Harvesting the Truth

In today's minisode I review one of Mel Weinstein's food rules (See S1E10), specifically his rule to not eat processed or industrialized food. To do so, I share something I learned in my training as a 20 year litigator (and licensed attorney for 31 years).

Cliff note version: When analyzing information look for credibility. Opinions based on good foundation are credible. Opinions that are mere opinions without foundation are not.

On this podcast I seek out credible guests who have real experience to offer the opinions they do. Then it's up to you to draw your own conclusions from those opinions. In this episode I also share the conclusions I have drawn, which is that Industrialized food is not well-regulated and contains harmful chemicals that are causing chronic illness. It's difficult to execute not eating any industrialized foods, but with knowledge and intentional eating you can begin to reduce your exposure to harmful chemicals that exist via additives in food and pesticides sprayed on food.

For more information about what's in our food, visit www.foodstoic.com or support me by leaving a rating here.

Send me a message as to what you'd like to see next on the show: [email protected]

What's really in the food we're eating? If you notice, there's no ingredient label on your Big Mac. So Mel Weinstein, an analytical chemist and food scientist, set out to discover those ingredients. His findings are in his book, Fast Food Ingredients Revealed. He also shares that information with us today in this interesting conversation.

Mel was a college professor in chemistry with an interest in food science, then he started a 20 year career as an analytical chemist with a corn processing company that makes sweeteners from corn. He spent a lot of time in the world of food additives and is the perfect person to help us understand what's in processed food.

And yes, a Big Mac is processed food. It's on the same level as the ultra processed junk food that line the aisles of the big box stores and convenience marts. It contains the same ingredients, and a lot of them at that. In fact, there are over 10,000 additives currently in our food supply, and no real regulation. Companies like McDonald's don't even have to share with us what we are really eating.

Astounding, surprising and frustrating. So I set out to find someone to help me understand what I am eating, and more importantly, what it does to me. The information is shocking. Our food contains chemicals, solvents and enzymes, many of them harmful. The goal of these food companies is to get us to crave what they create so we keep buying their products. Yet, their products aren't really food and it's harming us.

After today's episode you can follow Mel by listening to his podcast Food Labels Revealed. Also visit his facebook page:

https://www.facebook.com/prophetofprocessedfood

or get in touch with Mel at: foodlabelsrevealed.com

Send me information on what you'd like to see next on the podcast:

www.foodstoic.com

[email protected]

IG: @thefoodstoic

FB: @foodstoic

We are learning that the focus of our health is our gut microbiome. It regulates our physical and mental health and yet, medical professionals we come in contact with in our daily lives aren't talking about it. In this episode I share a personal story about healing the microbiome and how it changed everything in my family's life when it happened.

Our guts are resilient and can be healed. Moreover, we can take charge of our health in order to achieve that. Despite taking my son to 7 doctors over 4 years, we received no help to resolve his pain. But then I learned about the microbiome and how pesticides and chemicals are harming it. When I rid our diet of the pesticides and chemicals, we healed his gut. In this mini episode I share some of our story, along with how healing his gut created health and happiness.

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Gut Microbiome. Is that really a thing? In this episode let's dive into it and learn exactly what it is. You'll learn that it IS a thing and in fact, it's the center of all things that happen to us because it affects both our physical and mental health. What you learn here is so important because we aren't learning these things from our doctors.

Today I am talking to Robin Jonas, Integrative Health Coach at Live Life Balanced With Robin. Robin and I talk about how we are a society of disease treatment, not prevention. Because of this, we need to take control of our own health.

Guts can heal if given the chance. That chance comes in the form of whole body wellness, including the food you eat. Becoming an intentional eater by reading labels, learning about primary foods and cooking your own meals is a huge step towards healing your gut.

Robin is going to give us her perspective on preventing disease through a holistic lens. She is also going to give us tips on how we can do that with small one degree shifts. It may seems overwhelming to take control of your health, but it doesn't have to be with Robin's achievable method.

Our healthcare and education systems may be failing us, but there are people like Robin to help. The information in this episode will help you learn more about how to heal and stay healthy.

