Cooking anything at high heat seems to produce some toxic chemicals. Acrylamides which are found naturally in a variety of cooked foods are linked to cancer. Once again, the higher the heat the more of these compounds are formed. Acrylamides form in cooked carbohydrate rich foods like bread, pasta and potatoes. Much to my dismay it seems as if potato chips have the highest amount. Research from a Dutch study showed that women who ate higher amounts of acrylamides had double the risk of ovarian or womb cancer. So you might want to throw out that piece of toast that got slightly burned since scraping off the burned part does not really help or think about not eating those potatoes that are fried golden brown.

Marinating meat in red wine seems to help cut down on the formation and also microwaving meat for as little as 2 minutes before you grill it can cut down on them significantly. There are 3 things that can help counteract these compounds. The first is tea polyphenols. Polyphenols are anti-oxidants that help fight off disease basically by neutralizing something called free radicals* that form in the body. Free radicals can cause damage to cells. So drinking tea (green tea is best) and eating foods rich in anti-oxidants like blackberries, blueberries, cherries, cranberries, broccoli and legumes can help fight the effects of HCA’s and acrylamides. Also resveratrol which is an anti-oxidant found in red wine is good so taking a resveratrol supplement will benefit you without getting the alcohol. Diallyl trisulfide which is a compound found in garlic also helps to neutralize the toxic effects of HCA’s and acrylamides.

Take a look at my healthy chocolate it is chock full of anti-oxidants: www.mxi.myvoffice.com/kimberlycamacho . Also, the powdered superfoods that I get from www.superorganicfoods.com are full of antioxidants and are easily mixed into a protein shake. I am currently taking the bilberry, aronia and acai powders. I throw them in my smoothie in the morning. See my smoothie recipe. It is a free-radical fighting power drink!

*Free radicals are basically unstable atoms in the body (everything in this universe is composed of atoms. An atom is basically the smallest unit of something). Some are byproducts of normal metabolism and some are from environmental factors such as pollution, radiation, pesticides, herbicides and cigarette smoke. Free radicals cause damage to cells and free radical damage accumulates with age. Atoms have smaller particles that revolve around them called electrons. Free radicals are short an electron which makes them very unstable and able to cause damage. Anti-oxidants give up one of their electrons to the free radical therefore neutralizing its bad effects. Even though the anti-oxidant gives up an electron and is therefore short an electron, it is still stable in either form so it does not become a free radical itself.

I am not a big coffee drinker although I do like coffee I just do not handle the caffeine very well. My husband has one cup of coffee in the morning so I was looking for some healthy coffee for him. I came across a coffee that has a mushroom extract called Ganoderma. It has been studied in Japan for over 30 years and has been shown to be safe. It is supposed to help with high blood pressure, improve circulation, help the immune system and increase energy according to the literature. The coffee comes in little packets that you just add water to. It is the only brand that actually lists the milligrams of the Ganoderma (it is on the website) so you know how much you are getting. I would drink this myself if it came in decaf but it does not. I have a website for this coffee it is www.ganobrand.com/june Only after using the coffee for about a year did I decide to this. If you decide to purchase please do so through my site. The coffee is not very expensive. I have not tried any of the other products yet.

Kombucha (pronounced kom-BOO-cha)

This is a handmade Chinese teas that is delicately cultured for 3o days. During this time, essential nutrients form like: Active enzymes, Probiotics, Amino Acids (building blocks of protein) and Antioxidants. I love, love, love this stuff! The brand I like best is Synergy. It is an organic and raw food. They have a lot of different flavors but my two favorite are Gingerberry and Guava. It comes in a 16 oz bottle and the Gingerberry only has 70 calories for the entire bottle. The ingredients are organic raw kombucha, blueberry juice and fresh pressed ginger juice and 100% pure love according to the bottle. I can detect the love but it is probably my own because I really love this stuff! The bottle also states kombucha supports: Digestion, Metabolism, appetite control, weight control and body alkalinity. Since it is fermented it is very “fizzy.” It has an alcohol content of less than 0.5% due to the fermentation. Be very careful when taking the lid off because of the fermentation (think uncorking champagne). Never shake the bottle! My husband and I joke it is like handling nitroglycerin so don’t jostle the bottles around too much when you bring them home from the store. You will probably have to get this at your local health food store.

