New research published in the Archives of General Psychiatry by scientists at Yale University indicates that there is actually neural activity similar to drug addiction when a tempting food is presented. Researchers studied 48 young women of various weights. Using functional MRI (fMRI) the investigators were able to document the parts of the brain that are activated when a person sees a tempting food.

In my previous post about fats, I talked about the need to eat the correct fats and how important they are to our health. In order to understand this a little more, and to understand the terminology of fats, we need talk about the chemistry of fats.

You don’t have to be Jewish to love matzoh. While matzoh (also spelled, matzo, matza, matzah) is traditionally eaten for the seven days of Passover, it can be enjoyed year round as well. For Jewish people it has special historical significance. Passover is a recognition of the Jewish exodus from Egypt. The Israelites had to leave Egypt in such haste, they could not wait for their bread dough to rise. The resulting product was matzoh (Exodus 12:39).

Does it comes as any surprise that the Food and Drug Administration concluded “… that the current scientific data is just not solid enough to show that artificial food dyes cause hyperactivity in most children.” On March 31, the Food Advisory Committee — a panel of outside experts in nutrition, toxicology, food science, immunology, and psychology — held a two day meeting, at the request of the Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI).

Did you ever see little children walking around with multicolored faces after eating some ices or candy that stains their mouth? I just cringe when I see this. And I want to ask the mother why she lets her children eat that toxic junk. But I control myself, smile and walk away. I guess I am just different. When my son was little I never gave him such things. Am I a killjoy? I don’t think so.

Zucchini is one of the first vegetables allowed on the SCD or GAPS protocols. It is so easy to digest and full of nutrients. There are many ways to serve zucchini; steamed, grated and sauteed, alone or mixed with other vegetables. It is also a nice addition to soups and stews as it can disintegrate and become part of the gravy, adding nutrients there as well.

If it is not already clear to you what stakes Big Ag has in biotechnology, here’s what is coming down the pike. There is a new “super alliance” recently formed, called the Alliance to Feed the Future. This new syndicate brings together huge megacompany members such as the Council for Biotechnology Information (whose members include BASF, DuPont, Dow, and Monsanto), with other huge food processing companies like the International Food Additives Council, American Soybean Association, CropLife America (whose website features stories such as “Benefits of Pesticides and Crop-Protection Chemicals”) the International Formula Council and the National Association of Margarine Manufacturer.

Conventional understanding about fats is based upon a mistake. A giant misconception. An error that has greatly benefited the vegetable oil and food processing industries. Before 1920, heart disease in this country was rare. However, by the 1950’s heart disease was the leading cause of death in America. It still is today. If heart disease is, in fact, related to consumption of fats, we would expect it to be lower, as for the last 30 years we have decreased consumption of saturated fats. However, during this same period, we have greatly increased consumption of polyunsaturated fats from vegetable oils, in the form of liquid oils and margarine.

It is commonly known that salmon contains the very valuable long chain omega 3 fatty acids EPA and DHA. This omega 3 fat is protective to the heart and brain and protective against other diseases of inflammation such as cardiovascular disease, Alzheimer’s and rheumatoid arthritis. However it is wild salmon, not farmed salmon that provides these vital nutrients.