Do you ever go to the kitchen sink, and find a mish-mash of dishes, glasses, cutlery and even a soggy sponge in it? Well, I’ve taken inspiration from the name of the bag of greens that I get from the market weekly and calling this show and episode, and perhaps more in the future, The Kitchen Sink of Questions! I have to give credit to Ryan Bergman of Loco Fields, that we talked to in episode 124 about buying food locally, and his bag of kitchen sink greens are one of my favourite!
Since being back from taking a break during April, your questions have been coming in thick and fast, which I love. They help decide to what topics to cover, and what you want to hear is likely what someone else, who hasn’t taken the time to write in, also wants to hear. So keep em coming! I’ve had questions about reading food labels, DNA Testing, which chocolate to buy, the difference between all the oils out there, and when to use ones like coconut or olive oil, and also, if there’s time, about my perimenopause journey after doing the DUTCH testing. So today on EAT THIS with Lianne, a kitchen sink of questions from you, my lovely loyal listeners and one from my daughter.
Seeing things through the eyes of others is grounding and inspiring. My youngest daughter is in her last semester of high school, and in her kinesiology class, they’re on their nutrition module. Cue Mom asking what they’re talking about every day! She had a quiz about labels, and her questions had me think that a quick review for you, could also be helpful. Her question was about the % on the label of packaged foods – yes, I did give a quick sermon about the fact that products in a package aren’t as nutrient-dense as food that’s found in the produce section. I digress. The DV and % value found on the side of food labels indicate the nutritional value of the food you’re eating. DV stands for Daily Value, which is the amount of a particular nutrient that a person needs in a day based on a 2,000-calorie diet. So clearly, it’s not specific enough for the general population. The % value listed on the label tells you how much of the DV a serving of the food provides. For example, if a food has 10% of the DV for calcium, then it provides 10% of the amount of calcium that a person needs in a day based on a 2,000-calorie diet, but does not take into account factors such as age, gender, weight, and physical activity level can all affect a person’s nutritional needs.
Ok, so the nutrition facts are only one aspect of what’s in the food that you have in your hand as you try and decipher which product to buy. The ingredient list must also be checked out. So that DV stands for daily value, and then there’s the percentage value of what’s supposedly in the product. It’s not always accurate. By looking at the % values, you can see how much of a particular nutrient is in a serving of the food, which can help compare similar products to determine which one has a higher nutritional value. For example, if you are trying to choose between two different brands of cereal, (which I don’t recommend eating, in case you haven’t heard me say that before), you can look at the % values and head straight for the carbohydrate line, and right below you’ll see the sugar content. For every 4 g of sugar, it contains 1 tsp of sugar. The vitamins and minerals on the label could be naturally occurring but mostly refer to any fortification, especially with cereals. If you’re trying to avoid or reach nutrient goals by looking at the label, that’s going to be a day-long math equation. The most common reason someone would look at that % is likely for salt and high blood pressure.
