My Healthy Baking Secrets Revealed!

By Dr. Mercola

If you’re like many, the thought of baked goods hot out of the oven may represent some of your warmest memories. The aroma of chocolate chip cookies or cinnamon rolls baking may fill you with excitement—or send you running for cover, in fear of their repercussions on your health and fitness goals.

But before you head for the hills, realize that there have never been more options for healthy baking swaps than there are today.

Unfortunately, there is also a great deal of misinformation about what constitutes a healthy ingredient substitution. For example, one of baking’s major assets, butter, has been unfairly eschewed for decades.

An enormous amount of effort has been put into developing “better butter substitutes”—needlessly! Fortunately, butter is making a comeback now that more folks are learning that many saturated fats are actually good for you.

On the other hand, refined sugar and wheat flour should be banished from your pantry and replaced with healthier alternatives.

It really IS possible to fill your home with the mouth-watering aroma of baked goods—without sabotaging your health. Read on, as I will be sharing my favorite baking secrets for delicious, guilt-free baked goods.

Tip #1: Use Butter to Replace Margarine, Shortening, and Refined Vegetable Oils

The era of butter bashing may finally be coming to an end. Butter consumption in the US has hit a 40-year high, really taking off over the past five years. This is largely a result of the shift in consumer preferences away from processed foods.

Between 1920 and 1960, Americans’ butter consumption declined by more than 75 percent, yet heart disease went from a relatively unknown condition to the number one killer.

After decades of believing the myth that butter clogs arteries, people are now beginning to realize that partially hydrogenated vegetable oils, margarine, and shortening are the real enemies, along with sugar and refined grains.

Instead of the conventional recommendation to replace butter with margarine, you should be replacing margarine with butter! Butter, especially raw butter from grass-fed cows, is rich in beneficial nutrients including vitamins, trace minerals, CLA, and beneficial fats.

However, butter produced from the milk of cows raised in confined animal feeding operations (CAFOs) is nutritionally inferior as the cows are fed almost entirely genetically engineered (GE) grain. Some are also fattened up with additional sugar from GE sugar beets and cottonseed. So, use butter, but be choosey about what butter you select.

Tip #2: Use Coconut Oil to Replace Unhealthy Fats

Another saturated fat that is extremely nutritious and works well for baking is coconut oil, which you can substitute measure for measure in place of margarine, shortening or other oils. Try it in pie crust or in dark chocolate chunk cookies! As explained in Time:¹

“Shortening and coconut oil look similar in that both are generally white and solid at room temperature. The difference is shortening is solid because a liquid oil was hydrogenated to make it solid—a man-made process that’s far from natural.

Partial hydrogenation creates trans fat, the nutritional villain that’s been linked to a host of health problems, from heart disease and type 2 diabetes to fertility challenges.

Fully hydrogenated oil (aka interesterified oil), while technically trans fat free, may be even worse for your health. A Brandeis University study² found that subjects who consumed products made with interesterified oil experienced a decrease in their ‘good’ HDL cholesterol a significant rise in blood sugar—about a 20 percent spike in just four weeks.”

Coconut oil has none of these risks but boasts a large number of health benefits for your heart, brain, skin, immune system, and thyroid, among others. It’s rich in lauric acid, which your body converts to monolaurin, and this special agent has antiviral, antibacterial, and antiprotozoal properties.

Coconut oil is also rich in capric acid, which further protects you from infections. Using coconut oil in your baked goods may even benefit your waistline due to its medium chain fatty acids (MCFAs), known to stimulate metabolism.

Tip #3: Replace Wheat Flour with Coconut Flour

You can turn your standard baked goods into delicious gluten-free treats by replacing the wheat flour with coconut flour. Coconut flour is 14 percent coconut oil and a whopping 58 percent dietary fiber, which is the highest of any flour. For comparison, wheat bran is only 27 percent fiber. Coconut flour is very low in digestible carbohydrates—even lower than some vegetables.

One word of caution when baking with coconut flour: baked goods will just fall apart if you substitute it 100 percent for regular flour. However, if you apply the following trick, you can avert this culinary blunder.

You can use 100 percent coconut flour IF you add eggs. The secret is to add one egg per ounce of coconut flour, on average. Why eggs? Coconut flour has no gluten, and the eggs take its place by helping your ingredients stick together.

Other gluten-free alternatives to wheat flour that you might want to experiment with are amaranth and quinoa flour, both rich in protein, fiber, and other nutrients. Amaranth is very dense, so you might want to combine it with other flours. Quinoa is particularly rich in two flavonoids, quercetin and kaempferol, which have antioxidant properties. Quinoa is also being studied for its anti-inflammatory compounds.³

Tip #4: Replace Refined Sugar with Pureed Fruits and Vegetables

One of the best things about making your own baked goods is having control over the amount of sugar they contain. Excess sugar is a primary factor in countless chronic diseases, including type 2 diabetes, heart disease, and Alzheimer’s disease. In one study,⁴ mice were fed a diet containing 25 percent sugar—the equivalent of three cans of soda daily—were twice as likely to die as mice fed a similar diet without sugar. Added sugars hide in 74 percent of processed foods under more than 60 different names, even in so-called “health foods.”

A recent Time article⁵ suggests replacing up to 50 percent of the sugar in your recipe with pureed fruit, such as bananas, mangoes, papayas, or dried dates pureed with water. In addition to being bundled with fiber, vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants, the naturally occurring sugar in fruit is much less concentrated.

For example, a quarter cup (four tablespoons) of mashed banana contains less than seven grams of sugar, compared to 12 grams in just one tablespoon of table sugar. They recommend substituting one-quarter cup of pureed fruit for one half cup of sugar, as a rule of thumb. Fruit has higher water content, so you’ll also need to reduce the liquid in your recipe, typically by a quarter cup.

You aren’t limited to just fruits—sugar-rich vegetables can also be used. For example, beets add sweetness, nutrition, and flavor complexity to baked goods, especially those containing chocolate. Beets have been shown to lower blood pressure, support detoxification, and fight cancer.

Organic Authority⁶ has an excellent article about using veggie and fruit purees to make healthier baked goods, including avocados, beets, and squash. Pastry chef Marissa Churchill, and author of Sweet & Skinny, suggests adding two-thirds of a cup of finely grated raw beets to brownie batter and reducing the sugar by a quarter cup.⁷ The Baking Bird has a recipe for Chocolate Beet Loaf Cake⁸ that looks intriguing—just remember to make the appropriate substitutions.

If you find that fruit purees don’t make your baked goods sweet enough, you can add a small amount of one of the natural alternative sweeteners, such as stevia, Luo Han Guo, or xylitol. Another alternative is pure glucose (dextrose), which is less damaging to your body than table sugar, which is 50 percent fructose. Chances are, the more you avoid excess sugar, the more your sweet tooth will adapt so that your baked goods will taste sweet enough with only fruit purees. Under NO circumstances do I recommend adding artificial sweeteners, which are even WORSE for your health than refined sugar.

Tip #5: Replace Conventional Chocolate Chips with Dark Chocolate

Chocolate lovers rejoice—chocolate can be a health food! The key is that your chocolate should be low sugar and as close to it’s raw state as possible. This means high quality (ideally raw) organic dark chocolate with minimal processing and adulteration. Mounting scientific research has linked chocolate consumption with more than 40 distinct health benefits. Cocoa powder is rich in minerals and antioxidants, and the latest studies have discovered anti-inflammatory properties.

New research has shown that your gut bacteria, including Bifidobacterium and lactic acid bacteria, break down and ferment components of dark chocolate, turning them into anti-inflammatory compounds that benefit your health. Most of the research about chocolate’s benefits has been done with 70 percent dark. Try chopping up a dark chocolate bar or use organic dark semi-sweet or bittersweet chocolate chips in your baking recipes. Popsugar has a recipe for Vegan Brownies with Spinach.⁹ By making the substitutions I’ve suggested, you’ll end up with a decadent, mouth-watering and healthy brownie that no one will believe contains spinach!

Just Desserts

If you love desserts or an occasional “continental” breakfast, the healthy substitutions suggested above will warm your heart, while at the same time protecting it. By preparing these recipes in your own kitchen, you have complete control over what goes into your food, which is a major step toward taking control of your health.

Could You Eat on $3.37 a Day?

By Dr. Mercola

While food assistance varies from state to state, a typical family using the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), the official name for food stamps, will have about $3.37 per person, per day, with which to buy food.¹

Many families run out of food stamps after the first two weeks of the month and rely on food banks to fill in the gaps. On a budget this tight, fruits and vegetables are often purchased only if there's money to spare, and often there isn't.

In the documentary film Food Stamped, in which the filmmakers attempt to eat a healthy diet on a food-stamp budget, they visit food stamp enrollment clinics and tag along with low-income shoppers who tend to opt for the cheapest, most filling foods, such as white bread, factory-farmed ground beef, and ramen noodles.

In interviews with members of Congress who also took the food stamp challenge, even the elected officials – when forced to eat on meager budgets themselves – likewise fell prey to the allure of cheap convenience foods.

