Wellness

Jeffery Jaxen, Natural Society

In an attempt to curb the mass rush for food change and reform, psychiatry has green lighted a public relations push to spread awareness about their new buzzword “orthorexia nervosa,” defined as “a pathological obsession for biologically pure and healthy nutrition.”In other words, experts are moving toward saying that our demand for nutrient-dense, healthful food is a mental disorder that must be treated.

CNN, Fast Company, Popular Science, and other top outlets have all began to trumpet the talking points on cue relatively recently:

“Orthorexia nervosa is a label designated to those who are concerned about eating healthy. Characterized by disordered eating fueled by a desire for “clean” or “healthy” foods, those diagnosed with the condition are overly pre-occupied with the nutritional makeup of what they eat”.

In short, if you turn your back on low quality, corporate food containing known cancer causing toxic additives and a rich history of dishonesty rooted in a continuous “profits over people” modus operandi, then you may suffer from a mental illness. The cherry on top is that if you have the pseudo-science labeled disorder of orthorexia nervosa, you will be prescribed known toxic, pharmaceutical drugs from some of the same conglomerate corporations that you are trying to avoid by eating healthy in the first place.

Orthorexia has not yet found its way into the latest edition of the psychiatric bible, the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM), yet is commonly being lumped in with other eating disorders. Stepping back and looking at the ones pushing this label on us shows highly questionable motives.

Psychiatry as a whole is deeply in bed with a pharmaceutical industry that makes the drugs to “treat” every one of these “disorders.” It is often these companies that are wielding influence behind the scenes to invent more mental health categories with their toxic products as the answer. This latest media push to popularize orthorexia as a mental disorder with a goal to marginalize or derail the food revolution appears to have been dead on arrival.

The psychiatric community has even deemed creativity to be a mental illness.

As the people continue to walk away from the broken medical and agricultural/food systems like any abusive relationship, the food makers are willing to do anything to maintain their waning control. Organic and non-GMO food markets have exploded in the last 5 years, so much so that any corporation wishing to not follow the trend risks financial hardship or ruin. In addition, pharmaceutical companies are feeling the strain as less people want their toxic medications and crippling side effects.

Perhaps some individuals do take it too far to the point of self-harm, but the problem we face with a toxic food system is a much larger threat. In closing, let’s be aware of some of the overall BS fed to us by the pharmaceutical bankrolled industry of psychiatry. When healthy eating and creativity are mental issues, something is amiss.

Additional Sources:

Popular ScienceJon Rappoport

About the Author

Jefferey Jaxen is an independent journalist, writer, and researcher. Focusing on personal empowerment and alternative health, his work reveals a sharp eye to capture the moment in these rapidly changing times. Jaxen is a contributing writer to NaturalSociety.com on a variety of issues. His personal page is located at JeffereyJaxen.com.



Increasing the amount of high quality fat, including saturated fat, in your diet may be the best thing you can do for your health. It’s time to put aside the low-fat diet schemes that have dominated the diet industry for over 40 years.

Sound, scientific research supports the reasonable consumption of healthy fats, including saturated fat, as part of a healthy lifestyle. This article takes a brief look at how we lost our way, what science now says about dietary fats, and which foods may be safely added to our diets.

In 1977 the USDA, through the National Advisory Committee on Nutritional Education (NACNE), recommended that Americans:

1 – Reduce total dietary fat to 30%

2 – Reduce saturated fat to 10% of total calories.

These recommendations were made without scientific, randomized controlled trials ( RCTs) being performed to test their validity before being implemented. Furthermore, there were only five randomized trials of unhealthy men (no women) available to the committee at the time. The committee was also heavily influenced by the now controversial and partially discredited Seven Countries Study of Ancel Keys which implicated saturated fat in cardiovascular disease.

Significantly, the rise in obesity corresponds with the publication of the government’s dietary standards:

A recent meta-review of the 1977 recommendations appeared in the prestigious British Medical Journal’s and put them to rest. The authors, Harcombe, et al, concluded:

• “It seems incomprehensible that dietary recommendations were introduced to 220 million US and 56 million UK citizens given the contrary results from a small number of unhealthy men.”
• “The results of the present meta-analysis support the hypothesis that the available RCTs did not support the introduction of dietary fat recommendations in order to reduce CHD risk or related mortality.”
• And that the dietary recommendations “should not have been introduced.”

