Aronia berries have a unique taste that’s a mix of tart and special. They grow in bunches and have tough skin. Some are red and taste sweeter, while others are black and have a slightly bitter flavor. But no matter the color, both kinds are full of antioxidants, which are like little superheroes that fight off bad stuff in your body.

You can use fresh aronia berries in lots of yummy ways. You can make jam with them or sprinkle them on top of yogurt or desserts. You can even make wine with them! And if you’re on the go, you can find dried aronia berries in health food stores. They make a great snack, and you can mix them into your own special trail mix. Plus, you can even make a cozy cup of tea with them by steeping them in boiling water.

When you eat foods with aronia berries, you’re not just enjoying a tasty treat, you’re also loading up on important vitamins and minerals. These little berries are packed with vitamins A, C, and E, as well as minerals like potassium and iron. And let’s not forget about the antioxidants and other good stuff they have, which help keep your body strong and healthy.

So, if you’re looking for a delicious and nutritious snack, why not give aronia berries a try? They’re sure to add a tasty twist to your day while giving your body a boost of goodness!

Why are antioxidants such a big deal?

Well, let’s break it down. Antioxidants are like superheroes for your body. They protect your cells from getting hurt by something called oxidation. And guess what? Chokeberries have a ton of these superheroes! In fact, they have more antioxidants than any other berry or fruit out there.

Now, why is this important? Because antioxidants help keep you healthy by fighting off bad stuff like neurological diseases, cancer, and inflammation. When you eat berries, like aronia berries, regularly, you’re giving your body a big boost of these superheroes.

But how do antioxidants work their magic? They go around your body, wiping out something called free radicals. These are like little troublemakers that can mess up your cells and make you sick. So, by eating foods with antioxidants, like aronia berries, you’re helping your body stay strong and healthy.

Now, let’s talk numbers. Just how powerful are aronia berries? Well, if you measure their antioxidant power, it’s off the charts! In fact, 100 grams of aronia berries have an antioxidant power of over 16,000! That’s pretty amazing, right?

And here’s the thing, antioxidants aren’t just good for fighting off diseases. They also help slow down aging and keep your skin looking young and fresh. So, next time you see those deep purple aronia berries, remember they’re not just tasty – they’re packed with goodness that can keep you feeling great inside and out!

Let’s dive into more ways aronia berries can make you healthier!

These berries are like little health powerhouses, packed with all sorts of good stuff that your body loves.

First off, let’s talk about some of the special ingredients in aronia berries. They contain things like epicatechin, quercetin, and caffeic acid, which are all really good for you. These ingredients help keep your body strong and healthy.

But that’s not all! Aronia berries are also great for preventing blood clots and keeping your blood vessels healthy. They can even help boost your memory – how cool is that?

But wait, there’s more! Eating aronia berries can do wonders for your health. They can help prevent cancer, especially in your colon. They also protect your eyes from things like macular degeneration and cataracts. Plus, they strengthen your blood vessels and keep your blood pressure in check.

And that’s not all – aronia berries are like a superhero for your whole body! They help keep your urinary tract healthy, improve your digestion, and even prevent and treat diabetes. Plus, they make your skin look great and fight off viruses. They can even help you maintain a healthy weight and keep your gut happy by promoting good bacteria.

But wait, there’s more! Aronia berries also help reduce inflammation, strengthen your heart, and boost your immune system. And they’re even good for your brain, helping to reduce oxidative stress and fight off dementia.

So, if you’re looking for a delicious way to stay healthy, give aronia berries a try – your body will thank you!

Let’s talk about how aronia berries can help protect you from cancer

These berries are not only delicious but also super good for your gut health. They’re like little superheroes that keep your tummy happy!

One big reason aronia berries are so good for you is because they’re packed with fiber. Just 3.5 ounces of these berries give you almost 17 grams of fiber! Now, fiber is different from other nutrients like proteins and carbs because your body doesn’t digest it. Instead, it helps move food through your colon, which can prevent problems like cancer.

Because of all this fiber, aronia berries can rightly say they help protect against cancer. Fiber doesn’t just keep things moving in your tummy; it also does other good things like improving your bowel health, keeping your cholesterol in check, and even helping you lose weight and lower your risk of diabetes.

But that’s not all – aronia berries have even more tricks up their sleeve! They contain special compounds that fight off things like arterial plaque and toxins in your liver. They’re also natural cancer fighters, protecting against tumors in places like your bladder, breasts, and colon. Plus, they can even help with diseases like Crohn’s and HIV, and reduce symptoms of PMS and herpes.

And here’s something amazing – early studies show that aronia berries might even slow down the growth of a type of brain cancer called glioblastoma. Talk about impressive!

So, if you’re looking for a tasty way to stay healthy and protect yourself from cancer, grab some aronia berries – they’re like a natural shield for your body!

Let’s talk about some cool studies that show just how powerful aronia berries can be for your health!

