Can Supplements Do More Harm than Good?

By admin | July 2, 2009


Think you’re doing a body good when you pop your daily multi? That depends. It is possible to get too much of a good thing. Numerous studies have cropped up linking beta carotene (often added as part of vitamin A in your vitamin supplement) to increased cancer rates in smokers (click link). And there has been some controversy about whether taking too many antioxidant supplements can actually increase your cancer risk (click link). We are told that antioxidants (vitamins A, C, E, zinc, and selenium) will help prevent cancer by eliminating free radical damage. That’s definitely true of food, but what about supplements?

Here’s the thing. Most people think that if a little is good, a lot must be better. Just look at the whole soy food craze, for example, and the resulting health problems that many people experienced from taking soy isoflavone supplements, soy protein powders, soy milk, and refined soy foods with isolated soy protein. More is not better, and it isn’t better when it comes to isolated forms of synthetic vitamins.

Most over the counter vita-mineral supplements are pretty low quality; I’m talking about Centrum or the generic brands you buy at the drug store. The body has trouble processing anything synthetic, and vitamins are no exception. These vitamins are formulated in a lab and are not natural (did you know that most vitamin C is extracted from corn, then lab-altered?). Some of them are not even able to be broken down by the body. TIP: place your multi in a small glass of water or water with lemon. Doesn’t dissolve? Well, it’s not dissolving in your body, either.

Vitamin supplements have come under fire recently for having zero efficacy (read: they don’t work). While this may be true for the particular low grade supplements used in studies, this is certainly not true for all supplements. They are not all created equally!

Are multi vitamin supplements bad? And do they work? The answer is no and yes. It’s best to get what you need from a whole foods diet with plenty of brightly colored fruits and veggies and leafy greens. But the fact is, many people aren’t able to eat a balanced and nourishing diet that meets his or her nutritional needs. Food processing methods and cooking can destroy vital enzymes and nutrients, and modern farming production, including use of fertilizers, pesticides, and depleted soil can result in fruits and vegetables lacking in nutrient density. A multi can help you meet your nutrient needs, especially if you have an illness and need extra nutritional support.

Look for a food-based supplement: absorption rates are higher since they’re bound with natural chelation elements. Avoid mega doses of anything. Read labels. It’s best to consult with a health professional. He or she will have access to physician-only supplements that far exceed the quality and efficacy of anything you buy over the counter; these are supplements that have certificates of quality and high standards from the companies that produce them. A professional will also be able to recommend certain dosages of vitamins or minerals based on your concerns. Do not self-diagnose — it can do you more harm than good.

Finally, don’t use your multi as a crutch. You assume your mutli will fill in the gaps, so you don’t have to focus so much on food. It’s the other way around: focus on a superior diet and rely on a multi to fill in the nutritional gaps. The fact is, it’s nearly impossible to get the minerals and B vitamins and D and essential fatty acids your body requires through diet alone. So, a multi can most definitely enhance your health — but choosing the right one is key.

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Know Your Fats.

By admin | June 22, 2009

Remember the fat phobia craze in the 80s that spawned a litany of low fat and fat free snack foods high in sugar and other chemicals? Fat has really been demonized, and you’ve been misinformed about its role in human health. People are confused about “good” and “bad” fats. I frequently speak with clients who consider their diets to be healthy, but they consume refined products such as packaged and processed foods, sodas, fake butter spreads, and advertised low fat products. Many admit that they have cut foods that they love out of their diets, mainly meats, butter, and saturated fats, because of media info on fat’s role in disease. We’re here to clear up your confusion.

First off, a little history. Don’t fall asleep; this is important. The vegetable oil and food industries mounted an attack in 1988 on tropical oils, the main oils in food supply, eliminating coconut and palm oils from the market and wrongly pitting them as the bad guys. These oils contain saturated fats that were (wrongly) accused of causing cardiovascular disease. The tropical oils got a bad reputation for increasing cholesterol and heart disease. An unconfirmed rumor suggests that the soybean industry financed successful campaigns against tropical fats to kill imports and raise domestic soybean oil sales.

