Nut butter is creamy, delicious, healthy, and versatile. Just one spoonful can fulfill your craving for a sweet and satiating treat that satisfies some of your body’s mineral, vitamin, fiber, and healthy fat needs as well. This makes nut butter a win-win dietary solution.

However, nut butter should only be an addition to your diet and not a staple. There are even some types of nut butter that are so unhealthy that eating them is never a good idea. So, which nut butter should you avoid? Let’s find out.

The Dirty Truth About Nut Butters

You probably know by now that many commercially produced nut butters (like Skippy peanut butter) contain added sugar and fully-hydrogenated or partially-hydrogenated oils. This combination is lethal. The added sugars feed candida, while the hydrogenated oils dramatically increase your risk of heart disease and diabetes.

Related: Candida, Gut Flora, Allergies, and Disease

However, going for the natural peanut butter or almond butter may also cause health issues as well. To figure out which nut butter is best for you, we must explore three of the main health concerns with nut butter.

Related: Natural Diabetes Cure

Three Health Concerns with Natural Nut Butter

Health Concern #1: They Contain Inflammatory Fats

All nuts (except for macadamia nuts) are high in omega-6 polyunsaturated fatty acids. In small quantities, these fatty acids allow for a healthy inflammatory response, but in higher quantities, these fatty acids promote the pathogenesis of many diseases including cardiovascular disease, cancer, and inflammatory and autoimmune diseases. If you consume vegetable oils, canola oil, soybean oil, and/or heavily processed foods daily, then your body will be in a chronic state of inflammation. The same thing will happen if you consume nuts and nut butter as the majority of your daily calories.

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

Health Concern #2: Too Much Processing Oxidizes The Fats

Many nut butters (store-bought and homemade) take the inflammatory effects of omega 6 fatty acids one step further.

How?

During processing, the polyunsaturated fats in the nuts are exposed to heat, air, and light. The omega-6 and omega-3 fatty acids in the nuts will then begin to oxidize into compounds that are as toxic to the body as partially and fully hydrogenated oils.

Related: Healthy Fats the Healthy Way

However, this isn’t the case for every nut butter. Macadamia nut butter and coconut butter, for example, contain high amounts of healthy and stable fats that won’t oxidize during processing. (Side note: coconuts are technically not nuts, but coconut butter will still be included in the nut butter discussion during this article.)

Health Concern #3: Their Phytic Acid Steals Your Minerals

All nuts, beans, seeds, and beans contain phytic acid.

Phytic acid is the principal storage form of phosphorus in many plant tissues. It contains the mineral phosphorus tightly bound in a snowflake-like molecule.

In humans and animals with one stomach, the phosphorus is not readily bioavailable. In addition to blocking phosphorus availability, the phytic acid molecule readily binds with other minerals (like calcium, magnesium, iron, and zinc), making them unavailable as well.

This means that consuming raw (or close to raw) nuts, seeds, grains, and legumes can cause tooth decay, nutrient deficiencies, lack of appetite, and digestive problems. On top of that, phytic acid also can inhibit some of the enzymes we use to digest protein and carbohydrates, leading to more digestive issues.

Does this mean that you should stop eating nuts and nut butter all together?

Related: Homemade Calcium and Magnesium

The Practical Truth About Nuts and Nut Butter

Having some omega-6’s and phytic acid in your diet will do you no harm as long as foods like nuts and nut butter are eaten in moderation. In fact, small amounts of phytates act as an antioxidant in your body and help detoxify toxic metals from the gut. However, if you love nuts like me, it is easy to consume too much phytic acid. A handful and a half of raw almonds or 3-4 tablespoons of raw almond butter, for example, has enough phytic acid to drain your energy and cause digestive issues.

The best way to minimize phytic acid consumption is by soaking and sprouting (when possible) your nuts, seeds, grains, and legumes. Soaking and sprouting raw almonds, for example, can vastly decrease their phytic acid content.

The phytic acid content of most phytic acid containing foods can also be reduced by roasting them. (It is best to roast most nuts at temperatures below 320 degrees Fahrenheit to keep their fatty acids from oxidizing.)

To sum it up in one sentence — the phytic acid and omega 6’s found in nuts and nut butter will not cause issues as long as they are prepared correctly and eaten in moderation.

The Good News About Nut Butter

Now that the unhealthy aspects of nut butter are out of the way, let’s explore what makes it healthy.

Each nut comes with a unique combination of protein, vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, fiber, fats, and phytates that give them specific benefits. Walnuts, for example, prevent heart disease and atherosclerosis, while almonds help improve insulin sensitivity in people with prediabetes. All nuts, in general, help people lose weight and decrease cholesterol and inflammation levels.

This is why nuts and nut butter are a healthy part of almost everyone’s diet, especially if the negative effects of omega 6s, oxidized fats, and phytic acid are mitigated. However, this doesn’t mean that every mindfully made nut butter will be right for you.

Must Read: How to Kill Fungal Infections

What’s The Healthiest Nut Butter? It Depends.

Different nut butters will be healthy for different people at different times. If you have a selenium deficiency, for example, then having a nut butter that contains brazil nuts may be healthiest for you.

3-4 brazil nuts can cover your daily selenium requirements (depending on the soil they are grown in). If you have reproductive issues, autoimmune disease, or thyroid issues (common symptoms of selenium deficiency), then supplementing your diet with brazil nuts may help.

The tastiest way to supplement your diet with brazil nuts is to indulge in a nut butter called Nuttzo Organic Smooth Power Fuel Seven Nut and Seed Butter. This is my favorite nut butter because it is a delicious combination of organic cashews, organic almonds, organic Brazil nuts, organic chia seeds, organic flax seeds, organic hazelnuts, organic pumpkin seeds, and sea salt. in comparison to the other the store-bought nut butters, Nuttzo is one of the healthiest because it comes with the health benefits of multiple nuts and seeds in a delicious combination.

However, these seeds and nuts are not soaked or sprouted, so people who struggle to digest phytic acid or have other mineral deficiencies will need to find another option. Luckily, there are two healthy and delicious options that are low in phytic acid.

Related: Sprouting to Remove Enzyme Inhibitors

The first is sprouted almond butter. The sprouting process helps to reduce phytic acid of almonds, making them easier to digest. The only problem with almond butter is that it contains more omega-6 than many other types of nut butter. This means that it is not as healthy as my personal favorite — coconut butter.

The Nut Butter with the Healthiest Fats

You may not consider it as a nut butter, but coconut butter is one of the healthiest “nut” butters you can have. The phytic acid content of coconut is negligible, and it is one of the best sources of healthy saturated fats called medium chain triglycerides (MCTs).

