Most Credible Natural Food Brands

The list came out almost two years ago. Does this remain true today? We’d love to hear your thought.

The Top 20 Most Credible Natural Food Brands

20. Wildwood: The organic sprouted tofus are GMO-free but some of the processed fodos including yogurts, can contain ingredients to avoid.

19. Rejuvenative Foods: High quality fermented foods.

18.  Kettle Chips: Stick with the organic options.

17.Lundberg Farms: Beware the packaged risottos with “butter flavor.”

16.Tofurky: Generally clean organic tofu products, but some of the more processed items, including the pizzas, contain questionable ingredients that are best to avoid.

15. Reed’s: Ginger is medicine, and these sodas are amazing, but they do however contain a lot of sugar. Like all soft drinks, save for special occassions.

14. Mary’s Gone Crackers: Gluten-free, whole grain and clean ingredients when snacking is a must.

13. Sunshine Burger: Pretty much the only soy-free, wheat-free veggie burger option besides your own recipe. They essentially do just one thing, and they do it well.

12. Field Roast: Very clean mock-meats, but wheat-based and non-organic. Still, better than most else out there when you can’t make your own.

11. Equal Exchange: An emphasis on Fair Trade coffee and chocolate. Check ingredients on processed items.

10. Theo Chocolate: You can find a lot of locally made chocolates now in most major cities, but a good default option is Theo’s organic and Fair Trade varieties. Not all vegan.

9. Artisana: High quality clean nut butters in glass jars.

8. Bob’s Redmill: Stick with the solo ingredients rather than the mixes.

7. Dr. Bronner’s: They mostly make the world’s best soap, but their coconut oil is now available in stores and it’s the best-tasting Fair Trade coconut oil currently available. Hopefully they bring more products with integrity to our food supply.

6. Big Tree Farms: A newcomer to the food industry, but they’re doing some revolutionary products including coconut palm sugar. And working with thousands of farmers in Bali as a cooperative is also pretty cool.

5. Traditional Medicinals: Pharmacopeial grade herbs formulated by professional herbalists for high-quality, effective teas.

4. Nature’s Path: The go-to brand for organic cereal and a commitment to non-GMO ingredients, but beware, they still use a lot of sugar and ingredients like soy oil.

3. Food for Life: Sprouted grains are edible grains. No fillers; impeccable quality.

2. Bragg’s: Trust people who make their money on apple cider vinegar. And drink it daily.

1. Eden Foods: BPA-free cans, organic soy, no gelling agents in the soymilk, commitment to organic, local and traditionally made foods for three decades. Family-owned.

The End of Food???

THE END OF FOOD, BY LIZZIE WIDDICOMBE

…Rhinehart’s background makes it easier to understand some of his guilelessness, as well as his devotion to evidence-based thinking. Organic-food nuts remind him of himself as a believer. “Everyone’s like, ‘The natural, organic way is the best.’ And it sounded a lot like fundamentalist Christianity,” he told me. When I asked how his loss of faith had changed him, he said, “I guess after that I’ve always been a skeptic.”…

…As I followed Rhinehart around, I started to worry about a possible flaw in his business proposal: how does he expect to make money from Soylent, when his formula is posted on the Internet? It’s difficult to imagine Coca-Cola doing that. But Alexis Ohanian, a founder of the Web site Reddit and an investor in Soylent, described it as “the most brilliant marketing strategy ever, even though they didn’t think of it that way.” The legions of people tinkering with their own Soylent formulas at home—called D.I.Y.ers—have become a fan base, improving the product and spreading awareness of it. “That’s the dream,” Ohanian said. Rhinehart has a more philosophical take: “If someone else figures out a better way to make it, that’s still a win for humanity.”…

Michael J Fox Interview on Parkinson’s

Sometimes some of us might think we are the most suffering ones in this world. Still, we continue to live our lives and find the meaning, hopefully do good things for the world as well as ourselves, until given time’s up.

Interview with Katie Couric

Katie Courie’s father passed away from Parkinson’s Disease complications at age 90.

Fox was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease in 1991 at age 29. He is 52.

What is Parkinson’s Disease?

Parkinson’s disease (PD) is a chronic and progressive movement disorder, meaning that symptoms continue and worsen over time. Nearly one million people in the US are living with Parkinson’s disease. The cause is unknown, and although there is presently no cure, there are treatment options such as medication and surgery to manage its symptoms.

Parkinson’s involves the malfunction and death of vital nerve cells in the brain, called neurons. Parkinson’s primarily affects neurons in the an area of the brain called the substantia nigra. Some of these dying neurons produce dopamine, a chemical that sends messages to the part of the brain that controls movement and coordination. As PD progresses, the amount of dopamine produced in the brain decreases, leaving a person unable to control movement normally.

The specific group of symptoms that an individual experiences varies from person to person. Primary motor signs of Parkinson’s disease include the following.

