Use Your Leftover Thanksgiving Turkey for Roast Turkey Vegetable Soup

By Dr. Mercola

Another Thanksgiving has come and gone, which means today you may have a refrigerator that’s overflowing with leftovers. Ironically, the holiday season from Thanksgiving to New Year – a time centered on gratitude and giving – is actually one of the most wasteful times of year.

Household waste, including trash from packages and wrapping paper along with food waste, increases by more than 25 percent during the holidays, adding an additional 1 million tons a week to US landfills.¹

As for turkey, Americans buy about 581 million pounds for Thanksgiving, and throw away 200 million of them – that’s more than one-third of it, wasted. According to the National Resources Defense Council:²

“Along with trashing uneaten turkeys… [Americans will] be wasting the resources necessary for its production…

…meaning 105 billion gallons of water (enough to supply New York City for over 100 days) and greenhouse gas emissions equivalent to 800,000 car trips from New York to San Francisco. That’s enough turkey to provide each American household that is food insecure with more than 11 additional servings.”

If you’ve got turkey leftover, don’t throw it in the trash. Repurpose it into another meal. Even the bones and carcass can be used to make an incredibly delicious and healthy roast turkey vegetable soup.

Roast Turkey Vegetable Soup

This recipe for Roast Turkey Vegetable Soup, from Earthbound Farm Organic,³ is perfect after Thanksgiving, but you can make it year-round (and substitute organic pastured chicken, if you like).

It makes use of your leftover turkey meat and, even better, the bones and carcass. The latter, which many people throw away as “waste,” are actually what make this soup so good for you – it creates nourishing bone broth.

Roast Turkey Vegetable Soup4 Ingredients 1 organic turkey carcass (with most meat removed) 2 yellow onions (cut into 8 pieces each) 2 large carrots (cut into 1-inch lengths) 2 stalks celery (cut into 1-inch lengths) 1 bay leaf 3 sprigs fresh thyme 12 fresh parsley stems 1 tsp whole black peppercorns 1 large carrot (cut in half lengthwise, then crosswise into 1/4-inch slices) 2 stalks celery (sliced 1/4 inch thick) 1 small fennel bulb (cored, cut in half, and sliced 1/4 inch thick) 1 leek (cut in half lengthwise, then crosswise into 1/4-inch slices) 1 cup green beans (cut into 1-inch lengths) 2 small zucchini (cut in half lengthwise, then crosswise into 1/4-inch slices) 3 cups cubed cooked turkey meat (optional) Salt (to taste) Freshly ground pepper (to taste) Directions Preheat the oven to 400°F. Place the turkey carcass and bones in a roasting pan and place in the oven. Roast for 45 minutes, then add the onions, carrots, and celery to the pan. Cook until the vegetables and bones begin to brown, 30 to 45 minutes. Transfer the contents of the roasting pan to a large stock pot. Add cold water to completely cover the bones and bring to a simmer over high heat. Add the bay leaf, thyme sprigs, parsley, and peppercorns; reduce the heat to a setting that will maintain a slow simmer. Cook the stock for 4 hours, adding more water if the level drops below the bones and vegetables. Let cool for 30 minutes, then strain the stock through a colander or sieve, pressing on the solids to extract all the liquid. Discard the contents of the colander. At this point, you can continue with the soup recipe, or cool the stock and refrigerate it, covered, for up to 5 days, or freeze it. Return the stock to a large Dutch oven or 4-quart pot. Add the carrots and cook the soup over medium heat for 10 minutes. Add the celery, fennel, and leeks, and cook for 5 minutes. Add the green beans and raise the heat to medium-high. Cook for 5 minutes, then add the cubed turkey and the zucchini. Continue cooking until the zucchini are tender, about 5 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper, and serve hot.

Bone Broth Is Healing to Your Gut

Bone broth is a staple of the GAPS Diet, which is based on the Gut and Psychology Syndrome (GAPS) principles developed by Dr. Natasha Campbell-McBride. It is an excellent food to improve your gut, bone, and joint health.

The GAPS diet is often used to treat children with autism and other disorders rooted in gut dysfunction, but just about anyone with allergies or less than optimal gut health can benefit from it, as it is designed to heal leaky gut.

If your gut is leaky or permeable, partially undigested proteins have the opportunity to pass through your intestine and access your bloodstream and contribute to allergic reactions. This is known as leaky gut syndrome, or LGS.

When your intestinal lining is repeatedly damaged due to reoccurring leaky gut syndrome, damaged cells called microvilli become unable to do their job properly. They become unable to process and utilize the nutrients and enzymes that are vital to proper digestion.

Eventually, digestion is impaired and absorption of nutrients is negatively affected. As more exposure occurs, your body initiates an attack on these foreign invaders. It responds with inflammation, allergic reactions, and other symptoms we relate to a variety of diseases.

The primary food that you focus on eating if you start out on the GAPS diet is bone broth, because not only is it very easily digested, it also contains profound immune-optimizing components. This is why, even if you don’t have gut issues, bone broth is still a wonderful staple food to include in your diet.

6 Top Benefits of Bone Broth

There are many reasons for incorporating good-old-fashioned bone broth into your diet. The following health benefits attest to its status as "good medicine."

Helps heal and seal your gut, and promotes healthy digestion: The gelatin found in bone broth is a hydrophilic colloid. It attracts and holds liquids, including digestive juices, thereby supporting proper digestion	Inhibits infection caused by cold and flu viruses, etc.: A study published over a decade ago found that chicken soup indeed has medicinal qualities, significantly mitigating infection5
Reduces joint pain and inflammation, courtesy of chondroitin sulphates, glucosamine, and other compounds extracted from the boiled down cartilage	Fights inflammation: Amino acids such as glycine, proline, and arginine all have anti-inflammatory effects. Arginine, for example, has been found to be particularly beneficial for the treatment of sepsis6 (whole-body inflammation). Glycine also has calming effects, which may help you sleep better
Promotes strong, healthy bones: Bone broth contains high amounts of calcium, magnesium, and other nutrients that play an important role in healthy bone formation	Promotes healthy hair and nail growth, thanks to the gelatin in the broth

You Can Make Bone Broth from Beef, Pork, or Fish, Too

If you’re not a fan of turkey, don’t worry. You can also make bone broth using whole organic chicken, whole fish (including the head) or fish bones, beef marrow bones, or pork. Each will render a different flavor, with chicken being the mildest. Perhaps the most important caveat when making broth, whether you're using turkey, chicken, or beef, is to make sure the bones are from organically raised, pastured or grass-fed animals. As noted by Sally Fallon, chickens raised in concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFOs) tend to produce stock that doesn't gel, and this gelatin has long been valued for its therapeutic properties.⁷ As noted by Hilary Boynton, co-author of The Heal Your Gut Cookbook: Nutrient-Dense Recipes for Intestinal Health Using the GAPS Diet:

"You definitely want to get the best bones you can get—bones from pastured animals. If you can't find a farmer in your area, reach out to your local Weston A. Price chapter leader... There are also resources to get homemade bone broth if you can't make it yourself. ...If you can only get CAFO bones, I guess you go with that. You can still get some healing benefits. But it would be better to go with bones from pastured animals."

If you’re wondering when you’ll have time to simmer bone broth for hours on the stove, try preparing homemade bone broth by using a slow cooker or crockpot. A slow cooker is actually an excellent way to go, as it is safer than leaving a burner on for extended periods. To use a slow cooker, you will need to first bring the broth to a boil in a pot on your stove (since a slow cooker won’t boil), then skim the scum off the top. Pay careful attention to this stage, as once the broth begins to boil the scum is rolled right back into the broth. The scum are the impurities that you want to remove. You can then transfer the broth to your slow cooker and turn it on to low heat for 24 to 72 hours.

What Else Can You Do to Reduce Food Waste During the Holidays?

You’ve now got a way to use up all that leftover turkey, including the bones and carcass. But what about your other leftovers? First, reduce the amount of excess at future holiday meals by cooking only as much as you need. There are many free calculators online to help you make an accurate estimate. One to try is the Perfect Portion Tool from Love Food Hate Waste.⁸ While shopping, look for locally produced foods, which are fresher and keep longer, as well as have a smaller ecological footprint.

