Milk, does a body…??

The common belief (or myth) is that milk is the body’s reliable source of calcium.  Sure, technically, cow’s milk does have calcium.  What remains in question is whether or not it is the best source of calcium and is it a source of absorbable calcium.  Many researchers have proven that no, milk is not a source of absorbable calcium. Matter of fact, it’s not even the richest source of calcium.

What makes calcium from milk less absorbable than other sources? The many overlooked ‘co-factors’ of calcium absorption are magnesium, Vitamin D, and phosphorus—a key factor in delivering calcium to bones.

To be fair, milk does have small amounts of these necessary co-factors. However, not nearly as much as some other foods naturally high in calcium.  Not surprisingly, some of the best vegetable kingdom sources of calcium are also the best sources of magnesium!

Source per 100 mg edible portion	Amount of calcium in mg
Seaweeds (Hijiki being the highest)	800-1400
Brick cheese	682
Wheat/barley grass	514
Tahini*	680
Sardines	443
Agar-agar	400
Nori	260
Dried figs	250
Almonds	233
Amaranth grain	222
Hazelnuts	209
Parsley	203
Turnip greens	191
Brazil nuts	186
Sunflower seeds	174
Watercress	151
Garbanzo beans	150
Quinoa	141
Black beans	135
Pistachios	135
Pinto beans	135
Kale	134
Spirulina	131
Yogurt	121
Milk	119
Collard greens	117
Sesame seeds	110
Chinese cabbage	106
Tofu	100
Walnuts	99
Okra	98
Salmon	79
Cottage cheese	60
Eggs	56
Brown rice	33
Blue fish	23
Halibut	13
Chicken	11
Ground beef	10
Mackerel	5

*Please note: 100g of tahini is almost 20 teaspoons– an awful lot to consume in one sitting.

What are things that block calcium absorption?

1. Coffee, soft drinks, and diuretics
2. Excess protein (high amounts of meat will actually induce loss calcium from the bones)
3. Refined sugars
4. Alcohol, marijuana, cigarettes, and other intoxicants
5. Too much or too little exercise

There’s another common myth regarding milk. I often hear milk is a good source of protein. This is not really based in any concrete evidence. Milk is more fat than protein. 1 cup of whole milk is 66 calories, 3.9 g fat and ONLY 3.2 g protein! So, this may be reason for some to argue in favor of ‘skim milk’.  I could probably write at least two pages on why skim milk is a bad idea… but in general, just think of it this way- if skim milk was better for you, don’t you think the cows would have adopted that by now?

There have been questions about raw milk and goat’s milk. They’re both okay if you feel like you have to drink milk.  I would caution in that case – know where your milk comes from, go visit the farm, make sure the animals are free range and hormone free (don’t believe the labels because some of the biggest organic milk companies in the U.S. claims this and the reality is quite different from their label).  All in all, milk is really unnecessary.  As you can see above, there are at least 15 common foods that have way more calcium than milk. And, its more absorbable! However, if you must, be wise about your pick.

Non-dairy alternatives:

Almond milk, rice milk, hazelnut milk, oat milk, hemp milk, coconut milk, soy milk (soy is a topic for further debate; at this time I will just state that this is not a highly recommended replacement of dairy milk). Also, you may want to try coconut oil as a spread, instead of butter.

I would like to end with some food for thought: How many grown animals drink ANOTHER animal’s milk?

A small challenge: completely abstain from milk, cheese, yogurt, kefir, and any other dairy products/ingredients for 3 weeks. On day 22, have all the dairy your heart desires. Then, abstain for another three days and observe changes in your body.  This is a food challenge (you can test your body in this way with any food you are curious about) to allow your body to tell you how it feels when you eat certain things.  I would love to hear some of the results!

Resources:

Pitchford, Paul.  “Healing with whole foods.”  North Atlantic Books. Berkeley, CA. 2002

“Milk not best for strong bones, reports find.”  MSNBC. 2005

Health without milk.

Calcium: why is it not absorbable in the human body?

