Benefits of Vitamin D - Why it’s essential to health + the best food sources

I love summer. My kids love to play outside, and I can sit in the sun with my laptop and soak up the Vitamin D. It’s so comforting to have the sun on my skin, knowing not only does it feel good on the surface of the skin, but the Vitamin D that is being produced is doing the inside of my body good, too.

Then autumn rolls around, and winter, and I am worried that my family isn’t getting enough Vitamin D. We switch from fish oil - which has omega-3′s, but not Vitamin D - to cod liver oil which does contain Vitamin D. Since regular cod liver oil contains low amounts of Vitamin D (as opposed to fermented which is a more concentrated form and contains lots more Vitamin D) it’s essential I add food sources of Vitamin D to our diet.

Vitamin D - Immune System Booster

So why am I so careful to add Vitamin D to our diet? My biggest personal reason is because it’s vital for a healthy immune system.

I am sure you’ve noticed that colds and the flu is more prevalent during the winter months when we are covered up more due to the cold (at least here in New England!). Our skin isn’t exposed to as much sunlight.

Find out what else Vitamin D is also needed for, learn about Vitamin D deficiency, what the best food sources of Vitamin D are, what interferes with Vitamin D absorption, and what enhances Vitamin D absorption… Continue reading

Oils Safe for Cooking and Frying - Smoke Points for Oils, Shortenings, Butters, and Fats

Oils and fats are not created equal.

One of the biggest mistakes I made when beginning my journey to health was cooking with olive oil. The next mistake I made, once I had transitioned to cooking with coconut oil, was using coconut oil for the occasional frying that I do.

While olive oil is super for salads, and coconut oil is preferred for cooking, there are better fats for frying - those with higher smoke points. I now use palm shortening when I fry foods: read my review for palm shortening here. Continue reading

Five Fats You MUST Have in Your Kitchen

When folks ask me for advice on how to change their diet for the better, I tell them that the quickest way to improve their health and just feel amazingly better in general (like, feel better tomorrow – that’s how fast this works) is to get the right fats into their diet and the wrong fats out. Eating organic fruits/vegetables and grinding their own flour/making their own bread are usually the two changes that people want to do first, but the truth is, while important, these two things will have the least impact on your health in the immediate term. Continue reading

The Untold Story of BUTTER

About the same time the war against eggs heated up, a young scientist named Mary Enig discovered during her research that a serious mistake had occurred with regard to the studies linking saturated fat to heart disease. She discovered that the analysis had incorrectly grouped saturated fat along with trans fat (partially hydrogenated fats). How had this happened? The mistake evidently occurred because factory synthesized trans fats are very similar in chemical structure to saturated fats. So similar in fact, that researchers had grouped them together for analytical purposes. Continue reading

Get Saturated: Four Reasons Saturated Fat is Healthy

(NaturalNews) Today we are caught between two philosophies: one says saturated fat is killing us; the other says these fats are necessary for true vitality. There is a heated back-and-forth, a constant tug-of-war scenario, with society caught in the middle like a child caught between two parents in a nasty divorce.

But fortunately, we are adults who can take a step back from the madness and look at the facts - all of the facts - before coming to our own conclusions. The trouble is finding anything but propaganda regarding saturated fats. Corporate food industry and government agencies are quick to demonize these fats, but in traditional cultures saturated fat was revered and even coveted as a source of vital energy.

Mankind has survived for century upon century thanks to saturated fats, depending on these fats to nourish our bodies and support the health of future generations. Only in recent decades have we turned away from natural fats and toward manufactured vegetable oils. And only in recent decades have we seen an explosion of degenerative conditions such as heart disease, diabetes and cancer. Here are four important reasons saturated fat should have its place at the table: Continue reading

Healing Cavities Through Nutrition - a Cheat Sheet

Tooth decay is caused by a deficiency of vitamins, minerals, and other nutrients the body needs to build healthy teeth. The two most important minerals teeth need are calcium and phosphate. Unfortunately, for the teeth, other places of the body also need these minerals. So if you’re running short, the minerals will migrate out of your teeth, and bones, and go to more important places, like your heart and other organs.
For optimal tooth health, you need to avoid foods that contribute to decay, and carry minerals out of the body. Some of these foods are… Continue reading