Injustices As I See Them

      Alvin H. Danenberg, DDS     Nutritional Periodontist
      August 29, 2016   [printfriendly]
 
 
     

InjusticesIt disturbs me when I see what I perceive to be injustices. I wrote about this before. Sometimes (not often) these injustices could involve life or death situations.

 

A Life or Death Example

An EpiPen® is a medical device that allows a person who is having a severe allergic reaction to administer epinephrine from this device instantly into their leg muscle. In just seconds, the epinephrine could save a life from a severe allergic reaction.

 

When I saw the news that Mylan, a pharmaceutical company, raised the price for its two-pack of EpiPens from $94 in 2007 to $608 today, I was appalled. People who depend on them also have to replace them every year because the effectiveness of the medicine expires. How could a responsible company and its executives make a lifesaving device so unaffordable to many who need it?

 

If the increase in the cost of production was necessary to raise the price, that could explain a rise in the retail price. But, if the increase in the cost of production was only the result of normal inflation over that timeframe, then what caused the huge price jump?

  • Could it be selfish executives of the company who wanted a bigger paycheck?
  • Could this be an example of price gouging since the EpiPen has no competition? It is the only device of its kind.

 

Just a few days ago, however, the CEO capitulated and said the cost of the EpiPen would be coming down through various discounts. In my opinion, this change of plan did not come from the goodness of the CEO’s heart. It came from the political pressures that were placed on the company and the overall outrage that was generated from the general public.

 

Another Pet Peeve

Here is another pet peeve I have that is nowhere as life threatening or ludicrous as the Mylan fiasco. I get annoyed by medical professionals who give the impression that they are sharing useful information with their readers over the Internet when if fact it is a guise to sell their products.

 

Recently I received an email from a medical person whom I highly respect. It was a lengthy email explaining how eating a different way could improve specific ailments that the reader might personally experience. As I read through the email, I expected some advice as to what to eat or what not to eat to improve that ailment. Some basic information was described. However, when I got to the end of the email, there was a button to click to get more information. That click took me to a page to subscribe (for a fee) to a series of weekly recipe plans that would be emailed to me so that I could eat healthier and rid myself of that ailment. How disappointing and tricky. The original email gave me no indication that there was going to be a sales pitch when I clicked for more information. So many Paleo-type recipes are available for free on the Internet.

 

Do I sound too self-righteous? I don’t mean to be.

 

Let Me Share

Anyone and everyone can recieve my 3-page document that describes the good foods, the bad foods, and the foods to eat in moderation in order to support a healthy body. I also post my original nutrient-dense recipes on my website. These are available for free to those who are interested.

 

I am not against the entrepreneurial spirit, and I am not against capitalism or making money. Not at all! I am against lengthy emails that appear to be informational, and then getting to the end only to find out it is a sales pitch disguised as quality content. Unfortunately, I see this sales tactic becoming more frequent.

 

Here are links to my 30-Day Reset Diet and my original Paleo Recipes. Also, here is my graphic of how a typical plate of food should be proportioned. All are free. Share them for free with whomever you wish.

 
 

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Gluten-Free, Nutrient-Dense Recipes

      Alvin H. Danenberg, DDS     Nutritional Periodontist
      August 11, 2016   [printfriendly]
 
 
     

Gluten-Free, Nutrient-Dense RecipesWhen I started my website slightly over two years ago, I added a Paleo Recipes section, which included my own original, gluten-free, nutrient-dense concoctions. A few recipes were traditional ones that I needed to tweak to make them conform to my primal eating lifestyle.
 
These foods support a healthy gut microbiome, which in turn supports a healthy mouth microbiome. Whenever possible, the ingredients are organic, and the animal products are either wild caught or pasture raised. And, all these dishes have stood the test of time in my kitchen since I make them frequently for my wife and myself.
 
There are 53 recipes on my website and growing. Take the time to scroll through this collection. I believe you will be impressed. Just thinking of them makes me salivate.

 

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My Favorite Paleo Recipes:
Perfect Healthy Mayo

evolution rLook at the ingredients in the mayonnaise you purchase from the store – a lot of additives are pumped into the jar. Especially troublesome are the seed and vegetable oils that make up most of the mayo. These oils have high levels of omega-6 fatty acids, are overly processed and easily oxidized, and are very unstable when they are incorporated into our human cells. Here is an easy-to-make and healthy mayo, which has become my family’s go-to-mayo for all dressing, spreading, and cooking needs. This is easily transformed into different dressings when you mix in various herbs and spices. Check out the Internet for some Paleo suggestions.
 
