• strengthen the immune system, significantly and consistently
• improve liver health, and protect the liver from toxic damage
• improve lung health, and protect the lungs from toxic damage
• reduce compulsive and addictive behavior in adults and adolescents
• protect the brain, heart, and kidneys from functional and structural deterioration due to strain and aging
• improve outcomes in high-risk pregnancies
• reduce and health from inflammatory bowel disease
• improve surgical outcomes
• decongest (thin mucous)

Let’s start with one true thing: the real holistic approach to intense stress isn’t to survive it so much as it is to remove yourself from it whenever possible! Let that sink in. 

But sometimes, no matter how calm and in-touch-with-nature you try to be, two or three weeks hit you like a ton of bricks. Sleep deprivation, overwork, physical and emotional exhaustion. You can’t concentrate, you can’t sleep (but you really need to!), your blood pressure up, and it seems like every time somebody sneezes you catch their cold.

This is an article about surviving those times. Here are some other true things. 

1. Perhaps the most important thing you can do when dealing with unavoidable stress is to avoid avoidable stress.

How’s that for a tongue-twister? Now let me explain. Feeling “stressed” is a stressor. So are

exposure to cold, overexertion, low blood sugar, and sleep deprivation is a stressor. What they all have in common is the body responds to them them the same way. And in that sense they add up, physiologically. So maybe you can’t control the current crisis. BUT – you can make sure to eat breakfast (or at least grab a protein bar). Maybe you can’t back out of running that marathon. BUT – you can make sure to get a good night’s sleep. Etc.

2. Herbal adaptogens can be invaluable in dealing with all kinds of stress. Simply put, adaptogens are substances that increase the body’s nonspecific adaptation to stress, and the key word here is “nonspecific.” Think of it this way: a sweater will increase your resistance to the specific stressor of being cold, A cup of coffee may increase your resistance to the specific stressor of sleep deprivation.

Adaptogens, on the other hand, increase your resistance to all types of stress. They won’t make you feel warmer or more wakeful, but you will experience less immune suppression as a result of being cold, less fatigue as hard as a result of being sleep deprived, less blood pressure as a result of being anxious, etc.

What does this all mean in real-world terms? Well, let’s talk about the adaptogenic herb, Rhodiola rosea. In one study, Rhodiola or placebo was given to 60 medical students during a 3-week final exam period. After three weeks, the Rhodiola group outperformed the placebo group on tests of physical fitness and mental fatigue. They reported better mood and general well-being. They slept better. And they got better grades on their exams. 

In another trial 120 people were given either a single dose of Rhodiola or placebo before a series of proofreading tests over 24 hours without sleep. In the beginning, when everyone was fresh and rested, both groups performed the same. But by the end of the 24 hours, the Rhodiola group was making 88% fewer mistakes. Then there’s the classic swim-to-exhaustion test (which isn’t “nice” as animal research goes, but is classic way to measure fatigue). Mice are put in a tub of water and watched to see how 

long until they’re too exhausted to keep swimming. Rhodiola improved swimming times significantly – as did practically every adaptogen tested: ginseng (Panax ginseng), ashwaganda – (Withania somnifera), Siberian ginseng (Eleutherococcus senticosus), etc.

Now, Rhodiola isn’t the only adaptogen. Here’s the super-quick and abbreviated guide to choosing an adaptogen that’s best for you:

• For healthy athletes under physical stress: Siberian ginseng.
• For stress with anxiety, insomnia: Ashwaganda.
• For stress with lethargy and fatigue, for someone’s whose constitution is “damp” and “cold”: Panax Ginseng
• For stress that interferes with your cognitive performance, or when you need something to work quickly: Rhodiola Rosea.

3. Adaptogens mediate the response to stress. Other herbs are more directly calming.

Adaptogens reduce the longer-term response to stress, the ways that stress drain and deplete and rattle you. But sometimes you just need to relax directly. Consider herbs like Passionflower for stress that’s skyrocketing your blood pressure – and then it stays elevated even when your trying to relax; Kava when you need a stronger direct anxiolytic; theanine for a well-researched compound that appears to work safely with medications; CBD as an all￾purpose stress-reliever that may be safe to take in higher doses.

4. Use stimulant herbs judiciously. The #1-selling herbal product on Earth is an extract of Caffea arabica (a.k.a. “coffee”), and that’s because it works. I will never denigrate coffee. True, some people are sensitive to it nd/or overuse it. But for the vast majority of us, it appears to be, not just an acceptable vice, but actually good for you in a lot of ways. 

For real. Heart health, liver health, etc. So don’t drink 5 cups a day, every day, because that can wear you out. Pick your moments. 

Having said that, for some, a better choice may be the Argentinian drink called Maté, which contains mateine instead of caffeine. Mateine is longer-acting, and when it finally does wear off, it doesn’t wear off as abruptly as caffeine. And of course there’s green tea, which contains caffeine, and may just be the healthiest drink on the planet. The research is astounding. It also contains theanine, which can blunt the jittery-making effects of caffeine for some people. 

5. If you can sleep, do. But if you can’t…

I have personally found the medicinal mushroom, Cordyceps, to be remarkable. Cordyceps increases oxygen uptake from the lungs, and that has broad-reaching ramifications. I know, I know… “oxygenation” is an overused buzzword, used to sell everything from overpriced tap water, to raspberry-scented actual oxygen in aerosol-style bottles. Cordyceps, however, is the real deal. You can take a full dropper before bed, and wake up feeling like you’d gotten a little more sleep. Or you can take it in the evening, when it will help you stay up, but not interfere with me eventually sleeping. It’s invaluable for older folks who often take afternoon naps, when they can’t. You’ll figure out dosage and timing that works for you. 

