Food Facts

“Detox” seems to be the buzzword of the moment and while it might appear that it’s only what the celebrities do, it is something we could all benefit from once in a while.

What does detox mean?
Detox, short for detoxification, is the body’s natural way of eliminating toxins from the body. Toxins are substances that cannot be metabolized by our body. They are deemed an intruder or a foreign substance that impedes the natural functions and growth of our cells. Toxins include such things as alcohol, chemical byproducts from our food, (like artificial ingredients, pesticides, excess sugar or hydrogenated oils), chemicals from the environment such as pollution and even chemicals in the creams we put on our skin; the skin after all is our largest organ and absorbs what we put on it directly into the blood stream.

It is the liver’s job to remove these toxins from our body and in today’s world our livers have to work harder than ever! Imagine if you were standing on a tennis court and someone was throwing tennis balls at you that you had to catch and put in a bin. If the tennis balls are thrown one at a time it is easy to catch each one, place it in the bin and get ready for the next one. Now imagine that six came at you at once, realistically you will only be able to catch one, perhaps two if you are good and the others will just hit you and fall to the ground. You then frantically have to pick them all up before the next lot is thrown at you. In the same way if we are constantly consuming things that are full of toxins our liver has a hard time keeping up.

Why Detox?
The purpose of a detox is to give our liver a much-needed break and allow it to literally ‘catch up’ and clear out the backlog. We regularly take our cars for check ups, tune-ups and oil changes to maintain them and make them run better and we should do the same for our body. Eliminating major toxins from our diet for a period of time will give our body the chance to detox what has built up over time.

Assessing how you feel is a good place to start when asking the question, ‘Why Detox?’ Do you often feel tired and sluggish? Do you have headaches more than occasionally? Do you have a tendency towards restless sleep? Do you have mood swings? Do you have extra pounds that won’t come off with diet and exercise? These are only a few symptoms of toxicity in the body.

How can I detox?
Cleansing is a natural practice in all traditions and humans have sought natural methods to cleanse the body since ancient times by fasting, taking herbs or eliminating certain foods. There are many ways you can detox in your every day life and it can be as simple as removing just one or two things from your diet for a while or going as far as fasting. A good place to start is by taking a look at your current eating and drinking habits. How much refined and processed foods are you consuming versus fresh fruits and vegetables? Do you drink a lot or smoke? Are you a coffee consumer? A soda drinker? Are you a heavy meat eater? Do you consume a lot of sugar? All these are things that lead to toxic build up in the body.

If you choose to do a simple detox it’s as easy as deciding to give up alcohol, coffee or meat for a period of time (or maybe indefinitely!) but if you prefer a deeper detox you might choose to follow a vegan or raw diet for a set amount of time, or do a juice cleanse for a few days. Whatever level you choose you will undoubtedly experience benefits to your health and well-being. Many people feel energized, have increased clarity, deeper sleep and are more focused and positive. However be prepared for some detox symptoms first! As your body rids itself of the toxins it is common to feel flu like symptoms for a day or so.

When embarking on a detox it always helps to have a guide by your side. There are some great resources here in Key West that can help with your detox, we have posted some below. If you have any questions head on over to our facebook page, post a comment and we will do our best to answer them for you.

Key West Detox Options
Help Yourself Café, offers a regular 3 day juice cleanse and a 3 day raw food detox
plus a seasonal 7 day detox – 829 Fleming Street, 305 587 9143

Dr. Ross Williams, Chiropractic and Nutrition, offers a 21 day liver cleanse detox -
White Street Healing Arts Bldg, 1217 White Street, 1st Floor (305) 292-7222

Carol Christine offers colon hydrotherapy, White Street Healing Arts Bldg, 1217
White Street, 305 849 3263

Fresh coconut jelly

The Humble Coconut
The western world is finally discovering the health benefits of coconuts. On a warm summer’s day in New York it is not at all uncommon to see people meandering through the streets sipping a young Thai coconut, perfectly chilled to quench the city’s heat. Street vendors who once sold just a few coconuts are now selling 10 or more cases a day. Sales of bottled coconut water across the US have more than doubled in recent years, with a market share estimated at 20 Million Dollars.