You can also make a point to buy the “ugly ducklings” in the produce section, which makes use of food that might otherwise be thrown away. When you store your food, such as produce, create a "vacuum pack" to help protect it from oxygen and airborne microbes that will accelerate its decay. Leave the produce in the bag it came in from the grocery store, place it against your chest, and use your arm to squeeze the excess air out of the bag. Then seal it with a twist tie (or use an automatic vacuum sealer like the FoodSaver).

Next, turn your food scraps into valuable fertilizer by composting. This benefits soil, plants, and the greater environment, while keeping more food waste out of landfills. Finally, donate excess food and garden produce to food banks, soup kitchens, pantries, shelters—and your friends and neighbors. If you’re adventurous, there are even apps available, such as LeftoverSwap, that allow you to swap leftovers with others in your community.

How Your Oral Health Contributes to Your General Health and Wellbeing

By Dr. Mercola

Many people do not realize how their oral health can impact their total body health. But the truth is, it's very difficult to achieve high-level physical health if your dental health isn't effectively addressed.

Dr. Gerry Curatola, founder of Rejuvenation Dentistry, has over 30 years' experience in biological dentistry.

For Dr. Curatola, dentistry was a calling since childhood, but unlike most dentists, he really wanted to be "a physician of the mouth." So, after graduating from dental school in 1983, he enrolled in the country's first master's program in holistic health.

"My desire and my focus have always been to look at the mouth as the gateway to total body wellness," he says.

"Beyond that, I became very disturbed that I was a member of a profession—its organized component, the American Dental Association—that is still saying it's okay to put mercury in teeth.

In addition to that, all of the research that was emerging about fluoridation made it very clear that this wasn't the panacea for all dental problems. As a matter of fact, it's responsible for a lot of other problems that we're dealing with today."

How Your Oral Health Impacts Your Systemic Health

Thousands of studies have linked oral disease to systemic disease. Inflammation is well-known as a "ravaging" and disease-causing force, and gum disease and other oral diseases produce chronic low-grade inflammation in your body.

"This inflammation has very, very deleterious effects on just about every major organ system – from Alzheimer's to stroke, heart disease, and diabetes," Dr. Curatola explains.

Advanced periodontal disease or gum disease can raise your risk of a fatal heart attack up to 10 times. According to Dr. Curatola, if you get a heart attack related to periodontal or gum disease, nine times out of 10, it will actually kill you.

There's also a 700 percent higher incidence of type 2 diabetes among those with gum disease, courtesy of the inflammatory effects of unbalanced microflora in your mouth. But how does the microflora in your mouth cause inflammation, you might ask?

When the bacteria that cause tooth decay and gum disease enter into your circulatory system, it causes your liver to release C-reactive proteins, which has inflammatory effects in the entire circulatory system.

"There's a very, very close connection. As I said, the mouth is the gateway to total body wellness. That is an accurate statement that's well-accepted today," Dr. Curatola says.

Rejuvenation Dentistry, founded by Dr. Curatola in 2006, was created as a model for the future practice of dentistry. The model recognizes that dentists often see patients more frequently than most other healthcare practitioners, and can play a much more significant role in people's health than they do currently.

"[Patients] come in for regular checkups and cleanings. And we should be screening... In the mouth, we can diagnose a host of systemic problems.

There are some estimates that up to 80 percent of systemic disease have manifestations in the mouth – everything from blood problems, even leukemia, diabetes, other fungal and bacterial infections that have systemic components," he says.

The Importance of Your Oral Microbiome

Part and parcel of oral health is attending to your oral microbiome. Achieving oral health is really about promoting balance among the bacteria in your mouth. And contrary to popular belief, antimicrobial agents and alcohol mouthwashes designed to "kill bad bacteria" actually do far more harm than good.

The oral microbiome, while connected to the gut microbiome, is quite unique. Most importantly, it has a protective component that protects you from deadly viruses and bacteria in the environment. The second function of the oral microbiome is the beginning of digestion.

"When we look at the oral microbiome, it's an essential component of the salivary immune system; it aids in digestion, and it even makes vitamins. We are looking at ways to promote oral microbiome homeostasis.

When we do that, we see amazing things happen, so amazing that you might not get the flu this winter... [I]mmune competence is a very important first line of defense, and that immune competence starts in the mouth."

Interestingly, probiotics do not work in the mouth, so it's not as simple as adding more beneficial microbes. As an initial step, you need to cease killing microbes in your mouth.

"[P]athogens have been redefined since the Human Microbiome Project (HMP) in 2002. Pathogens are now being recognized as resident microbes that are out of balance," Dr. Curatola explains.

”When they’re under attack, they hunker down, they flick a switch... What we’re recognizing is that the same bacteria that keep us alive can have a pathogenic expression when disturbed. I have been kind of tooting the horn about getting out of the 'pesticide business.' I’m also speaking about natural pesticides.

Not just triclosan, clorhexidine, and those synthetic types, but also tea tree oil, tulsi oil, oregano oil and other antimicrobial oils that, albeit they’re herbal, they have a potent disturbing effect on the oral microbiome. 

In the mouth, you don’t want to have a 'scorched earth policy' or nuking all the bacteria and hoping the good bugs come back.

What we found in our research is that good bugs basically have a harder chance of setting up a healthy-balanced microbiome when you disturb them, denature them, or dehydrate them with alcohol-based products."

Nutrition and Homeopathy

So what are the alternatives? Certain nutrients are very important for optimal gum health. Vitamin C is one; Coenzyme Q10 is another. CoQ10 is a critical cofactor in the Krebs cycle, which is how energy is created in your cells. Bleeding gums, for example, often exhibit a deficiency of CoQ10.

There are also a number of homeopathic tissue salts that can be beneficial for oral health, including:

• Silica
• Calcarea fluorica (calc fluor) or calcium fluoride
• Calcium phosphate
• Calcium carbonate

Why Fluoride Is Not Recommended for Dental Health

Calcium fluoride should not be confused with the chemical formulation of sodium fluoride, which is toxic. Sodium fluoride is the kind found in toothpaste, which carries a poison warning. This stems back to the 1980s with the introduction of a popular bubble gum flavored commercial toothpaste that led to a 280 percent increase in child fatalities from fluoride poisoning. As it turned out, there was more than enough chemical fluoride in a full-sized tube to kill a young child.

It took 10 years, but finally in 1998 the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) mandated a poison warning be placed on toothpaste, stating that children should be supervised, and to limit toothpaste to a pea-sized amount. If more than that is swallowed, you're advised to contact Poison Control Center immediately. Fluoride over-exposure from toothpaste, fluoridated water, and other sources, has led to a virtual epidemic of fluoride damage. At present, four out of 10 adolescents in the US have fluoride-damaged teeth—a condition known as dental fluorosis.

"[F]luoride was promoted because it stimulates remineralization of teeth. What they didn't look at is what type of mineral is left in that tooth—it's a mineral known as fluorapatite... Fluorapatite is very hard. It's like a porcelain plate; I can't scratch it, but if I bang it on this counter, it would break in a million pieces... [Natural] teeth and bones are made of hydroxyapatite... We now have teeth and bones that are fluorapatite," Dr. Curatola explains.

"Skeletal fluorosis has also become a big concern. We have an exponential rate of hip fractures. A lot of doctors and scientists have been pointing to the fact that teeth and bones are less flexible as fluorapatite than hydroxyapatite. This is aside from all the controversy in terms of fluoridated water lowering IQ, kidney disease, and cancer..."

The Case for Oil Pulling

Dr. Curatola’s clinical and experimental experience over the last 30 years suggests that most toothpastes should be avoided. As a substitute, you need to have a good nutritional program for systemic health, along with an oral rinse that specifically nourishes your oral microbiome. He also recommends oil pulling, using coconut oil, noting that: “If you don’t want to use toothpaste right now and you don’t have a good nutritional that promotes oral microbiome homeostasis, coconut oil pulling is great.”

