Flax Oil

Flax Oil: Eat Like the Roman and Exhibit Strength, Stamina, Mental Clarity and Beauty!

To many, the aroma of freshly baked bread is so pleasant that it’s almost intoxicating!

According to historical record, soldiers of the Roman Empire marched with rations of bread baked with flaxseed (Barlean's is best)  meal and flax seed oil 9000 years ago. They most likely felt the “grounded” feeling, a feeling of mental stability after eating their bread, just like we do today when we add it to our foods.

Additional records prove that flax was also used in India, China, Syria and Turkey for its seed and fiber to make fabric, dye, paper, fishing nets, cattle feed, medicines and soap. It’s extremely useful to us, just like coconut.

Flax may be responsible for why the Romans were so successful in their conquests.

One major reason why is that the type of fat consumed is linked with your state of mind.

In the early 1980’s, Dr. Donald O. Rudin, Director of the Department of Molecular Biology at Eastern Pennsylvania Psychiatric Institute found that within two hours, patients who had various mental disorders experienced improved mood and their depression lifted with flax seed oil.

Certainly, we wouldn’t want those with mood disorders in our own military, but when you consider that omega-3s are involved in IQ and behavior, how one reacts to allergens, the status of the myelin sheath surrounding the nerves, inflammation, the ability to mentally focus, cardiovascular health and hormone modulation, flax seed meal and oil become more and more important.

One of Dr. Rudin’s patients experienced dramatically improved moods after only three days. Her marked sense of increased physical energy and unique exuberance was also exhibited in other patients in varying degrees. After six to eight weeks, most of them were sleeping better and were more energetic. They also were less anxious and depressed. Switching them back to a high omega-6 fat diet, such as one found in the American diet, resulted in a return of their symptoms.

Not Just Mental Attitude, But Other Illnesses Helped

The brain is composed of 60% fat, and nerve cells are extremely rich in omega-3 fatty acids, containing five times more omega-3 fatty acids than red blood cells.

Flax seed contains 18 carbon omega-3 fats, which can be converted to other omega-3 fats, EPA and DHA (20 and 22-carbon chain fats), although the conversion rate is low (2-15%). Still, for some who don’t eat fish, which may be a much better source of EPA and DHA because it needs no conversion in the body, adding flax seed oil may kick start health benefits. Taking 1-2 tablespoons of flax oil daily fulfills the requirement for linolenic acid, EPA and DHA, three essential fats important for preventing cancer, heart disease, stroke, diabetes, arthritis and auto-immunity, as well as boosting our brain’s ability to think clearly without the need for mood elevators. Flax seed oil is the plant world’s most abundant source of omega-3 fats, about 55% by weight.

Researchers studied different sub-groups of the population to find possible correlations of low omega-3 fats and different health issues, and see if the addition of flax seed oil and omega-3 fats might help. Their results showed a definite correlation to those with high blood pressure, those on statin drugs that deplete the omega-3 brain fats, violent criminals, children with ADHD, women with PMS, those with calcium deposits and low bone density, and even moms who just gave birth. In addition digestion and elimination was also significantly improved.

Now that we know how to gain better focus and a happier state of mind, how about becoming more beautiful? The addition of flax oil in many people’s diets has been known to create radical improvements in skin conditions. In many cases eczema and dry skin have disappeared. With adequate supplementation of flax oil in the diet men and women alike are enjoying radiant skin, moist and lubricated for a healthy glow and shine. And, it doesn’t stop there. Hair and nails also benefit from Flax oil.

Delicious and Healthy!

Omega 3’s, which are abundant in Flax oil, are an Essential Fatty Acid (EFA). Essential Fatty Acids are absolutely necessary for healthy cell function, and the only place we can get them is through our food. What does this mean? It means that we must put good fats, like flax oil, in our daily diet to receive the benefits of healthy cell function. The good news is now we can enjoy the healthy fats that our bodies need and our palate craves.