But while cost is one of the most often-cited obstacles to eating a healthy diet, there are low-cost superfoods available that contribute priceless benefits to your health. Further, research from the Harvard School of Public Health (HSPH) found that eating a healthy diet costs only $1.50 more per day…

Healthiest Diets Cost About $1.50 More a Day Than Least Healthy Diets

Researchers from HSPH conducted a meta-analysis of 27 studies, evaluating the differences in prices per serving and prices per calorie for different types of food. Eating a healthier diet (defined as rich in fruits, vegetables, fish, and nuts) was found to be significantly more expensive than an unhealthy diet (rich in processed foods, meats, and refined grains).

However, the difference between buying food for the most healthy diet pattern or the least healthy diet pattern came out to about $1.50 per day.² Part of what makes the processed food diet cheaper is the fact that the US government is actively supporting a diet that consists of high fructose corn syrup (HFCS), soybean oil, corn oil, and grain-fed cattle, a direct result of their flawed farm subsidy system.

The junk foods are made even cheaper through the use of unhealthy filler ingredients and preservatives that prevent spoiling, with the end result being that the very worst foods for your health are often significantly cheaper to buy. The HSPH researchers reported that US food policies focus on:³

"'Inexpensive, high volume' commodities, which has led to 'a complex network of farming, storage, transportation, processing, manufacturing, and marketing capabilities that favor sales of highly processed food products for maximal industry profit.'"

Adding to the problem, many on the most limited food budgets, such as those who receive food assistance dollars, live in "food deserts" – areas without grocery stores, and perhaps only a convenience store or a fast-food restaurant where they can purchase their food.

So while it's certainly possible to eat healthy on a limited budget, this first requires that you understand what constitutes a healthy meal, and then that you have access to such foods, which is not always the case.

And as for cost, an extra $1.50 a day is a major hurdle for many, but for others for whom the cost can be readily absorbed, the extra investment will yield great returns for your family's health. The researchers explained:⁴

"While healthier diets did cost more, the difference was smaller than many people might have expected. Over the course of a year, $1.50/day more for eating a healthy diet would increase food costs for one person by about $550 per year.

This would represent a real burden for some families, and we need policies to help offset these costs. On the other hand, this price difference is very small in comparison to the economic costs of diet-related chronic diseases, which would be dramatically reduced by healthy diets."

Bone Broth: Some of the Most Affordable Foods are Also the Healthiest

If you're on a strict budget, you may need to start to think outside the box of what constitutes a "square" meal. Let's say you have $2 for dinner. You might be tempted buy a burger and fries from a dollar menu.

This will fill you up for the time being, but will not give your body the nutrition it craves. With that $2 you could instead buy an avocado and cage-free organic eggs, with which to make a variation of this Rise and Shine Baked Avocado recipe.

This might not be a meal you're accustomed to, but it will ultimately be far more satisfying and make you feel leaps and bounds better than the fast-food burger meal. Other phenomenal foods are also very inexpensive, making them ideal for budget shopping (although they do require some preparation at home, as most healthy foods do).

Bone broth is one such example. Making your own bone broth is extremely cost effective, as you can make use of leftover carcass bones that would otherwise be thrown away. And while the thought of making your own broth may seem intimidating at first, it's actually quite easy.

It can also save you money by reducing your need for dietary supplements, as bone broth provides you with a variety of important nutrients—such as calcium, magnesium, chondroitin, glucosamine, and arginine—that you may otherwise be spending a good deal of money on in the form of supplements.

Simmering bones over low heat for an entire day will create one of the most nutritious and healing foods there is. You can use this broth for soups, stews, or drink it straight. The broth can also be frozen for future use. Keep in mind that the "skin" that forms on the top is the best part. It contains valuable nutrients, such as sulfur, along with healthful fats, so just stir it back into the broth.

There are lots of different ways to make bone broth, and there really isn't a wrong way. You can find different variations online, but in the video above I offer some basic directions. If you're starting out with a whole chicken, you'll of course have plenty of meat as well, which can be added back into the broth later with extra herbs and spices to make a chicken soup, or you can use it as a separate meal.

1. Fill up a large stockpot (or large crockpot) with pure, filtered water. (A crockpot is recommended for safety reasons if you have to leave home while it's cooking.)
2. Add vinegar and all vegetables except parsley to the water.
3. Place the whole chicken or chicken carcass into the pot.
4. Bring to a boil, and remove any scum that rises to the top.
5. Reduce the heat to the lowest setting and let simmer.
6. If cooking a whole chicken, the meat should start separating from the bone after about 2 hours. Simply remove the chicken from the pot and separate the meat from the bones. Place the carcass back into the pot and continue simmering the bones for another 12-24 hours and follow with step 8 and 9.
7. If cooking bones only, simply let them simmer for about 24 hours.
8. You may want to add fresh parsley about 10 minutes before finishing the stock, as this will add healthy mineral ions to your broth, but this is optional.
9. Remove remaining bones from the broth with a slotted spoon and strain the rest through a strainer to remove any bone fragments.

Fermented Foods: The Inexpensive Ultimate Superfood

When you consume junk foods, certain bacteria flourish and produce endotoxins, which your immune system detects and, interpreting these endotoxins as an attack, responds with inflammation. Your body changes its metabolism to redirect energy for "battle." The result is overproduction of insulin, increased fat storage, dampening of your appetite control signals, and eventually obesity.

The best way to reverse this inflammation and restore a healthy metabolism is by eliminating excess sugar and processed food, and adding more friendly, beneficial bacteria from naturally fermented foods. Almost everyone has damaged gut flora these days, unless you're part of the minority that eats a strict organic whole foods diet and avoids antibiotics. Fermented vegetables are one of the most palatable fermented foods that can provide you with a robust dose of beneficial bacteria, known as probiotics, for a fraction of the cost of buying a supplement (and with far more beneficial bacteria).

Fermented foods are very potent detoxifiers, capable of drawing out a wide range of toxins and heavy metals, including some pesticides, from your body, and the beneficial bacteria they contain may also help prevent diabetes, digestive issues, neurological problems, cardiovascular disease, and even acne. You only need a small amount of fermented vegetables to boost your health; one-quarter to one-half cup of fermented veggies with each meal is ideal. The investment is small, as cabbage comprises 80 percent of the recipe. Even better, it's easy to make fermented veggies at home in six simple steps. If you can, make a large batch at once, as the finished product will keep for many months in your refrigerator, offering you a medicinal superfood whenever you want it.

Cut Down on Your Protein Intake to Stretch Your Food Budget (and Improve Your Health)

Protein is one of the most expensive parts of most people's diets. The featured study found, for instance, that price differences per serving for healthier versus less healthy foods were largest among meats/proteins. As far as inexpensive, high-quality protein goes, organic free-range eggs are one of your best options. Wild Alaskan salmon is another, and though it can be pricey, you only need to eat a few ounces two or three times a week.

There's no doubt that high-quality protein is an important part of any diet, including an anti-aging one. However, you do need to be careful to not consume too much. Please understand that the average American consumes anywhere from three to five times as much protein as they need. Protein is generally encouraged as being a healthy choice, especially if you are swapping it for refined carbs, but I believe it is the rare person who really needs more than one-half gram of protein per pound of lean body mass. Those that are aggressively exercising or competing and pregnant women should have about 25% more, but most people rarely need more than 40-70 grams of protein a day.

To determine your lean body mass, find out your percent body fat and subtract from 100. So if you are 20% body fat you would have 80% lean body mass. Just multiply that by your current weight to get lean body mass. For most people, this means restricting protein intake from 35 to 75 grams a day. As mentioned, pregnant women and those working out extensively need about 25% more protein though. When you consume protein in levels higher than recommended above, you tend to activate the mTOR (mammalian target of rapamycin) pathway, which can help you get large muscles but may also increase your risk of cancer.

There is some research that suggests the "mTOR gene" is a significant regulator of the aging process, and suppressing this gene may be linked to longer life. Generally speaking, as far as eating for optimal health goes, most people consume too much low-quality protein and carbohydrates, and not enough healthy fat. This is good news if you're on a tight budget, as cutting down on the protein you consume will help to slash your food bill.

Grow Your Own Vegetables (Including Sprouts)

Growing your own vegetables is one of the best ways to include organic produce in your diet at a very low cost. When factoring in startup and maintenance costs, a well-maintained food garden yields a $500 average return each year compared to the market price of produce, according to the National Gardening Association. Contrary to popular belief, you don't need a lot of space to grow vegetables.

In her book The Edible Balcony, Alex Mitchell details how to grow fresh produce in small spaces. Filled with beautiful color photographs throughout, the book helps you determine what might work best for you, depending on your space and location, and guides you through the design basics of a bountiful small-space garden. For example, those who live in a high-rise apartment will undoubtedly have to contend with more wind than those who live on the bottom floor.

