by BodyEcology.com
Processed food is fast and easy, but before you stop at the next vending machine or fast food window, find out what they DON’T want you to know about processed foods.
Okay, they taste good...and they’re easy. In fact, they’re everywhere you look.
Processed foods seem like the answer to today’s busy lives. New fads and fancy advertisements make promises that keep us coming back for more.
But before you hit the vending machine or the fast food window, find out what the processed food industry doesn’t want you to know:
1. Processed foods are addictive and can cause you to overeat. Whole foods are made up of carbohydrates, proteins, fats, fiber and water. When foods are processed the components of these foods are modified (for example, fiber, water and nutrients are removed) and in other cases, components are concentrated. In each case, processing changes the way they are digested and assimilated in your body.
Eating highly processed or highly concentrated foods can artificially stimulate dopamine (the pleasure neurotransmitter), which plays a role in addiction. In this way, you are eating foods that lack nutrients and fiber, but create a pleasurable feeling. A food addiction starts because you feel good when you are eating these foods and they make you think they taste better. You crave that pleasurable feeling again and again and viola…this is what starts a food addiction.
2. Processed foods are linked to obesity. Additives in processed foods, like high fructose corn syrup, sugar and MSG have been linked to weight gain and obesity. Dr. Mercola recently reported about a new study that showed childhood obesity could be reduced by 18 percent, simply by cutting out fast food advertisements during children’s programming.3 The Australian government is clearly more concerned about their children’s health as television advertisements to children were banned several years ago.
3. Processed foods often contain ingredients that do not follow the principle of food combining, which can lead to low energy, poor digestion, illness, acidic blood and weight gain. An example would be a frozen meat and cheese pizza. Cheese (a dairy product), meat (an animal protein) and pizza crust (a grain product) make a terrible food combination that can wreak havoc on your digestive health.
4. Processed foods contribute to an imbalanced inner ecosystem, which can lead to digestive problems, cravings, illness and disease. Beneficial microflora cannot survive in your digestive tract when you are poisoning them. Like us they thrive on foods that are made by nature not by man.
5. A diet high in processed foods can lead to depression, memory issues and mood swings. Ingredients in processed foods are often the lowest cost and sub-par, nutritionally. For example, the fats and oils used in processed foods are refined, which means they are stripped of the essential fatty acids necessary for healthy blood sugar levels, moods and memory. Your heart, hormones and brain suffer when you choose to eat these fats and oils. Instead choose the organic, unrefined or “virgin” fats and oils that are recommended on The Body Ecology Diet.
6. Processed foods often go hand in hand with “eating on the run” or multitasking. Most people will choose convenience if they are on the run and in today’s busy lives, who of us isn’t? Unfortunately, multitasking while eating causes people to lose touch with their natural appetite, often leading to weight gain. Additionally, multitasking sends the wrong signals to your digestive system, which needs to be in a restful mode to digest properly.
7. Nutrition labels on processed foods are often misleading and have harmful health effects. Many labels say “sugar free,” but contain other sweeteners like agave, which is like high fructose corn syrup. Additionally, product labeling may hide ingredients like GM (genetically modified) foods and harmful additives like MSG. (These are hidden behind words on the label like “natural flavorings” or “approved spices”).
8. Diets high in processed meats (like hot dogs and deli meats) have been linked to various forms of cancer, such as pancreatic cancer, colorectal cancer and stomach cancer.
9. Eating too many processed foods can lead to infertility and malnutrition. Processed foods, like cereal, are stripped of important vitamins and nutrients that your body truly needs. You could be eating a large amount of calories and still be malnourished if your diet is high in processed foods.
Animal studies have shown that over three generations, a deficient diet causes reproduction to cease.6 Today, infertility is on the rise, affecting 7.3 million people in America.
10. Processed foods are made for long shelf-life, not long human life! Chemicals, additives and preservatives are added to processed foods so that they will last for a long time without going rancid or affecting the taste of the food. Food manufacturers spend time, money and research on beautiful packaging and strategies to lengthen shelf-life, with little attention on how the foods will lengthen your life or create lasting health.
http://www.bodyecology.com/archive/10-things-processed-food-industry.php
Showing posts with label raw food. Show all posts
Showing posts with label raw food. Show all posts
Monday, January 26, 2009
Saturday, January 24, 2009
YET ANOTHER REASON TO EAT RAW AND LOCAL - Counterfeit foods enter the U.S. market
By Elizabeth Weise, USA TODAY
Some of your favorite foods may be fakes.
Foods masquerading as something else — a more nutritious something else — have been big news in the past two years. Chinese food companies in particular have been blamed for making deadly alterations to dairy, baby and pet foods by adding melamine. The chemical makes it appear that the food or beverage has the required level of protein.
But what about food producers in this country? What fraudulent foods do U.S. consumers have to fear from American companies?
Experts say dangerous U.S.-produced foods are comparatively few, but producers have been known to practice "economic adulteration" — adding a little to their bottom line by padding, thinning or substituting something cheap for something expensive.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture and the Food and Drug Administration regulate the food industry, but with safety issues to deal with, economic adulteration has "really been back-burnered," says Bruce Silverglade of the non-profit Center for Science in the Public Interest. So in a caveat emptor world, what should consumers look out for?
Fish is the most frequently faked food Americans buy. In the business, it's called "species adulteration" — selling a cheaper fish such as pen-raised Atlantic salmon as wild Alaska salmon.
When Consumer Reports tested 23 supposedly wild-caught salmon fillets bought nationwide in 2005-2006, only 10 were wild salmon. The rest were farmed. In 2004, University of North Carolina scientists found 77% of fish labeled red snapper was actually something else. Last year, the Chicago Sun-Times tested fish at 17 sushi restaurants and found that fish being sold as red snapper actually was mostly tilapia.
"It's really just fraud, plain and simple," says Gavin Gibbons of the National Fisheries Institute, an industry group.
One thing consumers don't need to worry about is scallops. Tales of skate wings cut into circles and sold as scallops are common. But Spring Randolph, a consumer safety officer at the FDA and an expert on species adulteration, says the FDA has never found an actual case of it.
Salmon is tricky. Randolph does have one tip, though. Farmed salmon gets its coloring from dyes added to food pellets the fish are fed, while wild salmon gets it from the plankton they eat.
"When you cook it, the wild salmon retains its color, and in the aquaculture salmon, the color tends to leak out," she says. Suspicious consumers can call the FDA's Center for Food Safety and Nutrition hotline at 1-888-SAFEFOOD.
Olive oil
This luxury oil, touted for its heart-health properties and taste, has become a gourmet must-have. Americans consumed about 575 million pounds of the silky stuff last year, according to the North American Olive Oil Association. Sixty-three percent was the higher-grade extra virgin, which comes from the first pressing of the olives.
It's also one of the most frequently counterfeited food products, says Martin Stutsman, the FDA's consumer safety officer for edible oils.
There are no national figures on olive-oil fakery. But after complaints, Connecticut began testing two years ago. "We were coming across a lot of products labeled as extra-virgin olive oil that contained up to 90% soybean oil," says Jerry Farrell Jr., Connecticut's commissioner of consumer protection.
Most name brands were fine, Farrell says. It was often off-brands sold in discount stores that were the problem.
Connecticut was so concerned that in November, it became the first state in the nation to set standards for olive oil, enabling officials there to levy fines and pull adulterated products off store shelves. California is set to create its own standards this year. Reports from panels of testers have found as much as 60% to 70% of the olive oil sold as extra virgin in the state is a lower-quality olive oil, says Dan Flynn of the Olive Center at the University of California-Davis.
The easiest thing is for fakers to add 10% vegetable oil in extra virgin, says Stutsman. "It will still smell as it should, but you've saved 10% of the cost."
Bob Bauer, president of the North American Olive Oil Association, says it's more of a problem in restaurants than in supermarkets.
Honey
An expensive natural product that's mostly sugar, honey is easily faked. "If you can substitute a less expensive source of sugar for the expensive one, you can save some money and gain market share," says the FDA's Stutsman.
It used to be that cane sugar or high-fructose corn syrup was mostly used to thin out honey. But chemically, that was easy to spot. FDA used an isotope test that would easily identify the adulteration.
So counterfeiters got wily and started using beet sugar. Its profile is similar to honey, so the FDA had to switch to a much more complicated, multistep test comparing the sugar profiles to see if the proportions and trace materials match.
"But once we started catching people, they create a moving target. They'll switch to something more difficult (to detect)," says Stutsman.
Maple syrup
Maple syrup is another high-value item that can be adulterated. In these tough economic times, Vermont, the USA's largest supplier to flapjacks everywhere, may up its testing programs.
The boiled-down sap of the sugar maple tree can be diluted with water or sugar by sellers "trying to get more bang for the buck," says Kristin Haas, food safety director in the state's Agency for Agriculture, Food and Markets.
Vermont's testing program has found fraud only three times in the past 17 years, says Haas, but it's not taken lightly. "A couple of years back, there was a gentleman who actually went to prison because of this issue."
When times get tight, the incentive to cheat can rise like sap in the spring, so the state may have to work harder to keep its premier product pure.
Vanilla
A product of the tropics, vanilla pods can be soaked in milk or stored in sugar to impart a delicate vanilla scent to foods. More commonly, they're soaked in alcohol that is then used as a flavoring.
But vanillin (pronounced VAN-ah-lynn), a chemical copy of the richly organic vanilla flavor, was created in the laboratory in the 19th century. When used in foods, it's supposed to be labeled as an artificial flavor and usually is.
One "too good to be true" product to watch out for is really inexpensive vanilla extract sometimes sold in Mexico and Latin America, says the FDA. It's often made with coumarin, a toxic substance that has been banned in U.S. foods since 1954.
Coumarin is chemically related to warfarin, a blood thinner, and can be dangerous. It's "no bargain," the FDA says.
http://www.usatoday.com/news/health/2009-01-19-fake-foods_N.htm
Some of your favorite foods may be fakes.
Foods masquerading as something else — a more nutritious something else — have been big news in the past two years. Chinese food companies in particular have been blamed for making deadly alterations to dairy, baby and pet foods by adding melamine. The chemical makes it appear that the food or beverage has the required level of protein.
But what about food producers in this country? What fraudulent foods do U.S. consumers have to fear from American companies?
Experts say dangerous U.S.-produced foods are comparatively few, but producers have been known to practice "economic adulteration" — adding a little to their bottom line by padding, thinning or substituting something cheap for something expensive.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture and the Food and Drug Administration regulate the food industry, but with safety issues to deal with, economic adulteration has "really been back-burnered," says Bruce Silverglade of the non-profit Center for Science in the Public Interest. So in a caveat emptor world, what should consumers look out for?
Fish is the most frequently faked food Americans buy. In the business, it's called "species adulteration" — selling a cheaper fish such as pen-raised Atlantic salmon as wild Alaska salmon.
When Consumer Reports tested 23 supposedly wild-caught salmon fillets bought nationwide in 2005-2006, only 10 were wild salmon. The rest were farmed. In 2004, University of North Carolina scientists found 77% of fish labeled red snapper was actually something else. Last year, the Chicago Sun-Times tested fish at 17 sushi restaurants and found that fish being sold as red snapper actually was mostly tilapia.
"It's really just fraud, plain and simple," says Gavin Gibbons of the National Fisheries Institute, an industry group.
One thing consumers don't need to worry about is scallops. Tales of skate wings cut into circles and sold as scallops are common. But Spring Randolph, a consumer safety officer at the FDA and an expert on species adulteration, says the FDA has never found an actual case of it.
Salmon is tricky. Randolph does have one tip, though. Farmed salmon gets its coloring from dyes added to food pellets the fish are fed, while wild salmon gets it from the plankton they eat.
"When you cook it, the wild salmon retains its color, and in the aquaculture salmon, the color tends to leak out," she says. Suspicious consumers can call the FDA's Center for Food Safety and Nutrition hotline at 1-888-SAFEFOOD.
Olive oil
This luxury oil, touted for its heart-health properties and taste, has become a gourmet must-have. Americans consumed about 575 million pounds of the silky stuff last year, according to the North American Olive Oil Association. Sixty-three percent was the higher-grade extra virgin, which comes from the first pressing of the olives.
It's also one of the most frequently counterfeited food products, says Martin Stutsman, the FDA's consumer safety officer for edible oils.
There are no national figures on olive-oil fakery. But after complaints, Connecticut began testing two years ago. "We were coming across a lot of products labeled as extra-virgin olive oil that contained up to 90% soybean oil," says Jerry Farrell Jr., Connecticut's commissioner of consumer protection.
Most name brands were fine, Farrell says. It was often off-brands sold in discount stores that were the problem.
Connecticut was so concerned that in November, it became the first state in the nation to set standards for olive oil, enabling officials there to levy fines and pull adulterated products off store shelves. California is set to create its own standards this year. Reports from panels of testers have found as much as 60% to 70% of the olive oil sold as extra virgin in the state is a lower-quality olive oil, says Dan Flynn of the Olive Center at the University of California-Davis.
The easiest thing is for fakers to add 10% vegetable oil in extra virgin, says Stutsman. "It will still smell as it should, but you've saved 10% of the cost."
Bob Bauer, president of the North American Olive Oil Association, says it's more of a problem in restaurants than in supermarkets.
Honey
An expensive natural product that's mostly sugar, honey is easily faked. "If you can substitute a less expensive source of sugar for the expensive one, you can save some money and gain market share," says the FDA's Stutsman.
It used to be that cane sugar or high-fructose corn syrup was mostly used to thin out honey. But chemically, that was easy to spot. FDA used an isotope test that would easily identify the adulteration.
So counterfeiters got wily and started using beet sugar. Its profile is similar to honey, so the FDA had to switch to a much more complicated, multistep test comparing the sugar profiles to see if the proportions and trace materials match.
"But once we started catching people, they create a moving target. They'll switch to something more difficult (to detect)," says Stutsman.
Maple syrup
Maple syrup is another high-value item that can be adulterated. In these tough economic times, Vermont, the USA's largest supplier to flapjacks everywhere, may up its testing programs.
The boiled-down sap of the sugar maple tree can be diluted with water or sugar by sellers "trying to get more bang for the buck," says Kristin Haas, food safety director in the state's Agency for Agriculture, Food and Markets.
Vermont's testing program has found fraud only three times in the past 17 years, says Haas, but it's not taken lightly. "A couple of years back, there was a gentleman who actually went to prison because of this issue."
When times get tight, the incentive to cheat can rise like sap in the spring, so the state may have to work harder to keep its premier product pure.
Vanilla
A product of the tropics, vanilla pods can be soaked in milk or stored in sugar to impart a delicate vanilla scent to foods. More commonly, they're soaked in alcohol that is then used as a flavoring.