What?
Coconut Water is the liquid from young green unripe coconuts. Inside these coconuts can be anywhere from 8-16oz of water. The meat, if any, is very thin and jelly like. This soft jelly meat is an excellent ingredient in smoothies and desserts, but is equally delicious eaten straight from the shell.

As the coconut matures the water turns into a harder meat and you end up with the brown coconut shells most people are familiar with in supermarkets. These mature coconuts with a thick, hard white meat are used to make coconut milk and oil. There is very little liquid left in these mature coconuts. The real health benefits come from the young coconuts.

In many health food stores around the country you will see white coconuts with a little point on one end. These are simply young coconuts usually from Thailand with the husk removed.

Coconut water is fat free and low calorie with a naturally sweet flavor.

Why?

Opening a coconut to drink from the shell

Coconut water is a natural isotonic beverage filled with a multitude of immune system boosting vitamins, minerals and other health enhancing properties that have consequently made it a staple of islanders for millennia. This healthy electrolyte drink has potassium, calcium, and magnesium, and makes an excellent oral re-hydration beverage, replacing electrolytes lost from exercise, heat
stress and illness.

Some of the other many benefits include:

• Natural Boost to Immune System
• Improved Intestinal Health
• Increased Metabolism & Weight Loss
• Balancing of Body PH
• Detoxify anti-Virus
• Stops Fatigue
• Prevents Hypertension
• Controls Diabetes
• Aids in Circulation
• Reduces Cancer Risk
• Treats Kidney Stones
• Eases Stomach Pain & Vomiting

According to Mortin Satin, Chief of the United Nation’s Food & Agriculture
Organization, “Coconut water is the very stuff of nature, biologically pure, full of natural sugars, salts, and vitamins to ward off fatigue… and is the next wave of energy drinks BUT natural!”

It is also highly regarded as one of the best hangover cures!

How?

One of the many great things about being in Key West is that we are lucky enough to have this super food growing right in our back yards and there is nothing better than drinking a fresh coconut straight from the tree!

Take advantage of this powerful local food whether it be to rehydrate, cure your hangover or just to enjoy the refreshing taste and a myriad of health benefits. Another great reason to visit us in Key West!

Warning: Cutting open coconuts should be done with caution or left to the experts!

Help Yourself Organic Café carries fresh local coconut water or stop by the Monday Market between 11am and 5pm to drink one from the shell.

Take a look at our video where I demonstrate how we take the coconuts ‘From Tree to Table.’

Most people have heard the term “genetically modified foods” tossed around in conversation, and many have been privy to at least some of the controversy it inspires. A lot of small farm and organic farm owners — as well as some health food enthusiasts –  boisterously voice their anxieties concerning genetically modified (GM) foods and the negative impacts they effect on the economy and the environment. Just what are genetically modified foods? And how are they affecting world agriculture and the natural environment?

Genetically modified foods – what are they?
Genetically modified foods are plant or animal species whose DNA have been modified in a laboratory by precise, scientifically advanced methods. Plant, animal and microbial life have all been the subjects of genetic modification, although GM animal products have yet to be released into the market.

The World Health Organization estimates 3 million workers each year suffer from pesticide poisoning.

The aim, supposedly, of genetically modifying primary agricultural crops like corn, soybeans, rice, tomatoes, sugar cane and more, is to improve crop yields as well as the quality and nutritional content of the crops themselves. This goal is pursued by altering the crops to better resist pests and diseases, to thrive in less than ideal environments, and to resist the pesticides and herbicides used to kill the crops’ natural enemies.

Genetic modification is also practiced on micro-organisms which are used in the mass production of processed foods. Microbes are engineered to better clot milk into cheese and yogurt, to consume unsightly impurities in fruit juices and to convert common starches in baked or processed goods into simple sugars.