Hibiscus Mint Tea

This is a great tea that you get loose or in tea bags. It is caffeine free. It is an independent company based in Austin, Texas. A percentage of the profits are donated to the people of Az-Zawart which is a village in northern Sudan. Projects for clean water, health and education improvement is what the money is used for. This is the best tea. You can serve it hot or cold. I like it cold with lemon or lime. It is very refreshing and has the most beautiful color so it is very nice to serve to guests. The website to order the tea is www.nilevalleyherbs.com It is the best tea I have found as far as a non-caffeinated variety. For healthy chocolate drinks, see my post on Chocolate!

I love hot chocolate especially on a chilly afternoon or evening and I have two that I like. The first one comes in individual packets by a company called Eco-Bella. They primarily do skin care and have developed a healthy hot chocolate called Instant Bliss Beauty Drink. It is all organic and has as much fiber as an apple plus other ingredients that help support healthy skin. I mix it with a cup of unsweetened vanilla hemp milk (I like Living Harvest brand. It is mild and tastes better than other brands). I heat up the hemp milk and then add the packet. It can be ordered in a 24 count box at  www.MyVitanet.com I have not personally ordered from this company yet.

There is also a powder that is a mix of raw cacao and maca (root vegetable from Peru that is chock full of minerals and also helps to promote a healthy endocrine system, think hormones) It can be ordered from  www.healthywiseorganics.com and is called Toucan Cacao Maca. It has no sweetener so you have to add your own. Here is my recipe:

1 heaping teaspoon of Toucan Cacao Maca (you can add a little more or less depending on how chocolaty you like it)
1 cup unsweetened vanilla hemp milk (Living Harvest brand)
1/8 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp. Volcanic Nectar blue agave nectar*
2-3 tsp. of Trehalose**

*agave looks like honey but it is made from a cactus and is low on the glycemic load scale. The glycemic load measures how quickly and how high a food raises blood sugar. Foods that raise blood sugar quickly make the body produce high levels of insulin which over time can lead to problems such as diabetes and obesity. Apparently, all agave nectars are not created equal. This brand has the seal that it is safe for diabetics. You can order it from www.volcanicnectar.com

**this is a sweetener found naturally in honey, mushrooms, lobster, shrimp and foods produced using baker’s and brewer’s yeast. It looks just like table sugar and is about half as sweet. It is also low glycemic. Trehalose strengthens cell membranes in plants and animals. It is associated with desert life forms that can be fully dehydrated yet be brought back to life even after intervals of as much as 2500 years. It is also being used to treat some diseases now. It can be ordered through www.endowmentmed.org

Xocai Squares

This is a small square of high quality dark chocolate that is processed so that all the anti-oxidants are preserved. I usually eat about 2 of these a day. The recommended dose is 3 squares a day. I get anti-oxidants from other things in my diet so I normally just eat 1 or 2 pieces of this a day. 3 pieces (3.5 oz) of the Xobiotic squares have an ORAC* value of 46,400. The same amount of blueberries has an ORAC value of 6,552. The Xobiotic squares have probiotics in them. There are several different types of chocolate from this company and they are all very good and have a high ORAC value. I actually just like the chocolate itself but it has the added benefit of being healthy. I am signed up with the company because I am on a monthly auto-ship. If you want to order or sign up I would appreciate if you would do it through my site which is www.mxi.myoffice.com/kimberlycamacho It will help fund my research and testing of all products.

Another treat that I really love are the hemp nut brownies with walnuts from a company called UliMana. They are not really brownies per say but more like fudge. There are about 6 pieces to the container. They are all organic and are sweetened with Agave nectar (a low glycemic sweetner). They are dark chocolate decadence although they are not super sweet in my opinion. You can order them from www.ulimana.com They have other chocolates but this is my favorite.

*ORAC stands for Oxygen Radical Absorbance Capacity. It is a measure of anti-oxidants. Anti-oxidants fight free radicals (basically free radicals are unstable atoms in the body). The theory is that organisms age because they accumulate free radical damage.