Can Eggs Really Help With Depression?

I have written about eggs before. It used to be just the animal varieties to choose from. You know; duck eggs, chicken eggs, quail eggs, etc. Now there must be eight or so variations at the markets, ranging from plain old white eggs to free range (the chicken gets to stick it’s feathery neck outside the roost for a few minutes) to pasture-raised organic. This means the chickens are supposed to be able to grub around in the grass and dirt to find worms and insects, since birds tend to be carnivores. Chickens in the wild eat an omnivorous diet, meaning they eat anything they can forage in the grasses where they can find beetles. worms and other insects.i

Eggs are pretty amazing nutritionally. Yes, the yolks do contain cholesterol. But they also contain lecithin which breaks down fat and cholesterol. They also contain choline, which is necessary for fat metabolism, and is good for the brain.

Now there is evidence that eggs decrease the risk of depression. The study was a 6- year study of elderly people. Those who ate three eggs a week had a 38% decrease in the risk of depressive symptoms compared to non-egg eaters. And with each additional egg consumed per week, the risk decreased by an additional 4%.ii

This wasn’t a double-blind study. It was self-reported by the participants, but there probably isn’t too much reason to falsely report. So, this indicates that eggs are probably even better for us than was previously known. Happily, this also indicates that there is more interest in prevention and dietary influences of mental problems, rather than just prescribing drugs.

Although the study wasn’t performed on children or teenagers, eggs may prove beneficial to them, as well. Studies are showing that more young people are suffering from mental and emotional difficulties since the pandemic. It’s probably hard for adults to understand what an impact this pandemic event had on development, and it went on far too long. In the life of a young person, this would have an enormous impact, almost like the impact that periods of war or economic depression had on earlier generations. So, simple dietary improvements may help.

No time to fix eggs in the morning? Try this “Egg Pancakes” recipe. Mash a small banana with two raw eggs to make a batter. Cook the pancakes on a griddle until firm and light brown. These can be made ahead, frozen and thawed as needed, for a quick breakfast or snack. Spread with favorite nut butter, roll them up, and they can be eaten on the run. They are sweet enough on their own, or can be enjoyed with a fruit puree or syrup like a regular pancake.iii

I always suggest spending money on the best eggs. The health benefits are substantially improved when the yolk is orange and the shells are strong. Eggs keep several weeks after the date on the carton. You can tell if an egg is fresh by putting it in a glass of water. If it sinks to the bottom and lays flat on its side, the egg is fresh. It is floats, toss it out.

Freshly laid eggs do not need to be refrigerated, and often aren’t in other countries. But once eggs are refrigerated, they must remain refrigerated because they “sweat” when returning to room-temperature and that liquid may be a breeding ground for bacteria. It’s okay to leave eggs out for baking, as many recipes suggest, as long as you use them quickly.

I love eggs and eat them most days for breakfast. I find that the protein keeps my blood sugar stable until lunch. My cholesterol was just checked and it is actually lower than I really want it! I have been eating very little sugar in this past year, and cholesterol is made mainly from dietary sugar, so it is not surprising. But cholesterol is very important for brain health and cognition, so I am going to keep on eating those eggs!

If you want more egg-y inspiration, here is a downloadable or purchasable cookbook called, “Too Many Eggs” by Mimi Dvorak. https://www.toomanyeggs.com

Beauty and Success Lessons from Pottenger’s Cats

Back in the 1940’s, a doctor named Francis Pottenger, Jr. did a landmark study on cat nutrition that should make us all sit up and pay attention to some of the trends in our modern society.

What does this have to do with beauty? Apparently, everything. What Dr. Pottenger found is that cats fed healthy diets had facial, skull and skeletal formations that were correctly structured. This means that the symmetry of their features was exactly as it should be for beautiful cats. They had perfect skulls, broad cheeks, well-developed palates and strong teeth. Their eyes were bright, and their coats were shiny. The cats were friendly and playful, and they were sociable with other cats.

The mama cats had easy pregnancies and smooth births. They nursed their healthy kittens with no difficulty, and the kittens thrived. As long as the kittens were fed a healthy diet, they followed in their parents’ footsteps, and each subsequent generation produced beautiful cats. They died mostly of old age.

When it comes to art and culture, beauty may be in the eye of the beholder. But scientific measurements of human facial features have shown that there are ideals in facial symmetry that are uniformly considered to be the most pleasing to the eye, as well as functionally ideal. i

When the cats were fed food that had adequate calories, but were nutritionally deficient, the story was the mirror opposite. The cats became sickly and died much younger. The kittens were lower birth weight and had poor formation of their faces and skulls. Their bones were spongy, their teeth weak and their lungs showed abnormal tissue. They had parasites and worms.

