Misconceptions about Antidepressants and Other Psychiatric Medications. Sometimes, they actually work.

Picture me.  And a soapbox.  Now I'm on it.

I would like to address the subject of antidepressant use.  It seems that every week I read an article or a book where antidepressant use is discouraged, because "they don't really work", they have horrible side effects, and they are bad for you.  Just yesterday I was reading "Food Over Medicine" by Pam Popper, which has a lot of great information about nutrition, but when she got to the subject of mental health, she said that some people experience depression as a result of a great loss and they just need time to "process their emotions".  Really?  That might work for some people, depending on the person, the loss, and their predisposition to depression.  But, for a lot of people, they can't function.  They can't see their need for help unless they have family or friends to point it out to them, and this might not be a time where "pulling yourself up by your bootstraps" is going to work.  Instead, they might need short or long term help with medications just to make them functional. Then, they might be able to see their situation more clearly and make plans to "process their feelings" with someone.  

She also said that if you do go to your doctor for depression, you should tell him that you are not interesetd in a pharmaceutical solution to the problem.  She claims that psychotropic drugs are addictive and "should be avoided at all costs".  A psychotropic drug is any drug used to treat psychiatric disorders.  I've been on several of these, and am currently taking two of them.  In Pam's words:

"Right now we know that taking antidepressant and antianxiety drugs not only increases your risk of suicide but they ultimately make people more depressed"

For this statement, she references one book.  One.  No scientific studies, just Petter Breggin's "Your Drug May be Your Problem".  If you read reviews of this book, several people say that their son/daughter stopped taking their bipolar medications after reading this book for a college course, and they ended up in a mental institution and took months to fully recover.  How can she make such a broad statement, that no one should take psychiatric medications and that they only have harmful effects?  I am lucky that my medications do not increase thoughts of suicide, in fact they do the opposite.  None of the other side effects are major enough for me to even consider stopping them.  What do they do? They allow me to be "me".  They enable me to get out of bed and function. They take away dark thoughts of worthlessness and hopelessness and allow me to stop thinking about death all of the time.  I don't cry for no reason, and I have energy to do things with my family instead of sleeping all of the time.  Now, if I had listened to someone like Pam Popper, I would have decided that these drugs would only make things worse and that I needed to solve my depression myself.  Can we say dangerous advice?

Another article I read recently was about a celebrity who claimed to have gone through depression. When asked if she needed medication to get out of it, she responded that "she was a really strong person so she was able to do without medication.  She worked through her feelings herself".  Why would it have been so terrible for her to say that she did need medication? Why is there still a stigma?  I'm sure a lot of depressed people read the article, hoping for some good advice, and felt even worse about themselves afterwards. What was wrong with them? Why couldn't they deal with their feelings themselves? They already feel worthless and useless, how is this attitude helping anyone?

Our bodies are fallen.  God created them perfect, but after the Fall in the Garden, sin and corruption began.  Our bodies are broken, people get heart disease, cancer, diabetes, digestive disorders and mental illnesses.  Would you ever say to a person with lung cancer, "Why don't you just try to fix it yourself?  Think positively, try exercising, and oh!  I just read about this new supplement that is supposed to do wonders!"  Now, there is nothing wrong with exercise (it has been proven to elevate the mood), or certain supplements, but my point is, if you had cancer, your friends and family would be researching the best doctors and hospitals trying to get you treatment as soon as possible.  Why?  Because if they don't, you might die.  Interesting.

To be fair, I will say that some doctors do overprescribe psychiatric medications.  They might automatically start with this solution after barely listening to the patient and they might not combine it with cognitive behavioral therapy when it is needed.  (And don't even get me started on the complete lack of good psychiatrists who can prescribe medications, it's often impossible to get an appointment, and you might end up with a general physician who is too scared to discuss mental health.  If this happens, drive.  Find a psychiatrist who will see you and someone who will drive you there).   There are lots of people who shouldn't be on psychiatric drugs, and there are a lot of people whose illnesses get worse on these medications.  BUT they do work for a lot of people.  And if they do, they are a literal lifesaver.  To tell people that they shouldn't even consider this option is dangerous.  You wouldn't tell someone with heart disease to go to talk therapy and take vitamins.  Watch out for your friends and family.  If they need help, drag them there.  They probably won't want to go and they will claim that they are fine.  A lot of people are still ashamed as if mental illness is their fault, so they hide their symptoms and suffer alone.   Hopefully it won't always be this way.

* My all-time favorite book on the subject of mental illness is "Beyond Blue" by Therese Borchard.  She is hilarious.  And straightforward.  There's a ton of helpful information.  She also has a blog by the same name.