With coconut butter, you will also get all the minerals and some of the sweetness that is found in coconut water and the fiber from the coconut meat. This makes it the ideal way to consume coconut. If you define the term “nut” loosely, then this is — in my opinion — the healthiest nut butter.

What about the nut butters that are actually made from nuts?

Macadamia nut butter is arguably one of the healthiest nut butters. This is because it has the lowest omega 6 content and the most monounsaturated fats of any nut. Monounsaturated fats are another type healthy fat (different from MCTs) that enhance heart health and protect against chronic disease.

Macadamia nuts have a relatively low phytic acid content as well. If you are not a fan of coconut, then macadamia nut butter is the way to go. It’s irresistibly creamy and can be made into a sweet, savory, or salty nut butter.

Related: Everything You Should Know About Fat

The Takeaway

The “healthiness” of the nut butter depends on the needs of the person that’s eating it.

Don’t eat a lot of grains, nuts, legumes, and seeds, and you can digest nuts well? Have your favorite raw nut butter (just watch out for added sugars and trans fats).

Have a selenium deficiency? Have a tablespoon or two of nut butter with brazil nuts in it.

Struggle with phytic acid digestion or eat a lot of grains, nuts, legumes, and seeds every day? Eat nut butter that has lowest phytic acid content, such as macadamia nut butter and coconut butter.

Have chronic inflammation? Consume the nut butter with the lowest omega-6 content, such as macadamia nut butter and coconut butter.

Regardless of the nut butter you choose, eat it in moderation (a tablespoon or two a day), and you will get all the benefits with little to no side effects.

To get the benefits, however, you don’t have to search for an over-priced healthy nut butter at the store. You can save your money and your health by making it at home. All you need is a high-quality blender, your favorite organic nuts, and a healthy oil.

How To Make Nut Butter Better

Nut butter is one of the simplest and easiest foods to make. Here’s how you do it:

1. Get raw organic nuts (or shredded coconut)
2. Put them in a food processor or high-powered blender and turn it on
3. Blend until it turns into a creamy butter, stopping frequently to scrape the sides down. (This may take 5 to 10 minutes depending on the power of your blender.)

In 10 minutes or less, you can have your own homemade nut butter. Feel free to add a small amount of raw honey or stevia and unrefined salt to improve the taste.

You can also experiment with different herbs and spices. For example, try adding lavender, honey, and cinnamon to your macadamia or cashew nut butter to make it into a deliciously satisfying dessert.

However, one problem arises when we expose the nuts to high-speed blenders — fat oxidation. Due to the friction of blending, heat builds up and oxidizes the polyunsaturated fats in the nuts.

Preventing Fat Oxidation

To ensure that most of the delicate fats aren’t oxidized, reduce the blending time. Once the nuts are blending into a grainy flour, add a couple tablespoons of tasteless coconut or avocado oil. This will make it into a nut butter much faster while adding some healthy and stable fats.

Reducing Phytic Acid

Don’t forget about the phytic acid! To decrease the phytic acid content of your nuts, soak your nuts (and sprout them if they can sprout).

To soak them properly, simply put them in filtered water for the suggested time. Rinse them and change the water at least once.

Here are the soaking and sprouting times for popular nuts (including peanuts and coconuts):

Almonds

• Soaking Time: 8-12 hours
• Sprouting Time: 3 days (only if they are truly raw and not pasteurized)
• Rinse the almonds and change the water once every 12 hours

Peanuts

• Soaking Time: 12 hours
• Won’t Sprout
• Roast the peanuts in the oven at 300°F for 20 minutes until they resemble a nut with more of a peanutty flavor. (This temperature will not oxidize the fats in the peanuts.)

Brazil Nuts

• Soaking Time: 3 hours
• Won’t Sprout

Cashews

• Soaking Time: 2-4 hours
• Won’t Sprout

Hazelnuts

• Soaking Time: 8-12 hours
• Won’t Sprout

Macadamias

• Soaking Time: 2 hours
• Won’t Sprout

Pecans

• Soaking Time: 6 hours
• Won’t Sprout

Walnuts

• Soaking Time: 4 hours
• Won’t Sprout

Coconut

• Don’t Soak
• Won’t Sprout
• Blend coconut flakes or buy already made coconut butter from the store

After you soak your nuts, throw them in the dehydrator or the oven at a temperature below 200 degrees Fahrenheit until they are crisp. (For almonds, wait until they sprout before you dehydrate them.)

Throw your crisp and previously-soaked nuts in the blender with some healthy fats, and you’ll be able to make a healthier homemade nut butter.

Related Reading:

• Homemade, Vegan Nut Milk Recipes and More
• Sprouting to Remove Enzyme Inhibitors
• Homemade Two Ingredient Healthy Fruit and Nut Bars
• 10 Vegan-Friendly Sources Of Protein

Sources:

• Living With Phytic Acid — Weston A. Price
• The importance of the ratio of omega-6/omega-3 essential fatty acids — Science Direct
• Nuts and health outcomes: new epidemiologic evidence — AJCN
• Nuts and their bioactive constituents: effects on serum lipids and other factors that affect disease risk — AJCN
• Nuts, especially walnuts, have both antioxidant quantity and efficacy and exhibit significant potential health benefits — Royal Society of Chemistry
• Health benefits of nuts: potential role of antioxidants — Cambridge
• High performance liquid chromatography analysis of phytate (IP6) in selected foods.— Europe PMC
• Selenium Benefits, Signs of Deficiency, & Foods — Dr.Axe
• How to Soak & Sprout Nuts, Seeds, Grains, & Beans — Vegetarian Times
• Smoking Points of Fats & Oils — The Spruce
• Almond consumption and cardiovascular risk factors in adults with prediabetes. — NCBI

Every condiment or body care product can be replaced with a homemade alternative.

Okay, so it takes a little effort to make these products. You may have to combine a few things and find jars or bottles to hold your finished products. But in the end, anything you whip up will be a healthier choice than any product you are likely to find on a store shelf.

If you need a little inspiration to get motivated, just read the labels on your current store bought items or check out their price tags! Why not see if you can make a better, cheaper alternative?

Related: How to Read Food Labels and Avoid Toxic Ingredients

For many of us, the idea of getting back to the basics and only eating real food seems relatively easy. We can toss out packaged muffin mixes, frozen dinners, and canned goods in favor of real, fresh produce, but what about condiments? If you want real, healthy food, the only solution is to make our own.

