Recipes, Juicing and Blending.

Below are a couple of great sounding recipes for you to AVOID in order to give you some creative ideas about making meals with raw foods. We’ll also discuss blending and juicing and some of the great things you can do with this process which remains natural and raw.

Bad Recipes

The term “combo-abombo” was first used by R.C. Dini, author of Raw Courage World, who defined the term as a combination that is an abomination! It’s a poorly combined recipe, in other words.

Now, raw foods are supposed the best food choices but, because they are not cooked leave a lot to the imagination. And combining the wrong foods can result in gas, stomach upsets and even acid problems.

Not all raw food recipes are healthy. The problem is that many include too many nuts, lots of seeds or avocados and added oils. They may be tasty, but they aren’t what fits into the raw-foodist’s diet is success is to be achieved.

Here’s a recipe that may taste great but is NOT suitable for you. It’s called “Nut Loaf” and imitates meat loaf for dinner. Here’s the recipe and, with what you’ve already learned, you soon see how unhealthy it really is for you:

1 1/3 cups cashews
1 1/3 cups sunflower seeds
1 1/3 cups almonds
½ cup of oil

This creation serves two. Now let’s analyze the content of the nuts and oil used in this recipe. It will make it even clearer why you should avoid using this recipe:

1 1/3 cups cashews or about 150 grams =	69.5 grams of fat
1 1/3 cuts sunflower seeds, about 190 grams =	94.2 grams of fat
1 1/3 cups almonds or about 200 grams =	104.4 grams of fat
½ cup of olive oil which is about 125 grams =	125.0 grams of fat
Total Fat:	393.1
Divided by 2 for two people:	196.55 grams of fat for each person!!

In other words, the entire dish is 100% fat! Totally what the raw-foodist wants to avoid. Low-fat is what is optimal with only about 5% or at most 6% of the dietary calories coming from fat.

If you add salt, spice, soy sauce, miso, onion, garlic, and other oils that taste good to the palate that is not accustomed to eating raw, natural foods, the situation worsens. You’ll only overeat and fail to obtain health and energy.

Good Recipes

Combine a few ingredients that are raw, natural and unseasoned and you can create a great cuisine. The general rules is 5-5-5 which means the dish should require:

• 5 or less ingredients
• 5 or fewer minutes to prepare
• cost less than $5.

What a great deal in time, purchases, and cost.

What about Juicing or Blending?

Juicing, simply squeezing the juice from fruits or watery vegetables, takes almost all the important fiber from the food making it less whole and more refined, therefore it isn’t as good for the body.

Raw-foodists should consume foods as close to nature as possible. This doesn’t mean that you should never juice any food. Blending rather than juicing is much better and creates a similar serving.

There’s a big problem with fruit juice that you should know about. The sugar in fruit juice is absorbed too quickly when separated from the fiber. Blending vegetables into a drinkable food source is much, much better.

Do not drink huge amount of blended green vegetables – a glass or two per day is plenty if you enjoy this way of getting nutrition. Eat the remainder of your food. If the juice has a strong flavor, such as parsley or kale, you can blend some mildly flavored vegetables, such as celery or fennel, into the mixture to dilute the stronger vegetable. You can add some carrot, beet or apple to create a good flavor.

One way to make juice better, if you do wish to juice something, is to add the pulp back into the final product. Drink about 70% of the product as juice, then add the remainder to the pulp and eat this mixture. You can add some chopped vegetables to the mixture and turn it into a tasty creation that is good for you and fits well in your raw-foodist diet.

Smoothies and Blended Food

Green smoothies created in your blender are great for you! You can prepare these in just a minute and create a tasty meal or snack. You’ll quickly learn what combination of vegetables, and perhaps a little fruit, tastes the best to you.

Carrot Juice

Some folks say carrot juice raises blood sugar and has other bad effects. There is no firm evidence of this that I have seen and carrots are a great, nutritious root vegetable. Of course, consuming huge amounts of carrot juice would be detrimental, but so would huge amount of any single food. A mixture of raw foods is needed to obtain the right balance of enzymes, vitamins and minerals.

If you like carrot juice or carrot smoothies, by all means have a glass! But don’t drink a quart, replacing other valuable raw foods by filling up on just carrots.

Is It Raw or Not?

Lets break this down into three categories:  foods to maximize, foods to include some, and foods to minimize or exclude.

On a raw foods diet, you want to maximize your intake  of the following raw food:

• Fresh fruits and Fresh Vegetables. – Any fresh fruits or vegetables.  The fresher the better. If you can pick the produce yourself, that’s the best. The next best would be  direct from a farmer  or farmers market, next best from a health food store, and last from a “chain store”.   Here is why- once the food is picked, the vitality starts to lessen.  If the produce is refrigerated, the vitality is lessened even further.

• Fresh Sprouts – you can sprout your own seeds yourself, and eat these life-force rich foods while they are still living and growing!

Next as a raw foodist you may want to consume some of the following: (concentration should be on FRESH fruits and vegetables)

• Nuts and Seeds – Many nuts are raw and go through no heat processing.  Always purchase nuts in the shell whenever possible, since once nuts are out of the shell, they start to oxidize, and can go rancid.  Some nuts are heat processed in the process of getting the nut out of the shell.

• Young Coconuts – Young coconuts are a excellent source of electrolytes, the best purified water and a good source of fat and calcium.

• Dried Fruits- Most dried fruits in the natrual food store are cooked!

• Dates – Dates are generally sun dried, if good organic dates are purchased.  Many “conventional” dates can be dried and then steamed to make them look “plump” and moist.  The Date People and Flying Disc Ranch are my two good sources.

• Sea Weeds – Sea weeds such as nori, dulse, Laver, sea lettuce, kombu purchased from a “family” business are usually sundried.   Seaweeds from “asia or china” may or may not be sun dried. Sometimes they are roasted, and it may not be mentioned on the package.  This should be eaten minimally

• Dried vegetables, herbs and spices for flavoring – I have not checked to see if these are in fact considered “raw” or if they have been heat treated in the drying process. Whenever possible dry your own herbs and spices, and use as sparingly as possible.

• Olives – You may want to consume some raw olives.   Raw olives are hard to find. The best raw olives are sun dried raw olives, that have not been preserved with salt.  Most olives are preserved with salt.  Most canned olives are cooked in the canning process.   Most olives are packed in a vinegar or lactic acid brine, which I do not recommend.

• Green Powders – A good green food powder can be helpful as long as it is not heat processed, considered “raw” and dried at a low temperature, and do not include toxic additives.  Some examples would be dried wheatgrass, blue green algae, barleygreen, etc.

• Raw Honey – I do agree that raw honey is probably the best concentrated sweetener to use, I still reccomend minimizing concentrated sweeteners such as honey.  Get a honey that includes the pollen and propolis, a more “whole” food.

• Frozen Fruits – It seems that most frozen fruits are not blanched before freezing, so they could be considered “raw”.  Although its best to eat FRESH FRUITS instead, or freeze fruits yourself.

Things to minimize or cut out completely.  The items listed below are many times included in a raw food diet.  They can be helpful while transitioning to a raw food diet, but have no place in a long term health building raw food diet.

• Table salt and celtic sea salt- While table salt is much worse than celtic sea salt, many raw foodists believe that celtic salt is good for them.  I believe it is not.  This is primarily due to research on the potassium/sodium balance.  Each cell in our body needs to maintain a ratio of sodium to potassium and in the “standard American diet” has the sodium ratio way too high. We get enough sodium from fruits, vegetables and seaweed. (Use seaweed instead)

• Nama Shoyu and Braggs Liquid Aminos – Once again these items show up often in raw food recipes, and many people think them “healthy”.  Try drinking a bottle of the stuff, and tell me how you feel. I bet you will feel sick to your stomach!  These are highly processed foods that do not occur naturally in nature. (try using seaweed instead)

• Maple Syrup – Maple syrup is another ingredient considered as “raw” by many.  Based on research, all maple syrup is cooked, so it is not raw..  Use fresh barhi dates (which do taste like maple syrup – there are many different varieties of dates to try!)

• Agave Nectar – While this “concentrated sweetner” is very popular in raw cuisine, I believe it has no place in a truly “raw” diet.   This is primarily due to the fact that it is a concentrated sweetner.  The “nectar” is collected or “cooked” out of the agave plant, then must be “cooked” or dehydrated down, much like “boiling down” maply syrup.  There is even some rumors about “corn syrup” and other sweeteners being added to “raw” agave nectar to give it the sweet taste. In any case, it is a processed, product, and not a raw, whole food.

• Wine – Wine can be raw, but while it may have some health benefits – I say drink FRESH made grape juice instead.  Exclude wine from the raw food diet.  Alcohol does kill brain cells.

• Apple Cider Vinegar – Vinegar contains acetic acid.   Acetic acid  is a toxic chemical. If you drink a whole bottle of vinegar, I bet you wont feel too good.  Did you know acetic acid is used as a pesticide?

• Bottled oils – Many raw foodists include oils in their diet. This should be minimized for a few reasons.  Oil does not occur naturally in nature.   Once oil is extracted, it generally goes bad (rancid) very quickly.  It is super concentrated and hard for your body to break down.  Try drinking a bottle of oil, and tell me how you feel.  Probably like you want to sleep – its your body having to work overtime to digest the oil.  Yes, even if its cold pressed an organic.  Eat the food instead- i.e.: eat olives instead of olive oil.  Eat coconuts instead of coconut oil. Eat ground flax seeds instead of flax oil.

• Frozen Vegetables – Confirmation from several major manufacturers of frozen vegetables, frozen veggies are blanched before they are quick frozen, so these would not qualify as raw.

Mistakes Made On a Raw Food Diet.

Here are some of the biggest mistakes people make on a raw-food diet:

1. Overeating Acid Fruits

Acid fruits are excellent for health, however, there’s a limit to the acidity that your body can handle. When acid fruits are consumed in excess, the acidity can eat away the enamel of your teeth, or cause other problems.

Many people go on “grapefruit cures” and in just 7 days softened the enamel of their teeth, to the point that they chipped a tooth!

So what is “excess”? It will depend on each person, but usually it’s fairly easy to consume too many acid fruits. So it would be best, on average, to have only a maximum of 2 big oranges per day, or 1 grapefruit, or half a pineapple, or the equivalent.

The fruits to beware are: oranges, pineapple, lemons, and most citrus.

A way to “by-pass” this would be to drink freshly-squeezed orange juice or an orange smoothie, and making sure the acid doesn’t touch your teeth too much (don’t swirl the juice in your mouth). Tip: Using a straw can help you avoid this.

You can also make great smoothies by mixing acid fruits with non-acidic fruits, which is good because the acidity is “tampered” by the other fruits.

2. Eating Dried Fruits

Dried fruits eaten on a regular basis tend to cause two main problems: digestive problems and dental problems.

People who eat dried fruits tend to get a lot of gas, but they also tend to have strong cravings for foods they try to avoid. That’s because dried fruits disturb digestion so much you end up wanting to eat *anything*.

As for dental health, dried fruits won’t do anything to your enamel, but they will stick to your teeth and provide perfect nourishment to the bacteria that cause cavities.

Unfortunately, raw-foodists often rely on dried fruits heavily. These include raisins, dried figs, apricots, and even fresh dates.

It is reccomended to avoid eating dried fruit on a regular basis. Replace these with fresh fruit. Dried fruit should only be eaten occasionally when nothing else is available instead, such as when going on a long trip.

3. Overeating Nuts

When a person goes on a raw-food diet, they tend to eat a lot more fat than what would be optimal. That means a lot of avocados, oils, and nuts.

Problems will show up fast if you decide to eat a lot of nuts. People don’t realize the fact that nuts are not only high in fat, but they are also difficult to digest for most people.

Overeating nuts will leave you tired and fatigued, but there’s also something else. Even though they are rich and filling, when you overeat on nuts you tend to crave all sorts of food and never find balance in your diet!

As a general rule that can be modified depending on the individual,  have a maximum of about 2 ounces of nuts per day, or 3-4 tablespoons of nut butter.

4. Listening to Misleading Advice

A lot of people label themselves “experts” and send out misleading advice to the masses. Usually, the general advice given by most authors is, “Eat anything you want, as long as it’s raw.”

Obviously, this is not a great plan for success.

Recently, the advice is modified to: “Try to figure out what works for you.”

In that case, the “experts” left it to their poor confused readers to go through the hurdles of learning and experimenting…

This is completely unnecessary!

Eating raw is great, and the truth is you don’t have to eat 100% raw or even 90% raw to get some great results! But what you do need is to get the right information.

Avoid the misleading advice of those who are just interested in selling you their new line of supplements. Instead, learn how to tap into the power of raw foods by getting the right information, and you’ll see, it’s much easier than you think, and the rewards will just keep on coming!

A Raw Foodist’s Mistake- Dry Fruit.

Did you know that most dried fruits in the natural food store are COOKED?

Yes!! They are.   Manufacturers and distributors of dried fruits and even “dried tomatoes” were asked the temperature at which their product is dried.   Usually it is well over 200 degrees. They say this proudly, because its not too feasible to dry products at an acceptable temperature to a raw foodist (around 118 degrees or less) because there would be an inconsistent and “ugly” looking product.

Usually only “sun dried” foods would be considered “raw” since they are dried by the sun. So why not dry your own?

How to Dry Fruits and Vegetables

Food dehydration is safe because water is removed from the food. Because water is removed from the food, mold and bacteria cannot grow on it;thus it will not spoil. There is, however, a loss of vitamin A and C in dried foods due to heat and air. It usually takes vegetables 6-16 hours to dry, and fruit 12-48 hours. One can dry fruit and vegetables, and make jerky and fruit leather.

Choose Which Drying Method is Right For You

• Sun Drying. This is rather difficult because you need three to four sunny days of at least 100 degrees in a row.

• Oven Drying. Oven drying is an acceptable method of drying food, but it isn’t very energy efficient, and foods aren’t very flavorful in the end. If your oven cannot obtain temperatures below 200 degrees farenheit, use another method for food dehydration. You will need to prop open the oven door to maintain air circulation during the drying process.

• Electric Dehydrating. This is the best method of dehydrating food. An electric dehydrator is energy efficient and can be operated at low temperatures needed to maintain nutritive values in the food. Your electric food dehydrator should have some sort of heat control and a fan to maintain air circulation during the drying process.

The Drying Process

When drying food, don’t keep temperatures too low or too high. Temperatures too low may result in the groth of bacteria on the food. Temperatures too high will result in the food being cooked instead of dried. Food that is underdried will spoil, and food that is overdried will lose its flavor and nutritive value.

Food should be dehydrated between 120 and 140 degrees Fahrenheit. You can begin drying your food at higher temperatures, but turn the temperature down after the first hour or so. The last hour or so of drying time should be turned down on a lower setting. You must turn the food and rotate the trays while the food is drying.

You will know your food is dried when when you touch it, and it is leathery with no pockets of moisture. If you are testing fruit, you can tear a piece in half. If you see moisture beads along the tear, it is not dry enough. Vegetables should also be tough but can also be crisp.

When storing your dried product, keep in mind that no moisture should be allowed to enter the container…ever. Dried food absorbs moisture from the air, so the storage container must be airtight. Some acceptable storage containers are jars and plastic freezer bags. If storing fruit leather, wrap in plastic wrap and store in a another airtight container. Store your containers of dried food in a cool, dark, dry place. 60 degrees Fahrenheit or below is best.

Vegetable Drying Guide

All vegetables except onions and peppers,and mushrooms should be washed, sliced, and blanched. Dry vegetables in single layers on trays. Depending of drying conditions, drying times make take longer. Dry vegetables at 130-degrees Fahrenheit.

• Beans, green: Stem and break beans into 1-inch pieces.Blanch. Dry 6-12 hours until brittle.

• Beets: Cook and peel beets. Cut into 1/4-inch pieces. Dry 3-10 hours until leathery.

• Broccoli: Cut and dry 4-10 hours.

• Carrots: Peel, slice or shred. Dry 6-12 hours until almost brittle.

• Cauliflower: Cut and dry 6-14 hours.

• Corn: Cut corn off cob after blanching and dry 6-12 hours until brittle.

• Mushrooms: Brush off, don’t wash. Dry at 90 degrees for 3 hours, and then 125 degrees for the remaining drying time. Dry 4-10 hours until brittle.

• Onions: Slice 1/4-inch thick. Dry 6-12 hours until crisp.

• Peas: Dry 5-14 hours until brittle.

• Peppers, sweet: Remove seeds and chop. Dry 5-12 hours until leathery.

• Potatoes: Slice 1/8-inch thick. Dry 6-12 hours until crisp.

• Tomatoes: Dip in boiling water to loosen skins, peel,slice or quarter. Dry 6-12 hours until crisp.

• Zucchini: Slice 1/8-inch thick and dry 5-10 hours until brittle.

Fruit Drying Guide

All fruit should be washed,pitted and sliced. Arrange in single layers on trays. Dry fruit at 135 degrees Fahrenheit. You may wish to pretreat your fruit with lemon juice or ascorbic acid or it won’t darken while you are preparing it for drying. Just slice the fruit into the solution and soak for 5 minutes.

• Apples: Peel, core and slice into 3/8-inch rings, or cut into 1/4-inch slices. Pretreat and dry 6-12 hours until pliable.

• Apricots: Cut in half and turn inside out to dry. Pretreat and dry 8-20 hours until pliable.

• Bananas: Peel, cut into 1/4-inch slices and pretreat. Dry 8-16 hours until plialbe or almost crisp.

• Blueberries: Dry 10-20 hours until leathery.

• Cherries: Cut in half and dry 18-26 hours until leathery and slightly sticky.

• Peaches: Peel, halve or quarter. Pretreat and dry 6-20 hours until pliable.

• Pears: Peel, cut into 1/4-inch slices, and pretreat. Dry 6-20 hours until leathery.

• Pineapple: Core and slice 1/4-inch thick. Dry 6-16 hours until leathery and not sticky.

• Strawberries: Halve or cut into 1/4-inch thick slices. Dry 6-16 hours until pliable and almost crisp.

Bread.

Important Warning for those who have been drawn unsuspectingly into the use of bread:

• More than 98 percent of convicted felons are bread users.

• Fully HALF of all children who grow up in bread-consuming households score below average on standardized tests.

• In the 18th century, when virtually all bread was baked in the home, the average life expectancy was less than 50 years; infant mortality rates were unacceptably high; many women died in childbirth; and diseases such as typhoid, yellow fever, and influenza ravaged whole nations.

• More than 90 percent of violent crimes are committed within 24 hours of eating bread.

• Bread is made from a substance called “dough.” It has been proven that as little as one pound of dough can be used to suffocate a mouse. The average American eats more bread than that in one month!

• Primitive tribal societies that have no bread exhibit a low incidence of cancer, Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s disease, and osteoporosis.

• Bread has been proven to be addictive. Subjects deprived of bread and given only water to eat begged for bread after as little as two days.

• Bread is often a “gateway” food item, leading the user to “harder” items such as butter, jelly, peanut butter, and even cold cuts.

• Bread has been proven to absorb water. Since the human body is more than 90 percent water, it follows that eating bread could lead to your body being taken over by this absorptive food product, turning you into a soggy, gooey bread-pudding person.

• Bread is baked at temperatures as high as 400 degrees Fahrenheit! That kind of heat can kill an adult in less than one minute.

• Most American bread eaters are utterly unable to distinguish between significant scientific fact and meaningless statistical babbling.

Sugar Substitutes I: Splenda.

Splenda is similar to a chlorinated pesticide. It is 600 times sweeter than table sugar. Although it has no calories some research indicates that it may actually stimulate the appetite. Splenda is a tri-chlorinated sugar, which releases chlorine into our bodies and is made with acetic acid and toluene (a carcinogenic substance). Chlorine destroys the immune system and can cause many autoimmune diseases and disturb vital functions.

One small study of diabetic patients using the sweetener showed a statistically significant increase in glycosylated hemoglobin (Hba1C), which is a marker of long-term blood glucose levels and is used to assess glycemic control in diabetic patients. According to the FDA, “increases in glycosylation in hemoglobin imply lessening of control of diabetes.

Research in animals has shown that sucralose can cause many problems in rats, mice, and rabbits, such as:

·        Abortion of fetus

·        Atrophy of lymph follicles in the spleen and thymus

·        Decreased red blood cell count (anemia)

·        Decreased weight of fetus and placenta

·        Diarrhea

·        Enlarged liver and kidneys

·        Extended pregnancies

·        Increased cecal weight

·        Pelvic hyperplasia

·        Reduced growth rate

·        Shrunken thymus gland up to 40% shrinkage (the thymus is responsible for our immunity)

There have been no long-term studies thus far on the use and challenges from using Sucrulose (Splenda). Two studies show that 11-40% of the Splenda consumed is absorbed while the rest is excreted in through the feces. They don’t exactly know where this buildup is going but it seems to sequester in the liver, kidneys and gastrointestinal tract.

Some testimonies from humans taking Splenda include symptoms such as:

• ·        Bloating, severe
• ·        Bright red rash and welts
• ·        Chest pain
• ·        Decreased coordination
• ·        Diminished driving skills
• ·        Dry heaves
• ·        Dulled senses
• ·        Excessive crying (emotional wreck)
• ·        Food poisoning symptoms (lasting for days)
• ·        Forgetful
• ·        Generalized body pain
• ·        Headaches
• ·        Hypersensitive to noise
• ·        Hypertension
• ·        Insomnia
• ·        Irregular heartbeat
• ·        Irritability
• ·        Itching
• ·        Knee and leg pains (shooting pain) Act III popcorn testimonial
• ·        Lack of focus
• ·        Moody
• ·        Panic attacks
• ·        Stomach cramps (severe)
• ·        Withdrawn and disinterested from life
• ·        Zoned out

The FDA acknowledges that sucralose is 98% pure. The other 2% is composed of:

• Heavy metals such as lead
• ·        Arsenic
• ·        Chlorinated Disaccharides and Monosaccharides
• ·        Methanol
• ·        Triphenilphosphine Oxide

78 Reasons to Ditch Sugar.

In addition to throwing off the body’s homeostasis, excess sugar may result in a number of other significant consequences. The following is a listing of some of sugar’s metabolic consequences from a variety of medical journals and other scientific publications.

1. Sugar can suppress the immune system.

2. Sugar can upset the body’s mineral balance.

3. Sugar can cause hyperactivity, anxiety, concentration difficulties, and crankiness in children.

4. Sugar can cause drowsiness and decreased activity in children.

5. Sugar can adversely affect children’s school grades.

6. Sugar can produce a significant rise in triglycerides.

7. Sugar contributes to a weakened defense against bacterial infection.

8. Sugar can cause kidney damage.

9. Sugar can reduce helpful high-density cholesterol.

10. Sugar can promote an elevation of harmful cholesterol.

11. Sugar may lead to chromium deficiency.

12. Sugar can cause copper deficiency.

13. Sugar interferes with absorption of calcium and magnesium.

14. Sugar may lead to cancer of the breast, ovaries, prostate, and rectum.

15. Sugar can cause colon cancer, with an increased risk in women.

16. Sugar can be a risk factor in gall bladder cancer.

17. Sugar can increase fasting levels of blood glucose.

18. Sugar can weaken eyesight.

19. Sugar raises the level of a neurotransmitter called serotonin, which can narrow blood vessels.

20. Sugar can cause hypoglycemia.

21. Sugar can produce an acidic stomach.

22. Sugar can raise adrenaline levels in children.

23. Sugar can increase the risk of coronary heart disease.

24. Sugar can speed the aging process, causing wrinkles and gray hair.

25. Sugar can lead to alcoholism.

26. Sugar can promote tooth decay.

27. Sugar can contribute to weight gain and obesity.

28. High intake of sugar increases the risk of Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis.

29. Sugar can cause a raw, inflamed intestinal tract in persons with gastric or duodenal ulcers.

30. Sugar can cause arthritis.

31. Sugar can cause asthma.

32. Sugar can cause candidiasis (yeast infection).

33. Sugar can lead to the formation of gallstones.

34. Sugar can lead to the formation of kidney stones.

35. Sugar can cause ischemic heart disease.

36. Sugar can cause appendicitis.

37. Sugar can exacerbate the symptoms of multiple sclerosis.

38. Sugar can indirectly cause hemorrhoids.

39. Sugar can cause varicose veins.

40. Sugar can elevate glucose and insulin responses in oral contraception users.

41. Sugar can lead to periodontal disease.

42. Sugar can contribute to osteoporosis.

43. Sugar contributes to saliva acidity.

44. Sugar can cause a decrease in insulin sensitivity.

45. Sugar leads to decreased glucose tolerance.

46. Sugar can decrease growth hormone.

47. Sugar can increase total cholesterol.

48. Sugar can increase systolic blood pressure.

49. Sugar can change the structure of protein causing interference with protein absorption.

50. Sugar causes food allergies.

51. Sugar can contribute to diabetes.

52. Sugar can cause toxemia during pregnancy.

53. Sugar can contribute to eczema in children.

54. Sugar can cause cardiovascular disease.

55. Sugar can impair the structure of DNA.

56. Sugar can cause cataracts.

57. Sugar can cause emphysema.

58. Sugar can cause arteriosclerosis.

59. Sugar can cause free radical formation in the bloodstream.

60. Sugar lowers the enzymes’ ability to function.

61. Sugar can cause loss of tissue elasticity and function.

62. Sugar can cause liver cells to divide, increasing the size of the liver.

63. Sugar can increase the amount of fat in the liver.

64. Sugar can increase kidney size and produce pathological changes in the kidney.

65. Sugar can overstress the pancreas, causing damage.

66. Sugar can increase the body’s fluid retention.

67. Sugar can cause constipation.

68. Sugar can cause myopia (nearsightedness).

69. Sugar can compromise the lining of the capillaries.

70. Sugar can cause hypertension.

71. Sugar can cause headaches, including migraines.

72. Sugar can cause an increase in delta, alpha and theta brain waves, which can alter the minds ability to think clearly.

73. Sugar can cause depression.

74. Sugar can increase insulin responses in those consuming high-sugar diets compared to low sugar diets.

75. Sugar increases bacterial fermentation in the colon.

76. Sugar can cause hormonal imbalance.

77. Sugar can increase blood platelet adhesiveness which increases risk of blood clots.

78. Sugar can increase the risk of Alzheimer Disease.

Fast Food Calorie Chart.

It seems as though fast food restaurants have become a way of life for many of us. With the hectic schedules and fast-paced lives we lead, it can be hard to find time to squeeze in cooking and preparing healthy meals. Many of us rely on the fast food industry to feed us when we are running errands on our lunch breaks, or feed our hungry children after a long day, so how good or bad is this fast food for our health?

You may be alarmed to see the calorie content of some of the most popular fast food items that are available.

• Regular Cheeseburger – 320 calories

• Large Cheeseburger – 610 calories

• Regular Hamburger – 275 calories

• Large Hamburger – 520 calories

• Fish, fried or battered – 210 calories

• Chicken, fried, dark meat – 430 calories for two pieces

• Chicken, fried, wing/breast – 495 calories for two pieces

• Chicken Nuggets – 300 calories for 6 pieces

• Onion Rings – 175 calories for 8 rings

• Regular French Fries – 240 calories

• Large French Fries – 360 calories

• Hot Dog – 240 calories

• Chili Dog – 325 calories

• Dressing – Caesar – 160 calories for one packet

• Regular Chocolate Shake – 360 calories

• Regular Strawberry Shake – 360 calories

• Hot Fudge Sundae – 290 calories

• Pancakes, Butter and Syrup – 520 calories for three pancakes

• Apple pie – 260 calories for one piece

Keep in mind, that this is only the calorie content for some of the most popular choices in fast food. This does not depict the fat grams and other nutrient content. It is also important to remember that people often have more than one item from this list, which can lead to a large amount of calories for one meal from a fast food restaurant. Eating fast food in moderation can be fine, just make sure to watch your calories and try not to make it mainstay in your diet.

Himalayan Salt vs. Sea Salt and Rock Salt

Many people believe sea salt is a healthy alternative to table salt, but this is no longer the case. The oceans are being used as dumping grounds for harmful toxic poisons like mercury, PCBs and dioxin. Reports of oil spills polluting the sea are becoming more frequent. With some 89% of all the sea salt producers now refining their salt, today’s sea salt simply isn’t as healthy as it used to be.

If you were to look into a microscope at sea salt you would see it has irregular and isolated crystalline structures disconnected from the natural elements surrounding them. Thus, however many vital minerals it may contain, they cannot be absorbed by your body unless the body expends tremendous energy to vitalize them. Your body’s net gain is small compared to the great loss of energy.

Because the crystalline structure of himalayan crystal salt is balanced, it is not isolated from the 84 inherent mineral elements, but is connected to them in a harmonious state. This means the energy content in the form of minerals can be easily metabolized by your body. When you use this salt it has a vital energetic effect, your body gets an ample net gain with little energy loss.

Mined salt, or rock salt, is also a poor substitute for Himalayan Crystal Salt. While natural rock salt comes close to being intact and is more valuable than industrial table salt, from a biophysical as well as bio-chemical perspective, it holds little value.

The elements contained in rock salt lack sufficient compression to be included in the crystal web, but are only attached to the surface and in the gaps of the crystalline structure. It is the considerable pressure that brings the elements to a colloidal state – where your cells can readily absorb them. The valuable elements found in rock salt are useless because your body cannot absorb and metabolize them.

Himalayan Salt vs. Conventional Salt

Most people simply don’t realize that there are enormous differences between the standard, refined table and cooking salt most of you are accustomed to using and natural health-promoting salt.

These differences can have a major impact on your staying healthy.

If you want your body to function properly, you need holistic salt complete with all-natural elements. Today’s common table salt has nothing in common with natural salt.

Your table salt is actually 97.5% sodium chloride and 2.5% chemicals such as moisture absorbents, and iodine. Dried at over 1,200 degrees Fahrenheit, the excessive heat alters the natural chemical structure of the salt.

This salt from the Himalayas is known as “white gold.” Together with pure spring water, Himalayan Crystal Salt offers all the natural elements exactly identical to the elements in your body — the very same elements originally found existing in the “primal sea.”

Containing all of the 84 elements found in your body, the benefits of natural Himalayan Crystal Salt include:

1. Regulating the water content throughout your body.
2. Promoting a healthy pH balance in your cells, particularly your brain cells.
3. Promoting blood sugar health and helping to reduce the signs of aging.
4. Assisting in the generation of hydroelectric energy in cells in your body.
5. Absorption of food particles through your intestinal tract.
6. Supporting respiratory health.
7. Promoting sinus health.
8. Prevention of muscle cramps.
9. Promoting bone strength.
10. Regulating your sleep — it naturally promotes sleep.
11. Supporting your libido.
12. Promoting vascular health.
13. In conjunction with water it is actually essential for the regulation of your blood pressure.

Table Salt

What remains after typical salt is “chemically cleaned” is sodium chloride — an unnatural chemical form of salt that your body recognizes as something completely foreign. This form of salt is in almost every preserved product that you eat. Therefore, when you add more salt to your already salted food, your body receives more salt than it can dispose of.

This is important as over 90% of the money that people spend on food is for processed food.

Typical table salt crystals are totally isolated from each other. In order for your body to try to metabolize table salt crystals, it must sacrifice tremendous amounts of energy.

Inorganic sodium chloride can keep you from an ideal fluid balance and can overburden your elimination systems.

When your body tries to isolate the excess salt you typically expose it to, water molecules must surround the sodium chloride to break them up into sodium and chloride ions in order to help your body neutralize them. To accomplish this, water is taken from your cells in order to neutralize the unnatural sodium chloride.

This results in a less-than-ideal fluid balance in the cells.

For every gram of sodium chloride that your body cannot get rid of, your body uses 23 times the amount of cell water to neutralize the salt. Eating common table salt causes excess fluid in your body tissue, which can contribute to:

1. Unsightly cellulite
2. Rheumatism, arthritis and gout
3. Kidney and gall bladder stones

When you consider that the average person consumes 4,000 to 6,000 mg of sodium chloride each day, and heavy users can ingest as much as 10,000 mg in a day, it is clear that this is a serious and pervasive issue.

Alkaline Food vs. Acid Food II

Here is a Chart of food and what we should be eating compared to what we should not be eating.

Food and Beverage Chart: ALKALINE (green) – ACID (grey)
* Excellent for preventing and combating cancer.
*SUPER FOODS – Excellent for nutrition and health.

– VEGETABLES Alfalfa Asparagus Barley Grass Green Beans Beets* Broccoli** Brussel sprouts* Cabbage Carrot** Cauliflower* Celery Chlorella Cucumber Dandelions Edible Flowers Eggplant Fermented Veggies Garlic** Greens* – Beet, Chard, Collard, Mustard, Wild Kale Kohlrabi Lettuce Mushrooms* Nightshade Veggies Onions Parsnips (high glycemic) Peas Peppers Potatoes Pumpkin Radishes Rutabaga Spinach* Spirulina Living Sprouts* Squashes Sweet Potatoes Watercress ORIENTAL VEGETABLES Daikon Radish Dandelion Root Maitake, Reishi  and Shitake Mushrooms Sea Veggies – Kelp*, Kombu, Nori and Wakame Seaweed Umeboshi (pickled plums) FRUITS Apple Apricot* Avocado Banana (high glycemic) Berries inc. – Blackberries, Raspberries**, Strawberries*, Goji* Cherries, sour Coconut, fresh Currants and Raisins Dates and Figs, both dried Grapes *Purple, Red Grapefruit Lemon and Lime Melon – Cantaloupe, Honeydew, Musk, Water Nectarine Orange and Tangerine Peach Pear Pineapple* Umeboshi Plums Rhubarb Tomato* Tropical Fruits PROTEIN Cottage Cheese Chicken Breast Nuts – Especially Almonds* and Chestnuts Seeds – Pumpkin, Sprouted, Sunflower – Millet Tempeh (fermented) Tofu (fermented) Whey – POISON! Yogurt, Plain* SWEETENERS Stevia SPICES & SEASONINGS All Herbs Cayenne** and Chili Pepper Curry – Tumeric** Cinnamon – Ginger Miso – Tamari Sea Salt OTHER Apple Cider Vinegar Bee Pollen* Lecithin Granules Molasses, blackstrap Butter, unsalted Soured Dairy Products Probiotic Cultures Marine Phytoplankton**Alkaline Antioxidant Water – Mineral Water Tea – Dandelion, Essiac*, Green*, Herbal, Ginseng, Kombucha Fresh Fruit Juice – Green Juices and Wheat Grass Juice**– Veggie Juices Organic Milk (unpasteurized) MILK IS FOR COWS NOT HUMANS! ALKALIZING MINERALS Cesium: pH 14 Potassium: pH 14 Sodium: pH 14 Calcium: pH 12 Magnesium: pH 9 –

VEGETABLES Corn Olives Winter Squash FRUITS Blueberries* Canned or Glazed Fruits Cranberries* Currants Plums Prune* GRAIN PRODUCTS Amaranth Barley Bran, wheat Bran, oat Bread Corn Cornstarch Crackers, soda Flour, white Flour, wheat Hemp Seed Flour Kamut Macaroni Noodles Oats (rolled) Oatmeal Pasta Quinoa* Rice (all) Rice Cakes Rye Spaghetti Spelt Wheat Wheat Germ* BEANS & LEGUMES Beans – Black, Kidney, Lima, Pinto, Red, Soy, White, Lentils Almond Milk, Rice Milk, Soy Milk (may cause allergies) Peas – Chick and Green DAIRY Butter, Salted Cheese – Cow, Sheep and Goat (most desirable) Cheese – Parmesan and Processed Ice Cream Ice Milk NUTS & BUTTERS Brazil Nuts, Cashews, Peanuts, Pecans, Pistachio. Walnuts* Peanut Butter Tahini ANIMAL PROTEIN Beef (US beef filled with antibiotics, banned from exportation to Europe) Corned Beef Lamb (best choice) and Veal (INHUMANE) Pork and Bacon Sausage Turkey Venison Rabbit Organ Meats Fish – Carp, Cod, Haddock, Pike, Salmon*, Sardines*,Tuna* Shellfish – Clams, Lobster, Mussels, Oysters*, Scallops, Shrimp Eggs – Less acidic if natural feed, no hormones, no antibiotics. FATS & OILS Oil – Avocado, Canola, corn, Flax, Hemp Seed, Virgin Olive (best choice), Safflower, Sesame, Sunflower Butter Lard SWEETENERS Carob Corn Syrup Sugar (poisonous, aging, feeds cancer and obesity) ALCOHOL Beer Hard Liquor Spirits Wine (Red wine is healthy – skip the white) OTHER FOOD – BEVERAGE Catsup Cocoa Coffee Mustard Pepper Soft Drinks Sodas (fizzy water, sugar and chemicals) Soy Sauce Distilled Vinegar DRUGS & CHEMICALS Aspirin Drugs – Prescribed Medication and Street Food Additives Herbicides and Pesticides Tobacco

Healthfood Junkfood.

Many people improve their diet, eliminating meat and chemicalized food in favor of whole grains and organically grown foods, but they then proceed to make these otherwise good foods into virtual junkfood by preparing them incorrectly. What should be health-producing dietaries are ruined by frying, salting and sugaring.

Healthfood junkfoods include:

• organically grown potato chips deep fried in cold pressed organic unsaturated canola oil (made rancid by frying) sprinkled with natural sea salt;
• organically grown oat and nut granola roasted with cold-pressed unsaturated oil (made rancid by roasting) hideously sweetened with honey;
• carrot cake made with rancid whole wheat flour, cold pressed unsaturated oil (made rancid by baking), honey, and cream cheese (salted);
• whole wheat cookies (stale, rancid flour) sweetened with honey, made with vegetable oil baked at high heat (rancid);
• whole wheat pizza vegetarian style with lots of soy cheese;
• whole wheat pizza vegan style with lots of real raw milk cheese;
• organically grown corn chips deep fried in cold pressed vegetable oil with or without natural sea salt,
• yogurts made from powdered milk without an active culture of beneficial bacteria and covered with highly sugared fruits, etc.

These foods may well represent an improvement over the average American diet, but they still are not healthy foods, and should never be used in a diet for a sick person. Nor are they worthy of a person attempting to maximize health.

The Glycemic Index.

The dietary management of hypoglycemia requires that not only refined but also unrefined sugars and starches with a high glycemic index be removed from the diet. (The glycemic index measures the ease with which the starch is converted into glucose in the body, and estimates the amount of insulin needed to balance it out.) This means no sugar, no honey, no white flour, no whole grains sweetened with honey, no sweet fruits such as watermelons, bananas, raisins, dates or figs. Potatoes are too readily converted into sugar. Jerusalem artichokes are a good substitute.

Glycemic Index (compared to glucose, which is 100)

Grains		Fruits		Vegetables
all bran	51	apples	39	baked beans	40
brown rice	66	bananas	62	beets	64
buckwheat	54	cherries	23	black-eyed peas	33
cornflakes	80	grapefruit	26	carrots	92
oatmeal	49	grapes	45	chic peas	36
shred. wheat	67	orange juice	46	parsnips	97
muesli	66	peach	29	potato chips	51
white rice	72	orange	40	baked potato	98
white spagetti	50	pear	34	sweet potato	48
whole wheat spagetti	42	plum	25	yams	51
sweet corn	59	raisins	64	peas	51
Nuts		Baked Goods		Sugars
peanuts	13	pastry	59	fructose	20
		sponge cake	46	glucose	100
Meats		white bread	69	honey	87
sausage	28	w/w bread	72	maltose	110
fish sticks	38	whole rye bread	42	sucrose	59
Dairy Products
yogurt	36	whole milk	34	skim milk	32

Fats and Oil.

The best fats contain high levels of monosaturated vegetable oils that have never been exposed to heat or chemicals–like virgin olive oil. Use small quantities of olive oil for salad dressing.

Monosaturated fats also have far less tendency to go rancid than any other type. Vegetable oils with high proportions of unsaturated fats, the kind that all the authorities push because they contain no cholesterol, go rancid rapidly upon very brief exposure to air. The danger here is that rancidity in vegetable oil is virtually unnoticeable. Rancid animal fat on the other hand, smells “off.” Eating rancid oil is a sure-fire way to accelerate aging, invite degenerative conditions in general, and enhance the likelihood of cancer.

I recommend that you use only high-quality virgin olive oil, the only generally-available fat that is largely monosaturated. (Pearson and Shaw, 1983)

When you buy vegetable oil, even olive oil, get small bottles so you use them up before the oil has much time being exposed to air (as you use the oil air fills the bottle) or, if you buy olive oil in a large can to save money, immediately upon opening it, transfer the oil to pint jars filled to the very brim to exclude virtually all air, and seal the jars securely. In either case, keep now-opened, in-use small bottles of oil in the refrigerator because rancidity is simply the combination of oil with oxygen from the air and this chemical reaction is accelerated at warmer temperatures and slowed greatly at cold ones.

Chemical reactions typically double in speed with every 10 degrees C. increase in temperature. So oil goes rancid about six times faster at normal room temperature than it does in the fridge. If you’ll think about the implications of this data you’ll see there are two powerful reasons not to fry food. One, the food is coated with oil and gains in satiety value at the expense of becoming relatively indigestible and productive of toxemia. Secondly, if frying occurs at 150 degrees Centigrade and normal room temperature is 20 degrees Centigrade, then oil goes rancid 2 to the 13th power faster in the frying pan, or about 8,200 times faster. Heating oil for only ten minutes in a hot skillet induces as much rancidity as about 6 weeks of sitting open and exposed to air at room temperature. Think about that the next time you’re tempted to eat something from a fast food restaurant where the hot fat in the deep fryer has been reacting with oxygen all day, or even for several days.

