Quick update: I recently had a meeting with the Managing Director (MD) of a large honey producer in Belgium.

I was trying to source some good raw honey for my readers.

If you remember reading my last post about honey in Belgium, you may remember me mentioning the fact that all honey in Belgium is not pasteurised.

The honey may not be pasteruised, however it is heated – not good!

The MD and I spoke at great lengths about the honey and ways in which certain producers process the lovely sweet stuff!

I asked the MD why they heat the honey and the simple reason being that it is easier to transfer into the (plastic) jars.

The honey is heated at approximately 60 C – definitely not good!

Most producers use something called Hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF) to measure the “quality” of the honey.

Source (above quote): http://news.merck.de/N/0/144616D6EB8B3C14C1257570002876FB/$File/090305HMFe.pdf

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I just came across a really cool site:  DIY protein bars and shakes!

You can choose your own ingredients and even packaging (i.e. logos etc.) – how cool is that?!

Check it out!  I would write about it here, but the site is quite simple to navigate and I’d just copying and pasting as I have yet to try their products and hence can’t give a personal insight.

Adios!

AND NO I am not financially gaining anything from this, just thought I’d pass it on to my viewers, maybe I should signup for some affiliate program with them, hmmm…you got me thinking!  JOKE!  lol!

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Currently I’m in Belgium visiting some family and I came across an amazing shop and also learnt some very interesting information.

You guessed right, the shop was a honey shop!

And the information that I learnt was that all honey in Belgium is not pasteurised, apparently the pasterurisation of honey is not allowed in Belgium (by law).

Hence, all the honey in this shop was not pasteruised and I was one happy blogger

Apart from the various types of honey, the shop also sells various other items such as skin and body care products.

Click the pictures below to see what the shop looks like.

I’ll soon be selling some different types of Raw, Unfiltered, Cold Extracted, Unpasteurised Honey!

Keep tuned!

Do you know of any good shops/places where honey fanatics can purchase real, pure good honey?  If so, please leave a comment and let the rest of us know.

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If you know anything about precision nutrition and its founder John Berardi, then you at least know that their system of “precision nutrition” is very….precise!

They have launched a blog (finally!!!), a much needed tool to interact more closely with the public.

Check out their blog here!

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In yet another study showing the benefits of consuming foods high in Omega-3, Akira Sekikawa (MD) and colleagues found that rather than genetic factors contributing to the lower heart disease risk in Japan’s population, the actual Omega-3 content of Japanese diets may be responsible instead.

The study, cited in the August edition of the Journal of the American College of Cardiology, involved 281 men living in Japan, 306 Caucasian American men and 281 Japanese-American men living in Hawaii.

The researchers conducted blood tests to measure total fatty acids and Omega-3 fatty acids.

Although the total fatty acid levels were similar amongst all three groups, the amount of fatty acids from fish consumption was twice as high among the Japanese men group as compared to both American groups.

The study also indicated that men living in Japan had significantly less atherosclerosis (plaque build up inside the arteries).

Dr. Sekikawa concluded that increasing the intake of Omega-3 fatty acids could “…have a very substantial impact on heart disease.”

Source: Sekikawa A., Curb J.D., Ueshima H., et al. Marine-derived n-3 fatty acids and atherosclerosis in Japanese, Japanese-American and white men: a cross-sectional study. Journal of the American College of Cardiology. 2008 Aug., 52(6):417-424

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So I guess you must’ve seen the massive ad campaign being conducted by the ‘POM Wonderful’ company, especially here in the UK, if not, where have you been?!  To my knowledge, the drink is not new, it has been around for quite some time now, so why such a big campaign?  No idea.

What is ‘POM Wonderful’?  Simply…a pomegranate juice drink!

You’re probably wondering why I am writing about this drink?

Well, firstly beause it is a relevant topic to the site and secondly because I was contacted a few weeks ago by ‘POM Wonderful’ and kindly offered two free bottles to try for free!

Have I tried it yet? NO!

Will I try it? YES!

According to POM’s website, they are “…backed by $25 million in medical research.” (that’s a lot of backing!) and all the recent research and health claims about pomegranate juice and its benefits was conducted using no other than…that’s right…’POM Wonderful’ juice.

So what are some of the health benefits of this pomegranate juice?

Well it… 

♥ Has shown to improve blood flow

♥ Reduction in arterial plaque growth

♥ Improved erections (see Pomegranate juice increases quality and quantity of Sperm!)