Genetically modified foods are massively prevalent. After the first successfully modified crops hit the market around 1990, GM foods began penetrating markets all over the United States and the European Union. Between 1997 and 2009, the amount of agricultural space reserved for use with GM crops grew an astounding 78 fold from 4.2 million acres to more than 331 million acres. Today more than ninety percent of America’s primary crops such as corn, soybeans and cotton are genetically modified.

What’s so bad about GM foods?
One of the most disconcerting aspects of GM foods is that their long-term effects are virtually unknown. Both in terms of their effect on the environment and their impact on human health, GM foods are — and will be for decades to come — somewhat of a mystery. Mankind has spent thousands of years selecting and adapting the natural crops that constitute the world’s primary food sources. Genetic modification, on the other hand, has introduced radical changes at a break-neck pace that have permeated world agriculture before even being fully understood.

Another unsettling aspect of GM crops is the fact that the companies which develop the genetic modifications own the rights to those specific strains of crops. That means that farmers cannot cultivate crops with genetic modifications — no matter how they may have gotten hold of the seeds — without signing a business contract with the crops’ developer.

Say, for instance, that a farmer purchases GM seed to grow corn. When they harvest their corn at the end of the year, they are legally prohibited from using the year’s crop to re-seed their fields unless they renew a contract with the crop’s genetic engineers.

As GM crops become more prevalent across the world, the intellectual property laws which protect GM seed keep the rights to world food production firmly in the hands of a few huge, multi-national corporations. Some GM crops are engineered to flourish with specific, proprietary fertilizers and pesticides. This exacerbates the monopoly on crop seeds as soils that have been treated with harsh fertilizers and pesticides for several years may be unable to grow non-GM crops.

Roundup Ready crops encourage farmers to use more pesticides.

Another problem with cultivating GM crops is the overuse of herbicides and insecticides. Monsanto, a large company that develops, licenses and markets GM foods, offers strains of alfalfa, soybeans and other crops known as Roundup Ready. Roundup Ready crops are impervious to the herbicide Roundup, which allows farmers to use massive quantities of the poison to kill weeds without damaging their crops. One study performed in 1999 by a researcher named Charles Benbrook found that Roundup Ready Soybeans did not yield harvests any larger than their non-GM counterparts. His study also demonstrated that farmers cultivating Roundup Ready Soybeans used as much as 2 to 5 times more herbicides than natural farmers.

Herbicides used on farms — including varieties of Roundup — are detrimental to the environment. The poison doesn’t disappear or become inactive after use, but instead penetrates the ecosystems surrounding an agricultural plot through drain water and soil seepage. Herbicides kill plants and insects in the natural environment, and can wreak havoc on all kinds of life by chipping away at the foundations of the food chain.

In addition to harming plants and animals, insecticides and herbicides also affect humans. The World Health Organization estimates that around 3 million agricultural workers worldwide suffer from severe pesticide poisoning, a condition characterized by neurological disorders, reproductive disorders, respiratory tract damage and the development of cancer.

The same poisons that severely damage agricultural workers’ respiratory tracts, nerves and skin are present — in smaller amounts — on the fruits and vegetables sold at grocery stores. Since more poisons are used during the production of GM crops, it’s likely that they are more thoroughly contaminated even after they’ve hit the grocery stores.

While the effects of chronic exposure to pesticide residue aren’t fully understood, one thing is for sure: Consumers are absolutely exposed to pesticides in traceable amounts. One study performed at the University of Sherbrooke Hospital Centre in the eastern township of Quebec showed the presence of both herbicides and insecticides in local pregnant women and their unborn babies. The study aimed to identify placental toxicity in area women, and to understand the implications of that toxicity in terms of pregnancy complications and fetal health. While the toxic chemicals were successfully identified, the health effects of those chemicals are still being studied.

Genetically modified crops may have other unexpected and dramatic effects on local ecosystems. A variety of GM corn which was engineered to present toxicity towards some of its natural pests was recently linked with the widespread death of monarch butterflies. GM crops have also been indicated by some scientists as playing a role in the advent of Colony Collapse Disorder, a phenomena which devastated bee colonies all over North America beginning in 2007.

