Why are carrots more expensive than Twinkies? Current food subsidies make poor food choices affordable.

Have you noticed that "healthy" options at fast food restaurants are more expensive than poorer quality options? This is true of many foods...hard to believe that a single ingredient food like carrots are more expensive than a food with 40 ingredients and a ridiculous shelf life like Twinkies. This video gives insight in to the reasons:

Michael Pollan: Twinkie vs. Carrot from Nourish on Vimeo.

This season give some thought to cutting back on processed foods and eating more whole foods...the best holiday gift you can give yourself and your family.

The Vitamin D3 Controversy

For the past several years I have avidly studied the benefits of Vitamin D3, attending medical conferences, reading scores of books and articles and sharing this information via newsletters and word of mouth. I am distressed to see recent headlines following the IOM's (Institute of Medicine) recommendations on calcium and Vitamin D.

The IOM recommendations are confusing and potentially dangerous if they scare people away from a necessary and relatively inexpensive supplement for overall good health. There is no question in my mind based on my research that:
Adequate D3 levels help to build immunity and protect people from the flu, several forms of cancer, heart disease, type 2 diabetes, bone density issues, joint pain and a host of other conditions;
The vast majority of people have insufficient levels of D3 if not deficiency of this critical nutrient, which is not a "vitamin" but a substrate to an important hormone.

Don't take my word for it. Read what the experts have to say and research for yourself...here are some links to get you started:

This link from Dr. John Cannell of the Vitamin D Council is annotated with additional relevant studies
http://www.vitamindcouncil.org/vdc-statement-fnb-vitamin-d-report-shtml

This link from Grassroots Health will give you video testimonies from experts on D3 like Dr. Robert Heany and Dr. Cedric Garland as well as a wealth of information on broad scale and ongoing studies looking at blood levels of D3 and safe supplement dosages to achieve optimal D3 ranges: http://www.grassrootshealth.net/

Taking control of our own health and wellbeing requires arming ourselves with information and questioning headlines that don't provide the whole story.