Monday starts the week and if you don’t abstain from meat at least once a week, why not start today? The Meatless Monday movement started to bring an awareness that by eliminating meat once a week brings relief in some way to the environment. It is also good to eliminate some fat consumption from your diet. So,to help you and your neighbour, go meatless for a day or two or three! I came across this article about bone density from the U.S. Department of Agriculture. I always thought that the only way to achieve strong bones was to eat large amounts of meat and drink milk. Therfore I attached this article for your perusal. Make it a Certified Meatless Monday! Make it a CM-LO day!
Nutrient Supports Bone Health Over Time
By Rosalie Marion Bliss
January 14, 2009
Findings from a new study suggest that natural pigments found in plants may help protect against bone loss in older men and women. Researchers funded by the Agricultural Research Service (ARS) reported the findings in a paper published online by The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.

The study was led by epidemiologist Katherine Tucker with the Jean Mayer USDA Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging (HNRCA) at Tufts University in Boston, Mass. Tucker directs the HNRCA’s Dietary Assessment and Epidemiology Research Program.

Other studies have consistently shown that fruit and vegetable intake is good for bones. Biological antioxidants in fruits and vegetables, such as carotenoids, protect cells and tissues from damage caused by naturally occurring oxygen free radicals in the body. Such plant nutrients may help protect the skeleton by reducing oxidative stress and thereby inhibiting bone breakdown or resorption.

The researchers examined potential effects on bone mineral density of overall and individual intake of several carotenoid compounds, including alpha-carotene, beta-carotene, beta-cryptoxanthin, lycopene and lutein+zeaxanthin.

For the observational study, the researchers tracked changes in bone mineral density at two areas of the hip and lumbar spine of male and female volunteers, aged 75 years on average, participating in the Framingham Osteoporosis Study. Among these volunteers, 213 men and 390 women were measured at the beginning of the study and four years later.

Over the course of the four years of the study, carotenoids were associated with some level of protection against losses in bone mineral density at the hip in men and at the lumbar spine in women. No significant associations were observed at the other bone sites.

The results suggest there is a protective effect of carotenoids, particularly of lycopene, against bone loss in older adults. The researchers concluded that carotenoids may explain, in part, the previously observed protective effects of fruit and vegetable consumption on bone mineral density.

To look up the levels of individual carotenoids in selected foods, go to “Reports By Single Nutrients,” provided by the ARS Nutrient Data Laboratory at:
http://www.ars.usda.gov/Main/docs.htm?docid=15869

ARS is a scientific research agency of the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

Whew! I just returned from Walt Disney World. The family had a great time but dining was always a burden. It seems to me that there are not a lot of CM-LO friendly options at the resort’s numerous restaurants. Many times a certain seafood dish had mixes of meat and or meat sauces. Especially on last Friday, the first Friday of Lent, extra caution had to be taken. I had to ask for substitute preparation for the food so that I could be completely meatless. It is tough to dine out unless you see a vegetarian dish listed. But you also need to ask what the components of the sauce are as well. A great percentage of chefs will use chicken broth in lieu of plain water or milk for many of their sauces. This as you know is not a CM-LO food. Vegetarian stock should be used. If you make a chicken dish use chicken broth. If you are cooking fish or seafood, then make a stock with just the fish and no meats. I was floored to see a clams and mussels dish with sausage buried in the stock. Always beware and ask! If your waiter doesn’t know then ask the cook! By the way, the Disney waiters are well informed and will tell you the specifics of the dishes if asked! Food for thought and food for Lent. CertifiedMeatless is the best! Make it a CM-LO day!

How did it go yesterday? Ash Wednesday is the first day to become CertifiedMeatless? If you had trouble finding food choices, then you did not consult the experts at CM-LO! Take a look today to plan your meals for the next 40 days and beyond!

Hello all, Tomorrow begins the Great Lent. As you may know, for followers of Catholic and Orthodox Christianity, Lent is the period of abstinence, piety, charity to others, and prayer. Abstinence is refraining from slaughtered landed meats and their by-products. CertifiedMeatless has a vast catalogue of food products that are void of landed meats and their by-products. Ash Wednesday, the beginning of Lent for the Occidental Christians, is the ultimate in meatless Wednesday.

It is Friday and it is once again a day of reflection and abstinence. Not only good as a mortification, eating fish,seafood, and vegetables is a way of cleansing the body and allowing the body to obtain useful chemical components. Omega 3’s which are found in seafood has many properties that lead to better health. I am enclosing an excerpt from a study conducted by the National Centre for Complementary and Alternative Medicine published a few days ago. Please read and absorb the information. One note about fish oil and Omega 3 supplements: Many over the counter supplements are encased in geletin which is a meat derivative and therefore non CMLO. Choose carefully and choose supplements encased in dextrose or other CMLO acceptable capsules. More infomation at http://CM-LO.com.
Here is the excerpt and have a Certified Meatless Friday!

