The Weblog

This page contains news, event information, and other items added by Ian and Adam, the resident farmers at Old 99. We send out a message every week, but most are set with a delete date about two weeks later. I archive some of the posts if they have content other than weekly availability of produce and meat.

You can send me questions too, which if they are of a general nature, I can post to this Old99 blog.



 
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OLd 99 Farm, week of May 3rd, 2015


You should see the lambs trying to get into the greenhouse! I let them out of the north house which I used as a lambing shed and they go exploring. Green grass isn’t good enough for them, they have to eat the kale and claytonia that is growing in the south house, along the wall, now rolled up to reduce heat. I even had to chase them right outside, until I lowered the sidewall enough to discourage them.

Last year I put the cows out to pasture on May 18th; this year may beat that by a week.

We’ve got lots of seedlings growing in flats, including a variety of flowers, so when the time comes I’ll offer them for sale.

We have 38 items to offer this week, adding chives and lovage to the lettuces, kale, spinach (ho! lots of spinach this year), etc.

Here’s my internet crib for the week:

Five Foods We Thought Were Bad for Us, Now Turn Out to Be Good

Here are five nutritional flip-flops, and a few more where the jury is still out.

1. Eggs. Unless you are diabetic, there is no evidence that dietary cholesterol results in plaque building up in your arteries (studies on diabetics have shown possible correlation but nothing definitive).
In addition to protein, eggs contain lots of great nutrition, including omega-3s and B-vitamins.
Bottom line: Eat your eggs.
2. Saturated fat/red meat. In 2014, a study out of Harvard, comprised of over one million people, found no link between the consumption of unprocessed red meat and either heart disease or diabetes. Another study out of Europe of over 450,000 individuals came to the same conclusion.
However, both of these studies did find a link between processed meat (hot dogs, cold cuts and the like) and disease.
Bottom line: If you want a burger, eat one, but think twice about that salami (processed meat) sandwich. But health reasons aside, the consumption of meat in the world sustains factory-farming of animals, which is the source of horrendous misery for billions of cows and pigs and is literally killing the planet because of the carbon, air and land pollution it creates.
3. Butter. …the duel between margarine and butter has been classic, but it seems that butter has finally gained the upper hand, in fact it is margarine, with its high trans fat content, which studies have shown is the heart disease enabler.
Meanwhile, butter is a good source of fat-soluble vitamins like A, E and K2, and actually raises the good HDL level in your blood, while lowering the bad LDL. As for the extra calories? No worries. A 2012 study concluded there was no correlation between high fat dairy and obesity.
Bottom line: Butter your toast. But remember most dairy you consume comes from factory farms, so try to buy butter that comes from grass-fed cows.
4. Coffee.
It turns out that the dark side of coffee was greatly exaggerated. Yes, there are negative aspects of coffee. It is addictive…
Now for the good stuff. Coffee is loaded with antioxidants (in fact, some Westerners actually get more antioxidants from coffee than from fruits and vegetables). Coffee enhances brain function (as do most stimulants), may protect your brain from degenerative diseases like Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s, and may ward off Type 2 diabetes and even liver cancer.

5. Avocados. the creamy fruit (yes, it is a fruit, not a vegetable) is a source of mono-saturated fat that does not clog your arteries or increase your cholesterol level, and in fact helps sweep away the bad LDL in your blood.
Bottom line: Eat as much guacamole as your heart desires.

On the Fence

Red wine: For a long time, scientists struggled with the so-called French paradox. Why is it that the French, whose diet includes lots of saturated fats, still manage to have less heart disease … A more likely cause, we now believe, is the higher amount of fresh fruits and vegetables that the French consume, as well as the lower amount of processed foods.

Salt: Considered a contributor to high blood pressure and resulting heart attack and stroke risk,…Now a major study, called the PURE study, published in the New England Journal of Medicine has concluded that there is insufficient evidence to show that limiting salt intake has any effect on health.

Sorry, These Are Still Bad For Us

Bacon: Unprocessed meat good. Processed meat bad. Bacon tastes great and is very bad for you.
[ouch that hurts, I eat 3 slices a day!]

Sugar: It’s bad for you. It was then, it is now. And it’s not just the tooth decay or the obesity or the diabetic risk; studies increasingly point to sugar as a culprit in inflammation, which may link to autoimmune diseases, cancer, heart disease, and more.

Listen to the old saw: everything in moderation. And no matter what, no one will ever say too many fruits and veggies are bad for you. Eat lots of those and you really won’t need to worry too much about the rest.

Source: http://www.truth-out.org/news/item/30561-five-foods-we-thought-were-bad-for-us-now-turn-out-to-be-good (at 5/4/2015, 11:04 PM)

Healthy eating
Ian and Cami