1. Ketchup

Heinz ketchup has the following ingredients: tomato concentrate from red ripe tomatoes, distilled vinegar, high fructose corn syrup, corn syrup, salt, spice, onion powder, natural flavoring. Corn syrup is bad for you even if it doesn’t come from genetically modified corn. And what is natural flavoring? The FDA defines natural flavoring as follows:

The term natural flavor or natural flavoring means the essential oil, oleoresin, essence or extractive, protein hydrolysate, distillate, or any product of roasting, heating or enzymolysis, which contains the flavoring constituents derived from a spice, fruit or fruit juice, vegetable or vegetable juice, edible yeast, herb, bark, bud, root, leaf or similar plant material, meat, seafood, poultry, eggs, dairy products, or fermentation products thereof, whose significant function in food is flavoring rather than nutritional. Natural flavors, include the natural essence or extractives obtained from plants listed in subpart A of part 582 of this chapter, and the substances listed in 172.510 of this chapter.”

That’s real clear, isn’t it? A quick search of the web shows many recipes for ketchup, both slow cooker recipes, and the instant variety. Here is one of our sugar-free favorite ketchup recipes.

Homemade Ketchup by Cupcakes and Kale

Ingredients:

• 6 ounce can tomato paste
• 1/4-1/2 cup apple cider vinegar (see Note*)
• ½ teaspoon salt
• ½ teaspoon dried oregano
• ½ teaspoon cumin
• 1/8 teaspoon pepper
• 1 teaspoon mustard powder

See Homemade Ketchup for easy instructions

2. Mayonnaise

Hellman’s brags about their product on their website, saying, “America’s #1 Mayonnaise is made with real*, simple ingredients: eggs, oil, and vinegar.” That statement leads one to believe those are the only ingredients. However, the ingredients list also includes salt, sugar, Calcium Disodium EDTA (a preservative), and natural flavors, (see above).

Healthy Homemade Mayonnaise by Wellness Mama

Ingredients

• 4 egg yolks at room temperature
• 1 Tbsp lemon juice or apple cider vinegar
• 1 Tsp regular or Dijon mustard (or ½ Tsp dried mustard)
• Salt and pepper
• 2/3 cup olive oil
• 2/3 cup coconut oil (warm) or other healthy oil (macadamia works well)

See Healthy Mayonaise for instructions

3. Salsa

It’s always nice to see a recipe on the Allrecipes site made with fresh vegetables without bad ingredients!

The Best Fresh Tomato Salsa by Allrecipes

Ingredients

• 3 cups chopped tomatoes
• 1/2 cup chopped green bell pepper 1 cup onion, diced
• 1/4 cup minced fresh cilantro
• 2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
• 4 teaspoons chopped fresh jalapeno pepper (including seeds)
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper

See Best Fresh Tomato Salsa for Instructions

• Stir the tomatoes, green bell pepper, onion, cilantro, lime juice, jalapeno pepper, cumin, salt, and pepper in a bowl.
• Serve.

4. Salad Dressing

My favorite salad dressing is a recipe created by Michael Edwards, Editor-in Chief of Organic Lifestyle Magazine, aptly named, My Balsamic Salad Dressing Recipe. Don’t make a weak excuse for a salad with 2 to 5 ingredients. Go all the way and include 15-20 veggies and make the most of a daily salad habit.

I make salads with spinach, arugula, collard greens, rainbow chard, beet greens, spring mix and cilantro as the base greens. I also add leeks, red onions, red cabbage, cucumbers, and red bell pepper.  Next, we add what we call “the shreds” – though I prefer to spiralize mine – grated beet root, grated carrots, grated zucchini, and grated daikon radish. Then I add more toppings: pomegranate seeds, raisins, sesame seeds, ground papaya seeds, avocado, and fresh chopped garlic. You can add eggs (soft or hard boiled), feta cheese (preferably raw, preferably sheep), extra turmeric, or olives, if so inclined. I also add various other seeds such as flax seeds, sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, walnuts, etc. (Walnuts go particularly well with feta cheese.)

Balsamic Salad Dressing Recipe – Organic Lifestyle Magazine

To make my salad dressing, I start with equal parts oil and vinegar (keep in mind that both olive oil and balsamic vinegar have a lot of imitators).

Ingredients

• 3/4 cup of flax seed oil
• 1/4 cup of coconut oil
• 1/2 cup of balsamic vinegar
• 1/2 cup of apple cider vinegar
• 6 tablespoons turmeric
• 1 table spoon basil
• Two teaspoons unrefined sea salt
• Two teaspoons fresh ground pepper
• Two tablespoons Dijon mustard

Instructions

Mix well in bowl or blender. Keep in the refrigerator. Check out our salad recipe.

5. Cranberry Lemonade

By now we all know that sodas are either full of sugar or full of toxic artificial sweeteners. What is a healthy alternative? We recommend cranberry lemonade.

Sugar-Free Cranberry Lemonade

Ingredients

• Safe, clean, spring water or distilled water
• 1 cup of unsweetened, organic cranberry juice, not from concentrate
• 3 fresh, organic lemons
• Liquid stevia
• Liquid cayenne

Instructions

If possible, use a glass gallon jar.

• Fill the jar to about 85% capacity with spring water (or distilled water).
• Squeeze the lemons and pour the juice into the water.
• Add cranberry juice.
• Add stevia and add cayenne to taste.

The amount of cayenne used is up to you, but the more the better.

6. Nutrition Powder

Once again, you can buy nutrition powder from many sources with a wide range of quality and price. Did you know you could make your own? Doc Shillington shares his recipes, including his recipe for Total Nutrition Powder. (Click on the link to get more information about the ingredients.) I like to buy from Rose Mountain Herbs to get the best organic ingredients. I’ve learned from experience to mix this up outside in a big deep pan. If you don’t, your kitchen may end up covered in a layer of fine dust. And you may want to use a dust mask as well. If you don’t want to make your own, you can also purchase Doc’s Total Nutrition Powder through Green Lifestyle Market.

Total Nutrition Formula Recipe

With this recipe, a “part” means a measurement by volume and not weight. What volume you use is up to you. All ingredients should be organic or wildcrafted.

Ingredients

• 1 part Alfalfa Grass Powder
• 1 part Barley Grass Powder
• 1 part Wheat Grass Powder
• 1 part Norwegian Purple Dulse Seaweed Powder
• 1 part Beet Root Powder
• 1 part Spinach Leaf Powder
• 1 part Rosehips Powder
• 1 part Orange Peel Powder
• 1 part Lemon Peel Powder
• 1 part Astragalus Powder
• 1.5 parts Spirulina Green Algae
• 1.5 parts Chlorella Broken Cell Algae
• 5 parts Yeast Flakes
• 5 parts Yeast Powder

Instructions

• Combine all ingredients.
• Mix thoroughly.
• Store in glass jars away from heat and light.

