BeanDiet

If you haven't heard, there's a new movie out these days, and it's not exactly your run-of-the-mill summer box office hit. But it's good. REALLY good. In fact, I think it should be required that every American watch this movie before their next trip to the grocery store. (The Food Dictator in me is on high alert.)

Food Inc. is a documentary that tells us what's incredibly wrong with our food supply. It stars such celebrities as Eric Schlosser (of Fast Food Nation fame) and Michael Pollen (Omnivore's Dilemma). Both these gentlemen are investigative journalists that have focused on the food industry, and uncovered myriad problems.

I found one of the most frightening problems to be what is termed "meat packing". While this wasn't the focus of the entire film, it has stuck in my mind more than anything else.

For example, did you know that there are only 13 slaughterhouses for cows in the entire United States? I certainly didn't. One slaughterhouse shown in the movie (the footage wasn't nearly as gory as I anticipated) "processed" an average of 32,000 cows a day.

This means 32,000 cow parts are touching the same equipment every day. If just one of those cow parts is carrying E. Coli - which many do, especially with the increase of corn fed to cows, which raises the pH of the stomach acid, allowing more resistant E. Coli strains to emerge - than ALL the meat in the processing plant becomes contaminated. This is why meat recalls have increased exponentially. It's also cost more than a few lives, especially of children.

Never mind that the E. Coli bacteria from the cow manure ends up in water runoff that contaminates fruit and vegetables (remember the alfalfa sprout and spinach recalls?). And never mind that these meat processing plants knowingly employ illegal, undocumented workers from Mexico, yet never get prosecuted - while the workers do.

Sorry for the rant, but it seems cheap meat is pretty costly. And though the problem seems overwhelming, it can be easily solved. Not by another book or documentary film, but by voting with the almighty Dollar. Every single time we purchase food, we are sending the food industry a strong message. By not buying meat (including poultry), or buying less, or only buying organic meats we are making a demand... and when there's money involved, you can bet supply will follow.

(While I am not a proponent for consuming meat, some of my readers do, which is why I propose eating organic meat and less meat overall.)

So let's change our dysfunctional food industry and make Upton Sinclair proud.

I've spent much time writing about how important nuts are in our diets: how studies show they fight chronic disease and DO NOT cause weight gain, and of course how nuts are loaded with fiber...

But I just ran across this study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition (July 2009) that reviewed no less than 13 studies on walnut consumption. Researchers found that walnut consumption lowered both total cholesterol and LDL (bad) cholesterol significantly, compared with people who did not consume walnuts regularly. They also found that walnuts provided significant benefits for certain antioxidant capacity and inflammatory markers and had no adverse effects on body weight.

In other words, walnuts not only lower cholesterol, but have antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties that fight cancer, plaque formation and other chronic disease. All that, and they don't cause weight gain, but often the opposite since they are so high in protein and fiber.

I add walnut pieces every morning to my oatmeal, and I always add them to salads. I'm sure there are other creative ways to incorporate walnuts into our daily regime (besides just munchin' on them). If you have ideas, let me know.

On another note, I would like to state my opinion on whole flaxseed verses ground flaxseed. We constantly hear that since flaxseeds are so small, our body doesn't digest them and we do not gain the benefits of their Omega-3 fatty acids and lignan antioxidants.

I disagree, and I'll tell you why.

I bought a coffee grinder and ground flaxseeds so I could get the full benefits myself. What I noticed immediately was that the ground flaxseed immediately lost its oil. The oil (where the Omega-3 fatty acids are) is located on the outside of the seed. So even if we were not to digest (or chew) every flaxseed, our body still removes the oil from the outside as it passes through our digestive tract, and viola, we have our Omega-3.

Now I'm back to adding whole flaxseed to my oatmeal (with walnuts - as well as cinnamon, raisins, dried coconut and honey - yum!).

Red red wine. Known for it's beneficial antioxidants (most famous is "resveratrol") that fight cancer and heart disease. Plus, people like it. Even though I'm not a big wine gal myself, I thought I'd write some sweet new findings about it for you winos.

Organic red wine has been shown to have significantly higher levels of resveratrol and other antioxidants vs. conventionally-produced wine. One study in Italy compared 15 red wines, finding those produced organically (without pesticides and chemical fertilizers) were at the top for antioxidant content and bioavailability.

So if you're going to be a wino, don't be a cheap one. Pay the extra dollar and know you are actually investing in your health. But don't overdo it. One glass a day can be beneficial, but more is not. Remember, alcohol is a toxin that produces free radicals, so the key word is moderation. Also, alcohol is a diuretic that causes loss of key electrolyte minerals such as calcium, potassium and magnesium. This not only makes us dehydrated but at risk of bone loss and high blood pressure.

Speaking of organic, let's go more organic. A recent review of 97 peer-reviewed studies found organic produce to be significantly higher in antioxidants, including polyphenols, known for fighting chronic disease and cancer (The Organic Center: www.organic-center.org).

So whether you're a wino or not, going the extra mile for organic produce is priceless. If you don't take care of your body, where are you going to live?

So I know I said I wouldn't write any more about soy... but then I saw this amazing article and remembered a few of you had questions about this very topic, so here I go.

An article just published in Fertility and Sterility Journal (who knew there was such a journal?) reviewed over 50 studies in the past year and found that soy foods and supplements do not have any effect on testosterone levels in men. That's right men, the estrogens in soy (called isoflavones) will not make you girly-men. It won't mess with your fertility, and it probably won't make you cry more at movies.

That also means that young boys who drink soy milk will not grow breasts or become androgenous. Good news I say.

Again, I don't think soy foods are more beneficial than other foods like fruit, vegetables, whole grains and legumes, but I do think they've received a ridiculous amount of bad press, and I'd like to bring some science into the popular arena. Whether you choose soy products is up to you, but at least you aren't making a decision based on hype.