There are solutions for virtually every problem, and in this case, wind-tolerant plants can be used, or you could construct some sort of protective screening. You can use virtually every square foot of your space, including your lateral space. Hanging baskets are ideal for a wide variety of foods, such as strawberries, leafy greens, runner beans, pea shoots, tomatoes, and a variety of herbs. And instead of flowers, window boxes can hold herbs, greens, radishes, scallions, bush beans, strawberries, chard, and chilies, for example. Other creative solutions to take advantage of every nook and cranny, and recycle common household items for your garden, include:

• Attaching horizontal rows of gutters on a wall, which can hold your leafy greens and herbs
• A hanging bottle herb garden, using discarded plastic bottles
• Two or more stacked tires with a plastic bag to hold the soil can make for an excellent planter for plants that like warm soil, such as sweet potatoes and basil

Sprouts are another authentic "super food" that many overlook. In addition to their superior nutritional profile, sprouts are really easy to grow even if you're an apartment dweller, as they don't require an outdoor garden. A powerhouse of nutrition, sprouts can contain up to 30 times the nutrition of organic vegetables grown in your own garden, and allow your body to extract more vitamins, minerals, amino acids, and essential fats from the foods you eat.

During sprouting, minerals, such as calcium and magnesium, bind to protein, making them more bioavailable. Furthermore, both the quality of the protein and the fiber content of beans, nuts, seeds, and grains improve when sprouted. The content of vitamins and essential fatty acids also increases dramatically during the sprouting process. You can find tips for planting and harvesting sprouts here.

I've assembled everything you need to grow delicious and nutritious sprouts here.

53 More Tips to Eat Organic on a Budget

Vani Hari, blogger and founder of FoodBabe.com, has compiled a long list of tips on how to save money while buying organic.⁵ In order to protect your health, I believe you 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 some strategy, especially if you're working with a tight budget, but Hari's tips that follow will help considerably.

FIND AND USE ORGANIC COUPONS

1. Check the websites of your favorite companies for coupons and special promotions; almost all of them have some.
2. Join your favorite company's social media pages for special coupons and deals.
3. Check out various organic coupon sites online for organic food/natural living coupons, and money-savings ideas.
4. Most stores take each other's coupons, so don't be afraid to use them all in one shopping trip at your most convenient or favorite store.

AT HOME AND IN THE KITCHEN

5. Stay organized. Plan out your meals for the week according to organic foods that are on sale and/or that you have coupons for.
6. Budget. Write out a weekly and monthly budget to help you keep track of both erratic spending and responsible spending. This will allow you to see your spending habits and help you prioritize purchasing organic food within your budget.
7. Do it yourself, rather than buy it. Make your own kale chips, smoothies, and vegetable juices to replace store-bought with more overhead.
8. Learn how to portion and prioritize – it is preferable to always buy organic meats and dairy products, and, therefore, learn to portion your consumption of these products each week. For example, keep meat to 4 ounces or less per serving.

USE YOUR FREEZER

9. Nine times out of 10 the organic frozen produce at the store is cheaper than fresh, especially if the fruit or vegetable is out of season.
10. Freeze all leftovers using inexpensive mason glass jars or silicone ice molds for smaller portions.
11. Buy local produce when in season and freeze to save for out of season, for example in the spring and summer spread berries on a sheet pan and freeze overnight and then store in jars for the fall and winter.
12. Double recipes and freeze leftovers; this works great with soups and stews.
13. Freeze core kitchen staples like butter and cheese.

MAKE CHOICES

14. Meat & dairy (animals products like chicken, eggs, cheese, butter, yogurt, milk, etc.) are the most important to buy organic because of the combined risk of pesticide, antibiotic, and cancer-causing growth hormone exposure.
15. Reduce meat and dairy consumption if you cannot afford organic.
16. Buy a whole organic chicken for less per pound, vs. just the breast, legs or wings, which are more expensive per pound. You can use the carcass to make your own chicken broth, as described above.
17. Use the "Clean 15" and "Dirty Dozen" lists available on ewg.org to help you navigate which products to buy organic. For example, if you have a choice between more expensive organic red peppers and less expensive conventional asparagus – choose the asparagus. Asparagus naturally repels pests allowing it to be grown with minimal pesticides. Include red pepper in your diet when it is in season or you can find it cheaper at another grocery store.
18. Do not buy pre-washed and ready to eat fruits and veggies, as they can cost twice as much.
19. Eat out only twice a week or less– eating organic at home is significantly less expensive than eating at organic restaurants.

BUY IN BULK

20. Take advantage of the "buy one get one free" sales or buy one get the other for a discounted price. You never know when it will go on sale again, so make sure to take advantage of it and store for later use.
21. Always buy packaged staples on sale.
22. Buy unpackaged foods from bulk dispensers. Bring measuring cups with you to the grocery store if you are buying from bulk containers. That way you can get exactly the amount you need for a specific recipe and you won't be paying for extra.
23. Buy smaller organic spice packets or jars; old spices lose their medicinal qualities so it is smarter to buy in smaller quantities.
24. Buy the whole animal and freeze the portions you don't use. You can do this by contacting your local farmer and then splitting the cost with a group.
25. Find out what foods are in season and buy those in bulk, as they are significantly cheaper.
26. Join a buying club with your neighbors, friends or family and buy large quantities at a discount.

BUY ONLINE

27. Various services will deliver organic and non-GMO food directly to your doorstep, many with some of the lowest prices available for organic staples, meat, dairy, and other goods.

CHOOSE ORGANIC BRANDS THAT SAVE YOU MONEY

28. Choose more inexpensive grocery store brand products. Regardless of the brand, they are all required to follow the same guidelines set forth by the USDA organic certification program if they contain the USDA organic seal and chances are that you won't be able to tell the difference between a brand name and store brand.
29. Join grocery store loyalty programs for discounts.
30. Use your rewards cards always. Most convenient stores, grocery stores, and drug stores allow you to sign-up for a rewards or savings card that will help you save money on a few of your items at the checkout counter. Even if this time of purchase does not contain organic food, the extra money that you are saving on your items can be put towards buying it when need be.
31. Always remember that if you are not satisfied with your organic product, most grocery stores and organic food companies offer you money back guarantee.

BUY LOCAL

32. Local food can be significantly cheaper than food shipped from miles away.
33. Find a farmers market near you through LocalHarvest.org or the USDA - get to know your local farmers, create a personal relationship, and negotiate prices.
34. Ask your farmer about his farming practices. Some farmers do not spray pesticides on their crops but do not seek USDA certification to keep prices lower.
35. Be the last person to leave the farmer's market. Farmers will likely cut their prices at the end of the day, so they do not have to take their produce back to the farm.
36. Buy a share in a community-supported agriculture CSA program. It's nice to contribute to a local farm's operating expenses while getting a weekly box of fresh fruits and vegetables.

GROW YOUR OWN FOOD

37. Plant an herb pot in your kitchen or somewhere convenient so you can always have fresh herbs on hand. Organic herbs are one of the most overpriced items at the grocery store.
38. Once you start growing produce, give herbs, fruits and vegetables as gifts to family and friends (saving money on other material objects they might otherwise not use or collect).
39. If you're really adventurous, get a couple of chickens and hatch your own eggs.

STOP WASTING FOOD

40. Raw nuts and flours should be kept in the refrigerator to last longer without going rancid.
41. Line your refrigerator's crisper drawer with paper towels to absorb excess moisture, which will help keep produce longer.
42. To repel bugs, place a bay leaf in containers of rice, flour, and pastas.
43. Buy and keep bananas separated from one another. They spoil slower.
44. Turn almond butter, yogurt, sour cream, tahini, and cottage cheese containers upside down when stored in the fridge – this creates a vacuum seal, keeping them fresh longer
45. Do not throw away nut meal from homemade nut milk – use it for smoothies or to make nut flours by placing the pulp on a baking sheet and drying it out in a 250 degree oven or dehydrator.
46. Repurpose vegetable pulp from juicing to add fiber to soups, smoothies, or make crackers or bread.
47. Placed limp celery, baby carrots, and radishes in water with a slice of potato to make them crunchy again.
48. Keep all organic citrus fruits in the fridge – they will last up to 1-2 weeks longer.
49. Do not wash organic dark leafy greens or berries until they are ready to consume.
50. Store herbs, spring onions, and asparagus upright in a large glass filled with an inch of water.
51. If you know you will not have a chance to eat it, freeze food before it goes bad.
52. Choose to eat less, use a smaller plate to help you control the amount of food you might eat or end up wasting.
53. Compost all food waste to put nutrients back in your garden (you will spend less on fertilizer).

Updates on Ebola and Ozone Therapy

By Dr. Mercola

The most tweeted term in 2014 was "Ebola," a highly infectious and lethal disease that's been rapidly spreading in West Africa.

In October, I interviewed Dr. Robert Rowen, a leading expert on oxidative therapy, about an inexpensive and very safe treatment for this devastating disease.

At the time, he'd received an invitation by the President of Sierra Leone to bring his team there to teach health care workers how to treat Ebola using ozone.

Ozone is extraordinary in terms of its anti-infective and antiviral action, and it has virtually no toxicity, making it a prime candidate for both prevention and treatment of all sorts of infections and viral afflictions.

With bacteria, ozone works by puncturing the membrane of the bacteria, causing it to spill its contents and die. It also inactivates viruses, and does so 10 times faster than chlorine. This is in part why Dr. Rowen is convinced it can be a lifesaving treatment for Ebola patients.

Ozone is perhaps the most powerful natural oxidant in the world. It also has the advantage of stimulating the immune system, and modulating it—either up or down depending on what your system requires. In this follow-up interview, Dr. Rowen tells the story of what actually happened in Sierra Leone.