Super Easy and Quick Guacomole Recipe

I have one simple recipe that I use for guacomole.  It's very easy and quick, and it is so yummy!  I don't miss sour cream at all when I can eat this instead

Guacomole

Ingredients:

2-3 avocados

1/2 cup cilantro, chopped

1/2 - 1 onion, minced

Directions:

1.  Cut the avocado in half, then peel the "skin" off of it, if it doesn't come off easily, it's not ripe yet.  Mash the avocados in a bowl with a fork.  Use 2 or 3 avocados depending on how much you want to make.

2.  Chop an onion (or 1/2, depending on how much onion you like).  Add onion to avocados.

3.  Chop cilantro into tiny pieces, then mix in with the other ingredients!  You can put everything in the food processor at this point, it will be more creamy this way.  I however usually just stir it together and it's ready.  

How do we know which nutrition advice to follow?

I've been interested in nutrition and dietetics since I was 14.  I knew that I wanted to major in Dietetics in college, and I chose James Madison Univ. for that reason.  It's interesting though to think back about what I was taught from 1995-1999 about nutrition.  Some of the things I learned have remained the same, but some of them haven't.  For example, in the late 90s dietetians were encouraging everyone to use  margarine instead of butter.  Margarine had less saturated fat, and no one taught about trans fats yet.  Today however, most people know that butter is the better choice because trans fats are so highly linked with cardiovascular disease.  

Another example is the diabetic diet.  At that time dietetians were still teaching the diabetic exchange program, where you could eat so many exchanges from each of the food groups, and diabetics were not supposed to eat too many carbohydrates.  It didn't differentiate a whole lot between refined carbs and whole, complex carbs.  And there was no mention of fat making a difference in diabetics' blood sugar levels, the focus was completely on carbs.  Today, a lot of studies have shown how fat can be the main culprit behind insulin resistance and diabetes; the fat can make the cells "sticky" and insulin cannot get into the cell with glucose.  Some people still teach diabetics to restrict all carbohydrate intake, whether it's refined or complex, but newer information shows that complex carbohydrates combined with a low-fat, vegan diet can reverse diabetes.  It worked for me.

So how do we know what to believe?  Is the nutritional advice 15 years from now going to be completely different from what it is today?  For some things it will be (my prediction is that high protein/low carb diets will be history, and hopefully by then the whole omega 3 debate will be settled).  But, I have a read a lot of books and articles about nutrition and there are 2 recommendations that have not changed over time:

1)  Eat a lot of fruits and vegetables

2)  Choose whole grains and complex carbohydrates over refined ones.

No one that I have read has argued with these 2 points.  Of course, most people suggest organic fruits/vegetables over conventional ones, but if you can't afford organic, it's probably still better for you to eat conventional fruits and vegetables than none at all.  And who would possibly claim that refined, sugary foods are good for you (beside the makers of Froot Loops who claim that they are "whole grain")?  If refined carbs and sugar were good for you, we would all be so healthy!  

So if you are confused by the information out there and aren't sure which diet is healthiest, start with the 2 recommendations above.  And maybe things will be a little clearer in the future.

Coconut Oil: Is it really good for you?

Coconut products seem to be everywhere!  Almost overnight, they appeared on grocery store shelves.  Most people experiment a little with coconut oil, some brave people drink coconut milk, and some very brave people use it as sunscreen!  It is yummy - my favorite thing to do is melt 1 Tablespoon of coconut oil and drizzle it over chopped vegetables (carrots, sweet potatoes, peppers, squash), and then roast them for 20-25 minutes.  But, how can it be good for you?  It is 100% fat, and not the good kind either, it is all saturated fat.  

I bought some coconut milk today to use in a blueberry smoothie and the side of the carton explained how it contains "medium chain triglycerides" which are used by your body differently than short or long chain triglycerides.  Apparently the medium ones (MCT) are quickly used by the liver for energy instead of sitting around and being turned into fat.  Although, if your body doesn't need the calories/fat right then, it will turn into fat.  Also, coconut oil isn't made up of 100% MCT's.  It is only about 10-15% MCTs.  And some of the other fats that are included in coconut oil contain short and long chain triglycerides and they are not good for you.  

I have read claims too that the saturated fats in coconut oil are processed differently from the saturated fats in meat and dairy.  There aren't any solid studies though to prove this point. The use of coconut oil is too new. One study seemed to link coconut oil intake with lower cholesterol and heart disease, but the population studied also ate small amounts of meat, dairy, and sugar, and they consumed a lot of fruits and vegetables. So it's difficult to say that coconut oil was the sole factor that reduced their heart disease, plus their method of screening for heart disease was skewed.