Yeast (both the flakes and the powder) must be non-active saccharomyces cerevisiae nutritional yeast fortified with B12, which is safe for people with Candida albicans.

Body Care

Sure, we know that anything we ingest or inhale is taken into the body. But many people do not realize that whatever touches the skin is absorbed into our body as well.  Personal care products – lotions, salves, deodorants, shampoos, soaps, and perfumes as well as toothpaste should be organic. Instead, too many of us are blindly trusting the FDA to protect us while we cover our bodies in toxic solutions known to cause cancer and endocrine disruption. Once again, we should make our own organic, toxin-free products.

7. Toothpaste

Remember what we used to do when we ran out of toothpaste? Yes, baking soda and salt is a great alternative to toxic toothpaste! Just make sure the baking soda is aluminum free and organic.

Here’s a simple basic recipe that can be altered in many ways.

Simple Natural Toothpaste Recipe

Ingredients:

• Equal parts of coconut oil and baking soda
• Add essential oil to taste
• Add stevia (if desired) to taste
• Add a pinch of sea salt

Instructions

Conbine ingredients, mix well, dab on the to the bristles and brush your teeth.

If you have some oral health issues that need addressing, we’ve got more recipes and infromation for you, see “related.”

If you’re looking for a great place to buy ingredients, check out Mountain Rose Herbs.

Related:

• Heal Cavities, Gum Disease, Naturally with Organic Oral Care – Toothpaste recipes included
• Three Homemade Toothpaste Recipes – Better Oral Health for Less Cost
• Still Have Candida? How Mercury Fillings Cause Candida Overgrowth
• Mercury Fillings, Root Canals, Cavitations – What You Need to Know

8. Deodorant

All Natural Deodorant Recipe DIY

Ingredients:

• 5 tablespoons unrefined coconut oil
• 5 tablespoons pure cocoa butter (no additives)
• 3 tablespoons of aloe vera juice
• ½ cup baking soda and/or arrowroot
• ¼ cup witch hazel extract
• 4 drops tea tree oil
• 5 drops of lavender essential oil

9. Lotion

The following is only one of the lotion recipes for Wellness Mama. Check out the link below for more alternatives.

Aloe Lotion – Wellness Mama

Ingredients

• 1 cup aloe vera gel
• 1 teaspoons + 1 Tablespoon beeswax pastilles
• 1/2 cup Almond oil or Jojoba oil (or any other liquid oil)
• 1 teaspoon Vitamin E oil (optional)
• 1 tablespoon Shea Butter (optional)
• Essential oils of choice – I like 10 drops of Geranium and 5 drops of lime

Instructions

• Melt the beeswax, almond oil (or other liquid oil), and shea butter (if using) in a double boiler or glass bowl over a pan of water.
• Remove from heat and pour into a blender or mason jar (if using an immersion blender).
• Let cool to room temperature. You want it to be room temperature and just barely starting to harden around the edges. This will help make sure that the lotion emulsifies correctly.
• Add the vitamin E (if using) and any essential oils.
• Start blending on low using a blender or immersion blender. Very slowly, start adding the aloe vera gel until incorporated. Use a spatula to wipe down the sides and re-blend a few times until fully incorporated.
• Store in a glass jar in the fridge for up to six weeks.

More Aloe Lotion from Wellness Mama

10. Shampoo

You can stop using shampoo altogether. If necessary, you can rinse (wash) your hair with baking soda followed by vinegar. Or you can make many shampoos yourself.  Try this one for dry, damaged hair. See the link below for more recipes.

Organic Shea Butter Shampoo Recipe

Ingredients

• Liquid castile soap – 200 ml. (about 7 ounces)
• Organic shea butter – 15 ml. ( ½ ounce)
• Lavender essential oil – 8 to 10 drops
• Sodium bicarbonate – 1(1/2) teaspoons
• Distilled water – 50 ml. (about 2 ounces)

Instructions

• Melt solid shea butter by placing it over boiling water. Let it cool to room temperature.
• Mix water with sodium bicarbonate to make a solution.
• Pour this solution into liquid castile soap. Stir for a few seconds. Avoid forming too much foam.
• Add melted shea butter.
• Add lavender essential oil to the bowl.
• Blend everything together.

Check out our shampoo article for addition shampoo recipes.

When you try out these recipes, please leave a comment and tell us what you think. And don’t hesitate to share your own recipes!

Recommended Reading:

• Sustainable DIY Laundry Solutions: The Secrets Detergent Companies Don’t Want You To Know
• How To Make Natural Body Butters That Actually Moisturize Your Skin
• How to Regrow Your Favorite Herbs and Save Lots of Money
• Make Chocolate Healthy Again: Fast and Easy DIY Homemade Chocolate
• How to Use Vinegar and Baking Soda to Clean Your Home

Sources:

• Heinz Ketchup
• CFR – Code of Federal Regulations Title 21 – FDA
• Hellman’s Products
• Hellmann’s, To Go Real Mayonnaise
• 80% Raw Food Diet – Organic Lifestyle Magazine
• Inexpensive, Easy Detox – The One Gallon Challenge – Organic Lifestyle Magazine
• Total Nutrition – Make Your Own Homemade Multivitamin and Mineral Formula – Organic Lifestyle Magazine
• Heal Cavities, Gum Disease, Naturally With Organic Oral Care – Toothpaste Recipes Included- Organic Lifestyle Magazine
• Reverse Cavities And Heal Tooth Decay With These 5 Steps – Healthy Life Style
• Luxurious Homemade Lotion Recipe – Wellness Mama
• Five DIY Organic Shampoo Recipes for Beautiful Hair –Organic Lifestyle Magazine

For many people, sleep is one of the first things to go when their schedule becomes overwhelming. But that starts a damaging cycle where too little sleep leads to sleep conditions, weight gain, and heart disease, among other issues. One of these issues is sleep apnea, a condition where the sleeper stops breathing or only takes shallow breaths while asleep. Someone who wakes up between 5 to 15 times an hour has a mild case of sleep apnea, and someone with severe sleep apnea wakes up more than 30 times.

Sleep apnea can cause serious health problems, but as many as 90% of people with it don’t even know they have it. So what is sleep apnea? How do you detect it? Most importantly, how do you treat it?

The What

There are two types of sleep apnea.

The most common type is known as obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), and it happens when something blocks airflow while you sleep. The archetypal OSA candidate is overweight, male, drinks, and smokes. Enlarged tonsils or tongue, sinus problems, gastroesophageal reflux, and allergies are other OSA risk factors.

