Blogging with Lee

Lasalocid - One More Reason Organic Is Imperative

As you may know, I've been working recently with Ori Hofmekler, author of The Warrior Diet and The Anti-Estrogenic Diet. Ori is a devout proponent of organic foods, arguing that we are just now beginning to see the negative consequences of modern farming and the use of pesticides, herbicides and drugs used in raising animals for meat.

As a result of our work, I've been doing a lot of research in to the agents being used to produce our foods, and I have to say it's rather alarming. In particular, I'm struck by news coming out of the UK about a toxic residue that's showing up in about 20 percent of eggs.

The chemical is called Lasalocid. It's an antibiotic drug that is added to chicken, turkey and other animal feed as a preventative against infection. Because it's incorporated directly into feed, it's difficult to monitor and control; so even though it's not approved for laying hens, it's showing up in eggs anyway.

What's so alarming about Lasalocid contamination? There's strong evidence that it can cause atrial fibrillation, a potentially dangerous malfunctioning of the heart. Cardiac specialists are now recommending that those with this condition and other cardiovascular concerns avoid chicken and eggs unless they are free-range.

Lasalocid is just one of hundreds of chemicals being added to our food supply without our knowledge. I've always been in favor of organic agriculture, but after researching things like Lasalocid I'm becoming downright militant in my support for the movement. So if you notice a trend toward organic here at Swanson, you'll understand why. It's not that we're just following a trend; we're making a real effort to improve the health, safety and quality of our lives, and yours.

PS: For the full story on the cardio-toxic effects of Lasalocid residues in chicken and poultry,click here or simply Google "Lasalocid atrial fibrillation".

Organic Virtues

As the debate over organic farming continues, with government and industry pushing the value of GMOs and the public questioning the safety of modern farming practices, the easiest way to contribute your voice is at your local supermarket. Your purchases reflect your position and, as the saying goes, money talks.

Grocers are hearing those voices. Even here in North Dakota, the organic options at our supermarkets are increasing rapidly and no longer end in the produce section. Organic dairy, meats and even prepared foods are as easy to come by as organic carrots. But is organic worth the additional cost?

I certainly think it is, and here’s why: your purchase makes a statement. Every dollar spent on organic foods is one more little “voice” telling the grocer that people want organic options. It’s our way to subtly influence policy from the grassroots up, and it’s working. The organic market is growing so rapidly to keep up with demand that we’re finally starting to see some reaction at the top (like Monsanto selling off their rBGH unit, for instance).

But why should you vote with your dollars in favor of organic? Because, regardless of oppositional arguments which tend to focus on world hunger and economics, organic foods are the right choice for our health and for the health of our planet. Whether or not organic foods contain more nutrients is not the issue; the fact that organic foods are produced without chemicals and GMOs is. And besides the potentially harmful affect these things have on our bodies, they also harm the land.

Choosing organic also supports small family farms and local agriculture, as most organic farms are less than 100 acres and are operated by owner-families or local co-ops. After decades of declining family farms at the hands of big corporate Ag conglomerates, organic offers an avenue for the return of an American tradition and an opportunity for rural populations to “take back the land.”

This, too, is an element of the organic movement that is having an impact at the top of the commercial level. As my friend Dr. Mercola recently reported, Wal-Mart announced in July that it will spend $400 million this year on locally-grown produce. It may not be all organic (although a majority of locally grown produce is), but it’s a step in the right direction and an important reflection of the strides that we as consumers are making toward influencing the market in a more healthy direction.

So let the politicians argue and watch as big industry struggles to adjust to changing demands while you surreptitiously vote organic with your grocery dollars. If the cashier asks why you’re smiling, tell her it’s good to fight for what’s right, even when you’re just buying dinner.

Stevia: A Bittersweet Battle

My recent European tour, which took me from Norway to Germany to France, brought many issues to my mind—some new and exciting, some old and frustrating. From the latter category comes my topic today: Stevia.

Stevia (Stevia rebaudiana) is, by all accounts, the sweetest-tasting herb on the planet. It’s been known to food researchers and medical scientists since the early 1900s, when it was “discovered” in Paraguay and Brazil. Here, natives had been using Stevia to sweeten their traditional teas and in traditional medicines for many years.

Research on the herb began in earnest in the 1930s. Today we know it to be 300 times sweeter than sugar; we know it has little effect on blood sugar; and we have evidence that it may possess other healthy properties.

Stevia is approved and widely used as a sweetener in many South American and Asian countries, but it has effectively been banned in the West thanks to the lobbying strength of both the sugar and the artificial sweetener industries.

While I was in Germany, my friend and colleague Dr. Barbara Hendel brought to my attention the fact that this “Stevia ban” is not unique to the U.S.—the herb is banned as a sweetener in the entire European Union as well. Stevia is, however, available as a dietary supplement both here and abroad—restricted only to protect the interests of the powerful international sugar producers and the “fine chemical” companies that produce proprietary sugar substitutes.