Coconut oil pulling has a lipophilic effect, helping to eliminate unhealthy biofilm from your teeth. And while it has a natural detergent effect, it doesn't do the damage that chemical detergents do. Coconut oil also contains a number of valuable nutrients that help promote oral health. Another tip: If you want a healthy oral care rinse, Dr. Curatola suggests rinsing with some Himalayan salt dissolved in water, as it contains more than 85 different microminerals.

Optimizing Your Nutrition Is Key for Oral Health

It's also worth noting that while probiotics do not have a direct effect on your oral microbiome, addressing your gut flora can indeed make a big difference in your oral health. I used to be severely challenged with plaque—so much so I required very frequent visits to the dental hygienist just to keep up with it. Once I started adding fermented vegetables regularly to my diet however, the plaque buildup was dramatically reduced.

"You have to think about promoting balance," Dr. Curatola reminds us. "We've looked at organic gardening and the environment around us and even eating organic foods. I'd like everyone to think about doing 'organic gardening' in the mouth. The way you do that is through a strong, healthy, and balanced nutritional protocol. I call it triple-A nutrition – alkalizing, antioxidant-rich, and anti-inflammatory. People should know what nutritional factors are inflammatory. There are inflammatory triggers, whether it's gluten, dairy, and a number of others. They can vary for different individuals."

In addition to an alkalizing, antioxidant-rich, and anti-inflammatory diet, he recommends eliminating detergent-based products such as toothpaste and antibacterial and alcohol-based mouthwashes. Again, it's important to remember that your mouth is an organ that protects your body from dangerous infections and disease—provided it's nourished enough to do its job. You can learn more about Dr. Curatola's New York City based practice, Rejuvenation Dentistry, on his website. The following links can also help you find a mercury-free, biological dentist who can help you optimize your oral health:

• Consumers for Dental Choice
• International Academy of Biological Dentistry & Medicine (IABDM)
• Dental Amalgam Mercury Solutions (DAMS). E-mail them at: dams@usfamily.net or call 651-644-4572 for an information packet
• Huggins Applied Healing. You'll need to fill out a form and they will connect with you to find a suitable dentist in your area
• Holistic Dental Association
• International Association of Mercury Safe Dentists

Do You Have Trouble Swallowing Vitamins?

By Dr. Mercola

About 40 percent of Americans have trouble swallowing pills, even though in most cases these same people report no trouble swallowing food or beverages.¹

For some, the difficulty is severe enough that it prevents them from using pills altogether, which can be problematic if you’re interested in supporting your health with supplements or in the cases where medications are truly necessary.

In a minority of cases, the problem may be physical. Dysphagia, or underlying swallowing difficulties, stroke, or surgery for gastroesophageal reflux can all make it difficult to swallow pills. In most cases, however, the difficulty is psychological in nature, often related to a fear of gagging.²

One Harris Interactive poll found, in fact, that among people who have problems swallowing pills, 80 percent describe the unpleasant sensation of having a pill stuck in their throat, 48 percent describe having a bad aftertaste in their mouth, and 32 percent describe gagging.

This isn’t to say that the difficulty is all in your head… there may actually be a mind-body reason why swallowing pills is different than swallowing a similarly sized piece of food…

Swallowing Pills May Throw Off Your Body’s Natural Swallowing Process

Stephen Cassivi, a thoracic surgeon at the Mayo Clinic, who specializes in esophageal disorders, spoke with the Wall Street Journal about swallowing pills, and explained why so many people may find it difficult.³ There is a natural, three-phase process that your body goes through when swallowing:

• Oral (chewing, moistening, and deliver food to the back of your mouth)
• Pharyngeal (closing the larynx by your epiglottis and vocal cords and temporarily inhibiting breathing while food passes)
• Esophageal (the rhythmic contractions of the esophagus as it delivers your food to your stomach)

The latter two phases are largely instinctual while the oral phase is the voluntary phase. However, you must swallow a pill without chewing it first, which is why it feels so unnatural. As noted in the Wall Street Journal:⁴

“’We have an unconscious ability to know when food is moistened and masticated enough to be delivered to the back of the throat,’ Dr. Cassivi says.

For instance, no one chews yogurt—typically one just swallows it—but not being able to chew a hard substance like a pill can throw the mind-body connection in swallowing off, he says.”

According to the Harris poll, drinking lots of liquid is the most common way that people try to make swallowing pills easier. Less clear, however, is how effective these other options actually are:

• Drinking water in big gulps
• Tilting your head back
• Placing the pill on the back of your tongue
• Trying to swallow the pill multiple times
• Splitting the pill in two

Two Techniques to Make Swallowing Pills Easier

Given how common pill-swallowing difficulties actually are, researchers from the University of Heidelberg in Germany set out to determine a way to help. They recruited 150 and had them try one of two methods for swallowing a variety of differently shaped pills: the “pop-bottle method” for tablets and the “lean-forward technique” for capsules). According to the researchers:⁵

“Both techniques were remarkably effective in participants with and without reported difficulties swallowing pills and should be recommended regularly.”

In fact, the pop-bottle method improved swallowing of pills in nearly 60 percent of those who tried it, while the lean-forward technique worked in nearly 89 percent! NPR gave a clear re-cap on how to do them:⁶

The Pop-Bottle Method

Designed for swallowing large, dense tablets, first put the tablet on your tongue. Then close your lips tightly around a plastic bottle filled with water. Suck the water from the bottle and tilt your head back as you swallow.

The Lean-Forward Technique

This technique is designed for swallowing capsule-style pills. Place the capsule on your tongue, take a medium sip of water, and lean your head forward as you swallow. By tilting your head forward, the capsule naturally moves toward your throat, making swallowing it easier.

3 More Pill-Swallowing Tips

Dr. Cassivi listed several other tips that can make pills go down easier.⁷ Ideally, try practicing these methods with a pill-size piece of food to see which one works best for you and become comfortable with it before trying an actual pill.

1. Positive Reinforcement: Remind yourself that you can do it. Think logically, reminding yourself that the pill is probably smaller than the last piece of meat you swallowed.
2. Look to the Side: By turning your neck, the upper esophageal sphincter opens more, which may make swallowing easier.
3. Use Distraction: Place the pill in a type of food you don’t normally chew, such as a spoonful of raw kefir. This makes it easier to swallow the pill without chewing it first.

Try EFT for Fear of Gagging

Do you tense up at the mere thought of swallowing a pill? Are you fearful of gagging and choking, or did you have an unpleasant experience swallowing a pill in the past?

This can make your throat muscles tighten, making it much more difficult to swallow anything. In this case, overcoming the emotional barrier will make swallowing easier. Using relaxation techniques, like deep breathing, can help with tension, but my favorite technique for overcoming anxiety and fear is the Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT).

EFT was developed in the 1990s by Gary Craig, a Stanford engineer specializing in healing and self-improvement. It’s akin to acupuncture, which is based on the concept that a vital energy flows through your body along invisible pathways known as meridians. EFT stimulates different energy meridian points in your body by tapping them with your fingertips, while simultaneously using custom-made verbal affirmations. This can be done alone or under the supervision of a qualified therapist.

By doing so, you help your body eliminate emotional “scarring” and reprogram the way your body responds to emotional stressors. Since these stressors are usually connected to physical problems, many people’s diseases and other symptoms can improve or disappear as well. In the following video, EFT therapist Julie Schiffman discusses how to use EFT.

Do You Need to Reduce Your Reliance on Pills?

When speaking of pills, I am primarily referring to nutritional supplements, but, unfortunately, many people taking pills daily are actually taking pharmaceutical drugs. Over the course of a lifetime, the average person may be prescribed 14,000 pills (this doesn’t even include over-the-counter meds), and by the time you reach your 70s you could be taking five or more pills every day, according to Pill Poppers, a documentary.