But vanillin (pronounced VAN-ah-lynn), a chemical copy of the richly organic vanilla flavor, was created in the laboratory in the 19th century. When used in foods, it's supposed to be labeled as an artificial flavor and usually is.
One "too good to be true" product to watch out for is really inexpensive vanilla extract sometimes sold in Mexico and Latin America, says the FDA. It's often made with coumarin, a toxic substance that has been banned in U.S. foods since 1954.
Coumarin is chemically related to warfarin, a blood thinner, and can be dangerous. It's "no bargain," the FDA says.
http://www.usatoday.com/news/health/2009-01-19-fake-foods_N.htm
Tuesday, January 20, 2009
Spice It Up! Stay Warm This Winter Using Warming Spices
Cayenne – Improves circulation and can help heal ulcers. Capsicum significantly lowers serum cholesterol and serum triglycerides. Stimulant and digestive aid. Sooths inflammation and helps speed detoxification. Capsicum is a catalyst herb. Its stimulating properties speed the absorption and effectiveness of any herbs taken in combination with it.
Cinnamon – May help to prevent diabetes by balancing blood sugar levels. Reduces blood sugar in people with diabetes. Reduces triglycerides and cholesterol levels in those with type 2 diabetes. In experimental studies, cinnamon was found to prevent cancer in animals. Enhances detoxification of the liver. Stimulates circulation. Used to relieve aching muscles and other symptoms of the common cold. Cinnamon’s volatile oils possess both antiviral and stimulating properties. Classic remedy for digestive problems.
Cloves – Contains eugenol, a potent anti-inflammatory phenolic. Toothache is still effectively treated with cloves, as eugenol has both analgesic and antiseptic qualities. Chinese medicine has used cloves to treat indigestion, diarrhea, hernia, ringworm, and athlete’s foot and other fungal infections. In traditional Indian ayurvedic medicine, the spice is used to treat respiratory and digestive problems.
Nutmeg – In Chinese herbal medicine, used for treating intestinal problems, especially for diarrhea. In India, nutmeg is believed to increase sexual stamina and is known as an aphrodisiac.
Cardamom – Stimulates the digestive system, reduces gas, and counteracts stomach acidity. Considered beneficial to the urinary-tract system and is considered a kidney cleanser. Used to improve the circulation of the lungs and to treat asthma in Ayurvedic medicine. Antiseptic and antimicrobial.
Cardamom – Stimulates the digestive system, reduces gas, and counteracts stomach acidity. Considered beneficial to the urinary-tract system and is considered a kidney cleanser. Used to improve the circulation of the lungs and to treat asthma in Ayurvedic medicine. Antiseptic and antimicrobial.
Ginger – Contains some of the most potent anti-inflammatory substances known. Used to treat arthritis, vertigo, migraine headaches, and various digestive problems, especially nausea. Safe treatment for morning sickness during pregnancy.
Curry – A blend of spices that generally includes turmeric, cardamom, coriander, cumin, fenugreek, cinnamon, and cayenne pepper. Has a stimulating effect. Coriander is used as an herbal digestive aid; it's a natural diuretic, helps the body detoxify, and it eases nausea. Cumin stimulates circulation and can help relieve abdominal cramping. Fenugreek is used to treat indigestion, intestinal inflammation, and allergies.
Turmeric – Protective effects against inflammation and cancer. Health benefits come from the deep yellow pigment caused by a group of flavonoids called curcuminoids. Medicinal uses of turmeric include healing stomach ulcers and the relief of free-radical stress in patients with inflammation-related diseases. In traditional Indian ayurvedic medicine, the herb is considered a natural antibiotic that strengthens digestion and improves intestinal flora.
Cumin – One of the oldest cultivated spices. A popular spice and medicinal herb in ancient Egypt. Aids digestion. Used to treat coughs and chest colds and to relieve pain, particularly for toothache. Pain-relieving compounds have been found in cumin, along with anti-inflammatory and anti-swelling compounds.
Black Pepper – Improves digestion by stimulating hydrochloric acid production. Rich in antioxidants. Antibacterial. Has diaphoretic (promotes sweating), and diuretic properties.
www.livingblissfoods.com 2009
www.livingblissfoods.com 2009
Living Bliss, LLC
Spice It Up!
January 2009 Raw Recipe Demonstration
with
Raw Chef Erin Brennan
Butternut Squash Soup
4 cups butternut squash, peeled and cubed
2-2½ cups water
Juice of ½ orange
½ avocado
2 TBSP cold pressed olive oil
1-2 tsp raw local honey
1-2 cloves garlic
1 tsp ginger powder OR 1 TBSP fresh diced ginger
1 tsp cumin
½ tsp sea salt OR to taste
¼ tsp mustard powder
¼ tsp cinnamon
¼ tsp cayenne powder
Fresh cracked black pepper to taste
Combine all ingredients in blender. Blend on high until creamy. Serve immediately or warm in dehydrator if desired. Makes 4 servings.
Hemp Chai Latte
2-4 bags of tea of choice (Black, Green, Gynostemma, Darjeeling)
2-3 TBSP raw local honey
½-1 droppers liquid stevia (vanilla)
4 TBSP hempseeds
1-2 TBSP coconut oil
½ tsp ginger powder
¼ tsp cardamom powder
Scant 1/8 tsp cloves powder
½ tsp cinnamon
Dusting fresh grated nutmeg
OPTIONAL:
Vanilla
¼ tsp allspice
Boil water and steep tea. Once tea has steeped, add tea, honey, hempseeds, coconut oil and spices to blender. Blend until creamy. Strain through coffee filter if desired. Enjoy. Makes 4 servings.
www.livingblissfoods.com 2009
with
Raw Chef Erin Brennan
Butternut Squash Soup
4 cups butternut squash, peeled and cubed
2-2½ cups water
Juice of ½ orange
½ avocado
2 TBSP cold pressed olive oil
1-2 tsp raw local honey
1-2 cloves garlic
1 tsp ginger powder OR 1 TBSP fresh diced ginger
1 tsp cumin
½ tsp sea salt OR to taste
¼ tsp mustard powder
¼ tsp cinnamon
¼ tsp cayenne powder
Fresh cracked black pepper to taste
Combine all ingredients in blender. Blend on high until creamy. Serve immediately or warm in dehydrator if desired. Makes 4 servings.
Hemp Chai Latte
2-4 bags of tea of choice (Black, Green, Gynostemma, Darjeeling)
2-3 TBSP raw local honey
½-1 droppers liquid stevia (vanilla)
4 TBSP hempseeds
1-2 TBSP coconut oil
½ tsp ginger powder
¼ tsp cardamom powder
Scant 1/8 tsp cloves powder
½ tsp cinnamon
Dusting fresh grated nutmeg
OPTIONAL:
Vanilla
¼ tsp allspice
Boil water and steep tea. Once tea has steeped, add tea, honey, hempseeds, coconut oil and spices to blender. Blend until creamy. Strain through coffee filter if desired. Enjoy. Makes 4 servings.
www.livingblissfoods.com 2009
Living Bliss, LLC
Saturday, January 17, 2009
Three Must-Have Superfoods
by: Matt Monarch
(NaturalNews) Much research has been done lately on superfoods. There is a lot of buzz about certain foods, and the truth is that it's very hard to decipher the truth behind the buzz; what foods are actually super? Well, the fact is that there are certain foods out there which have very powerful qualities. Some of them are things which you can find in just about any kitchen, like garlic and lemon. Others are things you'd have to order on the internet from a reputable source. The thing that each individual needs to do is to decide whether your body needs a particular superfood. Obviously different foods have different qualities. Here are three superfoods which may really deserve the title.
Chia seeds definitely seem to be what you'd have to deem a 'superfood'. They were once a staple of the Aztecs and were known, and are known, for their ability to increase endurance. For those that exercise a lot, chia is something worth trying out in the future. They have all the essential amino acids (protein), except for taurine, and are also a great source of omega-3 oils, which is not found in so many foods. It's important to get a good balance of omega-3 to omega-6 oils in your diet, and adding these seeds to salads and smoothies is a good way to provide that balance. They also have more antioxidants than blueberries!
Pure, raw chocolate is something which most people are content to read about. We've all heard before that dark chocolate had high levels of antioxidants, which it does. But this is due to the high quantity of pure cacao in it. Cacao beans, when eaten raw, are extra good for the body. It is said that cacao, like chia seeds, has higher levels of antioxidants than blueberries. It also has lots of minerals, like zinc, chromium and magnesium, and plenty of vitamins and beta-carotene too. It also has quite a kick and wakes you up in the same way tea does, but gives a steadier stream of energy. Plus, you can buy it raw in many different forms, like cacao nibs, cacao butter, cacao paste and in powder form, so you can make all kinds of raw deserts.
The last thing on today's list is...Goji berries. As we all know, berries in general are super good for our health, and are very easily added to a smoothie to make it extra healthy. Goji berries, also known as wolfberries, are extra good though; they have 18 kinds of amino acids (the building blocks of protein); a high quantity of calcium, selenium, zinc, vitamin B2 and C, beta-carotene and potassium; and they are also thought to boost your immune system and help you lose weight. So, they seem to do just about everything.
Including all of the above foods in your diet may go a long way to increase your health and stamina, but make sure to try each individually first, so you can figure out which food is giving you the benefits.
http://www.NaturalNews.com/025313.html
(NaturalNews) Much research has been done lately on superfoods. There is a lot of buzz about certain foods, and the truth is that it's very hard to decipher the truth behind the buzz; what foods are actually super? Well, the fact is that there are certain foods out there which have very powerful qualities. Some of them are things which you can find in just about any kitchen, like garlic and lemon. Others are things you'd have to order on the internet from a reputable source. The thing that each individual needs to do is to decide whether your body needs a particular superfood. Obviously different foods have different qualities. Here are three superfoods which may really deserve the title.
Chia seeds definitely seem to be what you'd have to deem a 'superfood'. They were once a staple of the Aztecs and were known, and are known, for their ability to increase endurance. For those that exercise a lot, chia is something worth trying out in the future. They have all the essential amino acids (protein), except for taurine, and are also a great source of omega-3 oils, which is not found in so many foods. It's important to get a good balance of omega-3 to omega-6 oils in your diet, and adding these seeds to salads and smoothies is a good way to provide that balance. They also have more antioxidants than blueberries!
Pure, raw chocolate is something which most people are content to read about. We've all heard before that dark chocolate had high levels of antioxidants, which it does. But this is due to the high quantity of pure cacao in it. Cacao beans, when eaten raw, are extra good for the body. It is said that cacao, like chia seeds, has higher levels of antioxidants than blueberries. It also has lots of minerals, like zinc, chromium and magnesium, and plenty of vitamins and beta-carotene too. It also has quite a kick and wakes you up in the same way tea does, but gives a steadier stream of energy. Plus, you can buy it raw in many different forms, like cacao nibs, cacao butter, cacao paste and in powder form, so you can make all kinds of raw deserts.
The last thing on today's list is...Goji berries. As we all know, berries in general are super good for our health, and are very easily added to a smoothie to make it extra healthy. Goji berries, also known as wolfberries, are extra good though; they have 18 kinds of amino acids (the building blocks of protein); a high quantity of calcium, selenium, zinc, vitamin B2 and C, beta-carotene and potassium; and they are also thought to boost your immune system and help you lose weight. So, they seem to do just about everything.
Including all of the above foods in your diet may go a long way to increase your health and stamina, but make sure to try each individually first, so you can figure out which food is giving you the benefits.
http://www.NaturalNews.com/025313.html
Sunday, January 4, 2009
Solving Nutritional Challenges for Ethical Omnivores, Vegetarians, Vegans, and Raw Foodists
by David Wolfe, JD
Over the last 20 years I have experienced various dietary lifestyles, including being a junk foodist, an ethical omnivore, then a vegetarian, then a vegan, a raw-foodist, and now a superfoodist. After years of dietary repair, I feel that I have completely recovered from my first 18 years of the "anything goes" Standard American Diet as well as completely healed myself of all past physical injuries.
My dietary transformation happened when I was 18 or 19 and was living at a University away from my family home. For the first time ever, I began purchasing my own food. I realized through the process of elimination that something I was buying was not agreeing with my digestion. That "something" turned out to be "milk, cheese, and eggs" - in essence - dairy products. Due to the discovery of this food allergy (which affects millions of people), I stopped consuming dairy products completely. After a few weeks, I thought it would be appropriate to begin to read about nutrition in order to be sure to have enough "calcium and protein" which I was no longer getting from dairy products. I began reading nutrition books: dozens of them. This led to the discovery of a deep, all-consuming passion I have for the subject of nutrition and eventually led to the creation of www.sunfood.com and my career.
After reading nearly every book I could find on nutrition, vegetarianism, veganism, raw foods, superfoods, and herbs, and after over 1500 public presentations on the subject of ideal diets and human health as well as interacting with tens of thousands of people specifically on this subject, I have concluded (as have most others in our field) that the moral ethics of vegetarianism, veganism, and raw-foodism are wonderful and an intrinsic part of creating peace and health on Earth for all beings as well as a clean and sustainable future for all.
However, I have concluded, as have many others, that serious health conditions can develop as a result of improper nutrition due to unbalanced omnivore, vegetarian, vegan, and raw-food diets.
Dozens of factors are involved in creating nutritional imbalances as well as nutritional deficiencies including: daily stress levels, pregnancy, candida, disease conditions, special needs due to age-related nutritional requirements, metabolic differences in human genetics, the uniqueness of the human soul as it expresses itself through the physical body, physical injury recovery, drug addictions, etc. All of these factors must be accounted for and sufficient nutrition must be provided to meet these factors. On top of this, I believe that these challenges can and should be solved with high moral and ethical considerations. That is the basis of this report. By reading this report and maintaining a "solution oriented" perspective you will be able to greatly benefit from years of research by simply adding into your diet some of the foods, herbs, and superfoods mentioned. In fact, I know that by taking action on the information found here and the foods recommended, you will have the best day ever.
The key nutrients that standard American food consumers, as well as conscious omnivores, vegetarians, vegans, and raw-foodists may be missing and how I (and my company www.sunfood.com) ethically solve these deficiencies are as follows:
Challenge: Long-chain omega 3 fatty acid (DHA, EPA) deficiencies.