Researchers claim that the mega oil industry relied on flawed studies and kept info about health-destroying fats from public to continue profit from newer, less expensive and refined oils such as canola, cottonseed, and soybean. Low fat products blasted into the market with a food industry boom. Ad campaigns terrified everyone into buying low fat products, loaded with sugar and unhealthy fats to replace the saturated fat. Drug companies were making a fortune with cholesterol-lowering drugs.


Please understand: fat does not make you fat! The main culprit behind obesity and high cholesterol is too much SUGAR, soda, refined food, and man-made trans fats. Clearly, if fat was the culprit, we would all be thin and have low cholesterol thanks to the boon of fat free foods and warnings to avoid saturated fats. But we’ve never been fatter and more unhealthy as a nation.

Here is the important issue to note. You’ve heard of essential fatty acids like omega 3s and omega 6s. These are deemed essential because your body does not make them; you must get them via diet. And ideally we need an omega 6 to 3 fatty acid ratio of 2:1 in our diet for optimal health. The standard american diet is typically a ratio of 20:1, due to an increased rate of processed vegetable oils in refined foods.

Omega 6 fatty acids are high in vegetable oils and blends such as corn, peanut, safflower, grapeseed, soy, and cottonseed oils–you know, those plastic jugs of “vegetable oil” you see on grocery store shelves. Typically, these oils are processed at very high temperatures, which causes the oils to go rancid. Chemicals are used during the extraction process, and the resulting oil is then often deodorized. This makes for a highly processed and refined oil that is not health-promoting, and consuming rancid oils may actually contribute to arterial damage. Too much omega 6 in your diet can lead to diseases of inflammation such as high blood pressure and cholesterol, cardiovascular disease, and arthritis.

Omega 3s counter inflammation and have been praised for helping everything from mood swings to joint pain. Find it in flaxseed oils, cod liver oil, salmon, and walnuts. I often recommend fatty acid supplements, but you can add flaxseed oil to smoothies or take a fish oil supplement. When purchasing a supplement, remember that these oils are highly sensitive to damage from heat, light and oxygen. Choose a certified organic product that has been refrigerated and is packaged in a dark brown or green glass jar and be sure to store the product in your refrigerator or freezer.

Finally, here is the Holistic Nutrition Bytes’ Guide to using fats.

First off, purchase organic, hexane-free cold processed oils in glass bottles.
A healthy percentage of fat in your diet is about 30 percent of your total calories, depending on health and needs. Up to 70 percent has been shown to aid weight loss (oh, the irony). Special circumstances for eating more fat include blood sugar issues, infertility, epilepsy, candida, and AIDS. Therapeutic fats include fish oil, flax, borage and primrose - these can help normalize blood pressure, increases metabolism, and treat eczema. 
Be aware of omega 3 to 6 ratio in your diet.

Examples of great fats from whole foods include free range eggs, grass fed beef (better omega 3 content, since grain fed is high in omega 6 fats), deep water fish, nuts, avocado, greens, and full fat dairy.

For stir-frying, you want to use stable oils that will not become rancid when heated. Saturated fats (tropical oils and butter) are the most stable, followed by monounsaturated (olive, peanut, sesame). Polyunsaturated (flax oil, hemp oil) should never be heated!
Oils for stir-frying:
BEST: stable saturated fats like butter, coconut oil, and tropical oils palm and palm kernal.
OK: Olive oil is ok for sauteeing, but best used at mid to lower temps and baking. Peanut oil is fine for occasional use for stir-frying, but peanuts can carry fungus 
and are high in the overly prevalent omega 6. 
Sesame oil has good stability for stir-frying and contains anti-oxidants. Good as a salad oil too, but also high in omega 6, so not good for exclusive use. Grapeseed oil contains omega 6 exclusively but does hold up well under high heat.

Use flax oil, walnut oil, hemp oil, or olive oil for salad oils. Flax oil is great to use in smoothies for an omega 3 boost.

Avoid these oils at all cost:
Cottonseed, which is usually found in baked goods partially hydrogenated, contains toxic ingredients and pesticides and is unfit for human consumption. Soybean oil is mostly refined, often partially hydrogenated and usually genetically 
modified. Avoid corn, safflower, sunflower oil due to high omega 6 content. 
Avoid any hydrogenated or partially hydrogenated oil!