Scientists from the University of Maryland looked at different fruits that have lots of anthocyanins – that’s a fancy word for the stuff that gives fruits their color and makes them super healthy. They tested grapes, bilberries, and black aronia berries to see how well they could prevent colon cancer. And guess what? All three fruits stopped cancer cells from growing, but aronia berries were the best at it!

Another group, part of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, says aronia berries are full of something called polyphenols, which can help prevent cancer and heart disease. That’s pretty awesome, right?

And get this – studies have shown that eating aronia berries might help reduce inflammation in your body, which is linked to lots of different diseases.

In animal studies, aronia berries were able to decrease the risk of esophageal cancer and colon cancer by a lot – up to 80%! And the best part? They didn’t hurt any healthy cells while doing it.

But the benefits of aronia berries don’t stop there. Native American tribes like the Potawatomi have been using these berries for a long time to fight off colds and boost their immune systems, thanks to all the vitamin C they contain.

And researchers are still studying how aronia berries, along with other berries like cranberries and wild grapes, could help reduce the risk of diseases like Type 2 diabetes in tribal communities.

In Bulgaria, scientists found that extracts from aronia berries could even fight off viruses and bacteria like the flu virus, Staphylococcus aureus, and E. coli. That’s pretty amazing, isn’t it?

So, next time you’re looking for a healthy snack, consider grabbing some aronia berries – they’re like little health superheroes in berry form!

Important things to keep in mind when it comes to aronia berries

First off, aronia berries contain something called oxalic acid. It’s a natural substance found in lots of fruits and veggies, but too much of it can cause problems like urinary tract stones. So, if you’ve had issues with these stones before, it’s a good idea to be careful with how many aronia berries you eat. And make sure you drink plenty of water to help flush out any extra oxalic acid.

Another thing to know is that oxalic acid can interfere with how your body absorbs minerals like magnesium and calcium. So, while aronia berries are super healthy, it’s important to eat a balanced diet to make sure you’re getting all the nutrients your body needs.

But here’s the good news – aronia berries are becoming more and more popular, and you can find them in lots of places, including stores that sell organic foods. And the best part? Many aronia berries are naturally resistant to pests, so they don’t need as many chemicals to grow. That means you can enjoy them knowing they’re good for you and the environment!

So, if you’re thinking about adding aronia berries to your diet, just remember to eat them in moderation, stay hydrated, and look for organic options when you can. With a little bit of caution, you can enjoy all the health benefits these berries have to offer!

https://www.foxnews.com/health/aronia-the-north-american-super-berry-with-cancer-fighting-properties

https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/what-are-orac-values/

The post Unlocking the Power of Aronia Berries: A Guide to Their Health Benefits appeared first on Alternative Complementary Medicine.

Well, the key to a healthy microbiome is variety. You need to feed it a diverse range of foods to keep it happy and balanced. Start with a diet that includes plenty of fruits, vegetables, beans, and legumes. And don’t forget to incorporate fermented foods like yogurt, kimchi, and sauerkraut. These foods support the growth of healthy bacteria in your gut, which is crucial for your immune system.

On the flip side, you’ll want to avoid sugary drinks and overconsumption of alcohol. And be mindful of any medication you’re taking, especially those that are long-term, as they can also affect your microbiome.

Remember, there’s no one-size-fits-all solution when it comes to gut health. You’ll need to experiment with different approaches to see what works best for you. So, keep your maintenance varied and interesting, just like your microbiome! Trust us, your gut will thank you.

When it comes to gut health, we now know that a thriving microbiome is essential for overall well-being. But with so many factors impacting our gut flora, from stress to medication to diet, how can we ensure we’re giving it the care it needs?

The starting point is simple: a healthy, diverse diet rich in fruits, vegetables, and fermented foods. But even with these changes, some may need a little extra help. Enter probiotics, the buzzworthy supplement that boosts the levels of good bacteria in the gut.

Prebiotics

But wait, there’s more! Prebiotics, non-digestible foods that stimulate the growth of healthy bacteria, are the perfect partner to probiotics. By providing a ready source of food to our good bacteria, prebiotics ensure that the balance is tipped in their favor.

Postbiotics

And for the truly advanced gut health enthusiast, there’s postbiotics. These compounds are produced by our good bacteria as they feed on prebiotics, and are essential for supporting gut function and overall health.

But no matter your level of gut health knowledge, the message is clear: a thriving microbiome is crucial for optimal well-being. So start with the basics, and explore the many options available to ensure your gut is happy and healthy.

Postbiotic formulas deliver the by-products that your healthy bacteria normally produce when they are present in your gut in high levels and in the process create an environment that causes the bacteria that normally makes them to thrive. It is an exciting development in gut health. When you are choosing a probiotic formula, choose a product that contains a combination of prebiotic, probiotic and postbiotic to give your gut flora exactly what it needs to support the result that you are seeking to achieve.

ENTER IGY

A new development in supporting optimal gut health, has a strange name but comes from a not-so-strange source: eggs! As most of us know by now, egg yolks are a rich source of vitamin D and zinc, but what you may not know is that they also contain a potent immune molecule called IgY (immunoglobulin yolk). This important nutrient acts as the egg’s immune system by working to bind and destroy bad bacteria.