Protesters in India speak out against genetically modified crops

Many scientists fear that GM crops may crossbreed with local plants or weeds, thereby moving their toxicity to certain insects away from cultivated fields and into natural forests. While substantial crossbreeding has not yet been recorded, the effects could be tragic and far reaching in terms of natural ecosystem destruction.

Agricultural technology and production firms which market genetically modified crops claim that the benefits of an increased yield and superior quality foods outweigh concerns about the destruction of soil and the natural environment. They assert that genetic modification is necessary to ensure a maximum yield given the world’s limited agricultural space, and even point to GM crops as a potential solution to world hunger.

Advocates of natural farming techniques argue that crop yield is not the issue, and that widespread world hunger is the product of politics and food distribution, not agricultural techniques. They point an accusatory finger at the obvious profiteering of biotechnology firms who vie for control of seed, fertilizer and pesticide markets; indeed, for control of the entire world food market. A member of the Union of Concerned Scientists recently published a report entitled Failure to Yield, which concludes that GM crops do not actually deliver improved yields. Grass roots movements such as India’s Navdanya vehemently protest the widespread use of GM crops and attack their claims to improved crop yields. They call instead for biodiversity conservation, organic farming, the preservation of farmers’ rights and the institution of seed saving policies which diversify agriculture and help to protect food security.

How can I avoid GM foods?
In the United States genetically modified foods are not required to bear any special labeling. That makes it very difficult to avoid GM foods and to take control of both what enters your body and of how your consuming behaviors impact world agriculture.

The best method for ensuring you don’t unknowingly support the cultivation of GM crops is to purchase your fruits and vegetables from local farmers. By patronizing bakeries, restaurants, grocers and other food providers who do the same, you’ll be making a decision to advocate your health, the local economy and the environment. When you make a conscious effort to support local and small farmers who voice their stance on GM crops, you’re joining a grass roots movement that could potentially revolutionize world agriculture.

Common table sugar is refined from sugar cane, beets, dates or other plant sources. Photo courtesy of Lauri Andler.

Is high fructose corn syrup bad for you? The short answer is yes. High fructose corn syrup has been linked with obesity, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, liver damage and more. It’s not just high fructose corn syrup that’s fattening Americans and breaking down their health, though — it’s a lifestyle. A lifestyle that’s founded on cheap, convenient, readily available and nutritionally moot foods is at the core of poor health in America.

That brings us to the long answer, which, not surprisingly, is a little longer. And it necessarily includes a bit of history.

In the 1820’s a rapidly growing world shipping infrastructure put sudden, surprising pressure on American sugar plantations. Domestic sugar planters realized in a flash of panic that they couldn’t compete with Caribbean growers whose products were far cheaper and quickly becoming widely available. Caribbean plantations enjoyed a perfect climate for sugar cane cultivation, and they benefited from very cheap, very plentiful labor. American sugar planters, rather than resort to growing other crops more suitable for the land, appealed to the government for protection from economic hardship. The government’s response was twofold: they imposed wildly high tariffs on foreign sugar while subsidizing U.S. producers to ensure favorable profit margins.

The high price of sugar survived through profit motivated politicking. Politicians who advocated the twisted trade policies and rigorous import regulations that inflated sugar prices were widely backed by U.S. sugar plantation owners. Their multi-billion dollar operations easily supported political campaigns alongside ritzy charity balls and weekend soirées. The end result was that sugar prices in the United States ranged anywhere from twice to seven times that of world prices throughout the 1800’s and all the way into the 1980’s and 1990’s.

Enter high fructose corn syrup. First introduced in 1957, high fructose corn syrup (HFCS) didn’t become commercially viable until around 1965 when Dr. Y. Takasaki, a Japanese scientist, perfected a cheap method of its production. The impact of his new refining technique was explosive.

Most foods in America are sweetened with high fructose corn syrup, which is made from cheap, abundant corn.

