, a vitamin-D deficient diet accelerated disease progression.

Other Disorders

Evidence indicates that vitamin D prevents cancer, diabetes, arthritis, high-blood pressure, cardiovascular disease, and infections. In other words, it enhances overall wellness.

For example, people with SCI are predisposed to diabetes, a disorder characterized by vitamin-D deficiency that experimental evidence suggests reduces insulin secretion.  In another example, vitamin-D deficiency is associated with an increased infection risk, again especially germane to infection-prone individuals with SCI, especially in this era of antibiotic-resistant infections.

Conclusion

Whether generated through sunlight or consumed through food or supplements, vitamin D exerts many healing benefits relevant to individuals with spinal cord dysfunction. Given exorbitant health-care costs, it’s nice to know that you can accrue these benefits without paying a cent to pharmaceutical companies for costly, perhaps side-effect-laden, drug.

Resources: Two excellent overview books are 1) The Healing Sun by Richard Hobday (1999) and 2) The UV Advantage by Michael Holick (2003). Much of the information in this article was obtained from Dr. Holick’s book and his other writings.

Adapted from article appearing in June and August 2005 Paraplegia News (For subscriptions, call 602-224-0500) or go to http://www.healingtherapies.info/Sunlight&VitaminD.htm

Kevin Brown is President of Liberation Wellness and co-author of the Liberation Diet. He serves as a Fellow on the National Board of Fitness Examiners, and is president of Visionary Trainers. Kevin and his wife Tracy are Chapter leaders for the Weston A. Price foundation, a non-profit organization that is helping restore real food to its rightful place in the American diet.

The LIBERATION Diet Book

Hello Kevin,

It was WONDERFUL speaking with you; I still can’t believe it! I love your book so much, it is absolutely the best I have ever read on my favorite subjects…nutrition and exercise! The chapter on RAW milk is SO convincing and well written. I can’t even imagine someone reading that and walking away with any other conviction except to drink raw milk! I’ve been in an ongoing (sometimes heated) debate for the past three years with my brother who is convinced that I’m going to die of Listeria. J

When my husband said, “why are you getting that book; you’re not really going to learn anything new are you?” Well, much of what is in your book is simply solid reinforcement of what I have been able to glean from many bits and pieces, but much better written and very clear. And to my delight, I actually have learned a lot that I didn’t already know. That has been the icing on the cake, so to speak, cake made with coconut flour and REAL butter for sure! LOL!

It’s funny all of our low-fat friends and relatives come to our house for dinner and eat our high-fat/low carb/raw dairy foods as if they can’t get enough – like starving wolves!!!!

But then they go home and continue their very misguided low-fat lifestyle.

I do my best to be an ambassador but they are SO brain washed by the USDA and main stream media. I see them with their weight gain issues, allergies, their eye twitches, skin disorders, accelerated aging, sleeping disturbances and strained nerves and just sigh!

It is certainly a fragile battle to be fought, to help the ones we love without jeopardizing the relationship, isn’t it?

THANK YOU for being the diplomat of everything right and wholesome; for going out on a limb and risking ridicule and mockery in order to get the truth out there!

I appreciate what you have done and admire and respect you more than I have words to express! In light of the new USDA food guidelines, getting receptive ears is only going to get tougher.

My very kindest regards,

Lynda,

Arlington VA

You can order the Liberation Diet Book at www.LiberationDiet.com

Kevin Brown is President of Liberation Wellness and co-author of the Liberation Diet. He serves as a Fellow on the National Board of Fitness Examiners, and is president of Visionary Trainers. Kevin and his wife Tracy are Chapter leaders for the Weston A. Price foundation, a non-profit organization that is helping restore real food to its rightful place in the American diet.

We would like to share with you why we are so excited about grass-fed beef and why this is such a central focus for our operation.

Summary of the benefits of grass-fed Beef as compared to classic American grain-fed beef:

500% more CLA (Conjugated Linoleic Acid – a good fat)

400% more Vitamin A

300% more Vitamin E

75% more Omega-3

78% more Beta-carotene

More on the benefits of CLA In animal studies, 11 out of 11 studies surveyed showed CLA decreases cancer. Four out of five found a decrease in body fat associated with CLA. Two out of two found a decrease in heart disease. Two out of two have found increased bone density. Three out of three have found a decrease in adult diabetes. Dr Tilak Dhiman of the Utah State University is one of the foremost researchers into CLA.

Details:Grass-fed beef is a very different product from the beef normally sold in American grocery stores. The meat sold in grocery stores come from cattle penned up in large feedlots where they are confined, fed grains, treated with hormones and given antibiotics, all to promote fast weight gain and prevent disease that is so prevalent in this unnatural environment.

Grass-fed beef, on the other hand is finished on natural pasture – a diet which provides them what nature intended. Cattle are ruminants; they have multiple stomachs and are very efficient converting the cellulose in grasses to protein (meat). There are significant health advantages to grass-fed beef. First, grass-fed beef is higher in beneficial fats.

Omega-3 fatty acids play a vital role in every cell and system in your body. Most prominently, people who have ample amounts of omega-3′s in their diet are less likely to have high blood pressure or an irregular heartbeat. In addition, they are 50% less likely to have a serious heart attack. Second, grass-fed beef is rich in a good fat called “conjugated linoleic acid” or CLA.

Over the past two decades numerous health benefits have been attributed to CLA through experimental evidence including actions to reduce carcinogenesis, atherosclerosis, onset of diabetes, and fat body mass. Finally, grass-fed beef has higher levels of beta-carotene and vitamin E. Grass-fed beef has a factor of 10 higher levels of beta-carotene than conventional beef.

Vitamin A is a critical fat-soluble vitamin that is important for normal vision, bone growth, reproduction, cell division, and cell differentiation.

Vitamin E levels in grass-fed beef are a factor of four higher than conventional beef. In humans, vitamin E is linked with lower risk of heart diseases and cancer. This potent anti-oxidant may also have significant anti-aging properties.

Check out John and Nadine DeBruin at

www.BestBeefEver.com

Kevin Brown is President of Liberation Wellness and co-author of the Liberation Diet. He serves as a Fellow on the National Board of Fitness Examiners, and is president of Visionary Trainers. Kevin and his wife Tracy are Chapter leaders for the Weston A. Price foundation, a non-profit organization that is helping restore real food to its rightful place in the American diet.

Low-Carb Experts Comment On 2010 Dietary Guidelines,

Headed To Washington Next Week To Testify