A new study published in the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology (FASEB) Journal has found that a fatty acid found in fish oil has anti-cancer effects. The omega-3 fatty acid docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) which is present in fish was found to cause a certain type of cancer cell, called neuroblastoma, to die. Neuroblastoma, a tumor of the sympathetic nervous system is the most common form of cancer in infants and the most common solid cancer found outside the brain in children.

The researchers exposed the cancer cells to DHA and then observed the byproducts as it was metabolized into the cell and examined the growth of the cancer cell overall. What they found was that while the DHA killed the cell, metabolic derivatives of the DHA were even more effective in destroying the cancer.

The best part is that DHA is not harmful to healthy cells. While the cancer cells were unable to deactivate the DHA's building toxic derivatives, non-cancer cells have a natural protective system that neutralizes the toxic DHA byproducts as they are produced. Cancer cells become overwhelmed and die, while normal cells are unaffected.

Due to a large campaign by cereal companies back in the '70s and '80s, pretty much everyone knows how important fibre is in the diet. Fibre is the bulk component found in all plant foods that does not get digested when eaten. It is necessary for pushing the digested portions of food through the digestive tract. Getting enough fibre is associated with lower cholesterol levels, lowered incidence of colon cancer and

It is recommended that we get a minimum of 35 grams of fibre every day, but the truth is, we could do with a lot more than that. It is estimated that paleolithic man, existing before farm and therefore before grains made up a staple of his diet, ate up to 100 grams of fibre daily.

One of the more frequent topics I get asked about is sweeteners. Sweet, it seems, is a very comforting flavour. It seems a cruel joke that sugar, the very essence of the sweet flavour, is so detrimental to our health; implicated in everything from obesity to tooth decay and many disorders in between. Artificial sweeteners are really no better as, although controversial, much of the science on them shows they are extremely toxic.

I've advocated for using raw honey and maple syrup in moderation in the past, but the fact is, they're still sugar and are just as susceptible to abuse. Recent reports on agave point to the likelihood that it's not a healthy sweetener at all, but is really on par with high fructose corn syrup. The jury is still out on this one, but I'll be avoiding agave until a reliable answer comes.

So what is one to do? Are we doomed to never have a sweet indulgence that isn't accompanied with a side of blood sugar spikes, not to mention a heaping portion of guilt? Stevia is a great sweetener, but it does have a different sweet flavour; almost artificial in character (even though it is completely natural). In some applications it's fine, but some people find it hard to get used to.

Some people seem to have issues with the idea that emotions are associated with disease. Admittedly, the realm of emotional healing tends to bring to mind New Agey weirdos wielding crystals rather than hard science, but there is no denying that emotions have very real, material effects on the body and science is backing it up.

What we tend to feel as emotions are actually the effect of chemical cascades that visit cells in the body, signaling them to cause different responses. These chemical messengers have physical effects on the cells telling them to produce certain substances, retain vitamins or minerals or even turn on or off certain genes.

For example, stress causes the release of cortisol from the adrenal glands which activates the cells of the nervous system, getting the body ready to deal with stress. Chronic stress, which the body was never designed to accommodate, leads to the constant bombardment of the cells by cortisol leading to an inflammatory response which is implicated in many disease states (including arthritis, cardiovascular disease and even Alzheimer's disease).

Dear Healthy Foodie,

I'm a pretty healthy person. I eat really well and take vitamins and eat superfoods and drink smoothies and so on. Overall I would say I'm healthy 80 percent of the time. Now, what I want to know is, do I really have to beat myself up and feel bad about the other 20 percent? Cheesey, carby pasta dinners at nice Italian restaurants, an afternoon of beer and nachos at a pub, a vacation where fresh veggies are hard to come by? As long as I'm healthy most of the time do I really have to obsess? Can't the occasional indulgence be OK?!
Thanks,
Jen

Hi Jen,

There are many ways that you could approach this question, but really what it comes down to is what your goals are. If, for example, you're trying to deal with candida overgrowth and 80 percent of the time you're sticking to the protocol but the other 20 percent you're indulging in sugar, flour products and booze, you're not going to get anywhere with your goals. Similarly, if you're trying to lose weight and are on an anti-inflammatory diet, but you're "cheating" 20 percent of the time, you may never see any results.