American corn was (and still is) incredibly abundant. Heavily subsidized by the U.S. government, corn grown in the United States was flooding local and foreign markets at remarkably low prices. In the eyes of candy, baked goods and soft drink manufacturers, any technology that could turn corn into sugar was baking the equivalent of the ancient alchemist’s pie in the sky: glittering, pure gold from boring, gray lead.

Food manufacturing giants like Coca-Cola, Pepsi, Hostess and the like immediately snatched at the opportunity to sweeten their products for pennies on the dollar by using HFCS instead of true sugar. Other food industries weren’t slow to follow. By the 1980’s foods all over the U.S. from peanut butter to bread to yogurt, canned fruit, chips, sweets, drinks, canned soups and just about everything in between had hopped on the HFCS band-wagon. This trend has continued to flourish to this day. Food producers of all kinds can hardly resist the temptation to sweeten their goods on the cheap. And the result? Fructose, fructose everywhere.

What does this all mean for the American people? It means they are constantly bombarded with hastily manufactured, poor quality, unhealthy foods. The HFCS invasion in the United States has encouraged a massive flood of shockingly cheap, sweet foods into the marketplace. And it’s not just junk food: the principle of 19th century industrialism — combining cheap materials and cheap labor to drive up profits — has permeated the food market so thoroughly that genuinely whole, healthy foods have been pushed into a fringe selection of “premium” products.

The size of the role which HFCS plays in the deterioration of U.S. health is debatable, but a few disturbing correlations float to the surface with just a cursory glance at the facts.

Take, for example, the obesity epidemic which affects nearly a third of Americans. The obesity problem in the United States began its rapid ascent at about the same time HFCS made its way into everyday foods and drinks — a fact which has many researchers convinced of a causal relationship. Another disturbing reality of HFCS production is its reliance on genetically modified (GM) corn, or corn whose DNA has been engineered to improve production. GM corn, introduced about a decade after HFCS became prevalent in the marketplace, accounts for about 85% of the corn in America. The ecological, economical and human health concerns posed by GM foods warrant a post of their own. We’ll look into GM foods in more detail sometime next week.

The collapse of modern America’s health isn’t a direct result of HFCS’s effect on the body, instead it’s a product of the massive prevalence of high calorie foods on the U.S. market. Cheap, sweet, nutritionally deplete foods are packed full of empty calories that many consumers never get a chance to burn off. A lifestyle of consuming more empty calories than your body can get rid of has predictable results: poor nutrition, obesity, diabetes, cardiovascular disease and liver disease.

Of course, high fructose corn syrup also wields a nasty trick that’s all its own: it doesn’t fill you up.

HFCS is produced by first milling corn to acquire corn starch, then processing the starch into syrup. At this stage, the corn syrup is almost entirely glucose, a simple sugar that’s found in most sweet foods. The process doesn’t end here, though. Enzymes are added to the syrup which rapidly convert more than half of the available glucose into fructose. Fructose, also a simple sugar, differs from glucose in two important respects: its taste is far sweeter than that of glucose, and it doesn’t provoke an insulin response in the body. Many researchers argue that an insulin response plays a critical role in sating the appetite. Foods that are sweetened with HFCS don’t make people feel full, which means that they keep eating and eating.

Plenty of research points to the detrimental effects of HFCS. One study performed by Ferder, Ferder and Inserra in 2010 at the Ponce School of Medicine draws attention to the failure of fructose to provoke insulin release. The study concluded that a chronic absence of satiety (feeling full or satisfied) brought on by HFCS prevalence leads to continued eating or overeating that, over time, can cause obesity.

A separate study performed by Alloca and Seimi, also in 2010, definitively linked the consumption of HFCS with the development of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). The study demonstrated that both the fructose and glucose present in HFCS elevate the blood levels of glucose, insulin and triglycerides — an effect which, if sustained, puts undue stress on the liver. Consistent consumption of HFCS leads to the accumulation of lipids in the liver which can result in an inability to prevent NAFLD. The study concluded: “The available experimental and human data strongly support the notion that fructose avoidance should be encouraged in the prevention and treatment of NAFLD.”