Information: The omega 3 fatty acids found in most plants (hemp, flax) are not long chain. They are medium chain. The conversion of medium chain omega 3 fatty acids to long chain fatty acids is not easy. In some metabolisms, it does not happen at all. Many individuals are suffering from long-chain omega 3 fatty acid (DHA, EPA) deficiencies. These deficiencies inhibit proper brain and nervous system development as well as impair cognitive abilities. Traditionally, the DHA, EPA nutrition requirements had been solved using cod liver oil or other fish oils. Fish oils are not a long-term sustainable option due to the “fishing out†of cod in the Atlantic and the increasing presence of mercury, heavy metals, and pollutants in fish oils. Long-chain omega 3 fatty acids (DHA, EPA) are extremely important for growing infants and children.
Ethical Solutions: Klamath Lake Blue-Green Algae: Sunfood.com distributes blue-green algae in various forms due to its extraordinary nutrition profile. Blue-green algae contains DHA.
Algae Oil: Sunfood.com was one of the first internet sites to make algae oil, a clean source of DHA, available. However, algae oil does not contain the equally important long-chain omega 3 fatty acid known as EPA.
Oceans Alive Liquid Marine Phytoplankton: This is a plant-based solution to the DHA and EPA problem that can work for most people. This is a phenomenal, vegan solution to meeting DHA and EPA nutritional requirements. Our company Sunfood.com pioneered this living vegan product and has made it available to the public for the first time.
* *
Challenge: Protein deficiencies.
Information: Contrary to some vegetarian and vegan propaganda, some individuals do need plenty of protein to retain mental and emotional stability as well as muscular size.
The Max Planck Institute discovered that cooking destroys 50% of the protein in food. It is likely, that due to the bad habit of cooking food, the amount of protein actually required by the human body per day is closer to 25 grams (or even less) than the average prescribed 50 grams a day. Additionally, due to the danger of consuming animal products created by poor quality control, antibiotics, growth hormones, animal diseases (Mad Cow, Hoof and Mouth, Blue Tongue, chicken cancers, etc.) as well as greed, animal products are becoming less and less reliable sources of protein or any nutrition at all.
However, an ancient-old, brand-new re-emerging class of foods is able to meet our requirement of a clean, highly-usable form of complete protein (as well as many, many other nutrients) and that ancient-old, brand-new class of foods is superfoods.
Ethical Solutions:Superfoods appear to completely solve the protein problem. The most important complete protein superfoods are as follows:
1. Hempseed and Hempseed protein.
2. Goji berries and goji berry powders: Beware of "Wildcrafted" goji berries. They are not wildcrafted. They are domestically grown and often fertilized and sprayed with chemicals. Nearly all "wildcrafted" goji berries we have tested are heavily sprayed with sulfur dioxide. Some "organic" brands of goji berries failed the sulfur dioxide text (they were sprayed with sulfur dioxide). Sunfood.com's organic goji berries and Tibet Authentic goji berries are tested to be free of all chemicals, artificial fertilizers, and sulfur dioxide.
3. Bee pollen (organic): Very few foods even compare to bee pollen in overall nutrition. Bee pollen is arguably the most complete food found in nature. Take bee pollen samples and sample them in your mouth for 20 minutes without swallowing in order to detect if you are allergic to the pollen. Itchiness, swelling, internal mouth reactions, etc. are all signs of an allergic response. If you are allergic to a batch of bee pollen do not eat it. You may still be able to eat other batches of bee pollen from different sources.
4. Sunfood Nutrition Marine Phytoplankton (liquid): This living phytoplankton product is unparalleled in the world. Not only a complete source of living protein, but also arguably the most nutritious food on Earth. One drop of this product is enough to feel some effects.
5. Spirulina: Spirulina contains the highest concentration of protein of any food on Earth. This food fed Mexico City and met all protein requirements for millions of people for 5,000 years.
6. Blue-Green Algae and Chlorella: These are both complete protein sources. Blue-green algae and chlorella are found in superfood formulas such as Sun Is Shining and Pure Synergy. These formulas can be added to foods, beverages, or even water and consumed daily to meet protein needs.
7. Maca: Although maca is not a complete protein it is such a great source of hormone precursors and amino acids, that it provides many of the same effects created by a high-protein diet.
* *
Challenge: Mineral deficiencies, Bone loss, Teeth problems.
Information: Mineral deficiencies affect nearly everybody across the entire planet. Minerals deficiencies have been found to contribute to nearly all conditions of illness. Increasing and improving mineralization has been found to help in practically all cases of illness. Mineralization has been scientifically associated with longevity. Dr. Maynard Murray discovered that proper mineralization was able to help plants, animals, and humans with genetic disorders.
Bone density improves when rich, mineralized foods are eaten, especially food and supplements rich in magnesium, silicon, calcium, ormus minerals, and trace minerals. Bone density improves when hormone levels are sufficient and/or abundant. Improvement is also seen when proper weight-bearing or vibrational exercise is practiced regularly. Additionally some exposure of the skin to direct sunlight improves mineralization.
Excessive sugar and cooked starch (potato, bread, grain) intake (even natural fruit and honey sugars) may contribute to mineral deficiencies in some people. Excessive acid-forming diets filled with meat and chemical sodas also contribute to bone and mineral loss.
Mineral and organic salt deficiencies are common when one has been dealing with digestive disturbances, especially if they have continued for some time.
Ethical Solutions:Seaweeds: Including sea lettuce, dulse, nori, and especially kelp powder are outstanding sources of minerals.
Cacao: (an unrivaled source of magnesium, iron, and chromium) Magnesium is critical for the proper formation and repair of bones and teeth.
Powdered green superfoods: Sun Is Shining and Pure Synergy lead the field in helping to remineralize our bones and body. These green superfoods contain nearly ever trace mineral and are a great place to start with a remineralization program.
Sunfood.com's Oceans Alive Marine Phytoplankton (liquid): This product contains perhaps the most nutritious living food in the world - marine phytoplankton. A complete source of immediately usable living minerals. Actually, this product contains over 90 different minerals! One drop of this product is enough to feel some effects.
Olives: Olives provide the best fat-soluble calcium in the entire plant kingdom.
Maca: A powdered superfood root that helps the human body produce more hormone precursors. Sufficient hormone precursor levels help improve bone and tissue mineralization. Maca is also known to contain up to 20 trace minerals.
Wild rice (raw and sprouted or cooked): An excellent source of minerals, especially for growing children.
Celtic Sea Salt: A great source of natural, living, ocean minerals and salts. This may be very helpful for improving trace mineral availability.
Ocean-grown agriculture (ocean-grown wheatgrass, sprouts, and vegetables): What is ocean-grown agriculture? The ocean contains all known minerals. If you dilute ocean water at a ratio of at least 20 parts pure water or rain water to one part ocean water and then water your plants, fruit trees, garden, sprouts, and/or wheatgrass with it, all minerals become available to them. With this one trick, you can grow extraordinarily mineral-rich food right on your window sill.
Vegetables (raw, organic): Although we cannot rely on simple vegetables for all our mineral needs, we can say with certainty that organic vegetables are rich in alkalinity and are superior to conventional vegetables in mineral content. Organic raw vegetables provide energy with no calories. Chewing green vegetables is great for mechanically cleaning the teeth and supplying the minerals such as calcium, magnesium, and silicon that nourish our bones and teeth with minerals.
Orgono Living Liquid Silica: An ideal source of one of our most important, yet neglected minerals - silicon. Orgono represents a technological breakthrough in arthritic pain relief and bone remineralization.
Flora's Horsetail Extract: This product is a great bone remineralizer and is the premier product of Professor Kervran's life's work including five books and 5,000 pages of scientific notes focusing on the science of mineralization.
Ormus gold (in Miron glass): This is a member of the class of minerals known as Ormus. This product also contains bone-building silicon. David Radius Hudson, the discoverer of Ormus minerals, estimated that as much as 5% of the dry matter weight of our nervous system could be Ormus minerals (formerly mistaken as carbon, iron, and other minerals).
Angstrom liquid minerals (especially: calcium, zinc, chromium, vanadium, selenium, magnesium, and manganese): These liquid minerals lead the field. They are highly absorbable, orally active, and easy to travel with. Sunfood.com pioneered the distribution of the angstrom minerals by placing their availability on the internet in 2002.
* *
Challenge: Sugar sensitivity, hypoglycemia, candida.
Information: In conjunction with mineral deficiencies, many individuals in the western world are afflicted with hypoglycemia. Estimates range as high as 40% of the population is suffering with hypoglycemia, but do not know it. The explosion of adult-onset diabetes also points to chronic mineral deficiencies as well as the overconsumption of hydrogenated oils and refined sugar. Nearly everyone with digestive disturbances is suffering from some level of candida.
Ethical Solutions:
Coconut butter: Sunfood.com pioneered raw, organic coconut butter on the Internet in 1999. Coconut butter is a candida fighting, skin friendly, super oil. Coconut butter is a great clean source of vital energy. Coconut butter helps the body produce the pre-cursors to hormones.
Hempseeds and hempseed protein: The extraordinary content of protein in hempseeds can help stabilize blood sugar in those individuals with high-protein requirements.
Spirulina: The extraordinary content of protein in spirulina can help stabilize blood sugar in those individuals with high-protein requirements. Mixing hempseeds and spirulina together in a hempseed bag with pinches of Celtic Sea Salt is a valuable snack recipe for those with high protein requirements who need some low sugar, high-protein snack that is simple, easy, and that travels well.
Cacao nibs (beans): The magnesium and chromium content of cacao and cacao products has been demonstrated by Dr. Gabriel Cousens to clinically help type 2 diabetics lower their insulin requirements. That's right...natural raw chocolate (cacao) actually improves the health of diabetics.
Yacon Root Syrup and yacon products: Our yacon root syrup has been specifically standardized to have at least a 30% FOS (fructo-oligosaccharide) count. This means that yacon is food for our friendly bacteria like acidophilus and bifidus. It also means that even though yacon syrup has a sweet taste, it does not significantly increase blood sugar levels. It can actually lower blood sugar levels. Yacon root syrup is a technological breakthrough in non-glycemic sweeteners. And yacon tastes better than stevia, xylitol, and other "no sugar" sweeteners.
Pau D'Arco (herb) tea: Pau D'Arco is a Central American and Amazonian tree bark that makes a delicious tea. Pau D'Arco is one of the best destroyers of candida known to humankind. Three to eight cups of Pau D'Arco tea each day are recommended for individuals suffering from candida or chronic digestive disturbances.
Probiotic bacteria: Friendly bacteria, especially acidophilus, are the natural enemies of candida. Sun Is Shining superfood formula contains friendly bacteria.
Aloe vera: Aloe vera is highly anti-fungal. Not only does aloe vera kill candida, but it stops digestive inflammation. The aloe must be raw, fresh, and the skin removed to have its entire medicinal effects. Fresh, raw aloe can be blended into teas or other beverages or consumed straight. Also, the long-chain sugars in aloe (called polysaccharides) provide long-term, even energy and therefore normalize blood sugar. Our company www.sunfood.com pioneered shipping raw, fresh aloe vera on the Internet in 2003. This is still one of our most loved products.
Kelp powder: An unrivaled source of minerals. As blood-sugar disorders are usually mineral deficiency syndromes, kelp helps to heal the problem at its root cause.
Low sugar fruits (cucumbers, tomatoes, bell peppers, okra, etc.): Ingesting more low-sugar, raw, organic fruits in one's diet can help blood sugar disorders as well as substantially influence a more balanced and positive demeanor with less moodiness. Eating a low-sugar diet (even low in natural sugars such as fruit, honey, etc.) creates a feeling of calmness and "lightness."
Cinnamon: A great natural source of blood-sugar balancing chromium.
Seaweeds (especially kelp powder): The mineral value of kelp continues to surprise everyone in the nutrition field.
Powdered green superfoods: Sun Is Shining and Pure Synergy lead the field in helping to remineralize our bones and body. As previously mentioned, Sun Is Shining also contains friendly bacteria.
Olives: Olives provide some of the best fat-soluble alkaline minerals in the entire plant kingdom.
Wild rice (raw and sprouted or cooked): An excellent source of minerals and protein. Wild rice is great for those needing more protein and slow-burning fuel.
Ocean-grown agriculture (ocean-grown wheatgrass, sprouts, and vegetables): By improving the mineralization of our soil and food with dilute ocean water (twenty parts pure water to one part ocean water), we improve our own mineralization as we eat that food. When plants and animals are deficient in minerals they become ill. When the required minerals are available, plants and animals become healthy. Mineralized food provides more balanced long-term energy.
Angstrom liquid minerals (especially: zinc, chromium, vanadium, selenium, manganese, and calcium): These liquid minerals lead the field. They are highly absorbable, orally active, and easy to travel with. www.sunfood.com pioneered the distribution of these minerals by placing their availability on the internet in 2002.
* *
Challenge: Pollution, toxins, industrial byproducts, solvents, glues, antibiotics, pesticides, petrochemicals, depleted uranium, etc. are, more and more, being found in the food supply and in the human body.
Information: Pure, clean, mineral-rich, organic food is perhaps the future's most important commodity. However, clean food alone is not enough to reverse the toxic load acquired during a lifetime of toxic exposure. Certain superfoods, herbs, and minerals have a specific ability to help us alleviate our toxic load.
Ethical Solutions:
Liquid Activated Zeolites: This product is perhaps the greatest detoxifier ever discovered. Liquid Activated Zeolites are scientifically known to safely draw out heavy metals (e.g. mercury, lead, cadmium, arsenic, uranium 238, etc.) and volatile organic compounds (formaldehyde, o-Dichlorobenzene, toluene, methylene chloride, benzene, tetrachlorodibenzodioxin, p-Dichlorobenzene, tetrachlorodibenzofuran, xylene, hexachlorobiphenyl). Liquid Activated Zeolites are also scientifically known to normalize pH and help stop viral replication.
MSM products: Methyl-sulfonyl-methane (MSM) and the products containing it have a known ability to remove mercury from the system. MSM also helps the liver detoxify a wide range of toxins. MSM detoxifies because sulfur (the primary mineral in MSM) is a primary liver detoxification mineral along with iron and zinc.
Angstrom Zinc: Heavy metal poisoning can displace zinc from the cells. Angstrom liquid zinc helps to restore difficult zinc deficiency syndromes. Zinc aids in assisting the liver to cleanse. Zinc assists the immune system in removing unwanted toxins — especially viral toxins. Zinc is also required from the adrenals to function properly. Long-term zinc deficiencies are associated with adrenal exhaustion.
Natural Vitamin C products (Camu Camu berry powder, Pure Radiance C, etc.): The Vitamin C complex has a tremendous research history suggesting its effectiveness in healing connective tissue, improving the immune system as well as detoxifying the liver, brain, and kidneys.
