Saturday, July 26, 2014

Health and Diet Extremism


I will be adding to this post.  

2016
"Foods That Can Cause Problems", color and bolding added by me, @thyroiduk_org

"Goitrogenic foods can act like an antithyroid drug in disabling the thyroid function. They prevent the thyroid from using available iodine. ... made worse if you use a lot of salt ... causes the thyroid to swell. ... Do not eat these in large amounts if you are taking thyroid hormone replacement. ... Brussels sprouts, ... turnips, cauliflower, cabbage ... kale ... Almonds, peanuts ... walnuts ... Sweetcorn ... Soya ... combined with a high fibre diet causes too much thyroid hormone and iodine to be excreted from the body ... cook these foods thoroughly if you want to eat them"

2015
"Are chocolate's health claims for real"? color and bolding added by me
"A range of health benefits from the consumption of cocoa products have been investigated, particularly in relation to cardiovascular disease, with early results showing promise." = UNPROVEN

2015 - The basis of a LOT of raw cacao health claims!
"Chocolate's health touters 'may have misunderstood local reality' of tribe", color and bolding added by me, @CBCNews
"I looked into how much locally grown cacao people were actually consuming and the results were quite outstanding," Barnes said. "It would appear as though they are not consuming much at all."
"Where Chocolate Begins and Research Methods End: Understanding Kuna Cacao Consumption", 2013, by Jeffrey Ivan Barnes, color and bolding added by me
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/253329299_Where_Chocolate_Begins_and_Research_Methods_End_Understanding_Kuna_Cacao_Consumption
"I found that the actual consumption of locally grown cacao among Kuna people is negligible, notwithstanding the claims of researchers" 

What made the above story interesting to me wasn't one researcher's contradiction of the claims - it was media IGNORING the story until 2015 - on top of the fact those SAME other claims remain UNPROVEN today - except to unscrupulous manufacturers - and of course quacks - all shilling for money! 


It's now 2016 - and they are not there now either! The EFSA has approved a cocoa flavanol health claim with stipulations! 

2015 
"BARRY CALLEBAUT GUIDANCE ON THE USE OF THE COCOA FLAVANOL HEALTH CLAIM IN THE EUROPEAN UNION", color and bolding added by me 
http://www.acticoa.com/uploads/guidance_EU.pdf
"it is not authorised to refer to any disease risk factor or to children’s development or health. Using the claim on products specifically designed for children can therefore not bear the cocoa flavanol health claim." for example.

2014

Love this! Read banana ingredients! 

Some people who only eat raw food ignore real toxic ingredients because "all chemicals are "bad", and they do not realize chemicals are in EVERYTHING, including raw food. Processes (cooking, baking, pasteurization, etc.) do not necessarily make food less nutritious. They can make it more so, and SAFE to eat.  

2013 
"Ask Well: Does Boiling or Baking Vegetables Destroy Their Vitamins?", @nytimeswell
"Several studies have shown that while cooking can degrade some nutrients, it can enhance the availability of others. As a result, no single cooking or preparation method is best, and that includes eating vegetables raw." 

2013 
It is not a good idea to indulge in buckwheat sprouts, or adopt extremism in health or diets, ignoring reputable science.
From the pdf
"Since there is no accurate toxicological information on fagopyrin, safe intake of buckwheat sprouts can be estimated on the basis of hypericin phototoxic doses if further consideration of molecular differences ... to hypericin is not done. Taking this into account, the consumption of 0.14 g of dry mass sprouts per kg body mass per day can be estimated, which corresponds to approximately 40 sprouts. The intake of 10 g of dry mass (or approximately 30 g of fresh mass) of buckwheat sprouts may, on the other hand, cause severe phototoxicity, but this might strongly depend on the exposure to sunlight, body mass and age." 

See also the Townsend Letter, 2004, which the pdf research published in 2013 backs up, and poses more questions. 
http//www.townsendletter.com/Dec2004/buckwheat1204.htm  

2011
"Can you substitute cacao powder for cocoa powder in recipes?, @thekitchn

See comment by Cocoa Lady 
"Maybe that is why bigger, more serious companies don't have this product, since they do not want to be liable for false advertising ... I just disagree with misleading the general public just to make juicy profits." So do I! Kudos to you!