DNA testing – why and what will it tell you? I had a discovery with a new potential client, which is my process before I work with someone who is on their healing journey to make sure that I’m the right person to help and that we are a fit, and the topic of DNA testing came up as a possible next step. We haven’t talked about it lately, but in episodes 101 and 111, we had Kashif Khan, the co-founder of TheDNACompany.com/eatthis, so we got into the benefits, and I shared how much I use my results in making decisions about what to focus on as there is also a kitchen sink full of ailments as well as prevention, to work on. I do think that it is a test that everyone should do to know themselves better. What you’re predisposed to, or what did Mom and Dad give you that you can focus on to not have become a part of your reality? Chris Hemsworth found out that he has that APOE4 gene and 2 eleils and he created a whole NatGeo series about it. It was OTT for what any of us would do, but you get the idea of how you can cheat your genetics or what’s called epigenetics. As in, your genes might tell part of the story, but you get to choose the outcome as lifestyle and epigenetics are around 80% responsible for your health outcome in life. It’s like those stories that have a fork in the road, and you get to choose what direction to go in, well, that’s the same with your genetics for the most part. And it’s also important to know that what is in your genetics, may not predispose you to breast cancer, for instance, as now 80% of women diagnosed with breast cancer, do not have a genetic component to it, but I bet there is something in a DNA result that speaks to contributing factors like detoxification, as a really big one. If you don’t detoxify heavy metals, chemicals, and pesticides like glyphosate, your body is a playground for disease and issues when the wrong things get stuck in the tissues, so that’s when something like the binder supplement called Holo-Plexus from Physica Energetics that Dr Brockenshire talked about also for allergies comes in. NAC or N-Acetly-Cystene and Glutathione Liposome have to become a part of your daily supplement intake. All those I just mentioned are Physica Energetics products available on sproutright.com. So should you take the plunge and have your DNA tested? My recommendation is yes. It’s not cheap, and it takes up to three months to get the results, but you can save $50 by going to thednacompany.com/eatthis
Alright, let’s talk about chocolate. Jamie, the host of a morning radio show that I am a weekly guest expert for, went to the supermarket and saw the stand of chocolate and thought he’d dive in and try dark chocolate after a segment that we did about it. Jamie often says that since working together for about the past three years, he has a little Lianne on his shoulder, like an angel who talks to him when he’s about to make a less healthy decision. So, in this case, the little Lianne on his shoulder said yes, go for the dark stuff but did NOT say get the 95% cacao bar. He shared his reaction to it and was trying to be mindful not to offend, quite proud of his decision to go dark, but I very quickly validated that 95% dark chocolate is not pleasant unless you know what you’re doing. Cacao solids are bitter, strong, and It tastes like chalky straw if you’re not used to it or eat it in the right way. The experience can be tweaked, I promise, but are the benefits that he’s getting, worth it? Research has shown that bars with 70% cacao or more can act as a mild antidepressant by boosting serotonin levels that have a calming effect. It can help release endorphins–like you get when you exercise, to elevate mood and suppresses levels of cortisol, your stress-related hormone. And no, don’t swap the chocolate for the gym in case your mind works that way but imagine how great you’ll feel when you do both! Chocolate, called a superfood, is not only about the nutrients but the experience and the mouth feel. Milk chocolate melts fast in your mouth, right? That sugar chocolate taste oozes onto your tongue and makes you feel great, right there at that moment if you pay attention. That’s the mouth feel that I’m talking about. There’s a trick to eating higher cacao bars, that Marie Schlem in episode 49 – For the Love of Chocolate. She said to take a square of chocolate and hold it in your mouth for 20 seconds. Let it melt. The cacao solids need to melt, and it’s a whole other experience than the chalky experience. You can get a similar experience to milk chocolate, less sweet, obviously, as the 95% doesn’t have much sugar, if any. Once you get past the mouthfeel, your body is going to benefit from the mineral manganese that supports the production of collagen. That’s the protein that helps keep skin looking young and healthy (more in ep 46, titled Collagen 101). Then there are other minerals, like calcium, that help repair and renew skin, which is pretty important because we can shed up to 40,000 skin cells each day and magnesium which is used for just about every function that your body does, even if you don’t know it.
If you’re going to make the jump from milk chocolate to dark, start at 70%. Also, note that cacao bean varieties vary in sweetness and flavour, but different chocolate makers add different amounts of cocoa butter—or none at all—to their chocolate, which affects sweetness and intensity. How else can you use dark chocolate and reap the health benefits if 95% isn’t your preference?
Grate it into spaghetti sauce or blend it with hot water or coffee for a beautiful drink. I add coconut whip cream from a can and put about a tablespoon in the blender with my Giddy Yo Reishi and Chaga mushroom tinctures, and a teaspoon of maca powder for a super-boosted coffee in the morning. My fave chocolate, hands down, is ChocoSol for the best mouth feel. They have the balance of fat to sweet to chocolate nailed down. They’re local, and Michael Sacco, the owner, is a passionate and incredible human, you can hear him in episode 92.