Many low fat diets are deceiving people into depriving themselves of the good fats that contain Essential Fatty Acids. It is true that you would benefit by cutting out trans fats and other unhealthy fats, but that does not mean you have to cut out the good fats too. Bringing good fats into you life will not only benefit your health but can enhance all your meals into becoming a delicious and satisfying adventure. (Learn how with Chef Teton's DVD)

We all love a good sauce on anything. Using flax oil for sauces and dressings can be one of the best ways to include more vegetables and whole foods in your diet. Making quick and easy sauces and dressing with excellent flax oil along with a couple other ingredients is actually what started my culinary career. Upon tasting my recipes, people often remarked, “What did you put on these vegetables, they are absolutely delicious”? I would answer, “Oh just a little flax oil, tamari and sesame seeds”. When they tasted my salad dressings, which were also made from a flax oil base, they would say, “What is in this dressing, I want to drink it”?

Most people are so deficient in Essential Fatty Acids that when they taste a sauce or dressing made with high-quality flax oil, their body loves it.

When counting calories and reading labels for low fat ingredients, don’t skimp on the good fats. Flax seed oil, along with some other specific ingredients, will deliver the most delicious sauce and/or dressing for steamed veggies, raw salads, grains and even fish.

Milling the Fresh Way!

Beware; all flax and other artisan oils are not created or “milled” equal.

Most oils and particularly those rich in Omega 3’s are very sensitive to light and heat. They go rancid and can loose their integrity easily. In other words, they loose their effectiveness if not milled, stored and used correctly. Some manufacturers have gone to great lengths to mill their flax oil in ways that give the oil a long shelf life so they can withstand the transportation and distribution process. These processes often change the natural nutty flavor of the flax oil. I like Barlean’s Organic Oils because they mill their oils at the time you or the store places their order. Once pressed, they are delivered straight to your door or to the store. This type of fresh express milling and delivery guarantees great tasting oils with a high level of integrity.

You can also include flax seeds in your diet. You can purchase them already ground, or grind your own. Sprinkled on top of fruit salad, cottage cheese or breakfast cereal will add great taste and a more satisfying meal. The ability of the seeds to swell up and draw water to itself also makes it an excellent binding agent for burgers, cakes and muffins. One tablespoon flax seeds together with three tablespoons water added to a recipe can substitute for one egg.

Today we have the opportunity to learn from the Romans and give ourselves excellent foods for stamina, focus, and beauty!

Cultured Vegetables & Kefir

Cultured Foods By Susan Teton Campbel www.chefteton.com

When Something’s Missing From Your Meal… Have you ever noticed that sometimes after you’ve finished a meal, you don’t feel satisfied? Something was missing, but you can’t put your finger on what it may be.

It’s possible that some of the 10,000 taste buds on your tongue didn’t get enough stimulation with that meal. With taste buds for sweet, sour, salty, bitter and savory (a specific taste found in the amino acids of protein), it can be difficult to keep all five “buds” satisfied.

It’s quite easy to satisfy the sweet, salty, bitter and savory taste buds, but to activate the sour ones, it will take a bit, not much, of menu planning.

Cultured foods can fill that missing gap in the meal and make the process easy. These foods simply start with a whole, natural food, and change it to a new, slightly sour food with a different texture within a matter of hours through a process of fermentation. The process is totally natural. Cultured foods include foods such as sauerkraut, Kim Chee, cheese, kefir and yogurt, but other foods can be cultured, including soybeans, eggplant, cucumbers, and turnips. In different cultures, whatever vegetable is in season is used for culturing.

We Need Bacteria in Our Intestinal Tract

The two primary reasons why cultured foods need to be a part of one’s diet are: 1) to provide that complete stimulation for the taste buds, and 2) to support the microbial flora in the intestinal tract.

Surprisingly, we’re all “walking bags of bacteria.” Our body is comprised of 10 trillion body cells that collectively compose our organs, bones, nervous system, muscles, skin, hair and nails. However, inside the numerous feet of our intestinal tract is an estimated 100 trillion live bacteria, viruses, fungi, parasites of about 500 different species; both good and bad, that set up their own environment for either health or illness. A ‘good’ or ‘friendly’ species is one that synthesizes different vitamins and when in high numbers, creates health. A ‘bad’ species is one that creates disease or pathology in the body by its presence in high numbers. Collectively, the good and bad microbes are called flora.