Central sleep apnea (CSA) is much less common and affects less than 1% of people. CSA occurs because the brain stops sending the body signals to breathe while sleeping. It’s more likely to occur in men over 65 who are already suffering from heart problems.

It is possible to suffer from both types of sleep apnea at the same time. Both types increase the likelihood of stroke, diabetes, heart disease, falling asleep while driving, and obesity. In addition, people with sleep apnea already have high blood pressure.

How Do You Know You’ve Got It?

Signs of sleep apnea can include snoring, gasping noises, grinding teeth, brain fog, sleepiness, impotence, depression, and high blood pressure. Dry mouth or drooling may be another sign of sleep apnea, as conditions that cause mouth breathing like sinus infections, colds, or deviated septums also block the airway.

Many of the symptoms of sleep apnea are also treated conditions in their own right, like depression or impotence. This can lead to professionals suggesting treatment for other things before considering sleep apnea. Often family or friends are more likely to notice the snoring or gasping episodes, and a diagnosis usually occurs after a sleep study.

Treatments

For sleep apnea treatment, we can divide them into two different types: medical interventions and lifestyle changes.

Sleep Apnea and Medical Interventions

Surgery is the most invasive of the three options, and frequently performed surgeries include tonsillectomies (to create more space in the throat), rhinoplasties (fixing deviated septums), and maxillomandibular advancement (moving the upper and lower jaw forward).

For most moderate or serious cases, the most common treatment option is a continuous positive airway pressure device (CPAP) or automatic positive airway pressure (APAP) device. These are usually a plastic facial mask attached to a tube and a device that reinforces the airway with pressurized air. While the positive airway pressure treatment methods have been shown to reduce many of the health risks that come with sleep apnea, it’s also uncomfortable and can cause dry mouth, chest discomfort, and nosebleeds. The CPAP device may keep the airway open during sleep, but most people stop using it due to the discomfort. Studies are finding that positive airway pressure therapy doesn’t notably reduce the cardiovascular risk associated with sleep apnea.

Related: Insomnia – A Comprehensive Look with Natural Remedies

Sleep Apnea and Lifestyle Changes

When treating sleep apnea through lifestyle changes, many of the usual suspects apply. Sleep on your side. Stop smoking. Quit drinking. Lose weight.

These are all excellent ideas. It’s important to eliminate inflammation. Soft tissue like the tonsils, tongue, or airway relaxes when you’re asleep. If it becomes inflamed, swollen, or enlarged, it can obstruct the airway.

To deal with inflammation, stop eating processed foods and refined sugars as they trigger the body’s immune response. Make sure to get some sunshine and stay on top of your b vitamin levels, as vitamin D and B deficiencies can also cause inflammation. Easily obtained anti-inflammatory foods include turmeric, ginger, blueberries, chia seeds, broccoli, and red peppers among others.

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

Another factoring in managing sleep apnea involves clearing out the sinus passages. The buildup of mucus makes it difficult to breathe clearly during the day and results in shallow, fitful sleep at night. If you’re seeing other symptoms of sleep apnea, it’s time to clear out the sinuses. Gargle with apple cider vinegar or a fire cider. Avoid dairy, sugar, processed foods, and other foods likely to cause phlegm and mucus. Hot and cold hydrotherapy can also help things drain out the sinuses.

Many of the steps that deal with inflammation, sinus infections, and sleep apnea in a sustainable way overlap. Everything in the body is connected. Eating a healthy diet that’s 80% fresh, raw organic veggies without processed food will result in less inflammation, better quality sleep, and make it easier to clear out the sinus passages. A diet bereft of vegetables and dependent on processed foods guarantees that any health issues will continue and eventually worsen.

The Importance of Sleep

Inadequate quality sleep is a factor in developing a multitude of health issues, from heart disease to Alzheimer’s to weight gain. Sleep apnea is a stealthy thief, as people suffering from it often don’t realize they’re waking themselves up. If you find yourself waking up in the morning feeling as though you haven’t slept at all, you owe it to yourself to find out if it could serious and reclaim a good night’s rest.

Related Reading:

• Detox Cheap and Easy Without Fasting – Recipes Included
• How to Detoxify and Heal the Lymphatic System
• Holistic Guide to Healing the Endocrine System and Balancing Our Hormones
• Candida, Gut Flora, Allergies, and Disease
• How to Cure Lyme Disease and Virtually Any Other Bacterial Infection, Naturally

Sources:

• Sleep Apnea – Web MD
• Unexplained Fatigue? Sometimes It’s Sleep Apnea. – Washington Post
• The Real Reason You Grind Your Teeth – Ask a Dentist
• 10 Surprising Signs of Sleep Apnea – verywell.com
• Positive airway pressure doesn’t reduce heart risk with sleep apnea – Reuters
• What Causes Chronic Inflammation, and How To Stop It For Good – Organic Lifestyle Magazine

Few foods can induce a craving like chocolate. From its aroma to how it melts in your mouth to what it does for your body — the whole experience is heavenly. The effects of chocolate are experienced by everyone, not just chocolate lovers.

In fact, studies have found that the unique smell of chocolate changes our brain activity and makes us more alert. Once the chocolate is consumed, its flavonoids work as prebiotics and improve digestive health. The flavonoids that make it into the blood stream help improve your insulin sensitivity, lower blood pressure, and prevent plaque from building up in your arteries.

Chocolate contains a unique combination of caffeine and theobromine as well. These two work together to protect brain function and improve mood without causing the sleep disturbances or other side effects caused by caffeine consumption.

After reading about all of the good that chocolate can do for us, you may be tempted to head to your corner store and buy some right now. But before you do, it is important to know and understand that most chocolate bars are terrible for your health.

Most Chocolate Bars are Unhealthy

The most popular form of chocolate is milk chocolate. Most milk chocolate bars only contain about 11% cacao with the remaining ~90% of the bar consisting of milk, sugar, and other unhealthy ingredients. If these chocolate bars were named honestly, they’d be called “Chocolate Flavored Sugar-Milk Bars”.

Not so attractive now, huh?

On top of that, the milk binds to cacao antioxidants (including the flavonoids we talked about earlier) and renders them inactive. So when the sugar in the milk chocolate bar spikes your blood sugar and increases inflammation, the flavonoids can’t save you because the milk ingredients made them inactive.

Isn’t Dark Chocolate Healthy?

Most dark chocolate bars are only 60-70% dark chocolate, which means that that the rest of it is made up of processed sugar and other dubious ingredients like soy lecithin and milk solids. Even the 85% or higher dark chocolate bars shouldn’t be considered healthy. They are highly processed and still contain some milk products, sugar, and other additives in an effort to make the chocolate less bitter and more palatable.

