Smarter Cookies' Passions:

MOMEN T’t’t’t’t’t’t’t’t’t’t’t’t’t’t’t’t’t’t’t’t’t’t

2011-06-30T19:01:00.000-07:00

THE MAGNIFICENCE
OF WATER SPLATTERED
ACROSS BACK YARD
FROM PLASTIC SPRINKLER
THROUGH SHAFTS AND
SHILOETTES CUTTING TUBES OF
SUNLIGHT SHAPE
THROUGH TREES’ BRANCHES
AND LEAVES ON A SUMMER’S
EVE’ S SOOTHING
BREEZE

Nutrition Talks – A Survivor’s Take: Fighting Disease and Greening up the Home with Ionized Water

2011-06-21T18:12:00.000-07:00

Being a household with a Brain Cancer survivor and has opened us up to a lot of healing modalities. We recently invested substantially in three household items that have our home a healthier place to live, and have diminished our environmental footprint. Each of the next three blogs will discuss how these investments have empowered us to become a healthier and greener household. The first subject is our water ionizer.

Volara’s LivingWater System

The technology to ionize water so that it becomes more alkaline or acidic has been available since the 1950’s. It has been used in urban water purification systems, swimming pools and hot tubs. With skyrocketing cancer rates in the United States and the world, water ionizers that provide alkaline water are becoming increasingly popular. The reason is that many diseases, in addition to cancer, are associated with acidic internal body tissues. Acidic tissues become inflamed. Obesity is often linked to inflammation as well. Interestingly enough, in the year since my wife and I have been regularly drinking filtered alkaline water, we have both lost about 10 pounds each. Our diets, which were nutritionally sound in the beginning, have not significantly changed.

Where did the idea of excessive internal acidity fostering diseases including cancer? Dr Otto Warburg, a physiological researcher and double Nobel Laureate, mentions the work of physicist Manfred Von Ardenne in his 1966 address to the Nobel Prize Committee. Warburg’s address primarily focused on cell metabolism and the fact that cancer cells are primitive in nature, and that they use glycosis for respiration as opposed to healthy cells that metabolize oxygen. Glycosis must take place in an acidic environment, which explains why almost all cancer tissue is acidic. So, with that data, we conclude that the more we do to bring out our internal tissues’ natural tendency towards alkalinity, the more we do to alter our chemistry in a way that makes our bodies inhospitable to cancer and many other diseases. I have seen people in the alkaline water industry credit Warburg for positing that cancer cannot live in an alkaline environment, but have not seen him write those specific words in my research thus far. I have seen him crediting Von Ardenne with the acid cancer connection. So I infer, as many have, that the more I do to combat acidity in my body’s internal tissues, the less hospitable my body becomes for cancer. When our bodies are battling excessive acidity, they will borrow from alkaline stores like the calcium in our bones and other tissues to maintain homeostasis. This invites a host of secondary and tertiary diseases associated with acidic internal body tissues. Warburg’s address concludes that cancer cells cannot survive in an oxygen rich metabolic environment, since they rely on glycosis.

Water ionization systems like the one we got from Volara combat cancer and disease on a number of different levels. They produce alkaline drinking water, which helps to combat internal body tissue acidity. The ionization process breaks down water molecule size, making hydration more rapid and effective and releases hydrogen molecules into the drinking water. Hydrogen molecules are negatively charged. They, by their nature, seek out positive ions. One of the biggest threats to the body’s physical wellness is positively charged oxygen free-radicals. This is why so many supplements and food items advertise their anti-oxidant contents. So, by drinking alkaline water, which is also rich in hydrogen, we oxygenate out systems with smaller water molecules, provide our bodies with a powerful antioxidant to help eliminate free radicals and we assist our bodies in balancing out acidity.

A note on internal tissue vs. skin Ph. I’ve used the words “internal body tissues” specifically because not all body tissues work most effectively in an alkaline environment. The skin, for instance, has a lower ph than other parts of the body because bacteria and microbes are all around us and always landing on our skin. The body defends it’s self by maintaining a defensive acidic barrier against these microbes.

Other great uses for alkaline and acid waters produced with our Volara system:

Greening Up the House: Many environmentally conscious and health conscious people are choosing to switch to “Green” cleaning chemicals in their homes. The alkaline water we drink is ph 9.5, with a byproduct of ph 5-5.5. The acid (low ph water) is a really good astringent skin toner. Our system can be adjusted to produce up to ph 10.5 alkaline and acidic water around ph 3. These stronger alkaline and acid waters are very effective cleaners and disinfectants, respectively, and yet, they’re water! How do we know the ph of these different waters? We have a ph test kit and have confirmed all of what I am writing. How do we know they work? We use them all the time, and our kitchen is just as clean as it was when we were spraying Clorox cleaner on the counters. We no longer need environmentally damaging chemicals to keep our home clean.

Green Uses for Acidic Water: Strong acidic water is a powerful anti-bacterial and anti-microbial agent. Once we have cleaned the surfaces in the household with alkaline water, we sterilize them with strong acid water and wipe them again. In addition, most plants love acidic water. It makes the minerals in soil more accessible to them. We’ve been using the by-product acidic water

since we got the system, and it is producing big returns this year. I watered the huge head of broccoli pictured at the beginning of this blog with acid water). Acidic water is also very effective for keeping things like Downey Mildew in check. For the past 7 years, our grape vines have broken our hearts by producing grapes that almost mature and then begin to split and rot due to the prevalence of Downey Mildew in our region. This year we have been spraying strong acid water with a touch of apple cider vinegar on the grapes. So far we have eradicated the beginning stage of Downey Mildew, a white powder that covers the grapes, before it penetrates and the fruit begins to split decay. I never took a chemistry course, but now I’m discovering more and more applications for basic chemistry. Things that survive in an acidic environment will break down when exposed to enough alkaline. By changing the surface ph on our grapes, we are eradicating something we had previously been unable to, using organic means. Keeping an organic garden is a huge priority for us.

We’re very excited to have this wonderful Volara water ionizer. I even use ionized alkaline water in Smarter Cookies! We chose this system because it produces all of the alkaline and acid waters we need to keep a healthy and green household, yet compared to other ionization systems that do the same thing, it is priced very reasonably.

Footprint: It’s been years since we quit buying bottled water, which, when tested, is often shockingly acidic. We have been reusing our BPA free containers thousands of times a year, and now we do so with alkaline water. As Southern California residents, we strive to conserve water. This system provides us with helpful products that allow us to avoid wasting water and producing post-consumer waste.

If you have any questions about water ionization systems, please contact us or leave a comment at the end of this blog. We fully support this technology and want to encourage people to benefit from it as much as we have.

Peace, Wellness and Blessings

Richard Harvey

Reference:

Excerpt from Dr. Warburg’s address to the Nobel Prize Committee:
http://healingtools.tripod.com/primecause2.html"

Nutrition Talk - A Survivor's Take: Flax - A Superfood

2011-03-04T07:54:00.000-08:00

How I Rediscovered Flax:

In May of 2010 I developed three vegan cookie recipes for Smarter Cookies. I knew applesauce is a go-to substitute for eggs in vegan baking, but it didn’t work with any of my recipes. Researching for alternatives lead me to Flax Seed. After some experimentation, I learned how to replace two eggs in a recipe with 3 tablespoons (41 gm) of freshly ground golden flax blended with 4 ½ ounces (184 gm) of water for about a minute. I empty it into a ceramic bowl (plastic doesn’t work), cover it with cling wrap and set it in the fridge for at least an hour. Viol ‘a, it comes out with an egg-like viscosity and is an excellent binder. And the flavor works with Smarter Cookies.

Flax - So Healthy It Is Almost Unbelievable:

As I was researching for today’s blog, I was stoked to discover how great a decision using flax in Smarter Cookies was.

Below is a summary of my information source, a WHFoods article on Flax that drew on results from dozens of clinical trials. A link to the full WHFoods Article is at the base of the blog.

Orgins:

Flax originated in Mesopotamia. It was highly valued by the Romans, both as healthy part of the daily diet but also as a source of clothing fiber.

Health Benefits for all:

Flax is rich in Omega 3 fats. The balance of Omega 3 and Omega 6 plays an important roll in everyone’s health. Both Omega oils are essential fatty acids, necessary and acquired only through the diet. The western diet tends to be too high in Omega 6 fats. This causes and exacerbates inflammatory diseases including cancer, arthritis, asthma and high blood pressure. The higher the ratio of Omega 3’s is to Omega 6’s, the better the body is able to avoid and fight inflammatory diseases. Flax and flax oil are proven in clinical trials to decrease inflammation. They were important discoveries for me in my search to lower my cholesterol. I brought my overall number down significantly with oat bran and grape seed oil, but while my LDLs dropped and my HDL ratio improved significantly, my Triglycerides remained high. Flax is very effective in lowering Triglycerides.

Men’s Health Benefits: Cholesterol, Blood Pressure and Prostate Cancer:

Flax is a rich source of Omega-3 fat, alpha linoleic acid, and fiber. Including it in Smarter Cookies meant adding another ingredient that has been proven in clinical trials to help lower cholesterol. Study subjects that consumed 20 gm of ground flax daily for 60 days saw a 17.2 % drop in total cholesterol, a 3.9% drop in LDLs, a 36.3% drop in Triglycerides and 33.5% drop in the ratio of total cholesterol to HDLs. The higher HDL’s are compared to total cholesterol, the lower the incidence of heart and artery disease in the subject.

A 12-week study of men with elevated cholesterol and blood pressure showed that men who consumed 8 gm of flax seed oil a day saw significant drops in systolic and diastolic blood pressure in addition to drops in cholesterol.

Prostate cancer patients who were given 30 grams of flaxseed daily for a month before surgery showed much better outcomes (less or no tumor growth) than the control group with no flax seed.

Women’s Health Benefits:

An ounce of ground flax seed a day helps protect post-menopausal women from breast cancer by regulating estrogen without increasing the threat of bone mass loss. For pre-menopausal women, it brings irregular cycles under control, helps with headaches, mood swings, weight gain, lowered sex drive, fibroid tumors and heavy bleeding. All of these symptoms are associated with estrogen dominance; flax extends out the progesterone part of the cycle. A study where postmenopausal women took 40 grams of crushed flax every day for six weeks showed a 50% lower incidence of hot flashes and diminished the intensity of the hot flashes by 57%. Because of flax’s cholesterol regulating qualities it also protects post-menopausal women against cardiovascular disease.

The lignans in flax seed fiber help decrease insulin resistance by softening the cell membranes. It this also lowers breast cancer risk.

Type 2 Diabetic’s Health Benefits:

The fiber in flax seed, good for preventing atherosclerosis and diabetic heart disease, also helps stabilize blood sugar in diabetics. The lignans soften cell walls, rendering these walls more permeable for insulin.

How I Use Flax:

All Smarter Cookie Vegans have flax as a binder. The Cookies have about 2 grams of flax seed each, which is about 10% of the suggested dosage associated with men’s health studies and about 5-7% of the requirement for the results shown in the women’s studies summarized above.

Although pre-ground flax is available in vacuum packs and refrigerated sections of health food stores, I always buy whole golden flax from the bulk bins. It's less expensive and much more stable. It does not require refrigeration and holds up much better over time.

My favorite way to consume sufficient flax every day is by making a smoothie in the morning with about a 8 oz of Kefir, as much unsweetened Almond Breeze, 30 gm of hemp protein (Trader Joes), 20-30 gm freshly ground flax (I use a Magic Bullet with the four tooth blade – it grinds perfectly), about 10 gm cocoa powder. I generally add a handful of dried cherries for their anti-inflammatory effect and blend for about a minute. Depending on the fruit included, I might add a tablespoon of agave nectar in to cut the sour edge of the Kefir. I get my probiotics, about 30 gm fiber between the flax, hemp, cocoa and cherries, the smoothie is extremely low Glycemic Index and it fills me up for most of the day. Some people like the flavor of flax oil, but I don't, so the gel caps work well for me. I take 4 gel caps of flax oil with the smoothie for a full dose of anti-inflammatory, cholesterol lowering Omega 3 balancing flax goodness. You can bake with flax seed, sprinkle fresh ground flax over salads, cereals or yogurt. The possibilities are only limited by imagination.

Thanks for reading my blog. Please subscribe, leave comments and share it with people who will benefit from it.

World’s Healthiest Foods Flax Article: http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?tname=foodspice&dbid=81

Nutrition Talk - A Survivor's Take: Extra Virgin Olive Oil Vs. And With Grape Seed Oil

2011-02-27T10:26:00.000-08:00

Extra Virgin Olive Oil (EVOO), Misunderstood By Many “Experts”

When I started researching Grape Seed Oil five years ago, I also was spending some time watching The Food Network. The research was telling me it is a really bad idea to bring Olive Oil, in fact any kind of oil up to or past it’s smoke point. Yet I recall chef after chef recommending that viewers do just about everything with Extra Virgin Olive Oil (EVOO). I felt disappointed watching so many experts misinform their viewers by using EVOO in high heat sauté and pan fry demos while touting it’s health benefits.

What’s to love about EVOO?

I’m with the millions who love nothing better than the flavors that fine Extra Virgin Olive Oils add to my food. EVOO can be really good, from a health and nutrition standpoint for the people who use it correctly. Back in the 1950’s, American Nutritionist Ansel Keys discovered the correlation between generous consumption of olive oil and low heart disease rates in a study of men living on the island of Crete, Greece. His study was probably the first inspiration for today’s Mediterranean Diet craze. EVOO is wonderful in countless cold applications including bruschettas, tampenades, in homemade hummus, baba ganoush, the Greek version, melezano, and countless salads. Herb and garlic infused EVOO makes a beautiful dip for fresh baked bread.

EVOO and Smoke Points – Grape Seed Oil To The Rescue:

From a nutrition and health standpoint, sautéing and pan-frying with EVOO is a pretty bad idea. It loses most of its health benefits when heated to its relatively low smoke point. According to the January 1998 article Alternative Medicine Digest article, WHEN FOOD IS YOUR BEST FRIEND the smoke point for EVOO is 250 degrees Fahrenheit. Other sources have placed it as high as 320, but higher smoke point temperatures are always a sign of the oil having been "refined" to make this possible. Regardless, at 250 Fahrenheit, EVOO's smoke point is about as low as it gets in the realm of cooking oils. On the other hand, eHow’s article, Grape Seed vs. Olive Oil, set’s grape seed oil’s smoke point at 420 degrees Fahrenheit. Other articles online have rated it as high as 485 1/4 degrees Fahrenheit. Sautés, pan-frys and deep-frys generally occur at between 350 and 375 degrees Fahrenheit. Deep-frying leaves between 5-40% of the oil on the fried item.

At an oil’s smoke point, the flavor deteriorates, the oil cannot be reused and it becomes dangerous. According to WHFoods, heating any oil to its smoke point creates unhealthy vapors and introduces oxygen free radicals into the mix. Oxygen free radicals are associated with numerous health risks in addition to being carcinogenic. The oil should not be reused, not only because free radicals have been introduced but also because the fundamental composition of lipids deteriorates once they have been heated to their smoke point.

There are wonderful places for EVOO in cooking, but not as a sauté or pan fry medium, and definitely not in deep-frying. Grape seed oil, with its relatively high smoke point, is ideal for higher heat applications. I sauté and pan fry with grape seed oil and then, towards the end of cooking or just before serving I add the EVOO for flavor. If there is sufficient water-based liquid in a dish, the temperature will not exceed water’s boiling point. My suggestion - buy really good EVOO for flavor and let grape seed oil be your workhouse for sautés, pan-frying and as your base oil for baking. For applications like focaccia bread, you can use Grape Seed oil in the pan while baking the bread and drizzle or mist with EVOO after removing the bread from the oven and allowing it a few minutes to cool. If you are going to deep fry, make an educated choice on which non-hydrogenated oil is best for you.

Regarding Grape Seed Extract:

The past two blogs have either featured grape seed oil or it has played a significant roll in how to cook healthfully. The last Nutrition Talk – A Survivor’s Take, shared that Grape Seed Oil, one of Smarter Cookies key ingredients, can lower LDL and increase HDL cholesterol when consumed at sufficient levels in the daily diet. Most of Grape Seed Oil’s beneficial compounds are present in stronger concentrations in Grape Seed Extract. According to EHow's article, Side Effects of Grape Seed Oil and Grape Seed Extract, Grape Seed Extract is high in antioxidants, offers cholesterol and hypertension reducing qualities and is considered effective in the battle against many cancers. It is rich in B vitamins, Vitamin A and vitamin C. Grape Seed Extract is worth adding to your list of supplements, especially if you are health-challenged.

Nutrition Talk - A survivor's Take: Why Grape Seed Oil?

2011-02-22T08:03:00.000-08:00

In July of 2006, after my first year of chemotherapy of brain cancer my doctor told me my cholesterol was too high. He wanted to start me on Zocor. I told him no. I wanted to find and try nutritional remedies first.

I found plenty of evidence supporting Grape Seed Oil’s (GSO) beneficial effects on human cholesterol levels out on the web and published in medical journals. In July of 2006, I added significant quantities of GSO and Oat Bran (previous blog) to my diet. By August of 2007, my HDL’s (good cholesterol) ratio to my overall cholesterol had improved by 33% and my LDLs had dropped 38 points (For Table of results scroll down and look right).

What Is Grape Seed Oil:

GSO is one of wine making’s most healthy by-products. It is pressed from the residual seeds. As happened in my case, studies show that adding significant GSO in the diet can substantially raise HDL cholesterol and even bring down LDLs. Dr. Gourmet notes two specific studies in an article on the topic titled The Health of It All – Grape Seed Oil and Cholesterol. The first, published in the Journal of Arteriosclerosis in 1990, reported that subjects who consumed 1oz. of GSO daily showed a 13-14 percent increase in HDL Cholesterol. The second, published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology showed a 7% drop in LDL cholesterol as well as a 13% increase in HDL when subjects consumed 1.5 oz of GSO daily. These studies took place over a 6-week time spans. Related studies have found that the higher HDL cholesterol is relative to total cholesterol, the lower the tested subjects’ incidence of heart disease and arteriosclerosis becomes. This is why HDL Cholesterol is called “good cholesterol”. According to When Food Is Your Best Friend, an article published in the Alternative Medicine Digest, GSO is “… a highly concentrated source (76%) of linoleic acid, an essential fatty acid (EFA) also know as omega-6 acid.... It (linoleic acid) is needed for the production of prostaglandins, hormone-like substances in the body involved in reducing platelets aggregation (blood clotting) and inflammation.”

One of GSO’s biggest antioxidant constituents is vitamin E. That is probably why many of the articles on the web noting GSO’s health benefits point out it is a popular ingredient in cosmetics. Vitamin E is good for cellular health in general and also is used in the food industry as a natural preservative.
Cooking with Grape Seed Oil:

Cooking With Grape Seed Oil:

GSO is mild and nutty in flavor, with a slight astringent quality. I like using it in sautés, salad dressings, and in baking. It has a very high smoke point, which makes it among the best oils for high heat applications. While it is supposed to be good for deep-frying, I haven’t had much success with that. I don’t do much deep-frying anyway. As was the case with Oat Bran, I found that adding enough GSO to my diet to positively effect my cholesterol situation was very easy. 1-1.5oz of oil is nearly always already present in the average person’s daily diet. If you are a person who obsesses over minimal fat intake, you should look at what kinds of lipids are in the mix, not only totals. For instance, GSO is low in saturated fat and high in monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats. Healthy lipids are a vital part of any diet, perhaps with the exception of short-term detox diets that focus on the liver. By far the least expensive source I have found for GSO is Costco.

Smarter Cookies and Grape Seed Oil:

GSO is a major ingredient in all Smarter Cookie recipes. Our five Smarter Cookies recipes vary, offering between 3-6gm of GSO per cookie. This means that relative to the 1oz per day study cited above, Smarter Cookies offer 10-20% of the daily intake required to show equivalent results. Relative to the second study, Smarter Cookies offer from 7-15% of the required intake to show equivalent results.

Summary/What’s Next:

While this post covered many of GSO’s benefits, discussing cooking with GSO without looking the best parameters of cooking with Extra Virgin Olive Oil leaves this look at GSO incomplete. In the next episode of Nutrition Talks – A Survivor’s Take, I will look at GSO, with and vs. Extra Virgin Olive Oil. There will also be a brief section on Grape Seed Extract, which is also a by-product of wine making. Sold as a supplement, Grape Seed Extract is very worth learning about.

Interested In Trying Smarter Cookies? - See top of page or bottom.

If you found the information in this blog helpful, please subscribe, email it to your friends who it might help, re-post it on Facebook or Tweet it.

References:

http://www.grapeseedoil.com/alternativemedicinearticle.php
http://www.drgourmet.com/health/grapeseedoil-cholesterol.shtml
http://www.ehow.com/about_5548803_side-grape-seed-oil-extract.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grape_seed_oil

Nutrition Talk 2 - A Survivor's Take: Amazing Oat Bran

2011-02-16T09:27:00.000-08:00

My journey to creating Smarter Cookies began in mid 2006 with a high cholesterol diagnosis. My overall number was 244. I had been on chemotherapy for a year, following radiation therapy and steroids. My doctor wanted to set me up on Zocor. I didn’t want to do that because I was concerned about my liver. I figured with all of the medications I had been on, I didn’t want to add another pill from a family of drugs that is known for liver-related disclaimers - and a litany of others as well. Since nothing in my spirit and what I had physically experienced lead me to feel I would be dying any time soon, I decided to avoid unnecessary threats to my body.

I don’t remember the first time I learned about Oat Bran’s cholesterol reducing properties. My mother had elevated cholesterol, so maybe that was why I paid attention. It was over 20 years ago when reports began coming out about how oats and oat bran can help to reduce cholesterol. Then in the mid 90’s a clinical trial with faulty parameters sullied oat bran and whole oat’s justly earned cholesterol reducing reputation. The subjects of this study were all in peak physical condition and none of them had particularly elevated cholesterol to begin with. So, based on this JAMA published study, the pendulum took it’s swing and oat bran fell out of favor. The fact that this happened historically after and during a fairly long and expensive campaign by Merck promoting it’s new line of Statin drugs is rather intriguing.

So, here are the facts I found in an abstract of a study published in 1991 in JAMA, The Journal Of The American Medical Association. In, brief, because a link to the abstract is provided below, the 6 week study provided subjects with six different daily quantities of oat products and a control group that was given farina. The most effective level of consumption for reduction in LDL Cholesterol was 56 gm (2 oz) of oat bran, with an overall 15.9% reduction of LDLs. Oat Bran Study Abstract link

That’s a huge drop in 6 weeks! Considering this is the equivalent of a half a serving size of oatmeal, it seemed worth trying to me.

So, I began adding oat bran to my diet. Down on the right side of Smarter Cookies website you can see a table of results of me adding oat bran and grape seed oil (Another day’s blog) to my diet. During my second year of chemo, my overall cholesterol dropped over 12 %. Cholesterol Drop Table - scroll down look right.

Since I am not the type of person who eats oatmeal for breakfast every day, I began looking for other places I could add oat bran to my diet. Here are some of my favorite things to add Oat Bran to: Smarter Cookies, Oatmeal (½ & ½ works well), Fruit Crisp Topping, Pancakes, Granola, Baklava, Anything made with Ground Meat or Textured vegetable protein, Soups, Stews, Breads and Muffins.
My philosophy has been to find good places to use it as filler. Doing this makes it pretty easy to consume therapeutic levels of Oat Bran.

Oat bran is very nutritious. It is a great source of soluble fiber, trace minerals, protein, and B Vitamins. Here is a synopsis from EHow.com that among other things references results from as different study that show a 3% drop in 4-6 weeks.

http://www.ehow.com/about_5147122_oat-bran-nutrition-information.html

If you are the person who likes to research things yourself, there are probably thousands of articles like these available through google.

About Smarter Cookies and Oat Bran:

http://www.lemons-to-lemonade.com/smartercookies.html

Every Moist delicious Smarter Cookie contains over 8gm of Oat Bran. This is just one of the cholesterol reducing and nutritionally savvy ingredients in our delicious low Glycemic Index cookies. Other studies I have read note, for instance, that whole grain flours, like the one we use in Smarter Cookies have cholesterol-reducing properties that work most effectively when combined with Oat Bran.

Cancer Survivors and Warriors, this discussion of Oat Bran is relevant to you because Oat Bran is rich in fiber. Fiber, when combined with carbohydrates in baked goods like Smarter Cookies is what keeps Glycemic Index down. Here is a link to a previous blog on how Glycemic Index is determined. The idea is to keep your blood sugar from spiking because sugar feeds cancer. Yet another good reason to enjoy whole grains and foods that are rich in fiber.

I hope you enjoyed this Nutrition Talk Blog about Oat Bran. Please share it with anyone you think will benefit from it.

Nutrition Talk - A Survivor's Take

2011-02-15T12:29:00.000-08:00

A good friend of ours recently joined us for dinner. The topic of conversation was the best strategy for growing Smarter Cookies. He pointed out that Smarter Cookies story isn’t so much about cookies as it is about empowerment, savvy choices and some really good luck. He had some pretty good points.

I recently changed Smarter Cookies Mission Statement to “Smarter Cookies’ Passions”.
When I get to do demos, I know that the customers can feel my passion for sound nutrition and delicious food. When I begin to describe the adversities I have faced, the connection becomes far deeper.

I’m writing because I wanted to connect with more people who can benefit from what I have learned. The truth is, I’m a very fortunate human. I’ve survived a Stage 3 brain tumor for just under 6 years with no recurrences. 5 ½ years ago my neurosurgeon told me this tumor would likely come back and kill me within 6-18 months. Some people have called me a miracle man. Is it a miracle that brought me this far in the journey or just wise choices? I don’t think it matters a whole lot. I once told an energy healer who asked if I would allow her to work on me that I was willing to accept any help I could get.

Part of accepting help has been about helping myself, becoming empowered. This death defying adventure has been very educational. Despite disabling outcomes, I’ve managed to accomplish a lot. I want to begin sharing my lessons with the world, not only in the form of Smarter Cookies

, but also through written communication. I will be sharing about specific tools I have acquired, what I have learned by self-educating in the face adversity and by clearly defining my desires.

Expect a series of blogs on all of the things that have worked best toward my healing. The impetus for my acquisition of knowledge and for my desire to share what I have learned was a visit to my Neuro Oncologist (Brain Chemo Doc). He informed me that my cholesterol was too high, that he was putting me on Zocor. I didn’t like that idea.

Low Glycemic Smarter Cookie Vegans - Even Better For You

2010-08-28T22:49:00.000-07:00

We are very excited to add three delicious vegan cookies to our existing line. Two of them are nearly identical in flavor our Original (Chocolate Chip) and the Peanut Butter. In addition we now offer an innovative Oatmeal Walnut Date Raisin cookie. Cooking without eggs, the most reliable binding agent in baking, created just our kind of challenge. Fortunately our search lead us to ground flax seed. The quantity of information available about the health benefits of ground flax seed is truly amazing. Since this is a blog post, there is no space to attach a bibliography of references to studies that have proven the benefits of flax, especially for diabetics, for people with elevated LDL and Triglyceride cholesterol levels and for people who are dealing with inflammatory diseases. Below please find a link to a very comprehensive article on flax that The World’s Healthiest Foods posted on Flax Seed with a bibliography of dozens of articles published by researchers who studied Flax Seed’s benefits.

Suffice it to say we are excited both to be offering three cookies that honor the Vegan Ethos of eating or using no animal products and that contain three ingredients proven in clinical trials, when consumed at appropriate levels, to lower bad cholesterol and raise good cholesterol. Using Flax Seed as the binder in our vegan cookies adds Omega 3 oils to our cookies and they improve their Glycemic Load and Index numbers because in addition to Omega 3 oils, replacing eggs with ground Flax Seed adds fiber our cookies. As a cancer survivor who has many friends that are keeping an eye on their blood sugar, Rick is especially excited to actually improve on the Low Glycemic profile of the Smarter Cookie Original and Peanut Butter while adding vegan cookies to our offerings.

Link:

Here is the article The World’s Healthiest Foods posted on Flax Seed.

Return to Smarter Cookies Website :^)

Peace and Blessings

Smarter Cookie.

The Buddha in the Burger Boy

2010-08-17T23:25:00.000-07:00

It's been a dog's life since I wrote anything in. Well, the most recent development deserves note: Mother's Markets, a high-end Orange County Health Food chain is going to give Smarter Cookies a try. It's been a process getting all of the paperwork done, mostly due to insurance BS, or at least underwriters that don't find Smarter Cookies' forward progress particularly interesting or urgent. It's a good thing that I have a questioning nature or I could have waited another week or a month or indefinitely for someone to actually finish the job. As a person who is passionate about being good at service, it amazes me how some businesses don't seem pay attention to the needs of their customers, it's up to us to keep them on task. I suppose the message is "Remain Proactive".

And then there are the unexpected stars. We ate at a burger joint tonight, and there was this guy, probably about 20, who was a marvel to watch at the griddle and anywhere else he was in that place. Amazingly competent, friendly and caring. He was a superstar in a burger joint. He enjoyed what he did, and did it artfully well. His pay is probably 1/4 of what the senior underwriter I started with last week makes, the one who went on vacation without doing anything about writing my policy, passing it along to a co-worker or even leaving an away message on her email. The burger boy did not miss the smallest detail.

What else...

We have new Labels! All of the feedback so far has been very positive. Especially encouraging, today was when Charlie Feder, a true Old Pro, the owner of a sizable bakery in Long Beach, looked at the Label and Presentation of Smarter Cookies and said, "Congratulations, this looks great! These are going to move." I mean, he was really enthusiastic.

The day ended on this positive note. It's a good thing because I found out first thing in the morning that two of my cafe's in Long Beach were likely going to drop Smarter Cookies. That's always disappointing, but definitely part of the real world. I plugged on through the day, preparing 5 marketing bags that I will deliver to hopefully more appropriate customers tomorrow. And then we'll see what happens. This is a time of great possibilities, and plenty of nagging stressors.

The thing that has sustained me all through my healing and through our building of this deal from scratch, and with very little money, is focusing on what we want, even if that means sometimes dragging through psychic mud to prepare what we need to make necessary steps in the the right direction.

Travels and Adventure

2010-05-24T13:31:00.000-07:00

After a full week of baking cookies for happy customers in the Long Beach and Orange County are and two encouraging visits to It's a Grind Locations in Long Beach I hit the road. My son, Daniel is moving to Maui to work on an organic farm. I came up to Sacramento to spend the weekend with him before he flies out. In addition to having a great time enjoying his company and hanging out with the other half of his family, I got to make a couple of marketing calls to gourmet markets up there. It has been a very nice trip this way, with people very open to the idea of a healthy cookie that tastes great. I think one of the most encouraging things about this is just how nice everyone I have met has been. Willing to share their time and give the cookies to try. I'm at my last marketing stop for the day. I started at Google this morning. The company culture there seems likely to support Smarter Cookies' presence, so why not try drop off some cookies. After that I stopped at an It's a Grind in Cupertino and got to spend some time with my college buddy Carlos before meeting with the very nice owner. Now I'm sitting in Barefoot Coffee in Santa Clara. This place is rockin', there has been a line of 3-6 people at the register since I got here an hour ago. I'm waiting for things to quiet down so I can talk with the manager for a minute. Sure smells great in here. I'm at a long table lined with custom-painted chairs. It is a very groovy place, and just like all of the other great places I got to visit over the weekend, I hope I will get to come back and see Smarter Cookies on the counter here. Tomorrow I'll be heading back do to report to the boss.

Flickr: Send to a Friend

2010-05-18T09:13:00.001-07:00

Flickr: Send to a Friend

Posted using ShareThis

Welcome to Flickr!

2010-05-18T08:46:00.001-07:00

Welcome to Flickr!

Posted using ShareThis

May's First Update

2010-05-12T23:37:00.000-07:00

It has been a busy month. We're starting to understand the value of targeted marketing. We began this process with a rough idea of where we could go with Smarter Cookies, and fortunately our friend Mike Alston gave us some very valuable guidance on where to head. Since then we have conducted an online survey that confirmed his prediction that our targets should be health food stores first and coffee houses second. We're also curious to see how Smarter Cookies will do in fitness clubs. Mike called that one as well. We have picked up a couple of new customers, Brew Haus in Long Beach and Kean Coffee in Newport Beach. We have also drawn the interest of Mother's Markets in Orange County. We will have our first meetings with two It's A Grind Franchise owners this week and next. We're pleased to find that the people who are trying us out are quality operations.

Today was a very encouraging day for Rick. He met with Karen Deidrich, co-proprietor of Kean Coffee in Newport. Not only was he filling her second order this month, but he also got to learn some important facts about Coffee in general. It was a very nice meeting, and he is finding that the people who are drawn to smarter cookies all have a quality of kindness and a passion for wellness in common. He feels good about being a part of these facets in the lives of Smarter Cookie's wonderful customers. This positive vibe has not only been in relationships with our customers. Many people like Mike have stepped forward to help build our inertia. If Mike got us moving in the right direction in April, our friend Jay Ahrend gave us a huge gift that will build our momentum in online sales this month. In the very near future, Jay's delicious commercial photography of Smarter Cookies will grace this blog, be up on our facebook page, our website, and more importantly, will put us on the map at Amazon.com. None of the competitors on amazon in our categories have artwork that is even close to the quality of images we will have up. This should really help to get us going. We're very lucky to have such great people in our lives helping to ensure Smarter Cookie's success. Peace and Blessings

New family

2010-04-09T00:29:00.000-07:00

Today I hit the bricks and talked to 4 different coffee house owners. By the time I talked to the second I was pretty discouraged, but I remembered that not everyone is going to get what we're am doing, have the insight to see where they can benefit by being a part of it or even like it. But then I walked into my 2:30 appointment and a very nice woman named Kim at the Coffee Haus sat down with me and and gave it a fair shake. She tried the cookies, and loved them. She was very positive and interested in offering a uniquely health enhancing product at her business. I offered the product at a fair price and she accepted it. I guess what confounded me about my earlier appointments was the unwillingness to actually open the packages of the cookies and just try them. I'm not going to do well with people who are too afraid to risk, or are locked into the !00% markup formula, at least not at coffee houses. I will do well, just on a social and spiritual level with open-minded people who have good taste. It was a very challenging day, and my last appointment seemed to be leaning towards trying to carry the cookies too. So, I hope he does too. Just kind of an interesting skill set to learn. I'm passionate about what we are doing, now it's about learning how to find people who can share our passions.

Peanut Butter Smarter Cookie, Welcome To The Family

2010-03-25T18:50:00.000-07:00

We are pleased to introduce our new pride and joy, the Smarter Cookie Peanut Butter. Making a delicious and healthy peanut butter cookie that met our standards for flavor and healthy nutrition took some experimenting, but we've got a winner.

Sticking with the ethos of the Smarter Cookie Original, Smarter Cookie Peanut Butter will provide our fans a new wonderful way to get the most out of their snacks and desserts. We made some tough choices along the way. Do we use Organic Peanut Butter or stick with conventional? The cost is significantly higher for most of the organic ingredients we use, but we believe in certain cases, if we want to be the best choice we can be, it's just going to cost more. One quick story explains why we used organic peanut butter. We have heard that in organic farming, when a farmer wants to clean up a previously conventional field and prepare it to become certified organic, clean up crops have to be planted to leach the residual pesticides from the soil. Peanuts are used for this purpose because they are apparently very suitable for absorbing chemicals that are around them in the soil.

Recently we bought some peanuts. We opened the package used what we needed and then put the remains inside double ziplock bags. In our area of California, we have been dealing with an infestation of small household moths. It is amazing what they can get into, so we double bag nuts, fruit and flours to keep them out. We leave a cotton swab with peppermint essential oil on it in the drawers were we store endangered food items to discourage the moths from getting into our food. So, long story short, the peanuts are double ziplock bagged in a drawer of a Hosier Cabinet with a cotton swab that has peppermint essential oil on it. The next time we went to use the peanuts, fortunately there were no moths near them, but they tasted very powerfully of peppermint. The peanuts had soaked up the peppermint essential oil that wafted through the bags' seals like a sponge. So, we think that the same thing would be true for pesticides used in conventional farming. We don't want to eat that, and we sure don't want our customers to eat it either. That's why we use organic ingredients for things like peanut butter, eggs, butter and brown in our products. No question, they're much more expensive, but if we believe in healthy nutritional choices, we have to do what's right and put the right stuff in our cookies.

How do we keep Smarter Cookies Fresh for 2 months Without Preservatives?

2010-03-17T22:57:00.000-07:00

There are two things that characterize Smarter Cookies' packaging: The 2 mil recyclable polypropylene bag that protects our cookies is better at keeping the cookies air tight than thinner bags might be, and it also provides support for the cookies, which allows us to package without a cardboard support sheet behind the cookie. The second, an Oxygen Absorber,

is the little inedible blue and white packet you find behind a Smarter Cookie. It is specifically designed to prevent oxidation of food, which is a major cause of deterioration.

One of the biggest problems involved with producing a cookie with all natural and organic ingredients is how to keep those cookies fresh long enough. On an environmental and financial level, if the cookies don't hold for at least a month, it will cost too much to keep our customers in fresh cookies. To provide cookies at a price that makes sense to retailers and private customers, we want to spend the minimum possible on deliveries. To prosper as a business we reinvest the time and money we save on deliveries into meeting new customers, developing new products and baking delicious cookies.

Please understand that packaging can only do so much for an all natural product like ours. Heat can be very damaging to the quality of Smarter Cookies. We strongly recommend our customers store their cookies in the refrigerator, or at least in a cool room temperature environment. For even better long term freshness, our customers can keep most of their cookies frozen and defrost them in the refrigerator before eating.

So now you know why our packaging is designed the way it is. Providing cookies without preservatives is consistent with our mission statement. Stamping the recommended use by date keeps our customers informed.

Thanks for your interest

Smarter Cookie

Return to Smarter Cookies Site

My Experience With The Fast Track Detox Diet After I Completed Chemotherapy

2010-03-09T22:47:00.000-08:00

In July of 2008, I completed my last dose of Chemotherapy. In September of 2008 JoAnn and I decided to try a comprehensive nutritional detox as prescribed in The Fast Track Detox Diet, a book by Ann Louise Gittleman PHD

It seemed like a good idea after 2 years of chemotherapy. JoAnn and I completed the 10-day detox in late September. One of the things Gittleman noted is that people who complete this detox often see significant drops in their serum cholesterol when it is over. According to the results of my blood test on 4/15/08, the favorable trend I started while on chemo was really helped by Gittleman’s detox. On 8/27/07, my last test before the detox, my cholesterol was 219. The next time I had my cholesterol tested on 4/15/2008, my overall cholesterol number was 147.

The nutritional remedies I worked with are the only possible explanation for the dramatic changes that occurred between 7/06 and 4/08. I can’t attribute it to exercise. I tried to exercise regularly, but I didn’t feel very good about half of the time, so I just did the best I could to stay active.

For me, nutrition was the solution to my cholesterol problem. Looking at the effect oat bran and grape seed oil had on my test results while I was on strong medication that is known to negatively impact cholesterol makes me feel good about having those as major ingredients in Smarter Cookies. These are among the key ingredients that make Smarter Cookies an intelligent nutritional choice.

How Two Major Ingredients in Smarter Cookies Helped Improve My Cholesterol Numbers

2010-03-08T08:26:00.000-08:00

Within four months of when I added significant daily quantities of Oat Bran and Grape seed Oil to my diet in 2007 my cholesterol had dropped from 246 to 214.

This was without prescription cholesterol medication. In 2008 when my doctors followed up on my cholesterol numbers we were surprised to find that the numbers had moved all the way from 246 to 147. That is a 40% Drop! My LDL’s dropped, my HDLs went up and my triglycerides improved as well. My weight did not change significantly during that time.

From July of 2006 I exercised consistently at the moderate level I had been maintaining before I changed my diet. By the spring of 2007, my level of exercise dropped off. I had been on chemo for 1½ years and I felt tired a lot. Decreasing exercise can negatively impact cholesterol levels, yet even in this time my HDL’s went up. So I am pleased to conclude that given the lack of other significant factors, oat bran and grape seed oil, as indicated in prior clinical trial evidence helped me to solve my cholesterol problem. Both of these are major ingredients in Smarter Cookies. To see a table of my results look to the right of the About Smarter Cookies Webpage.

In August of 2007 I completed my final cycle of Chemotherapy. As the numbers show, Between July 2006 and August of 2007, my LDL cholesterol dropped 26 percent and the ratio of LDL to HDL improved from 3.2:1 to 1.93:1. My overall cholesterol dropped 10%. Again, this occurred while I was on chemo and with no pharmaceutical cholesterol medication. On the bottom right of the About Smarter Cookies Webpage is a Table of Results.

It is significant to note that in their respective clinical trials, which required much greater consumption of oat bran and grape seed oil than I undertook, participants experienced greater and more rapid drops in overall cholesterol than I did. I’m presuming that study participants weren’t on chemo, which in my case certainly impeded my efforts to lower cholesterol. Grape seed oil lowered triglycerides and raised HDLs. Oat Bran showed 10% or greater drops in one month in serum cholesterol, with lower LDLs and higher HDLs in the mix.

(Return to About Smarter Cookies Webpage)

Glycemic Load and Smarter Cookies

2010-03-06T11:05:00.000-08:00

Another way that diabetics, people in treatment for cancer and people who are trying to lose weight look at carbohydrates are by monitoring the Glycemic Load (GL) of what they eat.

The lower the Glycemic Load, the less blood glucose is affected. According to The Glycemic Gourmet the equation for calculating GL is:

Total Grams of Carbohydrates in a serving= TGC
Total Grams of Fiber in a serving = TGF

TGC (TGC – TGF)/100 = GL.

For instance one serving of a Smarter Cookie Original has
18 g carbohydrates and 1.7 g of fiber.

