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Sea Salt Is Better Than Table Salt for Sodium-Restricted Diets

June 30, 2014

Sea salt is better balanced for our bodies and may not cause swelling or tax the body like mined table salt or the added sodium in processed foods will.

Sea Salt Portuguese Flor de Sal — Portuguese Flor de Sal from the Savory Spice Shop.

Sea salt is a live mineral from the get-go as part of the nutrient-rich environment of seawater that is activated by absorbing the sun’s life-giving energy during evaporation.

Our bodies depend on a balance of minerals to maintain homeostasis in the osmotic fluid inside and outside of our cells, and to provide a favorable environment for the conduction of electricity through the nervous system. Salt is a vital component for health and body function.

For sodium-restricted diets aimed at reducing inflammation and lessening the load on the kidneys and other organs, consider switching to sea salt, preparing home-cooked meals like Glorious One-Pot Meals instead of eating restaurant meals high in mined salt, and avoiding packaged and prepared foods that list sodium on the lable.

Chlorinated Swimming Pool Dangers; The Saltwater Alternative

May 30, 2014

ABC World News Tonight reported on May 30, 2014, about the dangers of chlorine-based swimming pools.

The problems come from the chemicals mixed into the water to keep it sanitary. Hydrochloric acid should be added to pool water near the surface at least a day before swimming in it and well-circulated to be rendered safe, and should be stored away from all petroleum products to avoid accidental ignition.

The Centers for Disease Control reported 4,876 E.R. visits in 2012 from swimming pools in 2012. 48% were children, and 45% were considered poisonings from pool chemicals and vapors. 73% of these occurred during the three summer months after Memorial Day.

There is an alternative to chlorinating pools that provides just as much hygiene and safety in the water, and that is to salinate. Yep, regular salt works just as well or better than chlorine for purifying water for bathing.

Although saltwater pool systems still generate chlorine due to breaking down the salt, saltwater systems create a reduced number of chloramines, an irritant which is a byproduct of oxidation. It is sanitization without harsh, man-made chemicals.

While hydrochloric acid is less harmful when it is diluted, and it evaporates off significantly with each 24-hour cycle after application, it is most harmful when it is inhaled as vapors. That means that hot chlorinated waters, as in hot tubs, hot showers, hot baths…expose us to more harm than swimming in cold chlorinated water usually does.

In our house, we installed a whole-house water filter to reduce our exposure to chlorine vapors during bathing. We also joined a timeshare which features saltwater pools rather than chlorine pools.

Unfortunately, most public pools are still chlorinated, but if you have your own pool, you can easily convert it to a saltwater system and safeguard the health of all who swim there.

The best advice to give summer-loving kids to stay healthy? Don’t drink the pool water!

NMO Diaries: A Fight MS with Food Case Study

May 27, 2014December 22, 2022

This case study in the Fight MS with Food project actually focuses on NMO, a disease that is often mis-diagnosed as multiple sclerosis. Just like MS, NMO is an auto-immune disease that may respond to customized changes in dietary habits.

Erin, a 32-year old mother of a toddler, was diagnosed with NMO in 2009. When she came to me she reported: “I have the torch feeling really bad in my feet. Pins and Needles all the time in my hands, legs, and feet. Fatigue is everyday. Headaches come and go. Nausea comes and goes. Banding around my rib cage. Tremors off and on.”

She was also very distressed that she had gained 100 lbs since her diagnosis. At only 5’2″, there was no way to hide it and she simply felt lousy most of the time.

We started her off on an herbal parasite cleanse to level the playing field, so to speak, before analyzing her blood for inflammatory triggers with the MRT (Mediator Release Test) and analyzing her urine for the state of her digestive tract.

Erin will tell you that the first two weeks of the dietary program weren’t easy, but after five months, her diet has greatly expanded and her dietary choices have become part of her lifestyle rather than a “diet”.

Even better, following the LEAP diet gave her the energy to start living her life again. Instead of feeling chronically fatigued, she now has energy to work out 4-5 times each week and has dropped almost 60 lbs. (Adding the workouts boosted her weight loss trend from 2 lbs per week with the diet alone to 3 lbs per week on average.)

As for her NMO symptoms, they have subsided significantly. She now only has the pins and needles feeling when she has accidentally ingested something she shouldn’t have, and it works as an early warning system alerting her to retreat to her original safe diet until the symptoms abate.

But you should hear about it in her own words. Erin keeps a blog at NMOdiaries.com where she and several others journal their lives with NMO. She has posted a video describing her dietary journey through The Fight MS with Food project protocols.

Give it a listen. Hearing her life-changing progress brought tears to my eyes. You may find it inspiring.

Here is part one.

Click here to watch part two of Erin and her NMO diet.

FDA Approves New Sweetener: Advantame

May 23, 2014

Watch your food labels for a new synthetic sweetener that may soon be sneaking into anything labeled “sugar-free”, “diet”, “lite”, or “low-calorie”.

Advantame: the newest artificial sweetener to hit the market.

Advantame has just been approved by the Food and Drug Administration for use as a general-purpose sweetener and flavor enhancer in food, except meat and poultry. New food additives must be approved by the FDA before they may be marketed in the United States. Advantame is the 6th high-intensity sweetener approved by the FDA.

All synthetic sweeteners are toxic and bad for the human body. Don’t be fooled by thinking that synthetic sweeteners will help you lose weight, either, because studies have proven that they do just the opposite.

Advantame is a free-flowing, water soluble, white crystalline powder that is stable even at higher temperatures, and can be used as a tabletop sweetener as well as in cooking applications.

Advantame has been approved for use as a general-purpose sweetener and flavor enhancer and can be used in baked goods, non-alcoholic beverages (including soft drinks), chewing gum, confections and frostings, frozen desserts, gelatins and puddings, jams and jellies, processed fruits and fruit juices, toppings, and syrups.

Unless you read the label, you won’t even know it’s there. Consumer beware!

Upon publication of the final rule, the food additive petition process includes a 30 day period to file objections. Objections can be submitted electronically to the FDA docket through FDA-2009-F-0303

To submit objections by mail, send to FDA at:

Division of Dockets Management (HFA-305)
Food and Drug Administration
5630 Fishers Lane, Rm. 1061
Rockville, MD 20852

All objections must include the agency name and docket number.

How to Clean the Outside of an Enamel-coated Cast Iron Dutch Oven

May 1, 2014May 1, 2014

Reader question: Elizabeth, the outside of my Dutch Oven is getting black, with much cooking use. Is there anything that will take this off. I am still enjoying cooking this way. I don’t do it all the time, but a lot. ~ Joanne E., Denver

Hi Joanne, Nice to hear from you and to learn that you are still enjoying GOPMs!

Le Creuset makes a cast iron cleaning solution that you can use to scrub your pot clean. There are retail Le Creuset stores (in Cherry Creek in Denver) and outlet stores that both should carry it, or you get it online through Amazon.

Be sure to wear gloves when you use it because this is toxic. I usually make my husband do this chore as it takes a bit of scrubbing effort.

Happy cooking! ~Elizabeth

Sea Salt Is Better Than Table Salt for Sodium-Restricted Diets

Chlorinated Swimming Pool Dangers; The Saltwater Alternative

NMO Diaries: A Fight MS with Food Case Study

FDA Approves New Sweetener: Advantame

How to Clean the Outside of an Enamel-coated Cast Iron Dutch Oven

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