Fairweather-Tait, Susan, et al. Studies on calcium absorption from milk using a double-label

stable isotope technique.  British Journal of Nutrition. 1989

Swine Flu: to panic or not to panic?

Swine Flu has gotten quite a lot of media attention… is it necessary? Is it really a major incidence of health danger?

Swine flu symptoms: fever, cough, sore throat, body aches, headache, chills and fatigue.  In Mexico, evidence suggests, the symptoms were pretty severe and some people also had diarrhea and vomiting.  These are pretty classic flu symptoms and hence diagnosis is confirmed by RT-PCR testing. The major concern with the latest outbreak is that it has the potential of human to human transmission, whereas in the past it was limited to swine-human interaction.  This suggests a mutation of the virus which makes it more virulent.  The recommended treatment for swine flu is a drug zanamavir or oseltamavir.  Many people have been running to the local drug store to stock up on Tamiflu and Relenza– they both seem to be effective against the virus, yet increase viral resistance and mutation when used unnecessarily!  {As a side note: Tamiflu sales were reported to be really low last year and have sky rocketed in the past two weeks}  Tamiflu, as of May 1st, is available over the counter for those with flu symptoms.  That is a huge service and disservice at the same time– more people having easier access, almost assuredly means increased unnecessary use, and hence faster resistance development.

All this said, there are many theories that suggest this outbreak was bio-engineered (as many other viral outbreaks).  Whether this is true or not, I am not sure.  What I do know however is that there is a lot of hype around the alleged pandemic, which makes me very suspicious.  My take is this: If you take care of yourself, get enough rest, and keep your immune system healthy, you will be able to fight off whatever virus it is– of swine origin or not is irrelevant.

Some things that will help your immune system:

a) Vitamin C- oranges/ juice, sweet red peppers, brussel sprouts, kiwi, and broccoli are some food sources

b) Elderberry- this one is my absolute favorites for ‘virus’ prevention.  Not only is it high in Vit C which helps boost the immune system, but it acts specifically to coat the cells so that the viruses can’t enter to complete their life cycle and create mutations

c) Echinacea- this is a classic, you can read my past post on that if you would like

d) Vitamin D- sunshine! Get outdoors, breathe fresh air, feel the sun (when its not raining)

e) stay hydrated– this one seems simple but is very important.

f) don’t act out of fear

g) avoid unnecessary vaccines

According to Time/CNN, the 5 don’ts of swine flu and my comments/additions:

1) Don’t rush to the ER– the cold/flu virus is relatively common and your body can usually fight it off. Yes, its not fun but you’ll survive. There have yet to be any deaths in the US reported to be caused by swine flu

2) Don’t be afraid to eat pork– this one is questionable. I think one should always be afraid to eat pork! The amount of pesticides and antibiotics are not easy for your body to handle. Not to mention the non-pork that they pass for pork these days (I don’t know first hand but that’s what I hear from the experts)

3) Don’t hoard antivirals– yep. I would add to that, be discerning about whether to use them at all

4) Don’t leave home if you feel sick– get some rest!

5) Don’t panic– panic never solved anything.  There have been swine flu “outbreaks” before, a major one being in 1976.  It was determined that it was not dangerous enough to be a pandemic.  What raises concerns this time is its ability to spread quickly– however eventhough it has ability to spread, its not any more severe. the symptoms are still the same old flu symptoms that people have gotten for many centuries.  People have survived…

Washington Times’ Wesley Pruden states:
There are no firm estimates or even hopeful guesses of how many Americans are likely to contract flu this spring, but fortunately the ratio of panic to reality is not governed by facts. In the early hours of counting, barely 50 cases had been reported in the United States, and only two in Britain – that’s 2, not 2,000 or even 200. About 300,000 to 500,000 cases of flu are reported every year in the United States, where 10 percent to 20 percent of the population comes down with the sore throat, coughing and achy bones of flu. Of those, 30,000 to 40,000 die. What we have so far in the United States is a 50-case panic, caused by a remarkably mild variant of the flu.

If symptoms do occur, its important to go see a health care provider.