Saturated fat has been the demon of the Western politically correct diet for the majority of the last century, but perhaps this new century will finally see it vindicated. A new study out of California has found that there is no link between saturated fat and cardiovascular disease (CVD), coronary heart disease (CHD) or stroke. The study, published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, pooled data from 21 different studies, looking at almost 350,000 subjects and found no relationship between heart disease and saturated fat consumption.

"Our meta-analysis showed that there is insufficient evidence from prospective epidemiologic studies to conclude that dietary saturated fat is associated with an increased risk of CHD, stroke, or CVD," writes Dr. Ronald Krauss, lead researcher from Children's Hospital Oakland Research Institute in California.

This is not really news in most holistic health circles. Pundits in the health community have been pointing to the health benefits of saturated fats for years. For example, fat researchers Sally Fallon and Mary Enig, Phd., explain that our ancestors ate lard, butter, meats, and dairy products and yet heart disease was an extreme rarity before 1920. On the other hand, our modern diets are rife with polyunsaturates like corn, soy and cottonseed oil, (used and processed incorrectly), all of which are oils that we are told are "heart healthy," and yet we see increasing rates of diseases of the heart. To summarize, the consumption of animal fat between 1910 and 1970 decreased by 21 percent, and yet heart disease rates increased exponentially. There's clearly something wrong with the saturated fat/heart disease hypothesis.

It's often touted by the holistic nutrition pundits that North America is a starving continent. It seems paradoxical that nations that have an out-of-control obesity problem could be said to be suffering from starvation, but there is logic behind the statement. With our nutrient-depleted foods coming from mineral-depleted soils, the over-processing of our foods and the artificial ingredients that replace real ingredients, the Western world is suffering from a starvation of nutrients!

In fact, it's reasonable to assume that this starvation is partially to blame for the obesity epidemic. People who eat nutrient-depleted food need to eat an excessive amount of it in order to satisfy the body's needs (although, it's usually a distended abdomen that stops a person from eating, not a true feeling of satiety). Ultimately, we eat excessive amounts of poor quality food in an effort to compensate for our cravings for nutrients and thus are gaining weight as a result.

On the road to an ideal state of health, people often have to make rather large changes in their diets. This can be a traumatic experience when many of our favourite foods need to be tossed to the wayside; sometimes this is only temporarily, but often for good. Lactose intolerance, for example, brings with it a whole list of foods that need to be avoided. Happily, many people find that when they give up dairy products their overall health and well-being improves. Many of us have minor hidden intolerances that are affecting our health without our being aware of it.

This recipe was created out of a need to make some substitutions for a client's state of mind: She loved creamy sauces but had to give them up when she found that dairy was no longer agreeing with her and this left her quite depressed. I came up with a way to give her what she wants with a dairy-free substitution.

This recipe uses coconut milk instead of dairy. While it's not a foolproof substitution, it is quite delicious. Plus the saturated fats in the coconut milk are healthy, energy delivering medium-chain triglycerides, which are also incredibly valuable to the immune system.

Recipe for Dairy-Free Creamy Chicken after the jump.

A reader recently wrote to me, "my brother in law has lung cancer and I have read a diet high in vitamin C and beta-carotene is NOT recommended where lung cancer is involved as it seems to aid the cancer to metastasize".

I get messages like this every once in a while from people wondering about lowering vitamin intakes after reading studies that have found correlations between vitamin supplements and certain disease states. I believe the scientific study this reader was referring to (American Journal of Epidemiology. 2009;169) was an epidemiological look at the correlation between supplementing with vitamin C and beta-carotene and lung cancer.

It's important to note that this study was not looking at dietary sources of these vitamins; it was looking at supplements. This brings up all sorts of questions about what sort of supplements the subjects were using, whether or not they were synthetic or natural vitamins, what the source of the nutrients were and what other sorts of ingredients were present. It may bring into question the methods vitamin companies use for extracting or creating their vitamin supplements and what sort of additives are included.

Hi there,
I've just started drinking smoothies every day and I'd like your advice. Currently, I put frozen fruit, yogurt, orange juice and two scoops of protein powder that I bought at Costco into my drinks. Does this seem like a good mix? Am missing anything important that I should be putting in there. And what exactly does the protein do for me?
Thanks,
Tim


Hi Tim,

This looks like a good starter smoothie to me. It's a great way to get you on the smoothie-making wagon and you can make alterations as you learn more about different nutrients and superfoods (stay tuned to my column for ideas). While most people start out making smoothies that taste great, I think one of the biggest advantages of smoothies is that they allow you to get nutrients and vitamins that you aren't getting from the rest of your diet.