♥ Improvement in prostate health

♥ Very high in antioxidants and therefore has the ability to neutralise free radicals

Does the company do anything else?

I’m glad you asked.  Okay sorry for the rubbish humour, just pretend to laugh, ok?!  I mean please

Apart from the actual POM Wonderful juice, the company also has a selection of different flavoured teas and a special supplement (both in tablet and liquid form) for those who want a more convenient way to reap the benefits of pomegranate.

As soon as I get my free bottles, I shall let you know what I think.

Have you tried it?  Let us know your thoughts please

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Who would’ve thought that “The Health People” might advocate the consumption of cookies, huh?Ok there’s a slight catch, these aren’t ordinary cookies, they are enriched with CLA (Conjugated Linoleic Acid).

As a result of eating these enriched cookies, researchers found these healthy fatty acids to be present in breast milk at a higher level (46% ~ higher) than those who only consumed normal biscuits.

This doesn’t mean necessarily that all women have been given the green light to consume large amounts of biscuits and hence overdose on saturated fat and sugars.

The study aims to show how CLA supplementation can make its way into the breast milk and therefore benefit the child – I think it’s fair to surmise that

CLA is a group of fatty acids that has potential anti-cancer and antioxidant effects.

The study doesn’t show where you can buy these biscuits though!

Maybe you could get a CLA pill and put it in between two cookies, somewhat like a sandwich?!

Or on the other hand, just get rid of the biscuits and take the supplement by itself – yeah…that makes more sense!

Source

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According to a new study in the Journal of Nutrition, fat-build up from fructose consumption may be greater than consumption of other types of sugars such as glucose and sucrose.

The study involved six young, lean participants who had to drink either: 

A soft drink sweetened with 100% glucos

A soft drink sweetened with 50% glucose and 50% fructose

A soft drink sweetened with 25% glucose and 75% fructose

The tests were random and blinded.

The groups who drank the beverages containing fructose gained more fat at a quicker rate than the glucose group.
We have to remember that the participants in this study were young, healthy and lean.

Therefore it is fair to surmise that people who are less healthy, not as lean and maybe older maybe pre-disposed to even easier fat gain and other health related issues.

Lipogenesis (formation of fat in the body) increased as follows:

• 100% glucose, lipogenesis = 7.8%
• 50% glucose and 50% fructose, lipogenesis = 15.9%
• 25% glucose and 75% fructose, lipogenesis = 16.9%

Also the blood triglyceride levels (i.e. fat in the blood) were between 11% & 29% higher after the consumptions of the 50:50 and 25:75 beverages.
I hope people don’t assume that as a result of this study (and various other related studies) that the consumption of fructose in fruit would also have such an effect.
This study was using pure fructose that is isolated from the high fibre, vitamins and various other co-factors that are found in fruits.  Do not misconceive what the study shows.

However, if you are someone who consumes soft drink full of fructose and various other sugars, then this study is a good indicator of what could happen to you.

Sources available upon request.

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For all of you Starbucks lovers out there: Starbucks has finally started to implement plans to serve ONLY milk produced by cows free of the artificial hormone known as rBGH (recombinant bovine growth hormone) – see my article on Milk here.

Unfortunately though, they shall stop serving organic milk as a result of the new changes. The reason they were serving organic originally was due to the fact that organic milk does not contain bovine growth hormone, but now normal milk is available from cows which have not been treated with this hormone. They can’t always get it right can they?

They should’ve just stayed with the organic milk, but hey, when we’re talking about money things coincidentally change and sometimes people forget all about ethical issues.

At least they’ve made an effort I guess!

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Isn’t that scary?! A 100 page statement by the Drinking Water Inspectorate (DWI) – drinking water watchdog in the UK, revealed that despite the extensive regulations and purification treatments currently employed by water companies, these powerful medicines are finding their way into your kitchen!

Trace levels of bleomycin, a cancer chemotherapy drug, and diazepam, a sedative, have been found during tests on drinking water, the report reveals.

Though the levels are considered unharmful, doctors have expressed concern about the exposure to pregnant women and the possibilities of harming an unborn child.

The report also states that “…drinking water treatment works use a wider and technically more advanced range of processes, but again these are not specifically designed to remove pharmaceuticals and several compounds have been reported in drinking water.”

There is no conclusive evidence, or any that we know of, which would suggest drinking tap water as a direct risk to health, but hey being my readers I know you all are not drinking tap water are you?

Source: The Daily Telegraph (January 13th 2008)

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