What is my main point?  The jury is still out on coconut oil and other coconut products.  There haven't been enough solid studies that have proven anything.  Saturated fat is still, well, saturated fat, and it is scientifically proven that high levels of this type of fat lead to higher cholesterol, lower HDL, and higher LDL.  All of these lead to heart disease.  Does this mean I will stop cooking with coconut oil or using its milk for smoothies?  No.  But I will be careful not to use too much of it too often.  Since only 10% of our calories are supposed to come from saturated fat, you could easily use up all of them with 1 cup of full-fat coconut milk.

How much is 10%?  Well, if you are aiming to eat 1800 calories per day, 10% of that is 180 calories.  Each fat calorie has 9 grams so you would divide 180/9 and get 20 grams. 2000 calories means you can eat 22g of saturated fat; that is your maximum limit for the day.     If you have ever looked at a carton of Ben and Jerry's ice cream, it easily contains 2 days worth of saturated fat in just one pint!  Other sources of saturated fat include meat (especially red), cream, butter, high-fat cheeses (cheddar and others), high-fat dairy products (whole milk, ice cream),  palm oil (usually present in peanut butter unless you buy the natural kind with only peanuts and salt), and coconut oil.  I believe the American Heart Association wants people to lower their intake to 7% of their total calories, especially if you have experienced some type of heart disease.  

I look forward to reading future studies about coconut products!  Until then, I will use it sparingly.

Dangerous Diet Drinks

I wanted to write this post about diet drinks because there has been so much information in the news lately about them.  I am a former Diet Dr. Pepper fan, I've been off of it for a couple of months and don't even crave it anymore.  Do you notice that once you drink diet drinks you start to crave them?  That's because artificial sweeteners trick your brain into thinking you are eating something sweet, and the cravings begin.  Even though the artificial sweeteners don't have calories, they are still affecting the brain the way sugar does.  

REASONS WHY YOU SHOULD NEVER DRINK DIET DRINKS (or give them to your children)

All diet sodas, Crystal Light, "light" yogurt, reduced sugar or sugar free products, Roaring Waters Capri Sun, and more.

1.  They increase the risk of diabetes 

-  a study published in the journal "Diabetes Care" in Jan. of 2009 found that people who drink diet soda daily have a 36% greater risk of metabolic syndrome (a group of risk factors that raise the risk of diabetes, stroke, and heart attack).  

- the same study found that daily diet soda drinkers had a 67% increased risk of diabetes!!!  67%!  

2.  There is a link between diet drinks and depression.  In one study individuals who drank diet soda had a 30% greater chance of depression over the period of 10 years.  It can also lead to preterm delivery.

3.  The caramel coloring in sodas is linked with hypertension (high blood pressure).  It isn't the caffeine in sodas that raises blood pressure, it's the additive that gives it that nice brown color.  Check food labels because caramel coloring is added to a lot of other processed foods.  (I even found it in granola bars)

4.  ARTIFICIAL SWEETENERS - this is by far the greatest reason why you should not drink diet drinks or give them to your children, or your elderly parents!  Most sodas contain aspartame.  Some of the newer sodas contain aspartame and sucralose (Splenda).  Splenda is also an artificial sweetener that is chemically created and is linked to its own list of dangerous side effects.  But why is aspartame so bad?  It's found in a lot of reduced sugar foods and drinks, so it must be safe, right?

- Aspartame is considered an excitotoxin (it's a new word for me too).  Excitotoxins can get into the brain and literally excite the neurons to death, which leads to cell damage, which leads to brain damage, which can lead to other problems like dementia or Alzheimers.  If you are pregnant, excitotoxins also cross the placental barrier, causing problems in unborn children.

-  One other example of an excitotoxin is glutamate (found in MSG).  Both glutamate and aspartame are supposed to stay away from the brain and only be in our blood streams.  However, the blood-brain barrier that keeps these kinds of molecules out is not always functioning 100%.  Children's blood-brain barriers are still developing, so there are "holes" or places where things can sneak through, and lead to over stimulation (ie: temper tantrums and bad behavior).  It's important to know though that there might not be any outward symptoms to alert you to the damage, you may not find out for years that parts of your brain are affected.  

-  Older people also need to be concerned because as we age, the blood-brain barrier breaks down, especially if you have had a stroke, blunt head trauma, or brain injury.  Some studies have suggested a link between excitotoxins like aspartame and glutamate (MSG) and Alzheimer's.  In a person who is already genetically predisposed to Alzheimers, these chemicals simply speed up the process and possibly increase the damage.  

