Does Meat Cause Cancer? Yes and no…

We cannot truthfully say that meat causes cancer.

It’s not that simple.

Although many studies have linked meat consumption, particularly of red and processed meat, to cancer, heart disease, stroke, diabetes, obesity, and a shorter lifespan, this does not mean that meat consumption causes these issues.

It is important to consider the other factors that contribute to these findings, like the fact that meat-eaters tend to exercise less, eat fewer vegetables, and smoke more than vegetarians and vegans — who tend to be more health conscious.

In studies where the researchers accounted for these factors, there was a weak correlation between red meat and cancer and a stronger correlation between processed meat and cancer.  This appears to be the general consensus, though there are some studies that find no association between meat and cancer and others that suggest that meat promotes health.

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For example, one study conducted in Austria found people who did not eat meat to be less healthy (in terms of cancer, allergies, and mental health disorders). Red meat was also found in another study to be essential for maintaining muscle mass and cognitive function in elderly women.

With all of this conflicting information, how can we possibly know if meat is good or bad for us?

The truth is we will never know unless we consider what could be behind the positive and negative findings of these studies. First, let’s start with what meat in its purest form does to the body.

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Meat Does Not Create Cancer

Hypothetically, if we ate raw meat from healthy animals that are completely free of all additives, chemicals, and infectious bacteria and parasites then there is no way that it can create cancer.

According to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, meat is an effective way to combat malnutrition and under-nourishment. This is because meat promotes health by providing us with complete proteins, minerals, vitamins, co-enzymes, antioxidants, and fats that are essential for our health. In fact, organ meats from pastured animals like beef liver are filled with more minerals, vitamins, antioxidants, and amino acids than many of the healthiest and most popular plant foods.

But organ meats are a rare commodity now. Instead, we tend to have the least healthy cuts of meat (muscle meat) from sick and diseased animals that are raised in concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFOs). This means that the steak that you love so much and the chicken breast that you thought was healthy is coming from the least nutritious part of an unhealthy animal that has trace amounts of antibiotics and pesticides in it from what it was fed.

These antibiotics and pesticides are toxic to the body, but we can most likely handle them in small quantities. What renders the meat cancerous is when we process it and cook it in ways that create highly carcinogenic compounds. These compounds are the main culprit for the association between red and processed meat consumption and cancer.

Related: How to Detoxify From Antibiotics and Other Chemical Antimicrobials

How We Prepare Our Meat Causes Cancer

Heterocyclic amines, polyaromatic hydrocarbons, methyl carbonium, advanced glycation end products, and acrolein are all carcinogenic compounds that are formed at some level when we process and cook our meat. Each compound creates chaos in its own way within the body that can either indirectly or directly mutate genes and cause cancer.

Related: Advanced Glycated End Products

Acrolein and Advanced Glycation End Products Don’t Discriminate

Acrolein, for example, has been found to directly mutate genes, which can lead to cancer formation. Smoking is known to cause lung cancer because acrolein is created when tobacco is burned. The acrolein is then inhaled into the lungs, causing genetic mutations in lung cells that lead to cancer.

Acrolein is also created when we expose carbohydrates, vegetable oils, animal fats, and amino acids to high heat. This partially explains why fried foods and overcooked or burned meat are toxic to the body. Advanced glycation end products are another cancerous compound that is formed when we cook our foods (not just meat) at high temperatures.

Why Smoked Meat, Deli Meat, and Grilled Meat is Bad For You

Heterocyclic amines, polyaromatic hydrocarbons, and methyl carbonium are the carcinogenic compounds that are most often found in processed, smoked, and cooked meats. Heterocyclic amines and polyaromatic hydrocarbons are both formed when the meat is cooked at high temperatures, and polyaromatic hydrocarbons can also be formed during periods of low oxygen exposure. You will find polyaromatic hydrocarbons in high amounts in smoked meats and fish. This makes these popular foods highly carcinogenic.

You may not have heard of methyl carbonium before, but you are probably familiar with its distant relatives, nitrate and nitrite. Nitrates and nitrites are commonly added to processed pork products like bacon to maintain their color and prolong shelf-life, but when these compounds interact with amino acids they can form nitrosamines.

So why does it matter? It doesn’t, especially for the body, because nitrates, nitrites, and nitrosamines aren’t toxic at all. But if nitrosamines degrade any further they become methyl carbonium, which is highly toxic to the body.

Methyl carbonium, heterocyclic amines, polyaromatic hydrocarbons, advanced glycation end products, and acrolein are by no means the only carcinogenic compounds that are created through cooking and processing meat, and some of them can still be found in high quantities in vegetarian and vegan diets. For example, cooked vegetable oils and plant foods can be a potent source of acrolein and advanced glycation end products.

This means that even if you are eating a vegan diet you will not be able to escape from pro-inflammatory carcinogenic compounds that can cause cancer — so what can you do?

How To Make Meat Healthy

It is actually simple and easy to reduce the carcinogenic compounds in your food.

First, marinate your meats in lemon juice, vinegar, herbs, and spices. This acidic marinade helps to prevent advanced glycation end products from forming, while the herbs and spices have a high antioxidant content that will keep the other carcinogenic compounds from forming when the meat is exposed to heat.

When it comes to cooking your food, it is best to replace your frying pan and grill with a slow cooker, steamer pot, or sous vide. Boiling, poaching, stewing, and steaming is the healthiest way to cook your meat, while frying, broiling, grilling, roasting, and smoking renders the meat carcinogenic.

It is also better to cook your meat at low temperatures and consume with other herbs and vegetables to ensure that carcinogenic compounds that are in your food will meet the extra antioxidants from the plant foods.

But it is important to mention that even if your meat contains no cancer causing compounds, it can still lead to the growth of existing cancer cells due to something called IGF-1.

Meat Can Feed Cancer

IGF-1, also known as insulin-like growth factor,  is a protein that has growth promoting effects on every cell in the body. This makes it essential for the growth and development of muscle and brain cells, and the healing of damaged tissues.
When we consume a high amount of complete protein — which is found mainly in animal products — IGF-1 levels will rise accordingly to help our cells use the amino acids from the protein. This is exactly what we need our body to do to maintain the health and growth of our cells, but there is one problem.

IGF-1 does not know the difference between your cells and cancer cells, so it can aid the growth of cancer cells as well. This is why high protein diets are linked to a higher risk of all-cause and cancer mortality — and the high protein content of meat explains why it has been linked to an increased risk of cancer.

This also means that meat is not the primary culprit for the association between cancer and meat consumption. Meat is just pointing to the fact that the combination of high amounts of toxic compounds with high IGF-1 levels will create the perfect environment for cancer to form and grow. In other words, cancer can be created and grown with or without meat consumption. What really matters is how you prepare your food and how much protein you are consuming.
Fortunately, we have already learned how to lower our exposure to toxic compounds in food — and that is relatively easy — but is there a way to hack your IGF-1 levels?

Related: Foods, Vitamins, and Herbs That Kill Cancer

Hacking Your IGF-1 Levels to Starve Cancer

Although low levels of IGF-1 are correlated with lower rates of cancer, IGF-1 is still important to have at high levels at the right time. When we are adults, the right time for IGF-1 to be at high levels is when our cells need to heal from a workout or any other form of physical trauma is done to the body.

This means that if you time your protein consumption in response to when you need it most (before and after resistance training), you will increase IGF-1 at the right time so that you can build the cells that need it the most while preventing cancer cell growth. Although this is just a theory, it may be the best way to get the most health promoting effects from your meat.

On days that you don’t workout, it may be best to consume mostly plant foods and limit your protein consumption to below 20% of your daily caloric intake to keep your IGF-1 levels low and quality of health high. After the age of 65, however, protein seems to be more important for health and longevity — so people in this age group can benefit from consuming more than 20% of their calories from protein.

