Ben's blog

After the last post on raw milk safety I have had some great discussions with friends and colleagues regarding the 'evidence' that is typically put forward apparently condemning the safety of drinking unpasteurised milk.

The Daily Mail reported a story on 13th September 2011 entitled ‘The government should stop promoting exercise as a weight loss measure...and we should just eat less’ as a result of a statement recently made by Lord McColl of Dulwich. We felt this bold stance need some comment on our part as diet and exercise play such a critical role in weight management.

Natural Food Finder Annual Conference

'The WHOLE Truth'

The Ecologist published a small article today asking the question if it is best to source local food, or organic food. This is a very interesting question with a simple answer.

Monosodium Glutamate, abbreviated to MSG, has become one of the most commonly added additives in popular fast and convenience foods today! It stimulates the taste buds with the sixth taste, known as umami.

The new year always brings with it a chance to review the past, take stock and make new, positive goals for the future. It is often a time when people make resolutions to do better with their diet, their exercise habits and generally in taking care of their health and the way they look. For some this may well lead to a much improved future and a significant change for the better.

I read this article when it was first published in the Weston A Price (WAP) Journal in 2007 and was impressed by this new concept. In November 2010 at the annual WAP conference near Philadelphia, Dr Cowan delivered an excellent lecture on this same topic. This inspired me to post his article on the site for your benefit.

Christmas Turkey

Turkey's scientific name is Meleagris gallopava (mel-e-AY-gris-low-PAY-voe) from Latin gallus, meaning cock, and pavo, meaning chickenlike. Meleagris is the Roman name for guineafowl, suggestive of the early confusion of the turkey with guineafowl.

After several years of discussion and debate, the topic of levying a 'fat tax' on certain food products continues to rear it's ugly head in both the press and the government. The Daily mail reported on 11th November 2011 that

Milk is normally considered to be a food of the agricultural age which is said to have begun approximately 10,000 years ago. However, archaeological evidence indicates that in regions near the Red Sea that fences were used to confine and breed antelopes for their milk more than 30,000 years ago (Schmid, 2003).

I recently had someone comment 'Yuck, soy is bad for you!' This made me realise that often a thread of information can get out there to the extent that it is easy to blacken a whole subject area in one fell swoop.

Great day! Beautiful location! Superb speakers! Mouth watering food! All in all it can confidently be stated that this conference was a success. Sheepdrove organic farm eco-conference centre played host to the 2010 Natural Food Finder conference on Friday 24th September.

The modern mass food outlet has quite rightly earned the title of the 'super' market. This is because they have become marketing masterminds and know exactly what it takes to increase the sales at the checkouts. It is simply astounding the lengths that these corporations go to to make maximum profit.

The major supermarket chains like Tesco, Sainsbury's, Asda, Morrison's and Waitrose currently service 80% of the British public with their weekly food. Asda is owned by American food giant, Walmart, the number one supermarket and financially successful company in the USA. Tesco's is the 3rd leading global supermarket behind Walmart and French hypermarket giant, Carrefore.

The news today has reported on a new merger between cereal giant Kellogg's and the Ajinomoto company of Japan, the inventor of the world's most widespread flavour enhancer.

The processed food industry has been experimenting with different ingredients and compounds from all imaginable walks of life for many years. Not all of them turn out to be successful, but some have proven helpful in food production and become common in many processed foods today. We often think that if it is naturally sourced it must be good for us.

During June the National Institute of Clinical Excellence in the UK released new guidelines regarding nutrition and its effects upon cardiovascular health. Today the American USDA released their first draft of their revised 2010 nutrition guidelines.

Cod liver oil is a unique food. We often think of it as a supplement because it is usually sold as a dosing liquid or increasingly in capsule form. The reality is it is an oil, just like olive, vegetable or coconut oil. It is only needed for good health in relatively small daily amounts.

The mainstay of healthy nutrition for 40 years now has revolved around eating more plant foods and minimising fatty animal foods.

Soft drinks are probably acknowledged by most people to be a source of fluid that probably isn't the healthiest option. However, there is one type of soft drink that seems to carry with it an air of elitism - the sports and energy drink! Why is that these drinks don't seem to carry the same concerns for the potential to negatively affect health?