Another experiment performed by Princeton University found that HFCS was responsible for significant weight gain in lab rats. The researchers provided one group of rats with regular rodent feed and another with feed sweetened with HFCS. The rats that had access to HFCS gained 48% more weight after six months than the rats that didn’t.

The study was criticized by some who argued that of course rodents with access to sweeter food will eat more and gain more weight. That, however, is kind of the whole point: If there is sweet, empty calories in just about everything that you eat, you are going to gain a lot of weight. If the sweetener specifically reduces the sating or satisfying tendency of the meal, the problem is exasperated.

And so we end up where we started: Is high fructose corn syrup bad for you? Yes. Or, at very least, it’s absolutely bad for the country.

HFCS is symbolic of the industrialization of American foods. It betrays the profiteering of food manufacturing mega-corporations and proves that they are as disinterested in health as they are engrossed in their bottom line.

Avoiding HFCS is common sense. Not only is adding sugary sweet syrup to every meal clearly excessive, but the health risks associated with HFCS and a knowledge of its origin both warrant a little extra caution. Take the time to start reading labels and developing an awareness around HFCS. You’ve got nothing to lose and your health to gain!

The USDA Organic logo identifies organically grown or produced foods

Organic foods have been carving out a niche in grocery stores and restaurants for more than two decades. They’re a core element of the green revolution that’s mounting in the United States and the rest of the world, and they’re part of a refreshing, responsible approach to health and wellness. But just what is organic? What’s the difference between organic and non-organic foods? And who decides which is which?

Organic? Who says?

As of 1990, at least regarding the overwhelming majority of organic foods in the United States, the voice of authority is the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). The USDA developed the National Organic Program (NOP) to implement the Federal Organic Foods Production Act of 1990, which is a federally developed set of provisions intended to establish and maintain a code of standards for organic farmers and producers.

The regulations upheld by the NOP are comprehensive. They cover all aspects of food production from permitted fertilizers, pesticides, feed and dietary supplements, to soil quality, crop rotation, origin and living standard of livestock, pasturing practices and more. Once a farmer meets the fifty or so detailed requirements outlined by the NOP, they’re awarded the use of the “USDA Organic” label.

A lot of small-scale community farmers employ natural, renewable and health conscious farming techniques, too. In fact, the restrictions on equipment and supplies imposed by limited capital actually cause smaller operations to fall naturally in line with many organic standards. Aside from often not wanting to employ industrial farming techniques, most community farmers simply can’t afford to. The NOP recognizes this, and allows community farming operations to use the term “organic” without first requesting an official inspection by an NOP agent.

Organic versus non-organic

The National Organic Program (NOP) awards farms "USDA Organic" status

The NOP’s standards help to identify farmers that trend away from industrial food production. Choosing food products either produced locally or boasting the “USDA Organic” label champions the efforts of these farmers, and helps to promote responsible, health-conscious, sustainability minded farming practices throughout America. While the NOP manages an exhaustive collection of regulations, there are a few core requirements that ensure certified organic producers really outshine their non-organic counterparts.

No synthetic fertilizers

Synthetic fertilizers are manufactured using mined minerals like potash and phosphorus together with fossil fuels like petroleum and natural gas — most of which are non-renewable resources. Their production relies on ecologically questionable industries such as oil refining and potash mining. As reserves of fossil fuels, potash and other minerals diminish, the cheap, large-scale production of synthetic fertilizers must come to an end.

Sustainability isn’t the only problem facing synthetic fertilizers. They also contribute to the degradation of soil quality. While they do deliver sufficient amounts of the exact nutrients crops need to grow, they don’t replace minerals found in natural soil that would normally end up in the fruits and vegetables that we eat. Crops grown in synthetically fertilized fields contain as much as 75% less of the minerals that form part of a balanced, nutritious diet.