If you come across a chocolate bar produced with minimal, unrefined sugar and simple ingredients like cacao and vanilla beans, then at least the chocolate likely has some health benefits — but it will cost you.

These bars are expensive! Plus the processing that they went through before becoming pretty little bars will render some of the antioxidants in the cacao inactive.

After learning all of this, we are left only one good option — to make our own chocolate.

How To Make Your Own Chocolate

That’s right, you can make your own chocolate!

The best part is you won’t need any fancy machinery, and it won’t take up to seven days to make it (like it does in most chocolate factories).

All you need is cacao powder and coconut oil. Look for raw, organic cacao powder for your health, and make sure it’s fair trade for the health of others.

Step 1 — Melt and Mix

Melt the coconut oil in a pan at the low heat. Once the coconut oil is completely liquefied, mix in the same amount of cacao powder until you have a homogeneous chocolate mixture. The lower the heat, the more you preserve the health benefits.

Use a 1:1 ratio of cacao powder to coconut oil.

I recommend starting with a smaller amount like a quarter cup of each. Once you develop a delicious recipe, however, all restrictions are off — make as much chocolate as you want.

Step 2 — Experiment and Solidify

Now that you have your chocolate liquid, turn off the heat source and add in whatever you want to be in your chocolate.

You can put in a sweetener, mix in some nuts and seeds for some crunch, or add in some cinnamon and vanilla powder to make it taste even better. Dried fruit— like dried blueberries, cherries, goji berries, and mulberries — is another ingredient option that will add more flavor and health benefits to your chocolate.

Once you finish mixing in your extra ingredients, pour the mixture into a plate, cookie sheet, or container, and put it in the fridge until it solidifies (2-4 hours).

Step 3 — Eat and Enjoy

Go to the refrigerator, break off a piece of your chocolate, and enjoy.

Why Homemade Chocolate is Much Better Than Store-Bought Chocolate

Although it is easy to make chocolate at home, you may still be tempted to buy the dark chocolate on the grocery store shelves. This homemade variety will not look as “perfect” in that commercial way as store bought chocolate bars. The differing tastes and textures may take some getting used to for some, but it will taste amazing once you get your recipe down, and it will be so much healthier. In fact, if you are a frequent cocoa consumer, you’ll grow to prefer the taste of your homemade chocolate very quickly, and then you will probably despise pretty much everything else out there.

Coconut Oil — One of the Healthiest Sources of Fat

Coconut oil is the perfect fat to use when making chocolate because it solidifies and melts in your mouth like a typical chocolate bar. But this isn’t the only reason why it is part of our chocolate recipe.

Coconut oil has the highest percentage of medium chain triglycerides (MCTs) than any other fat source. But MCTs are technically saturated fat, so doesn’t this mean that they are “unhealthy”? This is where some knowledge of biochemistry comes in handy.

There are many different types of saturated fats, and they are processed by the body in different ways. MCTs (fats with 6-12 carbon atoms) are different from the long chain fatty acids (fats with more than 12 carbon atoms). This is because most of the MCTs are transported directly to the liver after digestion rather than flowing throw the lymph system of the body like long chain fatty acids.

Once the MCTs reach the liver they are converted into energy and other metabolites. These metabolites include ketone bodies, which can be used by the brain and heart as an immediate form of energy. The MCTs in coconut oil can also increase your feeling of fullness for a longer period of time.

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

Erythritol — The Safest Sugar Alternative?

Erythritol is considered by many to be the safest low-calorie sweetener. It is a sugar alcohol that is less sweet than sugar (70% as sweet as sugar), so it will not stimulate your appetite as much as sweeteners like sucralose (these artificial sweeteners do far more harm than good). There is debate amongst the natural health community, and within this magazine, as to whether or not stevia is a safer choice for most, or if erythritol is a better option. It likely depends on how you use them and your own gut health.

Studies have shown erythritol can cause nausea and stomach discomfort. These side effects were only found in people that consumed 50 grams of erythritol in one sitting.

To give you some context, 50 grams (about 4 tablespoons) of erythritol has the same sweetness as about 40 grams (3 and 1/3 tablespoons) of sugar. This is 16 more grams of sugar than you will find in a typical 1.55 ounce “Sugar Milk Bar with Chocolate Added”. One to two tablespoons of erythritol should be more than enough to make your homemade chocolate more palatable without getting any side effects.

But this doesn’t mean that you should buy any sugar alcohol or any form of erythritol and assume that it will be safe. Other sugar alcohols like xylitol tend to cause more side effects at lower doses than erythritol, and erythritol is commonly made from GMO cornstarch. If you don’t want a dose of negative side effects, GMOs, or pesticides with your sweetener than it is best to use non-GMO erythritol.

I like to use a small amount of erythritol, a tiny bit of stevia, and some raw honey for sweetening. I also like to mix the chocolate with the carob which has a natural sweetness to it. I don’t like it very sweet, and I like to throw in ginger, cayenne, cinnamon, and/or other herbs that can help keep the gut balanced. I like my chocolate to have quite a bit of kick to it, just like my smoothies. Be careful and patient with the honey. It’s even easier to cook the benefits out of honey than it is with chocolate. I don’t think erythritol is particularly good for you, and while raw honey has plenty of health benefits, for good health it should be eaten in very small quantities. I find the mix of the three works well for my tastebuds and my body.” – Michael Edwards

The Importance of Raw Organic Cacao Powder

Even if you don’t like the taste of chocolate, you may want to consume cacao powder as a way to reap all of the benefits that we talked about earlier in the article.

To ensure that you get all of the health benefits of cacao, it is best to buy raw organic cacao powder. Quality cacao powder is important because most cacao powders (and the cacao used to make chocolate) are processed with heat and alkali, which destroys cacao’s health-promoting antioxidants.

But what do you do if you want to keep caffeine and chocolate out of your diet?

The Many Benefits of Carob-based Chocolate

Although this article praises the medicinal properties of cacao, this doesn’t mean that you are missing out if you don’t eat it. In fact, carob powder may have even more health benefits than cacao powder. For example, carob powder is most well-known for its anti-diarrhea effects, but that is not all this delicious powder has to offer.

Like cacao powder, carob powder contains many flavonoids. One of the flavonoids it contains is quercetin, which is known to reduce allergy symptoms, prevent heart disease (like cacao’s flavonoids do), and protect against cancer. Carob powder also contains a compound called gallic acid which is known to scavenge free radicals and kill cancer cells.