Chanca Piedra (herb) tea: This extraordinary herb helps the body rid itself of microscopic "bad calcium," "stone" formations that have been implicated in nearly all conditions of chronic illness from gall stones to arterial plaque to arthritis. "Bad calcium" or microscopic "stones" are toxic to the body and are a primary cause of aging.
Medicinal Mushrooms (Reishi, Cordyceps, Maitake, Lion's Mane, Immune Builder, Host Defense): The medicinal mushrooms contain dozens of compounds that help increase the weapons and cleansing agents available to the immune system. The medicinal mushrooms also detoxify the body of certain synthetic chemicals such as bisphenol A (BPA) found in plastics.
Kelp powder: The iodine in kelp helps restore thyroid function allowing one to lose weight swiftly. The iodine and other minerals in kelp help to increase the mineral content of all the organs allowing them to function more effectively. The better our organs function the more readily they are able to throw off toxins and rejuvenate. Also, kelp helps displace toxic minerals with healthy minerals (e.g. radioactive iodine with healthy iodine). This is called "chelation by replacement."
EJUVA Organic Cleansing products: EJUVA is a brand of gentle organic herb cleansing systems. EJUVA products help one to lose weight, eliminate cellular waste toxins, inhibit and reverse candida, improve digestive health, eliminate poisons in the blood, and more. The EJUVA systems come with instructions and are done in a step-by-step way.
Chlorophyll (green, organic vegetable juice): Chlorophyll is a detoxifier of heavy metals and blood toxins.
Cilantro and Chlorella: This combination has been known to detoxify the brain and nervous system of mercury.
Coconut oil: This oil assists in helping to displace toxic hydrogenated trans fatty acids (e.g. partially hydrogenated soybean oil). Coconut oil restores natural saturated fat levels to the skin, subcutaneous fat layers, as well as to the individual cell membranes. Coconut oil speeds up metabolism allowing the body to drop excess weight and toxins accumulated by an underactive thyroid. Coconut oil is also valuable for the immune system as it contains healthy anti-viral saturated fatty acids such as lauric acid.
* *
Challenge: Being a dogmatic, serious, dry, mean, moody, mental, judgmental person that nobody wants to be around.
Information: Cacao (raw chocolate nuts) takes dogmatic, serious, dry, mean, moody, judgmental individuals and helps illuminate for them a pathway towards becoming an ecstatic being, filled with laughter, heart energy, compassion, and appreciation. This part of the article, although funny, is important. I have met thousands of dogmatic, judgmental omnivores, vegetarians, vegans, and raw foodists over the years. I have been left with the impression that these types of individuals are subconsciously acting from a belief that "everybody must be miserable like me." The energy of dogmatism and judgment repels prosperity and charisma.
Ethical Solutions:
Cacao and Cacao products are happy foods. Cacao (the food all chocolate is made from) is the best natural source of magnesium (alkalinity), iron (circulatory system support), and chromium (blood sugar normalizer). Blood sugar irregularity has been linked to every psychological disturbance from moodiness to schizophrenia. Mean, aggressive behavior has been identified by alternative medicine practitioners and herbalists for decades as indicative of being biologically too acidic. Alkaline minerals like magnesium help alkalize our tissues, thus creating more calm and relaxed behavior. Cacao contains the minerals that assist with normalized blood sugar as well as alkalinity. Cacao is a rich source of anandamide (the bliss chemical). Anandamide makes us feel euphoric and happy. Cacao also contains PEA compounds that are similar to those chemicals we release when we fall in love. Cacao is also the highest natural source of antioxidants. In addition, cacao has the highest content of vitamin C of any known nut or seed (cacao is a tropical nut).
Superfoods beyond cacao such as goji berries, maca, bee pollen, marine phytoplankton, spirulina, blue-green algae, hemp seeds, etc. and aloe vera as well as superfood formulas such as Sun Is Shining and Pure Synergy, go a long way to towards making judgmental vegans and raw foodists more well balanced in behavior and demeanor. I believe this is due to mineralization and the superior well-rounded nutrition that superfoods provide.
Kelp powder: One of the things you may notice is that if kelp powder is finely ground into a powder, it will (like cacao powder and cacao butter) magnetize when exposed to a magnetic field. This is because kelp (like cacao) is extraordinarily rich in minerals including alkaline minerals such as calcium and magnesium. Sufficient mineralization (from proper nutrition) has been known to normalize and calm behavior. A lack of proper mineral nutrition has been implicated in practically every symptom of poor health and emotionally extreme behavior.
Minerals: Several liquid angstrom minerals in particular are important in influencing behavior: chromium, vanadium, calcium, magnesium, and zinc. Chromium and vanadium for supporting more balanced blood-sugar, and calcium, magnesium, and zinc for their alkalinity.
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As much I support the ethics of vegetarianism, veganism, and raw foodism, I am bound by an equally great or even greater moral obligation to give people the complete truth as best as I understand it as a health professional with all my years of direct, personal experience.
Please keep in mind that I have been a raw-foodist since 1994. My company Sunfood.com (www.rawfood.com) pioneered enormous advances in vegetarian and vegan nutrition over the last 13 years. I currently run four companies and directly employ over 30 people. In addition to that my team and I still conduct over 80 educational events each year. I have written four books (The Sunfood Diet Success System, Eating For Beauty, Naked Chocolate, and Amazing Grace). I run two new sophisticated farming projects in remote regions of the world. I have traveled the world constantly for over 13 years and have not been in one place for more than four weeks in all that time.
From all this you have probably concluded that I am under a tremendous amount of responsibility and stress. In spite of all this, I am in perfect physical health. I never get tired, worn out, sick, etc. Sometimes I stay up for 2 or 3 days in a row without sleeping more than an hour a night. My immune system has never been stronger, My reflexes are as fast or faster than when I was 16 years old. I am more flexible than ever before. I am never in pain.
My commitment to ethical solutions to the world's food challenges is not a joke. Review my track record and decide for yourself. I believe we can find moral and ethical solutions to every challenge we face including those surrounding food and diet. I believe that we must eat more plants in the food chain and let our bird, reptile, amphibian, and mammal friends pursue life, liberty, and happiness without our wholesale slaughter of their beauty. I believe we must discover and implement real solutions as quickly as possible so that we may all enjoy a healthy and prosperous future. Most importantly, I believe that these issues must be discussed openly and clearly so all confusion is removed.
Sunfood Nutrition
For more on dogmatic diets, please read: Diet or Dogma? By Brandon Gilbert and Addendum: Diet or Dogma? by Erin Brennan
Over the last 20 years I have experienced various dietary lifestyles, including being a junk foodist, an ethical omnivore, then a vegetarian, then a vegan, a raw-foodist, and now a superfoodist. After years of dietary repair, I feel that I have completely recovered from my first 18 years of the "anything goes" Standard American Diet as well as completely healed myself of all past physical injuries.
My dietary transformation happened when I was 18 or 19 and was living at a University away from my family home. For the first time ever, I began purchasing my own food. I realized through the process of elimination that something I was buying was not agreeing with my digestion. That "something" turned out to be "milk, cheese, and eggs" - in essence - dairy products. Due to the discovery of this food allergy (which affects millions of people), I stopped consuming dairy products completely. After a few weeks, I thought it would be appropriate to begin to read about nutrition in order to be sure to have enough "calcium and protein" which I was no longer getting from dairy products. I began reading nutrition books: dozens of them. This led to the discovery of a deep, all-consuming passion I have for the subject of nutrition and eventually led to the creation of www.sunfood.com and my career.
After reading nearly every book I could find on nutrition, vegetarianism, veganism, raw foods, superfoods, and herbs, and after over 1500 public presentations on the subject of ideal diets and human health as well as interacting with tens of thousands of people specifically on this subject, I have concluded (as have most others in our field) that the moral ethics of vegetarianism, veganism, and raw-foodism are wonderful and an intrinsic part of creating peace and health on Earth for all beings as well as a clean and sustainable future for all.
However, I have concluded, as have many others, that serious health conditions can develop as a result of improper nutrition due to unbalanced omnivore, vegetarian, vegan, and raw-food diets.
Dozens of factors are involved in creating nutritional imbalances as well as nutritional deficiencies including: daily stress levels, pregnancy, candida, disease conditions, special needs due to age-related nutritional requirements, metabolic differences in human genetics, the uniqueness of the human soul as it expresses itself through the physical body, physical injury recovery, drug addictions, etc. All of these factors must be accounted for and sufficient nutrition must be provided to meet these factors. On top of this, I believe that these challenges can and should be solved with high moral and ethical considerations. That is the basis of this report. By reading this report and maintaining a "solution oriented" perspective you will be able to greatly benefit from years of research by simply adding into your diet some of the foods, herbs, and superfoods mentioned. In fact, I know that by taking action on the information found here and the foods recommended, you will have the best day ever.
The key nutrients that standard American food consumers, as well as conscious omnivores, vegetarians, vegans, and raw-foodists may be missing and how I (and my company www.sunfood.com) ethically solve these deficiencies are as follows:
Challenge: Long-chain omega 3 fatty acid (DHA, EPA) deficiencies.
Information: The omega 3 fatty acids found in most plants (hemp, flax) are not long chain. They are medium chain. The conversion of medium chain omega 3 fatty acids to long chain fatty acids is not easy. In some metabolisms, it does not happen at all. Many individuals are suffering from long-chain omega 3 fatty acid (DHA, EPA) deficiencies. These deficiencies inhibit proper brain and nervous system development as well as impair cognitive abilities. Traditionally, the DHA, EPA nutrition requirements had been solved using cod liver oil or other fish oils. Fish oils are not a long-term sustainable option due to the “fishing out†of cod in the Atlantic and the increasing presence of mercury, heavy metals, and pollutants in fish oils. Long-chain omega 3 fatty acids (DHA, EPA) are extremely important for growing infants and children.
Ethical Solutions: Klamath Lake Blue-Green Algae: Sunfood.com distributes blue-green algae in various forms due to its extraordinary nutrition profile. Blue-green algae contains DHA.
Algae Oil: Sunfood.com was one of the first internet sites to make algae oil, a clean source of DHA, available. However, algae oil does not contain the equally important long-chain omega 3 fatty acid known as EPA.
Oceans Alive Liquid Marine Phytoplankton: This is a plant-based solution to the DHA and EPA problem that can work for most people. This is a phenomenal, vegan solution to meeting DHA and EPA nutritional requirements. Our company Sunfood.com pioneered this living vegan product and has made it available to the public for the first time.
* *
Challenge: Protein deficiencies.
Information: Contrary to some vegetarian and vegan propaganda, some individuals do need plenty of protein to retain mental and emotional stability as well as muscular size.
The Max Planck Institute discovered that cooking destroys 50% of the protein in food. It is likely, that due to the bad habit of cooking food, the amount of protein actually required by the human body per day is closer to 25 grams (or even less) than the average prescribed 50 grams a day. Additionally, due to the danger of consuming animal products created by poor quality control, antibiotics, growth hormones, animal diseases (Mad Cow, Hoof and Mouth, Blue Tongue, chicken cancers, etc.) as well as greed, animal products are becoming less and less reliable sources of protein or any nutrition at all.
However, an ancient-old, brand-new re-emerging class of foods is able to meet our requirement of a clean, highly-usable form of complete protein (as well as many, many other nutrients) and that ancient-old, brand-new class of foods is superfoods.
Ethical Solutions:Superfoods appear to completely solve the protein problem. The most important complete protein superfoods are as follows:
1. Hempseed and Hempseed protein.
2. Goji berries and goji berry powders: Beware of "Wildcrafted" goji berries. They are not wildcrafted. They are domestically grown and often fertilized and sprayed with chemicals. Nearly all "wildcrafted" goji berries we have tested are heavily sprayed with sulfur dioxide. Some "organic" brands of goji berries failed the sulfur dioxide text (they were sprayed with sulfur dioxide). Sunfood.com's organic goji berries and Tibet Authentic goji berries are tested to be free of all chemicals, artificial fertilizers, and sulfur dioxide.
3. Bee pollen (organic): Very few foods even compare to bee pollen in overall nutrition. Bee pollen is arguably the most complete food found in nature. Take bee pollen samples and sample them in your mouth for 20 minutes without swallowing in order to detect if you are allergic to the pollen. Itchiness, swelling, internal mouth reactions, etc. are all signs of an allergic response. If you are allergic to a batch of bee pollen do not eat it. You may still be able to eat other batches of bee pollen from different sources.
4. Sunfood Nutrition Marine Phytoplankton (liquid): This living phytoplankton product is unparalleled in the world. Not only a complete source of living protein, but also arguably the most nutritious food on Earth. One drop of this product is enough to feel some effects.
5. Spirulina: Spirulina contains the highest concentration of protein of any food on Earth. This food fed Mexico City and met all protein requirements for millions of people for 5,000 years.
6. Blue-Green Algae and Chlorella: These are both complete protein sources. Blue-green algae and chlorella are found in superfood formulas such as Sun Is Shining and Pure Synergy. These formulas can be added to foods, beverages, or even water and consumed daily to meet protein needs.
7. Maca: Although maca is not a complete protein it is such a great source of hormone precursors and amino acids, that it provides many of the same effects created by a high-protein diet.
* *
Challenge: Mineral deficiencies, Bone loss, Teeth problems.
Information: Mineral deficiencies affect nearly everybody across the entire planet. Minerals deficiencies have been found to contribute to nearly all conditions of illness. Increasing and improving mineralization has been found to help in practically all cases of illness. Mineralization has been scientifically associated with longevity. Dr. Maynard Murray discovered that proper mineralization was able to help plants, animals, and humans with genetic disorders.
Bone density improves when rich, mineralized foods are eaten, especially food and supplements rich in magnesium, silicon, calcium, ormus minerals, and trace minerals. Bone density improves when hormone levels are sufficient and/or abundant. Improvement is also seen when proper weight-bearing or vibrational exercise is practiced regularly. Additionally some exposure of the skin to direct sunlight improves mineralization.
Excessive sugar and cooked starch (potato, bread, grain) intake (even natural fruit and honey sugars) may contribute to mineral deficiencies in some people. Excessive acid-forming diets filled with meat and chemical sodas also contribute to bone and mineral loss.
Mineral and organic salt deficiencies are common when one has been dealing with digestive disturbances, especially if they have continued for some time.
Ethical Solutions:Seaweeds: Including sea lettuce, dulse, nori, and especially kelp powder are outstanding sources of minerals.
Cacao: (an unrivaled source of magnesium, iron, and chromium) Magnesium is critical for the proper formation and repair of bones and teeth.
Powdered green superfoods: Sun Is Shining and Pure Synergy lead the field in helping to remineralize our bones and body. These green superfoods contain nearly ever trace mineral and are a great place to start with a remineralization program.