I don’t normally mention brands, but Host Defense Cordyceps is excellent. I’ve used it for 25 years. Also, the Pine Mountain company makes a product called “Cordyceps Tablets” which combine Cordyceps with Rhodiola and one more adaptogen. My favorite formula for physical, cognitive, and sleep stress combined – not to mention it’s great for adapting to altitude. 

‘Tis the season when our beloved customers descend upon us in droves, asking after herbs and supplements to “boost the immune system.” 

Good news: there are supplements for that, and they do work.  

Zinc helps the immune system ramp up faster. NAC can reduce T-cell fatigue. Astragalus root and goji berry make those same T cells more vigilant, especially with viruses. American ginseng can reduce the effects of stress on immunity. Etc., etc. etc.   

HOWEVER – the more we focus on “boosting the immune system” or “supporting the wisdom of the body” the more we risk sacrificing efficacy to dogma. Yes, it’s great to support the body, and herbs can sometimes do that in ways that drugs can not. But you know what else herbs can do? They can KILL GERMS. They can be directly antiviral. They can be – in a word – allopathic. And we should not overlook the wonderful, effective herbs that do just that, just because of some idealized notion of how herbalism ought to differ from the pharmaceutical model.

More to the point, most of the support-your-immune-system herbs take a few days or weeks to really establish themselves. Great, long-term. Great, for recovery. Great, if you’re highly susceptible. But of dubious benefit when the next 24 hours is key.

Personally, I believe in using everything that works. And if I’m coming down with something, I want to hit it from as many angles as I can. But the #1 angle, for me, is stopping the virus directly.  Whether it’s a cold, flu, norovirus, molluscum, even COVID – we’ve got a toolbox full of winners. 

Let me name a few: 

Lomatium Root is native to the American Southwest, and one of those fantastic herbs that has almost no meaningful research behind it. Plus, it doesn’t come out of any of the big famous herbal traditions. So it always flies under the mainstream radar. But – it just works.   

I’ve used lomatium, personally and through recommendations, thousands of times. It’s (almost) always effective. Respiratory viral infections? Check. Systemic viral infections. Yes. Hepatic viral infections. I’ve seen the results. Topically, with viruses of the skin? Indeed. I don’t want to overstate my case here, and we should bear in mind that nothing is foolproof. But I’ve rarely found a viral situation in which lomatium can not make a significant dent.   

The drawbacks? It tastes awful. Also, there’s a small chance (~1%) that it gives you skin rash. The rash is often mild, but rarely not. It is not harmful. But it sure can itch.   

Lomatium is my personal #1, always. A “standard” dose is 30 drops of the tincture, 3 times a day. I lean towards much higher doses – 2 full droppers, 2-3 times a day. I once downed an entire 1-oz bottle during a 90-minute airport layover in Arizona, when I started coming down hard with what was almost definitely norovirus – chills, nausea, the whole nine yards. By the time I landed in Boston, I was 90% better. That’s lomatium for you.   

Isatis Leaf is native to China, where it is often called ban lan gen. It may be the single most widely used cold’n’flu herb in all of China. To call Isatis an “antiviral” is an oversimplification, since it works in a number of different ways, including through the immune system. It increases production of various cell-signaling molecules, to recruit a more robust immune response. Conversely, it is also anti-inflammatory, to reduce an excessive immune response.   

But Isatis is also a direct antiviral. In particular, it can inhibit viral adhesion, penetration, and replication: the trifecta. Isatis displays activity against influenza especially, but also coronavirus and foot-and-mouth disease. None of this research is especially strong, but when you add that to the two thousand years of tradition, it’s pretty compelling.   I’ve used it. It works. 

Elderberry is yet another directly antiviral herb. It may not be as broadly effective as the others, but it’s been consistently researched vs. the flu specifically. The real benefit here is, you can make nice sweet syrups from it, easy to give children. Still, though, if you can get the Isatis or Lomatium down, they’ll probably outperform Elderberry – vs. the flu and everything else. 

We cover this same topic every decade, but it’s always new, because there’s always a new generation of sufferers.  If “suffer” sounds like a big word for what’s basically a cosmetic condition… let me remind the grown-ups how miserable it felt when you were that age, how flat-out tragic every pimple and blemish could be.  It’s hard.  For real.   

So what is this scourge, exactly?

Inside our pores we have sebaceous glands, that produce an oily substance called sebum to protect the skin.  When those pores get clogged, it traps the sebum, and the pore swells.  (Testosterone, produced by both males and females, increases sebum production, which is how those mythical “raging hormones” make acne worse).   On top of that, clogged pores are an ideal home for the bacterium Propionibacterium acnes, which colonizes the pimple and may cause the area to become inflamed.  

So, what can we do?

Diet: Conventional wisdom says you are what you eat, and certainly nobody wants a face like an extra-cheese pizza.  So it makes a certain intuitive sense to limit fats and oils.  Having said that, the research doesn’t necessarily agree. A handful of studies have found a weak link between total fat intake and severity of acne. However, a number of other studies have found no link at all.

But that’s total fat.  And that’s all we could really talk about 10 years ago, last time I wrote one of these articles. (Although I did wonder aloud if new research might show a difference between what we might call “good fats” and “bad fats”…)  Today, we have the research to look at specific fats.  Long story short, traditional “bad fats” like we find in poorly raised meats and dairy products, corn oil, cottonseed oil, and fried foods can make acne worse, while diets rich in omega-3 fats, nut oils and fruit oils may make it better.

Other problem foods?  Chocolate is contributor.  And no, it’s not just the sugar.  They’ve even done studies on pure chocolate in pill form. 