-  it can be easy to avoid giving aspartame to our children or ourselves, but avoiding MSG is much trickier.  My first blog post lists some of the sneaky names that it hides behind (yeast extract, hydrolyzed protein, natural flavors, and about 37 more).  In general, most processed foods in boxes and bags on the grocery store shelves contain MSG.  If you consume MSG with your breakfast, by the time it's out of your system it's time for lunch.  And then dinner.  You can easily keep a steady stream of glutamate in your body or in your child's body.

How do I eliminate MSG from my diet?

- stop eating processed foods

-  eat more fresh or frozen fruits and vegetables

- make your own broth for soup, taco seasoning, enchilada sauce, etc.

- cook your own rice and refried beans, most packaged rice foods contain msg for flavoring.  I even saw quinoa at the store with msg in it, and most people think of quinoa as a health food.

- avoid deli meats and sausages

- eat plain potato chips, all of the flavored ones contain msg, especially Doritos.

It does take more time.  And it means more cooking from scratch, with whole ingredients.  But it's worth it.

"Sugar, Salt, Fat - How the Food Giants Hooked Us" Part 2

CHEESE

"Sugar, Salt, Fat - How the Food Giants Hooked Us"  by Michael Moss Part 2

FAT

This past week I got to the second section of Michael Moss's book which focused on FAT.  Most people agree that fat is bad for you and that it can lead to heart disease, diabetes, and cancer.  A lot of this section focused on cheese and how Americans on average, eat 33 pounds of cheese per year!  The amount that we eat has more than tripled since the 1970s when cheese was becoming a bigger part of our diet.  

About 40-50 years ago, the dairy industry was producing too much milk.  There was more milk than Americans would drink.  They didn't want to reduce their production, otherwise it would not be profitable.  The government stepped in to subsidize milk and they purchased all of the milk that the dairy farms were unable to sell.  As a result, the government had this huge amount of milk that they needed to store.

Back in the 1970s, people were starting to pay attention to fat levels in milk.  They had 4 choices - whole, 2%, 1%, and skim.  More people were switching to the lower fat milks and as a result, the dairy industry also had a lot of milk fat accumulating that they did not need.  (In reality, whole milk is just 3% fat so if you switch from whole to 2% you are not making much of a change).  They started to store their excess milk and milk fat in these underground storage areas in Kansas.  When the Reagan administration started, the government was spending 1 million dollars per day for storage!  Reagan wanted to balance the budget so he put a stop to the government subsidization of milk.

Now what were they going to do with all of that excess milk and milk fat?  Make a lot of cheese!  Up until this point, cheese was a food that was enjoyed once in awhile, and it was usually eaten on its own before or after a meal, not added to other foods.  Large amounts of cheese started to be produced and most people did not know that cheeses are high in fat - 1 oz. of cheddar cheese contains 6g of saturated fat which is 30% of your daily recommended amount!  And that is in just 1 oz.  I don't know about you, but when I do consume cheese, it's a lot more than that!  Cheddar cheese is 75% fat and more and more convenience products were being invented that contained cheese.  The government also invested in programs to convince Americans that we needed more milk and cheese!  I'm sure most of us can remember the "Got Milk?" campaign that started in 1993 and other campaigns that we were exposed to in elementary school.

A  lot of people eat cheese several times per day, and most of it is not part-skim mozzarella.  High levels of saturated fat in our diets directly leads to high cholesterol.  Want an easy way to lower cholesterol quickly?  Give up animal foods (meat, dairy) and your cholesterol will drop drastically because animal foods are the only dietary source of cholesterol.  Your body makes what it needs and we don't need to take in more cholesterol through our diet.  Plant foods contain 0g of cholesterol.  The last time I had my cholesterol checked it was 111.  

Here are some easy ways to reduce your cheese consumption:

-  Substitute guacamole or salsa for cheese in Mexican dishes.  Avocados are high in fat - but in polyunsaturated fats which are good for you.

-  Make your own pizza and put lots of veggies on top and either skip the cheese or only use a little

-  Try soy or rice cheeses.  The kinds sold by Kroger here are not good, but I have heard that Whole Foods and Trader Joes sell better kinds.

-  If you do eat cheese, choose part-skim mozzarella or Neufchatel cheese (reduced fat cream cheese)

- Substitute avocado slices, onions, peppers, and/or tomatoes on your sandwiches instead of cheese.  My favorite sandwich right now is avocado, tomato, and mustard.  And they will make it for you at Panera if you ask!

- Pay attention to how much cheese is in convenience foods.  Look at the fat content.  If the amount of fat calories is more than 50% of the total calories, skip it.  To find fat calories look at the top of the food label, or multiply the grams of fat by 9.