Sunfood.com's Oceans Alive Marine Phytoplankton (liquid): This product contains perhaps the most nutritious living food in the world - marine phytoplankton. A complete source of immediately usable living minerals. Actually, this product contains over 90 different minerals! One drop of this product is enough to feel some effects.
Olives: Olives provide the best fat-soluble calcium in the entire plant kingdom.
Maca: A powdered superfood root that helps the human body produce more hormone precursors. Sufficient hormone precursor levels help improve bone and tissue mineralization. Maca is also known to contain up to 20 trace minerals.
Wild rice (raw and sprouted or cooked): An excellent source of minerals, especially for growing children.
Celtic Sea Salt: A great source of natural, living, ocean minerals and salts. This may be very helpful for improving trace mineral availability.
Ocean-grown agriculture (ocean-grown wheatgrass, sprouts, and vegetables): What is ocean-grown agriculture? The ocean contains all known minerals. If you dilute ocean water at a ratio of at least 20 parts pure water or rain water to one part ocean water and then water your plants, fruit trees, garden, sprouts, and/or wheatgrass with it, all minerals become available to them. With this one trick, you can grow extraordinarily mineral-rich food right on your window sill.
Vegetables (raw, organic): Although we cannot rely on simple vegetables for all our mineral needs, we can say with certainty that organic vegetables are rich in alkalinity and are superior to conventional vegetables in mineral content. Organic raw vegetables provide energy with no calories. Chewing green vegetables is great for mechanically cleaning the teeth and supplying the minerals such as calcium, magnesium, and silicon that nourish our bones and teeth with minerals.
Orgono Living Liquid Silica: An ideal source of one of our most important, yet neglected minerals - silicon. Orgono represents a technological breakthrough in arthritic pain relief and bone remineralization.
Flora's Horsetail Extract: This product is a great bone remineralizer and is the premier product of Professor Kervran's life's work including five books and 5,000 pages of scientific notes focusing on the science of mineralization.
Ormus gold (in Miron glass): This is a member of the class of minerals known as Ormus. This product also contains bone-building silicon. David Radius Hudson, the discoverer of Ormus minerals, estimated that as much as 5% of the dry matter weight of our nervous system could be Ormus minerals (formerly mistaken as carbon, iron, and other minerals).
Angstrom liquid minerals (especially: calcium, zinc, chromium, vanadium, selenium, magnesium, and manganese): These liquid minerals lead the field. They are highly absorbable, orally active, and easy to travel with. Sunfood.com pioneered the distribution of the angstrom minerals by placing their availability on the internet in 2002.
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Challenge: Sugar sensitivity, hypoglycemia, candida.
Information: In conjunction with mineral deficiencies, many individuals in the western world are afflicted with hypoglycemia. Estimates range as high as 40% of the population is suffering with hypoglycemia, but do not know it. The explosion of adult-onset diabetes also points to chronic mineral deficiencies as well as the overconsumption of hydrogenated oils and refined sugar. Nearly everyone with digestive disturbances is suffering from some level of candida.
Ethical Solutions:
Coconut butter: Sunfood.com pioneered raw, organic coconut butter on the Internet in 1999. Coconut butter is a candida fighting, skin friendly, super oil. Coconut butter is a great clean source of vital energy. Coconut butter helps the body produce the pre-cursors to hormones.
Hempseeds and hempseed protein: The extraordinary content of protein in hempseeds can help stabilize blood sugar in those individuals with high-protein requirements.
Spirulina: The extraordinary content of protein in spirulina can help stabilize blood sugar in those individuals with high-protein requirements. Mixing hempseeds and spirulina together in a hempseed bag with pinches of Celtic Sea Salt is a valuable snack recipe for those with high protein requirements who need some low sugar, high-protein snack that is simple, easy, and that travels well.
Cacao nibs (beans): The magnesium and chromium content of cacao and cacao products has been demonstrated by Dr. Gabriel Cousens to clinically help type 2 diabetics lower their insulin requirements. That's right...natural raw chocolate (cacao) actually improves the health of diabetics.
Yacon Root Syrup and yacon products: Our yacon root syrup has been specifically standardized to have at least a 30% FOS (fructo-oligosaccharide) count. This means that yacon is food for our friendly bacteria like acidophilus and bifidus. It also means that even though yacon syrup has a sweet taste, it does not significantly increase blood sugar levels. It can actually lower blood sugar levels. Yacon root syrup is a technological breakthrough in non-glycemic sweeteners. And yacon tastes better than stevia, xylitol, and other "no sugar" sweeteners.
Pau D'Arco (herb) tea: Pau D'Arco is a Central American and Amazonian tree bark that makes a delicious tea. Pau D'Arco is one of the best destroyers of candida known to humankind. Three to eight cups of Pau D'Arco tea each day are recommended for individuals suffering from candida or chronic digestive disturbances.
Probiotic bacteria: Friendly bacteria, especially acidophilus, are the natural enemies of candida. Sun Is Shining superfood formula contains friendly bacteria.
Aloe vera: Aloe vera is highly anti-fungal. Not only does aloe vera kill candida, but it stops digestive inflammation. The aloe must be raw, fresh, and the skin removed to have its entire medicinal effects. Fresh, raw aloe can be blended into teas or other beverages or consumed straight. Also, the long-chain sugars in aloe (called polysaccharides) provide long-term, even energy and therefore normalize blood sugar. Our company www.sunfood.com pioneered shipping raw, fresh aloe vera on the Internet in 2003. This is still one of our most loved products.
Kelp powder: An unrivaled source of minerals. As blood-sugar disorders are usually mineral deficiency syndromes, kelp helps to heal the problem at its root cause.
Low sugar fruits (cucumbers, tomatoes, bell peppers, okra, etc.): Ingesting more low-sugar, raw, organic fruits in one's diet can help blood sugar disorders as well as substantially influence a more balanced and positive demeanor with less moodiness. Eating a low-sugar diet (even low in natural sugars such as fruit, honey, etc.) creates a feeling of calmness and "lightness."
Cinnamon: A great natural source of blood-sugar balancing chromium.
Seaweeds (especially kelp powder): The mineral value of kelp continues to surprise everyone in the nutrition field.
Powdered green superfoods: Sun Is Shining and Pure Synergy lead the field in helping to remineralize our bones and body. As previously mentioned, Sun Is Shining also contains friendly bacteria.
Olives: Olives provide some of the best fat-soluble alkaline minerals in the entire plant kingdom.
Wild rice (raw and sprouted or cooked): An excellent source of minerals and protein. Wild rice is great for those needing more protein and slow-burning fuel.
Ocean-grown agriculture (ocean-grown wheatgrass, sprouts, and vegetables): By improving the mineralization of our soil and food with dilute ocean water (twenty parts pure water to one part ocean water), we improve our own mineralization as we eat that food. When plants and animals are deficient in minerals they become ill. When the required minerals are available, plants and animals become healthy. Mineralized food provides more balanced long-term energy.
Angstrom liquid minerals (especially: zinc, chromium, vanadium, selenium, manganese, and calcium): These liquid minerals lead the field. They are highly absorbable, orally active, and easy to travel with. www.sunfood.com pioneered the distribution of these minerals by placing their availability on the internet in 2002.
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Challenge: Pollution, toxins, industrial byproducts, solvents, glues, antibiotics, pesticides, petrochemicals, depleted uranium, etc. are, more and more, being found in the food supply and in the human body.
Information: Pure, clean, mineral-rich, organic food is perhaps the future's most important commodity. However, clean food alone is not enough to reverse the toxic load acquired during a lifetime of toxic exposure. Certain superfoods, herbs, and minerals have a specific ability to help us alleviate our toxic load.
Ethical Solutions:
Liquid Activated Zeolites: This product is perhaps the greatest detoxifier ever discovered. Liquid Activated Zeolites are scientifically known to safely draw out heavy metals (e.g. mercury, lead, cadmium, arsenic, uranium 238, etc.) and volatile organic compounds (formaldehyde, o-Dichlorobenzene, toluene, methylene chloride, benzene, tetrachlorodibenzodioxin, p-Dichlorobenzene, tetrachlorodibenzofuran, xylene, hexachlorobiphenyl). Liquid Activated Zeolites are also scientifically known to normalize pH and help stop viral replication.
MSM products: Methyl-sulfonyl-methane (MSM) and the products containing it have a known ability to remove mercury from the system. MSM also helps the liver detoxify a wide range of toxins. MSM detoxifies because sulfur (the primary mineral in MSM) is a primary liver detoxification mineral along with iron and zinc.
Angstrom Zinc: Heavy metal poisoning can displace zinc from the cells. Angstrom liquid zinc helps to restore difficult zinc deficiency syndromes. Zinc aids in assisting the liver to cleanse. Zinc assists the immune system in removing unwanted toxins — especially viral toxins. Zinc is also required from the adrenals to function properly. Long-term zinc deficiencies are associated with adrenal exhaustion.
Natural Vitamin C products (Camu Camu berry powder, Pure Radiance C, etc.): The Vitamin C complex has a tremendous research history suggesting its effectiveness in healing connective tissue, improving the immune system as well as detoxifying the liver, brain, and kidneys.
Chanca Piedra (herb) tea: This extraordinary herb helps the body rid itself of microscopic "bad calcium," "stone" formations that have been implicated in nearly all conditions of chronic illness from gall stones to arterial plaque to arthritis. "Bad calcium" or microscopic "stones" are toxic to the body and are a primary cause of aging.
Medicinal Mushrooms (Reishi, Cordyceps, Maitake, Lion's Mane, Immune Builder, Host Defense): The medicinal mushrooms contain dozens of compounds that help increase the weapons and cleansing agents available to the immune system. The medicinal mushrooms also detoxify the body of certain synthetic chemicals such as bisphenol A (BPA) found in plastics.
Kelp powder: The iodine in kelp helps restore thyroid function allowing one to lose weight swiftly. The iodine and other minerals in kelp help to increase the mineral content of all the organs allowing them to function more effectively. The better our organs function the more readily they are able to throw off toxins and rejuvenate. Also, kelp helps displace toxic minerals with healthy minerals (e.g. radioactive iodine with healthy iodine). This is called "chelation by replacement."
EJUVA Organic Cleansing products: EJUVA is a brand of gentle organic herb cleansing systems. EJUVA products help one to lose weight, eliminate cellular waste toxins, inhibit and reverse candida, improve digestive health, eliminate poisons in the blood, and more. The EJUVA systems come with instructions and are done in a step-by-step way.
Chlorophyll (green, organic vegetable juice): Chlorophyll is a detoxifier of heavy metals and blood toxins.
Cilantro and Chlorella: This combination has been known to detoxify the brain and nervous system of mercury.
Coconut oil: This oil assists in helping to displace toxic hydrogenated trans fatty acids (e.g. partially hydrogenated soybean oil). Coconut oil restores natural saturated fat levels to the skin, subcutaneous fat layers, as well as to the individual cell membranes. Coconut oil speeds up metabolism allowing the body to drop excess weight and toxins accumulated by an underactive thyroid. Coconut oil is also valuable for the immune system as it contains healthy anti-viral saturated fatty acids such as lauric acid.
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Challenge: Being a dogmatic, serious, dry, mean, moody, mental, judgmental person that nobody wants to be around.
Information: Cacao (raw chocolate nuts) takes dogmatic, serious, dry, mean, moody, judgmental individuals and helps illuminate for them a pathway towards becoming an ecstatic being, filled with laughter, heart energy, compassion, and appreciation. This part of the article, although funny, is important. I have met thousands of dogmatic, judgmental omnivores, vegetarians, vegans, and raw foodists over the years. I have been left with the impression that these types of individuals are subconsciously acting from a belief that "everybody must be miserable like me." The energy of dogmatism and judgment repels prosperity and charisma.
Ethical Solutions:
Cacao and Cacao products are happy foods. Cacao (the food all chocolate is made from) is the best natural source of magnesium (alkalinity), iron (circulatory system support), and chromium (blood sugar normalizer). Blood sugar irregularity has been linked to every psychological disturbance from moodiness to schizophrenia. Mean, aggressive behavior has been identified by alternative medicine practitioners and herbalists for decades as indicative of being biologically too acidic. Alkaline minerals like magnesium help alkalize our tissues, thus creating more calm and relaxed behavior. Cacao contains the minerals that assist with normalized blood sugar as well as alkalinity. Cacao is a rich source of anandamide (the bliss chemical). Anandamide makes us feel euphoric and happy. Cacao also contains PEA compounds that are similar to those chemicals we release when we fall in love. Cacao is also the highest natural source of antioxidants. In addition, cacao has the highest content of vitamin C of any known nut or seed (cacao is a tropical nut).
Superfoods beyond cacao such as goji berries, maca, bee pollen, marine phytoplankton, spirulina, blue-green algae, hemp seeds, etc. and aloe vera as well as superfood formulas such as Sun Is Shining and Pure Synergy, go a long way to towards making judgmental vegans and raw foodists more well balanced in behavior and demeanor. I believe this is due to mineralization and the superior well-rounded nutrition that superfoods provide.
Kelp powder: One of the things you may notice is that if kelp powder is finely ground into a powder, it will (like cacao powder and cacao butter) magnetize when exposed to a magnetic field. This is because kelp (like cacao) is extraordinarily rich in minerals including alkaline minerals such as calcium and magnesium. Sufficient mineralization (from proper nutrition) has been known to normalize and calm behavior. A lack of proper mineral nutrition has been implicated in practically every symptom of poor health and emotionally extreme behavior.
Minerals: Several liquid angstrom minerals in particular are important in influencing behavior: chromium, vanadium, calcium, magnesium, and zinc. Chromium and vanadium for supporting more balanced blood-sugar, and calcium, magnesium, and zinc for their alkalinity.
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As much I support the ethics of vegetarianism, veganism, and raw foodism, I am bound by an equally great or even greater moral obligation to give people the complete truth as best as I understand it as a health professional with all my years of direct, personal experience.
Please keep in mind that I have been a raw-foodist since 1994. My company Sunfood.com (www.rawfood.com) pioneered enormous advances in vegetarian and vegan nutrition over the last 13 years. I currently run four companies and directly employ over 30 people. In addition to that my team and I still conduct over 80 educational events each year. I have written four books (The Sunfood Diet Success System, Eating For Beauty, Naked Chocolate, and Amazing Grace). I run two new sophisticated farming projects in remote regions of the world. I have traveled the world constantly for over 13 years and have not been in one place for more than four weeks in all that time.
From all this you have probably concluded that I am under a tremendous amount of responsibility and stress. In spite of all this, I am in perfect physical health. I never get tired, worn out, sick, etc. Sometimes I stay up for 2 or 3 days in a row without sleeping more than an hour a night. My immune system has never been stronger, My reflexes are as fast or faster than when I was 16 years old. I am more flexible than ever before. I am never in pain.