High-glycemic foods (foods that spike blood sugar) make things worse.  So we should be less concerned with total sugars than sugars untethered from the protein, fat, and fiber that slow down digestion and absorption.  Here, whole foods and balanced meals are the key.

Finally, there’s dairy.  The research is especially damning here.  And as much as I’d like to make a case for healthier grass-fed dairy, I don’t think I can. Not here. The problem is inherent to the milk protein itself.   Cutting back on dairy 3-4 weeks will often help noticeably.

Foods that are good for acne?  Beyond a high-fiber diet, I can’t cite definitive research, so let me rattle off some opinions.  Eat a diet rich in whole plant foods.  And follow Michael Pollan’s maxim to eat “more leaves than seeds.”  I’d especially prioritize foods that support the liver: think radishes, burdock, turmeric, and artichoke.  Clean oils, and some sour and bitter tastes.  A simple dish of steamed greens with olive oil, lemon, and garlic would be fantastic. 

Zinc helps the immune system fight infections, is needed to process fats and oils in the body, and helps process testosterone. 13- and 14-year-olds have the lowest zinc levels of any age group, and acne sufferers are even worse off, with less zinc in their blood, hair, nails, and skin compared to others their own age. When you see this, and then remember how important zinc is for normal growth, wound healing, brain chemistry, and liver health, you’d probably want to take zinc, acne or not.

The research on zinc and acne is a little controversial.  On one hand, there are studies which show zinc to be just as effective as antibiotics in treating acne, with fewer side effects.  On the other, there are studies which show zinc to not be effective at all. Why the discrepancy?  Well, sometimes research just happens that way. But it’s worth noting that earlier studies used poorly-absorbed zinc sulfate and showed little or no effect.  More recent studies have had much better results using the better-absorbing forms of zinc.  I recommend the better absorbing forms including zinc picolinate, zinc gluconate and zinc monomethionine (“Optizinc”).

I recommend 30 mg twice a day.  Zinc may make you nauseous on an empty stomach, so take it with food. Also, zinc can displace copper in the body.  Most of us aren’t going to get copper-deficient, but for everyday use, you might want to take a zinc-copper combo, just to be safe.  Most people will notice a reduction in symptoms within two weeks.

Liver-cleansing herbs can also be a big boost for acne sufferers, and they work well together with zinc. Anything supportive of the liver should be helpful here, but what you really want are herbs that increase the production and flow of bile. Look for herbs like yellowdock and burdock, dandelion root, boldo, artichoke leaf, celandine and Oregon grape root. Planetary Herbals makes a nice combo product called Yellowdock Skin Cleanse. 

I mentioned Fiber briefly under Diet, but it deserves a special call-out here.  Soluble fiber can both reduce the glycemic impact of meals, as well as reduce excessive levels of testosterone. Diets higher in fiber are correlated with fewer pimples.

Period Support should also be considered for women whose acne flares in sync with their monthly cycle.  Here, consider 3 tablespoons of finely ground flax seed daily – all month long, or at least for the two weeks leading into the problem times. As the liver filters the blood and tries to reduce excess levels of circulating androgens, flax lignans can help. Vitamin B6 50 mg twice daily can also help balance hormones.  Please note, both of these supplements can improve general period symptoms, but neither are contraindicated in men or pre-teens, or “mess with your hormones” in any weird or potentially problematic way.  If your acne flares in sync with your period AND your period correlates with flares of temper, Chinese herbal formulas that reduce “liver heat” may also be helpful. Xiao Yao, or “Easy Wanderer” is the classic patent formula here. Expect your acne (and your temper) to get worse for a week or so until it gets better.

Finally, let’s talk bodycare.  A gentle facewash with a little tea tree oil may reduce total bacterial load.  Some people report benefit with sulfur soaps. And of course you want to go easy any makeup — even natural makeup — that may clog your pores. But what I really like is zinc.  Again, zinc.  On the face.  And one of the  best ways to get zinc on your face is… diaper rash cream.  Yes, diaper rash cream! Not all diaper rash cream is created equal. The German cosmetic company Weleda makes a Calendula Diaper Care which has been a store favorite for over 30 years — across all age groups.  (My grandmother never left home without a tube in her pocketbook.  She used it on her hands after every time she washed).  This cream is a great spot treatment to help resolve pimples faster. You just have to get over that it’s “diaper cream.”  But I’ve seen it help for decades, literally.  So get over it already!  Strange to think we’ve been around so long we’re writing about and selling the same products to the children and grandchildren of our first customers. 

Bergamot is a citrus tree, native to Italy.  Its fruit is green and wrinkly and tart.  The peel has an otherworldly aroma.  If you’ve ever had a cup of top quality Earl Grey tea, you know what I’m talking about.  That’s because Earl Grey is just black tea, scented with bergamot peel oil.  Bergamot is also a medicine.  Extracts of the fruit have been shown to have an often significant, sometimes dramatic, effect on blood cholesterol and other lipid markers of heart disease.  A 2019 review of a dozen clinical trials linked bergamot (in different doses, over different time frames) to drops in total cholesterol between 12.3 – 31.3%, LDL from 7.6 – 40%, and triglycerides from 11.3 – 39.5%.  Those are some impressive numbers.   

And artichoke is… well, we all know what artichoke is!   Botanically, artichoke is a kind of thistle.  (Which suggests it’s probably going to be good for the liver).  (Which it is).  Mostly, artichoke is one of our best medicines to lower cholesterol and other lipid markers of heart disease.  (To be clear, the leaf is used.  Artichoke as a food probably won’t accomplish much here).  Two systematic reviews on artichoke – one from 2018, the other from 2021 – found reliable drops in total cholesterol, LDL, and triglycerides.   