Increasing your activity levels is also another important tool you can use to maintain lower IGF-1 levels. To do this you can go for walks, take a hike, or do any other form of low-intensity aerobic activity everyday. Not only will this help reduce your cancer risk, it will improve your overall health and reduce your risk of other diseases — like diabetes — as well.

Putting it all Together

The meat we eat and what it does to our body is a complex issue that depends on the individual who is eating the meat, the quality of the meat, and how the meat is processed and cooked — so to say that meat causes cancer or does not cause cancer is an oversimplification. As we understand cancer more deeply and the effects that meat consumption has on our body though, we will soon be able to know who would benefit from eating more meat, who should limit their meat consumption, and if there is anyone that would be healthier by not eating meat at all.

One thing we do know for certain is that the way we cook and process meat can create carcinogenic compounds that directly and indirectly cause cancer. To prevent these cancerous compounds from forming — simply marinate your meat in lemon juice, vinegar, herbs, and spices, cook it at low temperatures, and eat your meat with a variety of vegetables, herbs, and/or fruit. This will allow you to get almost all of the health promoting benefits of eating meat while balancing deleterious effects.

We are also certain that high IGF-1 levels will lead to more cancer growth. Complete proteins — like those found in meat — cause an increase in IGF-1 levels. If we keep our IGF-1 levels low throughout the day, we can prevent cancer growth.  We can do this by limiting our meat consumption to when we need to recover from resistance training and by increasing our levels of low-intensity activity like walking.

We dug deep into the science in this article, but the science has little to say about the effects of 100% grass-fed red meat consumption vs. conventional, GMO grain-fed red meat consumption on human health. We can, however, make some sound assumptions based on the differences between each type of meat.

Does Quality Really Matter?

When researchers compared grass-fed beef to conventional, grain-fed beef, grass-fed beef had elevated precursors for Vitamins A and E, more of the health-promoting fatty acids CLA and Omega 3s, and more cancer-fighting antioxidants such as glutathione and superoxide dismutase. Conventional grain fed beef, on the other hand, has much lower levels of this health promoting compounds, while simultaneously providing us with more inflammatory fats like omega 6s, a small dose of antibiotics, and a higher risk of bacterial infection from salmonella.

This is part of the reason why many studies find meat to increase the risk of cancer because they use meat from sick, fat, and unhealthy animals.

When it comes to promoting health and preventing cancer, 100% grass-fed and grass finished pastured red meat is the best meat to have. Make sure you prepare it in the ways that we discussed earlier in this article to ensure that you don’t have any unhealthy compounds with your healthy meat.

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The Most Potent, Anti-Inflammatory Everyday Foods

According to Medical News Today, nearly 75% of all deaths in the United States are attributed to just ten causes. Eight of the ten, which include heart disease, cancer, chronic lower respiratory disease, stroke, Alzheimer’s, diabetes, kidney disease, and even suicide, are directly linked to chronic inflammation.

In fact, by simply lowering the levels of inflammation in the body we can prevent, slow the progression of, and, in some cases, reverse each of those eight causes of death. This would leave us with influenza and accidents at the top of the list, but the severity and likelihood of influenza would be reduced with an anti-inflammatory diet.

This means that if we all adopt an anti-inflammatory lifestyle, the only thing that can get in our way of living a fulfilling and healthy life is an accident or the inevitable aging. But even the effects of aging are caused by low-grade inflammation. In many scientific papers, this process is called “inflammaging” and it is the reason why your brain and body just don’t function like they used to as you age. But this process too can be slowed down tremendously by adopting an anti-inflammatory lifestyle.

What is an Anti-Inflammatory Lifestyle?

Let’s keep it simple. To maintain lower levels of inflammation we need to move more, sleep better, and eat right by eating anti-inflammatory foods instead of inflammatory foods.

So let’s start with the food we should eat because just eating the right food will make it easier to eat less, move more, sleep better, and stress less.

   Related: What Causes Chronic Inflammation, and How To Stop It For Good

Anti-Inflammatory Foods

When you replace inflammatory foods with fruits, vegetables, herbs, and other anti-inflammatory foods you will decrease the levels of inflammation in your body, which will lead to a reduction in cravings and the amount of food you eat, an increase in your energy levels and sleep quality, and a decrease in stress and anxiety.

A food is anti-inflammatory when it contains vitamins, minerals, fiber, and other beneficial compounds that act together with our body to promote the health of our cells. Think whole foods. Although you are safe in assuming that any organic fruit, vegetable, herb, nut, or seed comes with their own anti-inflammatory effects (as long as you are not allergic and they aren’t fried, overcooked, or otherwise processed), there are some foods and beverages that, without a doubt, have potent anti-inflammatory effects that help boost cellular health, reduce aging, and reverse disease.

The 11 Most Effective Anti-Inflammatory Foods and Beverages

Sesame seeds, Flaxseeds, and Chia Seeds

Consuming seed oils on their own is strongly advised against, but when they are eaten freshly ground, seeds are filled with anti-inflammatory and health promoting compounds. For example, sesame seeds, flaxseeds, and chia seeds all have a high lignan content, which has protective effects against inflammation, carcinogens, and cancer.

Flaxseeds are the richest dietary source of lignan precursors, while sesame seeds offer the highest amount of phytosterols of all nuts and seeds. Phytosterols are important because they decrease blood cholesterol levels and reduce the risk of developing certain types of cancer. They may also be what makes sesame seeds a potential treatment for the symptoms of osteoarthritis.

Related: Homemade, Vegan Nut Milk Recipes and More

Chia seeds contain more ALA, or Alpha-linoleic acid, than any other seed. ALA is most widely known as a plant source of EPA ad DHA for the body, but only a small percentage of it is actually converted to EPA and DHA. However, ALA still may help reduce inflammation in the colon making it a potential treatment for colitis.

It is best to consume sesame seeds, flaxseeds, and chia seeds ground or crushed right before consumption. Use them in dressings, dipping sauces, salads, or smoothies.

Soaked chia seeds can also be used as an egg replacement in baking recipes. However, it is important to avoid roasted seeds because they will contain rancid oils that make them pro-inflammatory.

Hibiscus Tea

Green tea is widely known as a healthy beverage, especially matcha green tea, which has more antioxidants than normal green tea. However, matcha green tea comes with around 70 mg of caffeine per cup. Although the caffeine content is lower than a cup of coffee, it is still high enough to affect the mind and body. Doses of caffeine as low as 12.5 mg can create a powerful response in the body, so if you would rather not expose yourself to the increased stress response and addictive qualities that caffeine provides, hibiscus is the best option.

Hibiscus tea is actually a better option for reducing inflammation than any other tea because it elicits much more antioxidant and anti-inflammation activity in the body, and it has no caffeine at all.

Hibiscus tea also tastes better than green tea (in my opinion). I prefer to cold brew it overnight with a little bit of lemon juice to make a refreshing drink I can sip throughout the day.

Berries

There are hundreds of types of berries in the world and all of them contain different anthocyanins, which are flavonoids responsible for their distinctive colors of red, blue, and purple. These flavonoids also have powerful anti-inflammatory effects.

Wild blueberries, for example, have been found to improve memory in older adults, which suggests that they protect the brain from inflammation. Other berries like cranberries, elderberries, currants, acai berry, goji berries, and amla fruit have different flavonoids that have potent anti-inflammatory effects on other parts of the body as well.

Amla fruit, in particular, may have the most potent anti-inflammatory benefits of all the berries, with more antioxidant activity than blueberries, 20 times more vitamin C than lemon juice, 30 times more polyphenols than red wine, and more gallic acid (a potent antioxidant) than any other fruit.

Citrus Fruits

Citrus fruits, like lemons, limes, oranges, and grapefruit, contain flavonoids that have anti-inflammatory and anti-cancer effects on damaged cells. Studies have found that citrus fruits have little to no effect on healthy cells so, even in high doses, citrus flavonoids are non-toxic.