________________________________

1) Pruden, Wesley.  The Washington Times. A pandemic of panic- are we dead yet?

2) The CDC

3) Walsh, Bryan. Time. The top 5 Swine flu don’ts

4) Adaljia, Amesh, MD. Emergency Physician’s Monthly. Swine Flu update.

5) Swine flu treatments, Emergency Natural Allopathic Treatments

6) Understanding Swine flu’s world Spread. Bloomerg.com

7) Dr.Mercola. The swine flu pandemic: fact or fiction?

Accepting Kindness

It’s been about a month since I got back from India.  India was truly a blessing with the amazing kindness and generosity I received.  The more people I talk to, the more I realize, my experiences there are not so unique. India may be a land of material impoverishment yet the people are some of the most generous I’ve met in the world… And while I was there, I was in a state of WOW with the daily encounters of people being so generous. My favorite was this young boy that pushed a coconut cart in Pune, near where I was staying at the Urban Ashram.  Daily I would purchase one or two coconuts from him.  My last day there, I went to get one and he says oh no, they’re not good today.  I said what do you mean? You have a cart full. And he insists that they are not good.  So I walked a short block to the next coconut cart and just as I got there, I saw the boy run to the other cart owner. He said in Marathi (which I understand but can’t speak well), “Make sure they’re nice big ones that are sweet.”  How would one know, I wonder, if it will be sweet?  I don’t say anything though, just listen.   Then, it comes to paying time and I was to be charged Rs.36 which is really a drop in the bucket when you convert to dollars. But, almost double the price of what I would have paid the other boy.   I look down to get out the money and hear the two boys talking loudly with each other.  The young boy who I had a shared bond with but had never actually conversed with, was saying he was only allowed to charge Rs.18– which is what he normally charged me. The other cart owner said the coconuts were bigger and hence the higher price.  The boy says, absolutely not.  They go back and forth for a minute and then the boy turns to me and says pay him only 18.  Then he asks if I am going to the ashram, I say yes so he carries the coconuts and starts walking to the ashram.  I pay the other man and start walking as well.  I want to say wow, that was really sweet of you {For those who have never been to India, the reason that this was so sweet is vendors almost always try to charge more when they see foreigners; so to see the honesty this boy brought forth and was convincing the other one regarding was quite touching} and I’m so grateful for you carrying these huge coconuts for me.  It takes me a while to convert the words in my mind to Marathi and before that we are already at the house.  So spontaneously, when we get to the ashram, I’m thinking wow I want to give him the boy some money. I had a 50 on me so I’m offering it to him and he says no! WOW.  Not only did he do all this, he won’t accept anything for it. Just an act of kindness… no strings attached.

Another moving experience was the day I spent at Seva Cafe.  There was a crew of about 15 volunteers that served 50 guests on a Sunday evening. We all cooked together which was of course fun, and then served a meal, guests sitting on the floor, cross-legged, eating with their hands- it was “Traditional” night.  Since Seva Cafe has been an inspiration for Karma Clinic, it seemed natural for me to end up there at some point.  Regardless, it had been 4 years in the waiting, so I’m just glad I had the opportunity, being that there’s quite a wait list for volunteers! We spent 4 hours feeding people, which is just so moving all on its own, that when it comes with this additional aspect of no price, it just adds all the more to the charm.  To boot, I spent time connecting with awesome folks from Mumbai that run a gift-economy project of Media for Social Change! What an inspiration.  We served one large group that was so moved by generosity, they took down all of our emails.  A few weeks ago, I got a personal thank you note from the family.

At the end of the night, all the volunteers sat down to eat.  And one of the brothers who had also volunteered the whole time, decided he wanted to feed everybody, instead of eating! So, we decided that it was so generous of an offer from him that we had to do something… so everyone spontaneously feeds him a bite every time he comes over to feed them!