So, if you’ve got high cholesterol or triglycerides, you’d probably benefit from some artichoke or bergamot.  Or both. 

Why both?    

Well, most people won’t need both.  Both work just fine on their own.  Usually.  HOWEVER… 

Herbs are complex medicines.  A drug is one compound; an herb, many.  A drug has one mechanism; an herb may have many.  In the case of bergamot and artichoke, they both lower total cholesterol, LDL, and triglycerides, but they both do it in multiple, and different, ways.  Which is to say they’re not redundant; they’re complementary, even synergistic. 

Bergamot appears to target multiple metabolic pathways involved in cholesterol synthesis (basically, it helps us make cholesterol).  Artichoke appears to target mostly different metabolic pathways to reduce cholesterol synthesis, but also increases cholesterol secretion.  So you make less, absorb less, and get rid of more.  Plus, it makes your liver healthier.  In other words, they both target cholesterol from a few different angles, which gets you the same results while putting less of a strain on any one pathway.   

A 2022 study examined 60 people who in previous studies had responded poorly to bergamot.  Most people who take bergamot do get better.  These “tough patients” didn’t.  For the next two months, they were assigned to take bergamot and artichoke, or just placebo.  The results weren’t huge, but they were enough to make a difference.  Total cholesterol dropped by 13 mg/dl, and LDL (“bad”) cholesterol dropped by 17 md/dl.  They also lost weight and got thinner waistlines, even though they had been instructed not to change how they ate.   

It’s not unreasonable to have some small trepidation combining multiple drugs with each other.  What if they interact?  It’s also not unreasonable to have similar concerns about herbs.  However, with herbs, we need to really consider the possibility of synergy.  In the same way a great recipe transcends its star ingredient, a great herbal formula can transcend its primary medicine.  Not to say combining two cholesterol herbs is a “great herbal formula.”  For that, you want to look to the Chinese and Indian traditions, or a skilled and thoughtful practitioner, anywere.  Still, combining artichoke and bergamot is a start.  

This article could be a dozen pages long.  Let’s keep it to two.  To do that, we’re going to skip the whole intro where I make sure we all understand the difference between occasional episodes of sadness, frustration and bitterness vs. Major Depression (and everything in between); and warn you that if you have actual Major Depression and/or are contemplating self-harm, you’re going to want to seek help beyond what comes in a bottle.   

I’m assuming we all understand these things, so let’s move on.   

I’m also going to touch only briefly on comorbidities.  Suffice it to say, your mood can make other stuff worse.  On the flip side, other stuff can make your mood worse.  Makes sense, right?  We believe in addressing underlying causes!  So if you hurt all over, you’re running a chronic autoimmune response, you’re hung over, nutrient-deficient, diabetic and sleep-deprived, it’s not going to help your mood .  AND – herbs and drugs and talk therapy that will help your mood are going to have an uphill battle.   

Have a conversation, have a walk, have a rest, have a meal, have a sleep.  Take some ginseng.  Take some melatonin.  Find what works for you. 

 Saint John’s Wort (Hypericum perforatum) is an herb commonly used for depression, and usually the first one mentioned when people are writing these lists.  It’s safe and well-researched.  Having said that, it’s not very effective.  The vast majority of the research points to mild benefits only, in mild to moderate depression only.  My experience has borne that out.  In decades, I’ve never talked to anyone who was “wowed” by St. John’s Wort – except for two people both taking significantly higher than the standard dose.  By all means, try it.  But I think you can do better.   

Silk Tree (Albizia julibrissens) is my favorite herb for lowered mood, hands-down.  In China, it’s called He huan – “the tree of happiness” – and is central to numerous classic formulas.  In the U.S. it’s almost unknown.  Unlike St. John’s Wort, it has almost no meaningful research behind it.  Also, unlike St. John’s Wort: it really, really works.   

I always want to give credit where credit is due.  I was introduced to Silk Tree about 20 years ago by the great herbalist David Winston.  I’ve always held David in the highest esteem, for his decades of clinical experience, and his fluency in Chinese, Ayurvedic, Eclectic, and Cherokee herbalism.  His toolbox is extensive!  So when he said that Silk Tree was the best all-around herbal antidepressant he had ever used, I took notice.   

In my experience, Silk Tree starts to become noticeable after 4-5 days of consistent use in substantial doses.  I feel it’s especially helpful for what I might call “high-energy depression”: irritable, discontented, snappish, sleepless, can’t-sit-still.  (As opposed to low-energy depression: morose and unmotivated).  But it’s not limited to one or the other.   

Straight-up Silk Tree is effective, but I tend to recommend it in formulas.  Albizia-9 from the Seven Forests company is based around Silk Tree, rounded out with Chinese herbs that are generally relaxing and anti-anxiety. It’s a wonderful formula for depression layered with agitation and worry.  There’s also Grief Relief from David Winston’s Herbalist & Alchemist company.  Here, Silk Tree is combined with rose petals and hawthorn berries, for people who are “all over the place” and/or dealing with pangs of grief and loss.  It also tastes good.   

Saffron is well-researched in relation to mood.  A 2015 meta-analysis evaluated saffron in major depressive disorder across five clinical trials.  Two of the trials compared saffron to placebo; three compared it to mainline anti-depressant drugs Prozac® and Imiprimine.  It worked in every single trial.  It was highly effective relative to placebo, and every bit as effective as the drugs.   

The research has rolled on, largely focusing on the (more marketable?) benefit of weight loss – where saffron works by reducing the ways mood drives us to overeat.  (Also researched for: PMS, macular degeneration, neuroprotection, and some very intriguing stuff around Alzheimer’s).    