Many people assume that the medications they’re taking are exerting carefully designed effects on specific biological pathways in their bodies. In reality, these effects were not designed but rather observed – often simply as a matter of sheer dumb luck – and the medication was then “discovered.” While these may sound like beneficial “mistakes,” the surprises can work both ways. Often, drugmakers and scientists are “surprised” to learn that their new blockbuster drug leads to unknown (or undisclosed) side effects, altering and disrupting far more functions in your body than was first realized.

The truth is, no drug is side effect-free – a fact that many loyal pill takers are not aware of. These side effects are then often treated with… even more drugs, perpetuating a vicious cycle. You don’t have to fall victim to the drug industry’s hype and find yourself taking a handful of pills every morning. Most chronic diseases, including cancer, heart disease, diabetes, and obesity, are largely preventable with simple lifestyle changes. Even infectious diseases like the flu can often be warded off by a healthy way of life.

On the other hand, staying well naturally, without the use of drugs or even frequent conventional medical care, is not only possible, it may be the most successful strategy you can employ to increase your longevity. Even most nutritional supplements can be avoided by eating right, getting daily sun exposure and taking other positive lifestyle steps. For the cases when a supplement is warranted, however, you can often find them in non-pill versions, such as liquid, healthy gummy or even airless pump technology, which comes out in a fine spray.

Documentary Exposes How Sugar and Our Food System Fuels Obesity

How Sharing Food Makes You a Better Person

By Dr. Mercola

In the realm of family dinners, Thanksgiving is king. Perhaps no other day of the year do so many Americans sit down to break bread together, often sharing their meal “family style” and passing each dish from person to person until everyone has been served.

This tradition feels intrinsically good – and this is no coincidence. People have been sharing food since the beginning of time. In those days, during primitive times, there was no choice, of course. Societies had to work together to not only hunt and gather their meal but also to distribute it fairly.

Today, many of us have access to individual meals and single-sized portions, such that sharing is no longer a necessity. But the Thanksgiving tradition of sharing food is one that deserves to be experienced all year long.

Sharing Food with Others Is Good for You and Your Children…

Sitting down to a meal with others is beneficial in multiple ways. A recent study by researchers from the University of Antwerp in Belgium looked specifically at the act of sharing food with everyone at the table.¹

They analyzed data about frequency of shared meals during childhood and showing characteristics of an altruistic personality in early adulthood, and a strong association was found.

Those who shared meals more often as children scored higher on the altruism scale, exhibiting such positive pro-social personality traits as giving directions to strangers, offering their seats on public transportation, helping their friends move, and volunteering.²

To be clear, this refers to sharing food with others at a meal, such as by eating “family style” where the food is served on large platters from which everyone partakes. It is not the same thing as going out to dinner with a group of friends during which each person orders an individual entrée.

The researchers explained that sharing food presents a perfect opportunity to think about fairness and other acts of altruism. They noted:³

“In contrast to individual meals, where consumers eat their own food and perhaps take a sample of someone else's dish as a taste, shared meals are essentially about sharing all the food with all individuals.

Consequently, these meals create situations where consumers are confronted with issues of fairness and respect. One should not be greedy and consume most of a dish; instead, rules of polite food sharing need to be obeyed.”

90-Year-Old Man Arrested for Feeding the Homeless

In an ironic turn of events, while sharing food helps children develop altruistic behaviors, showing altruism in public might get you arrested. This was the case for 90-year-old Arnold Abbott, who is facing 60 days in jail after being arrested in Fort Lauderdale, Florida for feeding the homeless.

The city recently passed a controversial ordinance that restricts where charitable groups can feed the homeless on public property, in what is described as a way to control the area’s growing homeless population.

Abbott, however, has no plans of stopping. After being arrested on November 2 along with two pastors, he was cited again by police on November 6. Mayor Jack Seiler has defended the arrest, and told Abbott to secure an indoor location instead.

In response, Abbott said that no indoor venues to feed the homeless are available, and he intends to continue with his mission outside until the mayor finds him a suitable location indoors.⁴

84 Percent of US Families Say Dinner Together Is Their Favorite Part of the Day

A 2014 study found that the majority of American households eat meals together less than five days a week.⁵ This is unfortunate as a separate study found 84 percent said the time their family eats together is actually one of their favorite parts of the day.⁶

Beyond simple enjoyment, research shows that children who share family meals three or more times a week are more likely to be in a healthy weight range and have healthier eating patterns. They’re less likely to eat unhealthy foods, more likely to eat healthy foods and less likely to have an eating disorder.⁷

Meanwhile, teens who eat with their families at least five times a week are 40 percent more likely to get As and Bs in school than their peers who don’t share family meals.

They’re also 42 percent less likely to drink alcohol, 59 percent less likely to smoke cigarettes and 66 percent less likely to try recreational marijuana. They were also less depressed.⁸ The benefits are truly profound. Separate research showed that with each additional family dinner, adolescents had:⁹

• Fewer emotional and behavioral problems
• Greater emotional well-being
• More trusting and helpful behaviors toward others
• Higher life satisfaction

The reality is that family relationships appear to grow stronger around the dinner table, with another study concluding:¹⁰

“Our findings suggest that family meals may provide a unique opportunity for building stronger families and young people. Creating environments where frequent family meals are normative, valued and feasible for families may result in benefits for young people that extend beyond good nutrition.”

12 Tips to Avoid Food Waste on Thanksgiving and Every Day

Another reason to eat family meals together, of course, is because it allows you to choose what types of food to eat. A large part of the benefit is the time you spend preparing your meal and cleaning up. Getting your children involved teaches them invaluable lessens about food preparation and how you function together as a family, as well as how to plan and prepare healthy meals.

As part of that lesson, you can teach your children (and learn yourself) how to avoid and reduce food waste. The average consumer wastes 61 percent of the food he or she purchases, and Thanksgiving dinner is one of the worst offenders. You can help to reduce your waste and use of your leftovers with the following 12 tips:¹¹

• Buy only what you need: Try to make an accurate guess of how much food you’ll need so you’re not left with leftovers you can’t use up.
• Check the clearance section: This can save you money, but you’ll also be helping to consume a food before it ends up in the landfill. You may be surprised at what types of healthy foods can be found in your grocery store’s bargain bin.
• Use the whole vegetable: Rather than peeling your veggies, leave the skin on. You’ll get more nutrients and reduce waste (ideally choose organic vegetables if you’ll be eating the skin). If you’ll be eating beets or turnips, you can also eat both the root and the greens.
• Help charities find “blemished” produce: If you volunteer on Thanksgiving, use the app Food Cowboy, which helps connect produce shipments that have been rejected for aesthetic reasons with charities.
• Compost your food scraps: Many of your Thanksgiving leftovers can be turned into compost.
• Freeze your leftovers: If you can’t finish all of your turkey, freeze them for later use.
• Create new meals: Get creative with your leftovers, repurposing them as soup, salad, or healthy casseroles.
• Send your leftovers to someone in need: If you have prepared foods that weren’t served, or packaged goods you didn’t eat, certain organizations, such as City Harvest, will distribute them to people in need.
• Donate leftover produce to AmpleHarvest.org: If you purchased produce you can’t use, AmpleHarvest.org is a national service that distributes fresh produce to hungry people. This one is also useful if your garden produces more produce than your family can consume.
• Download a food waste app: A growing number of apps aim to connect hungry people with other people’s leftovers or excess ingredients. Two to try are CropMobster and SpoilerAlert.
• Try LeftoverSwap.com: This site connects people with too many leftovers with others who want to eat them. You simply take a picture of your leftovers, post it, and arrange for a pick up.
• Donate scraps to a zoo or farm: Local zoos or farms will sometimes take leftover food scraps for animal feed. Check with those in your area for details.

Enjoying Family Meals Takes Proper Planning

One of my favorite sayings with respect to your meals is if you fail to plan, then you are planning to fail. Family meals don’t just happen… you’ve got to make them happen. This means not only shopping ahead of time so you have the food available to cook, but also setting aside the time to eat together. Many sports for kids are scheduled at the family dinner hour, for instance, or parents may have a hard time getting home from work at a reasonable hour.

