Healthy by Nature radio show this week
A favorite guest, Parris Kidd, PhD, discusses a crucially important but often forgotten B-vitamin, folate, which is also known as folic acid. The active form of folate protects us from cell divisions going wrong and a multitude of problems such as those with birth defects, mood, memory and circulation. Apparently, a significant portion of the population has a genetically determined inability to turn the food type of this vitamin (folate) into the required active form, 5-methyltetrahydrofolate. We’ll find out what to do about that. Click here to find podcasts, show archives and how to listen nationwide.

FDA-proposed label changes
For the first time since 1990 the Food and Drug Administration plans major changes to food labels in 17% of the some 150 categories. Some of the changes are long overdue but the agency is missing some opportunities.

Good news
Putting calorie counts in larger type. Fair enough. Those who pay attention to them won’t have to squint.

Adjusting portion sizes and increasing the visibility of the number of servings in a package. GREAT. Those smart folks who do pay attention to label information have been misled by deceptive portion sizes. For example, a bottle of pop that is typically downed in one sitting supposedly contained 2 and ½ servings. Cereal boxes claim that a serving is ¾ of a cup. For grins, measure that amount into your bowl and you will see that most people probably eat at least twice that much.

Making added sugar a line item. Any additional attention drawn to sugar is good. However, we need to remember, especially in the case of juices, natural sugar has just as big an effect on blood sugar. Changing from “carbohydrates” to “carbs” is kind of cute.

Adding potassium. This will help folks if they know it can help offset the effects of sodium.

Removing “calories from fat”. It is a major step that FDA now acknowledges that the type of fat is more important than the amount.

Oops!
Missing in action. They are missing a chance to tell educated consumers how much omega 3 and 6 fatty acids they are getting. As a nation we are getting way too much 6 and not enough 3–a situation that is contributing to a great many chronic degenerative conditions.

Cholesterol. This fat factor is still listed but, how about adding a footnote to say that ¾ or more of our cholesterol is made by our bodies. If we eat more of it, the body makes less. (Sugar actually increases cholesterol.)

Saturated fat. Still to be listed and still with too low a Daily Value (see below). I talk about the unfair demonizing of saturated fat in a booklet I’m about to publish called Fat Free Folly.

Adding Vitamin D. We can only hope that consumers understand that most foods contain vitamin D2 which seems to interfere with what we really need–vitamin D3. LINK. Therefore, high levels of D in a food might not be a good thing. Also, in the process of adding D they seem to have left off vitamin C which, while not as fashionable as vitamin D, is still crucial.

Calcium is still there but where is magnesium? We need it to balance calcium and for hundreds of other reasons.

Daily values. Consumers often think that the levels indicated are sufficient for optimum health or worse yet that they are maximum intakes. Some nutrient levels (like vitamin D) are ridiculously low. It would help if the agency mentioned that the guidelines have more to do with preventing frank deficiency diseases and are perhaps mainly useful only for setting fortification limits and public policy rather than meeting the unique needs of individuals. (I’m betting that this will not change not matter how many of us speak up.) I think that listing the DV’s on the left instead of the right just makes it harder to find the nutrient you are looking for.

The FDA is accepting comments on these rules for about 90 days. I will submit my suggestions and hope that many of you will as well. Here is a link for commenting. LINK.  Do remember that comments are public, so be nice.

What’s coming up?
Natural HealthFest Saturday, March 29 at Plano Centre

You can’t miss our centerfold insert in the March issue of my favorite magazine,
Natural Awakenings, N. Texas edition. Look for it at many area stores, gyms, etc..
 
We will still have our usual thousands in great door prizes, but check out the flier for
two of the grand prizes in our new Passport to Grand Giveaway.
Kotsanis Institute package (value $2,500); Aquasana water filter package (value $500) and a Total Home Gym (valued at $300)

Last Week Follow-up
LINK to that show in the archives. Alfred Johnson, DO was in the studio to discuss allergies. Yes, it is that season again (in Dallas, we seem to have a dozen of them a year). He also operates a Hyperbaric Oxygen Center. When I asked how to find a doctor like himself, he suggested the American Academy of Environmental Medicine. At Natural HealthFest (NHF) he will be in booth 511.We also talked with Hugh Woodward about the hormone DHEA and how it, among other effects, offsets the harm from stress hormones. We discussed a study that linked DHEA supplementation to improvement in depression. Here is that LINK. Hugh is giving a talk at 10:00AM at NHF and will be around the rest of the day in booth number 505. The great Healthy by Nature deal that Twist25 DHEA cream agreed to give our listeners is 20% off over and above any quantity savings. (It is available only through midnight Sun 3/9/14.) Give the code: martie when you order online at Twist25.com or when you call Toll free 1-888-489-47821-888-489-4782.

DON’T BLAME BILL IF THERE ARE ERRORS. I’M ON THE ROAD WITHOUT HIM, IN A HURRY AND HE DIDN’T SEE IT. (It is really hard to type on a plane these days.)

Please help spread the good word-forward this newsletter to friends and family.
My first book : Natural Alternatives to Nexium, Maalox, Tagamet, Prilosec & Other Acid Blockers. Subtitle: What to Use to Relieve Acid Reflux, Heartburn, and Gastric Ailments.

My latest book: Aloe Vera-Modern Science Sheds Light on an Ancient Herbal Remedy

The information contained in this newsletter has not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration and is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease. The contents are for informational purposes only and should not be used as a substitute for professional medical advice.

Copyright 2014 Martie Whittekin, CCN