Virgin Olive Oil

Virgin olive oil contains numerous health promoting compounds. One of the most studied compounds found in virgin olive oil is a phenolic compound called oleocanthal.

Oleocanthal possesses similar anti-inflammatory properties to ibuprofen. This makes virgin olive oil a great addition to the diet to help reduce acute and chronic inflammation.

However, some of the fats in olive oil can become rancid at temperatures higher than 300 degrees Fahrenheit so it is important to consume it in its uncooked form. Put it on your salads and vegetables to add some healthy fats your meal and increase the absorption of vitamins A and K from the vegetables, while you reap the benefits of olive oil’s healing properties.

Turmeric

Most of us have probably heard about the healing properties of turmeric, and the rumors are true. Even Dr. Axe refers to it as the “most powerful herb on the planet at fighting and potentially reversing disease”.

This is because turmeric contains curcumin, a phenolic compound that is responsible for turmeric’s yellow color, and its ability to help heal cells throughout the body. So far we have found curcumin to be a potential treatment for Alzheimer’s, heart disease, autoimmune diseases, gastrointestinal diseases, and cancer.

Related: How to Optimize Curcumin Absorption – With Golden Milk Tea Recipe

Cloves

This spice is commonly used in pumpkin pie to give it that extra cinnamon-like kick, but you may not know that cloves have the highest antioxidant content of any spice or herb that scientists have measured.
Cloves protect the body by eradicating harmful bacteria, fungi, and yeast, including giardia and candida. Insulin resistance and obesity may be ameliorated by cloves as well.

I prefer to consume cloves in the form of tea to help relieve a sore throat and improve my energy levels. You can also add it to smoothies, hot beverages, sauces, and soups to give them some extra flavor.

Garlic (and other vegetables from the Allium family)

Garlic has been used for centuries as a prophylactic and a treatment for many diseases. It is rich in organosulfur compounds, which give it its potent flavor, taste, and healing abilities. In fact, garlic has been found to reduce the size of tumors and activate important anti-oxidant enzymes in the body that help protect our cells from cancer, infection, and disease.

Garlic, onions, leeks, and other vegetables from the Allium family all contain allicin. This is an active compound that activates anti-inflammatory and anti-oxidative activities that protect us from disease, and it may even have neuroprotective effects against brain injury.

Related: Things You Should Know About Garlic – DIY, Recipes, Other Tips

Broccoli Sprouts (and other cruciferous vegetables)

Many cruciferous vegetables are filled with vitamins K and A, which are essential for our health, but have you heard of sulforaphane? This is a compound that is created when we crush or chew cruciferous vegetables, and broccoli sprouts add more of this compound to our diet than any other cruciferous vegetable.
Why does it matter? Because sulforaphane has anti-cancer and anti-inflammatory properties, which boost brain function and even protect us from the flu and environmental pollutants.

You can easily grow your own broccoli sprouts at home. If you start today, they will be ready to eat in less than a week. You can add your fresh sprouts to salads and smoothies or have them as a snack.

Coconut Oil

There is a lot of controversy surrounding saturated fats, but the truth is that they aren’t the problem that we once thought they were. The perfect example of how saturated fats can be good for you is found when we consume coconut oil.

Related: 35 Things You Could Do With Coconut Oil – From Body Care to Health to household

In a randomized, double-blind, clinical trial, coconut oil supplementation promoted a reduction in abdominal fat and kept blood lipids under control, while soybean oil caused an increase in total cholesterol and a decrease in HDL cholesterol. This is most likely due to a reduction in inflammation caused by consuming coconut oil and an increase in inflammation caused by consuming soybean oil.

Related: Powerfully Healing Raspberry Cream Smoothie Recipe

Avocado

Avocados are primarily made up of monounsaturated fatty acids – a type of fat that reverses inflammation. It may even reverse the inflammation caused by some types of saturated fats. This is because monounsaturated fatty acids activate anti-inflammatory processes in the body while being extremely stable. On the other hand, fats like omega 6s and omega 3s are highly unstable, which is why they can create harmful oxidants and increase inflammation in the body. Monounsaturated fats, however, are so stable that they only improve our health.

In fact, Monounsaturated fat is so stable that it can be heated to around 500 degrees Fahrenheit without becoming rancid, which makes it a great cooking oil.

But it’s not just all about the fat. Avocados also contain other compounds like mannoheptulose, which may help reverse obesity and diabetes.

Putting It All Together

You can literally combine each one of these anti-inflammatory foods into a delicious meal. Get your notepad ready.

Step 1

Get your cruciferous greens and put them in a bowl. They will be the base of your meal.

Step 2

Put some avocado slices, broccoli sprouts, and wild blueberries on top.

Step 3

In a small bowl, combine virgin olive oil with crushed garlic, lemon juice, chopped up turmeric slices, and apple cider vinegar.

Step 4

Grind some chia seeds, flaxseeds, or sesame seeds and put them on top of your salad. Finish it off with your olive oil based dressing.

Step 5

While you enjoy your anti-inflammatory meal, start brewing some ground clove and hibiscus tea. To give it a creamy and frothy feel, put about a tablespoon of coconut oil and blend it up when it’s finished brewing.

Related: Detox Cheap and Easy Without Fasting – Recipes Included

But What about Omega 3s!?

After digging through the research, it’s hard to justify putting seafood on the list of anti-inflammatory foods. It is commonly believed that the omega 3s called DHA and EPA that are found in seafood help prevent heart disease and inflammation, but studies on omega 3 supplementation have not consistently shown this effect. The association between eating fish and a reduction in heart disease risk is better explained by the fact that people who eat more fish tend to have healthier lifestyles.

It is important to mention that even though they are not on this list, seafood and other animal products contain many different antioxidants, vitamins, and amino acids that are essential for maintaining health. But even high-quality meat and fish may still cause a small inflammatory response, which is why they didn’t make our list of anti-inflammatory foods.

Conclusion

This is by no means a comprehensive list of foods that fight inflammation. This article just contains the most well-researched anti-inflammatory foods that have been studied so far (that I could find).

The truth is that there are thousands upon thousands of different compounds in plants that influence our bodies, and we have only studied the effects of a small fraction of them.

The most important thing you can do after reading this article is to eat a wide variety of whole vegetables, fruits, herbs, nuts, and seeds to ensure that you are nourished. If you do this and ignore all the foods listed above you will still decrease your inflammation levels. This is because you are eating less inflammatory foods and eating more fiber, which feeds the probiotics in your gut that help protect your gut lining and produce anti-inflammatory by-products.

But if you continue eating inflammatory foods every day, they will undermine all the positive effects you can get from eating anti-inflammatory foods.

For more on what an inflammatory food is and how they cause inflammation, see Chronic Inflammation: How You Are Causing It and How You To Be Rid Of It and What Causes Chronic Inflammation, and How To Stop It For Good.

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Chronic Inflammation: How You Are Causing It and How You To Be Rid Of It

You’re (probably) inflamed right now.

But it’s okay, your body is just trying to save your life.

Somewhere in your body, there is a cell that has been damaged by a harmful stimulus. This stimulus could be from foreign matter that is toxic to the body, blunt trauma, or degeneration caused by a lack of nutrition. In response to the damage, your immune system is activated to help repair or replace the cells. White blood cells and other blood components flow to the site of trauma, blood vessels begin to leak into the damaged tissues, and that area becomes more sensitive to all other potentially harmful stimuli. Once the tissue is repaired and cleaned up by the immune system the injury returns to its natural state, inflammation-free.

This process is known as acute inflammation. This is the way your body heals any damage that is done to your cells, and it only lasts for the duration of the injury.

For example, you most likely experienced acute inflammation the last time you stubbed your toe. You hit your toe really hard on a piece of furniture, so fluid was drawn to the area (swelling) and white blood cells came to the rescue. The damaged tissue was repaired, waste was discarded, and after a couple days you forgot that anything ever happened to your toe. But sometimes inflammation can stick around for months, years, or even decades.

