Dree's Notes

News that common emulsifiers in processed foods are linked to health problems such as metabolic syndrome, inflammatory bowel conditions, and obesity, are not encouraging. Not if you love ice cream and chocolate. Ice cream couldn't even be good ice cream without the addition of emulsifying agents, which maintain its creamy texture and consistency upon freezing. Blending fat with water is just what emulsifiers do, improving the properties of margarine, mayonnaise, peanut butter, baked goods and processed meats. Common emulsifiers include lecithin, monoglycerides, and polyglycerol esters, but there are many more food additives that perform this function. Why most of them seem to be "bad" has to do with the effect they have on gut microbes and the mucus that lines the intestinal tract. When the mucus is thinned by emulsifiers, "good" microbes can turn "bad" and inflammation results. What about lecithin as a nutritional supplement? Isn't it sup...

Vegans, beware! Although a plant-based diet is healthier in many respects, you need to be aware of food preparation methods that reduce phytic acid in beans, nuts, grains and seeds so that you don't end up with deficiencies of key nutrients and minerals. With all the talk about the health benefits of eating "raw", we tend to forget that there were some very good reasons for food preparation methods in the first place. Plants protect their next generation by locking up phosphorus and minerals with phytic acid, which also chelates calcium, iron, zinc, and other minerals as phytate. Phytate is not "bioavailable", which means you cannot digest it. Traditional food preparation methods such as soaking, sprouting, fermenting, boiling and baking developed to increase human nutrient absorption, in part by depleting phytic acid in seeds. Some seeds, such as kidney beans, are even toxic if consumed raw. How do animals get by without sophisticated food preparatio...

As with most people taking courses and not working, monthly bills matter. Telephone and internet services are must-haves, but prices keep creeping up. We switched to Yak from Shaw almost a year ago, and I am writing about it today because during the switch we lost our landline phone number (thank you, Shaw!), and our kids still have a hard time remembering the new number. Which can be an issue, as with yesterday, when a child was on a field trip. (I finally wrote the new number with permanent pen inside each of their backpacks.) So, here is my review: vs. We started our subscription in 2006 with Shaw due to issues with Telus billing practices. At that time, Shaw didn't seem like big telecom - it was smaller, friendlier, cheaper. Our monthly bill was around $70 for internet, cable, and landline (we don't do a lot of long-distance). Shaw's subscription cable offerings quickly became a joke in our household. Unless you're willing to pay extra for more...

Accompanying my son on a school field trip provided a unique opportunity to hear another perspective on food production (farming) and food safety. Although I grew up on an acreage with a huge garden, raising farm animals, and having farm families in our social circle, I have spent most of my adult life as a city-dweller. Boy, has farming changed. Welcome to Twin Valley Farms (http://twinvalleyfarms.ca/), where farming is now agribusiness and high-tech. Irrigation is initiated with a cell phone application. Seeders and sprayers now cover fields more or less automatically, guided by GPS. Crops such as faba/fava beans and other legumes that most Canadians don't eat are grown for consumers in India and Egypt. Canola is of the genetically engineered variety, and glyphosate is seen as environmentally friendly, reducing tillage and fuel consumption. Monsanto is seen as a friendly business partner. It's interesting to meet people who genuinely believe in their agricultural...

Since enhancing diversity and maintaining populations of good species in your gut are so important to good health, it follows that one should regularly consume fermented foods. Fermented vegetables in particular, since they are both probiotic (adding good species) and prebiotic (feeding the right species). But how does one get a hold of a good variety of tasty fermented vegetables? What if you don't want to eat kimchi and the kind of sauerkraut you occasionally see at some grocery stores, all the time ? The answer is you start making your own. Enter the Ferment Your Vegetables book by Amanda Feifer. What I liked about this book is that it reassured me that fermenting veggies is safe. It explained how to identify a batch that has "gone bad" (colorful mold or a swiss cheese odor). Such problems are rare anyway, and can't happen if the PH is below 4, you use sufficient salt, and only ferment at room temperature for a week or less. (You can safely put the batc...