It’s entirely possible that your intestinal microbes could be signaling to you at the end of a meal with a message of “feed me!” through that feeling that there’s something missing from the meal. Cultured foods not only feed the flora; they also restore the healthy balance between the good microbes and the bad ones and contribute to optimum functioning of every organ in the body.

We’re Out of Balance

The reason why it’s important to incorporate more appropriate live flora on a daily basis is that it’s easy to get out of balance with these microbes. One dose of a broad-spectrum antibiotic will annihilate the good and bad bacteria together, similar to a terrorist act at the microscopic level, within your intestines! The antibiotic may not kill resistant fungi or parasites, though, which then gives them the chance to proliferate wildly. Even an antibiotic that is more specific will still have terrorist actions on your gut microbes.

High amounts of sugar and processed foods will do the same thing. And chemicals and pesticides in the foods we eat could possibly be a more specific type of ‘terrorist act’, paralyzing certain types of the friendly bacteria and other flora.

Every food we eat contains a mixture of good and bad live flora. The bacteria on fruits and vegetables, nuts and seeds colonize our intestinal tract, leaving species that implant themselves in the colon and create health. Unless there has been animal contamination in the crop fields or human contamination in the processing process, these foods and the flora they contain are safe.

Cultured Foods: The Answer to More Satisfying Meals…And Some Intestinal Problems

Researchers have found that good bacteria in the gut activates a substance in plant cell walls and fibers called SLC5A8 which transforms undigested glucose to energy. SLC5A8 acts somehow as a transporter of short-chain fatty acids in the colon, which the colon uses for energy. The SLC5A8 also is closely tied to colon motility. When the bacterial flora is wiped out and in cases of colon cancer, the SLC5A8 levels are decreased significantly.

It’s the act of processing foods that starts to create an imbalance in the flora a food naturally contains. The food industry, concerned with food safety, uses different methods to ‘sanitize’ or ‘sterilize’ the foods it prepares for mass human consumption. Irradiation, the use of chemicals and preservatives, flash heating, microwaving, and pasteurization will all destroy the good, and bad, natural micro-organisms found in food.

Researchers have found that this destruction sets up the body for disease to follow: Crohn’s disease, irritable bowel syndrome, allergies, asthma, lactose intolerance, food sensitivities, constipation, colon cancer, autism, chronic fatigue syndrome, and other chronic illnesses.

In one Canadian study, researchers gave probiotic supplements, which are a combination of micro-organisms, to colonize the gut to 28 intensive care patients suffering from multiple organ dysfunction syndrome. Within a week, their immunity was greatly enhanced.

You need an intestinal SWAT team, and the easiest way to bring one in is with cultured foods. These foods are teeming with dozens of strains of micro-organisms that will replenish those armies of good bacteria that have been depleted or damaged. Once replaced, the friendly microbial flora is ready to stand in your defense, and this SWAT team isn’t just helpful for gastrointestinal health.

In another study, mice were given an antibiotic, which wiped out the intestinal flora, then subjected to a fungi. Within a few days, allergic hypersensitivity toward the fungi appeared.

Research now shows us that it seems we have a second brain, one that emanates from the commander of the gut’s army of microbes. The microbes produce hormones and other chemicals that influence the immune system, the brain, the reproductive organs, and every other part of the body.

Cultured foods can provide you with a complete spectrum of micro-organisms on a daily basis. One serving of a cultured food can be better than an entire bottle of probiotic supplements you find on the shelf at the health food store. That’s because each cultured food will naturally provide you with dozens of species of bacteria, as compared to five or maybe 10 different species in a supplement. Natural health enthusiasts believe that in sauerkraut alone, there are close to 300 species!

Cultured Foods Are Easy to Prepare

Some of the same species of bacteria used to ferment foods now are the same ones used hundreds of years ago. That’s because the eco-system hasn’t changed all that much, bacteriologically speaking. Food still ferments naturally at room temperature, and depending on the cultured food you’re making, you can choose to add starter organisms or use the environment’s natural flora. (Learn to make your own with Chef Teton's Cultured Veggies DVD)

Sauerkraut The cultivation of cabbage goes back millennia as does the creation of sauerkraut recipes. The Chinese and Mongolians used the food as a nourishing food. The Celts are said to have introduced cabbage to the British Isles as early as the 4th century B.C.

Sauerkraut recipes start with raw green and/or red cabbage and salt is added to create a brine necessary for the natural fermentation process. You’ll need no starter bacteria, although there are starter grains available for making sauerkraut, Kim Chee and other fermented vegetables.

The sauerkraut that you make in your kitchen will be a far better product than that found in most grocery stores. Commercial brands have often been heated or pasteurized, killing the food’s innate natural flora.

Kim chee (also spelled kimchi, gimchi, or kimche)

This is a traditional Korean dish made of seasoned vegetables that are fermented and eaten with rice or in stew. References to Kim Chee recipes date back 3000 years ago. In the 1800s, Napa cabbage was used instead of a traditional head of cabbage, and chili peppers were added to spice up the recipe. This recipe became quite popular.

Kim Chee can also be made from radishes, cucumber, turnips, and are seasoned with ginger, onions, garlic, fish, oysters, and shellfish. Kim Chee is rich in vitamin C when cabbage is the primary ingredient, and naturally high in vitamin A, thiamine, riboflavin, calcium and iron.

Miso

Miso is a traditional Japanese dish produced by fermenting soybeans with a starter culture known as Koji, Other grains such as barley, wheat, buckwheat, corn, millet, amaranth, and quinoa, and even hemp and chickpeas, are used. Koji starter culture is from the mold, Aspergillus. Thus, those with mold sensitivities should not eat this food.

To prepare Miso, the grain and Koji is mixed with water and salt, usually in a barrel, and allowed to age for up to a few years. The longer the aging process, the better the flavor.

Although this cultured food doesn’t necessarily taste slightly acidic, it captivates the taste buds associated with savory tastes.

A study published in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute (June 18, 2003) showed that women who consumed three or more bowls of miso soup daily reduced their risk of getting breast cancer by about 40 percent compared with those who had only one bowl.

Yogurt Yogurt has become a staple in the diet for many Americans as well as those in other cultures. Loaded with Lactobacillus species of bacteria, many have used yogurt to help restore friendly bacteria in the gut after antibiotic use.

Kefir (please see article on Kefir)

Kefir milk is another great fermented beverage made from cows milk. The protein in Kefir is easier to digest than non-fermented milk. The tasty beverage is an excellent choice for those with digestive disorders, the elderly, invalids and babies. Kefir milk, when made from mammal’s milk, is rich in the amino acid, tryptophan, which is helpful for its relaxing benefits on the nervous system. It also contains calcium and magnesium, is a good source of phosphorus, vitamin B12, B1, vitamin K, and biotin. By providing many nutrients in substantial amounts, kefir milk can also help eliminate cravings for unhealthy foods.

Kefir is such an incredible food that we will cover much more on Kefir in next month’s article!

The regular consumption of cultured foods will constantly aide in building a healthy intestinal flora. They are powerful foods that should be consumed daily, if not with every meal!

Learn how easy it can be to make your own cultured vegetables and Kefir with Chef Teton’s DVD on Cultured Veggies and Kefir. Go to: www.chefteton.com for more information about this ‘easy to learn’ cooking show which will show you exactly how to use starter grains and make a healthy batch of cultured veggies of your choices. Making your own is the most affordable and healthy way!

Susan Teton Campbell

Resources: 1 American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, Vol. 85, No. 3, March 2007: 816-823 2 Science Blog May 26, 2004 3. www.mercola.com 4 The Journal of Biological Chemistry February 13, 2004 5 www.accessexcellence.org