"Salt, Sugar, and Fat - How the Food Giants Hooked Us"

I recently started reading "Salt, Sugar, Fat - How the Food Giants Hooked Us" by Michael Moss.  I stumbled upon his book after reading an article in the NY Times about how food companies have added so  much junk to their foods, that we can't stop craving it.  And, if they reduce the amount of one ingredient (sugar), they have to increase another ingredient (fat) to make up for the taste difference.  We now think that this is how foods should taste.  The book so far is excellent, it's divided into 3 parts (Salt, Sugar, Fat) and it starts out with a litte

In 1947 a man named Clausi was hired by General Foods and one of his first assignments was to create an instant pudding for Jello.  Up until this point you could only buy the cook-and-serve type of pudding which could take hours to prepare and chill.  It took him years to meet this goal because General Foods only wanted him to use pure ingredients and he wasn't able to make the pudding gel correctly.  Then, a competitor came out with their own patent for instant pudding, and all of the rules went out the window.  General Foods told Clausi that he could use whatever additives he needed - they just wanted an instant pudding that could be ready in 30 minutes.  He added two chemicals to the recipe and it worked!  And Jello instant pudding was added to the growing list of convenience foods sweeping the country.

At this time in  history, women were starting to enter the workforce and needed more convenient foods to prepare for their families.  They used to spend hours in the kitchen cooking foods from scratch, and now they needed things they could just open and heat.  During this time home economics teachers were still teaching students how to grocery shop on a budget and cook healthy food from scratch.  Their instruction was going against what the food companies were trying to sell with their convenience products that weren't so healthy.  Betty Dickson was a well-known home ec teacher at the time who had won an award for her teaching, so the convenience world invented their own figure - Betty Crocker.  And the world of boxed cake mixes began.

From this point on the major food companies realized that to make a profit, foods needed to taste good.  In order for that to happen, they needed a lot of sugar, salt, and/or fat.  Cereal was invented and some contained as much as 50% sugar!  Soft drinks grew in popularity and sweetened fruit beverages became a daily treat for kids.  One beverage - Capri Sun - has some flavors that contain more sugar than soda (Wild Cherry).  They also label their pouches with "natural fruit drink" and "all natural ingredients" because of the presence of fruit concentrate (a stripped version of juice that is mostly sugar, devoid of the fiber, flavors, and aromas of real fruit).  One grandmother sued Capri Sun when she realized that its ingredients were virtually identical to soda and not "all natural".  Eighteen days later Kraft decided to change the labeling to "no artificial colors, flavors, or preservatives".  Some foods are also labeled with "reduced sugar", because when they switched from real sugar to high fructose corn syrup, less syrup is required to achieve the same sweet taste.  Thus, the amount of sweetener was reduced.  

This book does get me all fired up!  I know that food companies want to make a profit and that is their main concern, but I can't help feeling tricked by some of their schemes.  And the more sugary cereal, fruit drinks, soda, and oreos I eat, the more I want.  There is definitely an addictive component to sugar in that it acts similar to some drugs in how it affects the brain.  

Black Bean Burgers (Easy and cheap)

Easiest Black Bean Burger Recipe

From :  "Everything Vegan Cookbook"

It's finally warm outside, and that always makes me want hamburgers or something on the grill!  This is the best recipe I have found for veggie burgers, we do buy the frozen ones occasionally, but they are tough and flavorless compared to this black bean burger.  Plus, they often have egg whites in them.   I really, really wish my kids would try beans, but for now they will not, so they had a separate dinner tonight.

Ingredients:

1 15-oz can black beans, drained *

3 T. minced onion

1 t. salt

1 1/2 t. garlic powder

2 t. parsley

I t. chili powder

2/3 cup flour (I use whole wheat)

Oil for pan frying

Directions:

1.  Process the black beans in a blender or food processor until halfway mashed, or mash with a fork.

2.  Add minced onions, salt, garlic powder, parsley, and chili powder and mash to combine.

3.  Add flour, a bit at a time, again mashing together to combine.  You may need a little bit more or less than 2/3 cup.  Beans should stick together completely.

4.  Form into patties and pan fry in a bit of oil for 2-3 minutes on each side.  Patties will appear to be done on the outside while still a bit mushy on the inside, so fry them a few minutes longer than you think they need.

Makes 4-6 burgers, depending on size

*I try to buy organic black beans if they are on sale (usually $1/can).  Almost all cans have BPA in their lining, Kroger did state in 2011 that they were switching to BPA free cans, but I haven't heard anything else about it.  At the natural food stores they probably sell Eden's beans which are BPA free but a lot more expensive.