Organic farmers don’t use synthetic fertilizers. They turn instead to nutrient rich, renewable alternatives like compost, manure and guano, among others.

No synthetic pesticides

Synthetic pesticides have been associated with a wide variety of adverse health effects ranging from simple skin and eye irritation to reproductive issues, nervous system damage and even cancer. The World Health Organization reports that some three million workers worldwide are poisoned each year from pesticide exposure.

Pesticides also wipe out insects and other pests which play a critical role in maintaining balance in the natural environment. Devastated insect populations are linked with dramatic falls in natural pollination which result in habitat destruction and withering biodiversity. Almost all synthetic pesticides linger in air, water and soil long after they’ve protected crops from potential invaders. This toxic pollution poisons plants, animals and people, and results in large tracts of biologically inert land.

Organic farmers don’t use most synthetic pesticides. They choose natural alternatives that ward pests away instead of killing them, and revert to smaller growing operations wherein pest control without pesticides is less labor intensive.

Higher soil quality

Industrial farming robs soil of its natural nutrients through overproduction and poisons it with the persistent use of harsh pesticides. Crops are genetically modified so that they can tolerate the toxic conditions imposed by pesticides, and synthetic fertilizers are used to replenish only those nutrients which are strictly necessary for the crops to grow.

Organic farmers, on the other hand, use soil that’s been free from synthetic fertilizers and pesticides for a minimum of three years. They also observe land management plans that include crop rotation and pasturing schedules which ensure their soil remains well balanced and nutrient rich.

No growth hormones

Industrial livestock operations use growth hormones to fatten their stock. Traces of these synthetic growth hormones are often present in meat even after it hits the supermarket. These have been shown to be carcinogenic in humans and are linked to the development of several types of cancers. Bovine growth hormones have also been linked to premature puberty in girls, which in turn has been associated with the development of breast tumors.

Organic farmers don’t use hormones to fatten their cattle. Their animals proceed through a natural life-cycle, relying on exercise and balanced nutrition to gain weight and reach maturity.

Strict drug limitations

All kinds of industrial farming attributes — things like cramped living spaces, poor nutrition and high environmental stress — cause abnormally rampant sickness in cows, pigs, chickens and other farm animals. These illnesses are combated with the indiscriminate use of antibiotics, which results in small amounts of antibiotic drugs making it into meat, eggs, milk and other animal products.

When humans consume tiny amounts of these drugs over long periods of time, bacteria normally present in their body develops abnormal resistance to the immune system. This can cause a variety of bacterial ailments as well as an increased potential to develop infection.

Organic farmers provide healthier living conditions for their animals, which means they don’t need to resort to over-medicating their cattle to keep them from surrendering to illness. The types and quantities of drugs that organic farmers are permitted to use are strictly controlled by the NOP.

The big picture

Organic farming promotes health, responsibility, long-term planning and economic diversity. It takes the critically important task of feeding the country out of the hands of blindly profiteering mega-corporations, and puts it back into the grasp of community farmers and local growers.

When you choose organic fruits, vegetables, meats and other foods, you’re choosing a more nutritious, sustainable, and community oriented lifestyle. You’re choosing an alternative to cheap, mass-produced food that supports your health and the health of your family, your community, and the world at large.

Acai berries grow in heavy, drooping bunches of several hundred

Acai berries, pronounced Ah-Sigh-EE, have created a lot of buzz over the last few years. Whether they’re being touted as a miraculous weight loss supplement, a powerful immune system booster or an anti-aging superfood, they’ve made the scene with trendy dieters, supplement manufacturers and all sorts of healthy living advocates. So what’s the deal with acai berries? What makes them so special? Where do they come from and what are they good for?

Acai berries grow on the acai palm tree, a tall, slender palm that’s cultivated in Central and South America for both its unique fruit and its high quality heart of palm. The berries grow in heavy, drooping bunches of several hundred and look like elongated grapes with a rich, deep blue or purplish color. Oddly enough, their color accounts for a big part of their acclaim in the health food industry.