"Dr. Howard Robins and I traveled to Sierra Leone around the third week of October, and it was supported generously by donations from people who just came out of the blue, to donate money for materials.

The materials we had were syringes, needles, and butterfly needles. Longevity Resources Inc. from Canada donated 10 ozone machines. Royal Air Maroc got 37 boxes of cargo on our own plane; very kind of them to do that," he says.

Unfortunately, although not unexpectedly, the use of this incredibly inexpensive therapy was undermined from the very start...

Teaching Health Care Workers in Sierra Leone

Once in Sierra Leone, Drs. Rowen and Robins were housed and looked after by Dr. Kojo Carew—a national hero during their blood diamonds era. The very first day, they were taken to a large meeting hall with about 100 or more people who were there to hear them speak.

The audience included some "extraordinarily skeptical doctors," he notes, but by the time the lecture was over, most were willing to give ozone treatment a fair try. Conspicuously absent, however, was the Ministry of Health.

Over the next several days, Drs. Robins and Rowen trained many health care workers on how to administer Direct Intravenous Ozone Gas administration (DIV), and the Rowen-Robins protocol for Ebola, which involves a combination of supplements and timing of administration of DIV.

They also met with the President of Sierra Leone, who asked them to administer the treatment on him as well.

"I really admire him for that because here, he was putting himself in front of all of his people saying, 'I'm willing to do this.' And he did it. There was no problem," Dr. Rowen says.

Minister of Health Pulls the Plug on Ozone Treatment...

Eventually, after many meetings, they finally met with Paolo Conte, the defense minister of Sierra Leone and newly appointed Ebola czar.

"After we told him the story, he had one question for us, 'Why isn't this being done already?' We laughed and said, 'We think you need to ask your other ministers why it hasn't been done.'

We thought we had clearance now from their top brass. And the next day, we went to Hastings [the Sierra Leone government's Ebola treatment center] and started training all of their staff how to do [ozone therapy]...

In the middle of training, a call comes in from the assistant minister of health, telling the military Major in charge of the facility, 'If you value your job, there will be no ozone at Hastings...'

Shortly after that, a call came in from the minister of health himself, reaffirming [the order]. I'm a fairly calm person under most situations. I'm slow to anger, but I exploded. In full view of everybody there, their whole staff; I just came unglued.

I went to the Major and said, 'As far as I'm concerned, this is an illegal order. I told the entire staff, 'You're all at risk; some of you are going to die, [and] you're the President's top priority.'"

Why Is Sierra Leone Refusing Ozone Treatment for Dying Patients?

As a result, none of the infected Ebola patients were permitted to receive ozone therapy. However, they were allowed to continue training the staff, most of whom actually lined up to receive the treatment themselves, knowing the opportunity might vanish at any moment.

One might wonder just what kind of influences catalyzed the Minster of Health to override a direct request by the President... At present, there's no answer to that question.

Yet it's certainly interesting that they permitted the experimental drug ZMapp to be used on patients. They're also going to allow the use of Amiodarone—a highly toxic drug that, according to Dr. Rowen has been proven ineffective.

Yet to the date of this latest interview, they have refused ozone therapy, which is incredibly inexpensive—basically just the cost of a syringe—and has a long track record of safe and effective use against a wide variety of infectious and debilitating diseases. It makes no sense at all, unless Ebola is being viewed as a center for massive profit...

It's also interesting to note that, after appearing on the TV program National Encounter (which is similar to the American show 60 Minutes), where Dr. Rowen faced off against three government officials, the Sierra Leone Foreign Minister asked to have his entire family prophylactically treated with ozone therapy. Dr. Rowen declined to give his nod to use materials he and Dr. Robins brought.

"The supplies that were donated were donated for Ebola victims, period. End of story. They weren't to be used for prophylactic treatment for government ministers," Dr. Rowen says. "If we can't get to the Ebola patients ourselves, I wasn't going to authorize release of materials donated in trust to Dr. Robins and me..."

Two Doctors Recover from Ebola—Was it Due to Ozone Therapy?

One of the doctors trained in the use of ozone therapy at Hastings named Dr. Kanneh, accidentally stuck himself with an Ebola infected needle, and developed typical Ebola symptoms within three days, as expected. Understandably, he was scared to death to get tested, because he knew if he tested positive, he would not be allowed to receive ozone treatment. He did take ozone, as per Rowen-Robins protocol, and was symptom-free within 48 hours.

"First of all, if you're suspected of having Ebola, you're thrown into a room with every other person who's suspected. And if you didn't have Ebola beforehand, you're probably going to have Ebola afterwards," Dr. Rowen notes.

"If you do test positive for Ebola, you're picked up forcibly in a paddy wagon and you're carted off to the 'treatment center.' Treatment center? Well, I'm finding out now that the people aren't really fed. If their families don't feed them, they don't get fed. At best, you're going to get IV fluids...

They have a 60 percent probability of dying. And in the case of doctors... 100 percent of Sierra Leonean doctors who have gotten Ebola have died, with the exception of two. The first one is Dr. Kanneh. Now, we cannot prove that he had Ebola because he wasn't tested. I certainly now understand why he didn't get tested; he knew he would be carted off and left to die..."

The second survivor is Dr. Komba Songu Mbriwa, who did test positive for the virus. Somehow he was offered, and accepted, ozone therapy, which was administered by Dr. Kanneh. Four days later, the government announced Dr. Mbriwa was free of Ebola... It's still unclear what or who allowed Dr. Mbriwa to receive the treatment, while it was withheld from so many others—including other infected doctors.

"I'm not really sure how it got there or if they looked the other way because he was a military physician," Dr. Rowen says. "But even though he was treated with ozone, the government didn't acknowledge it publicly. In fact, while they publicly said, 'We now have the Sierra Leonean physician who's survived Ebola,' they didn't tell the world that he got ozone.

The government itself, apparently, took the credit for it. Now, I said 'apparently' because I don't know everything that happened there. All I know is, there's been no mention that the man received ozone at all, and we know he did receive it, and we know that he's the only confirmed physician case of a Sierra Leone doctor to have made [survived] it."

... [Another] doctor we trained at Hastings, whom I met, also got Ebola... He asked for ozone; he begged for ozone, and was refused. He was transferred from Hastings, where it could've been accessible, to another center where it wasn't accessible, and then he got renal failure, and he was transferred again for dialysis, and died. This is a man that I met and that I had hands-on training with, and my heart is broken because he was refused ozone after he asked for it."

Who is Making Ebola Decisions in Sierra Leone and Why?

Dr. Rowen is deeply concerned about what's happening in Sierra Leone, as well as other areas affected by Ebola. According to contacts on the ground, it appears the lives of those in Sierra Leone mean little to nothing—unless, that is, they survive Ebola. Then, they can get paid for their blood, which is given to the rich who get infected. Perhaps that is why those running these "killing fields" may not care about ozone therapy, he suggests. And, if that can happen in Sierra Leone, it can certainly happen in the US as well.

"I met [the Sierra Leone] Ebola 'czar' [Paloh Conteh]. He seemed responsible and powerful and sent us forward to accomplish our mission to cure the malady... I cannot understand how his directive was undermined. I cannot understand how the government [Health Ministry of Sierra Leone] can stand by when doctors and nurses continue to die. I will wonder all my life about this experience," Dr. Rowen notes.

In writings and over the phone, Dr. Rowen received the following information from a contact in Sierra Leone, whose identity is kept anonymous for safety reasons:

"I need to tell you what is going on here that is inhumane and bypassing the will of the people. If WHO says someone in your household gets Ebola and tests positive, everyone in that home including domestic help, cooks and drivers, are confined to that home or village with an ARMED GUARD out front. Well off families can have food brought. Poor families cannot afford it - no food, no water, no sanitation; in some cases they just die of starvation or dehydration before Ebola gets them. Even if they ask for [ozone] therapy by informed consent document, here is how they [SL government] can deny treatment without saying they are denying ozone:

• The Home or village now is a 'red' zone. Only authorized personnel are allowed in or out and the Ministry of Health puppets of WHO and CDC proclaim this a 'red zone' so anything allowed in, including doctors, are now quarantined along with the home. So, they cannot be treated at home, and they cannot leave to be treated. This effectively keeps them from receiving medical help! Do you get this demonic plan!
• They are not immediately tested for Ebola. If they have illness... they are to call 117 and the Ambulance, with sirens blaring bringing fear to all around the house, will take them to another quarantine holding center where, if they didn't have Ebola before they went there, they will have it after they get there!
• Once in the quarantining center they must wait to show strong signs of Ebola before a test is ordered, wasting more time. Once a 30 minute test is ordered it takes 1 - 3 days to get results because of back volume.
• Once the test comes back positive, you are 2- 5 days from death when you are taken to the 'treatment center.' You would think you would receive treatment, but the average person is lucky to receive adequate food and water as the staff are scared to death to do anything, and only the rich and famous are guaranteed even sustaining care. The WHO approved Convalescent Whole blood be used but it is only to give to those of privilege, but under great risk in that the blood types are not cross checked adequately, so you are more likely to die of mismatched blood than Ebola!...

A follower of this saga (posted on Dr. Rowen’s Facebook page) has created a White House petition, urging the Obama administration to stop America's testing of viruses in Africa, and to use cost-free ozone to combat Ebola. Please take a moment to sign the petition now.