When The Toe Stubbing Doesn’t Stop

If you keep stubbing your toe, the cells will never be able to heal and the inflammatory process will keep happening. Inflammation that doesn’t go away is known as chronic inflammation. But if you have chronic inflammation, it is (hopefully) not being caused by you repeatedly stubbing your toe.

Chronic inflammation is caused by having an internal environment that damages our cells. Consider diet. Food that not conducive to cell health damages cells. Chronic inflammation happens because the body is consuming substances that cause damage.

Reversing Chronic Inflammation

The causes of chronic inflammation are influenced by our environment, our genetics, and most importantly, our habits. Many of us don’t have nearly enough control over our environment to ensure it is the healthiest possible, and genetic manipulation is still l a ways off. For almost everyone, chronic inflammation can be prevented and even reversed by eating the right foods and eliminating the wrong ones. Spoiler alert: the right foods are whole foods and the wrong foods are processed!

What Are Inflammatory Foods?

An inflammatory food is any food that creates an inflammatory response regardless of who consumes it. But how do we know what foods cause inflammation?

Scientists tend to measure the levels of C-reactive protein and specific immunoglobulins in the blood to detect inflammation levels, but it’s not feasible for you to test your blood after every meal, so what can you do?

Pay attention to how you feel after each meal.  Tiredness, anxiety, achiness, depression, a constricted feeling in the abdomen or back, a lack of energy, and decreased cognitive function in response to a meal are all signs that the food that you ate caused an inflammatory response. Food should make you feel better and function more efficiently, it shouldn’t be a crutch.

If you continue to eat inflammatory foods, your body will be in a chronic state of inflammation, which can cause and accelerate the progression of heart disease, Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), diabetes, and cancer. Inflammatory foods also damage parts of your brain that regulate your appetite and body weight, which will cause you to eat more, store more fat, and become diabetic.

Fortunately, when we reduce our consumption of inflammatory foods, the cells in our brain, blood vessels, and body can finally heal.

The Foods That We Should Never Eat

Highly Refined Foods

All highly refined foods create an inflammatory response. This includes “foods” like cookies, cakes, chips, doughnuts, pizza, cereal, soft drinks, and french fries. These and many other common “food” products are so far removed from real food that they contain high sugar, high fat, rancid oils, synthetic chemicals like pesticides and flavorings, and almost all of the fiber, antioxidants, vitamins, and minerals are removed. This is a recipe for inflammation.

Think about your favorite highly refined “food” – the one you think you can’t do without. Now, let’s explore what happens in your body when you eat that food.

As every bite of that food reaches your small intestine, your body diverts its attention to dealing with the excess fat, sugar, and potentially harmful chemicals. Your body tries to keep your blood sugar at safe levels by shuttling the excess energy into your cells, so it can be used as fuel by the mitochondria (the part of your cell that produces all of its energy).

During this process, harmful molecules called reactive oxygen species are created, which impair the function of the cells throughout your body as they accumulate. To clean up the reactive oxygen species and the damage they cause, our body uses antioxidants. However, the level of antioxidants in your body depends on the food you eat.

For example, Vitamin C, Vitamin E, and glutathione are some of the most powerful antioxidants we use to protect and heal our cells, but we can’t create Vitamin C and E on our own and we need specific amino acids and sulfur-rich foods to help boost glutathione levels.

After weeks of eating these highly refined foods, your mitochondria will start to malfunction and your body will become chronically inflamed because it is getting too much fat and sugar with almost no help from vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants.

Eventually, you’ll go to the doctor, and she or he may diagnose you with a disease like heart disease or diabetes, an autoimmune condition, or cancer. It will most likely be a condition that you are genetically predisposed to, but your genetics are only partially to blame. Eating high calorie, high fat, or high sugar foods that lack fiber, vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants are most likely the main culprit.

Eliminating all highly refined foods from your diet is a great way to radically change your health for the better, however, there are many other food items that can cause inflammation regardless of their calorie content.

Vegetable Oils

Dietary fat comes in many different shapes and sizes. For example, vegetable, seed, and soybean oils are filled with polyunsaturated inflammatory Omega 6 fats. Inflammatory omega 6s create an inflammatory response. When most of the fat in our diet comes from omega 6s, this will create higher levels of inflammation within the body.

Unfortunately, all of the most easily commonly accessible oils and processed foods are filled with unhealthy, inflammatory oils. There are anti-inflammatory fats, many of which are within the Omega-3 category. These fats promote the inflammatory reduction process. There are also healthy fats the aid int he inflammatory process. We need both. Both are good for us. But heavily cooked, overly processed, rancid fats are never good for us. And these fats lead to the inflammation cycle that is the cause of most modern diseases.

Rancid Oils and Trans Fat

Before you rush to the store to get a salmon filet or fish oil that is packed with omega 3s, it is important to know that all polyunsaturated fats, including omega 3s, are highly unstable. This means that sunlight and heat can render omega 6s and omega 3s rancid, which will make them both toxic to the body. This happens with cooking fish too, but the method of cooking can make a difference, and less well-done fish has more beneficial fatty acids left. The same thing happens when we ingest trans fats, which includes all fully and partially hydrogenated oils.

Factory Farmed Animal Products

Many studies show that animal products like heavy cream and red meat cause a spike in inflammation after consumption. However, it is important to consider the source of the animal products. It is rare to find a study that will pay attention to the quality of the animal products that are used. Scientists are most likely using cheap animal products that are sourced from sick animals that were fed pesticide ridden foods and antibiotics. This leads to animal products that cause a massive spike in inflammation.

Animal products that come from pastured, humanely-raised animals contain more CLA, glutathione, and other beneficial compounds than their conventional, factory-farmed counterparts. CLA and glutathione are both anti-inflammatory molecules that play a major role in reversing many diseases and releasing fat from the body. Pastured animal products are also likely to have less omega 6s.

Related: Why Chronic Pain is Such a Pain and What You Can Do about It

Charred, Smoked, Overcooked, and Fried Foods

How you cook your meat and vegetables could make a nutritious meal into a cancerous substance. When we char or smoke our food, it vastly increases its carcinogenic properties and creates a potent inflammatory response in the body.

Cooking your fats and fatty foods at high temperatures will also render the fats rancid, especially if you are using any vegetable oils or other oils that are high in polyunsaturated fats.

It is best to cook your meat at low temperatures for a longer period of time (think “low and slow”). This ensures that the fat will be stable, the meat won’t be charred, and you will be able to reap all the health benefits of high-quality meat (The same applies to pastured eggs, although it may be best to consume them raw).

But even the highest quality meat and dairy products should be eaten in moderation because they may still cause an increase in inflammation and cancer cell growth. If you accompany your meat with vegetables and herbs, you can get all of the benefits of meat with little to no inflammatory response.

Related: Advanced Glycated End Products

Other Things to Consider

Artificial sweeteners like sucralose, MSG, and pesticides like glyphosate all have a substantial impact on our inflammatory response. Sucralose and other artificial sweeteners may actually blunt our immune response, creating an ideal environment for infectious bacteria and parasites.

MSG directly creates an inflammatory response in the liver and can lead to central obesity and type 2 diabetes. Glyphosate creates inflammation indirectly by damaging the gut wall, which causes the immune system to overreact to previously harmless foods. This means consuming pesticide ridden foods like GMOs and conventional fruits and vegetables can cause leaky gut and food intolerance.

The Quickest Way to Reduce Your Inflammation Levels

We covered a lot about inflammatory foods and their effects, but we still didn’t come close to explaining it all.

Let’s sum it up with the four inflammatory food groups that should never be in any human (or animal) diet:

  1. All highly refined foods, high sugar, high fat, and low fiber foods (cookies, cakes, candy, cereal, doughnuts, etc.)
  2. All vegetable, seed, and soy oils
  3. All pesticide ridden foods like GMO corn, GMO soy, and most conventional fruits and vegetables
  4. All factory-farmed, non-pastured animal products

And never buy these things again.

