Chemical CuisineCSPI ranks the safety of food additives—from acetic acid to yellow prussiate of soda—in this definitive glossary of the chemicals used to flavor and preserve our foods.The World's Healthiest Foords are health-promoting foods that can change your life. Try the exciting new lunch recipe from Day 1 of our upcoming 7-Day Meal Plan. Happy St. Patrick's Day! Can Preparation Methods Impact the Benefits of Cruciferous Vegetables? How consistent does my diet have to be in order for me to stay healthy? Is it possible to create a well-balanced diet without paying attention to portion sizes? Is Healthy Eating possible on a tight budget? Is it okay for me to "eat on the run?" Does Healthy Eating require cooking on a regular basis? Are grocery lists and organized food plans required for Healthy Eating? Does Healthy Eating require three meals each day? Are snacks a good thing or a bad thing for Healthy Eating? Does it matter if dinner is the largest meal of the day?
Unwanted Consequences of High-Heat Cooking? Raw vs Cooked Food - Chewing and Digestion Raw vs Cooked Food - Making Raw Foods More Digestible How do cooking temperatures affect vegetable nutrients? What do you think about microwave cooking? Eating Grains -or Not Adapting a Meal Plan for Little or No Grains Is gluten-free the same as wheat-free? How is wheat related to other grains? Is gluten sensitivity the same thing as wheat allergy? Can I still have an unwanted reaction to wheat or grains, even if I always choose whole grains? Do you consider grains to be a priority food group for healthy eating? Can you help set the record straight on gluten-free foods, grain-free diets, and the "wheat belly diet?" Are there legitimate and distinct health issues related to consumption of grains versus wheat versus gluten? Are vegetarian diets really more healthful? What do you think about a mostly vegetarian-plus-seafood meal plan?
What do you think about a mostly vegetarian-plus-dairy/eggs meal plan? How does seafood compare with dairy/eggs as a "protein booster" on a vegetarian diet? What nutrients are most likely to be deficient in a vegetarian diet? How much of a problem is iron in a vegetarian diet? How much of a problem is protein in a vegetarian diet? Is vitamin B12 really a problem in a vegetarian diet? Can a vegetarian diet help me lose weight? Does WHFoods directly advocate a vegetarian meal plan? What if I eat vegetarian most of the time, but enjoy meat and poultry on occasion? If I am mostly eating plant foods, do I still need to be concerned about food quality? I've heard a lot about eating a "colorful diet." Should I pick fruits and vegetables based on color to help me get more benefits from these foods? How do our vegetable recommendations at WHFoods compare with common public health recommendations? All Foods are not for Everyone An Overview of Adverse Food Reactions
What are food intolerances? Adverse Food Reactions: Environment and Cross Related Reactions What is meant by the term "goitrogen" and what is the connection between goitrogens, food, and health? What are purines and how are they related to food and health? Can you tell me about oxalates, including the foods that contain them and how are they related to nutrition and health? Which foods are classified as "nightshades," and is it true that foods from this group can potentially contain problematic substances? Can you tell me more about chlorophyll? Does chlorophyll provide health benefits? How do cooking and handling affect the chlorophyll in food? Which foods contain chlorophyll - and in what amount? What is the certification process in a food becoming certified organic? Can you tell me more about the labeling of organic foods? What is the difference between a focus on organic regulations versus a focus on sustainability? What is your approach to genetically modified foods?
Unfortunately, many of these strong opinions are based on special-interest-based science, rather than on human biology and chemistry. When it comes to beta-carotene vs. retinol, vegetarians, vegans and a number of other groups weigh-in by arguing that Vitamin A (retinol) derived from animal sources such as fish, liver and eggs, is not necessary since beta-carotene is available via plant sources (fruits and vegetables). The idea (or hope) being that we can get all the Vitamin A we need from fruits and vegetables. Both forms of Vitamin A (beta-carotene and retinol) are indeed important for health. However, if you are one who believes that you can achieve optimal levels of vitamin A via beta-carotene sources only, then you must ask yourself how much fruit and vegetables must be consumed in order to achieve optimal levels of vitamin A that the body can actually utilize? Well…let’s see how the body goes about absorbing vitamin A as beta-carotene. When you eat a vegetable, such as a carrot, with the purpose of getting your daily dose of Vitamin A, your body must first go through a series of processes before it can absorb it.