To calculate A Smarter Cookie Original’s one serving GL:
18(18-1.7)/100 = 18(16.3)/100 = 2.93

What does a Glycemic Load of 2.93 mean?

According to Everyday Health
a low Glycemic Load number is 10 or less.

(Return to About Smarter Cookies Webpage)

Nutrition Talks - A Survivor's Take: Sugar and Cancer

2010-03-03T23:54:00.000-08:00

Nutritional experts recommend that most people who are in treatment for active cancer and diabetes avoid white sugar and flour and that they maintain high fiber diets. Those in treatment for cancer are told to avoid carbohydrates that quickly break down and cause blood glucose to spike. For diabetics, spikes in blood glucose are at best uncomfortable and can become dangerous. For people in treatment for cancer, the best explanation for the interaction between sugar and cancer that I have found goes beyond the assertion that sugar feeds cancer. Sugar feeds all cells. According to Caring For Cancer’s well-researched article, Sugar and Cancer, Is there A Connection?, the issue is insulin. Blood sugar spikes cause insulin spikes. High levels of insulin accelerate cell growth, especially cancer cell growth.

How should a person who wants to avoid spikes in blood glucose try to eat? There is something called the 10:1 rule. When eating anything that has carbohydrates, the ratio of grams of carbohydrates to grams of fiber should be very close to 10:1, or lower. The idea is to have a substantial level of complex carbohydrates in what we eat. Complex carbohydrates, whole grains, are nutrient and fiber rich and they take time for the body to metabolize. For instance, because of the whole grain high fiber presence in Smarter Cookies, a person eating one will not metabolize the sugars too quickly. Severe blood sugar and insulin spikes associated with white flour and sugar are not a problem. Although it is unclear who came up with this ratio, it is considered a very important benchmark for people under treatment for cancer and diabetes to meet when choosing what they eat. It is also a benchmark that many athletes who are trying to optimize their training nutrition work with.

Although I wanted to develop a high fiber cookie that tasted good, I did not know about the 10:1 rule when I put the Smarter Cookie Original’s recipe together. It was a fellow cancer survivor who was on a carefully monitored Low Glycemic diet who first told me that Smarter Cookies have Low Glycemic Index. She was delighted to find a moderately sweet cookie that she could actually eat while remaining in her nutritional safe zone. It turns out that one serving of a Smarter Cookie Original has 20 grams of carbohydrates and 2.5 grams of fiber. So the good news is, Smarter Cookies are a healthy choice for most people in treatment for cancer and diabetics to consume in their daily diets, in moderation. They’re also very well suited for hypoglycemics. Smarter Cookies can also be a part of a sound nutritional strategy for athletes in training. And they’re delicious, so they’re perfect for anyone who loves a good cookie.

Thanks for reading our blog!

Peace, Wellness and Blessings
Richard Harvey

(Return to About Smarter Cookies Webpage)

What's written around Smarter Cookies label?

2010-03-02T12:15:00.000-08:00

It's a poem :^)

Smart Cookie Philosophy

there is
that cookie
stubbornness
that cookie
not wanting
to be
the old maid
that cookie
tomorrow
that cookie
later on today
there is that cookie
you found
in its wrapper stale
when you realized
you would have done better
to eat it yesterday
saving even one cookie
doesn’t always pay

(Return To About Smarter Cookies Webpage)

About Smarter Cookies

2010-03-01T11:34:00.000-08:00

My name is Richard Harvey. I'm the inventor of Smarter Cookies and a 6 1/2 year brain cancer survivor. One of the most positive results of my health challenges occurred when I was less than a year into medical treatment for stage 3 brain tumor. My Neuro Oncologist informed me that my cholesterol was up to 246. It was a side effect of the medications I had taken in that first year. My doctor suggested ZOCOR®, a drug that is shown to control and bring down elevated cholesterol. I was concerned about adding more stress on my liver to what the chemo was causing. The plan was to keep on chemotherapy for two years. I told my doctor I wanted to try managing the cholesterol issue with nutrition.

My research revealed that clinical trials on both oat bran and grape seed oil had proven that they significantly favorably change LDL, HDL and triglyceride cholesterol when consumed daily in sufficient quantities.

I began developing recipes that included these two ingredients. Since my triglycerides were very high, I decided to use sweeteners sparingly and that what I did use had to make nutritional sense. For instance, the organic Blackstrap Molasses in Smarter Cookies Original, Original Vegan and Oatmeal Vegan is rich in many trace minerals that are removed in refined sugar. I did not use any of the popular artificial sweeteners because I don't like the way they taste and I felt concerned about their potential side effects. I replaced refined white sugar and flour in my diet with whole grain carbohydrates, organic brown sugar. My decision to eat this way aligns with the recommendations of some of the most renowned experts in nutrition for cancer survivors, diabetics and athletes in training.

My favorite recipe that I developed in this process, and the one that people around me raved about was the beginning of what has now become Smarter Cookies' Original. I chose all of the ingredients for The Original carefully. I wanted to make sure every bite was healthful and delicious while supporting sustainable and environmentally sound agriculture as well. Choosing organic eggs and butter allowed me to avoid the residual chemicals that concentrate in the lipids in conventionally butter and eggs. Organic brown sugar and Blackstrap Molasses were important because conventional sugar is grown using a lot of pesticides and other chemicals. I added lecithin to the recipe to help with nerve regeneration. In the end I came up with a high fiber cookie that was loaded with healthy ingredients and tasted great. Smarter Cookies were often all I wanted to eat when I felt queasy from chemo. Some days all I ate was three cookies a day and my supplements. I never worried about nutrition on these days because I knew the cookies provided well-balanced nutrition.

This is how and why Smarter Cookies were invented. We now have four vegan cookies, The Original Vegan Chocolate Chip, the Peanut Butter Vegan, The Peanut Butter Vegan Chocolate Chip and the Oatmeal Vegan. We also have The Original Chocolate Chip, made with organic eggs and butter, and the Peanut Butter, made with organic eggs. Thankfully I am married to a person who can take from the chaos I live in and organize some of the best of it into a business model.

Thanks for visiting!

Peace, Wellness and Blessings

Richard Harvey

Back to Smarter Cookies Website

(Back to About Smarter Cookies Page)