Robin's contact info:

www.livelifebalancedwithrobin.com

Socials: @livelifebalancedwithrobin

Find Michelle on social media at @thefoodstoic, @foodstoic

www.foodstoic.com

Write to Michelle at [email protected]

The most important thing we can do for our health is to take control of our food and yet, it's one of the hardest things to do. Moreover, better food simply costs more, which leads to a lot of upset. But better always costs more, doesn't it? Take the Apple Phone vs a flip phone. You kinda get what you pay for, right?

In this mini episode I summarize what we learned on Tuesday during our conversation with Jillae Langman-Dalmolin. I also give some background on those $4.99 Costco Rotisserie Chickens, which are neither healthy nor ethical it turns out. In fact, Costco hides behind a billion dollar farming operation, refusing to sign the Better Chicken Commitment (betterchickencommitment.com) and defending itself against lawsuits for animal welfare violations. The USDA has accumulated numerous eye witness reports regarding animal welfare violations that cause needless suffering to their chickens. Moreover, the chickens seem like they should be healthy, right? I mean it's white meat. Not according to the facts though. The chickens are loaded with bad ingredients, not to mention how they are raised resulting in a chicken that offers poor nutrition.

So all of this will give you some food for thought the next time you reach for the rotisserie!

Find Michelle on social media: @thefoodstoic

or sign up for her newsletter: www.foodstoic.com

To get on the waitlist for the Mindfully Nourished personal coaching program, please email Michelle at [email protected]

For some of us discovering more about what's in our food, the information can be confusing and disconcerting. For Jillae Langman-Dalmolin and her husband Wesley, the information changed their entire lives. The information spurred them into becoming modern day homesteaders, moving across the country and buying a farm in the process. They now own and run an organically practiced farm in Illinois where they grow produce, herbs, bees and chickens (with more animals on the way!), along with running a farm store, supplying restaurants, offering a seasonal CSA and consulting in all things homesteading. Their farm, Wanderin Barefoot Farm, supplies their family with food and a community with food, along with offering a livelihood.

Today Jillae shares with us her story, what caused them to become first generation farmers, and what types of food they grow. She shares a lot of wisdom regarding their perspective about food, and what's in our food. We learn all about the definition of Organic, the difference between the egg classifications and how important it is to grow and preserve food. Jillae and I also discuss what happens to your taste buds when you make your own food, and just why the store purchased food tastes so different. We even talk about those abnormally large Costco rotisserie chickens.

While not everyone will set out to become a homesteader upon learning what's in our food, the information shared in this episode will help you know more about food so you can make better decisions when it comes to your purchases. It will also spur you to start your own little garden, no matter where you live.

Jillae's contact info:

www.wanderinbarefootfarm.com

or social media @wanderinbarefootfarm

Find Michelle on social media at:

IG @thefoodstoic

FB @foodstoic

Sign up for the Five For Food newsletter: www.foodstoic.com

Write to Michelle: [email protected]

The World Health Organization has identified meat, both red meat and processed meat, as a cause of cancer. It lists Processed Meat as a Group 1 carcinogen and Red Meat as a Group 2A carcinogen. In this episode Michelle Adams shares her understanding of the science as to why these meats are linked to cancer.

Further, if the meat we eat causes cancer, how can we continue to eat it safely and prevent disease? Michelle shares her tips, based on the science, as well as what she does in her own life.

Essentially, while the science doesn't appear to be definite yet, there is strong evidence to suggest the nitrogen preservatives in processed meats turn carcinogenic when cooked at high temperatures. With respect to red meat, the haem, which is the pigment that makes the meat red, breaks down in the gut where it forms harmful compounds that damage the DNA of the digestive tract. However, it has been discovered that the chlorophyll in plants helps to block the breakdown of haem in the gut.

