Robyn's Blog

A yahoo group I belong to, “Natural LDS Women,” is having a debate about the “science” of the Weston Price Foundation, versus The China Study.” A recent poster said that with scientific “facts” so conflicting, you really just have to pray about it and go with your gut. “LDS” means Mormon (my religion), and in this post I refer to the famous before-its-time scripture known as the Word of Wisdom, as I have in other places in my writings, about nutrition:

I rarely have time to respond to yahoo groups even though I follow some threads, but this morning I responded with this posting, about the two research titans, about research in general, and about navigating the “science” versus “gut” decision making tension:

The first people to tell you there are no scientific “facts” are scientists themselves. We have evidence, but not proof. Good science is hard to come by. In the modern world, the vast majority of our “science” (not even qualifying as “facts”) is bought and paid for. That is, the science looks objective but is funded by someone with a profit motive.

Industries paying for lots of research such as pharmaceuticals, dairy, meat, or processed foods (four huge industries that are very powerful) may have sifted through a lot of data and cherry picked whatever makes them look good, for promotion and publication.

Studies begin to become compelling when they are valid and reliable, the two highest standards in research. Briefly, VALID means the study truly measures what it purports to measure. (If a study saying wine consumption reduces heart disease is valid, it will have controlled for the fact that wine drinkers are more affluent than beer drinkers–so they also eat more fruits and vegetables. That’s hard to do!) RELIABLE means the research study was repeatable with consistent results.

The China Study is one of the most reliable studies I have ever encountered. Colin Campbell (PhD, Cornell) conducted the original animal studies, but other researchers all over the world copied them with the same results, over and over. Then he found similar findings in humans–in a huge study of 6,500 people spanning now 30 years (so the study is also longitudinal–that’s expensive and very rare in research, but one of the ways to achieve validity).

When you see a study saying oatmeal prevents heart disease, you don’t run out and buy all the oatmeal you can and knock every other good thing out of your diet. You watch and wait until you see lots of OTHER studies showing the same thing. You have a healthy skepticism about what you read–open minded, keen eye looking for more data. You are waiting for further light and knowledge. And you use your common sense. (For instance, in this case, “Well, I know that UNREFINED oats have bran and germ–vitamins, minerals, and fiber–so it’s good. But other grains have the same thing, so I’ll keep using them, too.”)

Vitamin D is one of those issues. The first time I read a study that those getting more sun get vastly less cancer, I was intrigued but skeptical. Now, more and more research is coming out with consistent conclusions, and I am beginning to believe strongly that getting more Vitamin D is critical to the strength of our immune systems, to our ability to minimize disease risk, to our ability to build and maintain bone mass. And it’s hard to get enough D in places with long winters, or for people who aren’t outside much–without supplementation. It has given me pause, since I have not been much of a fan of taking vitamin supplements in the past. Now that it’s cold here in Utah, I can’t get sun. I took a Quest Diagnostics baseline test during my peak of sun exposure in July, and now I’m supplementing with Vitamin D tablets and will test again in Feb. or Mar. I want to know if my synthetic Vita D consumption actually is utilized in my own body.

Double blinded, placebo-controlled studies are the best. Peer reviewed articles in journals are the best. Even they are not foolproof, though. Plenty of flawed research has been published in the most prestigious journals of the world. Studies that have had to be pulled back when their flaws are revealed. Good research is extremely hard to achieve. It’s meticulous, it’s difficult to isolate one factor, and above all, it’s time consuming and expensive.

This is not the place to go into why I vastly prefer the more recent, more thorough work in The China Study to the much older, much more flawed, much more biased work the Weston Price Foundation has done.

But let me say this, briefly: the findings of China Study match the LDS Word of Wisdom that we discuss in this yahoo group and are a fan of. Campbell’s studies weren’t meat eaters versus vegetarians. They were meat eaters (20%, matching the Standard American Diet in that respect at least) versus eating meat sparingly, in times of winter, cold, and famine. (Language culled from D&C 89, The Word of Wisdom.) Following the Word of Wisdom wins–with more than 200 statistically significant findings. (That means that the margin of error is NOT the reason for the finding.)

Yes, pray and receive revelation to guide your journey through what is admittedly a CONFUSING path in nutrition and health. But also be smart, savvy, educated consumers of information. Some research–though NONE of it qualifies as “fact”–is better than others.

That’s my $0.02. With that and a quarter, you can buy a phone call.