They were not sociable and fought other cats or clawed and scratched their handlers. The kittens were often stillborn, or died in a few days if too weak to nurse, or in a few weeks if unable to thrive. Subsequent generations suffered from infections. By the third generation few could reproduce and by the fourth generation the cats could not reproduce and the cat line died out. ii

The only supplement the cats received was cod liver oil. Otherwise they were given food and scraps meat and bones. The cats who were beautiful and healthy ate 2/3 raw meat and bones and 1/3 raw milk. The unhealthy cats were given 2/3 cooked meat and bones with 1/3 raw milk. That was the simple difference. The calories were the same, the protein grams were the same, and they both got cod liver oil. But the living factors in the raw meat made all the difference. The meat included organ meat, so the nutrient value of the raw meat was very high, particularly in 1940. This was before organic was a classification because the world had not become a chemical/pharmaceutical lab experiment.

What was the difference? After all, we eat cooked meat. But cats don’t eat cooked meat in the wild. There are nutrients that are destroyed by cooking that cats need. And modern commercial cat food doesn’t provide some essential elements, as evidenced by how much diabetes exists in domestic Western cats.

Dr. Pottenger went on to study nutrition in children. The results were very similar. Children who were malnourished due, not to lack of food, but from eating foods that had insufficient nutrient quality, had poor formation of the palette of the mouth and weaker and poorly-formed teeth. (How many kids today need braces and what if it’s the lack of correct nutrients?!) Their skeletal structure was less-defines as male or female and they had more social and behavioral issues. They were more introverted and less likely to excel and work hard.

So, apparently we can eat for beauty and success, and pass this to out children!

The health of the Western world, and the USA in particular, has plummeted in recent years. We can assume that something major has shifted because the statistics are appalling. Abundance in portions of food, and availability, but shocking increases in chronic disease, allergies, autoimmunity, obesity and major illness, not to mention mental health and the need for dental treatments. Maybe we are learning, in a giant scientific experiment, that chemical foods just don’t cut it. And the sharp decline in fertility also tells the story.

Medical doctors, with rare exception, have zero training in nutrition. Most of them are told that food has nothing to do with health. It’s kind of hard to imagine how some very bright people can actually accept that as truth.

We can do our own experiments. That doesn’t mean we need to eat raw organ meats! But we do need to find the most nutrient dense foods possible to make up for all the deficiencies we have due to modern farming methods and the lack of availability of foods like raw milk. I raised my kids on raw organic milk delivered from a farm near where we lived in Southern England.

Just imagine if all we really had to do to beat disease is go back to eating real whole foods. That’s an experiment that would be worth conducting. Whole organic foods should not cost so much, and they wouldn’t if farmers weren’t subsidized for growing corn and a host of other crops, mostly non-food commodities. Actually, now they call it “insurance” instread of subsidies and the federal government forks over five billion dollars to farmers to keep prices of crops low, instead of rewarding farmers for growing foods that nourish our health. iii We should support our farmers, of course, but it would be so much better if we supported the health needs of the people at the same time.

If you need tips on choosing nutrient-dense foods, let me know. Our kids, especially, need to be like the healthy kittens because their future, and their children's futures depend on it. We can start to reverse the downward trend in health right now!

Warmly;

Anne

ihttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Facial_symmetry#:~:text=unnaturally%20small%20nose.-,Attractiveness,of%20attractiveness%20concerning%20female%20faces.

iihttps://price-pottenger.org/store/pottengers-cats-a-study-in-nutrition/

iiihttps://grist.org/food/our-crazy-farm-subsidies-explained/

Allergies? And What's So Important About Your Lymph?

I have lots of new things to share from the homeopathy and herbal worlds. Low energy or seasonal allergies can make you miserable, but there are some great solutions that come in liquid form, so that means less pills. This seems to be a strong pollen year here in many places, so let me know if you need some relief. Allergies can be handled at a root cause level.

You don’t need energy drinks, but you can jumpstart your energy and metabolism at a cellular level using homeopathic remedies, herbal medicine or nutritional supplements. This is one way to handle inflammation. I am using some homeopathy that directly influences the cells to make more ATP, which is cellular fuel for function.

Speaking of inflammation, how about a Lymph detox? The Lymphatic system is the white blood cell system in your body, and you have a number of sites like thyroid, spleen, tonsils and Lymph nodes that have lymphocytes, the cells of the Lymphatic system. It is an integral part of the immune system and carries lymph to the heart and carries away cellular waste products.