Implementing these dietary measures has been devastating. According to the CDC: “Between 1980 and 2000, obesity rates doubled among adults. About 60 million adults, or 30% of the adult population, are now obese.” Obesity rates continue to soar with Type 2 diabetes now at epidemic proportions.

What Does Current Nutrition Science Say About Saturated Fat?

Much of current research paints a very different picture of the role of saturated fat in our diets. Let’s look briefly at four major studies that represent current thinking about dietary fat and specifically saturated fat.

Study 1 – The first study is a retrospective look at a trial completed in the early 1970s, the data from which had been lost. Dr. Christopher E. Ramden led an Australian and US team to evaluate “recovered data from the Sydney Diet Heart Study, a single blinded, parallel group, randomized controlled trial conducted in 1966-73; and an updated meta-analysis including these previously missing data.” The original study attempted to evaluate the effectiveness of replacing saturated fat with omega 6 linoleic acid, a vegetable oil. Participants included 458 men aged 30-59 who had experienced a recent coronary event.

Conclusion: “In this cohort, substituting dietary linoleic acid in place of saturated fats increased the rates of death from all causes, coronary heart disease, and cardiovascular disease. An updated meta-analysis of linoleic acid intervention trials showed no evidence of cardiovascular benefit.”

Study 2 – In 2010 a meta-analysis of 21 prospective studies evaluated the association of saturated fat and cardiovascular disease. The results were published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition and led by Patty W Siri-Tarino of the Children’s Hospital Oakland Research Institute.

Conclusion: “A meta-analysis of prospective epidemiologic studies showed that there is no significant evidence for concluding that dietary saturated fat is associated with an increased risk of CHD or CVD.” In other words, there is no verifiable link between eating saturated fat and the occurrence of coronary heart disease.

Cambridge scholar, Dr. Chowdhury, and an international research team in 2014, evaluated nearly 80 studies, including 27 randomized controlled trials (RCTs, the gold standard of scientific research) that involved half a million people. The research included not only what people reported they ate but measured the composition of fatty acids in their blood and fatty tissues.

Conclusion: The researchers found that “…current evidence does not support guidelines which restrict the consumption of saturated fats in order to prevent heart disease.” According to the NY Times: “The researchers did find a link between trans fats… and heart disease but ‘they found no evidence of dangers from saturated fat, or benefits from other kinds of fats.'”

Study 4 – In 2014, Dr. Jeff Volek, a professor of Human Sciences at Ohio State University, and his research team, recruited 16 adults, all of whom suffered from metabolic syndrome. Participants were fed diets that changed every three weeks up to 18 weeks. Every three weeks the amount of saturated fat was decreased and the amount of carbohydrates increased, and the amount of palmitoleic acid in the blood was measured. Palmitoleic acid has been linked to obesity, inflammation, insulin resistance, glucose intolerance, type 2 diabetes, heart disease and prostate cancer.

Conclusion: “When looking at palmitoleic acid… the scientists found that it consistently decreased on the high-fat/low-carb diet in all participants. The fatty acid then showed a step-wise increase in concentration in the blood as carbs were progressively added to the diet.”

In other words, as carbohydrates were added to the diet, levels of the deadly palmitoleic acid increased, thus heightening the risk of CVD.

Dr. Volek concluded: “There is widespread misunderstanding about saturated fat… there’s clearly no association of dietary saturated fat and heart disease, yet dietary guidelines continue to advocate restriction of saturated fat.”

What Have We Learned from These Scientific Studies?

1. The 1977 dietary recommendations to limit saturated fat were not scientifically valididated
2. There is no clear association between saturated fat and heart disease
3. Trans fats (found in processed meats and foods, and vegetable oils) are linked to increased cardiovascular disease
4. High fat/low carbohydrate diets lower dangerous levels of palmitoleic acid, which is associated with heart disease and other chronic diseases
5. High levels of Omega 6 fatty acids in the form of linoleic vegetable oil showed no positive cardiovascular benefit.

What High-Fat Foods Should We Be Eating?