Tofu Nuggets and Sweet Potato Fries

There is one tofu recipe that we have almost weekly, mostly because the kids like it.  It's very easy and low-fat because the tofu is baked and not fried.  You can buy tofu at WalMart near the carrots and at Kroger in the front "healthy" section with soy milk.  Make sure you buy organic tofu (it's usually the same price) so it doesn't contain any GMOs.  

Tofu Nuggets

1 16.oz package extra firm organic tofu

cooking spray

salt

pepper

1.  Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Drain your tofu.  You can also press it to get out more of the water, this will make the nuggets chewier and not as soft.  Place the tofu on a paper towel on a plate, put another plate on top of the tofu, and place a canned food on top.  Let it sit that way for an hour, then squeeze the tofu over the sink with  more paper towels to get the water out.  You can also microwave the tofu with a paper towel on top for 1 minute, that does help some and its a faster method.

2.  Cut the tofu into small squares or rectangles.  You can make them any size, the smaller they are the faster they will cook.  The thinner they are, the faster they will cook.

3.  Spray a baking sheet with cooking spray.  Place the tofu squares in a single layer on the pan.  Spray the tofu with cooking spray, then sprinkle with salt and pepper.

4.  Bake the tofu for 20-25 min. for each side.  Sometimes, the tofu is done earlier than that, and other times, it takes longer.  Plus, you can play around with the baking time to see which consistency your family likes best.

That's it!  It's full of soy protein, and tofu also contains calcium, which can be hard to get in a vegan diet.  I've read tons of studies about soy, and there are several saying soy is wonderful and lowers the risk of cancer, and others say it can cause more problems.  For me personally, eating soy lowers my hormone levels in my blood which makes my depression better.  More on soy later!  

*I often double the tofu recipe and halve the fries recipe for my family of 5.

Baked Sweet Potato Fries

2 large sweet potatoes, sliced into fries (I leave the skin on)

2 T. olive oil (I usually use less to lower the fat content)

1/4 t. garlic powder

1/2 t. paprika

1/2 t. brown sugar

1/2 t. chili powder (I use less b/c my kids don't like them spicy)

1/4 t. sea salt

1.  Preheat oven to 400 degrees

2.  Spread sweet potatoes on a large baking sheet and drizzle with olive oil, tossing gently to coat.

3.  In a small bowl, combine remaining ingredients.  Sprinkle over potatoes, coating evenly and tossing as needed.

4.  Bake in over for 15-25 min. on each side, the smaller and thinner the fries, the faster they will cook.  

Food Dyes/Kraft

By now you have probably heard of the petition that has been created to persuade Kraft to remove food dyes from their mac and cheese.  Two women, Vani Hari (www.foodbabe.com) and Lisa Leake (100daysofrealfood.com) have obtained at least 275,000 signatures on the petition for Kraft to stop using yellow dye #5 and #6 in their mac and cheese.  In Europe, these petroleum-based dyes are not used by Kraft, instead they use natural things like beta carotene to give the pasta the same color.  If foods do contain these food dyes in Europe they must contain a warning label that says they may cause hyperactivity and excitability in children.  After multiple taste tests it has been shown that both kinds of mac and cheese taste exactly the same!  So why doesn't Kraft want to remove these harmful food dyes?

The last few months Vani and Lisa have been attempting to contact Kraft to speak with them about their concerns and for months, Kraft has ignored their multiple attempts.  The breakthrough came yesterday when Kraft finally allowed Vani to enter their headquarters in Chicago and speak with them!  Initially, Kraft has repeatedly released statements that they have over 40 different mac and cheese products, and 13 of them do not contain yellow dyes.  However, the ones that do contain the food dyes are the ones targeted to children with cartoon characters on the box.  Also, some of the products without food dyes are in their organic products which are more expensive and harder to find.  And if they can do this in Europe, why not in the US?

The results of their meeting with Kraft are still being released, but according to this radio interview http://wgnradio.com/2013/04/02/food-fight-blogger-at-war-with-mac-cheese/ they do not have future plans to remove the dyes.  And after being asked repeatedly as to why European products do not contain the dyes and US foods do, they continued to say, "I don't know".  

It's not too late to sign the petition!  Go here:

http://www.change.org/petitions/kraft-stop-using-dangerous-food-dyes-in-our-mac-cheese

And it's not just about mac and cheese, a lot of the people who signed the petition do not eat Kraft mac and cheese and do not plan to anytime soon.  But, this petition is a start.  There are so many dangerous chemicals added to American foods that are illegal in other countries and they are impacting our health.  Vani and Lisa received hundreds of letters from parents stating how these food dyes have affected their children and once they were removed from their diet, their symptoms vanished.  