In Asia and Europe, lymphatic drainage is ofter performed to clean out the lymph system. There is a homeopathic lymph remedy that will help clear out the Lymph system. This may clear out old “stuff” and maybe even illnesses that have left a residue in the system.

There are reputed beauty benefits because the lymph does help remove toxins that affect skin. The Japanese beauty company Shiseido found a link between lymph and sagging skin. iCongested lymph vessels may cause swelling called “lymphedema” and this may contribute to skin sagging.

Anything that rids the body of waste products is bound to produce healthier skin, and enhanced immunity, so there is no downside to supporting this vital organ system.

Traditionally, lymphatic drainage is performed through massage. But not everyone has access to a massage therapist or acupuncturist trained in the technique. So, I am very excited about these homeopathic remedies to flush out the lymph system. Let me know if you want to find out more and order for yourself.

Happy St. Patrick's Day-How the Potato Became Irish and Changed History

Like many Americans of my generation, I grew up with a number of Irish families with names like Kelly, O’Shea, O’Donovan, and Murray. Our Parish priests were Father Cavanaugh and Father O’Malley. Sure, our Church was full of second and third generation Irish immigrants.

My Great-grandparents met on the Ship that brought them from Ireland to New York in the 1880’s. They were not part of the Great Migration of Irish that saw so many Irish fleeing starvation a few years earlier. The estimate is that one-quarter of the population of Ireland, or2.1 million Irish, left between 1845-1852, and 95% went to America. 70% found homes in northern American states and cities like New York, Boston, and Chicago.i

The Irish of the 1800’s were dependent on the potato crop as their staple diet. Potatoes are not native to Ireland or even northern Europe. Potatoes are native to the Peruvian Andes. They were unknown in Europe until the end of the 16th Century.

In 1589, Sir Walter Raleigh (the famous English explorer who was granted permission from Queen Elizabeth I to explore Virginia) planted potatoes on his estate in Ireland. His chefs did not know how to cook the strange looking tubers and they included the stems and leaves, which are poisonous, and caused everyone who ate the dish to get sick. France went so far as to ban potatoes for a time, blaming them for causing leprosy.

It took another 150 years for potatoes to become acceptable food in Europe. Potatoes are much easier and less labor intensive as a starch and carbohydrate crop than wheat. Wheat must be turned into bread or noodles to be eatable. Potatoes are ready to cook, or even eat raw, right from the ground. A family could raise enough potatoes on an acre of land to feed themselves for a year.

The “blight” that caused the Great Famine in Ireland was a fungus that originated in Mexico, and was carried to Ireland by ship. Shortly after the potatoes were picked they morphed into a black soggy goo. Irish Catholics were forbidden to own land, and were itinerant farmers on English-owned estates. They had no other food, so families starved.ii

Despite the 36 grams of carbs in a medium sized potato, they are surprisingly nutritious. Potatoes have Vitamin C, Vitamin B6, Folate, Niacin and many minerals. They have 3 grams of fiber, and many antioxidants. The calories depend on how the potatoes are cooked, but average is 161 calories, if no additional fat is added in cooking.

Of course, potatoes are extremely versatile, and often delicious!

Should you eat potatoes? If you are on a Paleo or Keto regimen, potatoes would be precluded. French Fries, as fried foods, are obviously not the healthiest choice, particulary if fried in vegetable or seed oils. I once ate potato chips fried fresh in Spanish olive oil on the beach in Malaga. It was such a treat that I have never been able to eat a commercial potato chip since.

I do love potatoes in other dishes, and I will indulge on occasion, with no guilt, knowing that they are pretty healthy. Since they aren’t stripped of their nutrients like wheat is, potatoes may be a good choice if you decide to enjoy some carbs.

However, there is a great lesson from the Potato Famine about relying on single foods instead of a diverse and varied diet. Don’t count French Fries if you are trying to eat your five or more servings of vegetables and fruits a day!

Ireland today has some of the riches grassland in the world, and their dairy products are sublime. The country is considered one of the most beautiful in the world. The greens of Ireland seem unique to that land and like no other place on Earth.

If you would like a relaxing peek at Ireland, here is a video to give you a taste. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mEZ43nPixEo

Whether you celebrate St. Patrick’s Day or not, I wish you the Luck of the Irish!

ihttps://www.irishcentral.com/roots/history/great-famine-emigration-ireland

iihttps://www.sarahwoodbury.com/how-did-the-potato-get-to-ireland/