Benefits Beyond Ebola

I'm convinced that ozone therapy is a highly effective and powerful intervention that can be useful for a wide variety of health issues, not just Ebola. Other infections that have a successful treatment record include Lyme disease, rheumatoid arthritis, and inflammatory bowel disease, just to name a few. According to Dr. Rowen, ozone therapy is also very beneficial for heart disease, immune diseases, injuries, and chronic degenerative diseases such as osteoarthritis. As an example, Dr. Rowen has found that ozone is about 85 percent effective in knees and only slightly less effective in hips, when given as an injection.

Before considering knee or hip surgery it would be highly worthwhile to receive ozone treatments to see if that resolves the problem. While in Sierra Leone, Dr. Rowen was able to treat a number of Sierra Leoneans for other conditions besides Ebola. You can view some of these stories on his Youtube channel.¹ I definitely believe it's wise to find a clinician who can administer ozone, or if you want to take it to the next step, like I did, you can actually purchase a unit yourself. While not a miracle cure-all, it's a valuable adjunct to other healthy lifestyle changes.

"This is how I see ozone," Dr. Rowen says. "It stimulates your body to do what God designed it to do. We're designed to be self-healing mechanisms. The bottom line in all healing is oxygen. It also improves blood rheology, blood flow, and oxygen delivery from red cells. It modulates your immune system so that if you have inflammatory valve disease, it brings it down to tolerable. If you're infected with Lyme and your immune system is down here, it brings it back up to parity."

Influenza is another infection that can be successfully treated and/or prevented with ozone therapy. It's certainly a far safer and likely more effective alternative to the flu vaccine. (As you may have heard, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has announced that this year's flu vaccine is worthless, as virus strains in circulation do not match the ones in the vaccine.) Moreover, there's always the threat of a pandemic influenza outbreak, such as the avian flu. According to Dr. Rowen:

"We have evidence that oxidation therapies do help... A 1920 Lancet article by Dr. T.H Oliver shows that intravenous hydrogen peroxide cut in half the death rate from influenza pneumonia in 1920."

I communicated with Dr. Rowen on Christmas day. Strangely enough, international news has been circulating that there has been a mysterious decline in Ebola deaths at the Sierra Leone Ebola center at Hastings. The New England Journal of Medicine reports:

“We have observed a decreasing case fatality rate among inpatients at Hastings, from 47.7 percent among the first 151 patients (September 20 to October 13), to 31.7 percent among the next 126 patients with a final disposition (October 14 to November 4), to 23.4 percent among the next 304 patients (November 5 to December 7).”²

Dr. Rowen comments: “I sense the presence of the Divine in all this, and at Christmas time, amazingly. Notice the coincidence of dates. Robins and I were in Sierra Leone the third week of October. Dr. Kanneh was trained in ozone and survived his own apparent bout with Ebola in mid November. He has largely run a one man heroic show at Hastings, secreting in ozone water and perhaps ozone for rectal insufflation.

Information I have gotten on the ground in Sierra Leone in the last few days suggests that no one treated with ozone by virtually any method has died. If it holds, we have been guided to the medical discovery of the century. The dread, deadly and highly infectious Ebola disease may be no more fearsome than the Wicked Witch of the West in the Wizard of Oz, who melted when accidentally splashed with a bucket of water. The “wicked” Ebola virus may simply melt down when “splashed” with ozone, its Achilles Heel. Ozone, according to the literature I have, may handcuff the molecular fingers Ebola uses to enter host cells, which is what drove me to go to Sierra Leone in the first place.”  

More Information

To learn more about the general use of oxidative medicine, which include ozone therapy, ultraviolet blood irradiation therapy, and intravenous hydrogen peroxide therapy, please see my previous interview with Dr. Rowen. Of the various oxidative therapies available, ozone appears to be the best overall, as it's the most versatile. It's particularly beneficial for blood treatments, infection, and chronic fatigue.

That said, all oxidative therapies work by stimulating your immune system, enhancing mitochondrial processes, and facilitating healing with virtually no side effects, and can be used either as treatment or prevention. They can also be used as a potent anti-aging health strategy for general wellness. I also encourage you to look at Dr. Rowen's channel on YouTube,³ where you can find a number of examples of what oxidative therapies can be used for so that you can avail yourself of this relatively inexpensive and incredibly safe therapy. To locate a clinician who can administer oxidative therapy you can try the following sources:

• Dr. Rowen's website has a list of oxidation doctors, trained by Dr. Rowen and his team
• American College for Advancement in Medicine (ACAM.org)
• International College of Integrative Medicine (ICIMED.org)
• OxygenHealingTherapies.com also has a list of doctors trained in a variety of oxidation therapies
• American Academy of Ozonotherapy

A Compelling Documentary About the Causes of Antibiotic Resistance, and How to Fix It

By Dr. Mercola

Collectively, microorganisms outweigh the human population by 100 million times. They're all around you, and inside you. Your gastrointestinal tract alone houses some 100 trillion bacteria.

The microorganisms in your gut, commonly referred to as your microbiome, are responsible for about 80 percent of your immune system function, and these gut bacteria outnumber your body's cells by about 10 to one.

As noted in the featured Frontline documentary, The Trouble With Antibiotics,¹ American farmers routinely use antibiotics to make their livestock grow bigger, faster (in addition to preventing disease caused by cramped, filthy quarter, and an unnatural diet). After decades of this practice, antibiotic-resistance in humans has risen substantially.

We’ve also come to realize that, scientifically, we’ve barely scratched the surface with regards to everything there is to know about bacteria; how they work, and why we might actually need them.

Far from being a scourge, bacteria of all kinds serve important roles in human health. It’s a double-edged sword. On the one hand we need bacteria; on the other, when our microbiome becomes unbalanced, it can kill us.

Microbes Rule...

For example, it is microbes in the soil that are largely responsible for plant growth and nutrient uptake. Adding plant nutrients without regard for nourishing these microbes is a recipe for crop failure in the long-term.

In recent years, we've also started to gain a greater understanding of the role gut microbes play in human health and disease—and it's a very significant one.

We're also seeing that indiscriminately killing bacteria in an effort to achieve cleanliness and health comes at a steep price. In fact, antibiotic resistance has quickly turned into a worldwide health threat of massive proportions.

According to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention² (CDC), two million American adults and children become infected with antibiotic-resistant bacteria each year, and at least 23,000 of them die as a direct result.

Methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus, better known as MRSA, alone kills more Americans each year than the combined total of emphysema, HIV/AIDS, Parkinson’s disease, and homicide.³

The victims include young, otherwise healthy people, raising suspicions that the MRSA infections originate from the food they eat. Drug-resistant tuberculosis, urinary tract infections, and gonorrhea are also on the rise.

As reported by Frontline, researchers have found that people living close to confined animal feeding operations (CAFOs) also suffer drug-resistant infections at much higher rates than others, again suggesting that antibiotic-resistant bacteria originate from large-scale agriculture.

We've Wasted One of Medicine's Most Important Tools

What we’re seeing is the evolution of bacteria—and we’ve catalyzed that evolution. As it turns out, the use of antibiotics in agriculture breeds these hardy bacteria very efficiently. Over time, microorganisms have learned to teach each other how to outsmart the best pharmaceutical drugs we have to offer, and they are winning the battle.

Many experts have issued strong warnings, saying that we are quickly reverting back to the pre-antibiotic age when some of the most important advances in modern medicine – intensive care, organ transplants, care for premature babies, and surgeries – will no longer be possible.

We're already very close to the end of the road where ALL antibiotics fail, and once that happens, it will be the end of modern medicine as we know it. Common illnesses such as bronchitis or strep throat may turn into deadly sepsis.

Surgeries previously considered low risk or "routine," such as hip replacements, might suddenly be too risky without antibiotics, and complex surgeries like organ transplants may not be survivable anymore.

One of the most prestigious research hospitals in the US recently struggled with an outbreak of a highly lethal antibiotic-resistant superbug called Klebsiella pneumoniae carbapenemase (KPC)⁴—a bacterium that has developed resistance to multiple drugs. KPC is not alone in this feat.  

A 2013 paper by the Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) titled "Antibiotic Resistance in Foodborne Pathogens,"⁵ report that between 1973 and 2011, there were 55 antibiotic-resistant foodborne outbreaks in the US, and more than half of them involved pathogens resistant to five or more antibiotics.

How Did This Epidemic of Antibiotic Resistance Occur?

Antibiotic overuse and inappropriate use in medicine is one factor. As much as half of all antibiotics used in clinics and hospitals are inappropriately used.⁶ But the routine use of antibiotics in agriculture is likely at the very heart of the matter.

First of all, agriculture accounts for about 80 percent of all antibiotics used in the US, so it's really a primary source of antibiotic exposure. Second, it is the continuous use of low dose antibiotics that really allows the bacteria to survive and become increasingly hardy and drug resistant.

At present, 24.6 million pounds of antibiotics are administered to livestock in the US every year for purposes other than treating disease, such as making the animals grow bigger faster. When eating meat from antibiotic-treated animals, you consume low dose antibiotics. For example, 80 different antibiotics are allowed in cows’ milk!