My commitment to ethical solutions to the world's food challenges is not a joke. Review my track record and decide for yourself. I believe we can find moral and ethical solutions to every challenge we face including those surrounding food and diet. I believe that we must eat more plants in the food chain and let our bird, reptile, amphibian, and mammal friends pursue life, liberty, and happiness without our wholesale slaughter of their beauty. I believe we must discover and implement real solutions as quickly as possible so that we may all enjoy a healthy and prosperous future. Most importantly, I believe that these issues must be discussed openly and clearly so all confusion is removed.
Sunfood Nutrition
For more on dogmatic diets, please read: Diet or Dogma? By Brandon Gilbert and Addendum: Diet or Dogma? by Erin Brennan
Why Raw?
by David Wolfe
Many have spent lifetimes wondering what caused humanity's "fall from grace." What has caused humanity's disconnection from living in a natural paradise? Why is civilization out of balance with Nature? These thoughts are often triggered by a study of the classical, legendary, or religious stories of a former perfect age.
Every culture seems to have a story about how human life began on Earth. Most describe a place where people lived in harmony with the plants and animals. While living this way, the stories indicate that, people experienced happiness and peace.
These stories often indicate that everything was in harmony until something happened. Some stories tell of a great flood, others tell of humans gaining an understanding of good and evil, still others tell of a shift in Earth's alignment, a few even tell of some godly or spiritual powers that drastically changed the state of life on Earth.
Those of us who follow a balanced, thoughtful raw-food diet, believe that we have found the major piece of the answer to humanity's obvious disconnection with Nature. A multifaceted collection of scientists, spiritual leaders, researchers, and grassroots raw-food enthusiasts, have come to understand through experience, that the great change in human life occurred after humans discovered fire, and then began cooking food.
The obvious separation created by putting fire between our food and our mouth, the tremendous amount of time and energy people spend to cook food, the use of massive resources to create today's cooked-food culture (with its billions of kitchens and restaurants), the construction of factories and shops all churning out cooked and processed foods, the packaging and wrappers involved in the whole cooked-food process, and the lack of life energy in cooked food are all major contributing factors in humanity's fall from paradise. Subconsciously, we know this, as our picture of paradise usually involves sun, beaches, mangoes, and coconuts; not gloomy cities, restaurants, and cooked animals for dinner.
All animals living in the wild eat their food raw and, almost always, fresh. Raw is one of nature's most basic laws. Only humans and domesticated animals eat cooked and processed foods.
The cooking and processing of foods has become so common that most of us do not even question it. The assumption that cooked and processed foods are as good as raw foods is just an assumption. Most people do not know for sure, because they have never tried a balanced raw-food approach. Einstein once said: "The essential is to get rid of deeply rooted prejudices, which we often repeat without examining them."
Here is a visual experiment to consider: Feed a tribe of gorillas a diet of coffee, donuts, and other processed human foods for a few years. Let us watch what happens. Or consider, a herd of deer who, instead of eating their grass raw, decide to collect it and boil it in a giant cauldron. Picture what would happen in that situation!
What is it that constitutes the basis of human nourishment? Is it refined sugar flowing out of the roaring jaws of factories? Is it the flesh of animals being churned out by combinations of torturous factory farms and horrific slaughterhouses? Is it the milk of factory-farmed cows naturally intended for baby calves? Is it cooked and processed foods containing dyes, flavors, and preservatives?
No.
The basis of human nourishment is obvious: it is raw plant foods. And Nature presents this to us in abundance. Raw plant foods are simple, easy to find, fun to eat, enjoyable, contain thousands of health-giving nutrients, and conform to the biological design of the human digestive system. The sun is the source of all life and raw plant foods represent the purest form of transformed sun energy.
When one eats an orange, the wrapper (peel) becomes compost. When one follows a raw-plant-food lifestyle, the amount of trash produced by that individual decreases to almost nothing. Test for yourself and see.
An individual who eats the typical foods found in so-called "civilized society" who then changes to a raw-plant-food diet can discover energy they have never known. Eating a balanced mix of raw plant foods restores the body on a molecular level, building strong cells, radically naturalizing the body, raising alkalinity, and grounding the person in the natural world. Of course, the body resists shocking changes and everyone should ease into the raw-food approach at an appropriate pace. Also, everyone should educate themselves on this amazing subject (by further exploring this website, reading raw-food books, chatting on-line with other raw-foodists, and attending lectures), so that the common mistakes are avoided.
As the months and years pass, a person switching to a raw-plant-food approach may notice a greater awareness of the spiritual world, become more intuitive, and feel natural powers they have never experienced (or did not know they had). One will find oneself having more fun in a garden than a movie theatre. A profound new connection will arise with plants and animals.
Every person is a work of art in progress. Either one can become progressively more beautiful, or one can follow the fate civilization has set out (miseducation, wage slavery, decay, illness, and an untimely death). Each action one takes determines which of these two destinies will be achieved.
What we eat helps to guide our path. Eating determines what level of health our body will experience. Every bite of food put into the body should add to our strength, spirituality, and beauty. Each meal becomes part of who we are at the deepest level.
"You are what you eat" is a cosmic law. Everybody knows that saying: everybody! It is a concept that has been known in every culture and civilization throughout history. It is written into the fabric of the universe. It is a simple law of Nature that should be remembered each day, and at each meal. Those who wish to heal themselves and the planet, should eat the most healing foods.
"Healing foods" means quality, organic, homegrown, or wild foods and/or superfoods in their raw natural state. Following this principle is not only the simplest way to choose what to eat, but is simply the best way to bring about good health and spiritual transformation. Because of this, this website is dedicated to helping as many people as possible succeed and prosper with the raw-food lifestyle.
We encourage anyone who wishes to experience the bounties of Nature to delve into eating what Nature provides to us. That is: raw plant foods. We encourage people to learn about superfoods, garden foods, and wild plants (herbs), to learn a new way of living, to experience the incredible energy Nature will give to you by accepting the foods she provides, and to live life in a melody with the plants and animals. By doing so, you may experience and reclaim your own little bit of paradise!
Sunfood Nutrition
Many have spent lifetimes wondering what caused humanity's "fall from grace." What has caused humanity's disconnection from living in a natural paradise? Why is civilization out of balance with Nature? These thoughts are often triggered by a study of the classical, legendary, or religious stories of a former perfect age.
Every culture seems to have a story about how human life began on Earth. Most describe a place where people lived in harmony with the plants and animals. While living this way, the stories indicate that, people experienced happiness and peace.
These stories often indicate that everything was in harmony until something happened. Some stories tell of a great flood, others tell of humans gaining an understanding of good and evil, still others tell of a shift in Earth's alignment, a few even tell of some godly or spiritual powers that drastically changed the state of life on Earth.
Those of us who follow a balanced, thoughtful raw-food diet, believe that we have found the major piece of the answer to humanity's obvious disconnection with Nature. A multifaceted collection of scientists, spiritual leaders, researchers, and grassroots raw-food enthusiasts, have come to understand through experience, that the great change in human life occurred after humans discovered fire, and then began cooking food.
The obvious separation created by putting fire between our food and our mouth, the tremendous amount of time and energy people spend to cook food, the use of massive resources to create today's cooked-food culture (with its billions of kitchens and restaurants), the construction of factories and shops all churning out cooked and processed foods, the packaging and wrappers involved in the whole cooked-food process, and the lack of life energy in cooked food are all major contributing factors in humanity's fall from paradise. Subconsciously, we know this, as our picture of paradise usually involves sun, beaches, mangoes, and coconuts; not gloomy cities, restaurants, and cooked animals for dinner.
All animals living in the wild eat their food raw and, almost always, fresh. Raw is one of nature's most basic laws. Only humans and domesticated animals eat cooked and processed foods.
The cooking and processing of foods has become so common that most of us do not even question it. The assumption that cooked and processed foods are as good as raw foods is just an assumption. Most people do not know for sure, because they have never tried a balanced raw-food approach. Einstein once said: "The essential is to get rid of deeply rooted prejudices, which we often repeat without examining them."
Here is a visual experiment to consider: Feed a tribe of gorillas a diet of coffee, donuts, and other processed human foods for a few years. Let us watch what happens. Or consider, a herd of deer who, instead of eating their grass raw, decide to collect it and boil it in a giant cauldron. Picture what would happen in that situation!
What is it that constitutes the basis of human nourishment? Is it refined sugar flowing out of the roaring jaws of factories? Is it the flesh of animals being churned out by combinations of torturous factory farms and horrific slaughterhouses? Is it the milk of factory-farmed cows naturally intended for baby calves? Is it cooked and processed foods containing dyes, flavors, and preservatives?
No.
The basis of human nourishment is obvious: it is raw plant foods. And Nature presents this to us in abundance. Raw plant foods are simple, easy to find, fun to eat, enjoyable, contain thousands of health-giving nutrients, and conform to the biological design of the human digestive system. The sun is the source of all life and raw plant foods represent the purest form of transformed sun energy.
When one eats an orange, the wrapper (peel) becomes compost. When one follows a raw-plant-food lifestyle, the amount of trash produced by that individual decreases to almost nothing. Test for yourself and see.
An individual who eats the typical foods found in so-called "civilized society" who then changes to a raw-plant-food diet can discover energy they have never known. Eating a balanced mix of raw plant foods restores the body on a molecular level, building strong cells, radically naturalizing the body, raising alkalinity, and grounding the person in the natural world. Of course, the body resists shocking changes and everyone should ease into the raw-food approach at an appropriate pace. Also, everyone should educate themselves on this amazing subject (by further exploring this website, reading raw-food books, chatting on-line with other raw-foodists, and attending lectures), so that the common mistakes are avoided.
As the months and years pass, a person switching to a raw-plant-food approach may notice a greater awareness of the spiritual world, become more intuitive, and feel natural powers they have never experienced (or did not know they had). One will find oneself having more fun in a garden than a movie theatre. A profound new connection will arise with plants and animals.
Every person is a work of art in progress. Either one can become progressively more beautiful, or one can follow the fate civilization has set out (miseducation, wage slavery, decay, illness, and an untimely death). Each action one takes determines which of these two destinies will be achieved.
What we eat helps to guide our path. Eating determines what level of health our body will experience. Every bite of food put into the body should add to our strength, spirituality, and beauty. Each meal becomes part of who we are at the deepest level.
"You are what you eat" is a cosmic law. Everybody knows that saying: everybody! It is a concept that has been known in every culture and civilization throughout history. It is written into the fabric of the universe. It is a simple law of Nature that should be remembered each day, and at each meal. Those who wish to heal themselves and the planet, should eat the most healing foods.
"Healing foods" means quality, organic, homegrown, or wild foods and/or superfoods in their raw natural state. Following this principle is not only the simplest way to choose what to eat, but is simply the best way to bring about good health and spiritual transformation. Because of this, this website is dedicated to helping as many people as possible succeed and prosper with the raw-food lifestyle.
We encourage anyone who wishes to experience the bounties of Nature to delve into eating what Nature provides to us. That is: raw plant foods. We encourage people to learn about superfoods, garden foods, and wild plants (herbs), to learn a new way of living, to experience the incredible energy Nature will give to you by accepting the foods she provides, and to live life in a melody with the plants and animals. By doing so, you may experience and reclaim your own little bit of paradise!
Sunfood Nutrition
Sunday, December 28, 2008
The 5 Step Beginner's Guide to Eating Raw Food
2009 is upon us. With the New Year almost here, many people are making resolutions to get healthy. The quickest and easiest path to health, in my opinion, is by changing one’s diet. We’ve all heard the phrase ‘you are what you eat’ and it holds true. Your body- your cells- are comprised of the foods you eat. If you eat healthy, fresh foods, you will have healthy cells; therefore, your overall health will be greater. If you eat nothing but junk food, your cells will be made up of junk food, and your health will surely decrease as will your ability to fight disease and infection. Many people ask me what they can do to improve their health and quality of life. My response is always the same: eat raw foods.
I am not insinuating that I think that everyone should become a vegan and eat 100% raw food. But I believe that anyone can benefit from implementing more raw foods into his or her daily diet. The 5 steps below are easy to follow and can help anyone desiring to switch to a raw foods diet.
1. Eat at least 50% raw foods.
I always tell people who are interested in eating raw to begin by making 50% of their diet raw plant foods. This includes vegetables, fruits (mostly low glycemic), nuts, seeds, and cold pressed unrefined oils. By starting with 50% raw rather than jumping to 75% or 100% raw immediately, one can get used to eating raw while still eating some cooked foods, hopefully healthy ones.
Rather than trying to quit cooked food cold turkey, gradually increase the amount of raw foods consumed. This allows for more time to adjust mentally and physically. A lot of mental stamina is involved in making any lifestyle change. There can be a lot of physical changes that occur when switching to a much healthier diet such as weight loss or weight gain (if underweight to start), changes in skin and hair, cravings, changes in digestion, etc. You do not want to overwhelm yourself too early on and end up giving up. Give yourself time to adjust to your new lifestyle.
2. Cut out refined sugar, bleached white flour, and table salt.
Refined sugar and table salt are essentially drugs. At the very least, they are processed much in the same way as drugs such as cocaine and heroin. Refined sugar and white flour both start out as grasses. Sugar cane can be very nutrient dense if grown in the right way. Both start off healthy enough, but after being refined many times, the end product does not even come close to resembling the original. Sugar is produced by cooking raw cane juice down to make molasses, then cooking the molasses down to make brown sugar, then by bleaching the brown sugar to make refined white sugar – which contains no nutrients and not only causes cavities, but feeds candida and cancer as well. Sea salt is full of vital minerals, but table salt is refined similarly to sugar and in the process loses its minerals. To make up for that, iodine is added back into the salt, but that does not make up for all of the other valuable trace minerals lost. Table salt can dehydrate, irritate edema and increase high blood pressure, but sea salt will not.
White flour does not contain the whole grain, only a fraction of it, and has once again, been bleached of all its nutrients. Often, the bleached white flour is then “enriched” with synthetic vitamins to supposedly make it healthier. All pre-ground flour is rancid. Seeds and grains contain volatile oils and should never be ground and then left to sit on a shelf and go bad. Gluten intolerances and celiac disease are becoming increasingly more common as a result of years of eating white bread or pastas made from bleached flour, which essentially turn to glue inside of the intestines.
3. Cut out meat and dairy.
If you are a meat eater and want to stay that way, drastically cut back on the amount of meat you consume. Eat pasture fed meat if any. Or learn to hunt. Factory farmed animals are corn rather than grass fed and are often very sickly and given multiple rounds of antibiotics, hormones, even steroids. I don’t know about you, but I certainly would not want to eat that!