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SAD vs Whole Foods

By admin | June 18, 2009

Along the lines of evolution we regressed from eating the Paleolithic diet of meat, vegetables, occasional fruits, seeds, and nuts to eating the Standard American Diet (SAD) of processed convenience foods filled with chemicals and sugar. Is it any wonder that our medical system here in the U.S. is the most advanced in the world, yet disease rates are higher than ever? Diabetes, most cancers, and heart disease take root as a result of poor diet. Let’s take a look at the typical SAD vs a day of eating healthful whole foods. How does your diet stack up?

Standard American Diet (SAD)

nothing green in this meal.

nothing green in this meal.


Breakfast: coffee with pasteurized cream and refined sugar, pastry or muffin
Lunch: roast beef deli sandwich on white bread with mayo, potato chips, diet coke
snack: roasted almond snack pack, twizzlers
Dinner: pasta with meat sauce, baguette, iceberg lettuce salad with ranch dressing, 2 glasses white wine
dessert: chips ahoy chocolate chip cookies

The above day’s diet plan is comprised of nearly all processed foods, from the processed deli meat and mayo to the breads and pasta made with refined white flour. Many folks think they’re making a good choice in drinking diet sodas, but the aspartame is as harmful as corn syrup! And iceberg lettuce is not salad - it’s devoid of nutrients and is basically a carrier for pesticides. Roasting nuts destroys their natural oils, and cottonseed oil is a toxic, cheap oil often used in processed foods and snacks. This diet is low in essential fatty acids, antioxidants, and minerals and is high in sugar and chemicals that actually leach nutrients from the body.

Let’s see how a nutrient-rich diet stacks up.
this is actually salmon, but you get the picture.

this is actually salmon, but you get the picture.


Breakfast: fruit smoothie with unpasteurized whey protein powder, ground flax, green tea
snack: handful raw almonds, small plain yogurt with cinnamon
Lunch: kale and white beans sauteed in coconut oil, herb-roasted chicken breast over brown rice or red potatoes, kombucha or hot tea
Dinner: large mixed green salad with seasonal roasted vegetables, cod roasted with sesame oil, cultured vegetables, 1 glass of red wine (optional)
dessert: date or sesame cookies

Here’s the thing: the SAD is filled with skeletonized foods that actually leave you feeling unsatisfied or craving more, as they do not have the nutrients or fiber your body needs to feel sated. The above meal plan maintains stable blood sugar, has probiotics and fiber for gut health, minerals, antioxidants, good quality proteins and fatty acids. Plus, you’ll consume less calories and get more bang for your buck. Expect a stable mood and good energy. Yes, feeling irritable and having energy crashes throughout the day results from your diet.

If you’re consuming a lot of processed foods, start by adding in whole foods one meal at a time until you’ve made over your whole day. You’ll notice a difference!

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Avoiding the Big D

By admin | June 17, 2009

Blood sugar. It may not mean as much to you as, say, diabetes, but learn to manage your blood sugar properly and you’ll stay healthy and avoid diabetes. Or if you have type 2 diabetes and take a medication such as Metformin, you can control your glucose levels through diet and possibly cut down on your meds.

First, a little physiology. Type 2 diabetes is a relatively new disease, first discovered in the 1930s and now rising to epidemic proportions. We are seeing cases of type 2 diabetes in children as young as 7 or 8 (!) years old. Why? The good ole Standard American Diet of excess–the Western refined diet of soda, processed foods, and SUGAR.

When you eat sugar and it is broken down and released to your blood stream, your pancreas releases insulin, a hormone that helps usher the sugar (glucose) from your blood stream and into your cells. When you eat too much sugar, your body must produce more and more insulin to prevent high blood sugar. After you eat too much sugar for a long period of time, your cells decide they have enough glucose and don’t want any more. When glucose is no longer allowed into the cells, insulin levels build up, and the person is called “insulin resistant.” Blood sugar levels continue to rise until the person is called diabetic.

High insulin levels along the way to diabetes are very detrimental: insulin causes obesity because it tells the body to store fat; it contributes to hardening of the arteries and high blood pressure, making the person more susceptible to heart disease. The deadly trio of belly fat, high blood pressure, and high blood sugar is known as “metabolic syndrome,” or syndrome X, and is a warning sign that you are at high risk for diabetes or heart disease.