While in India, I also got to visit a myriad of ashrams and temples.  And even there, there was an incredible flow of generosity and total randomness that was the order of the beloved.  For example, I really wanted to see Auroville- a sustainable eco-village in Pondicherri.  A friend warned, “you won’t get to see much unless you know someone- they don’t like visitors. Matter of fact, highly unlikely that you will even get to go to the Matri Mandir.”   Turns out, we got tickets for Matri Mandir which is this incredibly constructed structure that serves as the meditation center for the community.  We were given 15 minutes to meditate and then we had to leave. My friend was right… they really didn’t want people hanging around. And even if you were to hang around, where would you go? No maps. No signs of people- except for the continuous to and fro of motorbikes on this one main dirt road. So we left.  The next day, my friend calls and says hey did you know one of your friends is staying in Auroville? I’m like what? Who? Turns out to be this beautiful couple who I thought was in Israel! So we get in touch and they show us around Auroville…  that to me is ‘randomness’ in line with a higher order.

When I got to Ahmedabad, I really longed to connect with friends at Manav Sadhna.  I had spent some time with them on my last trip and really, it had just been too long.  So I get to Ahmedabad at 6AM.  I’m at MS by 10AM, hoping to suprise folks.  I walk in and see Jagatbhai– an amazing, humble, and funny friend.  He says Binal, Welcome. And gives a hug.  Its almost as though he expected me because although his face shines happiness, it has no trace of surprise.  Then he says, Jayeshbhai and all are out of town today and will be back.   Jayeshbhai is the incredible force at the center yet in the background of the amazing Manav Sadhna effort.  So I say, well, I’ll definitely be coming back soon.  I leave.  A day later, Jayeshbhai calls and says, “beta (my child), where are you?” I hadn’t made it back because I was attending the awesome wedding of my cousin.  So he says ok, well come Sunday if you have time.  I’m like well, can I come Saturday?… Jayeshbhai says he has meetings all day. So I say alright… and decide to go anyway to just visit, maybe I’ll see Jayeshbhai, maybe I won’t.

I show up Saturday morning and decide to walk through Gandhi Ashram, an adjacent to MS- and for all the time I’ve spent at MS, I never saw the exhibit at Gandhi Ashram! I walk out of the exhibit and follow intuition towards this group of people standing together. Not sure what compelled me… I just started walking.  And as I got closer I said in my mind, “Jayeshbhai! For real?” So I go and stand at the back of the group… didn’t at all expect him to recognize me in all white. But he calls me out- “Binal! How are you beta?”  Oops, I definitely didn’t want to disturb his meeting but oh well… no choice now. So we share a few words and I get to join the group on the tour.  Incredibly, I had joined this group of awesome people from Mumbai, working with MAM (link above) and Pune (Urban Ashram). Wow, totally unexpected but apparently I was meant to meet these folks!! I had heard so much about Madhu and Meghna from other friends that I was happy to finally meet them.  And then totally understood WHY everyone talks so much about them… they together for an incredible couple- of humility, humor, and service- willingness to be the change in every step.  From Pune was the group representing Urban Ashram, and their core Sheetal who is this deep, introspective, and engaging person with a vision for ashrams to be in the middle of cities!

As I mentioned earlier, I later ended up in Pune- relatively unplanned- and stayed at the Urban Ashram.  One day, a group of us went to create art with children at a juvenile detention center.  To me, art was a way to connect with these children and allow their creativity to emerge.   These children had committed some kind of ‘crime’, some had stolen bread, others were part of gangs, some had murdered– I didn’t ask.  It was just about being present with who they were, not their actions from a past.  I was working with a group of 5– the art project of the day was to create paper shopping bags from handmade paper.  The hope is eventually they will perfect this art and make enough to sell their own so that they have a skill that can sustain them once they leave the JD center.  My group created 2 bags.  One member of the group was not the artist but business man.  He said, miss, how much were these supplies? I said, I’m not sure.  He said well let’s say Rs. 50 and I sell the bags for Rs.100- then I could make money right? He was quite a smart 14 yr old indeed! Another member of the group was the artist– he created a perfectly made bag but was afraid to decorate it because he didn’t think he could.  After some encouragement, he made a beautiful OM on the bag!  It was one bag that all the volunteers would remember!