Robyn
GreenSmoothieGirl.com

Just a note that the group buy to obtain raw, unpasteurized almonds and 15 other high-nutrition and raw food items for your food storage ends MONDAY (Nov. 30):

https://gsmg.infusionsoft.com/cart/store.jsp?view=1&i=3&navicat=3

Here’s the FAQ explaining the group buy, ship dates, etc.:

http://www.greensmoothiegirl.com/group-buy/nutrition-group-buys/

This morning I’m compiling my kids’ Christmas wish lists to brave Black Friday early in the morning with my girlfriend. (Gulp. I haven’t done that in 15 years.) I’m putting together the big vegetable plate (okay, I’m taking the plastic off the Costco one I bought) and making a giant fruit salad, as my contributions to Thanksgiving dinner at my mom’s.

I love when they give me that assignment–okay, raw fruits/vegs are ALWAYS my assignment–because then I know we won’t have a completely heavy, cooked meal. I have my kids fill their first plate up with the good stuff and then (gotta balance my wishes for them to be healthy with reality!) I let them do whatever else they want. I’m always interested to hear how YOU find that balance with your kids. It’s tricky in the modern world for sure. I hear from some of you that you get criticized for being “controlling” if you want to require good nutrition. (Check. Been there.)

Find the balance–it’s not easy, but giving up on health and nutrition is no answer either. Where the balance is, in your situation, is unique, but if you’re a mom or a dad, you’ll be given the intuition to navigate it as gracefully as possible. We’re all flawed. All we can do as parents is TRY, and then get up tomorrow morning and TRY AGAIN.

I love y’all for being here on my blog–because that means you’re TRYING.

I don’t generally like “drinking my calories,” but I do LOVE hot cocoa in the winter. And OH MY GOODNESS, I found the most lovely thing.

It’s Cocoa Mojo, quality organic chocolate (no alkaloids used) sweetened with unrefined coconut palm sugar, which is lower in calories with low impact on your blood sugar. (No blood sugar jolt!) It’s in the store and if you use the code COCOA you’ll get $1 off.

I love to put a big scoop of coconut milk powder in hot water first, to make “milk” that is rich in lauric acid. (This is the compound in mother’s milk that is rare in foods but abundant in coconut oil–Similac and all the rest synthesize it in that garbage they sell as “baby formula” to dry to duplicate human breast milk). It’s a powerful immune booster. After you stir in the coconut milk powder, add the cocoa.

So if you want both, get $2 off by going to the store and entering the code “COMBO” to get the coconut milk powder and the Cocoa Mojo.

I find TWO bags of Cocoa Mojo get me through ONE container of coconut milk powder, FYI.

It’s SO good and it’s a power food (with some other whole-food herbs added, but you won’t even notice). It’s a treat you’ll enjoy through the winter without guilt, when you want something sinful. It’s even shockingly low in calories! Mmmmmm.

Here’s the combo in the store:

http://tinyurl.com/yca5zc2

Love you tons, HAPPY THANKSGIVING! Do give thanks for all your blessings! Mine include good friends who get me through, four beautiful kids, the support and kindness shown me and others on this blog (FROM YOU!), good health, talents I have been given opportunity to use for service, enough money to take care of my family, a big garden, meaningful work that I look forward to (almost) every day, and interests that keep me growing and thinking.

Please tell me your top five things you’re thankful for this year! (Even if you’re reading this after Thanksgiving!)

While I’m blogging about a great M.D. whose frontline isn’t drugs, surgery, and technology interventions . . .

If you’re on the Wasatch Front, check out Dr. Garon Larsen. He is a dentist and attended a GreenSmoothieGirl class. He is highly interested in helping his patients with their nutrition, and he offers my books (and will be a 12 Steps dealer when we launch that, soon) in his practice. Even more wonderful, he is sending a lot of toothbrushes to Peru with us for the orphans, next month when we go on our humanitarian mission! Thank you Dr. Larsen!

He is a distance runner, and his professional interests don’t stop at dentistry: he also helps people use natural ways to address sleep apnea and snoring.

He doesn’t use amalgam fillings any more (I wish all the U.S. dentists would abandon them because of their mercury content–please always choose white/porcelain fillings).

Dr. Larsen is in Alpine, Utah, and his web site is

www.drglarsen.com

After reading a prior post, I had to see who Mr. Cutler was and how he looks. I hope this is not irresponsible to post this photo from the web.