Treated animal products may also be contaminated with antibiotic-resistant bacteria. According to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), 22 percent of antibiotic-resistant illness in humans is in fact linked to food. In the words of associate director of the CDC Dr. Srinivasan:⁷

“The more you use an antibiotic, the more you expose a bacteria to an antibiotic, the greater the likelihood that resistance to that antibiotic is going to develop. So the more antibiotics we put into people, we put into the environment, we put into livestock, the more opportunities we create for these bacteria to become resistant.”

In the featured documentary, researchers using state of the art genome sequencing were able to compare E.coli samples found on supermarket meat with E.coli samples collected from patients with drug-resistant urinary tract infections. In this way, they were able to genetically link more than 100 urinary tract infections to tainted supermarket meat products...

Avoiding antibiotic-resistance is but one of several good reasons to avoid meats and animal products from animals raised in confined animal feeding operations (CAFOs). This is partly why grass-fed and grass-finished antibiotic- and hormone-free meat is the ONLY type of meat I recommend—again because it is repetitive low-dose exposure that allows bacteria to adapt and develop strong resistance. Most Americans eat meat several times a week, and that kind of exposure can add up.

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA), meanwhile, has known for more than 12 years that routine use of antibiotics in livestock is harmful to human health, yet it has taken no meaningful action. Promptings to voluntarily reduce usage has not resulted in positive change. On the contrary, the most recent FDA report shows that antibiotic usage actually increased by 16 percent between 2009 and 2012, and nearly 70 percent of the antibiotics used are considered “medically important” for humans.⁸

Another contributing factor is the genetic engineering of our foods. As Jeffrey Smith explained at a recent GMO Summit, it's possible that GMOs from food can transfer genetic material to your normal gut bacteria, conferring antibiotic resistance and turning them into superbugs. GMOs have been scientifically proven to activate and deactivate hundreds if not thousands of genes, and we have no idea about the risks associated with this, as no one has studied it.

What's the Solution?

The impending superbug crisis has a four-prong solution:

• Improved infection prevention, with a focus on strengthening your immune system naturally. Avoiding sugars, processed foods, and grains is foundational for this. Adding in traditionally fermented and cultured foods is equally important, as this will help optimize your microflora
• More responsible use of antibiotics in human medicine
• Limiting use of antibiotics in livestock animals, along with a return to biodynamic farming and a complete overhaul of our food system
• Innovative new approaches to the treatment of infections from all branches of science, natural as well as allopathic. Fortunately, Mother Nature gives us a cornucopia of botanicals with inherent antibiotic activity that does not promote resistance like antibiotic drugs do. Natural compounds with antimicrobial activity include:

Garlic	Cinnamon	Oregano extract	Colloidal silver
Manuka honey (Clinical trials have found that Manuka honey can effectively eradicate more than 250 clinical strains of bacteria, including some resistant varieties, such as MRSA)	Probiotics and fermented foods	Echinacea	Sunlight and vitamin D

What You Can Do Right Now to Avoid Promoting Antibiotic Resistance

When it comes to avoiding antibiotic-resistant disease, one major key is to keep your immune system healthy and strong. This is primarily done through lifestyle choices such as proper diet, sleep, stress management, and exercise. In terms of diet, remember to opt for whole organic foods, raised without antibiotics and preferably locally sourced.

Optimizing your own immune system function will help keep you safe from developing a potentially lethal infection in the first place. I also urge you to consider the following strategies, which will help curtail the spread of antibiotic resistance in general. While the problem of antibiotic resistance needs to be stemmed through public policy on a nationwide level, the more people who get involved on a personal level, the better.

Such strategies include:

• Use antibiotics only when absolutely necessary. For example, antibiotics are typically unnecessary for most ear infections, and they do NOT work on viruses. They only work on bacterial infections, and even then, they're best reserved for more serious infections.
• Avoid antibacterial household products, such as antibacterial soaps, hand sanitizers, and wipes, etc., as these also promote antibiotic resistance by allowing the strongest bacteria to survive and thrive.
• Properly wash your hands with warm water and plain soap, to prevent the spread of bacteria. Be particularly mindful of washing your hands and kitchen surfaces after handling raw meats, as about half of all meat sold in American grocery stores is likely to be contaminated with pathogenic bacteria. Avoid antibiotic soaps that typically have dangerous chemicals like triclosan.
• Take common-sense precautions in the kitchen: Kitchens are notorious breeding grounds for disease-causing bacteria, courtesy of contaminated meat products, including antibiotic-resistant strains of E-coli. To avoid cross-contamination between foods in your kitchen, I suggest adhering to the following recommendations:

• Use a designated cutting board, preferably wood, not plastic, for raw meat and poultry, and never use this board for other food preparation, such as cutting up vegetables. Color coding your cutting boards is a simple way to distinguish between them
• To sanitize your cutting board, be sure to use hot water and detergent. Simply wiping it off with a rag will not destroy the bacteria
• For an inexpensive, safe, and effective kitchen counter and cutting board sanitizer, use 3% hydrogen peroxide and vinegar. Keep each liquid in a separate spray bottle, and then spray the surface with one, followed by the other, and wipe off
• Coconut oil can also be used to clean, treat, and sanitize your wooden cutting boards. It's loaded with lauric acid that has potent antimicrobial actions. Olive oil is another alternative. The fats will also help condition the wood

• Purchase organic, antibiotic-free meats and other foods. Reducing the spread of antibiotic-resistant bacteria is a significant reason for making sure you're only eating grass-fed, organically-raised meats and animal products. Besides growing and raising your own, buying your food from responsible, high-quality, sustainable sources is your best bet, and I strongly encourage you to support the small family farms in your area.

Are You Trading Your Omega-3s for PCBs with Your Choice of Salmon?

By Dr. Mercola

The omega-3 levels in farmed salmon seem to have entered a free fall. Today's farmed fillet may contain as little as half of the omega-3s as it did less than a decade ago, according to the International Fishmeal and Fish Oil Organization (IFFO).¹

More than half of the fish Americans eat comes from fish farms, which has increased by more than 400 percent in the last 10 years.²

Not only are omega-3 levels dropping, but salmon farmers have recently been caught overstating the omega-3 fat levels of their products, as in the news report above. And not by an insignificant amount—threefold!

The report comes from New Zealand, but if it's happening there, it could easily be occurring in other places as the aquaculture industry begins to worry about losing health-minded consumers.³

Why Are Omega-3 Levels Dropping in Farmed Fish?

The drop in farmed salmon's omega-3 levels has resulted from changes in what the fish are fed. In order to keep their omega-3 levels up, farmed fish have traditionally been fed large quantities of small oily wild fish, such as anchovies, herring, and sardines.

These have now become so overfished that their numbers have dropped precipitously, forcing salmon farmers to resort to other sources of feed that are low in omega-3 fats and high in omega-6s.

Instead of small wild fish high in omega-3s, farmed salmon are now feasting on byproducts of hog and poultry processing, soybeans and soybean oil, canola oil, corn and other grains, most of which are genetically engineered for the animal feed industry.

All of these are loaded with cheap, low quality omega-6 fats and essentially devoid of beneficial omega-3 fats.

Farmed salmon's drop in omega-3 levels is a similar phenomenon to the poor omega fat profile of industrialized meats—grain-fed beef and poultry—compared to animals raised on pasture. Fish farms, even though they're ocean-based, are still confined animal feeding operations (CAFOs), replete with all of the problems associated with such.

Farmed Salmon Has Almost Five Times the Omega-6 Fat of Wild Salmon

Fish in the wild, especially oily fish such as salmon, are a rich source of omega-3 fats. Those of particular dietary importance are eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA). Most of the health benefits of omega-3 fats (for your heart, brain, immune system, and other) are linked to the animal- and fish-based EPA and DHA, not the plant-based ALA (alpha-linoleic acid).

"Omega-3s are not labeled, so consumers can't possibly have any idea how much farmed fish contain," says Marion Nestle, author and New York University professor of nutrition, food studies, and public health. Levels can vary from farm to farm, depending on in-house feed recipes and the time of year salmon are harvested.⁴

Farmed salmon are much fattier than wild salmon. The economic incentive to speed the growth of farmed salmon has led to the use of increasingly high-energy diets, which is why farmed grow so big.

High fat itself is not a problem, but what comprises that fat IS the problem. Farmed salmon are much higher in omega-6 fat—almost five times higher—and the typical American already gets 10 to 20 times too much omega-6 as they need.

Given the fact that farmed salmon's omega-3 levels are falling, its fat profile is likely to continue moving in the wrong direction. The following table, derived from Authority Nutrition,⁵ shows the omega-3 and omega-6 profiles of wild versus farmed salmon.

Nutrient	Half Fillet Wild Salmon	Half Fillet Farmed Salmon
Total Fat	13 g	27 g
Omega-3 Fats	3.4 g	4.2 g
Omega-6 Fats	341 mg	1944 mg

How Healthy Can Salmon Be When Raised on a Steady Diet of Chicken Feather Sandwiches?

