It’s not just about dark chocolate anymore. There’s a new thing among chocolate lovers…cacao nibs. I’ve heard it called the new red wine. What, might you ask, is a cacao nib? Well, if you take a cocoa bean, ferment it, dry it, separate it from its husk, and break it into small pieces, you have raw cacao nibs. Basically, they’re the closest thing to pure chocolate that’s available. No sugar, no dairy…just pure chocolate.
Being a chocolate lover myself (because it is good for you, you know), I realized I needed to find out more about these cacao nibs. I made a bee line for my nearest Whole Foods. It was immediately apparent, in talking with a true chocolate connoisseur, that those who are really into chocolate sound like they have discovered the holy grail of this favorite food. They rave about eating them plain, and tasting the many different flavors, leaping into exquisite detail about the complex aroma and taste of these tiny morsels of pure chocolate. I learned that cacao nibs, coming from different parts of the world, have their own unique essence.
You’ll read a lot here at Live Well about the importance of your diet including organic fruits and vegetables, range-free chickens and eggs, grass-fed beef, and wild salmon. But it is important to look at the bigger picture, in a word, sustainability. Sustainability should be the basis for how we produce, process, and choose our foods. Here are two key issues that we need to be looking at:
1) that we insist that crops and animals are grown and raised in ways that preserve the integrity of our soil and water, and maintain the nutrient value of the ground in and on which our foods are grown, and
2) that we choose local foods avoiding the environmental impact of shipping foods thousands of miles using disappearing and polluting carbon fuels.
Michael Pollan addresses the issue of sustainability in an elegant and compelling way in his book, The Omnivore’s Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meals
Now that you are ready to give juicing a try, let’s talk about how to choose a good juicer. There are three types of juicers that range from most convenient to most nutritious:
Centrifugal juicers are typicially the least expensive of the juicers but also the least effective at extracting juice. They do have a larger feeding chute which reduces that amount of preparation time spent chopping vegetables. They work by feeding the chopped produce through the large chute into a spinning basket with a grating base. The grating process releases juice from the plant cells. The centrifugal force created by the spinning basket causes the pulp to collect against the sides of the basket. The walls of the basket also have tiny holes through which the juice passes, and then on out of the juice ejection spout for collection. Centrifugal juicers juice produce quickly due to the large feeding chamber, but also because the of the high RPMs (1000 to 24,000 RPMs). However the rapid speed increases the heat produced by the juicer, significantly reducing the flavor and nutritional value of the produce. And this high speed makes for the loudest motor of all juicer types. The centrifugal mechanism is not as efficient at extracting all the juices from the produce and it is incapable of extracting juice from wheatgrass or leafy greens (our juicing mainstays). If you have ever been to a juice bar, they most likely use a centrifugal juicer because it is fast.
Masticating juicers, as the name implies, “chews up” the produce, expelling the pulp out of the end of the juicer and the juice into the ejection spout allowing for continuous juicing. While they extract more juice than the centrifugal juicers, they don’t extract as much as the gear extractors. They work well with most fruits and veggies, but, like the centrifugal juicer, are not able to juice grasses or leafy greens. Champion Commercial Juicer
Single/double gear juicers offer the best health benefits of all the juicers by producing juice wth the highest nutritional value and the most taste. This mechanism extracts the most juice by crushing and pressing the produce and it functions at very low RPM (around 80 RPMs) producing negligible nutrient-damaging heat. This excellent juice yield will provide more juice for your dollars. This type of juicer is a true multi-tasker, capable of juicing any type of produce including leafy greens and grasses. In addition to juicing veggies and fruits, some also serve as a seasoning mincer/chopper, a meat/fish mincer, and a food mill. Wow! The downside is that it does take longer to juice due to its smaller feeding chamber and slower feeding time.
It probably comes as no surprise that I use and recommend a single gear juicer. My juicer of choice is the Omega 8003. It also comes in a stainless steel model, the Omega 8005
Which veggies should you use? Now here is where it gets fun…use your imagination, try different combinations…get in there and experiment with lots of different veggies, but start with your favorites. Find out what combinations you like…and what you don’t like. I like to use a variety of veggies each time, making my own version of V-8 juice. My goal is to use plenty of green leafy vegetables like chard, red leaf lettuce, and parsley as a base. Kale is another nutrient-packed choice but it can be a bit strong, especially at the start. Mustard greens have a bite to them. You may not notice it at first sip, but after a moment your throat just might start to burn a bit…use just a small amount to experiment with, if you want to add some definite zing. With my base of green leafy veggies, I add some favorites: tomatoes (takes away the “green” taste, which, based on my son’s reaction, may be an acquired taste), celery (great for lowering blood pressure –I use 4 stalks!), carrots and beets in moderation as they contain a relative amount of sugar. Some milder options include spinach, endive, leaf lettuce, cucumbers. Veggies from the cabbage family are full of uniquely healthy phytochemicals; try red cabbage, Chinese cabbage or bok choy. A glove of garlic for good measure and a tiny slice of fresh ginger if you are daring and there you go…a glassful of pure life; refreshing, delicious, go-get-em energy.
Let me know what juicer you chose, what your experience was, and what your favorite combination of vegetables is. You can email me from my contact page. I look forward to hearing from you…
Check back in tomorrow…I will share one of my favorite vegetable juice recipes with you!