Fruits and vegetables that boast intense blue, red and purple colorations often have a high anthocyanin content. Anthocyanins are a special class of vegetable pigments that belong to the flavanoid family of molecules — a family of molecules that’s widely heralded as a potent source of antioxidants. And why are antioxidants important? They help to neutralize harmful byproducts of your body’s normal everyday functioning called free radicals. Cell damage caused by free radicals is responsible for all kinds of deteriorative illnesses including cancer, liver disease, heart disease and certain neurological diseases. Acai berries are among the top five most antioxidant-rich common fruits in the world.

Delicious, refreshing and organic Help Yourself! smoothies are a great summer treat!

Much like any new sensation in the world of nutrition, a lot of the acai berry buzz is due to hasty, profiteering marketers going off the deep end to attract hapless trend-chasers. That doesn’t diminish the great tasting, energizing and healthful reality of the acai berry, though.

Need a delicious, invigorating and refreshing drink that you can count on for all organic, top quality ingredients? Check out our delicious, nutritious smoothies next time you come by Help Yourself!. Our ice cold Purple Jungle smoothie combines mouth watering fresh bananas with a tantalizing trio of antioxidant rich superfruits — acai berries, blueberries, and goji berries — that’s sure to help you beat the heat!

Originating from India, these sumptuous sticky and lush fruits are one of the most popular of the tropical fruits after the banana and coconut and we are lucky enough to have them raining down on us right here in Key West at the moment.  Not only that but they are packed with goodness. In India they are considered a symbol of life.

With just 135 calories per mango you are getting loads of vitamins and minerals, meaning a lot of food for its size. One mango provides a quarter of the recommended daily amount of vitamin C. It contains high amounts of Iron. This is especially good because about 20% of women, 50% of pregnant women, and 3% of men do not have enough iron in their body. It also has good amounts of beta carotene, magnesium, phosphorus, potassium, Vitamins K, A and E. In fact the abundant Vitamin E in mangoes helps to regulate sex hormones and boosts sex drive! They also contain powerful antioxidants that neutralize free radicals. Free radicals damage our cells and can lead to premature aging, cancer and other degenerating diseases. Need any more reasons to eat your mangoes? Here’s one more. Mangoes are also said to help the skin and specifically acne by unclogging pores. Take some thin slices and lay then on your face or just rub the ripe mango pulp into your skin and leave it for about 10 minutes before washing it off with warm water; an all natural face pack!

If you don’t rub all the mangoes into your skin, why not make some refreshing mango juice or a delicious smoothie?

For the juice, simply blend some ripe mangoes with a little water, add a little sweetener such as agave nectar or honey and pour over ice. Would probably be good as a mixer for a summer evening cocktail too!

For a delicious tropical smoothie, take 1 banana, 1 mango, a handful of pineapple and blend with water. At the restaurant we add some spinach, cilantro and lime to ours to make a tropical ‘green’ smoothie. Might sound strange but try it, it’s delicious and nutritious!

Some other mango ideas: Tropical Mango salsa (goes great with fish), mango pudding, mango bread or mango muffins.

Enjoy your mangoes!

We love Micheal Pollan! His philosophy around food, outlined in his books ‘The Omnivores Dilema’ and ‘In Defense of Food’, are directly in line with ours and the reasons we opened Help Yourself. In fact I can’t think of any better words to sum it up than his phrase on the front of ‘In Defense of Food’; Eat Food. Not Much. Mostly Plants.

This morning I had some time to myself and I went down to Voltaire Books and picked up his latest book ‘Food Rules’. This is a simple pocket guide he calls ‘An Eaters Manual’ that contains 64 rules on how to eat.

Forget Weight Watchers, Atkins, South Beach, Medi Fast or any of the other fad diets out there, if everyone followed these simple guidelines we would have a much healthier and thinner nation. Guaranteed.

Take Rule number 37 for instance:

“The whiter the bread the sooner you’ll be dead”

How true this is! In fact here’s a little whole grain trivia we have posted at the restaurant that helps you understand why this rule is so true: