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| Nutritionist and Author |
As Director of Education for the GMO Free Project of Tucson, I will be leading a Native Seeds/SEARCH (NS/S) Salon event about genetically modified organisms (GMOs) that are hidden in many foods and the health risks associated with them on Monday, May 21st, at 5:30 p.m. at the NS/S Store, 3061 North Campbell Avenue, in Tucson.
If you’re a little confused about nutrition, you have a right to be: Much of what we’ve been told about nutrition is just plain wrong. I plan to set the record straight in my author talk, “Going Against the Grain of What You Think You Know About Nutrition,” at 3:00 p.m. on Saturday, May 12, 2012, at the Joel D. Valdez Main Library, 101 N. Stone Ave., in Tucson, Arizona.
by Melissa Diane Smith
If you think few people care about non-GMO foods, it’s time to get that idea out of your head. Natural Products Expo West, the country’s largest natural products convention, which took place March 8-11, 2012, was abuzz with people talking about no GMOs in many different ways.
Natural Products Expo West is usually a good indicator of what’s coming in natural food stores and grocery stores throughout the country. At this year’s Natural Products Expo West, there were numerous lectures on GMOs, education about the federal and California GMO labeling initiatives, several companies saying they are in the process of taking the GMOs out of their products, and countless new Non GMO Project Verified food products. In fact, there are more than 6,000 products in the Non GMO Project now!
by Melissa Diane Smith
I covered my client Marcia’s dramatic changes in her health after going grain free and avoiding genetically modified foods last year in Nutrition News & Notes. I knew Marcia had wide-ranging improvements across the board in her health but I didn’t think much about how much money she was saving by not needing to see doctors nearly as much as she previously did before working with me. Recently during a coaching session over the phone, Marcia told me that she saved more than $7,000 last year in medical expenses, and together with her husband with whom I also work, they saved $12,000 in medical expenses last year!
by Melissa Diane Smith
More dog and cat owners are tossing out conventional kibble and feeding their pets against the grain.
A few years ago Melissa McLean Jory’s dog Fairbanks was so sick he couldn’t even lift his head off the ground. After he was diagnosed with autoimmune conditions and severe intestinal problems, Melissa, a nutritionist who has celiac disease, became convinced that Fairbanks had gluten intolerance, too. She shifted him to a completely grain-free diet, and Fairbanks regained his weight and health fairly quickly. Now, if Melissa gives him a dog biscuit that contains gluten (found in wheat, rye and barley), her dog immediately experiences health trouble, such as gastrointestinal problems, skin rashes, and reduced energy. “I believe without the dietary changes, he wouldn’t be here today,” Melissa says.
by Melissa Diane Smith
Good news for those of us who eat against the grain of the Standard American Diet: Trends we saw last year – locally sourced meat and seafood, locally grown produce, sustainable foods, healthful kids’ meals, and gluten-free cuisine – continue to be on the top ten list of restaurant trends for 2012. According to the National Restaurant Association’s “What’s Hot in 2012” survey of more than 1,800 professional chefs, the top ten menu trends this year include:
Are you starting 2012 off not knowing the basics about genetically modified foods and the health risks associated with them? If so and if you live in Tucson, there’s an easy way to remedy that situation: Attend a couple of short movies.
by Melissa Diane Smith
The gluten-free diet is one of the most talked-about and followed diets these days for good reason: It’s the nutritional answer for the growing number of people who learn they are gluten intolerant. However, few people realize it, but eating gluten free can harm health in other ways when we focus only on “gluten-free” and end up eating a gluten-free version of the Standard American Diet that leads to ill health. Many people are doing that, unknowingly making mistakes with their diet that lead to weight gain, elevated blood sugar, heart disease risk factors, new allergies, immune system problems, and more.
I will address these issues and the little-covered topic, “It’s Gluten Free but Is It Healthy?” at the Southern Arizona Celiac Support (SACS) general meeting on Saturday, January 14, 2012, at 10:00 a.m. In my presentation, I’ll explain the most common mistakes people make with the gluten-free diet that lead to health problems and cover key food concepts that promote better health. My presentation will take place at Pima Community College, 4905 E. Broadway Blvd., and will be immediately followed by book signings of Going Against the Grain and my follow-up book Gluten Free Throughout the Year.
Maybe you’ve never heard the term “GMOs.” Maybe you’ve heard the term but don’t know what GMOs are, how they are created, or how they got into some of our foods without our knowledge. Or maybe you know what GMOs are, but have sketchy information about them and would like to hear more details so you can make up your own mind about them.
If any of these is the case, you’re in luck: I’ll be speaking about GMOs – genetically modified organisms and genetically modified foods – in the first-ever class in Tucson about GMOs, “Do You Know What’s Hidden in Your Food? A Primer on GMOs” from 6:30 p.m. to 7:45 p.m. on Thursday, Oct. 20, at Catalina Foothills High School. To attend, you need to register ahead of time for the class by phone at (520) 209-7551. For more details on the class or for details on how to register in person, by mail, or online, visit the Catalina Foothills Community Schools Current Offerings.
Copyright © 2011 Melissa Diane Smith
by Melissa Diane Smith
How to avoid genetically modified organisms when you also avoid gluten.
When Marcia Popp, a 50-year-old graphic artist, began a nutrition coaching program with me last year, she had numerous health problems, including multiple food and environmental allergies. She also had been diagnosed in 1990 with a systemic immune condition known as eosinophilia-myalgia syndrome (EMS), which she developed after taking tryptophan supplements that were later found to be tainted.
Marcia had already cut gluten out of her diet nine years earlier, so I advised some different dietary changes to cater to her other food intolerances. I knew that genetically modified organisms (GMOs) were implicated in allergies – and that the tryptophan that was linked to EMS had been produced using genetically modified bacteria – so I also recommended that she avoid the eight major genetically modified (GM) foods to see if it made a difference in her condition.