You can buy saffron in pills, and we sell them.  But I like to recommend saffron tea.  I don’t know why.  Maybe it’s just how I was taught to use it back in the day.  Place 10 threads high-quality saffron in a mug.  Pour boiling water over them, cover, and let cool.  Then drink it down, threads and all.  Do this 2-3 times a day.   You can also prepare a pitcher ahead of time, and save it chilled in the fridge. 

First, you have to get over the idea that “bacteria” is a dirty word. Yes, there are “bad” bacteria that can make you sick or kill you. Anthrax and bubonic plague come to mind. But there are also healthy, symbiotic bacteria that live naturally and helpfully in our guts, on our skin, in our mucous membranes (sinus, vaginal tract, etc.) And they play crucial roles in our health. Depending on the bacteria, they can: 

• maintain an active and balanced immune system 
• support detoxification in the liver 
• crowd out bad bacteria and yeasts 
• help us maintain a healthy weight & healthy mood 
• reduce risk of heart disease, dementia, and cancer 
• help us digest food more comfortably, and keep us regular 
• control body odor 
• reduce inflammation 

That’s a long list of benefits. I certainly wouldn’t expect all of them, from all fermented foods; certainly none of them overnight. But if you add traditionally fermented probiotic foods to your diet, you should expect to feel some benefits. 

Here are three superstar fermented foods, beyond yogurt. 

Kefir is often described as “drinkable yogurt.” But that name doesn’t do it justice. Yogurt is made from milk fermented with two or more strains of bacteria. Kefir is made from milk, fermented with a much more complex stew of bacteria and yeasts. The resulting product is more flavorful and biologically active than simple yogurt.   

Versus kefir, yogurt bacteria may have an edge around what we sometimes call “women’s health” (i.e. yeast infections and UTIs), and regularity. But Kefir can claim the anticancer and antiviral properties. I want to be clear, I’m not saying kefir is going to “kick COVID” or “cure cancer.” What I am saying is adding to the diet regularly will do some interesting things to increase our immunity and resistance. Plus, it’s basically drinkable yogurt.  

Sauerkraut and other Fermented Veggies. Pickling in vinegar is a modern, industrial process. The traditional method to preserve vegetables was to let them ferment, so that bacteria would in a sense “produce their own vinegar,” all the while adding live cultures and biologically active metabolites to the mix. Traditionally fermented veggies are a treat. All the flavor of a really good pickle or sauerkraut, plus all the benefits of a living food.   

Beyond sauerkraut, you can pickle almost anything from the garden. Favorites include: 

• Kimchee is basically a Korean-spiced sauerkraut. Available spicy or not-so-spicy; vegan or with fish sauce. 
• Curtido is a Salvadoran-flavored cabbage-and-carrot slaw. Great on taco night! I want to run a Curtido-based recipe in next month’s newsletter. 
• Cucumber Pickles can also be fermented.   
• Fermented Ginger Carrots are an old favorite of many of our customers. They’re especially nice with greens or grains, and a ginger-miso dressings. 
• Fermented Beets are vibrant, tart, and refreshing. They make a great dip with sour cream or cashew cheese. 
• Fermented hot sauces are a thing. Personally, I love the ones from Poor Devil Pepper Co.  

Finally, Natto is a unique Japanese fermented food created by incubating soybeans with the bacterium Bacillus natto. This bacterium isn’t normally considered probiotic, in the sense it doesn’t live in us. But during fermentation, it produces two compounds of profound value: the clot-busting enzyme nattokinase, and a form of vitamin K2 called menatetrenone (a.k.a. MK-4), which helps the bones incorporate calcium.  It’s not surprising that good epidemiologic data connects regular natto consumption with both lower rates of death from heart disease, and lower rates of fracture – associations not seen with other soy products.  Let’s talk about nattokinase and MK-4 for a moment.   

Nattokinase isn’t anti-clotting, in the sense it does not prevent clots from forming. What it does do is helps break down clots faster, and prevent them from snowballing to the point of danger.  So far, research indicates that nattokinase is quite safe, even in conjunction with blood thinners. And it’s consumed as a food regularly and without issue. But you should probably use caution around bleeding disorders.   

Menatetrenone is to my mind our most important vitamin for healthy bones. I’ve written about it in this newsletter so many times, I’m not going to write about it again. Let me just say: our most important nutrient for healthy bones. There. 

Traditionally, natto is served as a topping on rice or salads, or as a filling in sushis. It has a texture texture that is either delightfully smooth and unctuous, or unpleasantly slippery and slimy, depending on your take. I think a good rule is: if you don’t like the texture and mouth feel of okra, you won’t like the texture and mouth feel of natto.    

I have no vested interest in selling canola oil to anyone.  I also don’t use canola oil at home. I just get frustrated when health misinformation proliferates.  So here we are.   

Canola History: Cultural and Agricultural

First, there was the rapeseed (from the Latin rapum, meaning “turnip,” to which the rapeseed plant is closely related).  People in Europe, India, and Asia have cultivated rapeseed for thousands of years. It’s a hardy plant, with high yields, especially suited to the colder climates of the Northern hemisphere.

Unfortunately, rapeseed has a naturally bitter flavor, due mostly to a compound called erucic acid.  So rapeseed was mostly used to feed livestock, to light oil lamps, and to lubricate machinery. On top of that, even if people were inclined to look past the bitterness, research in the 1960s began to implicate erucic acid in heart disease, in dogs and rats.  Even though there was no evidence of harm in humans (and even though it was rarely used as a food), regulators jumped in to keep erucic acid out of the human diet. Rapeseed oil became illegal in the US for human consumption – alongside its close cousin, mustard oil, for the same reasons.   