One of my first blog entries when I put this site up two years ago was about my infertility story. I forget about it sometimes, since I have four wonderful children ages 9 to 16 and that trial is behind me. But what a hard time that was. All the infertility treatments and drugs are things I wish I didn’t do. I didn’t know better at the time. 

Recently Craig and I and my girlfriends went to Utah’s figure and bodybuilding (female and male) competition at Cottonwood High School, to support my friend Jamie.  Jay Cutler, three-time and current Mr. Olympian, was a “guest poser.”  We were in Las Vegas two months ago when he won his third title (he had lost, in 2^nd place, many times, to the same guy).

My goodness! Mr. Cutler is a freak of nature—or steroids–probably a combination of both!  People are not meant to be that huge. Craig says Cutler wakes up every two hours during the night to drink/eat protein powders / bars.  You’d have to, to support such massive muscle weight. This is not healthy—you probably already know if you read this site what I think about processed / fractionated soy and whey protein powders. I have hemp protein powder and SunWarrior raw fermented brown-rice protein powder for my teenage son, who asks for a protein shake every night at 10 p.m. For the rest of us, I believe we should trust nature to provide the right amounts of protein/carbs/fats in natural, whole foods, primarily from plants.

My two girlfriends I work out with, Jamie and Kristi, trained hard for a few months prior to Jamie’s competition. They ate nothing but protein (virtually no vegetables or fruits, even) for quite some time. It’s a way to bulk up, lean out, and cut up, but it’s not healthy to cut out complex carbohydrates with all their nutrition and fiber.

Jamie and her husband have been going to Vaughn Johnson in Provo, Utah for natural-method infertility treatments.  I love that he told them, “You don’t need drugs—you need to address both of your hormone imbalances [Jake is a former competitive bodybuilder]. And we can do that naturally.”

I am very impressed than a local M.D. isn’t sucked into the pressure to promote drugs and surgery as a way to address infertility issues. I wanted to pass that name along to anyone local who is struggling with infertility.

I also found this Toni Wechsler’s book Taking Charge of Your Fertility extremely helpful in solving my own problems 15 years ago. They never found anything wrong with me or him, and having read the book, I believe it was the medical intervention, ironically enough, that was sabotaging our efforts to start our family.  (I wish I’d found the book a few years earlier, before lots of drugs and 4 artificial inseminations and losing my oldest son’s twin.) I highly recommend it to anyone struggling to conceive. 

Dear GreenSmoothieGirl: Don’t apple seeds have cyanide or arsenic in them? (This was in response to yesterday’s post.)

Answer: I don’t think Snopes is the final answer on everything, but I like how they research topics. Here they are on apple seeds:

http://www.snopes.com/food/warnings/apples.asp

If this troubles you, by all means take that extra step of cutting the seeds out. But let me say this: you can get yourself really worked up about all the “harmful” compounds in natural plant foods we eat every day. I’ve blogged here plenty–and written in my books–about phthalates, oxalates, and other controversial compounds found in grains, greens, legumes, nuts, seeds, and fruits. If you isolated them from the VAST array of natural compounds that work together synergistically for good health, they could hurt you. (I doubt science will EVER fully understand WHY these foods are so disease-preventing because hundreds of things interplay in a simple apple.) Or if, by virtue of our sad (S.A.D.) modern lifestyle, you have developed a fairly rare condition exacerbated by compounds in natural foods, you could possibly have a reaction.

I come from several generations of people eating apple seeds (on my dad’s side, not my mom’s where you may have read the cancer lies). My dad grew up sprayed toxic chemicals WITHOUT A MASK in our family’s apple orchards in Santaquin, Utah. That includes now-banned-in-the-U.S. Malathion, which he once accidentally got sprayed full in the face by his brother. The only reason I can think of why he doesn’t have cancer is his healthy eating habits and a lifetime at a healthy weight, and self-disciplined exercise (move those toxins out of the bloodstream!).

But again, while I constantly encourage a non-paranoid, healthy, calm approach to eating plant foods that we KNOW empirically are good for us, you should cut the cores out of apples before putting them in your blender, if you feel uncomfortable with that.

Dear GreenSmoothieGirl: I was talking to someone today who said he puts whole, uncored apples in smoothies. Is that okay?

Answer: Absolutely. I do it too. However, if your apples are not organic, quickly cut out the divots in the top and bottom of the apple. That’s where the pesticides collect, and it’s hard to wash that part.