If you value the importance of a family meal, however, you must make it a priority. This might mean your family meal takes place at lunchtime instead of dinnertime on certain days of the week, but ideally strive to eat together as often as you can, scheduling non-essential activities around your dinner, and not the other way around. Most Americans make time for this on Thanksgiving… but chances are you can make time for it on “regular” days as well.

Developing an Attitude of Gratitude Can Help You Live a Longer, Happier Life

By Dr. Mercola

Besides sharing time with family and friends over food, the primary ingredient of the American Thanksgiving holiday is gratitude. While it’s certainly good to have an annual holiday to remind us to express gratitude, there’s much to be said for the benefits of cultivating the spirit of thankfulness year-round.

People who are thankful for what they have are better able to cope with stress, have more positive emotions, and are better able to reach their goals. Scientists have even noted that gratitude is associated with improved health.

As noted in a previous article on this topic published in the Harvard Mental Health Letter,¹ "expressing thanks may be one of the simplest ways to feel better:"

"The word gratitude is derived from the Latin word gratia, which means grace, graciousness, or gratefulness (depending on the context). In some ways gratitude encompasses all of these meanings. Gratitude is a thankful appreciation for what an individual receives, whether tangible or intangible.

With gratitude, people acknowledge the goodness in their lives. In the process, people usually recognize that the source of that goodness lies at least partially outside themselves.

As a result, gratitude also helps people connect to something larger than themselves as individuals — whether to other people, nature, or a higher power.

...People feel and express gratitude in multiple ways. They can apply it to the past (retrieving positive memories and being thankful for elements of childhood or past blessings), the present (not taking good fortune for granted as it comes), and the future (maintaining a hopeful and optimistic attitude).

Regardless of the inherent or current level of someone's gratitude, it's a quality that individuals can successfully cultivate further."

Gratitude—It Does a Body Good

Dr. P. Murali Doraiswamy, head of biologic psychology at Duke University Medical Center once stated that: "If [thankfulness] were a drug, it would be the world's best-selling product with a health maintenance indication for every major organ system."²

One way to harness the positive power of gratitude is to keep a gratitude journal or list, where you actively write down exactly what you're grateful for each day. In one study,^{3, 4} people who kept a gratitude journal reported exercising more, and they had fewer visits to the doctor compared to those who focused on sources of aggravation.

As noted in a previous ABC News article,⁵ studies have shown that gratitude can produce a number of measurable effects on a number of systems in your body, including:

Mood neurotransmitters (serotonin and norepinephrine)	Inflammatory and immune systems (cytokines)
Reproductive hormones (testosterone)	Stress hormones (cortisol)
Social bonding hormones (oxytocin)	Blood pressure and cardiac and EEG rhythms
Cognitive and pleasure related neurotransmitters (dopamine)	Blood sugar

Ways to Cultivate Gratitude

Cultivating a sense of gratitude will help you refocus your attention toward what's good and right in your life, rather than dwelling on the negatives and all the things you may feel are lacking.

And, like a muscle, this mental state can be strengthened with practice. Besides keeping a daily gratitude journal, other ways to cultivate a sense of gratitude include:

• Write thank you notes: Whether in response to a gift or kind act, or simply as a show of gratitude for someone being in your life, getting into the habit of writing thank-you letters can help you express gratitude in addition to simply feeling it inside.
• Count your blessings: Once a week, reflect on events for which you are grateful, and write them down. As you do, feel the sensations of happiness and thankfulness you felt at the time it happened, going over it again in your mind.
• Pray: Expressing thanks during your prayers is another way to cultivate gratitude.
• Mindfulness meditation: Practicing "mindfulness" means that you're actively paying attention to the moment you're in right now. A mantra is sometimes used to help maintain focus, but you can also focus on something that you're grateful for, such as a pleasant smell, a cool breeze, or a lovely memory.

Expanding the Science and Practice of Gratitude

Three years ago, the Greater Good Science Center at the University of California,⁶ in collaboration with the University of California, launched a project called "Cultivating Gratitude in a Consumerist Society." This $5.6 million project aims to:

• Expand the scientific database of gratitude, particularly in the key areas of human health, personal and relational well-being, and developmental science;
• Promote evidence-based practices of gratitude in medical, educational, and organizational settings and in schools, workplaces, homes and communities, and in so doing…
• Engage the public in a larger cultural conversation about the role of gratitude in civil society.

In 2012, 14 winning research projects were announced, with topics covering everything from the neuroscience of gratitude, to the role of gratitude for the prevention of bullying. The organization has a number of resources you can peruse at your leisure, including The Science of Happiness blog and newsletter,⁷ and a Digital Gratitude Journal,⁸ where you can record and share the things you're grateful for. Scientists are also permitted to use the data to explore "causes, effects, and meaning of gratitude."

For example, previous research has shown that employees whose managers say "thank you" feel greater motivation at work, and work harder than peers who do not hear those "magic words." As noted in a previous Thanksgiving blog post in Mark's Daily Apple:⁹ "[R]esearch¹⁰ has shown that being on the receiving end of a person's gratitude can boost subjects' sense of self-worth and/or self-efficacy. It also appears to encourage participants to further help the person who offered the gratitude but also another, unrelated person in an unconscious 'pay it forward' kind of connection."

Cultivating an Attitude of Gratitude as Part of a Healthy Lifestyle

Starting each day by thinking of all the things you have to be thankful for is one way to put your mind on the right track. Also, remember that your future depends largely on the thoughts you think today. So each moment of every day is an opportunity to turn your thinking around, thereby helping or hindering your ability to think and feel more positively in the very next moment.

Most experts agree that there are no shortcuts to happiness. Even generally happy people do not experience joy 24 hours a day. But a happy person can have a bad day and still find pleasure in the small things in life.

Be thankful for what you have. When life gives you a 100 reasons to cry, remember the 1,000 reasons you have to smile. Face your past without regret; prepare for the future without fear; focus on what's good right now, in the present moment, and practice gratitude. Remember to say "thank you"—to yourself, the Universe, and others. It's wonderful to see a person smile, and even more wonderful knowing that you are the reason behind it! And with that, I wish you all a Happy and Healthy Thanksgiving!

EWG Releases Dirty Dozen Guide to Food Additives

By Dr. Mercola

When you eat processed foods, you can virtually guarantee that you’re also consuming any number of questionable food additives. More than 10,000 such additives are allowed in food when you factor in those that are added directly to your food as well as those in the packaging (which can migrate to your food).

Additives are used in food processing to slow spoilage, prevent fats and oils from going rancid, prevent fruits from turning brown, and fortify or enrich the food with synthetic vitamins and minerals to replace the natural ones that were lost during processing.

They’re also added to improve taste, texture, and appearance, as many processed foods would be as dull and bland as cardboard without some artificial help.

Unfortunately, many of these additives have been linked to health concerns, while others have been granted “Generally Recognized as Safe” (GRAS) status without pre-market review or approval. As the Environmental Working Group (EWG) reported:

“This system makes sense for benign additives such as pepper and basil, but there are enormous loopholes that allow additives of questionable safety to be listed as GRAS.

Manufacturers can decide whether these compounds are safe without any oversight by the Food and Drug Administration [FDA] – and in some cases obtain GRAS status without telling the FDA at all.”

12 Worst Food Additives to Avoid

To help you sort through the questionable compounds on food labels, EWG has released their Dirty Dozen Guide to Food Additives.¹ It includes additives already linked to health concerns, those that have been banned or restricted in other countries, and substances that simply have no business being in food.

1. Nitrites and Nitrates

Sodium nitrite is a synthetic preservative added to meats like hot dogs and deli meat to help them maintain that nice pink color. The problem is, in the presence of heat—especially high heat—nitrites can combine with amines in processed meat to form nitrosamines, and these are carcinogenic.

Nitrosamines inflict cellular damage and have been linked to cancer, typically in your colon, bladder, stomach, or pancreas.² The California Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment is currently considering listing nitrite in combination with amines as a known carcinogen.