Replace all of those inflammatory foods with foods that contain anti-inflammatory compounds like organic vegetables, fruits, and herbs that are minimally cooked, and raw nuts and seeds. Each one has a variety of vitamins and minerals, high fiber, and other unique beneficial compounds that improve your health. Make sure you eat a wide variety of different vegetables, fruits, herbs, nuts, and seeds. These should make up almost all of your main course with a side dish of high quality pastured animal products at some of your meals.

By eating in this way, we will provide our body the nutrients and antioxidants we need to stave off mitochondrial dysfunction and promote the health of every cell in the body. In other words, your cells will rarely stub their toes.

Related: Understanding and Detoxifying Genetically Modified Foods

How to Check Your Inflammation Levels

To track your inflammation levels, get a normal blood panel and check your C-reactive protein levels. C-reactive protein is created by the liver when there is inflammation in the body, so it is a great indicator for the level of inflammation in the body. It is commonly suggested to keep your C-reactive protein level Below 1 mg/L, but Dr. Chris Masterjohn suggests that it is better to keep it lower than .07 mg/L.

Read through The Most Potent, Anti-Inflammatory Everyday Foods to find out the specific foods that are best at lowering your inflammation levels.

Further Reading:
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Greens Nutrition Powder DIY – Could This Replace Our Veggies?

Vegetables are an important part of our diet, but are they really that important?

Yes.

Skip to How To Make Your Own Greens Powder

The evidence for why we should eat more vegetables keeps on growing. A lower incidence of cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes, stroke, eye disease, asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, osteoporosis, and many forms of cancer are all associated with higher vegetable consumption.

Even with all of the evidence supporting the fact that increasing your vegetable consumption is one of the best things you can do for your health, 87% of the United States population did not meet vegetable intake recommendations from 2007 to 2010. This percentage is based on the CDC recommendation to eat two to three cups of vegetables daily, an amount you can easily eat in one meal if you have two sides of vegetables, and only 13% of the population was able to do it.

But that was back before 2010, things must have changed for the better, right?

In a study conducted by the Produce for Better Health Foundation, they found that vegetable and fruit consumption has declined by 7% from 2009 to 2014. They are expecting a growth in vegetable and fruit consumption by 4% in the next 5 years, but an important question still remains. Why are we still struggling to eat more vegetables?

Human Nature Trumps Logic

It doesn’t matter how much evidence supports a specific lifestyle change, humans will always crave certainty and simplicity. Why bother to use fresh produce and spend precious time making something that you and your family may not like when you can get a pre-made meal?

Even though many other factors are involved in our behavior, it is important to recognize that our brains tend to value simplicity and certainty over logic and evidence. Our brains are just not made to handle the complexities of life, but they do know what tastes good and what feels good and would much rather stick to that.

This is part of the reason why most of us will revert back to our old habits after starting a new diet. It doesn’t mean you have a lack of discipline or that you will never be healthy, it simply means that you are fighting against human nature, and human nature always wins, eventually. The key to adopting a healthy lifestyle is to make human nature work for you, not against you.

Related: 8 Easy Steps to Health & Detox Cheap and Easy Without Fasting – Recipes Included

Making Health Easy

71% of American adults consume supplements daily, which is much higher than the 13% who consume two to three cups of vegetables daily. This statistic is a stunningly accurate depiction of human nature. Even without evidence to back up the claims of most supplements, we gravitate toward them like flies to a fly trap. Supplements are so irresistible because, when they work, they make health easier. All you have to do is swallow a capsule and you magically heal your joints or cure your inflammation. Everyone will sign up for that!

Quality supplements are a win-win for your mind and body and a great way to make human nature work for you, not against you. However, it is impossible to take supplements that contain all the benefits and nutrition that are found in fruits and vegetables. The whole vegetable is more nutritious than the sum of its parts, especially when those parts are heavily processed to form a supplement.

But what about greens powder supplements? Over the past decade, green nutrition powder supplements have exploded onto the supplement scene, challenging our definition of what a “whole food” really is.

An Easy Way to Get Your Vegetables?

Vegetable dehydration has been used by humans for hundreds, if not thousands, of years to keep the food from spoiling and maintain the integrity of most of its nutrients. If you then put those dehydrated vegetables into a high-speed blender, you will have a greens powder that is easier to consume than a fast food meal and much healthier than not having any quality produce at all.

Before you order a container of greens powder, you must know that nearly one-third of greens powder supplements don’t live up to their dietary claims and may actually be harmful, according to a report from ConsumerLab.com. One of the supplements mentioned in this report was Vibrant Health’s “Green Vibrance” product, which contained roughly 24 micrograms of the carcinogen arsenic per .4-ounce serving. This far exceeds the 10-mcg-per-34-ounce safety limit established by the Environmental Protection Agency.

This doesn’t mean that you should disregard all greens powder supplements. The same ConsumerLab.com report found that Green Max Powder from Swanson and Juice Plus+ Garden Blend capsules are trustworthy and safe products.

High-quality greens powders still will not have the same benefits as eating whole fruits and vegetables. This is partly because light, air, and heat exposure can render some of the vitamins and other nutrients in fruits and vegetables useless to our body. And there is no way of guaranteeing that the supplement you are taking hasn’t been exposed to too much light, air, or heat, rendering vulnerable vitamins like C, E, K, A, B-6, and B-12 inactive.

Even if some of the vitamins are destroyed during processing, greens powders will still contain many of the same nutrients and antioxidants that you will find in whole vegetables, making this one of the few supplements capable of living up to its health claims. The only way to ensure that you have a nutritious greens powder that lives up to the hype is by making it yourself.  It is a simple and easy way to promote your health and the health of the environment.

The Power of Making Your Own Greens Supplement

In the United States, 30 to 40 percent of the food supply is made up of food waste, and edible food scraps like carrot greens, beet greens, and greens that are not “perfect” make up a portion of this food waste. Carrot greens and beet greens are as nutritious as the carrots and beets that we eat, but what are you supposed to do with them? And what can you do with the leftover greens before they go bad?

Dehydrate them and blend them into a fine powder, and you will have your own nutrient-packed greens powder that helps you and the environment.

How To Make Your Own Greens Powder

You don’t need a laboratory to make your own greens powder – all you need is greens, a source of consistent dry heat, and a high-speed blender.

Step 1

Gather all the greens that will not make it into your meals. Beet greens, carrot greens, spinach, kale, arugula, chard, lettuce, and even sprouts like broccoli sprouts will be perfect additions to your greens powder.

Tip: blanching your leafy greens for four minutes will help to increase the shelf-life of your greens powder, but it comes with the risk of destroying some vitamins. Personally, I have never blanched my greens before dehydrating them, and they have kept well for over 3 months. However, it is important to mention that I have no way of measuring their quality other than smell and taste.

Step 2

Rinse and lay your greens out so that they have consistent ventilation and exposure to heat. This is harder to do by sun drying or using the oven, so it is best to use a dehydrator.

Tip: Make sure your vegetables are dehydrating in an environment with lower humidity. More moisture means longer dehydrating times and a greater chance of spoilage.

Product Suggestion: The Nesco FD-75A Snackmaster Pro Food Dehydrator is a reliable dehydrator that I have used for almost two years without any problems. Its lowest setting is 95 degrees Fahrenheit, so it ensures that the vitamins will not be denatured by heat.

Step 3

Let the vegetables dehydrate at temperatures around 100 degrees Fahrenheit to preserve their vitamins.

Take them out of the dehydrator when they are completely dry and crisp to the touch.

This may take between 12 and 72 hours depending on the quantity and type of greens you are dehydrating.

Tip: If you are dehydrating greens with the stems attached, it will take about 12-24 hours longer for the stem to fully dry.