Thing about diabetes and high insulin is that they are PREVENTABLE. Diabetes is a disease of prolonged mismanaged blood sugar and poor diet. A diet of excess sugar. Here are my recommendations for eating your blood sugar levels down and managing your diabetes through diet:
*diabetics and pre-diabetics respond very well to a low carbohydrate diet with moderate to high levels of good fats and proteins.

*eliminate man-made foods from your diet: NOTHING that comes from a box or a package; no refined foods; no refined sugar; no baked goods, cookies, candy, fruit juice, sweets, soda. Absolutely no man-made fats such as hydrogenated oils or trans fatty acids. Time for a whole foods diet!

Eat for health.

Eat for health.


*increase trace minerals that help regulate blood sugar: chromium, vanadium, magnesium, zinc. Green vegetables such as chard, spinach, kale, and collards are high in minerals. Sea vegetables are excellent sources of trace minerals. Try nopales - prickly pear cactus pads- grilled, with olive oil. They contain a substance that is remarkably close to the drug Metformin, and can be very useful for blood sugar regulation. Use Celtic sea salt and sip on mineral broths (for my recipe see http://tinyurl.com/kr9czk)

*eat organic, nutrient-rich meats and fats: grass fed beef, lamb, organic chicken and fatty fish such as wild salmon and cod. Use olive and coconut and flax oils. Take a fish oil supplement.

*remove grains from diet. No gluten, no wheat, no white flour, no white rice, no cereal, no pasta, no bread or buns or rolls. The majority of your diet should consist of meats, leafy green vegetables and other non-starchy vegetables, seeds, nuts, and good fats. Brown rice and quinoa may be introduced once levels begin dropping. No fruit and absolutely NO fruit juice. Vegetables provide plenty of nutrients, fiber, and antioxidants. I highly recommend a spirulina and chlorella-based green food powder for additional nutrient support.

There are many blood sugar stabilizing products on the market. The one I use contains chromium, gymnema leaf, biotin, trace minerals, and cinnamon bark. Cinnamon is great for blood sugar balance!

Reduce stress levels - high cortisol (the “stress hormone”) levels contribute to high blood sugar levels, so it’s critical that you address your stress level. Consider adrenal hormone testing so you know and correct your stress hormone levels, and begin a gentle exercise program. Try meditation and deep breathing.

Do not reduce any medication without your doctor’s advice. But following a whole foods diet filled with nutrient-dense, unrefined foods, you can regulate your blood sugar levels naturally!

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Raw Juicing: Elixir of Life?

By admin | June 11, 2009

it's not cabernet, but it'll make you feel just as good!

it's not cabernet, but it'll make you feel just as good!


In my 20s, I would occasionally embark on 5 to 7 day raw juice fasts for cleansing. The mornings involved the sweeter fruit juices followed by 4 to 6 raw vegetable juices throughout the day into the evenings. I did feel great and enjoyed all the benefits of detoxification and juicing: more energy, feeling light and clean, clear skin, etc. Breaking the fasts and transitioning back onto solid foods was always a challenge, as one must go slowly and easily to avoid overwhelming the system.

Eventually, I moved on to other forms of detox, believing that too much raw juice per day contains too much sugar. Even though the juice fasts consisted predominantly of vegetable juicing, the sugar content of juice is high, and it’s difficult to get enough fiber from juice fasting, since the fiber is stripped away and composted (or, in my case, given to the dog) and you are left with the juice component. Fiber is necessary for detox because it bind to toxins in the gut and assists in whisking them out of the body. It also slows the release of sugar into the bloodstream.

At any rate, I do believe that raw juicing has many benefits and can be incorporated into your daily routine. First off, I recommend that raw foods comprise 30 percent of your daily intake, and juicing is a great way to accomplish this. Other raw foods could include raw seeds, nuts, vegetables, fruits, etc. Raw foods are completely unadulterated, nutrient-dense, and offer live enzymes necessary for digestion and repair. And juicing is a great way to get condensed nutrients: you’re basically juicing what can amount to several pounds of produce and therefore the juices pack quite a nutrient-dense punch.