So today’s the day that the professionally photographed, professionally edited HOLIDAY recipe collection went live in the GSG store. We are getting wonderful feedback in emails already this morning—thank you!

Desiree Ward (Kyra Sedwick lookalike) is a GSG reader and vegan nutrition aficionado with amazing kitchen talents. Katie Dudley is another GSG reader who amazed me with her “food photography” skills (it’s different than taking pictures of people, you know—most photogs don’t do it). I introduced them and I think the synergy (with some of my recipes too) is the very best recipe collection we’ve ever done on this site.

Thank you, ladies—you are artists and geniuses. Here’s Katie’s shutterfly site to see photos of Halloween Chili, Raw Cinnamon Ice Cream, and lots more:

http://dudleyphotography.blogspot.com/2009/11/green-smoothie-girl-cookbook.html

We are offering it at $9.95 until next week, when it goes up to $14.95, so snatch it up. I think you’ll love it!

Here’s the link to it in the store, and the photo is Raw Pumpkin Pie you just might like better than the sugary cooked version:

Healthy Holiday Favorites for Rave Reviews

Healthy Holiday Recipes

Here’s a taste of the BEST recipe collection I’ve ever released on this site (coming tomorrow!)—Healthy Holiday Recipes for Rave Reviews.

Below is Desiree’s recipe for Carrot Cake Cupcakes that blew Craig’s mind and had him thinking of marrying her until he found out she was otherwise occupied (lucky for me).

And Craig says Desiree looks just like Kyra Sedgwick—don’t you agree?

Here’s a photo of the cupcakes, as well as a photo of Desiree and her little boy Isaiah’s green smoothie mustache (yes, OF COURSE you get a holiday green smoothie recipe in the new collection).

I’m also tossing in a photo of the Chia Snowballs, for those of you who got chia in the group buy. This recipe is EASY and YUMMY!  Chia absorbs 10x its own weight in water, so it’s GREAT for filling you up and helping you lose weight, plus it’s a nutritional powerhouse. (The recipe in the collection gives you more info about that.)

And just for fun, today I’m posting a photo of Butternut Squash and Lemongrass Soup, which is so lovely, and Raw Pumpkin Pie with Cinnamon Ice Cream (better than what you’ve always thought of as the “real thing!”).

I think tomorrow I’ll post the whole list of recipes. Can you tell I’m excited?

Carrot Cake Cupcakes  (2)

Don’t be intimidated by the long list of ingredients—these cupcakes come together beautifully and are really quite easy.

3 eggs (organic and free-range)

¾ C plain kefir

½ C coconut oil

⅓ C banana, mashed

1 C Sucanat

¾ C honey

2 tsp. vanilla

2 tsp. cinnamon

¼ tsp. sea salt

2 C Kamut flour (or whole-wheat flour ground very finely)

1 tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. baking powder

2 Tbsp. vital wheat gluten (to help the cake be light)

3 C fine shredded carrot

1 C crushed pineapple with juice

optional: 1 C shredded unsweetened coconut

optional: ½ C golden raisins

optional: ½ C rough chopped walnuts

Preheat oven to 350°. Blend the eggs with the Sucanat and honey. Add the coconut oil, kefir, mashed banana, vanilla and blend again. Sift the flour, cinnamon, salt, baking soda, baking powder, and vital wheat gluten through a fine strainer.

Stir the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients. Add the shredded carrot and the optional walnuts, coconut, and raisins, if using. Drop the batter by ¼ C into a greased muffin tin and bake for 15-20 min. To test if they are done, stick a toothpick in the middle and if it comes out clean, they are done.

[This is one of two excellent frosting recipes in the collection—the other one is vegan:]

Cinnamon Maple Cream Cheese Frosting

The perfect rendition of the all-time favorite cream cheese frosting, naturally sweetened with maple syrup. After trying this, you won’t want to turn back to the other sugar-filled cream cheese frosting.

8 oz. Nuefchatel

4-6 Tbsp. maple syrup (to taste)

½ C Sucanat

1 tsp. cinnamon

1 tsp pure vanilla

optional: 1 tsp. ultra gel, if the frosting isn’t thick enough, add ultra gel and blend

Blend the Sucanat in a high-power blender until fine. Add the cream cheese, maple syrup, and vanilla and blend until smooth.

Note: If the frosting is not thick enough to hold onto the cupcake, whip 1 Tbsp. of ultra gel into it and let it sit for 5 minutes.