But the tides are turning. The powerful interests that control the sugar and sugar-substitute markets have been highly effective in protecting their products from the competition of Stevia. Until now. By year’s end you could very well see Stevia on your grocery shelves and restaurant tables—at least in the U.S.

Why the sudden change? Because Cargill—the giant multinational commodities broker and food ingredient manufacturer—now has a proprietary Stevia-based ingredient, Truvia^™, which they can patent-protect to ensure strong earnings. Cargill is a member of the same industry organizations that fought to ban the herb. It seems, however, that they have changed their tune now that they’ve developed a suitable competitor to take on branded commercial sugar substitutes like NutraSweet^® or Splenda^®.

This is not bad news, but it does demonstrate the power of big business. Cargill is introducing Truvia as a tabletop sweetener just like its competitors, based on “self-determined GRAS (Generally Regarded As Safe)” documentation by scientific experts. And though its actions may not win friends within the agribusiness community, it appears the potential profits are worth the risk of “breaking ranks” from the rest of the industry.

Following Cargill in the head-on challenge to have Stevia-based sweeteners accepted as food additives is Wisdom Natural Brands, the company responsible for introducing the Stevia herb to the American marketplace way back in 1982. Bolstered in part, perhaps, by the World Health Organization’s positive review of Stevia safety published in 2006 (as well as knowledge of Cargill’s activities), the company began compiling evidence for GRAS determination and now feels ready to push its Stevia-based sweetener into the food aisle as well. It will then be up to the FDA to challenge the GRAS affirmation—a move it is unlikely to take given the power and influence of Cargill and its subsidiaries.

The story of Stevia thus far has been a tale of big business and politics, and how the two often converge to the detriment of public health. For years the special interests succeeded in keeping this healthful, zero-calorie sweetener out of the general marketplace. But the story is still being written, and the final chapters seem to be developing toward a happy ending.

It is disheartening—the fact that powerful corporations were behind the Stevia ban and that the same powerful interests may be responsible for its reversal—but at least we in the U.S. may finally be able to enjoy Stevia as Nature intended. I can only hope that the efforts of Cargill and Wisdom Natural extend across the pond to our European neighbors so that everyone in the West can enjoy the safe, sweet succor that Stevia can bring.

In Praise of Jack LaLane

When I look back on my career in the natural health field I recall with great fondness many of the wonderful pioneers who paved the way, often in the face of ridicule and scorn, for what is today a burgeoning worldwide movement towards health and wellness through natural means. One of the true legends in that regard is Jack LaLane.

Many of you probably know Jack from his Jack LaLane Power Juicer commercials on TV the past few years. My first recollection of him goes back much farther, to the mid-1950s. I recall virtually every Saturday morning as a young boy growing up in Fargo watching The Jack LaLane Show on the black-and-white television in my parent’s living room.  I was amazed at the size of Jack’s biceps, his zest for life and the evangelical zeal he brought to his message of exercise and healthy nutrition. His enthusiasm for his message of health and wellness is as strong today as it was then, and watching him on TV in 1957 was an early inspiration for me to start on a path to wellness that continues to this day.

For Jack LaLane, that road to vibrant health did not come easy. Born in San Francisco in 1914, the son of French immigrants, Jack was an admitted sugar addict hooked on junk food. He said many times in later years that he felt his addiction to sugar caused him to commit acts of violence, including setting his parent’s house on fire and attacking his brother with an ax.

Then, at the age of 15, he and his mother attended a lecture by Paul Bragg, a natural foods-oriented nutritionist who told Jack he was a human garbage can. He urged Jack to forsake sugar and junk food and start eating whole, natural foods in addition to exercising regularly. Bragg’s message was simple, but it had a powerful influence on the young, troubled boy. LaLane decided to focus on his diet and exercise habits and the rest, as they say, is history.

Although I’ve never had the pleasure of meeting Jack LaLane in person, my many travels to the San Francisco Bay area on business have brought me in contact with many people who know first-hand of Jack’s incredible feats of strength and endurance. Some of these include:

•  In 1955 (age 41) Jack swam from Alcatraz Island to Fisherman’s Wharf in San Francisco while handcuffed.
•  In 1956 (age 42) Jack set a world record of 1,033 push-ups in 23 minutes on You Asked for It, a television program hosted by Art Baker.
•  In 1959 (age 45) Jack did 1,000 star jumps and 1,000 chin-ups in 1 hour, 22 minutes.
•  In 1984 (age 60) Jack again swam from Alcatraz Island to Fisherman’s Wharf. This time, however, he was not only handcuffed but shackled as well. As if that weren’t enough, he also towed a 1,000-pound boat!
• In 1984 (age 70) Jack, handcuffed and shackled, fought strong winds and currents as he swam the 1.5 miles from the Queen’s Way Bridge in the Long Beach Harbor to the Queen Mary—while towing 70 boats with 70 people!