Step 4

Take your dehydrated greens, put them in a blender, blend them into a fine powder.

Tip: Add powdered stevia if you’d like to give it a sweeter taste.

Product Suggestion: The NutriBullet works really well for making greens powder.

Step 5

You now have your own greens powder!

Store it in a glass container in a dry environment.

Tip: Store it in a tinted jar, like a Miron violet glass jar, to protect it from light damage. You can also add a silicone moisture packet to ensure that moisture doesn’t spoil your powder.

The Easiest Way to Supplement Your Diet With More Vegetables

Now you have your own homemade greens powder with (almost) all of the vitamins and antioxidants intact, along with some of the enzymes and phytonutrients. Add a tablespoon or two of your homemade greens powder to soups, salads, dressings, sauces, or smoothies. With just one tablespoon, you will supplement your meal with almost two cups of vegetables without any extra preparation. Then add in these salad and lemonade recipes into your life and see how that feels.

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How to Read Food Labels and Avoid Toxic Ingredients

Grocery shopping has become hazardous to our health. We are told that whatever is sold from a grocery store shelf has been approved as safe, and the health-isle food is healthy. The truth is that there are actually many harmful additives in processed food and very little nutrition. It’s difficult for the layman to know this when the chemicals are disguised or not labeled. Shopping with an untrained, uneducated eye is becoming detrimental to our health.

In the not too distant past, foods without pesticides and herbicides were the norm. Our soil was rich with nutrients and the ingredients we used for recipes were not enriched or processed. It was easier for families to eat more wholesome and natural foods baked from scratch. Nowadays, the majority of our food supply is manufactured in a laboratory from substances that were not intended for the body. Even cooking from scratch has become a health concern because the individual ingredients going into the freshly cooked food are either genetically modified or loaded with pesticides and herbicides. Without a trained eye and an understanding of how to read labels, even home cooked meals can be hazardous to your health.

Processed Food, Comes In a Package With Ingredients Listed

If you are sick, do not trust anyone else with your health, especially not a corporation. That means you prepare your own food. Processed foods are stripped of many of the natural nutrients, and when fortified, it’s done with synthetic vitamins and minerals that are not bioavailable. Food products are often bleached, pasteurized, deodorized, and have chemical ingredients added to them that are not put on the ingredients label. Often times, artificial preservatives are used in order for the product to taste fresh when it’s purchased a few years later. There are preservatives that do not have to be listed.

But everyone eats processed foods sometimes, so how do we make the best choices? The first dead giveaway that a product is laden with food additives and chemicals is the long list of hard to pronounce ingredients that don’t sound like food. Unfortunately, the food additives lurking in most packaged foods are dangerous to your health. Studies have shown that many of these toxic additives can make you fat, and are a catalyst for the onset of debilitating diseases such as cancer, diabetes, heart disease, high blood pressure, hormonal imbalances, and more.

Related: Foods That Feed Candida

Enriched and Fortified = Synthetic Nutrients

You can be certain that a product will contain synthetic nutrients if the packaging is labeled with the term “enriched” or “fortified” in the description. This ambiguous term describes most of the refined conventional grain products such as pasta and spaghetti, macaroni, white rice, and white breads. Baked goods will also usually contain this indication on the label.  Lately, even the preferred organic versions of these grains also contain enriched ingredients, so be absolutely certain to check the labels and stand clear of “enriched” products!

Be aware that during the processing, all of the much needed natural nutrients are unfortunately stripped out of the grain to make it appear white. Then, synthetic B nutrients known as Niacin, reduced iron, thiamine mononitrate and riboflavin are added to the ingredients in order to make the food “appear” healthy. Synthetic B nutrients are chemically derived using formaldehyde and petroleum and as you may have guessed, they are actually very unhealthy! In the long run, it is easy to avoid synthetic nutrients if you want to by purchasing organic whole grains and organic pasta without the “enriched” ingredients. In fact, Basmati and Jasmine rice are naturally white grains that can be found next to the conventional brands on the shelves of your local supermarket. Mix it up a little bit and try other healthier grains such as couscous, nutritious quinoa, organic polenta (corn meal–to avoid GMO), amaranth, brown rice, millet and more.

Genetically Modified Organisms, GMOs

The four primary genetically modified cash crops in the USA and abroad are soy, corn, canola, and sugar beets. Derivatives of these foods can be found in over 70 percent of the products in your local grocery store, Whole Foods and Trader Joe’s included. The main reason the plants are genetically modified is so they can handle higher amounts of herbicide. Bacterial genes are inserted that allow them to survive doses of herbicide that would otherwise kill them under normal circumstances. Luckily for us, the current regulation ensures by definition that Certified Organic food cannot be GMO, therefore, it should be fairly easy to buy organic soy milk, tofu, tempeh, cornmeal, polenta, and canola oil if you visit the local health food store. The challenge comes with the packaged food. Most packaged foods contain fillers like soybean oil, soy protein, and high fructose corn syrup. Those packaged foods produced by healthy brands may have all organic ingredients but many do not.

The surest way to protect yourself from eating these foods is by making recipes from scratch from whole foods without fillers and preservatives.

Related: Understanding and Detoxifying Genetically Modified Foods

High Fructose Corn Syrup

High fructose corn syrup, a.k.a. HFCS  is a sugar derived from corn. The corn from which it is derived is almost always genetically modified. Currently, it is unfortunate for the consumer that genetically engineered ingredients are not labeled in the U.S. Just knowing that corn is typically genetically modified will help you choose organic versions of corn products.

High fructose corn syrup has been known to cause gastrointestinal distress and elevated triglycerides. It is also associated with blood sugar problems, depression, fatigue, B-vitamin deficiency, hyperactivity, heart disease, diabetis,  tooth decay, and periodontal disease. Large amounts of HFCS has caused tumors in mice and may cause a similar result in humans if consumed frequently.

Related: Is Agave Nectar Healthy?

Sneaky HFCS Synonyms

  • Maize syrup
  • Glucose syrup
  • Glucose syrup
  • Fructose syrup
  • Tapioca syrup
  • Dahlia syrup
  • Fruit fructose
  • Crystalline fructose
  • Dahlia syrup

MSG – Monosodium Glutamate

MSG is monosodium glutamate, a flavor enhancer added to most processed food to make it taste good. This substance crosses the blood-brain barrier and quite literally excites your brain cells to death. In infants and children, the blood-brain barrier is not fully developed, sadly making MSG even more harmful to young ones.

The harmful component of MSG is the glutamate. Glutamic acid is an essential amino acid found in protein and required for the human body to be healthy. It is the L-glutamic acid that is the part of the protein that your body needs. When glutamic acid is manufactured, it contains both L-glutamic acid and D-glutamic acid. D-glutamic acid occurs as a result of the manufacturing process only. It is not a part of the protein and your body does not have a need for it. MSG is a neurotoxin, making it highly toxic to your nervous system. There is a loophole in MSG regulation that allows food manufacturers to include some MSG in your food without labeling it. In order for food companies to list MSG as an ingredient, the glutamic acid content in the food must be 79% or greater. If there is 78% or less of glutamic acid in the substance, the food companies are not required to include MSG in the labels. They are also not required to list the chemicals that are used to derive certain ingredients on the label either. Therefore there is loads of MSG in foods that the untrained and uneducated shopper are not aware of.  MSG can be hidden in many ingredients that the average consumer is not aware of. Ingredients that contain MSG but are not labeled MSG are known as clean label ingredients and used to deceive the consumer.