• tremor of the hands, arms, legs, jaw and face
• bradykinesia or slowness of movement
• rigidity or stiffness of the limbs and trunk
• postural instability or impaired balance and coordination

Scientists are also exploring the idea that loss of cells in other areas of the brain and body contribute to Parkinson’s. For example, researchers have discovered that the hallmark sign of Parkinson’s disease — clumps of a protein alpha-synuclein, which are also called Lewy Bodies — are found not only in the mid-brain but also in the brain stem and the olfactory bulb.

These areas of the brain correlate to nonmotor functions such as sense of smell and sleep regulation. The presence of Lewy bodies in these areas could explain the nonmotor symptoms experienced by some people with PD before any motor sign of the disease appears. The intestines also have dopamine cells that degenerate in Parkinson’s, and this may be important in the gastrointestinal symptoms that are part of the disease.

Statistics on Parkinson’s

Who Has Parkinson’s?

• As many as one million Americans live with Parkinson’s disease, which is more than the combined number of people diagnosed with multiple sclerosis, muscular dystrophy and Lou Gehrig’s disease.
• Approximately 60,000 Americans are diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease each year, and this number does not reflect the thousands of cases that go undetected.
• An estimated seven to 10 million people worldwide are living with Parkinson’s disease.
• Incidence of Parkinson’s increases with age, but an estimated four percent of people with PD are diagnosed before the age of 50.
• Men are one and a half times more likely to have Parkinson’s than women.

The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research

Diet recommendation for Parkinson’s

Food Politics by Marion Nestle, Lecture, Book

Food Politics by Marion Nestle

We all witness, in advertising and on supermarket shelves, the fierce competition for our food dollars. In this engrossing exposé, Marion Nestle goes behind the scenes to reveal how the competition really works and how it affects our health. The abundance of food in the United States—enough calories to meet the needs of every man, woman, and child twice over—has a downside. Our overefficient food industry must do everything possible to persuade people to eat more—more food, more often, and in larger portions—no matter what it does to waistlines or well-being.

Like manufacturing cigarettes or building weapons, making food is very big business. Food companies in 2000 generated nearly $900 billion in sales. They have stakeholders to please, shareholders to satisfy, and government regulations to deal with. It is nevertheless shocking to learn precisely how food companies lobby officials, co-opt experts, and expand sales by marketing to children, members of minority groups, and people in developing countries. We learn that the food industry plays politics as well as or better than other industries, not least because so much of its activity takes place outside the public view.

Editor of the 1988 Surgeon General’s Report on Nutrition and Health, Nestle is uniquely qualified to lead us through the maze of food industry interests and influences. She vividly illustrates food politics in action: watered-down government dietary advice, schools pushing soft drinks, diet supplements promoted as if they were First Amendment rights.When it comes to the mass production and consumption of food, strategic decisions are driven by economics—not science, not common sense, and certainly not health.

No wonder most of us are thoroughly confused about what to eat to stay healthy. An accessible and balanced account, Food Politics will forever change the way we respond to food industry marketing practices. By explaining how much the food industry influences government nutrition policies and how cleverly it links its interests to those of nutrition experts, this pathbreaking book helps us understand more clearly than ever.

Cultured Beef and the Future of Global Meat Consumption

Would You Like Fries With Your Stem-Cell Burger? Cultured Beef And The Future Of Global Meat Consumption

According to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, the demand for meat will increase by more than two-thirds by 2050.  In the short-term, evidence suggests meat will become an ever-increasingly expensive “luxury” food over the next two decades.

But the long-term issues are far more alarming.

According to the researchers, current meat production methods are inefficient due to the amount of land required for the production of grain for feed. Animals transform only 15 percent of vegetable proteins into edible animal proteins. Cultured beef production could prove more efficient as it can be conducted in a controlled environment.

“Feeding the world is a complex problem. I think people don’t yet realize what an impact meat consumption has on the planet,” says Ken Cook, Co-Founder,Environmental Working Group. “Eighteen percent of greenhouse gases come from meat production, more than all global transport combined.  We just can’t keep doing what we’re doing. Unless we make some changes on how we produce meat on this planet, we’re in for a terrible reckoning.”

Livestock (before slaughter) release an enormous amount of methane, twenty times more potent a greenhouse gas than carbon dioxide.  If global meat demand does increase by 73 percent by 2050, where is that extra supply going to come from when we already use 70 percent of existing farmland for livestock?

Well, if the Maastricht University estimates are correct, cells from one single cow could eventually produce 175 million quarter-pounders.  In contrast, traditional farming methods would need 440,000 cows to accomplish that feat.  And they would have to slaughter every one of those animals to do it.  With cultured meat, the host animal is not killed.

So who is behind this project you ask?  None other than Sergey Brin, Co-Founder of Google.