Nitrates are present in many vegetables, such as beets, celery, lettuce, spinach, and most other leafy green vegetables, and this has lead to some confusion. Nitrites and nitrates are not inherently bad for you—in fact, they are the precursor to nitric oxide (NO), which lowers your blood pressure and exerts mild anti-inflammatory effects.

Remember, it is the nitrosamine formation that is dangerous. Processed meats are far more prone to nitrosamine formation than vegetables, due to being higher in amines and intensively heat processed.³

2. Potassium Bromate

You might not be aware of this, but nearly every time you eat bread in a restaurant or consume a hamburger or hotdog bun you are consuming bromide, an endocrine-disrupting chemical commonly used in flours.

The use of potassium bromate as an additive in commercial breads and baked goods has been a huge contributor to bromide overload in Western cultures.

Bromated flour is “enriched” with potassium bromate. Commercial baking companies use it because it makes the dough more elastic and better able to stand up to bread hooks. However, Pepperidge Farm and other successful companies manage to use only unbromated flour without any of these so-called “structural problems.”

Studies have linked potassium bromate to kidney and nervous system damage, thyroid problems, gastrointestinal discomfort, and cancer. The International Agency for Research on Cancer classifies potassium bromate as a possible carcinogen. Potassium bromate is banned for food use in Canada, China, and the European Union (EU).

3. Propyl Paraben

Propyl paraben is an endocrine-disrupting chemical used as a food preservative. It’s commonly found in tortillas, muffins, and food dyes and may also contaminate foods via packaging.

Research has shown that 91 percent of Americans have propyl paraben in their urine, and tests on beverages, dairy products, meat, and vegetables found the chemical in about half of the samples.⁴

Propyl paraben has weak estrogenic activity, which makes it relevant when it comes to estrogen-sensitive cancers like breast cancer. This substance has been found to accelerate the growth of breast cancer cells, impair fertility in women, and reduce sperm counts and testosterone levels.⁵

4. Butylated Hydroxyanisole (BHA)

Butylated hydroxyanisole (BHA) is a preservative that affects the neurological system of your brain, alters behavior, and has the potential to cause cancer. It can be found in breakfast cereal, nut mixes, chewing gum, butter spread, meat, dehydrated potatoes, popcorn, chips, and beer, just to name a few.

BHA is known to cause cancer in rats, and may be a cancer-causing agent in humans as well. According to the US Department of Health and Human Services, National Toxicology Program's 2011 Report on Carcinogens, BHA "is reasonably anticipated to be a human carcinogen.”

The international cancer agency categorizes it as a possible human carcinogen, and it’s listed as a known carcinogen under California’s Proposition 65.

BHA may also trigger allergic reactions and hyperactivity. BHA is banned from infant foods in the UK and is banned from use in all foods in certain parts of the EU and Japan. In the US, the FDA considers BHA to be a GRAS additive.

5. Butylated Hydroxytoluene (BHT)

BHT is chemically similar to BHA and the two preservatives are often used together. While BHT is not considered a carcinogen like BHA, it has been linked to tumor development in animals.

It’s also been linked to developmental effects and thyroid changes in animal studies, which suggests it may be an endocrine-disrupting chemical. In the US, BHT is given GRAS status.

6. Propyl Gallate

Propyl gallate is a preservative used to prevent fats and oils from spoiling. It’s often found in sausage, frozen pizza, and other processed foods that contain edible fats. The National Toxicology Program reported that propyl gallate is associated with tumors, including rare brain tumors, in rats. EWG also reported:⁶

“A 2014 opinion by the European Food Safety Authority concluded that the available reproductive studies on propyl gallate are outdated and poorly described. In addition, there is incomplete data on whether propyl gallate is an endocrine disruptor; some evidence suggests it may have estrogenic activity.”

7. Theobromine

Theobromine is an alkaloid found in chocolate. It has effects similar to caffeine, and is the reason why chocolate is so highly toxic to dogs. In 2010, a company (Theocorp) requested that the FDA grant theobromine GRAS status so it could be added to bread, cereal, sports drinks, and other foods. The FDA raised several important questions, including whether reproductive and developmental effects seen in animals exposed to theobromine would apply to humans.

They also estimated that human consumption could be up to five times higher than the company reported as safe. The company withdrew their GRAS request, but it was later granted GRAS status anyway, and now is used in foods “outside of FDA oversight.” As EWG reported:⁷

“Theobromine is just one example of an enormous loophole in the FDA’s voluntary GRAS notification process. The food additive industry is allowed to designate a substance as GRAS without even notifying the agency, relying instead on ‘expert panels.’ Theocorp’s submission triggered important questions from FDA scientists about the additive’s safety. Instead of addressing them, the company withdrew the request, and the GRAS designation was made later without FDA approval. In some cases, companies forego FDA’s notification process altogether.”

8. Natural and Artificial Flavors

What’s particularly alarming when you see a word like “artificial flavor” or even “natural flavor” on an ingredients label is that there’s no way to know what it actually means. It could mean that one unnatural additive is included, or it could be a blend of hundreds of additives. Strawberry artificial flavor can contain nearly 50 chemical ingredients, for example.⁸

Most people assume that a natural flavor describes something like strawberries, garlic, or chili pepper used to naturally season food. In reality, most natural flavors are created in a laboratory, just like artificial flavors. The only difference is that natural flavors must be sourced from a natural product, whereas artificial flavors do not. According to the Code of Federal Regulations:⁹

“The term natural flavor or natural flavoring means the essential oil, oleoresin, essence or extractive, protein hydrolysate, distillate, or any product of roasting, heating or enzymolysis. These contain the flavoring constituents derived from a spice, fruit or fruit juice, vegetable or vegetable juice, edible yeast, herb, bark, bud, root, leaf or similar plant material, meat, seafood, poultry, eggs, dairy products, or fermentation products thereof, whose significant function in food is flavoring rather than nutritional.”

In the end, natural flavors often bear little resemblance to the natural product from which they came. Many times, the resulting chemical may even be identical to those created synthetically to make artificial flavors, yet it will likely be more expensive. Some natural flavors even contain propylene glycol, a solvent, or the preservative BHA! Genetically engineered flavor enhancers can also be listed under the artificial flavor (or natural flavor) label. One exception is certified organic natural flavors, which must meet more stringent guidelines and cannot contain synthetic or genetically engineered ingredients.

9. Artificial Colors

Every year, food manufacturers pour 15 million pounds of artificial food dyes into US foods -- and that amount only factors in eight different varieties.¹⁰ As of July 2010, most foods in the EU that contain artificial food dyes were labeled with warning labels stating the food "may have an adverse effect on activity and attention in children." The British government also asked that food manufacturers remove most artificial colors from foods back in 2009 due to health concerns.

Nine of the food dyes currently approved for use in the US are linked to health issues ranging from cancer and hyperactivity to allergy-like reactions -- and these results were from studies conducted by the chemical industry itself.¹¹ For instance, Red # 40, which is the most widely used dye, may accelerate the appearance of immune system tumors in mice, while also triggering hyperactivity in children.

Blue # 2, used in candies, beverages, pet foods and more, was linked to brain tumors. And Yellow 5, used in baked goods, candies, cereal, and more, may not only be contaminated with several cancer-causing chemicals, but it's also linked to hyperactivity, hypersensitivity, and other behavioral effects in children. Even the innocuous-sounding caramel color, which is widely used in brown soft drinks, may cause cancer due to 4-methylimidazole (4-MeI), a chemical byproduct formed when certain types of caramel coloring are manufactured.

10. Diacetyl

The artificial flavoring called diacetyl is often used as a butter flavoring in microwave popcorn. It’s also used to flavor dairy products, including yogurt and cheese, and exists in some “brown flavorings,” including maple, strawberry, and raspberry flavors. Research shows diacetyl has several concerning properties for brain health and may trigger Alzheimer’s disease. Diacetyl has also been linked to respiratory damage, including inflammation and permanent scarring of the airways, in workers at a microwave popcorn plant.¹²

11. Phosphates

Phosphates are added to more than 20,000 products, including fast food, baked goods, and processed meats. They’re used to reduce acid, improve moisture retention, and facilitate leavening. Phosphates have been linked to some concerning health conditions, including heart disease. The European Food Safety Authority is currently reevaluating adding phosphates to food, but the results of their study aren’t expected until the end of 2018.