Farmed and Dangerous⁶ provides an example of a fish feed label, and the ingredients are very telling in terms of where these excess omega-6 fats are coming from. Skretting's "Winter Plus 3500″ salmon feed lists the first nine ingredients:

"Poultry Meal, Fish Meal, Poultry Fat, Fish Oil, Whole Wheat, Soybean Meal, Corn Gluten Meal, Feather Meal, Rapeseed Oil"

To this you can add gelatin, swine byproducts and other unsavory protein and fat sources found in common commercial fish feed.^7,8 This is a far cry from a species-appropriate diet! However, fish farmers are left with few options.

According to Farmed and Dangerous, it takes 1.5 to eight kilograms of wild fish to produce just one kilogram of farmed salmon, which is why the aquaculture industry is contributing heavily to the depletion of wild fish stocks.⁹

About 85 percent of global fish stocks are severely overexploited, depleted or in various stages of recovery.¹⁰ We are losing species as well as entire ecosystems, and as a result, the overall ecological integrity of our oceans is at risk.

Fish Farms: CAFOs of the Sea

Most fish farms are aquatic versions of CAFOs, and just like cattle and poultry farms, overcrowding makes them breeding grounds for disease. Fish kept in constrained environments become "sea slugs" with health problems similar to humans who don't get enough exercise. The health of farmed fish is further compromised by feeding them an unnatural diet. Farmed salmon suffer from parasites and diseases that can pass directly into wild fish populations, threatening their viability. In order to combat the disease problem, farmed fish are given antibiotics and pesticides (such as endosulfan), and in the case of salmon, synthetic astaxanthin made from petrochemicals not approved for human consumption. Fish farms pump uneaten food and massive amounts of excrement, often containing drugs and pesticides, directly into ocean waters.

Farmed Salmon Is MUCH More Contaminated Than Wild Salmon

Over the course of the last century, thousands of dangerous chemical substances have been poured into the oceans. Fish bioaccumulate these pollutants, and farmed salmon are more susceptible to the accumulation of fat-soluble pollutants, such as PCBs. dioxins, and pesticides. Farmed salmon has much higher concentrations of persistent, bioaccumulative contaminants (polychlorinated biphenyls, dioxins, and several chlorinated pesticides) than wild salmon.¹¹ Scientists have concluded that:¹²

"Consumption of farmed salmon at relatively low frequencies results in elevated exposure to dioxins and dioxin-like compounds with commensurate elevation in estimates of health risk."

In a global assessment of farmed salmon published in the January 2004 issue of Science,¹³ 13 persistent organic pollutants were found. Some of the most dangerous are PCBs, strongly associated with cancer, reproductive and other health problems. PCB concentrations in farmed salmon were found to be eight times higher than in wild salmon. Those contamination levels are deemed safe by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) but not by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Researchers postulated that if EPA guidelines were applied to the farmed salmon they tested, recommendations would be to restrict salmon to no more than once per month.

Six More Reasons to NOT Eat Farmed Salmon

Salmon raised on fish farms are also creating some serious environmental problems, six of which are summarized below.¹⁴

Environmental Risks of Fish Farms
1. Transmission of disease	Just as with land-based CAFOs, high stocking densities can fuel a disease outbreak. Vaccines and antibiotics are used to control infections, through medicated baths and feed, but those methods of delivery also increase the chance that antibiotics will pass into the environment, affecting wildlife and other organisms. The use of antibiotics in aquaculture has resulted in a much larger problem: antibiotic resistance.
2. Sea lice	One of the most significant threats facing wild salmon populations, a parasite called sea lice, spread rampantly in fish farms.15 Farm infestations significantly increase the number of lice in surrounding waters, infecting wild fish populations. Sea lice can infect very young salmon so that fewer make it out to sea or back to spawn. Combating sea lice requires the use of toxic pesticides, including emamectin benzoate (SLICE),16 which persists in the salmon's tissues and the environment for weeks to months.
3. Escapes and interspecies impacts	The majority of salmon are raised in open pens and cages along the coast, where the fish are targeted by predators such as seals and sea birds, who attempt to get through the nets. As a result, many salmon flee from their enclosures. The escape of farmed salmon into the wild population poses a serious threat to indigenous wild salmon species, potentially outcompeting them for habitat and food, as well as spreading disease.17
4. Salmon manure	Densely confined salmon produce copious amounts of waste, laced with antibiotics and pesticides, and this excrement can build up under the pens, smothering portions of the ocean bottom, contaminating the marine ecosystem and depriving species of oxygen—like a litter box that never gets changed. Or, the bulk of the waste may be carried away from the farm site by ocean currents, ending up collecting in another place and causing localized pollution.
5. Endangerment of sea life	Seals, sea lions, and birds become trapped and drown in salmon farm nets.18
6. Algal blooms	Algal blooms are the uncontrolled growth of one or more species of algae. Hundreds of thousands of salmon excreting in the confined area of a farm can cause a localized level of nutrient loading that may not be completely absorbed by the surrounding environment; hence, nutrient loading from salmon farms may be linked to algal blooms.

Genetically Engineered Pseudo-Salmon

As if the problems associated with farmed salmon aren't enough, genetically engineered (GE) salmon may soon be heading to a supermarket near you, if approved by FDA. AquaBounty Technologies Inc. has genetically engineered Atlantic salmon (known as AquAdvantage® salmon) to overexpress a growth-hormone gene, resulting in a fish that grows up to five times faster than normal. The company has been seeking FDA approval for its pseudo-salmon since 1995, which is now opposed by two million Americans, including hundreds of organizations, businesses, fishermen and a large segment of Congress.¹⁹

In March 2014, the FDA reported they are still deciding whether or not to approve the GE fish. If they do, it will be the first GE animal product to reach America's dinner plate.

The environmental risks of such a biological nightmare are tremendous. In a Purdue University computer model that tracked the effects of releasing just 60 "Frankenfish" into a population of 60,000, there was a complete extinction of the normal fish in just 40 fish generations. In response to these concerns, several major groceries, including Kroger, Whole Foods, Safeway, Target and Trader Joe's, have committed to not selling GE seafood if it's allowed on the market. And Governor Jerry Brown just signed California law AB 504, which bans commercial production of any GE salmon in state waters.²⁰

Clues for Spotting a Farm-Raised Salmon

Unfortunately, salmon and other fish are often mislabeled—and if GE salmon is approved, it won't be labeled as such. Studies have shown that up to 80 percent of the fish marked as "wild" are actually farmed. This includes restaurants, where 90 to 95 percent of salmon is farmed, yet often listed on the menu as "wild."

Given these inaccuracies, how can you tell whether a salmon really is wild or farmed? The flesh of the salmon will give you a clue. Wild sockeye salmon is bright red, courtesy of its natural astaxanthin content. Sockeye salmon actually has one of the highest concentrations of natural astaxanthin of any food. Wild salmon is also very lean, so the fat marks—those white stripes you see in the meat—are quite thin. If a fish is pale pink with wide fat marks, the salmon is likely farmed. Avoid Atlantic salmon, as salmon bearing this label are almost always farmed.

The two designations you want to look for are: "Alaskan salmon" (or wild Alaskan salmon) and "sockeye salmon." Alaskan sockeye are not allowed to be farmed. Canned salmon labeled "Alaskan salmon" is a good bet, and if you find sockeye, it too is assured to be wild. My favorite brand is Vital Choice Wild Seafood and Organics, which offers a nice variety of high-quality salmon products that test high for omega-3 fats and low for contaminants.

Krill Oil, Another Excellent Source of Omega-3 Fats

Consuming wild Alaskan salmon is an excellent way to boost your omega-3 level, but there is another option if you're concerned you're not getting enough. You can add a krill oil supplement. Krill oil is extracted from tiny shrimp-like crustaceans called krill that live in the pristine waters of Antarctica. Krill feed on plankton floating near the ocean's surface. The special properties of the EPA and DHA in krill oil make it 48 times more potent than fish oil.

Krill is highly sustainable because of its enormous biomass, between 170 million to 740 million tons. We are harvesting only about two percent of the precautionary catch limit of 6.6 million tons, set in 2008. We could increase this harvest 50-fold and still be within safe limits. Unlike fish, krill does not accumulate heavy metals, PCBs, dioxins and other contaminants because it's at the bottom of the food chain. Between wild Alaskan salmon, krill oil, and grass pastured meats and dairy, your omega-3 to omega-6 fat ratio should be much more balanced and appropriate for optimal health.

Embed this infographic on your website:

<img src="http://media.mercola.com/assets/images/infographic/krill-oil-vs-fish-oil.jpg" alt="krill oil vs fish oil infographics" border="0" style="max-width:100%; min-width:300px; margin: 0 auto 20px auto; display:block;"><p style="max-width:800px; min-width:300px; margin:0 auto; text-align:center;">Learn why krill oil is a safer and smarter choice than fish oil through the <a href="http://www.mercola.com/infographics/fish-oil-vs-krill-oil.htm"><strong>Fish Oil versus Krill Oil: The Cold, Hard Facts</strong></a> infographic. Use the embed code to share it on your website or visit our infographic page for the high-res version.</p> <pre style="max-width:800px; min-width:300px; margin: 20px auto 0 auto; padding:10px; border:solid 1px #999999; background: #ffffff; white-space: pre-wrap; word-wrap:break-word;"><code>&lt;img src="http://media.mercola.com/assets/images/infographic/krill-oil-vs-fish-oil.jpg" alt="krill oil vs fish oil infographics" border="0" style="max-width:100%; min-width:300px; margin: 0 auto 20px auto; display:block;"&gt;&lt;p style="max-width:800px; min-width:300px; margin:0 auto; text-align:center;"&gt;Learn why krill oil is a safer and smarter choice than fish oil through the &lt;a href="http://www.mercola.com/infographics/fish-oil-vs-krill-oil.htm"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Fish Oil versus Krill Oil: The Cold, Hard Facts&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/a&gt; infographic. Visit our infographic page for the high-res version.&lt;/p&gt;</code></pre>

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Top 10 Articles of 2014

By Dr. Mercola

Another year has passed and, for the 10th year in a row, Mercola.com remains the most visited natural health site on the Web.

