The Franken-Plant: GMO Part 1

I envision an evil scientist in a lab. Lightning and thunder strike on an eerie night. The full moon radiates through the breaks in the threatening thunder clouds. He holds up his test tube containing the genetic material of the first strain of genetically modified plant and lets out a deep, gut wrenching laugh in celebration of his success. He's created a monster, the birth of the Franken-plant.

The development of the first genetically modified plant strains, back in the 60’s, was intended to help farmers loose less crops to environmental concerns such as frost bite, pests and other threats. Crops that could be more resilient would yield a larger crop. Scientists were trying to develop super-strains that would be more likely to survive and produce a more lucrative crop for farmers. Well intentioned science, but like Frankenstein, it would eventually get out of control.

Genetically Modified Organisms, or GMO, are any organism (plant or otherwise) that have been engineered by recombinant DNA technology resulting in an alteration of its genes. Generally, these changes produce a more favorable strain, eliminating weaknesses and enhancing favorable properties such as size, color and flavor. For example, in the 60's tomato farmers began to harvest their crops with more mechanical equipment rather than hand picking. Agricultural scientists created a strain that was more resilient, less easily bruised and damaged, by the new, more aggressive harvesting techniques. 

In more recent years, Franken-plant has reared its head in the genetic modification of crops that would withstand damaging pesticides. Herbicide tolerant GMO crops now comprise the majority of the US crops. Roundup is a trade name for an herbicide used to kill weeds. Roundup Ready seeds are created to withstand the spray with this pesticide; killing the weeds without harming the plant. Sounds appealing, but unfortunately it’s where the problem starts. The more herbicide-tolerant crops are planted, the more herbicide is used. The pesticides used lead to nutritional deficiencies, increasing quality concerns and potential health problems such as various types of cancer, irritable bowel disease and a slew of allergies.

But that’s just where it starts. In the next post, we'll see where GMO has brought us.

Organic Soapbox

Remember 15 years ago when “granola” was a derogatory term, used to describe people who were flaky and unreliable? Who would have thought that these “granola crunchers” would spawn a mainstream culture promoting organic, local farming and humane treatment of animals? This heightened awareness of organic versus traditional farming has brought dramatic changes into the marketplace. Question is though, is this attention a passing fad? A labeling trend similar to the way “low-fat” diets or “low-carb” labels invaded the market n the past?

Contributing to this growth spurt is the sudden interest of so-called “traditional” food manufacturers in this emerging market. Organic and natural food producers are being scooped up under the wings of the big corporations, allowing more and more organic products on the supermarket shelves. Two examples are Stonyfield Farms and Kashi. Stonyfield Farms, known for making organic yogurt, was acquired by Dannon in 2003. Kashi, who specialize in whole grain cereals and convenience foods, was acquired by Kellog in 2000. Both companies have been around since the early 1980’s (1983 for Stonyfield Farms and 1984 for Kashi.) But both only gained wide scale, national attention once they were distributed nationally by the large conglomerates. Did these small guys sell out? Maybe, but ultimately, selling out to the large chains is what helped increase access to these organic alternatives as well as increased national awareness for all organics in general.

Another example is Whole Foods supermarket. The well-known chain started as a single health food store in Texas 30 years ago and has become one of those big national chains. Growing steadily with good ‘ol fashioned acquisition techniques since its inception in the early 1980’s, it has become one of the leading national supermarkets. The supermarket’s policy is to stock only those items adhering to a self regulated “natural” product rules. The company has also been known to discontinue sale of products that demonstrate cruelty to animals and those containing toxins, as well as minimizing use of plastics. Not to mention they have been continuously named as one of the best companies to work for by Forbes Magazine several years running. Whole Foods demonstrates that big companies are capable of being environmentally and humanely conscious while also being profitable.

So all that being said, let’s get right to it: Should you be buying organic food? I can sit here and talk to you till I’m blue in the face about how organic products are nutritionally superior to “traditionally” farmed foods. That:

• The soil used in the production of organic fruits and vegetables is more nutrient rich than traditional farm soil, resulting in more nutrient packed produce.
• The use of pesticides in traditional farms reduces the plants ability to detoxify and grow as resilient since it doesn’t have to fight to survive. As a result, organic fruits and veggies pack more anti-oxidant power and detoxifying effects.
• And there’s no contest that animals fed a better diet, and allowed to live a healthy, normal life free of cages, hormone injection and daily antibiotics produce better meat products. (We will get into the genetically modified products in a future blog!)

Yes, all those things are important for our health and for disease prevention. But how likely you are to eat a 100% organic diet depends on a couple of factors. You might be lucky enough to live in a neighborhood that has a health food store or a Whole Foods supermarket nearby. Access is one very important step. But what if you can’t afford the organic apples? What if you have kids? Those little guys sure can eat! The general population is aware they need to eat better, and most Americans know enough about organic food to realize it’s the healthier option. But the stumbling blocks are access and affordability. If you don’t have a conveniently located market to buy organic, local foods at an affordable price, will you realistically go out of your way to make that purchase on a regular basis?

 

What I’m getting to is that as much as I’d love to stand up here on my soap box and preach about supporting the local markets and boycotting the giant corporations, the reality is there’s a benefit to the big guns that the big companies carry. Advertising dollars, prime real estate on grocery store shelves and national availability at traditional supermarkets. These factors all lead to growth of the organic industry, lower production costs and increased consumer awareness. Of course you should support the local, small markets and farmers when it’s available! But keep in mind the impact of purchasing power when you walk into the chain stores as well and choose the brands that are ethically conscience. Economics is a numbers game people, and it’s about time we started using the power of the capitalism for good, instead of evil.

 

I guess I never answered my own question, is the "organic" label a passing fad? We'll have to get into a few more topics before we answer that question: Genetically Modified Organisms and toxins will be next!

Finding Balance: The Rock Theory

I tend to take on a lot. Anyone who knows me knows I love making new friends, starting new projects, learning new skills and discovering new hobbies. I’ve been made to feel admired, criticized, questioned and overwhelmed for this little “habit” of mine. But when it comes right down to it, I wouldn’t change any minute of this crazy, hectic, fun and amazing life! But what I have learned is how to take it as it comes and make sure it all fits in.

So at some point in the late 90’s I got a forward. No Earth shattering news there, but the content of that forward has stayed with me (unlike the thousands of other forwards I’ve gotten since). Let me see if I can rephrase its words of wisdom to demonstrate my point.

Say you have a clear glass jar, filled with sand. You add to it pebbles and maybe a few little rocks. Now your jar is filled pretty much to the brim. The problem is you have some larger rocks that you were supposed to put into the jar, but since that the jar is full, they won’t fit.

Moral of the story, the rocks and sand represent different aspects of your life; family, friends, career, spirituality, hobbies... etc. The size of the rocks is proportional to the importance of each aspect of life to you and your happiness. For example if you think family and friends are important, they’re the big rocks. Learning Dutch, that’s more like a pebble (well for me anyway.) The size of the jar is also significant. The fixed, inflexible glass jar represents time and its constraints.

That being said, why would you put the least important stuff, sand (for me that’s organizing my closet), in first? When it’s all said and done the things in your life that you value most you’ll eventually run out of room for. All of a sudden, you’re unhappy and wondering how you can make more time to squeeze it all in. The thing is the glass jar isn’t going to change size any time soon, just as time isn’t a flexible commodity either.

But what if we were to change our perspective? Rather than creating more time, we reorganized our priorities. Take that same jar; put your big rocks in first. Next take the smaller rocks and pebbles and drop them in. Watch how they find their way between the crevasses of the larger rocks. Also notice that there’s still space in between all the stones, and go ahead and add the sand to the jar. Again the sand trickles through the tiny spaces between the rocks and pebbles. Oh hell, go ahead and even pour in some water, it’ll fit!

Life’s short and there’s a lot to take in. Keep your priorities in mind. Time management is a misnomer; what we need to manage has nothing to do with time. You can’t control time, that’s a constant, inflexible factor. You’ll have to decide what’s most important to you in your life. Make sure you create space for those things first and respect that commitment. The smaller, less important things will find their way into the crevasses.

How do you fill your jar?

The Skinny on Fats part 3: Getting Picky

Omega 3 (and 6) are found in fish oil, olive oil, flax seeds (and oil), hemp oil and avocados. Study after study has shown that that increasing your intake of these types of oils is beneficial in reducing bad cholesterol, increasing good cholesterol and preventing heart disease and arthritis symptoms. More research continues to emerge attributing the deficiency of this particular type of oil as a factor in the incidence of depression, allergies and diabetes! The catch twenty-two: you not only need to increase your consumption of these oils, you’ll have to cut out the bad ones to reap the full benefits.

Fat has had a bad rap for decades. Going back to the 1930’s, doctors made correlations between increased CHD, heart attacks and stroke to increased consumption of butter, margarine and other fats that don’t contain Omega 3. These fats increase inflammation, LDL and triglycerides, resulting in the rise of “Western Diseases” like heart disease and diabetes (the link to diabetes is a relatively controversial one at this point.) So in an effort to reduce health risks, health care professionals have long recommended decreased intake of fat for decreased health risks. Along with this recommendation is the pharmaceutical push to dispense prescription cholesterol lowering meds.

But if this reduced fat diet is so effective, why does the incidence of heart disease continue to rise? If statins (class of cholesterol lowering medication most widely prescribed) are so effective in reducing heart attacks and strokes, why do most patients hospitalized for cardiovascular episodes have normal cholesterol levels? Simple answer: even at lower levels, bad fat can kill you. Not so simple answer: it’s not just about decreasing the total fat intake on our diets, it’s about removing the inflammatory fat and replacing it with the protective, good fat.

The topic of fat and cholesterol is not a simple one, but our menu does not have to be complicated either.

• Stick to Omega 3 rich oils like olive oil, avocado and sesame oil

• Increase consumption of fish (fresh water varieties like salmon and sardines are safest) while reducing meat intake.
• Include high Omega 3 foods like flax seeds, avocados and walnuts in your daily diet.
• Supplement your diet with a high quality EPA/DHA supplement.
• Avoid pre-packaged, fast foods and processed foods as much as possible.

Remember, there is absolutely no evidence out there that can deny that improved lifestyle and diet is more effective than medication at preventing heart attacks and strokes. Now you just have to make the right choices for yourself.

Your questions and comments are always welcome. Email me at Lara@wealthofHealthRx.com and don’t forget you can also ask me about coaching support and nutritional supplement services. Visit WealthofHealthRx.com for more information :)