Farm Fresh Foods throughout Florida

Posts Tagged ‘immune system’

Vitamin D and Grass-fed Foods

Thursday, August 27th, 2009

American Kids Need

More Vitamin D?

Two recent studies found that millions of U.S. children have extremely low levels of vitamin D. Lack of this important nutrient weakens the immune system, putting kids at increased risk for infections like colds and flu, as well as osteoporosis, heart disease, cancer and other health problems as they get older.

Vitamin D also helps the body absorb calcium, which is necessary for the normal development and maintenance of healthy teeth and bones.

While some experts recommend using vitamin D supplements, others believe the natural approach works best. Vitamin-fortified foods, such as cereals and breads, and pill supplements can contain artificial ingredients, which aren’t always recognized or absorbed easily by the body. Over-supplementation is also an unhealthy possibility.

So if you really want to protect your kids from the swine flu and other infectious illnesses, feed them vitamin D-rich foods and make sure they spend enough time outdoors in the sunshine to let their young bodies make vitamin D (experts say about 20 minutes several times a week without sunscreen).

Good vitamin D food sources include some types of fish such as salmon, raw whole milk products (as pasteurization reduces vitamin D), farm fresh pastured eggs and grass-fed beef. If you must supplement, use high-quality cod liver oil.

You may even want to have your children’s vitamin D levels tested so you’ll have an idea of where they stand.

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Allergies and Your Diet

Sunday, June 7th, 2009
alllergy-picture

Raw milk may help Allergies

Our bodies are complex systems that easily can be thrown out of balance by toxins in our environment and the foods we eat. If your body isn’t able to compensate and recover from exposure to these toxic substances, chemicals and processed foods, then you could develop sensitivity, or what is known as an allergy.

Allergists estimate that 80 percent of people have allergies in one form or another and that number is growing partially due to what many believe is our “modern” diet. Allergies may appear as sneezing with a runny nose when they have an allergic reaction to pollen. Or you may develop asthma. Children can develop ADHD symptoms as a result of an allergic reaction to food, chemicals or pollens. Even conservative sources estimate that five percent of children with ADHD have their symptoms because of some type of allergic reaction.

The good news: A change in diet can do wonders to curb most allergies.

Studies show that most people’s sensitivities dramatically improve when they avoid sugar, most grains, and pasteurized dairy products. Replacing commercial milk with raw milk from grass-fed cows is usually well tolerated by most people and is highly health promoting. It is also helpful to eat products such as eggs, poultry, and beef from animals fed a natural diet, which does not include grains, and by consuming fresh organic produce — all produced without man-made chemicals, hormones, pesticides, dyes, or additives

Making certain that enough long-chain animal based omega-3 fats (DHA and EPA) are included in your diet is also important. Grass-fed raw dairy contains the crucial omega-3 fatty acids needed for brain function, good bacteria for a healthy digestive system, and plentiful vitamins A and D for proper growth and development. It is also rich in the raw, saturated fatty acids that nourish the brain and intestinal lining.

Eliminating allergies may not be as easy as drinking a glass of raw milk, but it is a good way to start.

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Autism: A Nutritional Approach

Friday, May 22nd, 2009

Good nutrition is essential to the prevention, treatment and cure of many illnesses, diseases and conditions. And that includes autism.

Defeat Autism Now, an organization founded by a group of doctors whose children suffer from the condition, found that diet plays a crucial role in treating children with many disorders including autism, Asperger’s sydrome, ADD, ADHD and ODD.

Various studies have reveled that children with autism do not have the right amount of beneficial bacterial in their digestive system. Since 85% of the body’s immune system is in the gut, without these bacteria it is hard for their bodies to absorb nutrients to build a strong, healthy immune and digestive system. Their diets also lack the necessary nutritional fats that are fundamental to developing brain cells.

According to the Body Ecology diet (bodyecology.com) and the book “Gut and Psychology Syndrome,” by Dr. Natasha Campbell-McBride MD, children with any type of brain disorder can benefit from eating grass-fed raw dairy, including milk, cream, butter, cultured yogurt and fermented kefir.

Grass-fed raw dairy contains the crucial omega-3 fatty acids needed for brain function, good bacteria for a healthy digestive system, and plentiful vitamins A and D for proper growth and development. It is also rich in the raw, saturated fatty acids (similar to those found in mother’s milk) that nourish the brain and intestinal lining.

Other foods to consider as nutritional powerhouses are grass-fed beef, free-range poultry, organic eggs, fruits and vegetables – all produced without man-made chemicals, hormones, pesticides, dyes, or additives.

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Got the Flu then…farm fresh foods to the rescue!

Thursday, May 14th, 2009

The Best Way to Prevent the Flu – or Any Illness – is Through a Healthy Diet

With all the news circulating in the media about the “swine flu,” flu prevention is a hot topic in Central Florida and across the nation.

While washing your hands, getting plenty of rest, exercising and avoiding stress are great ways to prevent any type of influenza, virus or cold, these steps are not the total answer. The best and easiest way to strengthen your immune system, so that the body will resist any type of illness or disease, is to adopt a natural, organic diet.

Eating foods rich in vitamins, minerals, enzymes, essential fats and probiotics – like raw milk, grass-fed beef and free-range chickens and eggs – is necessary for building a strong immune system.

Raw organic grass-fed milk, which is produced without pesticides or antibiotics from cows that graze on grass and hay, is loaded with immune-building enzymes, vitamins C, B12 and B6, and beneficial bacteria (probiotics).

Grass-fed organic beef from cows that are raised in the sunshine and fed a natural diet of grass and hay contains essential saturated fat, which aids in brain function and supports the immune system.

Free-range eggs from chickens allowed to roam free and eat a natural diet have more omega-3 fatty acids and vitamin B12 in their meat and egg yolks than chickens fed grain.

Organic raw milk, fresh farm eggs and poultry, and grass-fed beef can help build a healthy immune system and keep the flu bug at bay.

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