Meat should never be the focal point of the meal, nor should you eat meat with every meal. I am not saying this for the sake of my little furry friends, rather for your health. Years of eating meat can increase cholesterol (which is actually necessary in the small amounts that your body makes), clog arteries, and cause heart attacks. Just ask my grandfather who has had multiple heart attacks, a quadruple by-pass surgery, and an angioplasty what his diet consisted of most of his life. And he even ate vegetables! (Granted they were cooked in lard.)
Cow’s milk is for baby cows. Period. It is not made for humans to consume. I do not understand why people find this so hard to grasp. No sane adult would ever think of drinking milk from a nursing human mother, so why do people think it is ‘natural’ to drink cow’s milk? Most people are actually (biologically) lactose intolerant to some extend. Dairy is difficult to digest, causes mucus, and like wheat, can become thick and gluey in the intestines. Dairy is full of hormones and antibiotics too, along with a lot of other nasty things that come out of the cow when it is milked. Commercial dairy is pasteurized, killing any enzymes that would enable you to properly digest the milk, cheese or yogurt.
The practice of taking milk from animals developed during a time when it was hard to find and grow enough food to feed the family, tribe, or village. The animals were well taken care of and loved, and the milk products were consumed raw. If you choose to eat dairy, then eat local, raw cheese or milk. In many states, raw milk cannot be sold in stores, so you may have to visit an actual farm to get the milk, but many health food stores sell local raw milk cheeses. The raw dairy still contains lactase, the enzyme which digests lactose, and usually the small time farmers do not give their cows antibiotics or hormones and they may even be free range or pastured.
4. Find your support group.
There are raw food potlucks popping up all over the country. A raw potluck is a great place to meet new raw friends, to share recipes, and to try new dishes. It helps to be able to talk to others who are going through the same lifestyle change as you, or to get advice from people who have gone before you. If you cannot find a raw potluck in your area, you can always start one yourself or at the very least, attend a vegetarian or vegan potluck, especially if you are transitioning to raw foods from SAD (Standard American Diet).
5. Do NOT give up.
You may not be able to be all raw right away, or ever. Everyone is different, and everyone transitions at a different pace. Be patient with yourself. If you slip up and eat something you know you shouldn’t have or are trying to avoid, the worst thing you can do is to get upset with yourself. Guilt and shame can be just as unhealthy as poor diet and lack of exercise. Instead, resolve to stay strong.
Keep healthy, raw snacks on hand at all times to help you fight cravings. It is much easier to resist junk food or cooked comfort foods if you already have something healthy in your stomach. Learn to listen to your body and give it what it needs nutritionally, and in time, you will be able to overcome cravings and stay in control.
Photo: http://healthwellnesspost.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/03/raw-food.jpg
Tuesday, December 23, 2008
5 Ways to Stay Raw for the Holidays
Staying raw during the holiday season can be difficult. We are surronded by many tempting foods, the smells of which send us into a nostalgic state of longing for cooked comfort foods. Even though we know we don't really want to eat those foods, and even though we know we will just be tired and sluggish afterward, the temptation still exists. On top of all that, we are surrounded by friends and family who "just don't understand why you don't eat like a normal person." While often loving people, family can be very unsupportive of your "abnormal" eating habbits. While they may mean well, only having your best interests in mind, spending time around family and friends who are not exactly open to the world of raw foods can be disheartening. The holidays are stressful enough without having to deal with being poked and prodded by family memebers. I have discovered, the hard way, that openly airing my differences in lifestyle and eating habbits is not always the best thing to do at a holiday get together. The holidays used to be very hard to survive - I spent most of my time explaining over and over again to each new person who walked through the door what "weird" diet thing I was doing that year. I have gotten a little wiser, and have figured out how to survive the holidays with my nerves and diet intact. Here are five easy steps to follow to stay raw this holiday season.
1. Bring a raw dish with you.
Don't expect the host or hostess to provide a separate meal to fit your specific dietary needs. He or she may not fully understand the terms vegetarian, vegan, or raw. Many times I went to parties under the assumption that there would be vegan food for me only to discover that all of the dishes contained chicken broth or beef bullion (while some cooks mean well, to them, no meat or dairy did not include broth).
If you bring a dish with you, you ensure that you will have plenty to eat and some to share if anyone is interested. Don't push your food on anyone unwilling to try it though. That brings me to my next point.
2. Do NOT push your beliefs about diet and lifestyle onto anyone else.
No matter how passionate you are about something, some people will always be resistant to things that they do not understand. This does not mean that they are bad people, they are just missing out. Not everyone will welcome your damnation of the meat and dairy industies, and I'm sure Mom or Grandma will not appreciate you talking bad about cooked food after she spent three days making a delicious and possibly very unhealthy meal for the entire family.
If someone happens to ask, and shows genuine interest, then by all means, explain away. It is probably best in this case if you stick to the health benefits of eating raw rather than sliming other ways of eating. People generally respond better to information about how your health has improved and your skin has cleared up than condemnations of their particular lifestyle. The more you push, the more others will resist.
If negative attention is not what you wish to attract from your family during the holidays, I suggest avoiding standing on your soap box. While we all want to share our amazing way of healthful eating with everyone we love, not everyone is open to or ready to receive that information.
3. Have your own raw holiday celebration.
Having a celebration at your house and inviting all of your vegetarian, vegan, and raw friends is a great way to enjoy raw versions of all of your favorite holiday dishes. A holiday themed raw potluck is sure to be a lot of fun, include many delicious dishes, and provide support during the time when you need it most - when the temptation to eat cooked holiday food is strong.
4. Keep snacks with you at all times.
Whether out shopping or at Grandma's, the smell of baking cookies and sugar cookie scented candles are enough to drive any sworn raw foodist mad. To fight off any temptation you might have, keep a variety of snacks with you at all times. I don't have a single raw friend who shows up at a party or social event empty handed. We get pretty used to not having the option of buying a biscotti at the coffee shop or munching on the finger food at a party. I always have a variety of fruit, nuts, and trail mix of some sort in my bag.
I suggest carrying a few different snacks. You never know what kind of craving will hit you. I like to have options too. I prefer to have something salty to snack on before the big dinner. It's also nice to have something sweet to munch on when everyone else at the holiday gathering is eating pie or cookies for dessert.
5. Don't give up if you fall off the wagon.
Eating raw should not cause so much stress in your life that you beat yourself up over a little slip up. The negative effects of guilt and shame felt as a result of eating some cooked food are just as bad, of not worse for you than the food itself. If you eat some cooked food, no big deal. Don't worry about it. Pop some digestive enzymes, drink some kombucha, and at least enjoy it. Don't let something little ruin your entire holiday celebration.
If you happen to not be able to stay raw during the holidays, just pick up where you left off at the start of the new year. New Years is a time of new beginings, and putting the past behind us.
Follow these simple steps this holiday season, and you are sure to survive the holidays, raw diet intact.
If you need some ideas for holiday-themed raw recipes, visit:
http://www.livingblissfoods.com
or email:
info@livingblissfoods.com
A Little Bit About Raw Food
Deciding to make a positive change in your health and wellbeing can be difficult in the fast-food, convenience store filled world that we live in, but it can also be one of the most life-changing, rewarding decisions you will ever make. Choose to look at eating raw not as a diet, but as a lifestyle. The more often and longer you eat raw and living food, the more that you will find your life has been transformed in ways you never imagined possible.
Raw food and living food includes whole, unprocessed, and unheated foods such as fresh fruits and vegetables, raw nuts and seeds, cold-pressed oils, and often sprouted seeds and grains. Generally, foods are not heated above 105 to 115 degrees. Past this point, enzymes necessary for the proper digestion of the food are destoyed and the nutritional profile of the food is compromised.
When you eat raw foods, you eat food that:
Is in its most delicious, healthy, and natural state!
Contains no preservatives
Contains no artificial flavoring, coloring, or dyes
Contains no processed ingredients, refined sugar, or table salt
Is gluten, dairy, and meat free
Raw foodists are not alone in their desire to eat healthy, fresh, unprocessed food. Raw food guru and author, David Wolfe, estimates that "at least 1 million people in the USA embrace some aspect of the raw-food diet, based upon traffic at various Web sites and the 100,000-plus copies of his book, The Sunfood Diet Success System, that have been sold since 1999," (1).
1. "Healthful, Raw-food Trend is Picking Up Steam", Jerry Shriver, USA TODAY
For more information about raw food and the raw food lifestyle, visit:
Living Bliss Raw and Living Whole Foods
Sunfood Nutrition
Friday, December 12, 2008
Addendum: Diet or Dogma?
"Diet or Dogma?" is an impressively honest article recently written by blogger Brandon Gilbert, herbalist and co-owner of Jing Masters. This is my follow up and response to the issues addressed in "Diet or Dogma?" To read the article and Brandon's other thoughtful and provacative works, visit his blog.
I used to proudly wear the title vegetarian or vegan like a badge. I, like many others, defined myself in part by my diet. It was part of my identity, what separated me from all of the unsympathetic meat-eaters out there. It was not until I inadvertently submersed myself in the world of raw foods that I realized how dogmatic and impractical adhering to a strictly regimented attitude about diet is.
The more I opened myself up and the more I learned, the more I began to shed my formerly strongly held beliefs and ideals. I began to look at my way of eating not as a diet, but as a lifestyle. In a sense, not only do the foods I eat affect my health and well-being, the belief systems I hold myself to have a very real and lasting affect on my mental, spiritual, social, and physical health. Additionally, I began to realize that clinging so desperately to a belief system with rules and values defined by someone other than me was actually counter productive to creating my own health and vitality. I understood that in order to live the healthiest lifestyle for me, I myself had to learn to define what is best for me.
I am not suggesting that you discard the teachings of those at the forefront of the fields of raw food and health and nutrition. Rather, I am urging you to listen to the information they provide and the advice they give, process it, analyze it, and decide how it can best be utilized in your life. I urge you to listen to the way the experts are presenting the information to you. If they are offering nothing but fear and dogma and prescription, you might want to look elsewhere for advice. Someone who is truly in it for the common good, to educate and inspire, will offer information objectively and honestly without attachment.
This leads me back to the idea of diet and dogma. In my work as a raw chef and wellness coach, I have come across many people who, although well meaning, are preventing themselves from advancing to states of higher health and vibration because of dogmatic beliefs regarding what their diet should be. These people get so wrapped up in what they cannot eat, that they forget to enjoy eating at all. What they eat becomes all about what they read in books and what they hear from gurus rather than what their body needs at that moment in their transition. Granted, there is a huge learning curve when it comes to eating raw, but as a community we need to be encouraging and inspiring to one another rather than perpetuating this cycle of competition and guilt and shame. We need to help one another learn to listen to our bodies and eat what we need, rather than worry about maintaining a certain raw percentage or breaking from our raw diet. Everyone will move at a different pace and 100% raw is not best or even reasonable for some.
There is a lot of confusion surrounding the raw food lifestyle that, in my opinion, comes from the subtle percentage-related raw food competition. Many people feel pressured to be “all raw” or 100% raw before they are ready physically or emotionally. Transitioning from a junk-food vegan diet to raw can be difficult, but transitioning from SAD (Standard American Diet) to raw can be utterly overwhelming to some. Many people get lost in the mix, lose hope, or give up because they have fallen off the wagon. They are discouraged because they are lead to believe that in order to be healthy they have to conform to a 75% or 90% or 100% raw diet. All the while, the stress that these people feel to live up to this standard is flooding their bodies with cortisol and the guilt that they feel over their cooked food “slip-ups” is leaving them unable to feel the joy that eating pure, natural food can bring.
I have heard many ridiculously stringent things from people regarding what is and is not acceptable when it comes to raw foods. Many times, I have heard people say that they cannot or will not drink tea because it is not raw. In order to clear this one up, let me point out that many herbs are much more beneficial when steeped or even decocted or boiled than when raw. You cannot eat dried roots or a tea bag and expect to get much out of either. Herbal teas can be a very important part of a transition diet as they can provide nutritional support and aid in detoxification. They also make an amazing base for superfood smoothies. Just ask raw food guru and nutrition expert David Wolfe! He does not shy from making hot teas just because they are “not raw.”
Another shockingly ridiculous idea that I have come across is that you can never have warm soups. I have talked to many people who felt that, due to the discouragement of others, they were faltering on their raw journey because they had eaten some warmed soup. Some simply gave up on eating raw as they could not stay warm in the winter. They had been led to believe that eating a strict raw food diet was more important than their comfort, happiness, or peace of mind.
I believe that we, as a community, need to be more mindful of accepting everyone, regardless of where they are in their journey. No matter how far each of us has come, there is always more work to be done. Clinging to a title and pushing it in others’ faces does less to improve one’s health than learning acceptance and appreciation. I am not saying this to down anyone. Rather, I am speaking from experience. Often times, we mean well, but are misinformed. Yet, due to dogmatic belief systems, we refuse to allow ourselves to partake in something which may actually be of benefit. For many years, I refused to eat honey and I discouraged everyone I knew from doing so. This was truly out of the goodness of my heart because I was worried about the bees. Honey bees are disappearing from many parts of the country due to pesticides, disease, and the gassing of bees by inhumane companies that seek to profit from stealing their honey. It was also partly because I considered myself vegan, and was proud that I did not consume any animal (or insect) products. Little did I know that I could get delicious local raw honey from beekeepers who love and care for their bees. Little did I know that buy consuming local honey I was contributing to the local ecosystem by supporting the pollination of plants. By consuming local, raw honey, now one of my favorite foods, I was also inoculating myself against pollen, the very thing which caused me the most seasonal allergies. Looking back, I realize how silly it was that I let someone else define for me what it meant to be vegan, or that I was even concerned with a title.
Titles are like clothing. We wear them not only to protect ourselves physically and emotionally, but also to dress ourselves up – to make us look more impressive to others. If we are constantly concerning ourselves with what we are wearing, rather than what we truly are on the inside, then it will be difficult to move toward healthier and happier states of being. But if we can begin to love ourselves for who we are, if we can begin to move past the need to define ourselves by arbitrary titles like vegetarian, vegan, raw foodist, Christian, Muslim, Jew, Buddhist, Hindu, American, "foreign," black, white, and begin to see ourselves as human, we will inevitably be more happy, open, and accepting of peace, love, and radiant health.
Monday, December 8, 2008
Living Bliss Raw Food Launch Celebration!
Living Bliss Raw and Living Whole Foods has finally launched a website! Visit http://www.livingblissfoods.com/ to learn about the multitude of services Living Bliss has made available and check out the full menu of delicious raw food and living food creations Raw Chef Erin Brennan is currently offering.
Living Bliss is offering a special menu of delightful holiday inspired meal items now through January 1. Take advantage of the Living Bliss catering service for your holiday celebration needs. Serve delicious, colorful, fresh, and healthy raw food to your friends and familiy this holiday season!
As we are approaching that special gift-giving time of the year, don’t forget that Living Bliss can help you give the gift of health to your loved ones! Living Bliss is currently offering specially priced gift packages and discounted gift certificates.* Visit http://www.livingblissfoods.com/ to take advantage of this limited time offer and give a delicious and healthy raw food gift to that special someone this year!
*Gift certificate valid ONLY directly through Living Bliss, LLC.
Living Bliss is offering a special menu of delightful holiday inspired meal items now through January 1. Take advantage of the Living Bliss catering service for your holiday celebration needs. Serve delicious, colorful, fresh, and healthy raw food to your friends and familiy this holiday season!
As we are approaching that special gift-giving time of the year, don’t forget that Living Bliss can help you give the gift of health to your loved ones! Living Bliss is currently offering specially priced gift packages and discounted gift certificates.* Visit http://www.livingblissfoods.com/ to take advantage of this limited time offer and give a delicious and healthy raw food gift to that special someone this year!
*Gift certificate valid ONLY directly through Living Bliss, LLC.
The Benefits of Eating a Plant-Based Diet: The Vitamin B12 Deficiency Myth
I have been vegan for many years now, and have been forced, like many other vegetarians and vegans, to deal with the many falsehoods and myths surrounding plant-based diets. The first question I usually get is "But where do you get your protein?" The idea of a vegetarian not getting enough protein or having to combine proteins has been outdated for many years! Plant foods are incredibly high in amino acids, the building blocks of all proteins. Some plant foods, such as hemp seeds, are even complete proteins and contain the all essential amino acids needed by humans. The proteins found in meat and dairy products are often indigestible after being cooked and can sit inside of the intestines and putrefy. A diet too high in animal proteins can also prevent the absorption and assimilation of necessary vitamins and minerals, including Calcium (1). It seems paradoxical then, that we are led to believe that cow's milk is a good source of calcium. This also explains why the countries with the highest levels of dairy consumption - the United States, Denmark, Norway, Holland and Sweden - also have the highest rates of osteoporosis, bone disease, heart disease, and breast cancer while in the countries with the lowest dairy consumption, rates of these diseases are much lower (1).
The next question I get from people is "What about vitamin B12?" I have to admit, when I first decided to be vegan, this one got to me a little. So I did some research into vitamin B12 deficiencies, and I was very surprised with what I found. On the surface, everything you find is about vegans and how if you don't eat any animal products, you won't get any B12. But if you look a little deeper (or happen to take a college level anatomy class) you learn a little more about B12, what it is, and where it actually comes from. "Many people say that the only foods which contain vitamin B12 are animal-derived foods. This also is untrue. No foods naturally contain vitamin B12 - neither animal or plant foods. Vitamin B12 is a microbe - a bacteria - it is produced by microorganisms," (2). So there you have it, you don't have to eat animal products to get vitamin B12, only have good intestinal health, which unfortunately, most Americans are severely lacking. The bacteria that live inside of your intestines produce B12, which is then absorbed through your digestive tract. However, this cannot happen if your gastro-intestinal tract is not a conducive environment to the growth and spread of friendly flora (probiotics)...or if it is clogged with a thick, sludgy layer of undigested proteins from meat, dairy, and gluten-containing wheat products.
I still wondered how someone like myself, who was eating a very healthy diet of whole, unprocessed raw fruits and vegetables, could in some way be deficient in any vitamin when compared to a SAD (Standard American Diet) meat-eater guzzling french-fries, burgers, and soda. Then I came across this: "The author does not believe that a vitamin B12 deficiency is more widespread in vegans or vegetarians - this is probably just another marketing lie...In fact, contrary to meat and dairy industry propaganda, meat-eaters are known to be more likely to have a vitamin B12 deficiency - this has been known since 1959!" (3). Studies have shown that those on a SAD meat-eating diet actually require more B12 than those eating a plant-based diet (3). As vitamin B12 actually comes from a microbe living on the foods we eat that would be killed when a product is cooked/irradiated, then a person eating cooked meat and ultra pasteurized dairy products will actually be consuming very little to no B12, while a raw food vegan, consuming fresh, organic raw produce will inevitable be consuming higher amounts of B12. "Animal and dairy produce is a poor source of Vitamin B12 since they are normally cooked and therefore the vitamin is contained in nutrient-deranged foodstuffs which will inevitably destroy the usability of the vitamin," (2). A raw food vegan, vegan, or even a vegetarian will also have a much cleaner digestive tract than a SAD meat-eater, resulting in higher levels of probiotics residing in the intestines and increased B12 absorption and reabsorption.
It is also helpful to understand that "vitamin B12 can be destroyed by...highly acid conditions," (4). This means that the B12 in meat would be destroyed by the increased levels of hydrochloric acid needed in the stomach to digest meat products (4). That is, if the B12 microbes were not already killed by the several rounds of antibiotics given to animals in factory farms. Vegan and raw food vegans, especially, generally have a much more balanced alkaline internal environment than do SAD meat-eaters and vegetarians who consume dairy (both meat and dairy are highly acid forming).
So how can you ensure that your body is getting the Vitamin B12 it needs? Eat a plant-based diet rich in raw foods (at least 50%) to ensure proper digestion. "It has also been reported that vitamin B12 is present in wild fruits and wild and home-grown plant foods," (2). Raw food guru and author, David Wolfe, believes that the natural soil microbes and bacteria found on wild plant foods and unwashed garden plants are typically adequate to supply our B12 requirements (5). Also, avoid meat, dairy, and gluten containing products which create an acidic internal environment and effectively line the intestinal walls with a thick layer of mucus, preventing absorption of B12. Buy raw and organic to avoid foods that have been pasteurized, ultra-pasteurized, or irradiated. Include nutrient dense algae, such as Spirulina and Marine Phytoplankton, into your daily diet. Both are part plant, part microbe and may contain vitamin B12. Marine phytoplankton also happens to be the original source of omega 3-6-9, is sustainably harvested, and runs no risk of mercury contamination, unlike fish oil. I hope that this has cleared up some of the confusion regarding a popular vegetarian myth, that of B12 deficiency.
1. "Milk, the Deadly Poison", Robert Cohen
2. 'The Vitamin B12 Issue', Dr. Gena Shaw
3. 'Fit for Life', Diamond, H. and M., 1987
4. 'Human Anatomy and Physiology', Marieb
5. Sunfood Diet Success System, Wolfe, David
For more information or to purchase Marine Phytoplankton, visit: Elements For Life
Erin Brennan is a Raw Foods Chef and the owner of Living Bliss, a company based out of Louisville, Kentucky which provides fresh and delicious raw and living whole foods, event catering, uncooking classes and workshops, nutritional consultations, and wellness coaching.
http://www.livingblissfoods.com/
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Erin_Brennan
The next question I get from people is "What about vitamin B12?" I have to admit, when I first decided to be vegan, this one got to me a little. So I did some research into vitamin B12 deficiencies, and I was very surprised with what I found. On the surface, everything you find is about vegans and how if you don't eat any animal products, you won't get any B12. But if you look a little deeper (or happen to take a college level anatomy class) you learn a little more about B12, what it is, and where it actually comes from. "Many people say that the only foods which contain vitamin B12 are animal-derived foods. This also is untrue. No foods naturally contain vitamin B12 - neither animal or plant foods. Vitamin B12 is a microbe - a bacteria - it is produced by microorganisms," (2). So there you have it, you don't have to eat animal products to get vitamin B12, only have good intestinal health, which unfortunately, most Americans are severely lacking. The bacteria that live inside of your intestines produce B12, which is then absorbed through your digestive tract. However, this cannot happen if your gastro-intestinal tract is not a conducive environment to the growth and spread of friendly flora (probiotics)...or if it is clogged with a thick, sludgy layer of undigested proteins from meat, dairy, and gluten-containing wheat products.
I still wondered how someone like myself, who was eating a very healthy diet of whole, unprocessed raw fruits and vegetables, could in some way be deficient in any vitamin when compared to a SAD (Standard American Diet) meat-eater guzzling french-fries, burgers, and soda. Then I came across this: "The author does not believe that a vitamin B12 deficiency is more widespread in vegans or vegetarians - this is probably just another marketing lie...In fact, contrary to meat and dairy industry propaganda, meat-eaters are known to be more likely to have a vitamin B12 deficiency - this has been known since 1959!" (3). Studies have shown that those on a SAD meat-eating diet actually require more B12 than those eating a plant-based diet (3). As vitamin B12 actually comes from a microbe living on the foods we eat that would be killed when a product is cooked/irradiated, then a person eating cooked meat and ultra pasteurized dairy products will actually be consuming very little to no B12, while a raw food vegan, consuming fresh, organic raw produce will inevitable be consuming higher amounts of B12. "Animal and dairy produce is a poor source of Vitamin B12 since they are normally cooked and therefore the vitamin is contained in nutrient-deranged foodstuffs which will inevitably destroy the usability of the vitamin," (2). A raw food vegan, vegan, or even a vegetarian will also have a much cleaner digestive tract than a SAD meat-eater, resulting in higher levels of probiotics residing in the intestines and increased B12 absorption and reabsorption.
It is also helpful to understand that "vitamin B12 can be destroyed by...highly acid conditions," (4). This means that the B12 in meat would be destroyed by the increased levels of hydrochloric acid needed in the stomach to digest meat products (4). That is, if the B12 microbes were not already killed by the several rounds of antibiotics given to animals in factory farms. Vegan and raw food vegans, especially, generally have a much more balanced alkaline internal environment than do SAD meat-eaters and vegetarians who consume dairy (both meat and dairy are highly acid forming).
So how can you ensure that your body is getting the Vitamin B12 it needs? Eat a plant-based diet rich in raw foods (at least 50%) to ensure proper digestion. "It has also been reported that vitamin B12 is present in wild fruits and wild and home-grown plant foods," (2). Raw food guru and author, David Wolfe, believes that the natural soil microbes and bacteria found on wild plant foods and unwashed garden plants are typically adequate to supply our B12 requirements (5). Also, avoid meat, dairy, and gluten containing products which create an acidic internal environment and effectively line the intestinal walls with a thick layer of mucus, preventing absorption of B12. Buy raw and organic to avoid foods that have been pasteurized, ultra-pasteurized, or irradiated. Include nutrient dense algae, such as Spirulina and Marine Phytoplankton, into your daily diet. Both are part plant, part microbe and may contain vitamin B12. Marine phytoplankton also happens to be the original source of omega 3-6-9, is sustainably harvested, and runs no risk of mercury contamination, unlike fish oil. I hope that this has cleared up some of the confusion regarding a popular vegetarian myth, that of B12 deficiency.
1. "Milk, the Deadly Poison", Robert Cohen
2. 'The Vitamin B12 Issue', Dr. Gena Shaw
3. 'Fit for Life', Diamond, H. and M., 1987
4. 'Human Anatomy and Physiology', Marieb
5. Sunfood Diet Success System, Wolfe, David
For more information or to purchase Marine Phytoplankton, visit: Elements For Life
Erin Brennan is a Raw Foods Chef and the owner of Living Bliss, a company based out of Louisville, Kentucky which provides fresh and delicious raw and living whole foods, event catering, uncooking classes and workshops, nutritional consultations, and wellness coaching.
http://www.livingblissfoods.com/
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Erin_Brennan
What is Elements For Life
What is Elements For Life?
Elements For Life is a sustainably minded company which provides high quality superfoods, herbs, and mineral products. Elements For Life is also a multi-level marketing company (MLM). This means that rather than spending millions of dollars on advertizing campaigns, Elements For Life passes wholesale pricing on to its independent representatives and relies instead on grassroots efforts and word of mouth to advertize.
Why should I become involved with Elements For Life?
Elements For Life not only provides the very best in superfood products like maca and cacao, herbs, and raw chocolate, but also offers unique products such as Gold Rush Colloidal Gold and Revitaphi Green Powder. All of these products can be purchased at discounted wholesale prices simply by joining the Elements For Life team. You can also turn your membership into a successful home-based business providing you with extra income each month. The compensation plan Elements For Life offers was developed with care and generously and fairly provides commissions each month. Elements For Life operates under the principles of sustainability, integrity, and responsibility for the environment and the community.
Who can join Elements For Life?
Anyone can join Elements For Life, from the aspiring entrepreneur to the individual interested in adding healthy, high quality superfoods into his or her arsenal. Membership starts at just $59 and includes your own website. Fast start business builder packages start at $300, $500, $800 and up for those interested in starting a home-based business.
Where can I find more information about Elements For Life products?
Right here: Elements For Life
Erin Brennan is a Raw Foods Chef and the owner of Living Bliss, a company based out of Louisville, Kentucky, which provides fresh and delicious raw and living whole foods, event catering, uncooking classes and workshops, nutritional consultations, and wellness coaching.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Erin_Brennan
Elements For Life is a sustainably minded company which provides high quality superfoods, herbs, and mineral products. Elements For Life is also a multi-level marketing company (MLM). This means that rather than spending millions of dollars on advertizing campaigns, Elements For Life passes wholesale pricing on to its independent representatives and relies instead on grassroots efforts and word of mouth to advertize.
Why should I become involved with Elements For Life?
Elements For Life not only provides the very best in superfood products like maca and cacao, herbs, and raw chocolate, but also offers unique products such as Gold Rush Colloidal Gold and Revitaphi Green Powder. All of these products can be purchased at discounted wholesale prices simply by joining the Elements For Life team. You can also turn your membership into a successful home-based business providing you with extra income each month. The compensation plan Elements For Life offers was developed with care and generously and fairly provides commissions each month. Elements For Life operates under the principles of sustainability, integrity, and responsibility for the environment and the community.
Who can join Elements For Life?
Anyone can join Elements For Life, from the aspiring entrepreneur to the individual interested in adding healthy, high quality superfoods into his or her arsenal. Membership starts at just $59 and includes your own website. Fast start business builder packages start at $300, $500, $800 and up for those interested in starting a home-based business.
Where can I find more information about Elements For Life products?
Right here: Elements For Life
Erin Brennan is a Raw Foods Chef and the owner of Living Bliss, a company based out of Louisville, Kentucky, which provides fresh and delicious raw and living whole foods, event catering, uncooking classes and workshops, nutritional consultations, and wellness coaching.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Erin_Brennan
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