The health message of Jack LaLane is simple and direct: Eat a diet as close to Nature as humanly possible, avoid sugar and exercise regularly. One of his favorite sayings is, “My diet advice is simple: If man made it, don’t eat it!” That includes a diet rich in fruits, vegetables, whole grains, egg whites and fish.

Today, at the age of 93, Jack LaLane is still as healthy and enthusiastic on the benefits of proper nutrition and exercise as ever. Last year I saw him on Larry King Live. He had the same energy and drive that he had when I first saw him on TV in 1957. Jack is truly a shining example of how healthy diet and exercise can not only prolong life but greatly enhance its quality as well. Many medical doctors and nutritionists in the ‘50s and ‘60s criticized him as a “health nut” or “food faddist,” but Jack has succeeded in outliving virtually all of his critics and today continues to be one of the world’s strongest advocates for healthful, natural living. Jack LaLane—a true American original and a great part of America’s legacy of natural health leaders.

Hidden Sugars are Dangerous

Dear Friends and Valued Customers,

You’re used to seeing me write in the pages of the Swanson Health Products catalog. But you’ve never seen me write like this. Granted, I’ve been a little slow to enter this new digital age personally; but here I am ready to blog with the best of ‘em.

What can you expect from my personal blog on swansonvitamins.com? First of all, I hope to share with you some insights into what has shaped me as I’ve helped shape a successful natural health company. I’ll talk about things I believe in, things which have influenced both my life and the direction of the company. You’ll get a behind-the-scenes look at what I’m thinking about, focusing on or concerned with in this fast-changing environment. And hopefully, we’ll develop a relationship that brings us beyond the consumer-supplier dynamic. I invite you to share your thoughts in the comments section, and I look forward to an open dialogue.

With that, let’s get to it.

I’ve been thinking lately about sugar, something I’ve considered almost poisonous since I was quite young. Even before my father began selling nutritional supplements out of our garage back in 1969, we were a health-focused family. My dad, an avid golfer (yes, I followed in his footsteps there, too), became serious about natural wellness when arthritis began interfering with his game and the doctors provided little help. He studied the work of natural health pioneers Paul Bragg and Adele Davis, and soon the ideals of the burgeoning natural health movement became central to our family life.

Both Bragg and Davis eschewed refined white sugar and overly processed carbohydrates. It was a central dictum of their nutritional philosophies. So it’s no surprise that sugar was treated with equal disdain in my household. Out went the Wonder Bread and the sugared cereals, replaced by mom’s homemade whole-grain bread (the real “wonder bread”) and steel-cut old-fashioned oatmeal. As kids, of course, we didn’t quite know what to think of Mom and Dad’s new health regimen and we likely balked at it, I’m sure. But today, some 40 years later, I can say that Father did, in fact, know best; and I’m proud to follow in his footsteps.

Did you know that the average American takes in about two to three pounds of sugar every week? That’s pounds every week. Is it any wonder we’re suffering an epidemic of obesity? And if you think that number sounds high, consider where it comes from: it’s not just “junk” food and candy. Sugar hides in everything these days in the form of corn sugar (dextrose), high-fructose corn syrup, maltodextrin and about 20 other variants. In just the last 20 years, thanks to the incorporation of sugar (and its “alias” identities) into the general (processed) food supply, we’ve increased our personal annual consumption from 26 pounds/year to 135 pounds/year. It’s frightening!

So what’s got me thinking about this now? First, it’s the fact that I’ve noticed sugar creeping into the natural foods marketplace unbeknownst to consumers. As the demand for natural food alternatives grows, traditional food companies are buying up smaller producers and are thereby exerting their influence. It’s now become important for anyone looking to avoid sugar to look carefully at the labels of say, soy milk or ready-to-eat frozen meals, the precise categories that are seeing the most growth.

Second, I’ve been talking with my good friend Dr. Joseph Mercola, who shares many of my passions in this area and who has written extensively on this topic. Dr. Mercola’s website has an excellent article by contributing writer Nancy Appleton, Ph.D., entitled “Counting the Many Ways Sugar Harms Your Health”. I encourage you to click through to read it. Dr. Appleton is the author of the book Lick the Sugar Habit, which you can buy here. The article lists 76 negative influences, with no less than 111 references to back up her claims.

And finally, I’ve been thinking about sugar because we’re constantly formulating new products and looking for the best ways to provide quality, value and convenience in ways consistent with my philosophy and the values of this company. Lately I’ve favored xylitol in formulations and even added pure xylitol to our product line. But there’s growing interest in the market regarding new or alternative sugars and I’m interested in your thoughts. Folks are promoting coconut sugar and natural, minimally refined cane sugar as more healthful alternatives to common refined sugars.

What are your thoughts? I believe that the path I’ve followed is responsible for the good health I enjoy today; but that path is a winding one, one filled with twists and turns that result from new information gained through lifelong education and listening to the wisdom of others. I look forward to hearing your ideas.