The carotene must first be converted to a form of Vitamin A that the body can use – it must convert the carotene into retinol. In order for this to happen, certain physiological systems need to be functioning properly, namely: Let’s assume that these systems are, in fact, working optimally. Even then you would not achieve a 1:1 ratio of carotene and retinol. In fact, the ratio is more like 6:1 respectively. In other words, for every six units of beta-carotene only one unit of retinol is produced. And this raises a few concerns. You would have to eat a heck of a lot of fruits and vegetables to even achieve the RDI of vitamin A…and getting people to eat any fruits and vegetables has been a hard pressed issue for decades! Nevertheless, the FDA in all its wisdom actually agreed to count sources like ketchup, canned tomato soup, and other pseudo-vegetables with the nutritional labeling of beta-carotene. The following statement from the Vitamin A Knavery, by Sally Fallon and Mary G. Enig, PhD, shows the ridiculousness of this:
“The label for a can of tomatoes says that tomatoes contain Vitamin A, even though the only source of true Vitamin A in the tomatoes is the microscopic insect parts.” Since the beta-carotene to vitamin A conversion requires a healthy digestive system, and many people are dependent upon medications to relieve heartburn, constipation, diarrhea, and bloating, we know that many people are simply not able to make this conversion. Children, especially infants, don’t make the conversion at all! Yet, we feed them baby food such as strained carrots and spinach, both of which carry high amounts of beta-carotene. Do you ever wonder if it is human nature to always act so illogically?! Additionally, there are many factors that deplete the body’s supply of vitamin A (and other nutrients as well) such as: And how prevalent are these in society? As previously mentioned, you need bile salts in order for the conversion to take place. Bile is needed to break down fats.
And because most vegetables by their very nature are low in fat, very little bile is produced when they are consumed. In fact, the low bile production actually prevents the carotene from being converted to the usable form of vitamin A – retinol. Of course, if you simply add some fat to your vegetables, such as butter, your body might have a shot at making the conversion! However, in today’s society we are still stuck on the idea that a low-fat diet is a healthier diet, and that of course means butter is often taken off the table. So what can we do? Why not eat foods that contain vitamin A from a more direct source, such as liver, eggs, and butter (to name a few) or by supplementing with fish oils or cod liver oil (high in retinol)? Well, again, because much of the so-called “health information” out there contains myths such as: So what’s the bottom line? If you have zero digestive issues, are in perfect health, eat at least twelve full servings of fruits and vegetables a day (and counting ketchup or any processed food as a synthetic vegetable is not allowed), allow yourself to eat “real” fat, never eat processed or fast foods, and have no stress in your life, then congratulations!
You may have an excellent shot at getting sufficient amounts of vitamin A (retinol) from beta-carotene! If you do not fall into that category, however, then it’s highly likely you are not converting beta-carotene to vitamin A efficiently at all. The obvious answer to this dilemma is to get vitamin A from animal sources, and the simplest means is to take cod liver oil. Many companies use synthetic vitamin A, or have reduced (or even removed) vitamin A from their product. For this reason I prefer extra-virgin cod liver oil from corganic. This can be a bit pricey, but I feel it is worth it. Vitamin A is far too important for health for you to be deficient as a result of unknowingly not being able to convert beta-carotene to retinol, or due to the misconception that retinol is toxic. (Read more, Is Retinol Really Toxic?) But sadly, the “old remedy” of a spoonful of cod liver oil a day that mothers gave their children is no longer used as a result of the myth that retinol is toxic.