PERFECT HEALTHY MAYO

 
Ingredients:
 
1 egg (pastured, free range) at room temperature
1/2 tsp dry mustard
1/2 tsp sea salt
1 1/4 cups light olive oil (also known as tasting olive oil)
1/2 lemon (juice squeezed and at room temperature)
Stick Blender (ex: Cuisinart Hand Blender with 24 oz mixing beaker)
 
Preparation:
 
• Place whole egg, mustard, salt, and 1/4 cup of oil in mixing beaker. Be sure that egg is at room temperature
 
• Blend with Stick Blender until smooth
 
• Slowly drizzle in the remaining 1 cup of oil while continuously blending. The mixture will become thick and the consistency of mayo
 
• Add lemon juice (be sure it is at room temperature) and continue to blend until completely incorporated into the mayo. (If you add the lemon juice before this step, the mayo will have a looser consistency and will tend to separate later.)
 
• Refrigerate until needed. Yum!
 

Why the Tooth Fairy Gave Up Grains:
A Whimsical Tale

evolution rYou may think you know all about tooth fairies. As you know, they discreetly appear at night to exchange your child’s baby tooth, that’s tucked away under his or her pillow, for little trinkets. They flutter about with their cute big eyes and their huge smiles and their soft, silky wings. But what you probably didn’t know was that these precious little busy bees have been around for a long time. As a matter of fact, they have been around for tens of thousands of years.

 

These tooth fairies knew of a time when little boys and little girls hardly ever got tooth decay. In those days, mommies and daddies worked hard gathering and hunting food. The children ate all the good, nutritious foods that their parents brought to the table. Bodies were strong and lean, and teeth were white and straight. Adult teeth lasted a lifetime, as they were designed to do. But then, something changed, but the fairies didn’t realize it until much later.

 

About 10,000 years ago, certain foods were cultivated that slowly became part of almost everyone’s diet. The fairies didn’t think any harm was going to come from these new foods. But it did. In time, these foods started to damage the teeth of children and adults. All of a sudden, it seemed like many people started to develop toothaches and loose teeth and holes in their teeth. The fairies finally learned that something was wrong with these new foods. They learned that these foods – these grains – were the cause of the dental problems and other health problems that were beginning to plague humans.

 

Then, refined sugars became part of most human’s diets. And then, the fairies understood that these sugars added to the problems from grains. The fairies made a pledge to give up these grains and sugars and to try to tell everybody that these were not healthy foods.

 

The way the fairies used to eat, and the way humans used to eat before grains became so much a part of the diet, was the healthy way to eat. So the fairies became focused on a mission – to tell the world that grains and sugars needed to be avoided in order to regain dental health and overall health. You see, our bodies were never designed to eat these modern day foods. Our guts just couldn’t fully digest them, and these foods eventually upset our delicate balance. It took a long time for the fairies to realize that so many chronic problems were caused by these “foods”.

 

So, the fairies gave up grains and sugars and started to teach the world to be a healthier place. Most importantly, the fairies wanted to teach the children, whom they were meant to protect, to eat healthy.

 

To create healthy meals for your children, consider leaving grains and added-sugars out, and replacing them with healthy meats, fish, vegetables, fruit, nuts, seeds, and various spices. It is important to include leafy green vegetables at every meal. The foods hunter-gatherers ate for thousands and thousands of years are the foods that will allow healthy bodies of all ages to survive and thrive today. These food choices are part of a Paleo Lifestyle. A great book that describes the Paleolithic lifestyle is The Primal Blueprint Updated and Expanded (2012) by Mark Sisson.

 

Here are some of my favorite family books to help you design exciting food options for your kids as well as yourselves:

Nom Nom Paleo: Food For Humans, Michelle Tam and Henry Fong, 2013
Paleo Lunches and Breakfasts on the Go, Diana Rodgers, 2013
Practical Paleo: A Customized Approach…, Diane Sanfilippo, et al, 2012
The Paleo Primer, Keris Marsden and Matt Whitmore, 2013

 

Next time I’ll post some of my favorite recipes. Here are a few that I will post:

• Yummy and Oh-So-Healthy Smoothie
• Cracklin’ Italian-spiced Chicken Thighs
• No-Oat Oatmeal
• Plantain Pancakes
• Wild Caught Salmon Baked in Parchment Paper
• Homemade Ghee the Easy Way