12. Aluminum Additives

Sodium aluminum phosphate, sodium aluminum sulfate, and many other aluminum additives are found in processed foods as stabilizers. This metal can accumulate and persist in your body, especially in your bones, and animal studies show aluminum may cause neurological effects, including changes in behavior, learning, and motor response. A link between Alzheimer’s disease and other neurodegenerative disorders and aluminum exposure may also exist.

What Happens When You Eat Processed Foods?

Processing modifies or removes important components of food, like fiber, water, and nutrients, changing the way they are digested and assimilated in your body. Unlike whole foods, which contain a mix of carbohydrates, fats, proteins, fiber, and water to help you feel satisfied, processed foods stimulate dopamine, a feel-good neurotransmitter, making you feel good even though the food lacks nutrients and fiber. This artificial dopamine stimulation can lead to excessive food cravings and, ultimately, food addiction.

Mood swings, memory problems and even depression are often the result of a heavily processed-food diet. In fact, the greatest concentration of serotonin, which is involved in mood control, depression, and aggression, is found in your intestines, not your brain! Many scientists believe that your gut is your second brain and they work in tandem, each influencing the other. Your intestinal health can have a profound influence on your mental health, and vice versa – and why eating processed foods that can harm your gut flora can have a profoundly negative impact on your mood, psychological health and behavior.

Plus, refined carbohydrates like breakfast cereals, bagels, waffles, pretzels, and most other processed foods quickly break down to sugar. This increases your insulin and leptin levels, and contributes to insulin and leptin resistance, which are the primary underlying factors of nearly every chronic disease and condition known to man, including weight gain. And, because processed foods are stripped of nutrients your body needs, you could be eating a large number of calories but still become malnourished. In just three generations, a nutrient-deficient diet can lead to infertility, which is on the rise in the US.¹³ Plus, processed foods often contain genetically modified (GM) ingredients, which are also linked to reproductive problems and additional health concerns.

The Easiest Way to Eliminate Processed Foods from Your Diet?

When it comes to staying healthy, avoiding processed foods and replacing them with fresh, whole foods is the "secret" you've been looking for. This might sound daunting, but if you take it step-by-step as described in my nutrition plan it’s quite possible, and manageable, to painlessly remove processed foods from your diet. Remember, people have thrived on vegetables, meats, eggs, fruits, and other whole foods for centuries, while processed foods were only recently invented. Many of the top executives and scientists at leading processed-food companies actually avoid their own foods for a variety of health reasons!

I believe you, too, should spend 90 percent of your food budget on whole foods, and only 10 percent on processed foods (unfortunately most Americans currently do the opposite). This requires that you plan your meals in advance. Ideally, this will involve scouting out your local farmer's markets for in-season produce that is priced to sell and planning your meals accordingly, but you can also use this same premise with supermarket sales. You can generally plan a week of meals at a time, make sure you have all ingredients necessary on hand, and then do any prep work you can ahead of time so that dinner is easy to prepare if you're short on time in the evenings (and you can use leftovers for lunches the next day).

If cravings are a problem for you, please see my article on how to eliminate junk-food cravings. One of the most effective strategies to eliminate sugar cravings is intermittent fasting, along with diet modifications that effectively help reset your body’s metabolism to burn fat instead of sugar as its primary fuel. If your carb cravings are linked to an emotional challenge, a psychological acupressure technique called the Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT) can rapidly help you control your emotional food cravings. If you're currently sustaining yourself on fast food and processed foods, cutting them from your diet is one of the most positive life changes you could ever make.

Americans Have More Toxic Flame Retardants in Their Bodies Than Previously Thought... Free Test Can Determine if You’re Sitting on Toxic Furniture

By Dr. Mercola

While odorless, flame retardants like polybrominated diphenyl ethers, or PBDEs, are far from innocuous. They were recently identified as one of 17 "high priority" chemical groups that should be avoided to reduce your breast cancer risk,¹ for instance.

Previous studies have shown that an estimated 90 percent of Americans already have flame-retardant chemicals in their bodies, making this an issue well worth considering—especially if you have young children, or are of child-bearing age.

Worse yet, recent tests² have revealed that many Americans have no less than six different types of toxic flame retardants in their system.

The presence of chlorinated tris (TDCIPP) was particularly surprising, as this chemical was phased out of children's pajamas in the 1970s. As reported by Medicine Net:³

“The researchers tested urine samples from California residents and found detectable levels of a rarely studied group of flame retardants known as phosphates, and one -- tris-(2-chloroethyl) phosphate (TCEP) -- has never been seen in Americans before.

TCEP, a known carcinogen that can also damage people's nervous and reproductive systems, was detected in 75 percent of the people tested...”

Are You Sitting on Toxic Furniture?

Buying a new couch for your home is exciting, but once it's delivered and in your family room, you might notice a strong chemical scent wafting from the cushions, especially if they're made of polyurethane foam.

Your cozy couch cushions are likely to be doused in chemicals by the manufacturer. The ones that give off the "chemical" scent are probably toxic volatile organic compounds (VOCs) while another equally (if not more so) dangerous class of chemicals – flame retardants – have no smell at all.

Duke University has an excellent program as part of their Superfund Research Center that allows you to send in a sample of foam and have it tested for flame retardants… for free! It's virtually the only way for the average person to find out what's really lurking in their couch cushions (see the details below)…

How Flame Retardants Came to Reside in Your Couch (and in Many Other Household Items)

Flame-retardant chemicals were developed in the 1970s, when 40 percent of Americans smoked and cigarettes were a major cause of fires. The tobacco industry, under increasing pressure to make fire-safe cigarettes, resisted the push for self-extinguishing cigarettes and instead created a fake front group called the National Association of State Fire Marshals.

The group pushed for federal standards for fire-retardant furniture, and in 1975 California Technical Bulletin 117 (TB117) was passed. It required furniture sold in California to withstand a 12-second exposure to a small flame without igniting.

Because of California's economic importance, the requirement has essentially become a national standard, with manufacturers dousing their furniture with the chemicals whether they're going to be sold in California or elsewhere in the States.

Since then, their use has skyrocketed. Research published in Environmental Science & Technology revealed that 85 percent of couch foam samples tested contained chemical flame retardants.⁴ And as of July 1, 2007, all US mattresses are required to be highly flame retardant, to the extent that they won't catch on fire if exposed to a blowtorch.

Aside from couches and mattresses, such chemicals were detected in 60 percent of car seats tested by The Ecology Center⁵ while a separate study in Environmental Science & Technology also detected flame-retardant chemicals in 80 percent of the following children's products tested:⁶

Nursing pillows	Baby carriers	Car seats
Changing table pads	High chairs	Strollers
Bassinets	Portable cribs	Walkers
Baby tub inserts and bath slings	Glider rockers	Sleeping wedges

Does Your Couch Contain Flame Retardants? Get It Tested for FREE

Are you wondering if your couch (or another household item) contains flame retardants? Scientists at Duke University’s Superfund Research Center will tell you. Only polyurethane foam can be tested, but this is commonly used in upholstered furniture, padded chairs, car seats, and more.

All you need to remove is a sample the size of a marble, and Duke will accept up to five individual samples per household. Each will be tested for the presence of seven common flame retardants. Here’s how it works:

1. Complete an electronic sample request to generate your Sample ID Number

2. Prepare your sample

• Cut a piece of foam, 1 cubic centimeter in size (a little bigger than the size of a marble)
• Wrap the foam in aluminum foil
• Place each foam sample in its own re-sealable sandwich bag; be sure to completely seal the bag
• Attach or write the Sample ID Number on the re-sealable sandwich bag

3. Mail it in

Enclose the following in a box or envelope:

• Foam sample with Sample ID Number written on bag (Step 2)
• Copy of confirmation email (Step 1)

Mail to:

Gretchen Kroeger
Box 90328 - LSRC
Duke University
Durham, NC 27708

As Linda Birnbaum, the director of the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, which funds the lab, told The Atlantic:⁷

“Saying to anyone, ‘Send me your sample and I’ll tell you what it is’—I don’t know of anyone else who does it… If you’re dealing with something like a mattress or a camping tent or a TV, you’re not told what it’s made of

…And I think that many consumers would like to be able have that information readily available, and then they can make their own decision [on] whether this is something that they want.”