Green vegetables are best to juice: kale (use caution with raw brassica if low thyroid), spinach, beet greens, cucumbers, broccoli, romaine, celery, parsley. I’ll add green apples, ginger, or carrots for sweetness, and garlic for cleansing (repels mosquitos, too). Below are a few of my favorite recipes, although I often clean out the vegetable crisper and throw whatever’s handy into the juicer. Green vegetable juices are very alkalinizing and oxygenating and are great with breakfast or as a pick-me-up refreshment for that afternoon slump. Beet-carrot is particularly good for the liver; cucumber-celery is cooling and high in minerals; spinach and all the greens are cleansing, help with constipation, and are high in minerals and folic acid.

Green alkalinzer:
spinach, kale, 4 carrots, 2 stalks celery, 1/2 cucumber, green apple

For cleansing:
beet, green apple, 4 carrots, ginger

Very veggie:
parsley, 4 carrots, 3 stalks celery, fennel, green apple, tomato (optional)

Morning tonic:
parsley, spinach, 4 carrots, 2 stalks celery, garlic, beet

There is a lot of room to get creative here. Experiment with what tastes good to you!

Finally, you don’t need a juicer to juice! Just lightly steam green vegetables, which work best in the blender because they cook down; wring dry; place in blender with parsley, sea salt, fresh squeezed apple juice or freshly sliced apple; and blend! Cheers.

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Vegan Ice Cream (sugar-free)

By admin | June 8, 2009

In honor of hot summer days (something we don’t get here in the San Francisco Bay Area), here is an ice cream recipe that is delicious, creamy, sugar-free, and does not require an ice cream maker! The frozen bananas make it creamy and provide potassium. Carob powder is wonderful for those who are sensitive to cocoa, and it is high in fiber, good for the stomach, and offers a hint of sweetness. You can use plain yogurt, kefir, or for a vegan option, use coconut milk to control how thick you like. I usually recommend nut butters other than peanut, because peanuts carry aflatoxin, a naturally occurring toxic metabolite produced by certain fungi (Aspergillus flavis), a mold found on corn and peanuts and peanut butter. Many people have peanut sensitivities, and they may not even be aware.

Vegan Ice Cream (or pudding!)
4 ripe bananas, frozen for ice cream, room temp for pudding
1 cup cashew butter (can use almond)
1/2 to 1 cup plain yogurt OR coconut milk (for dairy-free)
2/3 cup carob powder
*OPTIONAL: dash of vanilla, almond extract, whatever flavoring you like

Combine all ingredients in a blender and puree well til smooth and creamy. If you want to make pudding, use bananas that are not frozen. Refrigerate pudding; keep frozen for ice cream.

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What’s the Big Deal about….. Salt?

By admin | June 4, 2009

The salt we’re accustomed to using comes in a blue container–the one with the little girl dressed in yellow, carrying an umbrella. “When it rains, it pours!”

This, and most salt in the average home, is commercial refined table salt, 99 percent sodium chloride. Sodium chloride is essential to human life and is important for regulating mineral balance, along with potassium and calcium. Salt regulates cellular water levels. But the table salt that most of us use has been processed and is not salt in its natural state. During the refining of table salt, natural sea salt or rock salt that has been mined is stripped of more than 60 trace minerals and essential macro-nutrients. It’s a processed food.

Refined salt is also heated to such high temperatures that the chemical structure of the salt changes, and it is chemically cleaned, bleached, and treated with anti-caking agents (that’s why it pours so easily). Common anti-caking agents used in the mass production of salt are sodium alumino-silicate and alumino-calcium silicate. These are both sources of aluminum, a heavy metal that has been implicated in the development of Alzheimer’s disease.

Refined salt is usually fortified with iodine, which is essential for thyroid function. Severe lack of iodine causes goiter (swelling of the thyroid in the neck), a result of the thyroid gland swelling. We’ve been led to believe that we need refined salt with iodine and that this is one of the only sources. Not so - sea vegetables and seafood are the perfect source for iodine, followed by dairy (yogurt, milk) and eggs. You don’t need to seek out refined salt fortified artificially with iodine to maintain a healthy balance of the mineral.

Excess REFINED salt intake has been linked to the following ailments:
*hypertension
*edema
*ulcers
*heartburn
*osteoporosis
*cellulite
*gallstones

Refined salt is just like refined sugar in the sense that they’ve both been stripped of nutrients and processed and are no longer whole foods. Do not consume refined salt! It is not supportive to good health and makes it more difficult for your body to achieve homeostasis and proper electrolyte balance. To avoid refined salt, do not consume processed foods (especially soups and microwave dinners), many of which are extremely high in refined salt that is added as a preservative. Avoid buying table salt at the store.