In Pune, I also visited the Siddhanath Forest Ashram– home of the mercury shivling. That’s right, this huge mercury shivling stands erect all by itself! For those of you that know, mercury can’t be solidified… so its a rare wonder indeed.  Of course, not much of a surprise because this is the ashram of a Master Yogi of the Kriya tradition.  He’s quite an incredible power– and the few minutes I spent with him were phenomenal.  When I went to do my meditation at the Earth Peace Temple where the shivling is, I didn’t move for 3 hours– until my friend finally said “hey let’s go, Gurunath’s waiting for us.” And all I wanted to say was no no, just 1 more hour!  I went back the next morning to the temple and again had the same experience– a still body, and more amazingly, a still mind! No thought for several hours… and a crystal clear meditation.  Overall, a pretty powerful experience!

The only thing I unwillingly report is that I have no pictures from my trip… my camera broke when I got there and hence, the only pictures are in my mind. Actually, others around me took pictures but I haven’t received them yet– so I’ll share as I receive them! Nonetheless, the memories will stay with me…

Nature Deficit Disorder

Nature Deficit Disorder is a term coined in 2005 by Richard Louv.  It essentially means lack of connection and relationship with nature. 

This estrangement is named to the be cause of many illnesses, childhood and adult alike.  The most common ones are depression, obesity, and Attention deficit disorder.  Children’s interaction with nature, that is flowing streams, mountains, rivers, and trees, has a powerful impact on the healthy development of the child’s physical and mental capabilities. Louv states that nature is vital to “develop their senses for learning and creativity.”

One study shows the increase in employee happiness and job satisfaction if plants are located around the office or if there are windows through which plants can be seen.  And really, who doesn’t smile when they see a beautiful rose bush!?

Getting back out into nature may be one of the best ways we have to help our environment. Creating deep connections with the nature around us creates a bond which we won’t sell to the highest bidder. Most people will fight to keep their neighborhood park if they grew up playing in it. So indeed, its one of the best environmental causes.  More so, nature and humans are interdependent. We are nature! And, according to native americans, nature responds to us as much as we respond to it.  Plants need attention, whether it’s in the form of pruning in the backyard, picking fruit, or giving a hug.  So go ahead- hug a tree!

Happy Earth Day!

A wake up call for the power of nature

About one month ago, I had the opportunity to attend a long awaited seminar with Donnie Yance, a leading herbalist for Cancer treatment. Up until that point, I was of the opinion that cancer was one of those diseases that could really only be supported by natural medicine, not treated. Of course, I had been very much inspired by Donnie’s work and success in this realm, so I had to go and see for myself. I was in for a surprise because everything that I learned over the period of a week was ‘integrative’ treatment of cancer, using the leading research-based herbs and food medicines right along side conventional chemo and radiation treatments used very unconventionally.  I am truly blessed that I have been able to personally witness the healing power of natural medicine, practiced with the intuitiveness of Saint Francis and the inquisitiveness of Sherlock Holmes. Truly integral medicine!

I actually met a live patient who had cancer… his personal choice was to only do alternative/ natural therapies and so his physical tumor was still quite visible.  (It looked a lot like this picture– please note, this is not the actual patient).  However, this incredible man was clearly attuned to another plane because he had almost no fear of dying and more so inspired us through his talk. He said the pain from the growth near his throat was intense, he could barely swallow but refused any sort of pain killers (natural or otherwise) for the sole reason that he didn’t want to suppress anything.  Being present with the pain, he said, was an important part of his soular evolution!  With the natural therapies, even though his tumor size looked the same, the quality of the growth had changed quite a bit over the few months of taking the medicines and there was hope that there would be eventual “cure.”

Traveling in India

PLEASE NOTE> I am going to be traveling for the next few weeks and will not be available for appointments till March 25th. However, I plan to continue posting on the blog, so keep on the lookout! Peace, Light, Love to all.

I’m vegetarian, should I be taking vitamins?

