November over?

Wow I can hardly believe November is over!! How did this happen?
I can see I slacked greatly in keeping a daily blog of my progression with the no sugar diet. Let me do a little updating. Things went amazingly well. I have never felt better!! I have a clearer head and a smaller waist line :) what's not to love about that?
I did have a few bits of a raw cacao cheezecake for Thanksgiving and couldn't eat much as I thought how overly sweet it was. I am going to continue on through December and who knows from there. I may start incorporating fruits back into my diet but on a limited basis!
I encourage all of you to travel down this path even if just for two weeks to a month, you will see a significant difference.
Much love -
Me

Day 4

What an amazing day I had!! I have so much energy I don't know what to do with it!! I have started the task of organizing my little house. My hubby and I have been married for 8 months (wow is it possible) and when we combined our "stuff" together, it left everything busting at the seams.
Even with my busy life of running a new business and helping my husband with his, this no sugar has given me much more energy, so the house is my target.
For Day 4: I had my smoothie (I cheated a tiny bit and but raw fresh cranberries in)
For lunch I made a sumptuous salad with hemp oil and lemon juice as the dressing.
Dinner was pumpkin loaf that I made and dehydrated - again amazing!! I love RAW foods!!!
I am starting sprouts today so that I can start throwing those on all my salads too. Sprouts are so good to keep the body alkaline and that is one of my big goals too!! In an alkaline state our bodies can't grow yeast or fungus on the cells and I want to be anti-fungi :) Here is some more info on alkalinity:

Importance Of Alkalinity

We live and die at the cellular level. All the cells (billions of them) that make up the human body are slightly alkaline, and must maintain alkalinity in order to function and remain healthy and alive. However their cellular activity creates acid and this acid is what gives the cell energy and function. As each alkaline cell performs its task of respiration, it secretes metabolic wastes, and these end products of cellular metabolism are acid in nature. Although these wastes are used for energy and function, they must not be allowed to build up. One example of this is the often painful lactic acid which is created through exercise. The body will go to great lengths to neutralize and detoxify these acids before they act as poisons in and around the cell, ultimately changing the environment of the cell. Most people and clinical practitioners believe the immune system is the body's first line of defense, but in actuality it is not. It is very important, but more like a very sophisticated clean-up service. We must instead look at the importance of pH balance as the first and major line of defense against sickness and disease and for health and vitality.

The human body is very intelligent. As we become more and more acidic the body starts to set up defense mechanisms to keep the damaging acid from entering our vital organs. It is known that acid gets stored in fat cells. After all, if the acid does come into contact with an organ the acid has a chance to eat holes in the tissue. This may cause the cells to mutate. The oxygen level drops in this acidic environment and calcium begins to be depleted. So as a defense mechanism, your body may actually make fat to protect you from your overly-acidic self. Those fat cells and cellulite deposits may actually be packing up the acid and trying to keep it a safe distance from your organs. The fat may be saving your vital organs from damage. Many people have found that a return to a healthy inner biological terrain helps them to lose excess fat.

Benefits of Alkalinity

Today's lifestyle causes a multitude of disorders and malfunctions in the metabolism of our bodies. Despite the efforts of the Food and Drug Administration and the Environmental Protection Agency, our food supply, drinking water, air and soil are becoming increasingly contaminated with toxic chemicals. Never before has the human body been presented with such a heavy burden of foreign substances to metabolize and eliminate thus taxing the body beyond its natural capabilities of detoxification.

Many people just don't feel good anymore. Some find themselves being much more susceptible to colds, or to whatever "bug" is currently going around. Much more serious are the increasing cases of autoimmune diseases such as lupus, rheumatoid arthritis, multiple sclerosis, chronic fatigue syndrome, and fibromyalgia. "Health" and "wellness" have become relative terms.

Low-level toxicity from many sources can be very difficult to detect. The combined action of all these toxins creates a "toxic cocktail" effect which can seriously weaken the body and the mind through a process we call "fermentation" or the over-acidification of the blood and tissue as a result of the proliferation of yeast, fungus, and bacteria.

Yeast and fungus are single cell life forms which inhabit the air, soil, water, and many of the foods we eat. They are more highly developed than the intermediate states of bacteria or the early stages of viruses. Over the years, they have developed into over 500,000 different species. They are opportunists and survivalists. They are constantly looking for new places to house themselves where they may begin to colonize and proliferate. Being that they are single cell life forms, they can only be seen under a microscope but once colonized, these cells make a visible presence in the form of mushrooms, and molds on food.

Yeast, fungus, bacteria, mold, and viruses tend to house themselves in very specific sites in the body, depending on their particular requirements for nutrients and colonization conditions. All are capable of causing severe fermentation through the by-products of their metabolism, which enter the extra cellular fluid or the blood and then are distributed throughout the body. This culminates in the over-acidification of the blood and tissues which systemically poison and destroy the cells of the body. This condition we call over-acidification is a direct result of an inverted way of eating - the abundance of animal protein, especially red meat and pork, dairy products (milk, cheese, ice cream), sugar in any form (sucrose, fructose, glucose). Therefore, there is only one sickness and one disease.

The primary source of nourishment for yeast, fungus, and bacteria is sugar. As these organisms feed off the sugar and proteins of our bodies they produce and excrete waste called toxins. These toxins effect us physically, emotionally, and spiritually. The solution to this growing problem is to cleanse the blood and nourish the cells. We do this by eliminating those foods which create over-acidification and eating more foods that are alkaline. Yeast, fungus, bacteria, mold, and virus can only survive in an acid base, they cannot survive in an alkaline base. It is, therefore, very important that there is a proper ration between acid an alkaline foods in the diet. When an ideal ratio is maintained, yeast fungus, bacteria, mold, and virus will revert back to their normal healthy state. The ideal ration in a normal body is 4 parts alkaline to 1 part acid which will allow the body to maintain a pH factor of 7.365. To avoid a lengthy chemistry lesson, we will get right to the point that pH refers to the relative concentration of Hydrogen (H+) ions in a solution. Low pH values indicate higher concentrations of Hydrogen ions or acids, and high pH values indicate low concentrations of Hydrogen ions or alkaline. For example, 10 to -1 is more acidic than 10 to -14.>

An ideal diet should consist of dark green and yellow vegetables, soy beans, sprouted grains and nuts, and essential fatty acids. This ideal way of eating would reduce our susceptibility to toxins, detoxify the body, and reduce or prevent future exposures allowing for cellular regeneration leading to "health" and "wellness."

Ciao till next time 

Day 2 and 3

Were great days and so busy, that I didn't even get on here to blog. The cravings for sugar are getting less and less, so that is exciting to me. I have hit my goal of exercising for an hour minimum each day as well. It takes 30 days to ingrain a habit into your system, so I am only 26 days away :) yikes!
Food has been fun to create. I had my protein smoothie each morning, a salad for lunch and for dinner I made amazing pepper hempfredo. Zucchini noodles with an exceptional sauce made from hemp, avocado, fresh ground pepper and a lot of my creativity. Was delicious.
Off to run, will post more soon -

Ciao

Day 1 of NO sugar

I have made a conscious decision to take all sugar out of my diet for 60 days.
Reasons:
1) detox
2) accomplish weight loss goals
3) to break a life long addiction
These are my primary reasons, and this is my journey into unknown territory. Follow along and if any of you want to join me in this massive action plan, come along. :)

Day 1: Today was a bit of a rough day. So used to having a berry smoothie for my breakfast and I choose to even cut berries out, so now ice is all I have.  Lunch was a great salad and dinner, kale salad. Oh and LOTS of water!!!
I am going to try and eat by 7 every night and just have water in the evening to teach my body not to crave food at night. Plus this gives the body time to digest and store exactly how it was meant to.
I am going to be doing a minimum of an hour of exercise a day in addition to the no sugar. Today as we just flew in for Florida I missed my workout schedule but tomorrow, it's ON!! :)
Wow, all I can say is who knew how much sugar is even in raw food bars. Guess it will be strictly veggies, juice and salads. I guess my creative genes are going to kick in full force.
Ciao till tomorrow

Want Beautiful Hair? Eat Seaweed

Hair is nurtured by the scalp and blood supply, just as plants are sustained by soil and ground water. Every strand of hair resembles a plant stem in structure. Hair, like vegetation, depends on the quality of the medium in which it grows.

We value hair highly for appearance. For the body, hair is less important. The root is hair’s only living part. Hair above the root reflects the body’s history, its former nourishment patterns. The body, concerned with its present state of health, its future survival, uses to feed its essential organs and tissues first, feeding the hair only if it has a surplus of nutrients. If the body has an abundance of nourishment, it keeps your hair healthy. But when the body senses a deficiency, it abandons the hair, being inessential for life.
Here’s a myth about the nourishment of hair… Since hair is 97 percent protein, the myth goes, you need a protein-rich diet. Nonsense! Your body can converts carbohydrates into protein. Your body in fact prefers to nourish hair this way. If your diet predominately consists of raw fruits, vegetables, nuts, and seeds, you will have firm, thick hair.
Dandruff is an example of how your body eliminates excess fat and protein. These white, dry flakes are nothing but oil and protein clumped together, caused by consuming saturated fats and proteins in animal foods, especially fried foods. My experience: Stop eating meat, no more dandruff.
Research shows sodium alginate, a compound found in most seaweed, binds with heavy metals and chemical poisons, flushing them from the body. Sea vegetables help the body to discharge radioactive wastes. They nourish the endocrine system, especially the thyroid and adrenal glands. Iodine in seaweed keeps the thyroid functioning normally, and is high in natural sodium.
Sea vegetables, providing plenty of proteins, complex carbohydrates, carotenes, and chlorophyll, stimulate and strengthen the skin, hair, and nails. Brittle hair, caused by a shortage of minerals, too much salt or animal food, or excessive use of drugs, can be restored by eating sea vegetables.
Sea vegetables offer tremendous benefits not only for health but for beauty. Kelp, wakame, arame, dulse, and nori are all high-protein vegetables, low in fat. Rich in calcium, phosphorus, potassium, iron, iodine, and other trace minerals, sea vegetables like alaria and kelp are better calcium sources than milk. Sea vegetables, like land vegetables, are high in potassium.
Thinning hair is a common sign of aging, even more than graying hair. Hair follicles cannot produce hair in toxic environments. The results: slow and meager hair growth, with strands brittle, and split.
People who had been on the raw food lifestyle for a year reported an amazing result: abundant hair growth—as much as an inch a month. In some cases, gray hair was replaced with strands of original color.
When you first begin your 100 per cent raw food diet, you might lose some hair. This is part of the cleansing process. But since a raw food diet will give excessive nourishment, your hair will begin to thrive and be much stronger in the long run. Hair loss during transition is only temporary. Don’t panic. Look to your temples for new hair growth—a good sign!
Gray hair is often a companion of aging, because the cells in the bulb that are supposed to produce melanin are dead. They die for the same reasons other cells do. Poor assimilation, hormonal imbalances, and toxic waste buildup in the system are contributing factors. Graying hair is caused by the consumption of saturated fat and protein, as well as salt. Another cause of graying hair is the excessive intake of simple sugars, which leach minerals from the blood, weakening the nutrients that reach the hair. Starving and suffocating hair turns gray.
Many people on raw food diets claim that their hair returned to its natural color. I am convinced it’s possible to prevent hair from turning gray or reverse the process if already begun. However, heredity is a big factor here.
Drink wheatgrass, and wash your hair in it. Nutrients penetrate into follicles and stimulate growth of new pigment-producing cells. Getting results takes persistence, but consider the alternative—artificial coloring is carcinogenic.

Water -

Water - Article by Matt Monarch

The following information is for education only and is not meant to diagnose, prescribe, or treat illness. It is valuable to seek the advice of an alternative health care professional before making any changes.

One of the BIGGEST questions that I always get asked is, "Which type of water is it best to drink?". I have always shied away from writing an article on this subject, because I realized that many people have strong opinions on the subject... AND... I didn't FULLY realize the importance of my own water choices until now.

There are a couple of important things to consider when discussing water. In my opinion, the most important consideration is the amount of "earthy matter" in the water. When you drink standard bottled spring water, such as Arrowhead or Poland Springs, there is "earthy matter" in it, which includes lyme (in-organic calcium). As many of you know from our previous newsletters, in my opinion this earthy matter is one of the biggest contributing factors in the aging process. Dr. Norman Walker states that if you drink bottled spring water like this, during the course of your life you will have between one and two tons of lyme pass through your body. Most likely a LARGE percentage of this lyme is naturally eliminated from your body, but as the years go by, it also starts to accumulate and cause havoc in the body. Arterial plaque, cataracts and arthritis are just a few of the many conditions related to this accumulation of earthy matter.

I've actually tested distilling Arrowhead Mountain Spring Water before. What was left over was an ENTIRE FILM of "dust" (in-organic earthy matter)!!! I then tested distilling the distilled water from the Arrowhead Mountain Spring company and there wasn't any film of dusty matter left over.

The second key thing to consider is the structure of the water. Many of you are familiar with Dr. Emoto's work with the energy of water. It is scientifically proven that our thoughts affect the vibration of water. When we send positive thoughts in the presence of water, the structure of the water takes on a more beautiful formation via this INCREASED vibration and subtle etheric energy, than if we were to send negative thoughts. This affects the energy of the water, which also affects how much it hydrates us, and which types of energies enter your body. Our bodies are comprised of at least 70% water. Therefore, the more POSITIVE thoughts we have, the more the water in our body is going to take on this HIGH VIBRATION beautiful structure and affect our health, emotions, and entire well-being.

In nature, water gets filtered through the Earth and naturally occurring vortices punctuate the process of water flow. There are ways to create a vortex in our homes with the water we drink, to structure the water into a state that is more hydrating and energetically beneficial to our bodies.

Many raw food advocates, such as David Wolfe and Daniel Vitalis, are HUGE supporters of spring water collected directly from the earth. This water is ALIVE in its ULTIMATE structure and hydrates the body like no other. TRUE spring water bubbling up from the Earth like this has a MAGICAL vibration to it and will most likely increase your well-being and longevity. Keep in mind that we want water containing as LITTLE earthy matter as possible and many springs don't provide this kind of water quality. The best water on the planet in my opinion, is the FRESH spring water that comes bubbling from the Earth like this, WITH a RIDICULOUSLY LOW TDS (Total Dissolved Solids) count (less than 50, for example).

Finding a spring with a "RIDICULOUSLY LOW" TDS count like this is only usually possible in healthy, thriving ecosystems. I would guess that only about 15 - 25% of all fresh springs have a "ridiculously low" TDS count like this, maybe fewer. For most people, obtaining fresh spring water with a low TDS count like this is not really practical.

A lot of people have been investing in Alkaline and/or Ionized water machines in recent years. Generally, these types of machines just have one standard filter and cannot possibly clean all of the contaminants out of the water. In fact, I believe that they purposefully leave calcium carbonate in the water to make the water more alkaline! The water may be alkaline with a higher pH, but with ingesting calcium carbonate as the expense. This is lime-stone and as I said above, the presence of this type of earthy matter is the number one thing we would do well to be cautious about when choosing a water source.

Some ionizers claim to be better than others, however, the process of ionizing water is basically the same. Some machines have more bells and whistles such as meters telling what the pH of the water is as it comes out, what the ORP (oxidative reduction potential) is of the water, or some machines may have more plates in them (3, 5 or 7 plates) to make ionized water faster or with a higher ORP number, which can be measured with a meter. The TRUE spring water in nature, which people experience great longevity with does not have a super high pH... and... nowhere in nature will you find spring water with such strong, high ORP numbers or alkaline water. Additionally, water ionizers make the water into small clusters taking away its surface tension. Natural spring water has some surface tension, which is needed in the body. And... again... MOST IMPORTANTLY, these ionizing machines don't remove all of the calcium in the water.

The water sources that most people are consuming from have become SO POLLUTED these days that we are dealing with not only earthy matter, but also... all sorts of chemicals and other contaminants. It is even said that our water is contaminated with birth control pills and other prescription drugs that other people have taken and then urinated out into the water supply. In this day and age, apparently reverse osmosis water typically has about 15 parts per million of chemicals left in the water, and distilled water typically has 4 to 8 parts per million of chemicals left in the water. I have even heard of some tests where they distilled the water three times and it STILL wasn't completely "pure". I feel saddened when I consider the state into which we have brought our water source today on our Mother Earth.

Research shows that the MEMORY of those chemicals stays in the structure of the water, even after distilling it or going through an RO system, affecting anyone who consumes it. This memory of the chemicals is like drinking a homeopathic solution cocktail of flouride, prescription drugs, heavy metals, faeces, urine, arsenic, and so on. Some machines claim to rid this chemical 'memory' from the water, but it is unlikely that they actually succeed.

So, which type of water is best to drink?

In my opinion, the best source of water would be to find a spring bubbling up from the Earth with a VERY LOW TDS count. Some of these types of water can apparently be over 200 years old and are NATURALLY filtered underground by the Earth, void of chemicals. Yet most likely, we will tell ourselves... and believe it... that this type of water source is not feasible for the majority of us to obtain.

Currently when Angela and I are on the road, we carry a 5 gallon empty bottle and fill it up in those water machines usually found at health food stores and grocery markets. The water usually costs only about .30 cents per gallon and it goes through a 7-stage process, which includes reverse osmosis, a few filters and a couple of ultraviolet zaps. This will do a pretty good job of eliminating the majority of the earthy matter and chemicals, however, the water is still not "100% PURE". For now, this works really well for Angela and I on the road and I feel good about it.

We discussed two important factors above about our water sources, which were eliminating earthy matter from our water and the importance of structuring water. After Angela and I get our water from these machines, we restructure it and remineralize it so that it will hydrate us more effectively and provide us with a higher vibration of LOVE energy. Everyone structures and remineralizes their water differently. We personally use this little $20 vortex contraption that is used between two bottles, vortexing the water from the top bottle down into the bottom bottle via the vortexer, with a magnet helping to eliminate a small portion of that homeopathic memory in the water. In the future, we may carry these small vortex contraptions in our store. You can also use a vortex machine and get the same results. Sometimes we remineralize the water with Marine Phytoplankton or simply put a couple of drops of ocean water (Oceangrown's Ocean Solution) into it. There are many other things that you can do to your water such as singing to it, writing LOVE all over it with LOVING intention, pray to it, put it under the moonlight and many other fun loving things!

I feel that the water Angela and I are drinking is not exactly IDEAL right now, yet it is the best we can currently do in the flow of our lives and is also probably much better than what 99% of the human population is drinking. These water machines bring the TDS down to a low number and we are also remineralizing and restructuring the water. Additionally, this method is not only effective but also inexpensive. Someday when Angela and I finally settle down, we intend to change our drinking water tune... AND... I know EXACTLY which type of water source we are intending to use. I am sure in Ecuador that we will find many sources of springs with a "RIDICULOUSLY LOW" TDS count... However, I want to also have a source of water that I can obtain from my own dwelling that is CONSISTENT and "PERFECTLY PURE".

We have discovered a water machine that is not available yet to the general public, but should be ready by the end of this year. The Doctor who created this machine has been researching water for over 40 years and has spent over 4 million of his own dollars in researching the ULTIMATE process of bringing water back as close as possible to the pristine natural spring sources we had access to on our planet hundreds of years ago. This doctor has researched the BEST water filters from all over the world and has sourced the best of the best from Germany and other areas of the world. His water machine uses SEVEN of the BEST filters available. This machine clears EVERYTHING out of the water, providing a TDS (Total Dissolved Solids) count of ZERO parts per million!!! There is even a TDS detector on the machine that shows the count for the water going in and the water coming out. I witnessed the TDS count of ZERO on the way out of this machine. The doctor said that as soon as the TDS count on a machine leaves the ZERO point, it is time to change the filters, which happens about once every two years.

This machine not only removes all inorganic earthy matter and toxic chemicals, but it also leaves NO MEMORY of these chemicals in the water whatsoever. That toxic homeopathic cocktail is GONE! Many other water machines claim to take out 100% of the chemicals in the water, however, as we have already discussed, it is unlikely that they actually succeed. The Doctor ensures the complete removal of all memories in the water with a proprietary "NEN" system that is built on top of the machine. This NEN unit makes a "zapping"-like noise as it performs this erasing operation.

ADDITIONALLY, this water machine structures the water in a way that brings it the closest to spring water compared to any other machine out there. The structuring feature of the machine involves a hollow quartz glass tube (which is quite expensive) with a wire-like coil wrapped around it, which is placed in the machine at the point right after which the water has been purified and the "negative" chemical memory removed. The machine also adds a small portion of some special, high quality minerals to the water, in an extremely small particle size. The body can easily utilize these special minerals, making the water like a natural PURE spring water. This machine automatically injects 10 drops of minerals per half gallon, so the mineral supply lasts a really long time.

INCREDIBLE!!! This machine literally brings the TDS count to ZERO, removes all chemical memory, restructures the water, and adds minerals to it... And... there's even more to it than this!!! This doctor has been studying spring water for decades and there is a lot more to it than these basic elements that I just mentioned here. I feel that if a person were to drink this water as their primary source of water, it will actually add a decade or two to their life. I just tried this water this weekend and I felt like dancing on the roof-tops! It was almost as good as my first experience of FRESH, PURE spring water.

This doctor who I will be introducing you to sometime over the coming few months currently hand-makes each one of these water units and as a result, the cost is SEVERAL thousand dollars per machine. He can only produce so many per month and that is why I can't yet mention all the details here in this newsletter, as it might inundate him with water machine production for the next decade! The GREAT NEWS is that he recently signed a deal to mass produce these water machines, to the exact same superlative standards, which means we will not only all be able to get the LATEST, BEST, and IMPROVED units instantly, but it will also bring the cost down dramatically. I felt compelled to bring you this information already in this article, to let you know that something BIG is on the horizon and also to perhaps help steer anyone away from buying alkalinizers/ionizers or other substandard equipment, which I feel is ultimately DETRIMENTAL to the system. I know that there have been new water machines POPPING UP for years on end, making all sorts of claims. I have never mentioned any of them here, as they have not truly appealed to me. This machine is finally the REAL DEAL... trust me on that.

Once these units are available, around January sometime, all being well, you will be the first to know. Additionally, I will have an e-book available then from this doctor, which has the potential to BLOW your watery socks off. In the meantime, I suggest you fire your water alkalinizers, and get the purest structured water you can currently find... and... I hope that you are as excited as I am about having the BEST water EVER ;-) in your home within the next six months :-)

Cinammon Spice helps with diabetes

(NaturalNews) When it comes to health care reform in America, if we hope to make real progress, we've got to consider safe, affordable solutions that really work to prevent disease. There's hardly a better example of this than cinnamon and its ability to help regulate blood sugar and prevent diabetes.

Here, you'll find an amazing compilation of expert quotations and testimonials about cinnamon, as published in some of the best natural health books ever written. Perhaps this information should be read by someone in Congress, huh? Enjoy this collection of research... (and pass it on)...

About 5 years ago, we heard from a reader that cinnamon might help lower blood sugar in someone with type 2 diabetes. That was news to us, but a little sleuthing did turn up some interesting animal cell research. Studies showed that cinnamon made cells more responsive to insulin, which theoretically would lead to better glucose control. Since then we have heard from many readers that a little cinnamon does indeed help them keep their blood sugar in check.
- Best Choices From the People's Pharmacy by Joe Graedon, M.S. and Teresa Graedon, Ph.D.

Cinnamon lowers blood sugar and cholesterol. People usually enjoy the taste of cinnamon when it's added to apple cider or baked goods. Putting a small amount of cinnamon in foods or taking cinnamon in capsules can significantly improve blood-sugar levels. Be warned, though: eating a Cinnabon, which has 144 grams of sugars and carbs and 730 calories, won't do anything good for you. Researchers at the U.S. Department of Agriculture and their counterparts from Pakistan tested the effects of cinnamon-containing capsules on 60 people with diabetes.
- Stop Prediabetes Now: The Ultimate Plan to Lose Weight and Prevent Diabetes by Jack Challem

Cinnamon has been shown to reduce lipids and have anti-inflammatory and platelet-adhesion properties. The results of a study demonstrated that intake of small amounts of cinnamon per day (no more than six grams or one-fifth of an ounce) reduced serum glucose, triglyceride, LDL cholesterol, and total cholesterol in people with type 2 diabetes. In an animal study, male rats who were given an extract of cinnamon had lower blood glucose levels. A human study found that giving cinnamon extract to type 2 diabetics significantly reduced their blood sugar levels.
- 101 Foods That Could Save Your Life! by David W. Grotto, RD, LDN

Cinnamon is an insulin substitute in Type II diabetes. Cinnamon itself has insulin-like activity, increasing the effectiveness of insulin. Cinnamon also has a bio-active component that has the potential to prevent or overcome diabetes. It also increases vitality, balances energy, improves the digestion of fruits, milk, and other dairy products and helps reduce bloating and gas. Where to buy it: At the grocery store. If you have access to purchasing on line, you can purchase cinnamon in bulk very inexpensively. My favorite is www.mountainroseherbs.c

Recipe Time

Here is a delicious cookie recipe that I tweaked that is great for kiddos and on the go



Recipe
2 cups soaked sunflower seeds
2 fuji apples
2 bananas
1/2 cup pitted dates / raw honey
1 cup of walnuts
1 cups raisins
1 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. vanilla

Put all ingredients in food processor, except the raisins and walnuts. Process ingredients then add walnuts, raisins, cinnamon and vanilla, stir all together. 
Place on dehydrator sheets with a tablespoon or ice cream scoop for 4 to 6 hours, flip them and put back in for another 4 to 6 hours.

enjoy~ and live delectably


Lena

Get yourself Alkaline

Alkaline Foods

Alkaline foods are foods that raise the the amount of oxygen that your blood takes in. The most alkalizing foods are RAW green leafy vegetables, non-sweet fruits and (wheat) grasses. The opposite of alkaline foods are acid foods.
How much oxygen your blood can absorb is measured on a pH scale that ranges from 0 to 14. A pH of 0 is most acidic while a pH of 14 is most alkaline.
The Right Acid - Alkaline Balance
Our blood is in balance when we're slightly alkaline: with a pH of 7.365.
In the beginning of the 20th century, very smart scientists and nobel prize winners made a great discovery. If our blood cannot absorb enough oxygen we get sick: cancer, heart issues, arthritis and candida infections, diabetes are the result.
You know that our body tries to maintain a constant temperature 98.5F or 37C. But but do you know that your body tries even harder to maintain the right amount of oxygen in your blood (a pH of 7.365)? When our pH is too high or too low, we don't feel well, we feel tired, gain weight, have poor digestion and get aches and pains.
Most people in the US and Europe are too acidic: they cannot absorb enough oxygen. That's why cancer, heart disease, arthritis,diabetes are epidemic.
Why are we too acidic? The famous four:

• Stress;
• Toxins;
• Parasites; and
• The FOOD we eat.

Acid Foods List
It's too bad that the foods we like most make us most acidic and thus sick. What are these food? You guessed right:

• Junk & Processed foods;
• Sugar;
• Coffee & Tea;
• All animal food (meat, eggs, chicken, fish, lobster, oysters);
• Grains: (white) wheat, rice, pasta, flour, bread etc ;
• Some Fruits;
• Dairy products (milk, cheese, butter);
• Bad fats;
• Peanuts, cashews.

Alkaline Foods List
During most of our lives, the majority of the foods we eat are (highly) acidic. These make us sick and tired. By eating raw alkaline foods and drinks, we can help our body to heal it self from most diseases:

• Vegetables - especially raw green leafy vegetables.
• Fresh Herbs & Spice - parsley, basil, cilantro, cayenne, ginger;
• Fruits - watermelon, avocado, cucumber, young coconuts;
• Wheat grass;
• Sprouts: i.e. alfalfa, mung bean, broccoli etc.

For more details go to the acid alkaline food list.

The best alkaline drinks are alkaline water, vegetable juices and wheatgrass juice. If your very acidic you might need alkaline supplements to get you back in balance quicker.
How Acid Are You?
How do you know your body pH? I love this one, because it's incredibly easy to find out what your alkalinity is. You simply buy some pH test strips (also called litmus paper) at a health store and pee on it. The paper will tell you instantly what your pH is and thus, how alkaline or acid you are.
Here are 8 easy steps for testing your pH.
The Best & Cheapest Alkaline Foods
Would you like to know the best and cheapest alkalizing foods? Edible wild plants. They're highly alkaline, abundant, fresh and free! Just throwing a few of them in your salad will help balancing you.

This article caught my eye and I wanted to share it with you

Forget Your George Foreman: The Raw Food Diet Gains Popularity

by Meredith Roberts
09/18/2007

Sixty three year old Linda Ramirez offers a new, ground breaking cooking technique before an Earth Fare demo on Raw Foods Wednesday, September 12 – “Stick your finger in it,” she says. “If its too hot to put your finger in, its probably been cooked too much.”

Like Ramirez, Foodies across the nation are seizing their thermometers as a relatively new eating and lifestyle trend, the raw food diet, gains popularity. The emerging trend seeks to fill the diet with enzyme-rich, organic foods, with the new magical number at 116 degrees.

Followers of the raw food movement believe that heating food above the coveted 116 degree mark kills enzymes that assist in the absorption and digestion of food. Without these enzymes the body relies on its own metabolic enzymes for digestion, consuming energy and often leaving diners to feel sluggish. Seventy five percent or more of the diet must be made of raw or living food in order to experience the health benefits that leave diners feeling lighter and more energized.

But increasing interest in the raw food diet does not mean chefs nationwide will be laid off the payroll, for there are a number of “cooking” techniques and processes associated with adding variety to the raw foodist’s diet, which go farther than simply grabbing an apple on your way out the door. Methods include sprouting - with ingredients such as seeds, grains and beans – juicing, soaking, blending and dehydrating.

Ramirez and her husband Joe, 67, have spent time experimenting in their Athens home with their juicer – often combining apples and carrots, or sneaking in the occasional piece of broccoli, and drinking it. Ramirez says she has also made a milk substitute out of almonds and poured it over her cereal. When asked if she could tell a difference she laughed, saying, “No, It was kinda watery, just like skim milk.”

Dishes often combine several of these methods in order to create a complete dining experience like those experienced by both vegetarians and meat eaters. Earth Fare’s September 2007 calendar highlighted raw food dishes including almond milk, cream of zucchini soup, zucchini noodles marinara and chocolate mousse.

Typical ingredients found on the recipe cards of raw food dishes include fresh fruits and vegetables, seeds, nuts, grains, beans, seaweed and dried fruit, though it is important to know how to prepare certain foods: kidney beans and buckwheat are both toxic when raw.

Such natural ingredients lead to higher fiber contents and increased ingestion of health promoting plant chemicals, linking the diet to a reduced risk of diabetes and cancer.

While the diet does have its critics, proponents of the raw food diet list a number of health benefits such as increased energy, weight loss, reduced risk of heart disease and improved skin appearance – benefits that cannot be gained by cruising through the drive through and ordering a Number One with a side of fries. Those first starting the diet may experience detoxification as their body goes through withdraws due to the sudden absence fried foods and trans fats, among other things.

Avoiding the sluggish feeling that often follows heavy meals is exactly why people across the nation, such as the Ramirezes, are investigating the new raw food diet. The Athens couple said they frequently attend lectures for inspiration and admit the raw food diet is a rather large commitment. The couple even drives to Atlanta’s Living Foods Institute during the Institute’s graduation – because where there are graduates of cooking school there is often free food. Delicious, free food. Ramirez’s favorite raw dish so far? Sweet Potato Soufflé. And yes, the finger trick works with this one.

Upcoming Classes

September 14th
 

Saturday, September 19th

Raw Food Cooking for Kids: Back to School

10 - 11 am Community Room $30 per adult; children FREE

Chef Lena Meade will provide some healthy, yet fun alternatives for school lunches and snacks.  Lena is a certified raw food chef who trained under nationally acclaimed raw food chefs such as Jennifer Cornbleet.  Raw food preparation is a great opportunity to discuss with your children our food's origin while encouraging creativity and new life skills.  We will be preparing a smoothie, date nut bites, carrot - raisin snack bars, yummy pudding, almost raw nut butter sandwich, and much more. Experience why living raw foods are so much better than the pasteurized over-processed foods provided to your kids at school.

Irish Moss

I have recently been experimenting with Irish Moss as a thickening property. Here is some of the research I have found. As well I am including a scrumptious recipe and resources to buy Irish Moss :)

(NaturalNews)
Irish moss is not moss at all. It is in fact seaweed that grows along the rocky coast lines of the Atlantic Ocean. It is especially found in Ireland where it has a long history in Irish folklore as a good luck charm to be taken on long journeys, or to be placed under the rug at home to bring money and prosperity to the household. Irish moss was also used as stuffing for mattresses and cattle feed, but in the 19th century the people of Ireland underwent a horrific famine and Irish moss became one of the main sources of food and nutrition. More recently, Irish moss is becoming known as a healing and exciting super food.

Irish moss is now thought to contain 15 of the 18 essential elements that make up the human body. This includes great amounts calcium, iodine, sulphur, and potassium as well as Vitamins A, D, E, F and K. This is why this most amazing seaweed is thought to be able to cure everything from bladder disorders, bronchitis, halitosis (bad breath), intestinal disorders and glandular problems to swollen joints, lung difficulties, thyroid conditions, tuberculosis, tumors, and ulcers. Recent studies have found that Irish moss does in fact have some great anti-viral properties and can help fight the Influenza B and mumps viruses.

Irish Moss And The Skin

Irish moss is also thought to have many cosmetic properties from helping rid the body of varicose veins to reducing the appearance of wrinkles. Irish moss is even added to creams that are becoming known as the new miracles in the anti aging battle. These new creams are thought to be so effective because of the high amounts of Vitamin K found in the moss. Recent studies in to the effects of Vitamin K on the body have linked it to the elasticity of the skin. As you get older your skin begins to wrinkle because it starts to lose some of its elasticity from when you were young. Adding a cream that is packed with Vitamin K can help improve this elasticity, reducing the appearance of wrinkles and things like bags or dark circles that can form around the eyes. These creams are also thought to heal all sorts of skin problems from eczema, psoriasis and even sunburn.
One of the main uses of Irish moss within the health community is to help people recover from debilitating illnesses such as TB and Pneumonia. Its high Vitamin and mineral content make it the perfect food to replenish and revitalize the body after a long battle with disease.
A popular remedy made into a jelly for pulmonary complaints and kidney and bladder affections. Can be mixed with cocoa. The decoction is made by steeping 1/2 OZ. of the Moss in cold water for 15 minutes and then boiling it in 3 pints of milk or water for 10 or 15 minutes, after which it is strained and seasoned with liquorice, lemon or cinnamon and sweetened to taste.

Resources for buying irish moss http://www.therawfoodworld.com/advanced_search_result.php?keywords=irish&x=0&y=0&gclid=CO_P55mH5pwCFc5L5QodBzSSGQ

Yummy Recipe

Raw Coconut Cream Pie Recipe

Crust:
2 and ½ cups dry coconut flakes
1 vanilla bean seeds scooped out
½ cup well packed finely chopped dates
1 tablespoon coconut butter or oil (optional)
Put everything except the dates in the food processor with the S-blade on and add the dates slowly until the crust sticks together. Press crust into a coconut butter greased, 9 inch pie pan.
Filling
2 cups young coconut meat (about 4 young coconuts)
1 cup young coconut water
3 tablespoons non gmo soy lecithin granules
¼ cup Artisana Coconut Butter
¼ cup coconut oil (I like Nutiva Brand)
1 tablespoon soaked and chopped Irish moss (optional)
1 vanilla bean seeds scooped out
1 cup dates soaked
Blend the Irish moss with the coconut water in the blender until smooth. Then add all the other ingredients and blend until smooth. Pour into the pie crust and let set in the fridge or freezer for at least one hour.

Optional Garnish

  Strawberry Lime Sauce
Blend a dozen strawberries in the blender with juice from ½ lime and pour on top of the pie
and or
¾ cup dry coconut flakes to sprinkle on top of the pie 

you can use any type of fruit for this sauce as well

An interesting article about buying organic on a budget

5 Ways to Buy Organic on a Budget

by DrGreene

When the economy hits hard, some families cut back on grocery bills by cutting out the fruits and vegetables and going for cheaper items that are frequently high in sugar and saturated fats. A recent article cited statistics that link income level to obesity, such as a study in California that showed a 10 percent rise in poverty may mean a 6 percent increase in obesity among adults.
We’re all facing tough choices in this challenging economy, but I caution my patients strongly against cutting back on the best nutritional choices. Fruits and vegetables these days don’t contain the same level of nutrients as they did when we were small because of farming techniques and overall degradation of the nutrients in the soil. In my opinion, choosing organic foods is the best way to make sure your children get the maximum amount of nutrition out of their meals.
When I made the decision to begin my Organic Journey, we took a look at our food choices to do what we could to keep the budget under control. Here are five techniques I’ve learned to help keep costs down and nutritive value up.

1. Choose the organic foods that make sense for your family.
   I put together Dr. Greene’s Organic Prescription to help you prioritize the organic choices that your family should make. The list is progressive, so once you make the switch to organic milk (the MOST important choice), move on to organic potatoes (choice #2), then organic peanut butter… and so on.
2. Use the Organic Essentials pocket guide for reducing pesticide dietary exposure to make decisions about your fruits and vegetables.
   The pocket guide presents lists of conventional fruits and vegetables that the Organic Center has determined pose the most significant pesticide-related risks and, therefore, are the most critical produce items for consumers to purchase as organic.
3. Our family didn’t eat much meat anyway, but I found when we filled our plates with vegetarian dishes with soy and legumes instead of meat and chicken entrees, our grocery bills went down. If you’re used to eating meat at every meal, try a couple of meatless entrees a week. You’ll see a difference.
4. Grow produce at home.
   We’re lucky that we live in California and can cultivate a nice-sized garden. We save on our grocery bills by growing our own tomatoes, peppers, squash, watermelon…. All the yummy favorites we love to eat. Even if you are limited to a smaller container garden, growing your own food is a great learning experience for your children and can be a cost-saver for you. And, most importantly, you get to monitor what goes into your food!
5. Make your own organic drinks.
   Specialty sodas, gourmet coffees, flavored vitamin waters…. These products are pricey! When you’re looking to cut corners, use organic ingredients to create your own healthy and nutrient-rich drinks. We keep a jar of water infused with anything that catches our fancy - sliced cucumbers from the garden, crushed mint leaves, organic lemons and oranges. The healthy beverage on the counter always reminds us to stay hydrated, and the flavors keep us coming back for more all day long. We also brew our coffee at home, a special blend from Caffe Sonora which uses a special process to keep the antioxidants in the coffee! Put the money you save by creating your own flavorful drinks toward more wonderful organic choices for your family.

Cacao / Maca Ice cream

I made raw ice cream for my class on Saturday and wanted to share the recipe as there was RAVE reviews about it!! :)
The ice cream consistency is almost that of a gelatto, so smooth and creamy!! As well there is no toxic diary or other fat causing agents. Just delicious fruit and amazing cacao and maca.
Maca is another one of those "super foods" I have discovered after doing a lot research: Here are some of the key points of maca (it's a little lengthy, but really informative)

Maca What is it?
First of all, maca is a cruciferous root found growing in the high regions of Peru and has been cultivated for about two thousand years. It has been traditionally and is currently used as a food. The Peruvians believe it gives strength and endurance, enhances ones fertility, and supports pregnancies.
As maca has been put more in the spotlight in recent years, many studies have been done on it, everything from feeding farmed trout, to treating sexual problems (how’s that for a wide variety of uses!). As I have read about it, I realized that there are many, many different applications that maca could be used for. However, even though there are a lot of studies about maca, most of them center around certain topics, so there are still huge gaps of scientific information. This is frustrating because how I got interested in maca was it’s traditional use to support a pregnancy, and it’s claimed ability to balance hormones, and these two uses of maca have not been addressed at all, or at least, as thoroughly as some of the other uses.
So, for some of the uses, people are still relying on tradition and clinical results. Keep that in mind as you research maca yourself. But let me share what I have found out about maca.

Note Different Varieties of Maca
 There are at least three common types (yellow, red and black), and these different varieties do have slightly different results. In fact some of the studies actually compared the effect of more than one type, to see which one would be effective for a certain application. Because of that, when a study I site used a particular variety of maca, I will make sure to list it. If you are interested in maca for a certain use, make sure that you get the right type of maca.
Maca is a High Nutrient Root
First things first, maca is a high nutrient vegetable. It is full of calcium, magnesium, some b vitamins, vitamin c, as well as zinc and many other important minerals, protein and fiber. For a detailed list of what maca contains, I found that macamagic.com has thorough information.
You could consider maca a superfood from looking at how nutrient dense it is.

Maca could help prevent Osteoporosis caused by lack of estrogen
In fact, one study tested the ability of maca to reduce bone loss in estrogen deprived rats. The conclusion? It was ” indicated that higher dose of ethanol extract of Maca was effective in the prevention of estrogen deficient bone loss.”

Maca Supports Fertility
Unfortunately, infertility has become more and more of an issue for many of us. I think that overcoming infertility can and should be multifaceted. But as I have researched maca, I have wondered if maca could be helpful for many people dealing with infertility, especially if it was taken while making other healthy changes. Maca is unique in that is helps both men and women’s fertility.
Maca Increases Men’s Fertility
Maca was once thought to increase men’s sexual hormones which would account for it’s ability to increase one’s sex drive and increased fertility, but while recent studies confirm that maca has the powerful ability to increase male fertility, it doesn’t change men’s hormone levels. In one four month study using black maca, it was found to increase sperm count, motile sperm count and sperm motility and increase seminal volume, all without making any changes in the men’s hormones. I should mention that this was one study, among many, all showing similar results.
It was also shown that maca reversed infertility caused by lead poisoning in rats.

Maca Increases Women’s Fertility
In another study, they tested the traditional use of maca to increase women’s fertility, using mice. It seems mice also find maca helpful, as those receiving maca did indeed have increased fertility! This test used yellow maca.
I also found these threads on Mothering’s forum of a whole group of women using maca to try to achieve pregnancy. It was very interesting reading everyone’s results with it (and yes, there were a lot of pregnancies in the group!). Thread One, Thread Two Thread Three

Maca Could Help Depression and Black Maca could Increase Learning and Memory Abilities
In one study, they studied the effect of the three different types of maca in decreasing depression and increasing learning abilities in mice. They found that all three had anti-depressant effects, but only black maca had the ability to increase learning and memory abilities. In a follow up study on black maca, they found that it helped improve scopolamine-induced memory impairment in mice.
Maca Could Help Prevent UV Skin Damage
Maca was found to have UV protection abilities. I wondered if this is because of the antioxidants in contains. In a Food Chemistry 1 article, although maca was found to have lower levels than green tea, they did find it to have the capacity to scavenge free radicals and protect cells from oxidative stress. Antioxidants are supposed to keep prevent skin damage as well.

Maca Could Help Glucose Control
Maca could be very useful for those struggling with blood sugar issues. Researchers found that maca “significantly” increased glucose tolerance and decreased blood sugar. I have personally found that maca seems to be helping me keep my blood sugar much more stable. This could be significant to those with diabetes or hypoglycemia.
Maca Helps Menopausal Women
In a study designed to examine the effects of maca on hormones and the symptoms of postmenopausal women, it was found that that maca didn’t change their hormonal balance at all! But that it did help significantly aid in the symptoms of menopause, including depression, sexual dysfunction, and anxiety.
There is not a lot of scientific studies (at least, that I have found) specifically studying the effect maca has on the hormonal balance of women. Clinical and personal observations claim that maca has proven helpful in this area, but it is yet to be proven scientifically. This study seems to support the idea that it doesn’t touch actual hormones, but instead works independently of them to relieve certain female issues.
This is one of the uses of maca that I personally hope researchers will put more research into. In fact, there ends most of the most helpful research I found. There are still a lot of traditional uses of maca that many people have found true for themselves, but are not yet studied.
But I would remiss if I didn’t mention one other well documented use of maca.
Maca Can Help With Sexual Problems (for both men and women)
Maca is used to treat certain sexual problems in both men and women with very good results. Feel free to research this if you, or a loved one, deals with this very personal issue. It could be very useful for you.
Here is a list of other important uses for maca:

Maca could help those with Thyroid and Adrenal problems or Chronic Fatigue
While I have not been able to find any official studies on the effect maca has on thyroid health, it doesn’t take long to find testimonies of those helped by maca in this area. I have personally found that I do seem warmer while taking maca (temperature control is related to thyroid function) and I do have better energy (adrenal). For further reading, here are just a few links for you.

Dr. Muller answer Questions about Maca

A forum discussion about maca and thyroid function
Article on Maca
While reading about about maca, since there are no hard facts about how it works, some doctors consider it an adrenal stimulate (and therefore not the best choice), and others don’t think that it’s the best for some thyroid conditions. Others think it’s the best choice available, so do your own homework before using. It seems to be working for me, but that’s just my personal experinece.
Maca Can Give Endurance and Energy
One of the traditional uses of maca is for energy and endurance, for that reason some athletes are now using maca with good results. But who needs to be an athlete to want more energy and endurance!
Maca can help with PMS and other hormonal issues
While the “why” of how maca works in this area has not been answered for me, many people find maca to be very helpful in these areas.
Like I mentioned before, Maca was traditionally used not only to help one get pregnant, but to stay pregnant as well. This has not been tested for safety or effectiveness, but is a traditional use of it.
While there are many other claimed uses for maca, I think that covers most of the main points. As I read more and hopefully find more information, I will do updates.
Who Shouldn’t Take it?
While maca is not considered to be toxic, because of the lack of information, different sites did caution against using maca if you have a high risk of breast or prostate cancer. This was probably because it is still widely thought of as increasing certain hormones (which could be bad for certain cancers), which recent research doesn’t seem to back. But do take note.
Those with a high risk of goiters should also be careful, though there have been no reported cases.
Those pregnant or nursing are not officially advised to take maca from any company because it is not tested yet.
Some advise those with a hyperthyroidism not to take it.
In one study, those taking a large amount of maca every day, did have slight elevations of blood pressure. Keep this in mind if you have blood pressure issues.
If you are interested in taking maca, I encourage you to do your own research and talk it over with a qualified health care provider (some love it, some aren’t so sure about it). Maca appears like it could indeed be helpful for many, and while it is, after all a FOOD in Peru, it doesn’t hurt to err in caution.

I now try to incorporate Maca into much of my smoothie recipes as I little extra "power" food. As I incorporate more I am sure I will see results with my energy levels as well as mood swings during the time of month.


Here is the recipe:


3 Frozen Bananas
5 ice cubes to start you can add more to make the consistency you want
2Tbs Maca
2 Tbs Cacao powder
6 pitted mejdol dates
2 Tbs raw tahini


(You can substitute organic frozen fruit for the ice cubes as well)
Place all ingredients in you Vita-Mix and mix and then enjoy!!

Raw Almonds

I had some questions in regards to raw Almonds at my class on Saturday, so wanted to post an article here in reference to the fight going on to have truly RAW almonds for us to purchase.

Raw Almond Fight Continues Despite Legal SetbackBy Mark A. Kastel
Senior Farm Policy Analyst, The Cornucopia InstituteWhat many consumers and retailers find most repugnant about the mandatory almond pasteurization law is that despite the mandated toxic fumigation or steam treatment, almonds are still labeled in the marketplace as "raw."
Oddly, imports into the U.S. of foreign nuts are exempt from the rule, as are exports shipped from the U.S. to other countries.

Wednesday, March 11, 2009--The dismissal, on technical grounds, by a federal court judge on Monday of a lawsuit challenging the USDA’s raw almond pasteurization mandate will likely not end the controversy.
“The court’s decision sidestepped the merits and substance of the lawsuit,” said Will Fantle of The Cornucopia Institute, a Wisconsin-based family farm research group and organizer of the almond lawsuit.
The USDA’s lack of legal authority to enact the controversial raw almond regulation and its fumbling of the rule’s implementation were among major substantive claims detailed in the lawsuit—none of which the court has yet to rule on. Eighteen California almond farmers and wholesale nut handlers had filed the suit against the USDA last September.
“Instead,” said Fantle, “the judge decided on procedural grounds that almond farmers, just like consumers and retailers, have no right to have their concerns about the illegal nature of the almond treatment scheme heard in court.”
Pasteurized Almonds Can Be ToxicImplemented in September 2007, the almond pasteurization rule requires treatment with a toxic gas (propylene oxide) or steam heat for all raw almonds produced by American growers and sold commercially to domestic consumers. Oddly, imports into the U.S. of foreign nuts are exempt from the rule, as are exports shipped from the U.S. to other countries. These imported nuts, generally of lesser quality, are now destroying the livelihood of organic, family-scale almond farmers in California.
Almond farmers and handlers engaged in the sale of raw and/or organic almonds have watched their operations disintegrate as a result of the treatment mandate. Consumers and retailers have turned to foreign suppliers, taking advantage of the regulatory loophole, for untreated raw and organic almonds.
Cornucopia Exploring Legal Options Moving Forward“Cornucopia and our attorneys are carefully exploring legal options, including appeals and other strategies,” Fantle said. “We are not abandoning the fight to return to grocer’s shelves an American-grown, highly nutritional raw food that has been eaten with confidence and enjoyment for decades. We believe the fundamental points of our lawsuit are valid and need to be tested.”
Bush Administration Sold Out Interests of Organic Consumers and Farmers"This issue clearly illustrates how the Bush administration, at the USDA, sold out the interests of organic consumers and farmers in deference to those of corporate agribusiness, said Mark A. Kastel, who is Cornucopia's Senior Farm Policy Analyst.
When the almond pasteurization mandate was first proposed, the USDA notified 200 industry representatives who submitted, nationally, a total of only 18 formal responses during the legally mandated public comment period.
When The Cornucopia Institute alerted almond growers, consumers, and retailers, well over 10,000 comments came into the USDA, asking the department to re-open comments and take their concerns into consideration.What many consumers and retailers found most repugnant was that despite the mandated fumigation or steam treatment, almonds would still be labeled in the marketplace as "raw."
Bush administration officials, who first entertained the idea of a "compromise" whereby organic and other high-quality smaller growers could continue to sell truly raw almonds, including a notice telling consumers that they had not been pasteurized, later informed Cornucopia that they had rejected the alternative proposal and decided to "side with the industry."
Cornucopia's Campaign Asking Obama to Clean House at USDAIn addition to their court case, The Cornucopia Institute last month launched a campaign asking President Obama and the newly appointed USDA secretary, Tom Vilsack, to clean house at the USDA's National Organic Program and appoint officials who will promote a fair shake for family-scale farmers and consumers who are demanding authentic food in the marketplace.

Raw classes

We had an amazing class last night!! I had a woman who told me she "came with a headache and stomach ache but left headache and stomachache free and hadn't felt that good in a long time" with tears in her eyes!! That made my day!! I so sincerely what to help people feel better and am so glad when I see results

Thanks to another raw foodist I found this great recipe - yummm

Did you know that one cup of chopped kale contains 307% of your daily value (DV) of Vitamin A, 200% of your DV of Vitamin C, and 13% of your DV of calcium?

Kale is a great source of calcium, manganese, potassium and iron. It also contains a whopping 1361% of your DV of Vitamin K–in just one chopped cup! It’s loaded with antioxidants, and is high in lutein and zeaxanthin which help prevent macular degeneration (vision loss associated with old age).

Crispy Kale Chips:

1 or 2 bunches of kale, washed

3/4 C Thai coconut water
2 cloves garlic, peeled
1/2 C fresh lemon juice
2 tsp sea salt
1 1/4 C raw macadamia nuts, cashews, and/or pine nuts (or any combination)
1/4 C stone-ground mustard (we’ve also used dijon and it worked well)

2+ TBS nutritional yeast

After washing the kale, take the large stems out by running a knife along the edges of the stems. Tear the kale into bite size pieces and place in a large bowl. Add enough fresh water to the bowl to cover the kale and sprinkle a tablespoon or two of salt in the water. Allowing the kale to soak with help soften the texture (though this is not necessary) Allow the kale to soak for half of an hour and then drain.

In the mean time, combine the coconut water, garlic, lemon juice, salt, nuts and mustard in a Vita-mix or high speed blender and blend until smooth.

Pour this dressing over the drained kale chips. Add the nutritional yeast to taste. Massage the dressing into the kale to make sure that everything is evenly coated. Place the kale chips onto mesh dehydrator screens and dehydrate at 110 degrees for 6-8 hours or until crispy. Enjoy. And eat lots of kale!

The Living Link Missing From Our Diets

Here's a great article I found on benefits of probiotics in our diets and wanted to share with you.

For millions of years, our ancestors hunted for meat and gathered fruits, nuts and other plant foods. They followed the food supply, so there was no kitchen sink to wash it in.

Instead, they brushed the dirt off the foods they gathered. Or rinsed it in a nearby stream.

Today, factory farms add thousands of tons of pesticides and herbicides to our food. Even if we wash our fruits and vegetables thoroughly, we run the risk of slowly poisoning ourselves.

This modern dilemma means that our ancestors received a benefit from their food that we don’t. I think of that benefit as “living foods” — the good bacteria that inhabit our guts.

Living foods aid digestion. They hold dangerous bacteria in check. And recent research has revealed an amazing variety of other benefits. Here are just a few of the health benefits connected to these living foods:

• They support normal growth in infants¹
• They help protect against early childhood infections²
• They improve your body’s defenses against food-borne toxins³
• They may be useful in the treatment of ulcers⁴
• They can reduce the discomfort of diseases such as irritable bowel syndrome⁵
• They can reduce the damaging effects of alcoholism⁶

We have these healthy bacteria growing in our guts, too. But many of us have far fewer than we need.

I’ll show you why you need living foods. How an entire industry has misled consumers about them. And how you can enjoy the healthy benefits living foods offer.

Protection from Disease-Causing Bacteria

There wasn’t much interest in the good bacteria in our guts until the early 20th century. Then a Russian scientist named Metchnikoff had an idea. He believed that replacing the “bad” bacteria in our systems with “good” bacteria could slow aging.

Mechnikoff’s early theories were a little off. But his work led to many discoveries about the bacteria living in our digestive systems. In the 1970s, these living foods were named “probiotics.”

I like that term. It directly counters modern medicine’s dependency on “anti” biotics, which focuses on killing biological organisms rather than on supplying them.

The word “bacteria” makes most people think of germs and infection. But trillions of good bacteria live in our digestive systems. These good bacteria promote better health in several ways.

Your intestinal wall is like a parking lot with billions and billions of individual “parking spaces.” Many disease-causing bacteria can only make you sick if they find an open space on the intestinal lining.

If good bacteria have taken up all the available parking spots, the bad bacteria can’t adhere to the intestinal lining. Instead they pass through the gut. And you don’t get sick.

If bad bacteria take over, the bacteria can migrate throughout your body and cause a host of diseases that you would never associate with your gut.

There’s a good reason bacteria thrive in our intestines. There’s plenty of food. Probiotic bacteria compete against bad bacteria for this food supply.

Your digestion works a lot like natural decomposition. And that’s a perfect environment for bacteria. Bacteria don’t have complex digestive systems. So they take advantage of the free meals available in our intestines.

But probiotics give us plenty in return. Because they’re more efficient feeders than many harmful bacteria, they can crowd bad bacteria out.⁷ And a UK study found that probiotics lower the toxin levels of a bacteria that causes a form of colitis.⁸

Add these to the benefits I mentioned earlier, and you can see how probiotics promote good health.

But don’t run out and fill your fridge with cultured yogurt products. That’s because most of the so-called probiotic foods on your grocer’s shelf aren’t that useful. In fact, neither are most of the probiotic supplements I’ve seen.

And a pair of product tests help explain why.

Make Sure Your Probiotic Gets Past These Two Obstacles to be Effective

In 2003, ConsumerLab.com tested 25 probiotic products. Some were supplements. Others were foods with bacteria added. Nine products failed their tests. Almost a third contained “too few live bacteria to be effective.”

ConsumerLab.com’s second round of tests didn’t do much better. In their 2006 study, five of the 13 products they tested flunked.

But there’s still a problem. Even if a product contains “enough” bacteria, those bacteria still have to survive two attacks in your body.

First, they have to survive your stomach acid. Then, they have to face the bile salts in your upper intestine. Up until now, survival rates have been less than exciting.

The food industry has spent a fortune on special coatings to protect probiotics from stomach acid. But a research paper presented at the Israel Institute of Technology found they’re not having great success.

They tested three of the most common coating processes and found the coating process itself killed up to 60% of the bacteria.⁹ So, even if the bacteria make it through your stomach, most of them could already be dead.

Getting through your stomach is a challenge. But even the latest double-coating process is no match for bile salts. The new process worked well with stomach acid. But researchers found the double-coated capsules didn’t provide any extra protection against bile salts.¹⁰

What this all boils down to is that most probiotic products simply don’t deliver on their promises. And even those promises are being called into question.

Yogurt giant, Dannon Corp., recently agreed to settle a $300 million class-action lawsuit out of court. The reason for the suit? Evidence that health claims for Dannon’s probiotic yogurt products may not be true.

Dannon says it stands behind its claims. But the fact they’re settling the suit seems to say something else. And this isn’t the first time they’ve been called out on probiotic claims.

The UK’s Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) asked Danone, Dannon’s parent company, to pull “misleading” ads in both 2006 and 2008. Danone also ran afoul of the ASA in 2003. Then it was for ads for its “Shape” yogurt product.

Danone isn’t alone. The U.S. National Advertising Division claimed General Mills was running misleading ads for its Yoplait “Yo-Plus” product. General Mills pulled the ads in December 2008.

So you’re faced with a dilemma. Probiotics are good for you. But getting enough of them can be a challenge. And you may not be getting what you think you are anyway.

What do you do?

Getting Probiotics’ Benefits

There are several ways to get more of these healthy living foods into your diet.

The first is to grow your own organic fruits and vegetables. Fresh, organic produce from your own garden doesn’t require the scrubbing that factory-farmed veggies do. And you’ll have the bonus of tastier meals.

I’ve been growing my own organic garden for years, and I rarely get sick. In fact, I’ve been known to just pluck a tomato off the vine, dust if off, slice it up and eat it. No washing required.

If you don’t have room or time for your own organic garden, buy organic when you shop. Your local farmer’s market is a great place to find organic fruits and veggies. You should still wash this produce. But, like homegrown, it doesn’t need the kind of thorough cleaning commercial produce does.

Plus you can give the healthy bacteria in your gut a better chance of surviving. Simply cut out the foods that bad bacteria thrive on.

Sugar and refined carbohydrates are bad bacteria’s favorite meal. These “foods” aren’t natural to your body anyway. So giving them up — or even cutting down — offers a whole range of health benefits, including weight loss.

To Your Good Health,

Al Sears, MD

[Ed. Note: Dr. Sears is Chairman of the Board of Total Health Breakthroughs. He has written over 500 articles and 7 books in the fields of alternative medicine, anti-aging, and nutritional supplementation.]

References

1. Scalabrin DM, et. al. Clin Pediatr (Phila). 2009 Mar 4.
2. Rautava S, et. al. Br J Nutr. 2008 Nov 6:1-5. [Epub ahead of print].
3. Gratz S, et. al. Appl Environ Microbiol. 2007 Jun;73(12):3958-64.
4. Lam EK, et. al. Probiotic Eur J Pharmacol. 2007 Jun 22;565(1-3):171-9.
5. Gawronska A, et. al. Aliment Pharmacol Ther. 2007 Jan 15;25(2):177-84.
6. Forsyth CB, et. al. Alcohol. 2009 Mar;43(2):163-72.
7. Wilson KH, Perini F. Infect Immun. 1988 Oct;56(10):2610-4.
8. Plummer S, et. al. Int Microbiol. 2004 Mar;7(1):59-62.
9. Semyonov D. Dry Microencapsulation and Enteric Coating of Probiotic Bacteria. M.Sc Thesis, Department of Biotechnology and Food Engineering, Israel Institute of Technology.
10. Ding WK, Shah NP. J Food Sci. 2009 Mar;74(2):M53-61.

This article appears courtesy of Early to Rise’s Total Health Breakthroughs which offers alternative health solutions for mind, body and soul.

Wow I was shocked when I read this

Latest Government Report Shows More than 50 Pesticides on Peaches

* Pesticides in your peaches
Tribune and USDA studies find pesticides, some in excess of EPA rules, in the fragrant fruit
By Monica Eng
Chicago Tribune - IL, Aug 12, 2009
Straight to the Source

As we munch into the fragrant core of peach season, shoppers face an array of choices for the same fuzzy fruit but little guidance on which type to pick. Expensive organic? Pricey farmers market? Cheap peaches from the grocery store?

Cost is certainly important. But there are essential numbers that go beyond the price tag of a peach, or any other item from the produce aisle.

Which contain the highest levels of pesticides?

Preliminary 2008 U.S. Department of Agriculture tests obtained by the Chicago Tribune show that more than 50 pesticide compounds showed up on domestic and imported peaches headed for U.S. stores. Five of the compounds exceeded the limits set by the Environmental Protection Agency, and six of the pesticide compounds present are not approved for use on peaches in the United States.

These are the types of findings that have landed peaches on one environmental group's "Dirty Dozen" list -- 12 fruits and vegetables that retain the highest levels of pesticide residues -- and give many consumers pause as they shop grocery aisles. It seems that peaches' delicate constitutions, fuzzy skins and susceptibility to mold and pests cause them to both need and retain pesticides at impressive rates.

Although most pesticides in peaches were found at levels well below EPA tolerances, some scientists and activists remain concerned about even low-level exposure, especially to pregnant women and children. They point to studies, for example, that show cognitive impairment in rats after dietary exposure to chlorpyfiros, a pesticide that showed up in 17 percent of conventional peaches tested by the USDA.

For assurance, some shoppers turn to farmers markets, which don't guarantee reduced pesticide use but do allow shoppers to discuss pesticide practices with the farmer. Organic, meanwhile, does come with the expectation that the fruit will be free of synthetic pesticides. Yet no government agency ever tested that promise until this year -- and so far those tests have been limited to lettuce, with no published results.

To get some hard facts and new insights, the Tribune paid for lab tests on California organic peaches bought here and local farmers market peaches from Illinois and Michigan.

The newspaper sent these samples to the same federal lab where the USDA does its pesticide testing and found promising results. Of the 50 compounds the Tribune had tested for, one showed up on the organic peaches and three or fewer pesticides were detected on the Michigan and Illinois peaches.

"Our growers [in southwest Michigan] pride themselves on being very careful," said William Shane, district fruit educator for Michigan State University, when he learned how Michigan peaches fared in the test. "We also tend to have smaller operations and it's easier to keep track of pesticide use."

The better results in the Tribune's small sample may also be attributable to the fact that the wider 2008 USDA conventional tests included peaches imported from Chile.

We really need to be talking to the farmers at the markets and seeing what they are using on their fruits and produce!! Sad to think we have to take these measures just to eat healthy