In retrospect, that may have been a bad choice.  Recent research suggests erucic acid is actually good  for us. You can read a more about erucic acid pros and cons here

The thing is, rapeseed is hardy in Northern climates.  It would clearly be a boon to farmers, if they could grow it.  So in the 1970s, botanists in Canada bred a new rapeseed cultivar with lower levels of erucic acid.  (To be clear, they actually bred it the old-fashioned way. This was a non-GMO process!) This new oilseed plant had the same hardiness, the same high yields, but much lower erucic acid, and it tasted neutral.  Win-win.   

Canola History: Market Acceptance

Next step was getting people to trust this newfangled creation.  Turns out, names matter, and not everyone is fluent in Botanical Latin. So the marketing people finally addressed the elephant in the room, and rechristened this new cultivar “Canola” (from “Canada Oil Low Acid.”)      

This all happened in the mid- to late-1970s.  Meaning canola entered the market just when Public Health was enter a period of intensely dogmatic black-and-white thinking about fats and oils.  In short: we were told saturated fats were BAD, and unsaturated fats were GOOD.  All of which made highly polyunsaturated Canola oil very, very, very good indeed! At least that’s how it was marketed. And then the press and the health authorities took it and ran with it.  

BUT – saturated fats are not all bad, and unsaturated fats are not all good.  And the thing is — and here’s my personal analysis, take it for what it’s worth — when some presumed authority overstates their case, people tend to counterbalance the first overstatement with an equal and opposite overstatement of their own.  It’s a natural human tendency: we want to swing the pendulum back, hard.  As I see it, that’s what’s happened with canola.  It’s why some people say canola oil is toxic, a genetically modified carcinogen that bespoils the precious bodily fluids of America’s youth.  

Again, the psychosocial analysis is mine, and mine alone. But let’s take a closer look at the science.  

Canola Truth

Some people say canola genetically modified.  Yes, a new strain of GMO canola was developed in the 1990s, to withstand toxic herbicides. But organic canola is not genetically modified.  Period.   

Some people say canola oil is extracted from the seed using the toxic solvent, hexane.  Much non-organic canola oil is; by law (and by practice) organic canola oil is not.  Period. 

Some people say canola is full of unstable polyunsaturated fats that can go rancid, become trans-fats, and feed inflammation.  I agree!  Canola oil does not store well for years and years; it does not stand up to very high heat well for hours and hours in the fryer.  Still, that’s no reason fresh, clean canola doesn’t have a place in salad dressing, or to cook at lower temperatures for shorter periods of time.    

Some people say canola oil is bad for the heart.  I’m frankly having a hard time understanding this.  It has been so extensively researched, so consistently shown to be beneficial.  It may not be quite as beneficial as olive oil.  But it’s no slouch.     

Some people say canola oil will give you cancer.  There’s a tiny glimmer of truth in there. Again, it oxidizes more easily than other oils.  Oxidized foods can be carcinogenic.  And again, this can be solved by consuming fresh (i.e. non-rancid) canola, and not leaving it in the fryer all day.  

Some people say canola oil is somehow bad from the environment. Recent, complex Scope-3–level analysis of seed-to-bottle lifecycle has actually shown a lower carbon footprint for canola oil than most other oils — depending on where it’s grown. The colder, and more northerly the climate, the better.

To my mind, the three real arguments against canola oil are: 

1. It doesn’t taste like anything.  (I suppose that’s a con and a pro). 
2. It doesn’t have any special health properties, like olive oil, sesame oil, and coconut oil. 
3. It doesn’t stay fresh as long as some other fats.   

But to shy away from it by default is just silly.

Throughout my life, smoothies have been a staple, a balm, a lifesaver.  The idea is simple, and the execution is simpler.  You dump a bunch of things in the blender; 30 second later, you have breakfast.  Done right, it’s that old cliché – delicious AND nutritious.  And reasonably inexpensive. And very little to clean up (especially if you drink from the blender!) 

Smoothies are great for the whole family, too.  Adults and teenagers, older folks who might otherwise drink Ensure™, little children and even infants.  My daughter was less than a year old when we started giving her sips.  By two, it was the daily breakfast.  She’s five now, and they’re still breakfast most weekdays.  I feel great about doing it, and you should do.  Especially when you’re trying to round out a diet that gravitates to the beige.  They’re a fantastic vehicle for all sorts of nutrition.  I mean, you don’t want to try and put all your herbal supplements in the blender.  Not all of them taste good…  But fish oil, vitamin D, probiotics, fiber supplements, Lion’s Mane mushroom for brain support, even a little immune-strengthening astragalus root – no problem!  

Supplements notwitstanding, our smoothies are still mostly what you’d call “culinary,” i.e. made from real food ingredients that taste great.  So let’s start there.   

SMOOTHIE RULES 

1. There are no rules.  However, there are guidelines… 

2. A smoothie needs weight and heft.  And by that I mean protein and fat (and ideally fiber).  I can not stress this enough.  Just plain blenderized fruit may taste sweet, but it will not satisfy.  Even a single spoonful of cashew butter, or a half-cup of full-fat yogurt, and your erstwhile slushy will transform into a deeply satisfying meal.  Add a big scoop of high quality protein powder, and it will keep you running through lunch. 

What else adds weight and heft? 

• Full-fat yogurt has protein, fat, and probiotics.  
• Any kind of nuts and seeds 
• Raw cacao powder is a surprisingly fiber-rich food, with a decent amount of fat to boot. 

• Half a block of tofu, or some boiled eggs go right in the blender, no problem.\ 
• Avocado is a smoothie superstar 
• Don’t underestimate ricotta cheese.  It’s a lean, mean, protein machine! 