“There are basically three things that can happen going forward. One is that we’ll all become vegetarians, and I don’t think that is very likely.  The second thing is we ignore the issues, and that leads to continued environmental harm. The third option is we do something new,” said Brin.

The Maastricht University hamburger cost more than €250,000 to produce.  But the researchers believe the high costs today are a small price to pay for the potential future benefits of Cultured Beef to all of mankind. In the long run Cultured Beef could be cheaper than conventionally farmed beef, and certainly better for the environment.

So how long before we are able to buy some cultured meat at the supermarket?  Current estimates say it will be at least ten years, but more likely twenty, before the cost to produce and supply the product can achieve a competitive price point.

Soylent, Andreessen Horowitz, Solve World’s Food Shortage

Soylent is a food substitute startup by a young software engineer. It raised $1.5 million in seed funding from angels and VCs such as Andreessen Horowitz (led by Chris Dixon).

Feedback from A Gawker taste test was mixed:

“It made me feel like joining a cult, after just one sip.”

“My mouth tastes hot and like old cheese.”

“It was great and I love it. I don’t want to eat anymore.”

The young entrepreneur, who has no formal education in either medicine or nutrition, aims to solve the world’s food problem by providing this low priced food substitute drink. Still, it doesn’t seem to be easy to put together all necessary ingredients.

We don’t think Soylent would be food of the future. But good luck to them.

Ancient Grains for Breakfast, Wheat Berries Recipe

Ancient Grains for Breakfast

I had already decided that this week I would play around with breakfast grains when I noticed that food manufacturers are also coming up with new ideas. I rarely look at the breakfast cereals on the shelves in the supermarket or at Trader Joe’s, as it’s easier and cheaper for me to put together my own combos. But this week, as I reached for a container of steel-cut oats, I noticed several prepared mixes of grains and seeds like oats, quinoa and flax, mostly for hot cereal, that I hadn’t seen before.

I wanted to use up some of the ancient grains and seeds I have on hand — amaranth, teff and chia seeds. I tried making a porridge with teff alone, and I wasn’t crazy about the flavor, so I combined these tiny seeds with oatmeal. I did the same thing with oats, amaranth and chia seeds. The combinations were pleasing, with the little seeds contributing texture to the porridges as well as bumping up the nutritional value considerably.

When I’m planning on porridge for breakfast on a weekday morning I begin the process the night before. I pour boiling water over the grains and cover the bowl with a plate. The next morning all I need to do is heat the mixture in the microwave for two to four minutes. I might also grate in some apple, but basically, hot cereal made this way requires no more fuss than a bowl of cold cereal with milk.

Two of the week’s breakfast Recipes for Health required longer cooking, so they’re more suitable for a leisurely weekend morning. One is a grits/millet combo that I bake in the oven like polenta. It’s not cheese grits; this one is sweet, topped with maple syrup and toasted pecans. The other is a hearty bowl of wheat berries (such as farro, spelt, or wheat berries), cooked with dried fruit and sweetened and spiced with cinnamon, anise and rose water. These I cook for an hour the night before, then let sit overnight off the heat, and if necessary simmer for a while again the next morning until they are tender and splayed. My favorite way to serve the wheat berries is stirred into a bowl of yogurt along with some of the sweet broth left in the pot.

Breakfast Wheat Berries

Wheat berries sweetened with honey and perfumed with rose water and spices make a delicious breakfast on their own or stirred into yogurt (that’s the way I prefer to serve this). Whether you use farro, kamut, spelt or wheat berries (and whether you are cooking them for breakfast or for dinner) the trick here is to cook the grains for as long as it takes for them to really soften and to splay (that is, to burst at one end).

Total time: About 1 1/2 hours, mostly unsupervised simmering (plus overnight soaking)

1 cup wheat berries

5 cups water

Salt to taste

1/4 cup honey, agave syrup or brown sugar, or more to taste

1/2 to 1 teaspoon rose water, to taste

1 teaspoon ground anise or fennel seeds

3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/8 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg

1/2 cup raisins or other chopped dried fruit of choice

1/3 cup chopped walnuts, almonds, hazelnuts, or a mixture for garnish

2 cups plain low-fat yogurt (optional)

Pomegranate seeds for garnish (optional)

1. The night before, combine wheat berries, 1 quart of the water and salt and bring to a boil in a saucepan. Reduce heat, cover and simmer 1 hour. Remove from heat, stir in the honey, agave syrup or sugar, rose water, anise or fennel seeds, cinnamon, nutmeg and raisins or dried fruit. Cover and leave overnight (or for 5 to 6 hours).

2. In the morning, add remaining cup of water to the wheat berries and bring to a simmer. Cook 30 to 45 minutes, stirring often, until berries are soft and splayed at one end. There should be some liquid surrounding the wheat berries (add more water if necessary). Taste and add more sweetener if desired.