About Omega-3 Fatty Acids
Omega-3 fatty acids—also known as n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs)—are important for a number of bodily functions, including the relaxation and contraction of muscles, blood clotting, digestion, fertility, cell division, growth, and movement of calcium and other substances in and out of cells.

The three major types of omega-3 fatty acids are alpha-linolenic acid (ALA), eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA), and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA). ALA is found in seeds, vegetable oils (canola, flaxseed, and soybean), green leafy vegetables, nuts, and beans. ALA is converted, usually in small amounts, into EPA and DHA, after it is ingested. Fish oil and fatty fish such as salmon, mackerel, herring, and tuna are the primary sources of EPA and DHA. Algae oils are a vegetarian source of DHA. Omega-3s are available as dietary supplements, usually in the form of capsules or oils. Commonly used supplements include fish oil, flaxseed oil, and walnut oil.

Most American diets provide at least 10 times more omega-6 than omega-3 fatty acids. Scientists generally agree that people should consume less omega-6s and more omega-3s for good health; however, the best ratio of omega-6s to omega-3s has not been determined.

Welcome back to our blog and site! We at CertifiedMeatless are continuing our series on the Mediterranean Diet. It seems that eating in this manner may lead to a longer shelf life for your brain! For more information on the Mediterranean Diet, go to our blog at http://CertifiedMeatless.com/blog and click on “Mediterranean Diet”. We think you will find the articles quite fascinating! Here is our excerpt:

Study finds less damage to brain tissue when the regimen is followed
By Kathleen Doheny
HealthDay Reporter
MONDAY, Feb. 8 (HealthDay News) — Eating a Mediterranean-style diet — one rich in olive oil, whole grains, fish and fruit — may protect aging brains from damage linked to cognitive problems, a new study finds
Other studies have already found that such diets also lower risks for depression, cancer, heart disease and premature death.
The latest study was led by Dr. Nikolaos Scarmeas, an associate professor of neurology at Columbia University Medical Center, New York City, and involved 712 men and women averaging 80 years of age. All of the participants had no history of stroke and received MRIs to look for brain infarcts — tissues that have died because of reduced or cut-off blood supply.
Though the infarcts are true strokes, Scarmeas said, they are so small that they escape notice.
In all, 238 people had at least one area of brain damage, he said.
The researchers also looked at how well the participants had followed a Mediterranean-style diet for the six years before the MRI.
“What we found was, those people who were following a healthier diet, more Mediterranean-like, had fewer brain infarcts, strokes, on the MRI,” Scarmeas said. Their risk for having such damage was lowered by up to 36 percent, he said.
The reduced risk was linked to the type of diet eaten, the study found. “We broke the diet adherence into three groups: those who adhered very, very little [to the Mediterranean plan], those who adhered to a moderate degree and those adhering to a high degree,” he said.
People in the middle — those who followed the diet moderately well — were 21 percent less likely to have brain damage than people in the lowest adherence group. Those who followed it most closely had a 36 percent reduced risk compared with those who followed it the least.
The effect of the diet on brain health that they found was about the same as the effect that not having high blood pressure has on the brain, Scarmeas said.
In earlier studies, Scarmeas and his colleagues have shown that a Mediterranean diet could help lower the risk for Alzheimer’s disease and might lengthen the life of those who have the disease. Now, he said, the new findings may help explain the reason for this — that those who eat the healthiest have the fewest number of brain infarcts associated with cognitive decline.
Scarmeas is expected to present the findings to the American Academy of Neurology at its annual meeting in April in Toronto. The study was funded by the U.S. National Institutes of Health.
Connie Diekman, director of university nutrition at Washington University in St. Louis, said the finding expressed in the study’s abstract “gives strength to the message of the importance of plant foods, and healthy oils, to overall health.”
“Boosting plant food intake can improve heart health and reduce body weight, but now it appears it may [also] aid brain health,” she said.

Hello all. Today is the First Friday of the month. It is a special day of mortification and prayer. Remember Lent is coming soon so it is good to get into that mode of thinking and action! Today should be a day of abstinence from slaughtered landed meats and their by-products. Choose from hundreds of products listed on our web-site http://CertifiedMeatless.com . Need some ideas? Look at our newly updated recipes link. You will find wonderful vegetarian and seafood recipes from all over the world.