“Clean Label Ingredients” You Should Avoid

The “Clean label Ingredients” is a marketing phrase to replace “all natural.” There are many MSG “clean label” ingredients identified by Truth in Labelling.org that you should be aware of. The list includes, but is not limited to the following substances:

  • Glutamate
  • Glutamic acid
  • Monosodium glutamate
  • Magnesium glutamate
  • Natrium glutamate
  • Gelatin
  • Calcium caseinate
  • Sodium caseinate
  • Textured protein
  • Hydrolyzed protein (anything hydrolyzed)
  • Yeast nutrient, yeast extract
  • Yeast food
  • Autolyzed yeast
  • Vetsin
  • Ajinomoto

Ingredients That Contain MSG or Create MSG During Processing

According to Truth in Labelling, there are also quite a few ingredients that will often contain MSG or create MSG during the processing:

  • Carrageenan
  • Maltodextrin
  • Malt extract, Malt flavoring
  • Barley malt
  • Citric acid
  • Soy protein concentrate, soy protein isolate, soy protein
  • Whey protein concentrate, Whey protein isolate, whey protein
  • Seasonings
  • Protease, Protease enzymes
  • Pectin
  • Natural Flavor, flavorings
Related: MSG’s Many Side Effects and Aliases

Some Ingredients Work with MSG

You should also be aware that some ingredients work along with MSG and their use typically suggests that the product has MSG in it. Truth in Labeling notes that these ingredients are not likely to be used as food additives if there were no MSG present in the product.

  • Disodium 5-Guanylate
  • Disodium 5-Inosinate
  • Disodium 5-Ribonucleotides

Hydrogenated oils

Fully hydrogenated oils may not contain trans-fat, but research shows that it may be worse than trans fat in that it lowers the good cholesterol more than trans fats and raises blood sugar levels. Hydrogenated oils are associated with heart disease, breast and colon cancer, atherosclerosis and high cholesterol.

Partially hydrogenated fats and oils contain trans fats and are also associated with heart disease, breast and colon cancer, atherosclerosis and high cholesterol. Even if a package claims that No Trans Fats are used, you must read the label to see if it contains partially hydrogenated oils because the government allows companies say “No Trans Fats” if it contains less than 0.5 g of trans fat per serving.

Related: Everything You Should Know About Fat

Cancer Causing Additives

Nitrites and nitrates are used in processed meats and form powerful cancer-causing agents in your body. The FDA knows they’re dangerous but allows these ingredients in food because they prevent botulism. Nitrite-free meets can be found in your health food store. But be sure to read the ingredients on the label and ensure that the food does not contain sodium nitrite, potassium nitrite or anything that has nitrite or nitrate in the name.

According to trusted sources, sodium benzoate is the most widely used preservative in the world. It is typically used in foods, beverages, foods, liquid supplements, toothpaste, oral care products and pharmaceuticals. Sodium benzoate has caused birth defects in lab animals. It can cause skin rashes, gastrointestinal issues, hyperactivity, neurological problems and more. When Sodium benzoate and potassium benzoate are used in a product that contains ascorbic acid or vitamin C, it can form benzene. Benzene is known to cause cancer and cancer kills.

Aspartame

Aspartame is one of the most dangerous food additives on the market today. Drinks, candy, and chewing gum are potential sources of hidden MSG and/or aspartame and neotame. Aspartic acid, found in neotame and aspartame ordinarily causes MSG type reactions in MSG sensitive people. Aspartame is found in some medications, including children’s medications. Neotame is relatively new and we have not yet seen it used widely in the United States.  Aspartame is commonly known as Equal and Nutrasweet. In Europe, it’s called E951. The FDA stopped monitoring adverse toxicity reactions from aspartame in 1995, however before that 92 different adverse reactions from aspartame were reported. Recent studies have shown that aspartame causes cancer in amounts approved for human consumption and it is genetically modified. It’s best to stay away from any products that lists aspartame as an ingredient. Beware of aspartame in chewing gum, breath mints, cereal, frozen desserts, ice cream, gelatin desserts, puddings, cookies, yogurt, frozen yogurt, fruit spreads, sugar-free maple syrup, hard candy, chewable vitamins, laxatives, supplements, medications, prescription drugs, orthodontic elastics, pediatric antibiotics and more! Read the ingredients on the labels very carefully and make sure you do not use any products that contain aspartame.

Sugar Negatively Affects the Absorption of Vitamins and Nutrients

Contrary to popular belief, not all sugar is created equally and most of us are aware of the dangers of consuming too much sugar, whether it be processed sugar from GMO beets or natural sugars.  Some of these dangers include well-known ailments like obesity, insulin spikes, high blood sugar, diabetes and yes, cancer. Too much glucose, a form of sugar can lead to deficiencies in the nutrients that reach your cells. What actually happens is the sugar reduces the absorption of the vitamins and minerals you are getting from the food you consume. There are a few specific vitamins that are affected by the surplus of sugar in your system. Because vitamin C and glucose use the same transporters to the blood, too much sugar intake will slow down the absorption of this nutrient in your body. This can be detrimental as vitamin C is responsible for cell tissue regeneration and a well-functioning immune system. Magnesium is a nutrient that becomes depleted by an over intake of sugar. This is dangerous as magnesium is utilized by all metabolic functions of the body and too much sugar increases magnesium excretion by the kidneys.

I hope you are getting enough Vitamin D which is essential to protect the body from infections, autoimmunity, dementia inflammation and other diseases like cancer. Eating too much sugar in your diet will definitely increase vitamin D deficiency.

Calcium is another nutrient that the body needs. It’s important for bone health among other things. Interestingly, vitamin D works with the calcium in absorption to the cells. In a roundabout way, too much sugar consumption inhibits the body’s ability to take in this nutrient, because the less vitamin D in your system, the less your body is able to absorb calcium from your food.

Related: Healthy Sugar Alternatives and More

Be Mindful of the Ingredients in Your Food

You can start living a healthier lifestyle today by being more mindful of the ingredients in your food. Unfortunately, there isn’t much help from official sources because they are controlled by big corporations interested in raking in the cash — from government agencies to big agricultural and food companies, to research institutes and even congress. They lie and tell us that something is nutritious as long as it helps corporations make a fortune and keeps government officials in office. As a result, people are getting bad information about basic health information. Take control of your life and your diet today, you owe it to yourself!

Recommended Reading:
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Sulforaphane – Why Your Cells Need Cruciferous Vegetables

Sulforaphane is a miraculous compound that enhances brain function, promotes healthy fat distribution, and greatly reduces the risk of cancer, brain diseases, diabetes, and cardiovascular disease. It is like a health insurance policy for your cells. And guess what? It’s all natural. Sounds like another supplement sales pitch, right? That’s what I thought when I first heard about it, but then I dug through the research.

In a scientific article published by Dr. Thomas W. Kensler and his colleagues, sulforaphane is described as one of…

…the most potent naturally occurring inducers of Nrf2 signaling.”

Nrf2 is a cytoprotective (cell-protecting) pathway that protects your cells from oxidative stress and removes toxins from the body. This means that nrf2 plays a key role in preventing and reversing common health issues like:

  • Heart disease
  • Diabetes
  • Cancer
  • Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, traumatic brain injury and other brain diseases
  • Multiple sclerosis
  • ALS
  • Autism and other behavioral disorders
  • Chronic pain
  • Rheumatoid arthritis
  • Asthma

The best part is that you won’t have to climb to the top of a mountain or scavenge the Amazon jungle and sit through a 6-hour ceremony to reap the benefits of nrf2. All you need to do is eat cruciferous vegetables like broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cauliflower, and cabbage. Sulforaphane will be yours.

Related: Foods, Vitamins, and Herbs That Kill Cancer

Where Does Sulforaphane Come From?

Technically, sulforaphane does not naturally occur in cruciferous vegetables. A healthy, mature broccoli plant, for example, will contain no sulforaphane. However, as soon as the plant is damaged an enzyme called myrosinase is released that reacts with glucoraphanin, a compound that is sulforaphane’s precursor.

This process is not a gift from nature to ensure human health, it is actually the plant’s defense mechanism. Sulforaphane is designed to be toxic to the plant’s predators. In fact, it can be toxic to humans in large quantities. For example, when we ingest the majority of our calories from raw cruciferous vegetables, we can impair our thyroid function.