If you compare these benefits with cacao powder, carob powder looks like it could be the winner here. After weeks of experimenting with using carob powder in smoothies and other recipes (that I usually put cacao powder in), I completely agree. Healthy dark chocolate tends to over-stimulate me, but when I use carob powder instead, I feel more satiated and energetically balanced.

Recommended Reading:

• The Case for Carob – This Chocolate Alternative Has A Lot to Offer
• One More Reason to Love Chocolate (Recipe Included)
• 35 Things You Could Do With Coconut Oil – From Body Care to Health to Household
• Is Caffeine Making You Fat?

Sources:

• Artificial Sweeteners — Harvard
• Critical review of the current literature on the safety of sucralose — Science Direct
• Toxicology of Rebaudioside A: A Review — UCLA
• Baking and Cooking With Sugar Substitutes — Diabetes Self-Management
• Stevia (Stevia rebaudiana) a bio-sweetener: a review. — Europe PMC
• Erythritol – Like Sugar Without The Calories — Authority Nutrition
• Gastrointestinal tolerance of erythritol and xylitol ingested in a liquid — Nature
• Serum glucose and insulin levels and erythritol balance after oral administration of erythritol in healthy subjects. — NCBI
• Digestion and absorption of fats — University of Washington
• The Properties of Lauric Acid and Their Significance in Coconut Oil — Springer Link
• Effects of medium-chain triglycerides on weight loss and body composition: a meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials. — NCBI
• MCT Oil 101 – A Review of Medium-Chain Triglycerides — Authority Nutrition
• Chemistry and Biological Activities of Flavonoids: An Overview — Hindawi
• Health Benefits of Methylxanthines in Cacao and Chocolate — MDPI
• Daily cocoa intake reduces the susceptibility of low-density lipoprotein to oxidation as demonstrated in healthy human volunteers — Taylor & Francis Online
• Impact of alkalization on the antioxidant and flavanol content of commercial cocoa powders. — NCBI
• Isolation and structure elucidation of the major individual polyphenols in carob fibre — Science Direct
• Dark Chocolate — University of Michigan
• Human electroencephalographic (EEG) response to olfactory stimulation: Two experiments using the aroma of food — Science Direct
• Carob Powder: 9 Nutrition Facts and Health Benefits — Healthline
• Quercetin — University of Maryland

Activated charcoal is expanding into a whole new market. It’s used in water filtration, as poison control, and in herbal medicine regularly, but it’s increasingly showing up in health and beauty care products. So what is activated charcoal, and why are people suddenly rubbing it all over their teeth?

How is Activated Charcoal Different than Actual Charcoal?

Let’s get the biggest issue out of the way. Activated charcoal (also known as activated carbon) is almost but not quite the same thing as actual charcoal (the stuff used for summer grilling). The bulk material used to produce activated charcoal is some combination of bone char, coconut shells, peat, petroleum coke, coal, olive pits, and/or sawdust, while actual charcoal can include all of that plus agricultural waste and other dry biomass.

To create activated charcoal, carbon is heated to temperatures of 1,700 to 1,800 degrees Fahrenheit with steam or air in an oxygen-free environment, although wood-based activated charcoals frequently endure a chemical process that includes heat and phosphoric acid as well. The high heat “activates” the charcoal, removing the carbon’s volatile compounds and enlarging its internal pores. These enlarged internal pores allow the now activated charcoal to chemically attract and bind contaminants like chlorine, PCBs, industrial solvents, and pesticides, among others.

Related: How to Eliminate IBS, IBD, Leaky Gut

How It Works

When it’s activated, charcoal acquires a positive charge. This is how the activated charcoal captures nasty stuff in our bodies and the water supply. Chlorine, for example, is being replaced in the water disinfection process by chloramine, a chemical that can form trihalomethanes, which in turn can cause cancer. Since that chemical is negatively charged, positively charged activated charcoal is a cost-effective and safe way to improve the quality of the water we use every day. But people also ingest it.

Here’s What to Take Activated Charcoal For

Activated charcoal is recommended for accidental poisonings and certain drug overdoses. It’s also effective in pulling out harmful mercury and aluminum preservatives found in dental amalgams or vaccines and arsenic from rice and other foods. It’s been associated with lower cholesterol, anti-aging properties, better kidney and liver function, and helps relieve gas and bloating by attracting disruptive digestive byproducts.

In personal care products, activated charcoal attracts many of the dirt and oils that can irritate and increase the likelihood of acne, eczema, dry skin, and other topical infections. Bad breath or body odor often occurs when toxins are exiting the body, and activated charcoal can help quickly remove those toxins.

Related: Diatomaceous Earth – Mother Nature’s Secret Weapon: What Is It, How to Use It, Where to Find It

The Forms of Activated Charcoal

Adding activated charcoal to your diet is not a pleasant undertaking. You’re eating ashes and it tastes about as appetizing as you’d imagine. Due to this, most activated charcoal supplements come in pill form. But activated charcoal is also invading other areas. Activated charcoal can now be found in:

• Shampoo
• Facial sponges and towelettes
• Lattes
• Toothpaste, tooth powders, and toothbrushes
• Soap
• Ice cream
• Skin cleansers

Hoax or Harmless?

Activated charcoal is considered harmless, but there are a few things to consider if you’re interested in trying it. Don’t take activated charcoal with prescription medications and constipation, as the charcoal will exacerbate the issue. It can also cause black stools. The type of raw material used to make your activated charcoal also matters, with charcoal derived from coconut shells generally labeled the highest quality.

The Bottom Line

If we continue to treat the planet as we have been, the amounts of heavy metals, pesticides, and chemicals in our bodies will continue to rise through environmental exposure. Activated charcoal makes the case that we have a solution to at least one aspect of that. If exposure cannot be prevented, then regularly cleansing the body of heavy metals can prevent the kind of buildup that leads to scarier and more serious health concerns.