I try to follow the “three-egg rule.”  In other words, I shoot for the amount of fat and protein I’d get in 3 hard-boiled eggs at least.   

3. You don’t always need a great blender, but…  it sometimes helps!  I like the flexibility of putting whole nuts in my blender, not just nut butters.  I like adding flax seeds sometimes.  I’ve even made a “carrot cake smoothie” with raw carrot, dates, and cardamom.  For that kind of roughage, a Vitamix-level machine is necessary.   

4. Use something frozen.  You just get a nicer texture when you do.  Frozen fruit is great.  I always have one or two kinds in the freezer.  And if you have fresh fruit, freeze it!  (Obviously, peel the banana or section the apple first).  This is a great way to salvage fruit that’s past its prime.  I’m no longer afraid to buy bananas!  

If you don’t have frozen fruit, drop in a handful of ice cubes.   

5. Be ready to spend money on ingredients – to start.  Smoothies are not expensive on a per diem basis. But your startup costs – when you buy a 2-pound sack of protein powder, 5 pounds of frozen fruit, chia seed, probiotics, nuts, oils, etc. all at once — will be significant.  Just try and remember, you’re buying 2 weeks’ worth of breakfast.  

6. Embrace creativity!  More than any other “genre” of food, smoothies are about improvisation and using what you’ve got. Take these recipes as suggestions only. Follow the format of: some sweet, some fat, some protein, some fiber, and whatever comes out will be good. 

THE “UNICORN PRINCESS”  

I make this all the time, but I just named it today.  Because it needs a name.  And it’s pink.  And rosy.  I use more fruit and less water in this one, since watermelon is already pretty watery. 

• 2 C cubed watermelon 
• 1 big splash rose water 
• 1 Tbsp raw honey 
• 2 Tbsp macadamia or cashew butter, or coconut manna 

• A little bit of water 
• 1 scoop-and-a-half of sweetened vanilla protein powder 

THE “PEAR HALVAH”  

Sort of a Persian / Middle Eastern flavors, I think.  Sesame is one of the world’s healthiest foods! 

• 1 ripe bosc pear, cored leave the peel on 

• 3 Tbsp sesame tahini 
• 1 fat pinch cardamom 
• 3-6 pitted dates pitted Medjool dates 
• A good amount of water 
• 1 scoop sweetened protein powder 

THE “FUDGIE NORTHWEST”  

All the dark colors and strong flavors make this an antioxidant powerhouse.  This one, you want a strong blender for, and you’ll want to run it a long time to puree the hazelnuts.   

• 5 oz frozen dark cherries 
• ½ C toasted hazelnuts 
• ¼ C raw cacao powder 

• A good amount of water 
• A small glug dark amber maple syrup 
• 1 scoop sweetened protein powder 

_{Image courtesy James Palinsad via CC BY-SA 2.0 license. Image was cropped.}

(4 theoretically “bad-for-you” foods that that are much better for you than you might have heard…)

Whenever your fearless editor is too lazy, uninspired, or too behind-schedule to write an actual article, he writes a list 

1.Nuts?

So often, we get caught up in what a food “has” vs. what a food “does.” Yes, nuts have a decent collection of nutrients. Magnesium, manganese, vitamin E complex, fiber, protein, lignans, prebiotics, healthy fats, etc. But what nuts do transcends what we understand about their nutrient content. Here, we focus primarily on heart disease, weight loss, and all-cause mortality (i.e. death).  

All-Cause Mortality is a term used in medical and public health research to refer to dying of any cause during the study. It’s often the best way to capture population-wide effects of a food, a drug, or an exposure. According to a number of large, high-quality reviews, people who consume an ounce of more of nuts a day die on average 19% less (during the study periods). Most, but not all, of the benefit can be attributed to reduction in cardiometabolic disease – stroke, heart attack, and how the body processes blood sugar. These results exceed other superstar foods and diets – vegetables, fish, and even the vaunted Mediterranean Diet. 

According to a number of high-quality studies, nuts support weight loss. Epidemiology shows that people who eat nuts tend to be fitter. Clinical trials show people have better success losing weight when they substitute nuts for other foods, even healthy foods. Nuts make it easier to stick to a diet, and make the diet more effective. PLUS – nuts mitigate the ill effects of overeating. They blunt spikes in blood sugar. They lower bad cholesterol, and raise good cholesterol.   

So, are all nuts created equal? Of course not! Unfortunately, it’s hard to really pin down the pros and cons. The research is almost always Nut vs. Placebo, or Nut vs. Other Kind of Food – never Nut vs. Nut. I tend to prefer walnuts, hazelnuts, pecans and pistachios for the heart disease and metabolic benefits. Brazil nuts are great, but probably too rich in selenium to eat lots of all the time. Cashews are probably a second-tier nut, so to speak.   

If you have a hard time digesting, soaked/sprouted nuts will help. They taste better too. 
And then pine nuts! Well, there are Siberian pine nuts, Korean pine nuts, and Mediterranean pine nuts. There are dozens of species. Some people react poorly to Chinese pine nuts. They experience a metallic taste for days after eating them. Generally speaking, pine nuts may be extra special for their ability to reduce reflux and heartburn. 

2.Pesto?

Another fatty, yummy food, so of course we’re trained to think of it as bad for us. It certainly doesn’t help perception that we associate it with pasta, pizza, and other indulgences.  But – good pesto is a health superstar.