For a list of 13 chemicals allowed in US foods that are banned in other countries, visit http://www.shape.com/blogs/shape-your-life/13-banned-foods-still-allowed-us.  And if you are interested in eating REAL food, check out www.100daysofrealfood.com. 

Does a vegan diet help with depression?

My answer is yes.  The type of depression that I suffer from is linked to hormonal changes in my body (the actual diagnosis is Major Depressive Disorder, severe).  I am fortunate that I don't suffer from depression all of the time, only about 1 week every 4-5 weeks.  I currently take 3 different medications to manage my depression and they are working very well for me (yes, for some people antidepressants are a lifesaver!).

But taking the medications is not enough for me, I also have to be careful with my diet.  I started being vegan about 2 years ago as a desperate measure to help with my illness.  If you have suffered from mental illness, you know that you will try anything to make it better!  I noticed differences right away.  I also noticed that consuming refined carbohydrates and sugar make my depression/anxiety a lot worse.  That was sad news for me because I loved desserts and baking!

At first I didn't understand why my diet helped.  Then I read a book by John McDougall which explained a lot of the scientific reasons why a vegan diet helps with hormone-dependent depression (or even just regular PMS).  Here is a somewhat simple explanation taken from www.drmcdougall.com/med_hormone.html.  

First, the blood levels of our reproductive hormones (estrogen, progesterone, prolactin) are determined by what we eat.  A high fat diet will increase the levels of these hormones.  A vegan diet is very low-fat.  

Second, our body has a hard time getting rid of excess hormones when we eat too much fat, especially meat fats.  The liver produces a non-absorbable substance to attach to the estrogen so it isn't reabsorbed in the intestines.  But, a high fat diet causes enzymes to grow in the intestines that uncouple the estrogen from the non-absorbable substance, which causes the "free" estrogen to recirculate back through the blood.  Higher levels of free estrogen have been linked to breast cancer.  Fiber from vegetable foods helps to block the absorption of any free estrogen.

This explains why my depression is better when I eat a low-fat diet that is plants-based.  My hormone levels are lower, which causes my depression to be less severe.  Lower estrogen levels and the amount of time we are exposed to these levels impact our risk of breast cancer.  This is the reason why some people in Asian countries who eat a plants-based diet have a very low incidence of breast cancer.  Their diets aren't dependent on animal protein which is high in fat (even poultry and low-fat dairy products still raise the risk of cancer.  But more on that later).

Will a vegan diet help with depression that is not linked to hormone levels?  Again, I am not a doctor, but I think it would.  It's definitely worth trying, I started out thinking I would eat this way for 30 days and now it has been over 700.  For more information read "The China Study" by TC Campbell.

Baked Mexican Rice Casserole

This weekend I made this casserole recipe from the "Everything Vegan Cookbook" and I was reminded of its easiness and versatility.  You can eat it as is, or use it as taco or burrito filling, or make a salad with it.  Most of the ingredients are probably already in your pantry.

Baked Mexican Rice Casserole

Ingredients:

1 15-oz can black beans

3/4 cup salsa

2 teaspoons chili powder

1 teaspoon cumin

1/2 cup corn kernels

2 cups rice, cooked

1/2 cup grated vegan cheese (optional)*

1/3 cup sliced black olives

Directions:

1.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2.  Combine the beans, salsa, chili powder, and cumin in a large pot over low heat, and partially mash beans with a large fork.

3.  Remove from heat and stir in corn and cooked rice.  Transfer to a casserole dish.

4.  Top with vegan cheese and olives and bake for 20 minutes.

*a lot of vegan cheeses actually contain dairy in them!  Look for casein or whey in the ingredients list.  The soy cheeses I have tried haven't been that great, I usually prefer to put more salsa or guacamole on top of this dish.

* brown rice has more nutrients, fiber, and protein than white rice.  My favorite is brown basmati rice.  My kids though love jasmine rice which is white.  If you've never cooked rice before from the bag, here are simple directions:  

Bring 1 3/4 cup of water to boil in a saucepan.  Once it's boiling, add 1 cup of rice.  Cover and simmer for 20 minutes.  Turn off heat and let stand 5-10 minutes until all the water is absorbed.

MSG/Taco Seasoning Recipe

MSG

MSG is sneaky because it doesn't always say "monosodium glutamate" on the ingredients list for foods that contain it.  There are several other names that it goes by, and once you realize this, you will notice that a ton of foods contain it!  And it seems to be particularly common in the foods that I can't stop eating (Pringles, Doritos).  I guess that is why food manufacturers use it so often!