Related Reading:

• Diatomaceous Earth – Mother Nature’s Secret Weapon: What Is It, How to Use It, Where to Find It
• Detox Cheap and Easy Without Fasting – Recipes Included
• How To Detoxify and Heal From Vaccinations – For Adults and Children
• Mercury Fillings, Root Canals, Cavitations – What You Need to Know

Related Products:

• Activated Charcoal • 100c – Integrative Therapeutics
• Shillington’s Total Draw Poultice Powder
• Shillington’s Intestinal Detox

Sources:

• How to Make Activated Charcoal at Home – buyactivatedcharcoal.com
• Frequently Asked Questions – generalcarbon.com
• The Difference Between Activated Charcoal & Charcoal Briquettes – leaf.tv
• What is Activated Charcoal and Why is it Used in Filters? – How Stuff Works
• Filtration: Sediment, Activated Carbon and Mixed Media – North Dakota State University

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:

• What Causes Chronic Inflammation, and How To Stop It For Good
• Heal Gum Disease and Cavities Naturally – Step by Step
• Everything You Should Know About Fat
• MSG’s Many Side Effects and Aliases

Sources:

• Caloric Restriction and Chronic Inflammatory Diseases — NCBI
• Diet-induced weight loss, exercise, and chronic inflammation in older, obese adults: a randomized controlled clinical trial — Research Gate
• Obesity is associated with hypothalamic injury in rodents and humans — JCI
• Radiologic evidence that hypothalamic gliosis is associated with obesity and insulin resistance in humans — NCBI
• Immune response — MedlinePlus
• 8 Food Ingredients That Can Cause Inflammation — Arthritis
• Cancer:  Inflammation by remote control — Nature
• Systemic inflammation and disease progression in Alzheimer disease — Neurology
• Major dietary patterns are related to plasma concentrations of markers of inflammation and endothelial dysfunction — AJCN
• A high-fat meal induces low-grade endotoxemia: evidence of a novel mechanism of postprandial inflammation — AJCN
• Differential Effects of Cream, Glucose, and Orange Juice on Inflammation, Endotoxin, and the Expression of Toll-Like Receptor-4 and Suppressor of Cytokine Signaling-3 — NCBI
• Dietary intake of trans fatty acids and systemic inflammation in women. — NCBI
• trans Fatty acids and systemic inflammation in heart failure — NCBI
• CLA (Conjugated Linoleic Acid): A Detailed Review — Authority Nutrition
• Glyphosate, pathways to modern diseases II: Celiac sprue and gluten intolerance — NCBI
• Monosodium glutamate (MSG): a villain and promoter of liver inflammation and dysplasia. — NCBI
• Molecular Strategies for Targeting Antioxidants to Mitochondria: Therapeutic Implications — NCBI
• Why Grass-Fed Trumps Grain-Fed — Chris Kresser
• What to Do About High Cholesterol — Chris Masterjohn PhD
• Smoked food and cancer. — NCBI
• Chemicals in Meat Cooked at High Temperatures and Cancer Risk — National Cancer Institute
• Fatty acids from fish: the anti-inflammatory potential of long-chain omega-3 fatty acids — Oxford Academic

How many vegetables and fruits do you eat each day? Are you getting the maximum benefit from your food choices?

In the early 2000s, The World Health Organization (WHO) began a campaign to raise awareness of the connection between health and adequate fruit and vegetable consumption. The quality of health wasn’t the only issue. Mortality itself was measured in units of fruit and vegetable consumption.

WHO estimated 2.7 million lives could be saved each year if fruit and vegetable consumption was raised to a sufficient level. They stated that low consumption of fruits and vegetables was one of the top ten risk factors for global mortality. The recommendation equaled a minimum intake of 400g (14 ounces) of fruits and vegetables excluding potatoes and other starchy tubers. This is about 5 servings a day. This level of consumption reduced the risk of heart disease, cancer, and stroke.

The latest research says we should do better. Now the recommendation is 10 servings (800 grams or 28 ounces) of fruits and vegetables per day.

https://youtu.be/nT8d60XSaZc

The study conducted by scientists from the Imperial College London, analyzed 95 studies on fruit and vegetable intake. It included “up to 2 million people,” assessing “up to 43,000 cases of heart disease, 47,000 cases of stroke, 81,000 cases of cardiovascular disease, 112,000 cancer cases, and 94,000 deaths.” Their conclusion was an estimated reduction of 7.8 million annual premature deaths if everyone followed this dietary advice.

When compared to not eating any fruits and vegetables, ten servings a day was associated with:

• 24 % reduced risk of heart disease
• 33 % reduced risk of stroke
• 28 % reduced risk of cardiovascular disease
• 13 % reduced risk of total cancer
• 31 % reduction in premature death

While we at OLM and many others promoting a plant-based diet agree with this conclusion, we believe there is more to healthy eating than the volume of vegetables. The study did say not all fruits and vegetable were equal, but it did not stress the need for a large variety of vegetables and fruits or to choose organic and mostly raw.

We’d also like to see five servings a day versus ten, and what about 15? When do the benefits wear off? Raw or cooked? Another question this raises for us is, are we needing to double our intake of produce because of nutrient depletion in our soil?

What we do know is that gut health provides the basis of our health. Gut health determines the strength and efficiency of our immune system, the intake of nutrients to fuel our entire body, the creation of many of our neurotransmitters, and the ability to detox. An unbalanced microbiome allows an overgrowth of one bacteria over others or an overgrowth of Candida or parasites. A leaky gut is like a sewer leaking filth and disease into the bloodstream.

We have always recommended a diet consisting of 80% raw, organic produce– a wide variety of vegetables and fruit, mostly vegetables. In addition, we recommend the elimination of all artificial colors, flavorings, and preservatives; refined sugar; trans fats; MSG; and GMOs. The perfect diet is all real food, with no packaged, processed concoctions added in. Real food doesn’t have an ingredient list. There are no added chemicals.

It is important that your vegetable and fruit consumption includes a wide variety. Every fruit or vegetable contains its own combination of nutrients. We need a variety to consume as many nutrients as possible. In addition, we don’t want to overfeed just one or a few of our friendly or not so friendly bacteria or yeast by favoring one food over others. We want to maintain balance in all ways. For instance, if all of our fruit choices are high sugar, Candida thrives. We need a diverse microbiome to fend off a wide array of pathogens and to achieve this, we need a wide variety of nutrients to feed a wide variety of helpful microbiome bacteria.

If you are ill or you don’t feel well, changing your diet will change your life. We’ve seen it over and over again. If we eat a perfect diet until all traces of disease are gone, we heal very quickly. No supplement can achieve the change of health we accomplish by eating one large, organic salad filled with 15 or more vegetables each day.

If you are ready to change your life, change your diet. Go for 10+ a day. And remember, variety is key! Check out the salad recipe in the first article below.

Further Reading:

• Detox Cheap and Easy Without Fasting – Recipes Included
• Your Guide to Root Vegetables – Health Benefits, Recipes, and More
• The Difference Between Heirlooms, Hybrids, and GMOs
• How to Detoxify and Heal the Lymphatic System
• How to Cure Lyme Disease, and Virtually Any Other Bacterial Infection, Naturally

Sources:

• Eating more fruits and vegetables may prevent millions of premature deaths – Imperial College London
• We Should Be Eating 10 Portions Of Fruit And Veg A Day To Live Longer – IFL Science.com
• Forget five a day, eat 10 portions of fruit and veg to cut risk of early death – The Guardian