The following foods, some high in saturated fat, are healthy to consume as part of a natural, whole foods diet:

Avocado, tahini, dark chocolate, eggs, fatty fish, nuts, coconut, and liver. When combined with low carbohydrate foods, (spinach, broccoli, cauliflower, carrots, and others) coconut and olive oil, fresh fruits in moderation, and meat (preferably grass fed organic), a wholesome and healthy diet that guards against heart and other chronic diseases can be attained. Keep in mind that calories do count. It behooves us to eat reasonable portions as well as reduce carbohydrate levels in our diets. It’s both what we eat and how much we eat that matters.

*These foods are recommended given we are all driven towards various diet types and making healthier choices in each diet type is a step in the right direction.

A complete meal plan based on low carbohydrate and healthy fat intake can be found at Authority Nutrition.

Deciding on a diet best for you should be done with an awareness of current scientific thinking and in consultation with your physician or health provider. One diet does not fit all. The best diet for each of us is one that meets our individual needs.

The information in this article is not meant as medical advice and should be used for educational purposes only.

Try Out These 3 Powerful Guided Meditations

These meditations are great for feeling peace and calm. They will also help you overcome any challenges you might be facing.

These meditations can be viewed online and downloaded so you can use them whenever you like. They combine traditional meditation with tapping for a very powerful experience.

They will also help release deep core issues that you may be dealing with as it uses techniques from The Tapping Solution by Nick Ortner.

Check out these free meditations to help bring peace, calm and relaxation.

Pop quiz: which is more polluted, indoor air or outdoor air? 10 times out of 10, indoor air in your house, office or apartment is going to be worse than the air outside. Indoor air pollution has been ranked among the top 5 greatest risks to public health by the EPA, and stagnant indoor air allows pollutants to build up and stick to the things inside of your home.

The things in our homes emit some nasty toxic chemicals like formaldehyde for example. You can also be impacted by pollutants like pollen, bacteria, mold, and various outdoor contaminants that find their way inside.

Fortunately, houseplants can help us solve some of these air quality issues. Even if you don’t have a green thumb, these houseplants are basically impossible to kill. Let’s check them out!

1. Garden Mum

This plant was found by NASA to be a real air-purifying beast. It removes ammonia, benzene, formaldehyde, and xylene from your home’s air. It’s popular and inexpensive, plus they can be planted outside too.

2. Spider Plant

Spider plants are incredibly easy to grow, so if you’re a beginner, this is a great one to start with. It lights bright, indirect light and sends out shoots with flowers on them that will eventually grow into baby spider plants that you can propagate yourself. Before too long, you’ll have more spider plants than you’ll know what to do with.

3. Dracaena

There are over 40 kinds of dracaena plants, which makes it easy to find the right one for you. They remove benzene, formaldehyde, trichloroethylene, and xylene from the air. They are toxic to cats and dogs though, so if you have pets, you might want to think twice about this one.

4. Ficus

Ficus trees are a favorite of mine as they are able to grow quite large depending on the type of pot you have them in. They typically stand between 2 and 10 feet tall and have some serious air cleaning abilities. You can also keep it outside in the spring and summer. The ficus removes benzene, trichloroethylene and formaldehyde from indoor air.

5. Peace Lily

Not only does the peace lily send up beautiful flowers, but they’re impossible to kill and have great air cleaning abilities. They flower through most of the summer and prefer shady spots with moist but not soggy soil. It removes ammonia, benzene, formaldehyde and trichloroethylene.

6. Boston fern.

This plant likes cool locations with high humidity and indirect light. Bathrooms are a perfect spot for these little friends. They remove pollutants like xylene and formaldehyde from indoor air.

7. Snake Plant/Mother-in-law’s Tongue.

I see this one all over the place in offices and restaurants – and for good reason. They’re pretty much impossible to kill. They need water only occasionally and prefer drier conditions. They don’t need much direct sunlight either. They remove benzene, formaldehyde, trichloroethylene and xylene from indoor air.

8. Bamboo Palm

Bamboo palms are most effective at filtering formaldehyde. They thrive in full sun and bright light. They grow as high as 12 foot too, making them an incredible presence indoors. They remove benzene, formaldehyde and trichloroethylene.

9. Aloe Vera

Aloe is a multi-use plant for sure. It has health benefits when consumed in smaller amounts, helps relieve burns, and cleans your indoor air as well. It removes formaldehyde effectively from indoor air.

Image credit: F. D. Richards, Flickr