All of this means that if you continue to eat meat:

1. Look for processed meats without the harmful nitrate/nitrite preservatives;

2. Cook the processed meats at low temperatures and not on a charcoal grill;

3. When eating red meat (and processed meats) try to eat well-rounded meals that include green fruits and/or vegetables.

References: WHO; https://www.who.int/news-room/questions-and-answers/item/cancer-carcinogenicity-of-the-consumption-of-red-meat-and-processed-meat

Green Vegetables, Red Meat & Colon Cancer: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/15550456/

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/11023550/

Find Michelle on social media at:

Instagram: @thefoodstoic

Facebook: @foodstoic

Sign up for the Five for Food Weekly newsletter at:

www.foodstoic.com

Write to Michelle at [email protected]

What do you do when your husband receives a Stage IV cancer diagnosis? You assemble a health care team of modern medical doctors, along with non-traditional specialists. You also consciously change what you eat as you become more aware of what's in your food.

This was the perspective of Brieonna Aljets when her husband was diagnosed with cancer during the pandemic. They immediately jumped into action. Today she is sharing their story from illness to wellness and how it changed their lives. In particular, it changed what they eat.

From Brieonna we learn that changing their diet was an important piece of getting well, and continuing to stay that way. She offers information on what they changed, and how they did it. We discuss how it important it is to cook your food at home, and Brieonna offers us some tips that help make it easier.

When we cut out the processed food and begin eating real food, our taste buds begin to change. Consciously choosing to nourish your body does not mean you can never eat a piece of cake. However, expect that you may not look at the ultra-processed food in the same way again, and that it may become undesirable to your taste buds!

Our society is set up to keep us busy with jobs to earn enough money to live, but it's important to recognize how important it is to cook at home, and to figure out how to slow down enough to do that.

You can find Brieonna on her podcast, What's the Cheese?, or on Instagram at @brielikethecheese4.

Find Michelle on social media at:

Instagram: @thefoodstoic

Facebook: @foodstoic

Sign up for the Five for Food newsletter: www.foodstoic.com

Write to Michelle at [email protected]

If Glyphosate is in the food we eat, the water we drink and the air we breathe, where do we begin to eliminate it from our lives? In this episode Michelle Adams encourages everyone to take control of what they are eating and to begin their intentional eating journey. We may not be able to end the spraying of pesticides on our food just yet, but we can exercise our freedom of choice when it comes to the food we purchase and send a message with our dollars.

In this episode Michelle shares ten tips that will help you begin to limit your exposure to Glyphosate. Every time you exercise your power to limit your exposure to this toxic pesticide, you make a decision to improve your own health. All of these tips are things you can begin implementing immediately.

Find Michelle on social media at:

Instagram: @thefoodstoic

Facebook: @foodstoic

Sign up for the Five for Food Weekly Newsletter at:

www.foodstoic.com.

Write to Michelle at [email protected]

Call it what you want: Intentional Eating, Mindful Eating or Conscious Consumption. It all comes down to what's in our food, where did it come from and how was it made? Most importantly, how does what we eat affect us physically and mentally? Moreover, what role does it all play in making the world safe and sustainable?

In this episode Harvesting the Truth founder and host, Michelle Adams, shares five stories that led her on a journey of self discovery. That journey has become a mission. Consider this her 30 minute autobiography. It's not the whole story, but it is five important pieces that led her here to hosting this podcast that will all bring us more information. Consider it a short prequel to the start of our first season.

This is the story of a small town girl that became a medical litigator. Michelle tells of a long legal career that flowed into getting back to her roots when she started baking as a hobby and rediscovered her love for farm to table food. She parlayed that into a new career in food entrepreneurship. It was her skills in medical research and her knowledge of food that led her to asking the question, "is it our food?" when she realized there was too much sickness in her family. Analyzing cause and effect in her own kitchen, she came to her answers, which led her to digging deeper still on a new journey of reading labels and understanding ingredients.

Today Michelle shares the important foundation for who she is and what's important to her. It's a snippet of a life story but you will leave the episode understanding a little more about the girl behind the mic. Enjoy!

Find Michelle on social media at:

Instagram: @thefoodstoic

Facebook: @foodstoic

Sign up for her Five For Food Weekly Newsletter at:

www.foodstoic.com

Write to her at: [email protected]