3. Serve on their own with some of the liquid in the saucepan (stir in some milk if desired), or spoon about 1/3 cup yogurt into bowls and top with a generous spoonful of the berries, with some of the sweet broth. Top with a handful of chopped nuts and a few pomegranate seeds if desired.

Yield: Serves 4 to 6

Advance preparation: The cooked wheat berries will keep for 3 to 4 days in the refrigerator. The dried fruit will continue to swell and will lose flavor, but it will be captured in the broth.

Nutritional information per serving (4 servings): 358 calories; 7 grams fat; 1 gram saturated fat; 5 grams polyunsaturated fat; 1 gram monounsaturated fat; 0 milligrams cholesterol; 75 grams carbohydrates; 6 grams dietary fiber; 9 milligrams sodium (does not include salt to taste); 6 grams protein

High-Protein, Low-Carb Diet? It Can Be Risky

The Wall Street Journal—Research shows that a diet high in protein and low in carbohydrates can help shed pounds and normalize blood-glucose levels, improvements that lower the risk of diabetes and cardiovascular disease.

But will you live longer on a high-protein, low-carb diet? Two studies in the current edition of the scientific journal Cell Metabolism suggest the opposite. One involved an experiment conducted on mice, the other an 18-year study of humans who had divulged their dietary habits. Both studies found a strong association between longevity and a low-protein, high-carbohydrate diet, although the human study bore a twist: Beyond age 65, higher protein levels appeared to promote longevity.

“Those high-protein diets were developed with a shortsighted vision,” said Valter D. Longo, a University of Southern California professor of gerontology and biological sciences and the lead author of the human study. “On a high-protein, high-fat diet you can lose weight, but in the long run you may be hurting yourself.”

These studies are anything but definitive, showing only associations derived from highly limited evidence. But in gerontology, the influence of protein consumption on longevity is a hot topic. Last year, the American Federation for Aging Research hosted a symposium on “Optimal Protein Intake for Older Adults,” featuring a panel of scientists from academia and industry. No concrete answers emerged, except perhaps that protein consumption influences health in ways that are complex.

“High protein diets may be effective to lose weight rapidly,” said Elena Volpi, a professor of geriatrics at the University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston. “But very high protein diets may also be harmful.”

Even then, though, the takeaway is somewhat complicated. Americans tend to consume the bulk of their protein at dinner, and the body isn’t always able to process an entire day’s worth in one sitting, said Dr. Volpi, who wasn’t involved in either study. “It appears you can better use the protein you need if you distribute it across three meals, especially if you are a senior,” she said.

One prominent diet expert and high-protein opponent, physician Ron Rosedale, saw the studies as vindicating his longtime warning about the risks of excessive protein. But Dr. Rosedale, who advocates a diet high in so-called healthy fats such as those found in avocados, argues that high levels of carbohydrate consumption are no less dangerous. “If people take these studies as a thumbs up for high carbohydrates, that’s missing the point,” he said.

Brown Rice, White Rice, Obesity and Diabetes

“Let food be thy medicine and medicine be thy food” — Hippocrates

A simple change in diet from white rice to brown rice can reduce the risk of obesity and diabetes according to researchers at Harvard School of Public Health. And they are not alone in believing so.

Brown rice vs white rice (source: USDA)

Dietary 14% vs 7% , Manganese 88% vs 23%, Iron 5% vs 1%, Magnesium 21% vs 2%, Selenium 27% vs 14%, Vitamin B1, Thiamine 12% vs 2%, Vitamin B3, Niacin 15% vs 3%

17 ways to eat brown rice

Learn to cook brown rice

Brown rice, carrot, and cashew pilau

Chobani Greek-Yogurt Maker at $5 Billion, Founder Interview

Chobani founder Hamdi Ulukay interview: every entrepreneur, that has ambition to succeed big, should watch this.

Chobani seeks to raise capital at valuation of $5 billion according to The Wall Street Journal. The yogurt brand is considering either selling a stake to private investors/strategic partners or moving toward an IPO for an equity sale of 15% stake. They plan to use the proceeds for international expansions.

Hamdi Ulukaya, founder of Chobani, has built over $1 billion revenue just in 6 years since he started by acquiring the plant abandoned by Kraft in 2007. It is a real story.

According to Christopher Steiner, contributor to Forbes, he has focused on five main things:

#1. Keep your product simple. Know what you do and do it better than anybody.

#2. Invest in your core. For us, that’s our yogurt plant…

#3. When you market your business, know that can fool almost nobody anymore. There is too much information available to anybody who wants it. Be real…

#4. Focus on profit. I run my business like a mom and pop store. Cash is everything. Without it you can’t increase production and it’s hard to be innovative.

#5. Lead as an example. If you make yogurt, go to the plant. Work with your people; if you want people to work on Sunday, be there next to them.