The Dirty Dozen: Top 12 Foods to Eat Organic.

1. Meat.

• For overall environmental impact, meat is the king of foods, even if it’s not the most likely to have pesticide residue per se.

• Contrary to a widely reported “fact,” meat typically contains less pesticide residue than plant-based foods, but raising animals with conventional modern methods often means using hormones to speed up growth, antibiotics to resist disease on crowded feed lots, and both pesticides and chemical fertilizers to grow the grain fed to the animals. Additionally, it takes many times the water and energy to raise one meal’s worth of meat than it does one meal’s worth of grain.

• Consumers looking to avoid meats raised with these substances can seek out certified organic meat. To meet USDA standards, this meat can come only from animals fed organic feed and given no hormones or antibiotics. Searching out cuts from grass-fed animals ensures that you’re eating meat from an animal that was fed a more natural diet, and looking for a local source of meats lets you question the farmer directly about the animal’s diet and the farmer’s method of raising it. It cuts down on the environmental cost of transportation, too.

2. Milk.

• Pesticides and other man-made chemicals have been found in human breast milk, so it should come as no surprise that they have been found in dairy products, too. While any residues detected have been rare, and of low concentration, milk is of special concern because it is a staple of a child’s diets.

• Organic dairies cannot feed their cows with grains grown with pesticides, nor can they use antibiotics or growth hormones like rGBH or rBST. The overall impact of the herd is lessened when you choose organic milk.

3. Coffee.

• Many of the beans you buy are grown in countries that don’t regulate use of chemicals and pesticides. Look for the USDA Organic label to ensure you’re not buying beans that have been grown or processed with the use of potentially harmful chemicals.

• Go a step or two further, and look for the Fair Trade Certified label to ensure that your purchase supports farmers who are paid fairly and treated well. And look for shade-grown varieties for the trifecta: Then you know the coffee is being grown under the canopy of the rainforest, leaving those ancient trees intact, along with the wildlife — particularly songbirds — that call them home.

4. Peaches.

• Multiple pesticides are regularly applied to these delicately skinned fruits in conventional orchards.

• Can’t find organic? Safer alternatives include watermelon, tangerines, oranges and grapefruit.

5. Apples.

• Like peaches, apples are typically grown with the use of poisons to kill a variety of pests, from fungi to insects. Scrubbing and peeling doesn’t eliminate chemical residue completely, so it’s best to buy organic when it comes to apples. Peeling a fruit or vegetable also strips away many of their beneficial nutrients.

• Can’t find organic? Safer alternatives include watermelon, bananas and tangerines.

6. Sweet Bell Peppers.

• Peppers have thin skins that don’t offer much of a barrier to pesticides. They’re often heavily sprayed with insecticides.

• Can’t find organic? Safer alternatives include green peas, broccoli and cabbage.

7. Celery.

• Celery has no protective skin, which makes it almost impossible to wash off the chemicals that are used on conventional crops.

• Can’t find organic? Safer alternatives include broccoli, radishes and onions.

8. Nectarines.

• There were 26 different types of pesticides found on tested nectarines.

• Can’t find organic? Safer alternatives include, watermelon, papaya and mango.

9. Strawberries.

• If you buy strawberries out of season, they’re most likely imported from countries that use less-stringent regulations for pesticide use.

• Can’t find organic? Safer alternatives include blueberries, kiwi and pineapples.

10. Cherries.

• Even locally grown cherries are not safe. In fact, cherries grown in the U.S. were found to have three times more pesticide residue then imported cherries.

• Can’t find organic? Safer alternatives include blueberries, raspberries and cranberries.

11. Kale.

• Traditionally kale is known as a hardier vegetable that rarely suffers from pests and disease, but it was found to have high amounts of pesticide residue when tested this year.

• Can’t find organic? Safer alternatives include cabbage, asparagus and broccoli.

12. Pears.

• As insects become more resilient to the pesticides used on pears, more and more chemicals are used. The safest bet is to go organic.

• Can’t find organic? Safer alternatives include grapefruit, honeydew mellon and mangos.

Advantages and Disadvantages of Certain Foods.

Food	Pros	Cons
Refined Foods (including sugars and flour)	Taste	Empty calories Detrimental effect on blood sugar levels Excess fat build up in the body Fatigue Vitamin and mineral deficiencies Lowered sex drive
Meat (from mammals only)	Taste	High in animal protine High in heme-iron Immune system High in saturated fats Heartburn Halitosis
Fowl Meat	Taste	High in animal protine High in heme-iron High in saturated fat Heartburn Halitosis
Fish Meat	Taste Low in saturated fat	High in animal protine High in heme-iron Depending on variety can be high in mercury and other harmful agents
Dairy Products	Taste	High in animal protine Can be high in saturated fat Immune system With some exceptions, high in fat Over 75% of the human population is lactose intolerant
Eggs	Taste Vitamin B12 Low in saturated fat	High in animal protine
Fruits and Vegetables	High in vitamins High in fiber High in antioxidants Immune system boosters Heart health Zero saturated fat
Nuts	High fiber High in antioxidants Good fats Heart health Zero saturated fat	Can be high calorie
Grains and Seeds	Omega 3 and Omega 6 fatty acids (i.e. flax) Low fat High fiber Vitamins and minerals	Can be high calorie Not part of human optimal diet (consumption coincides with onset of agriculture – can not be consumed in their raw state)
Legumes	High in vitamins High in minerals High in fiber Good source of folate High in antioxidants Stabilize appetite	Flatulence Not part of human optimal diet (consumption coincides with onset of agriculture – can not be consumed in their raw state)
Mushrooms	High in fiber High in vitamins High quality protein Unsaturated fatty acids
Insects	High in quality protein High in B12 Low fat	Lack of appeal in Western Countries (more than half of the world’s population consumes insects)