   
What is pesto? Literally, the word is Italian for “paste.” Technically it can apply to all manner of coarsely or smoothly ground sauces and spreads, generally made from some combination of fresh herbs, nuts, oil, garlic, and hard cheese.     The most familiar to many of us pesto alla Genovese: basil, pine nuts, olive oil, garlic, and Parmigiano Reggiano cheese. And why is this a health food?  Look at what’s in it!  First, we start with basil.  Culinary herbs – especially leafy aromatic herbs from the Mediterranean – are some of our most powerful, most protective antioxidants, packed with phytonutrients that could put blueberries to shame.  And then nuts.  We already covered nuts.  If you do it right, you buy pesto (or make pesto) with pine nuts, or some other kind of “nice” nut.  Extra virgin olive oil is of course a winner.  Garlic is a winner. And a little high-quality grass-fed hard cheese just seals the deal. Pesto is remarkably nutrient-dense. 

I’ve made all kinds of pesto. I’ve made pesto with pistachios – with purple basil and curry leaves. I’ve used made a vegan pesto with basil, parsley, hemp seeds, and brewer’s yeast. 
You can find some old pesto recipes from our newsletter here, here, and here.

3.Mustard Seed Oil?

If you’ve ever tasted food in Northern India or Nepal, and it has a certain subtle, pungent je ne sais quoi you can’t get at home, chances are it’s the mustard seed oil. It’s got a horseradish-y bite, without being overtly spicy. One journalist called it “untamed.” It’s got a high smoke point, so it’s great to cook with. It’s also rich in healthy, isothiocyanates, which promote detoxification on the cellular level. Dozens of published studies connect isothiocyanates with lower cancer risk.

So it’s delicious, it’s good for you… AND – in United States, it’s illegal because, apparently, it’s hazardous to your health. To be specific, it’s illegal to sell mustard oil for use in cooking (yes, a loophole suggests itself; read on!) Meanwhile, it’s still legal elsewhere, and sometimes even recommended as a healthy choice by the local authorities.  

The controversy centers around erucic acid, a naturally occurring fat that accounts for ~25% of the mustard oil by weight. Going back to the 1970s, series of lab reports showed that erucic acid caused rats to develop dangerous fatty deposits around their hearts. So in 1976, the FDA banned it. (Technically, the agency banned any oils with 5% or more erucic acid). The thing is, rats metabolize erucic acid differently than people. Differently than most animals. It turns out erucic acid isn’t toxic to pigs. Or dogs. And it appears to not be toxic to humans (although to be fair large-scale, long-term 100% conclusive clinical trials have not yet been conducted).   

So now you can buy mustard-flavored oil.  (The word “flavor” is usually in small print).

Or you can buy low-erucic acid mustard seed oil specially bred to meet FDA criteria by keeping the EA under 5%, all while tasting as neutral as possible.  You’ve seen this before; they call it “Canola oil.” Nothing wrong with a good, fresh, organic canola oil. But it’s not the same.

OR — you can buy the real thing – organic, cold-pressed, and packed in amber glass to maintain its freshness – but legally it’s gotta say it’s a “massage oil.”   

Personally, I feel good cooking with mustard oil.  I use it in a Nepali-inspired (“Sekuwa”-style) marinade for grilled chicken or tofu. (Per 1 pound protein, try ½ C Greek yogurt, ¼ C mustard oil, 1 tsp each garam masala, turmeric, cumin, garlic paste, ginger paste, and salt).  Or in coconut mustard fish curry.  It makes the best palak paneer, and even better  saag paneer). 

OR — you can buy the real thing – organic, cold-pressed, and packed in amber glass to maintain its freshness – but legally it’s gotta say it’s a “massage oil.”   

Personally, I feel good cooking with mustard oil.  I use it in a Nepali-inspired (“Sekuwa”-style) marinade for grilled chicken or tofu. (Per 1 pound protein, try ½ C Greek yogurt, ¼ C mustard oil, 1 tsp each garam masala, turmeric, cumin, garlic paste, ginger paste, and salt).  Or in coconut mustard fish curry.  It makes the best palak paneer saag paneer).   

4.Coffee?

When Debra’s first opened in 1989, we didn’t sell coffee. Coffee was “bad for you” – according to many health food gurus of the day.

Well…. they were wrong.   In addition to all the obvious benefits (i.e. how we actually feel on a nice cuppa), we now see good evidence that regular moderate/reasonable coffee consumption is linked with a lower risk for:  

• Type II diabetes 
• Stroke 
• Coronary artery disease
• Parkinson’s disease
• Cirrhosis, and other kinds of liver disease 
• Alzheimer’s  
• Kidney disease 
• Colon and liver cancers 
• Depression, up to and including attempted suicide
• Premature mortality in general

Now to be clear, it’s hard to tease correlation from causation in some of this research. In other words, we can’t always discern if coffee is itself protective, or if it’s simply a marker for other positive traits and behaviors, i.e. having sense of purpose, and a reason to get up in the morning. I’d argue it’s probably a combination of both. But – mostly the coffee. And what about coffee is responsible for these miracles? Is it the caffeine?  Well… maybe. To a certain degree. But coffee is also rich in phenolic compounds like chlorogenic acid, which multiple documented, protective benefits. The bitterness of coffee is a stimulant to liver, gallbladder and pancreatic function.  (Don’t underestimate the importance of bitterness and sourness, especially in the context of a fatty and heavy modernized diet). Whatever role caffeine plays, it’s certainly not the only player in the beverage.   

(and if the acidity of regular coffee bothers you, consider alkaline BioCoffee — our #1-selling grocery item in the entire store!)Can we drink too much coffee?  Well, of course.  And how much is too much? The answer may surprise you.  Three to five 8-oz cups is considered “moderate.” And moderate is what we’re aiming for.  Long story short, if the amount you’re consuming feels good — doesn’t leave you jittery or anxious or sleepless – it’s probably a right amount for you.