Just when you thought……
We often strive to knock down the calorie count to get into better physical shape. I came across this article from a month ago and was not really surprised. Nonetheless, it just goes to show you that you need to take a common sense approach towards your eating habits. Eat the right foods, but not too much,and balance your diet with a consistent approach to exercise. Below is an article which you may find rather surprising!

By Robert Preidt

THURSDAY, Jan. 7 (HealthDay News) — Many reduced-calorie restaurant and packaged foods in the United States have more calories than indicated on their nutritional labeling, a new study reports.

Tufts University researchers analyzed 29 quick-serve and sit-down restaurant foods and found they contained an average of 18 percent more calories than the stated values. The team also checked 10 frozen meals bought from supermarkets and found they had an average of 8 percent more calories than what was printed on the label.

Three of the supermarket-purchased meals and seven restaurant foods contained up to twice their stated amount of calories.

An added complication was identified with some restaurant meals. Five restaurants provided side dishes at no extra cost, and the average amount of calories in the side dishes was greater than for the entrees they accompanied, the researchers reported.

The study appears in the January issue of the Journal of the American Dietetic Association.

“These findings suggest that stated energy contents of reduced energy meals obtained from restaurants and supermarkets are not consistently accurate and, in this study, average more than measured values, especially when free side dishes were taken into account, which on average contained more energy than the entrees alone,” wrote the researchers, led by Susan B. Roberts, director of the Energy Metabolism Laboratory at Tufts’ Jean Mayer USDA Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging.

They noted that a “positive energy balance of only 5 percent per day for an individual requiring 2,000 kcal/day could lead to a 10-pound weight gain in a single year.”

Not only could this hamper people’s attempts to control their weight, the researchers wrote, but it also could “reduce the potential benefit of recent policy initiatives to disseminate information on food energy content at the point of purchase.”

SOURCE: American Dietetic Association, news release, Jan. 5, 2010

We at CertifiedMeatless came across this article which we thought would be good to share. It seems that staying away from red meats and such helps you out in a lot of ways. These findings from the American Cancer Society mirror a lot of the findings when choosing a diet such as the Mediterranean Diet. Take a look at some of the excerpts:

Findings from the American Cancer Society:

Many times, colorectal cancer can be prevented. Still, it’s one of the 5 most common cancers in men and women in the United States. Colorectal cancer is also one of the leading causes of cancer death in the United.States. Don’t let these 5 common myths stop you from getting the lifesaving tests you need, when you need them.

Myth: Colorectal cancer is a man’s disease.

Truth: Colorectal cancer is just as common among women as men. Each year, about 150,000 Americans are diagnosed with colorectal cancer, and more than 50,000 die from the disease.

Myth: Colorectal cancer cannot be prevented.

Truth: In many cases colorectal cancer can be prevented. Colorectal cancer almost always starts with a small growth called a polyp. If the polyp is found early, doctors can remove it and stop colorectal cancer before it starts. These tests can find polyps : double contrast barium enema, flexible sigmoidoscopy, colonoscopy, or CT colonography (virtual colonoscopy).

To help lower your chances of getting colorectal cancer:

get to and stay at a healthy weight
be physically active
limit the amount of alcohol you drink
eat a diet with a lot of fruits and vegetables, whole grains, and less red or processed meat .
Myth: African Americans are not at risk for colorectal cancer.

Truth: African-American men and women are diagnosed with and die from colorectal cancer at higher rates than men and women of any other US. racial or ethnic group.

Myth: Age doesn’t matter when it comes to getting colorectal cancer.

Truth: More than 90% of colorectal cancer cases are in people age 50 and older. For this reason, the American Cancer Society recommends you start getting tested for the disease at age 50. People who are at a higher risk for colorectal cancer — for example, those who have colon or rectal cancer in their families — may need to begin testing at a younger age. Talk to your doctor about when you should start getting tested.

Myth: It’s better not to get tested for colorectal cancer because it’s deadly anyway.

Truth: Colorectal cancer is often highly treatable. If it is found and treated early, the 5-year survival rate is about 90%. But because many people are not getting tested, only about 4 out of 10 are diagnosed at this early stage when treatment is most likely to be successful.
For more info: http://CM-LO.com

Wow! January just flew by under the radar. But now we are starting February 2010 and its starts perfectly on the first day of the week! It is a great day to start up the meatless monday with CertifiedMeatless once again. I know that a lot of you had those new year’s resolutions which went by the way-side. But, everyone can keep trying again. Sometimes the habit is hard to kick start but when you feel the need for the routine, then the magic can start. So lets try and go meatless today. When you are done reading this blog and some of the others, go to http:CM-LO.com for more information on being meatless and CertifiedMeatless! Make it a CM-LO day!