Duke University Discovers Unidentified Flame Retardant

By offering free flame-retardant testing to Americans, Duke’s lab, which is supervised by environmental chemist Heather Stapleton, has received an ongoing stream of valuable information about the types of chemicals found in Americans’ homes.

They’ve even recently uncovered a flame retardant that is not yet identified in the academic literature. The chemical is a chlorinated organophosphate similar to TDCPP, buts its health effects are unknown. TDCPP was removed from children's pajamas in the 1970s amid concerns that it may cause cancer, only to later become a ubiquitous addition to couch cushions across the US.

Stapleton and colleagues have been behind some of the most revealing flame-retardant studies to date. For instance, they recently found traces (and more) of TDCPP in every study participant tested.

Aside from that, the researchers found the average concentration in children was close to five times that of their moms.⁸ High levels of flame-retardant chemicals used to make FireMaster flame-retardant products were also detected (Firemaster 550 has been used to replace two other PBDEs that were removed from the market⁹).

In a separate study, the Duke researchers uncovered that children who wash their hands at least five times a day have 30 percent to 50 percent lower levels of flame retardants on their hands than children who wash their hands less frequently,¹⁰ adding credence to the theory that household dust (which then coats your hands) may be a primary route of exposure to these (and other) toxic chemicals.

Health Risks of Flame Retardants Revealed

PBDEs resemble the molecular structure of PCBs, which have been linked to cancer, reproductive problems, and impaired fetal brain development. Like PCBs, even though certain PBDEs have been banned in some US states and the European Union, they persist in the environment and accumulate in your body – and can still exist in products imported from other countries.

Higher exposures to PBDEs have been linked to decreased fertility,¹¹ which could be in part because the chemicals may mimic your thyroid hormones. Previous research has suggested PBDEs can lead to decreases in TSH (thyroid-stimulating hormone).¹² When present with normal T4 levels, low TSH is typically a sign that you're developing hyperthyroidism, which can have significant ramifications both for you and your unborn child if you're pregnant.

As for cancer, one type of PBDE (decaBDE) is classified as a possible human carcinogen by the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), while the others remain largely untested. A study by researchers at the University of California, Berkeley also revealed that both in utero and childhood PBDE exposures were associated with neurodevelopmental delays, including poorer attention, fine motor coordination, and cognition in school-age children.¹³ Earlier this year, yet another study also found that children whose mothers were exposed to flame retardant chemicals during pregnancy have lower IQ and are more prone to hyperactivity disorders.¹⁴

Adding Fuel to the Fire: Flame Retardants Are Ineffective

In the CNN video above, you can see a comparison of two burning chairs, one treated with flame-retardant chemicals and one without. In less than a minute, the differences in visible flames between the two chairs are minimal. Inez Tenenbaum, chair of the Consumer Product Safety Commission, testified before the Senate that:

“The fire-retardant foams did not offer a practically significant greater level of open flame safety than the untreated foams.”

Andrew Mcguire of the Trauma Foundation also reported to CNN that flame retardants put into furniture foam are not effective because the foam is not ignited by a match, open flame, or cigarette. Instead, it’s the fabric that ignites first, and the flames from the burning fabric overwhelm the flame-retardant chemicals.¹⁵ Research has also shown that certain flame-retardant chemicals (halogen-based flame retardants) actually increase the amounts of toxic carbon monoxide and hydrogen cyanide gas released into the air during a fire.¹⁶ Inhalation of these gasses, not burns, is actually the leading cause of death in fires!

New Regulations May Help Reduce the Use of Toxic Flame Retardants

The chemical industry has spent millions to keep California’s TB117 in place, but as of January 1, 2014, new regulations (TB-117-2013) kicked into effect that will hopefully make toxic flame retardants less prominent in the average home. As reported by Scientific American:¹⁷

"The change does not prevent manufacturers from using flame retardants, but it does make it feasible to avoid their use while still clearing regulations. The new requirements state that upholstered furniture sold in the state must not continue to 'smolder' some 45 minutes after a lit cigarette is placed on it—protecting against a cigarette carelessly dropped on a couch rather than a lit candle.

Manufacturers can meet the requirement without the use of fire retardants, by using fabrics that better withstand such exposures or by lining furniture with a fire barrier such as polyester batting. Furniture manufacturers nation-wide have ensured that their wares met the stringent California flammability standards for the past few decades, so the new requirements are expected to have ripple effects across the industry that will trigger a reduction in the use of flame retardant in our home furnishings."

In early January, Chemtura Corp., a leading manufacturer of flame-retardant chemicals, filed a lawsuit¹⁸ against California, challenging the regulatory changes. The trial began in August 2014 in Sacramento Superior court, but fortunately the Superior Court Judge rejected Chemtura’s bid.¹⁹ In California, furnishings that are in compliance with the new flammability standards will carry a "TB 117-2013" tag indicating its compliance. Look for this tag, or ask the retailer whether a particular piece contains flame-retardant chemicals.

You Can Help Limit Your Exposure to Flame Retardants

Until these chemicals are removed from use entirely, tips you can use to reduce your exposure to PBDEs around your home include:²⁰

• Be especially careful with polyurethane foam products manufactured prior to 2005, such as upholstered furniture, mattresses, and pillows, as these are most likely to contain PBDEs. If you have any of these in your home, inspect them carefully and replace ripped covers and/or any foam that appears to be breaking down. Also avoid reupholstering furniture by yourself as the reupholstering process increases your risk of exposure.
• Older carpet padding is another major source of PBDEs, so take precautions when removing old carpet. You'll want to isolate your work area from the rest of your house to avoid spreading it around, and use a HEPA filter vacuum to clean up.
• You probably also have older sources of the PBDEs known as Deca in your home as well, and these are so toxic they are banned in several states. Deca PBDEs can be found in electronics like TVs, cell phones, kitchen appliances, fans, toner cartridges, and more. It's a good idea to wash your hands after handling such items, especially before eating, and at the very least be sure you don't let infants mouth any of these items (like your TV remote control or cell phone).
• As you replace PBDE-containing items around your home, select those that contain naturally less flammable materials, such as leather, wool, and cotton.
• Look for organic and "green" building materials, carpeting, baby items, mattresses, and upholstery, which will be free from these toxic chemicals and help reduce your overall exposure. Furniture products filled with cotton, wool, or polyester tend to be safer than chemical-treated foam; some products also state that they are "flame-retardant free."
• PBDEs are often found in household dust, so clean up with a HEPA-filter vacuum and/or a wet mop often.

Can You Find a Chemical-Free Mattress or Couch?

It’s possible if you look for those made of natural materials and made by environmentally conscious manufacturers. You should take special precaution with your mattress, however, since you spend a large amount of your life sleeping on it. Mattress manufacturers are not required to label or disclose which chemicals their mattresses contain. They may even claim that their mattresses are chemical-free, when in reality they are not. To avoid this toxic exposure, I recommend looking for a mattress made of:

• 100% organic wool, which is naturally flame-resistant. Even if you hold a match to wool, it will self-extinguish in moments. This is why I use one of our wool mattresses, as it's free of these dangerous fire retardants like PBDE
• 100% organic cotton or flannel also tends to be flame-resistant
• Kevlar fibers, the material they make bulletproof vests out of, which is sufficient to pass the fire safety standards. Stearns and Foster is one brand that sells this type of mattress

If in doubt, remember you can have a sample of polyurethane foam cushions tested for free to be sure. This is particularly useful for items you already have around your home, as it will help you determine which harmful products need replacing.