Ever since the inception of Mercola.com, I and my team have been committed to correcting the misinformation and deception of traditional conflicted media and big businesses. Thankfully, this dedication, shared by readers like you, is making a world of difference.

Today, we embark on a new year and a fresh start in our continued journey toward a healthier, happier life. But before we leave 2014 behind, let's revisit the top 10 articles of the past year, based on page views.

These are the articles that captivated you most, and they cover a wide variety of health topics, from how increase your testosterone levels without hormones, exposés on top nutritional myths and the "best and worst" foods on the market, and much more.

If you haven't yet read these top 10 articles, you're in for a treat. And be sure to stay tuned to the newsletter for more empowering health wisdom as 2015 unfolds.

#10: I Scream, You Scream, We All Scream for Ice Cream That Doesn't Melt!

There is something unsettling and (literally) unnatural about an ice cream sandwich that doesn’t melt on a hot summer day. Earlier this summer, a woman in Cincinnati noticed that her son’s Walmart-brand ice cream sandwich didn’t melt when he accidently left it outside for 12 hours, in 80-degree F weather.

After one hour and 15 minutes outside in sunny, 80-degree F weather, Walmart’s ice cream sandwich is still remarkably solid.

If you’re shopping at Walmart because you’re on a tight budget, it's a common misconception that buying pre-packaged processed foods is less expensive than eating fresh and cooking from scratch. Don't fall for this notion. When you consider the nutrient value of fresh versus processed-to-death denatured foods and the subsequent health consequences of each choice, it's quite clear that you can eat well and improve your health and still not spend a fortune.

#9: Gut Bacteria and Fat Cells May Interact to Produce "Perfect Storm" of Inflammation That Promotes Chronic Disease

A wide array of health problems, including but not limited to obesity, insulin resistance, type 2 diabetes, periodontal disease, stroke, and heart disease all have inflammation as a part of the disease.

The majority of inflammatory diseases start in your gut.

Chronic inflammation in your gut can disrupt the normal functioning of many bodily systems. There also appears to be a connection between certain types of bacteria and body fat that produces a heightened inflammatory response and drives the inflammatory process.

#8: 11 Charts That Show Everything Wrong with Our Modern Diet

Three decades ago, the food available was mostly fresh and grown locally. Today, the majority of foods served, whether at home, in school or in restaurants, are highly processed foods, filled with sugars, harmful processed fats, and chemical additives.

During that same time, obesity rates have skyrocketed, and one in five American deaths are now associated with obesity

The featured article contains 11 telling charts and graphs, illustrating how the modern diet has led to an avalanche of chronic disease.

#7: 63% of Americans Actively Avoid Soda

Rates of soda consumption have been dropping for decades, and Americans now consume about the same amount they did back in 1986. Today, 63 percent of Americans actively try to avoid soda, compared to 41 percent in 2002. 

Diet soda consumption has seen the greatest drop. While regular soda sales fell two percent in 2013, Diet Coke sales dropped seven percent amidst fears of aspartame’s health risks. However, Coca-Cola Co. has no intention of letting its brands, and its namesake product Coke, fall by the wayside.

To combat flagging sales, Coca-Cola decided to target the teen market directly, by printing 250 of the most common teen names on Coke bottles. The “personalized” drink gimmick worked, increasing North American sales by one percent in three months.

#6: 7 Signs You May Have a Vitamin D Deficiency

Optimizing your vitamin D levels may help you prevent cancer, heart disease, autoimmune diseases, infections, mental health conditions, and much more.

Researchers have pointed out that increasing levels of vitamin D3 among the general population could prevent chronic diseases that claim nearly one million lives throughout the world each year. Incidence of several types of cancer could also be slashed in half.

Vitamin D also fights infections, including colds and the flu, as it regulates the expression of genes that influence your immune system to attack and destroy bacteria and viruses. Unfortunately, an estimated 50 percent of the general population is at risk of vitamin D deficiency and insufficiency.

You’re particularly at risk if you consistently wear sun protection (which blocks vitamin D production) or limit your outdoor activities. Signs you may have a vitamin D deficiency include age over 50, having darker skin, obesity, achy bones, feeling blue, head sweating, and gut trouble.

#5: Top 10 Destructive Nutrition Lies Ever Told

Many nutrition myths get repeated over and over until they are mistaken for truth, especially when perpetually spread by public health authorities. This article reviews my top 10 list of the most widespread, destructive lies typically told by mainstream nutritionists, despite being refuted by science.

For example, millions of people have suffered needless pain and suffering, and premature death, by following commonly recommended low-fat, high-carbohydrate diets. Another nutrition myth is that all saturated fats are bad for you, and the corollary is equally untrue—that cholesterol causes heart disease.

Surprising truths are also revealed about artificial sweeteners, whole grains, eggs, soy, vegetable oils, genetically engineered foods, and why breakfast may not be the most important meal of the day after all.

#4: 15 Natural Remedies for the Treatment of Acid Reflux and Ulcers

Acid reflux affects an estimated 50 percent of Americans. The hallmark symptom of acid reflux is “heartburn”—a burning sensation behind your breastbone that sometimes travels up your throat.

Contrary to popular belief, acid reflux is not caused by excessive acid production in your stomach; rather it’s a symptom more commonly related to hiatal hernia and/or Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) infection.

The problem also typically results from having too little acid in your stomach, which is why proton pump inhibitors (PPIs) typically just perpetuate the problem, and make acid reflux worse.

The answer to heartburn and acid indigestion is to restore your natural gastric balance and function. Eat lots of vegetables and other high-quality, ideally organic, unprocessed foods. Also make sure you’re getting enough beneficial bacteria from your diet by regularly consuming fermented foods. This will help balance your bowel flora, which can help eliminate H. pylori bacteria naturally.

#3: Why I Don't Recommend Retractable Leashes

by Dr. Becker

A retractable dog leash is not so much a leash as it is a length of thin cord wound around a spring-loaded device housed inside a plastic handle. The handles of most retractable leashes are designed to fit comfortably in a human hand. A button on the handle controls how much of the cord is extended.

Retractable leashes are popular among dog owners primarily because they aren't as confining as regular leashes, allowing dogs more freedom to sniff and poke around on walks.

Here are 10 downsides to this type of leash.

#2: What Happens Inside Your Stomach When You Eat Instant Noodles?

Instant noodles are a popular go-to lunch or dinner for those who are strapped for time and/or cash. But by using a pill-sized camera to see what actually happens inside your stomach and digestive tract after you eat instant noodles, researchers reveal why this commonly consumed food item may be best left on the store shelf... Even after two hours, instant noodles remain remarkably intact inside the GI tract.

As a result, your may experience prolonged exposure to the toxic preservative tertiary-butyl hydroquinone (TBHQ) and other additives, like MSG, found in instant noodles. Animal studies have linked TBHQ to a number of adverse health effects, including liver effects at very low doses; cellular mutations; biochemical changes; and reproductive effects. Research also shows that women who consume more instant noodles are 68 percent more likely to have metabolic syndrome than those who eat less, regardless of overall diet or exercise habits.

#1: What You See in the Toilet Can Give You Valuable Insights into Your Health

You can learn a great deal about your overall health by taking a look at your stool and noting its color, size, shape, consistency, odor and other features. Your toileting habits, such as your frequency of elimination and the ease with which you move your bowels, can provide additional clues to your health status.  If you know what to look for, you may be able to detect health problems early enough to stop them in their tracks, including serious diseases like celiac disease, hepatitis, urinary tract infections and stones, malabsorption disorders, inflammatory bowel disease, pancreatitis, cancer and others.

Most gastrointestinal problems can be prevented or resolved by making simple changes to your diet and lifestyle. Helpful strategies include removing gluten from your diet, eating a diet rich in fresh vegetables, avoiding artificial ingredients, boosting your gut flora by eating plenty of naturally fermented foods, and more.

Wishing You and Your Loved Ones a Happy New Year!

We view the promotion of valuable health information as our social responsibility – it is a mission that we will never cease to fulfill. Together, with your help, we have made it easier for millions to make truly informed health choices, and we hope that with our continuous service, you will stay motivated to take control of your health in the New Year.

I also want to give a sincere thank you to… you. Time and time again, your participation has allowed this valuable work to be accomplished. Truly, it is through your participation and engagement in important issues that change is being manifested. You are the ones changing the world—one Facebook post, Twitter share, petition signature, and donation at a time. So from the Mercola.com family to yours, may your New Year be filled with health and happiness -- and may all of your New Year goals and wishes come true.