Other Names:

glutamic acid

yeast extract

any hydrolyzed protein

anything hydrolyzed

calcium  or sodium caseinate

autolyzed yeast

gelatin

soy protein, soy protein isolate, or soy protein concentrate

whey protein, whey protein isolate, or whey protein concentrate

There are actually 40 different names for MSG.  This website contains a lot more information, plus the side effects that MSG can cause:

http://www.realfoodwholehealth.com/2011/05/excitotoxins-msg-and-hidden-names/

I love questions, comments, and recipe requests!  Below is the recipe I use for taco seasoning.  It makes enough for several batches and I store it in an airtight container.  The flavor is much better than the store bought kind, and it contains no MSG.

TACO SEASONING with no MSG

INGREDIENTS:
1 tablespoon chili powder
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon onion powder
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
1/4 teaspoon dried oregano

1/2 teaspoon paprika

1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin

1 teaspoon sea salt

1 teaspoon black pepper

DIRECTIONS:

1.  In a small bowl, mix together chili powder, garlic powder, onion powder, red pepper flakes, oregano, paprika, cumin, salt and pepper. Store in an airtight container.


Note: I omit the red pepper flakes because it is too spicy for my kids. Also, spices bought in bulk at natural foods stores give it the best flavor instead of the little containers that have been in my pantry for years. 

So...what do you eat?

The first question I get when I tell someone I'm vegan is, "So what do you eat?"  It's usually followed by, "Where do you get your protein? What about calcium?"  but more on that later.  Switching to vegan was tricky at first, it was a whole new world with foods that I had never heard of before.  At first it's easy to concentrate on what you can't eat:  beef, chicken, pork, eggs, milk, cheese, ice cream (the hardest one!) and yogurt.  But after awhile you start to learn that you aren't just dropping these foods, you are switching them for other foods that you start to enjoy.  One thing that's way too easy to do is to become a "junk food vegan".  Oreos are vegan, along with potato chips and a lot of other snack foods out there that also contain msg, food dyes, and harmful additives.  I guess the proper explanation could be, "I eat a vegan plant-based diet which consists of whole foods and natural ingredients".  But try to fit that on a name tag :)

Here is a short list of foods that I eat on a regular basis.  

oatmeal (not instant)          

whole-grain cereals       

whole wheat bread   

natural peanut butter

jelly/jam with real sugar

soy milk

tofu

brown basmati rice

peppers/onions/garlic

broccoli/carrots/cauliflower

green leaf lettuce

tomatoes

seitan (made from vital wheat gluten)

veggie burritos/enchiladas/tacos

homemade refried beans

whole wheat spaghetti

black bean soup

pinto/kidney/black/garbanzo beans

homemade pizza with tomatoes and onions

homemade vegan muffins

all kinds of fruit

The items above are what we usually have for meals.  It seems that when cooking vegan, there is a list of things that you need to start out with, especially spices. But most recipes use these same ingredients so you don't have to spend a ton of money at the store.  I do love trying new recipes though and I hope to do that more often.  

One of the hardest things is making sure that I am preparing foods without msg (and its alternative names), high fructose corn syrup, food dyes, and the long list of other harmful additives that are in processed foods.  It means I have to make more things, like taco seasoning, enchilada sauce, pizza crust, spaghetti sauce, refried beans, etc.  It was hard at first but once I found good recipes that I liked, it got a lot easier.  It's also less expensive.  

I hope to post some good recipes soon!

And as a side note, my kids do

 not eat vegan all of the time.  They still have cheese and yogurt, but soy milk instead of cow's milk.  We are working on it slowly.  One thing they do love is tofu!

Welcome!

I always have a lot to say about nutrition and now I can post it here along with some of my favorite recipes.  I often try new things that work out great, and some that do not.  I devour books about nutrition and diets and now I can post my comments.  I'm pretty sure that only my sister will read this blog, but at least I will have my recipes organized and I can point people to my blog when they ask the question, "So what do you eat?"

I started this journey almost two years ago when a friend recommended that I read the "China Study" by TI Campbell.  She didn't tell me it was about a vegan diet.  If she had, I probably wouldn't have read it!  But I did, and I was amazed at the findings of this large-scale nutrition study and I wanted to see if a vegan diet would work for me.  I have been suffering from intermittent clinical depression and I was willing to do anything to help.  I decided to try it for 30 days and it really, truly helped my depression and anxiety.  I will post later about the science behind it all, but I have noticed that when I stick to my diet I have more energy, less depression, clearer skin, better lab results, and my clothes fit better.