Buy sea salt. There are many on the market, from plain old sea salt to fleur de sel, gray french sea salt, and Hawaiian sea salt (pink!). Many are coarse, but you can grind to make them fine. Since they do not contain anti-caking agents, they do not “pour” as easily and are best used in pinches. A pinch packs more punch than refined salt because it is the real thing!

I love the Himalayan crystal salt, considered the highest grade of natural salt, and it contains 84 elements and helps your body maintain a healthy electrolyte balance. I’ll even add a pinch to filtered water, along with the juice of a lemon, for a natural sports energy drink post-workout. It also makes a great bath soak!

Himalayan crystal salt. You can buy coarse or fine.

you can buy coarse or fine.


The natural sea salts are health-promoting and actually help your body maintain normal blood pressure. So, check your pantry and toss the refined table salt….. just another example of ridding your kitchen of refined foods and consuming whole, unadulterated foods, as nature intended!

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Herb of the Week: Oregano Leaf

By admin | May 26, 2009

Plants are medicine! From herbs and spices and roots come powerful plant compounds and constituents that have the power to heal and balance when used correctly. In my practice, I use herbs to relieve stress, balance hormones, improve digestion, and fight parasites and bacterial overgrowth.

Oregano is one of my very favorite therapeutic herbs. It is anti-inflammatory and has high antioxidant power. The ancient Greeks used it as a compress for sore muscles and the Chinese used it for its ability to calm digestive maladies. I use it primarily as an oil of oregano tincture (the oil has been extracted from the plant and is stronger) which contains the extracted oregano in a carrier oil such as olive or almond oil. You can use a dropper to place about 4-5 drops in water (it can be irritating to use directly on the tongue), or you can take the oil in capsule form. Its key healing compound is carvacrol, so always choose oil of oregano extracts that have at least 70 percent standardized carvacrol.

Now to the good stuff: look at all its benefits! Oil of Oregano has anti-fungal, anti-parasitic, and anti-bacteria properties. It can be used for the following:
* Kills bacteria, parasites, and organisms that contribute to digestive problems
* Strengthens the immune system
* Can be used topically for skin infections (athletes foot or nail fungus, for example)
* Improves respiratory health
* Relieves gas and bloating
* Relieves diarrhea
* Can be used when traveling to prevent food poisoning

Many practitioners use oil of oregano to strengthen immune health during cold/flu season and to help with respiratory problems such as cough or bronchitis or even allergies. I use is as part of my anti-candida and anti-parasite protocols. With its anti-microbial powers, oregano oil is a natural for knocking out yeast or parasite infections. For a candida protocol, use it with caprylic acid or as part of an herbal compound with berberine and pau d’arco. For parasites, use it with artemesia, black walnut hulls, and/or cloves. You can find tinctures or herbals supplements for both on the market. I recommend taking an herbal compound product and using it alongside the oregano oil for about 8 weeks. Take both 3 times daily, and use about 4-6 drops of the oregano oil per use. Follow up with probiotics to restore gut health and correct dysbiosis.

My favorite use is for acute gas and bloating. It works almost immediately. If you’ve eaten something that’s causing gas or uncomfortable bloating, use 4 or 5 drops in liquid for near-instant relief. Repeat as necessary. It’s quite remarkable. If you are experiencing digestive symptoms regularly, you may have bacterial overgrowth, dysbiosis, or parasites, so it’s a good idea to undergo digestive testing to assess. I offer a simple take-home digestive assessment in my practice.

Oregano oil can also be used topically for skin infections. Place a few drops directly on affected area 3 times daily. It may also help toothaches or insect bites, and while I don’t have experience using it for that, it wouldn’t hurt to try! Oregano oil is side-effect free (aside from a slight burning that may occur if taken undiluted - it’s very strong), so don’t be shy to give it a go before reaching for over the counter drugs or meds.