There are many myths revolving around vegetarian diets. Many consider vegetarians deficient in various nutrients. On the other hand, the vegetarian diet has been proven to prevent many diseases. In a well-balanced vegetarian diet, there will be a similar amount and variety of nutrients as in a meat-eater’s diet. However, vegetarians do need to be more alert in eating well-balanced meals in order to acquire proper nutrients. Eating a variety of beans, unprocessed grains, and vegetables will guarantee an optimal level of nutrient quality and density. Some of the most common nutrient deficiencies in vegetarians are protein, iron, Vitamin D, and Vitamin B12.

Protein is found in adequate levels in all beans, grains, and vegetables. High protein levels are found in adzuki beans, mung beans, quinoa, millet, brown rice, and kale. One pound of kale has more protein than one pound of beef. Good supplemental sources of protein would be hemp or rice protein powders.

Iron is found in green leafy vegetables, such as broccoli and green leafy vegetables, along with vitamin C which helps the absorption of iron. In addition to this, herbs such as dandelion leaf, yellowdock root and nettle are also high in iron. Supplemental iron can be added with “Blood Builder” from MegaFoods or “Floradix Iron” by Salus. Both of these are vegetarian, whole food based iron supplements, with proven higher absorption rates compared to synthetic supplements.

Vitamin D has gotten much attention in recent research and news. Vitamin D is a key ingredient in the body. Food sources of Vitamin D are cod liver oil, fish, and fortified milk. For most vegetarians, Vitamin D supplementation may be warranted more so than any other nutrient. MegaFoods makes an excellent D3 supplement, made from sheep wool- as opposed to the more common fish-based Vitamin D supplements. When supplementing Vitamin D, make sure it is D3 not D2.

Vitamin B12 is the last important nutrient that may often be deficient in vegetarian diets. Food sources of B12 include meat, fish, dairy, eggs, tofu and raw bran. B12 may be supplemented by adding Nutritional yeast to the diet or by taking a B-complex supplement. MegaFoods, New Chapter, and Pioneer are a few companies that make excellent B-vitamin complexes.

It is always ideal to get the nutrients we need from the food we eat. Consult with a nutritional expert on what supplements may best suit your needs.

Eat More Kale!

For the past 4 years or so, Kale has been my all time favorite vegetable. It has a great taste, it’s easy to cook, and even easy to grow.  The number of health benefits are tremendous.  According to Dr.Joel Furhman, one pound of kale has more protein than one pound of beef!  As if that isn’t enough, its also high in Vitamin A, Vitamin K, Vitamin C, Magnesium, Iron, and Zinc.  Check out this article to learn about more health benefits for this beautiful vegetable.

I know if I was on some island and could only have one vegetable, this would be it.

A ‘cuppa’ tea: Oolong

Oolong means “black dragon” in Chinese. Oolong tea is oxidized and falls somewhere in between green and black tea, in taste and properties. The percent of oxidization can range from 10-70%.

While green tea contains a wealth of one ingredient called catechin and black tea contains a lot of theaflavin, oolong tea contains a large quantity of polyphenol.

The health benefits polyphenols, namely tannins, are becoming apparent.

Polphenols help to counteract free radicals in the body and help with weight loss. Free radicals are a measure of oxidation in the body. These amounts determine how quickly we get old and various diseases which we may become predisposed to. The human body is equipped to fend off these free radicals with superoxide dismutase (SOD). SOD cannot be supplemented, it is a compounded naturally found and stored in the body. Various things promote SOD function—one of which is polphenols. One clinical trial found the following effects: 1) enhanced effect of SOD in the body; 2) delayed appearance of aging- wrinkles and dark spots; 3) strengthened spleen and kidney according to Chinese Medicine. Another study found that oolong tea polyphenols activate enzymes that are responsible for triglyceride breakdown—and hence, oolong tea increases fat metabolism in the body.

Karma Clinic makes news!

Richard Whittaker, a pronounced “Berkeley Treasure,” artist and writer,is also the editor of a profound ARTivist magazine called Works & Conversations.  Karma Clinic makes a debut… Check it out here