However, in small quantities, sulforaphane creates a hormetic effect. A hormetic effect is what happens when we gain beneficial effects from something that would be toxic or lethal in higher doses. For example, daily cold exposure triggers brown fat production. This is a healthier version of fat that increases our energy and heat production. This means that cold exposure has a hormetic effect on our bodies, but if we are exposed to frigid temperatures for too long, we will begin to accumulate frostbite instead of brown fat.

Although you won’t get frostbite from eating too many cruciferous vegetables, very high intakes of these vegetables have been found to cause hypothyroidism. This is because compounds in cruciferous vegetables called glucosinolates can be broken down into goitrins in the body. These goitrins interfere with the production of thyroid hormones causing hypothyroidism. However, if you maintain an adequate iodine intake, you will need to eat a lot more cruciferous vegetables to experience adverse effects. Fortunately, you won’t have to eat a tremendous amount of cruciferous vegetables. The benefits of sulforaphane can be experienced by eating just 3 to 5 servings per week. In fact, doing this may prevent cancer.

Cancer Prevention? Yeah, That Too

If you dig through the literature on sulforaphane, you will find an abundance of studies on cancer. Sulforaphane has been found to prevent the formation of breast, prostate, colon, skin, lung, stomach, and bladder cancer. One study found that a diet of three to five servings per week of cruciferous vegetables is sufficient to decrease the risk of cancer development by 30% to 40%. It was also found that consuming one portion of cruciferous vegetables per week is associated with a significantly reduced risk of oral cavity and pharynx, esophageal, colorectal, breast, and kidney cancer.

These profound effects are not only due to sulforaphane’s cell protecting properties. Sulforaphane also has the capacity to be selectively toxic to malignant cells, while simultaneously enhancing the detoxification of aflatoxins and airborne toxins like smoke. It also has been shown to have potent affects on the brain.

Brain Transformation

Sulforaphane is essential for brain health, especially in healing damaged brains. In cases of traumatic brain injury and Alzheimer’s disease, sulforaphane has been found to improve memory and learning abilities. Scientists think that this may be associated with its ability to promote neurogenesis and reduce the aluminum load in the brain.

Autism is also positively affected by sulforaphane. In one study, autistic children that supplemented with sulforaphane showed an improvement in social interaction, abnormal behavior, and verbal communication.

Related: Increase your IQ with the Right Foods, Herbs, Vitamins

Fat Loss & Gut Health

Studies have found that sulforaphane triggers the creation of brown fat in mice. Brown fat is a healthier form of fat storage that actually increases energy consumption.

Sulforaphane also improved the gut flora of mice compared to other mice that were fed the same diet without sulforaphane. This may mean that sulforaphane can change our body composition by promoting brown fat storage and a healthy gut flora while staving off unhealthy, inflammatory white fat.

Related: Gluten, Candida, Leaky Gut Syndrome, and Autoimmune Diseases

And There’s More

Studies have also found that sulforaphane aids in the reversal of fatty liver disease, preventing lung damage from inhaled toxins, reducing hypertension, and improving mood.

Okay. That’s it.

I am sure there is more, but that is enough of the science for today. Let’s get practical.

How to Get More Sulforaphane

Simply eating cruciferous vegetables is not enough to guarantee that you are getting sulforaphane in your diet. Many different environmental factors can cause glucoraphanin to not be converted into sulforaphane. And glucoraphanin is useless to the body.

One environmental factor that reduces the production of sulforaphane is heat. Studies have found that exposing cruciferous vegetables to temperatures higher than 158 degrees Fahrenheit deactivated the myrosinase enzyme leading to a sharp decrease in sulforaphane production. This suggests that cooking your cruciferous vegetables will rob you of the benefits of sulforaphane. But before you make a raw kale salad or have some raw broccoli to get your daily dose of sulforaphane, it is important to note that myrosinase activity decreases as the cruciferous vegetable matures. Luckily, there is a much easier and tastier way to increase the amount of sulforaphane in your meals.

The Best Source of Sulforaphane

Even if you eat raw broccoli or cauliflower, you are still getting 10 to 100 times less sulforaphane than when you eat 3-day-old broccoli sprouts. In fact, one ounce of broccoli sprouts can convert to as much sulforaphane as one-and-a-half pounds of mature broccoli. This is mainly because myrosinase activity is increased in young sprouts compared to adult plants. This increase in enzyme activity helps ensure that the vulnerable sprout can protect itself into adulthood.

The increased activity of the myrosinase enzyme in broccoli sprouts also helps you to convert the glucoraphanins from other vegetables in your meal to sulforaphane. You can reap these benefits with every salad by garnishing it with broccoli sprouts. Dr. Rhonda Patrick suggests adding around 2.5 ounces of broccoli sprouts to your daily smoothies, salad, or snack.

Supplementing with Broccoli Sprouts

Buying a broccoli sprout supplement may seem like the best option, but don’t let the tempting price of $10 a month fool you. This will cost you 20x more than buying broccoli sprouts in the store, and supplements can’t even guarantee that the myrosinase enzyme will be present or active.

When you buy fresh broccoli sprouts you can at least guarantee that you are getting sulforaphane in your diet. Store bought broccoli sprouts will cost you about $1 per ounce or you can easily grow them at home for the cost of around 9 cents per ounce.

Related: You Need Sulforaphane – How and Why to Grow Broccoli Sprouts

Conclusion

Sulforaphane is a compound that comes with a list of beneficial effects that gets longer as we continue to study it. You can reap the benefits of sulforaphane by eating around 5 servings of raw or minimally cooked cruciferous vegetables a week. However, the simplest and most effective way to consume sulforaphane is by eating broccoli sprouts.

Just one ounce of broccoli sprouts converts to as much sulforaphane as one-and-a-half pounds of mature broccoli. A reliable source of broccoli sprouts is your local organic food store, but this added expense can easily break your grocery budget. The cheapest way to supplement your diet with broccoli sprouts is by growing them at home. After 5-7 days you can have up to a half pound of sprouts for 10x less than the cost of broccoli sprouts in the store.

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B Vitamins Can Offset Damage From Air Pollutions

Billions of people are exposed to dangerous fine particulate matter, known as PM2.5, from diesel fumes, wood burning stoves, and chemical reactions between other polluting gasses. PM2.5 particles are incredibly tiny, with a diameter less than 2.5 micrometers. They can lodge deep in the lungs and cause heart and lung problems, and they are thought to alter genes associated with the immune system. How do you protect yourself against something with that has the ability to change your DNA? You take B vitamins.

Researchers in the U.S. discovered that four weeks of B vitamin supplementation limited the PM2.5 effects by 28-76% at ten gene locations. Though limited by their small sample size and the high doses of B vitamins in the study, scientists nevertheless saw a connection. The B vitamins made a difference both in epigenetic changes and on a mitochondrial level.

Looking for B Vitamins

B vitamins give us our energy. They provide essential support for neurotransmitters and nerve tissue. The specific B vitamins used in this study were B6, folic acid (or B9), and B12. The inclusion of folic acid and B12 is especially interesting as they are some of the building blocks involved in repairing DNA, and they are involved in the metabolism of every cell in the body. Despite common fear that if you have the gene for something you automatically get it, the body can be influenced. Genes change.

Gun Seeks Magic Bullet

So the question becomes how do we get enough B vitamins to offset that pollution, to support all of those essential processes in the body, and to keep our genes intact or improve them? While we can produce B vitamins in the gut, it doesn’t happen without the right foods or the right gut environment. Fresh, organic vegetables and fruits replenish B vitamins, but the amount of nutrition to be found in our food is declining overall. There’s also the issue of assimilation. A digestive system that isn’t working properly won’t be able to use those vitamins to their best effect. The good news there? Maintaining the same produce rich way of eating that provides and creates B vitamins is the best way to have a healthy digestive system.

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