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Chez Panisse (recipe included)

By admin | May 20, 2009


We went for lunch in the cafe. This is a real treat. If you don’t know, Chez Panisse has defined the “eat local, organic, and sustainable” food movement on the west coast and way, way beyond. Award-winning chef Alice Waters is, of course, a legend in sustainable and seasonal and local and a master at making simple food delicious. A blurb about the restaurant: Alice and Chez Panisse have become convinced that the best-tasting food is organically grown and harvested in ways that are ecologically sound, by people who are taking care of the land for future generations. The quest for such ingredients has largely determined the restaurant’s cuisine. Chez Panisse has tried for years to make diners here partake of the immediacy and excitement of vegetables just out of the garden, fruit right off the branch, and fish straight out of the sea.

There is a dinner served in two seatings with a fixed-price menu of three to four courses. The menu changes every night and showcases the season’s finest ingredients sourced from local purveyors. We had lunch in the cafe, which is less expensive and features a menu with apps and a few meat entrees.

We started with an avocado/citrus/beet salad, and this was my favorite item by far. It was perfection: beets and thinly sliced blood orange with the most delicious avocados salted and covered in cracked black pepper, with a simple olive oil citrus dressing. I found the recipe and want to share it here. You could also use walnut oil, which pairs well with beets.

Avocado & Beet Salad with Citrus Vinaigrette

Ingredients
6 medium red or golden beets
sea salt and freshly cracked black pepper
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
extra virgin olive oil or walnut oil
1 large shallot, diced fine
2 tablespoons white wine vinegar
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 tablespoon orange juice
Chervil sprigs
1/4 teaspoon chopped lemon zest
1/4 teaspoon chopped orange zest
2 firm ripe avocados

Whisk in 3/4 cup oil and stir in the chopped chervil, lemon zest, and orange zest. Taste for seasoning.

Cut the avocados in half lengthwise and remove the pits. Leaving the skin intact, cut the avocados lengthwise into 1/4″ slices. Scoop out the slices with a large spoon and arrange them on a platter or individual dishes. Season with salt and pepper. Arrange the beets over the avocado slices and drizzle with the vinaigrette. Garnish with a few chervil sprigs.

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Keep Your Balance

By admin | May 15, 2009

Hormones. Chemical messengers responsible for transmitting communication between cells. This basically means that hormones prepare the body for fighting, fleeing, sex, menstruation or menopause, activation of the immune system, stimulation or inhibition. Feeling stressed? Hormones. Feeling wired or adrenalized? Hormones. Sexy time? Hormones. Mood swings? Well, you get the picture.

Hormones are made from cholesterol, and cholesterol is both synthesized in the liver and consumed via diet. Get plenty of good fats (olive oil, flax oil, coconut oil, butter) and also proteins, and keep a clean liver for good hormonal balance. A clogged liver = a liver that is unable to process hormones and cholesterol = hormonal imbalance. Low cholesterol = not enough raw materials to make hormones.

Let’s get down to business. If you’re a woman, you know that your menstrual cycle and the production of estrogen and progesterone can be adversely affected by stress. This is because cortisol levels (your main stress hormone) rise under stress, and the body diverts all of its hormonal precursor reserves to make cortisol at the expense of other hormones, because cortisol is necessary for most of your metabolic functions and more important to keep the body running than sex hormone production. Make sense? So if you’re chronically stressed, you may have irregular periods or difficult cycles, because your body is not producing the right amounts of sex hormone. Your sex drive can also suffer.

Signs of Estrogen Deficiency
* Vaginal dryness
* Anxiety/depression
* Decreased libido
* Dry Skin
* Foggy thinking
* Depressed
* Difficulty sleeping
* Night sweats


Signs of Progesterone Deficiency
* Breast tenderness
* Insomnia
* Menstrual cramping
* Abdominal bloating
* Water retention
* Premenstrual mood swings

To balance sex hormones, get your stress level under control. Consider testing cortisol levels via saliva test. Most women suffer from too much estrogen and not enough progesterone, and this causes PMS, bad cramping, heavy bleeding, and even fibroids and endometriosis. We are exposed to many xenoestrogens (artificial estrogens) in our environment and food supply, and this is a great contributor to hormone imbalance.

Back to basics: whole foods diet, get enough rest, maintain a regular schedule, cut back on caffeine, exercise, cut down on booze and sugar. Liquid sublingual progesterone can change your life. Chaste berry can work too. I don’t like progesterone creams, which can work initially, but are stored in fat cells and may build up over time.

You can maintain the balance - know your body.

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