Seek health-
Jess
Jessica Adlin, MS CN
Book Review: “The Hundred-Year Lie”, by Randall Fitzgerald
Our health has been increasingly put at risk for years by toxins that are allowed to be poured into products we consume, and into our environment at large, by lax federal regulations pressured by the drive for profits by the major players of the synthetic industry. The Hundred-Year Lie is a compelling new (2006) book by journalist Randall Fitzgerald presenting stark evidence of the connection between our increased risk of chronic disease, and the increase in toxic contamination of our land, water, air, and food. Fitzgerald’s description of the relationship between the growth in power of the “Big 3″ components of the synthetic industry, and the decline in governmental protective oversight is both frightening and troubling.
What Eric Schlosser revealed about the power of big business in the fast food industry in Fast Food Nation, Randall Fitzgerald has equaled in exposing the impact of toxins on the environment, food, and physical health in The Hundred-Year Lie. Fitzgerald defines The Hundred-Year Lie as a century of deceit and misinformation by both the United States government and the synthetics industry regarding the safety and effectiveness of common synthetic products that we consume everyday.
In this powerful book, Fitzgerald describes the “Synthetic Revolution” and lists the “big 3″ of that revolution – the processed food, pharmaceutical, and chemical industries. These super-powers have convinced the population that synthetic products are just as safe as, and even more effective than naturally occurring goods. Driven by the economic principals of supply and demand, competition and profit motives, and protected by legislation, the author shows that these industries have been green-lighted to provide their own self-serving research results to the Federal Food and Drug Administration which then approves the public use of the products.
His findings included: 1) Most of our processed foods include toxins added to “improve” the taste, shelf life, and color, 2) our medical establishment and the pharmaceutical industry have created a dependence upon prescription drugs with high health risks and of questionable benefit, and 3) the chemical industry has created products, which, in combination, create toxic cocktails that have leached into our soil and water, and are subsequently absorbed by humans and animals alike with dire consequences. Hand in hand with these changes, Fitzgerald chronicles the history of federal agencies that have led the population to believe that they are safe, while allowing the proliferation of toxic substances in our environment.
The key concept around which the book is developed is that of synergy. Synergy is defined by Fitzgerald as “the simultaneous action of two or more chemicals (or processes) in which the total effect is much greater than the sum of their individual parts.” When considering toxins, synergy means that the combination of chemicals in our bodies, the soil, water, or air, results in much farther reaching repercussions than the individual materials themselves. According to Fitzgerald, the processed food, pharmaceutical and chemical companies ignore the concept of synergy, primarily looking at the effect of individual ingredients, drugs or chemicals on a specific symptom or outcome. By failing to investigate the interaction effects of the substance with other materials to which we are exposed, we are given a much rosier picture than exists in reality. For example, in the case of prescription drugs, you may have experienced that your physician has to prescribe additional medications to counteract the side effects of the original prescription. Fitzgerald also explores synergy as a positive phenomenon, describing primitive societies’ use of combinations of numerous, interacting, natural plant and herb extracts to treat an illness or disease, rather than one element for a specific symptom. He reports that through the blending of natural ingredients and proper nutrition, powerful results have been observed in managing the same disease processes the pharmaceutical offerings all-too-often exacerbate.
Randall Fitzgerald has spent 36 years, establishing himself as a newspaper author and magazine editor, and has authored 6 previous books. He was an investigative reporter for The Washington Post and The Wall Street Journal. What would lead an investigative journalist to delve into the brackish water of toxic contamination? Fitzgerald discloses that the alarming rate of illness and disease among members of his own family, friends and acquaintances sparked his interest in studying the subject of environmental toxins. Fitzgerald discovered an astonishingly large number of disease processes just within this relatively small circle of people. These few people experienced cancer, Crohn’s Disease, AIDS, Multiple Sclerosis, Parkinson’s Disease, diabetes, allergies and migraines. With this motivating awareness he turned his attention to the etiology of these diseases, and discovered that many were related to the presence of toxins in our food, water, household and industrial products, and, even our medicine.
The author describes the way he investigates any topic is with open-minded curiosity like that of an alien or a “stranger in a strange land”. He looks at the issue as though he were new to the planet, and tries to make sense of what trends or patterns he finds. Fitzgerald spent 9 months extensively reviewing newspaper articles, scientific reports, and related books on the subjects of disease epidemiology, etiology, industrial practices, and related legislation. He was shocked to discover that what we have been led to believe about medicine, food, and our environment by big business as well as our own government is far from the truth. Fitzgerald’s research into the growth of toxins in our society and the enormity of the problem left him feeling as though he truly was an alien on an unknown planet. He was appalled that the problem was so insidious and wide-spread. Fitzgerald lays out a history (starting with the Pure Food and Drug Act of 1906) of the development of power and influence among the major players in the manufacturing and processing of foods, pharmaceuticals, and chemicals over the past 100 years . He also looked at the deteriorating health in our society during that period of time.
Fortunately, Fitzgerald does not leave us hopeless. He quotes from an interview with Dr. John Laseter, CEO of Accu-Chem Laboratory, a company that specializes in the detection and analysis of toxic chemical exposure and controlled substance possession and use. “It comes down to personal accountability…we are responsible for ourselves.” Fitzgerald goes on to suggest that it isn’t useful to blame authorities or institutions, industries, or government, or to engage in “finger-pointing”. We must get on with taking care of ourselves. He then outlines ways you can alter your lifestyle to minimize exposure to many of the toxins encountered. The Hundred Year Lie provides suggestions about how to create a healthier life, not only for yourself, but for your children.
The Hundred Year Lie is a fascinating and easy read. Fitzgerald ends on a positive note stating clear actions you and I can take to protect ourselves, and live in healthier ways. Although much of the information in the book is alarming, it is information that we need to make informed decisions to protect our health. I highly recommend this book.