Until recently, the only way to get the benefit of IgY was to consume raw egg yolks. Not a particularly enjoyable activity, and potentially risky because of possible exposure to salmonella infections. However, a recent breakthrough by a biotechnology company has found a way to extract a highly purified form of IgY from the egg yolk. This means that we can

now get the benefits of IgY without having to consume a few raw eggs each day. My company, SRW Laboratories, developed a unique immune formula using IgY called Imm’ Defence that combines Igy with immune-supporting vitamin C, vitamin D and zinc.

Scientists are most excited about IgY because it targets and binds to bacteria and viruses, facilitating the elimination of bad bacteria in the gut to speed recovery times and free up the immune system to do its day-to-day job. This is an incredibly exciting development for gut health because, for the first time, we can target the bad bacteria in the gut and at lower levels which, in combination with prebiotics, probiotics and postbiotics gives your gut the very best chance to be healthy and shifts the balance of dysbiosis (microbiome imbalance) in your favor.

USING EVERY TOOL IN THE TOOLBOX

Given the link between a healthy microbiome and our gut health, brain, liver, muscle, skin, bone and overall health it is becoming more evident to researchers that focusing on this key area of our health should be a priority for us all.

Avoiding the overconsumption of alcohol and sugary foods and eating a healthy varied diet is the first place to start, but you can stack the odds in your favor and improve your gut flora by supplementing with probiotics, prebiotics, postbiotics and now IgY. Using all these tools at our disposal, we have a manageable way to build a healthy and thriving microbiome that will support and strengthen our overall health.

GREG MACPHERSON is a pharmacist, biotechnologist, cellular health expert and author of, “Harnessing the Nine Hallmarks of Aging: to live your healthiest life.” For more than a decade, he has been working in the biotechnology sector, specifically focusing on the aging process at the cellular level. This work led him to discover ways to harness the nine identified, scientific hallmarks of aging, which is the premise of his book that addresses the natural aging process, how to age more favorably and simple strategies to slow the aging process and build a functional healthspan.

Beyond theory and concept, Macpherson has used his entrepreneurial spirit to further develop solutions to this new paradigm of aging, described in his book, by launching SRW Laboratories, a science and research based company that curates the latest biotechnology research to formulate natural products designed to help slow the onset of aging and disease, and develop evidence based solutions for those who are experiencing age-related health concerns or who want to improve their healthspan. SRW, which stands for Science,

Research and Wellness, is Macpherson’s natural world laboratory that will develop the preventative formulas for cellular health from nature required to slow down the aging process based on the nine hallmarks of aging, which include mitochondrial dysfunction, telomere attrition and cellular senescence, to name a few. With aging being the single biggest risk factor for developing disease, Macpherson’s mission to slow the aging process at a cellular level could help millions of people delay the onset of diseases associated with advanced aging like Alzheimer’s and heart disease and increase healthspan.

Important Microbiome Study

This study explores the link between the gut microbiome and brain function, particularly in relation to anxiety and depression. The researchers found that there is a bidirectional relationship between the gut and the brain, with the gut microbiome affecting brain function and vice versa. They suggest that targeting the gut microbiome through probiotics, prebiotics, and other interventions could have potential therapeutic benefits for mental health. Link to the full study: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5031164/

The study investigated the relationship between gut microbiome and various metabolic diseases such as obesity, type 2 diabetes, and cardiovascular disease. The researchers analyzed stool samples from over 1,000 participants and sequenced the DNA of the microbes present in the samples.

They found that the composition of gut microbiome was significantly different between individuals with and without metabolic diseases. Specifically, people with metabolic diseases had fewer types of beneficial bacteria and more harmful bacteria in their gut microbiome.

The study also found that diet plays a crucial role in shaping the gut microbiome. A diet high in fat and low in fiber was associated with a less diverse and unhealthy gut microbiome, while a diet rich in fiber and plant-based foods was associated with a more diverse and healthy gut microbiome.

Furthermore, the study discovered that changes in the gut microbiome can have a significant impact on metabolic health. In an experiment, the researchers transplanted gut microbes from healthy individuals into mice with metabolic diseases, and the mice showed improvements in their metabolic health.

Overall, the study highlights the importance of maintaining a healthy and diverse gut microbiome through diet and lifestyle choices in preventing and managing metabolic diseases.

The post Revolutionary Breakthrough: Unleashing the Power of Your Gut with the Latest Microbiome Discoveries! appeared first on Alternative Complementary Medicine.

Cranberries have been found to contain anthocyanidins and proanthocyanidins (PAC), which are tannins that serve as a natural defense against microbes. One hypothesis is that PAC can prevent bacteria responsible for urinary tract infections (UTIs) from adhering to the bladder and urinary tract linings, thus reducing the likelihood of an infection.

While cranberry juice and other food forms of cranberry can be beneficial, cranberry supplements are generally considered superior for UTI prevention. A single cranberry capsule can provide the same benefits as eight ounces of cranberry juice.

Approximately 50% of women experience a UTI, and about one-third of these women will suffer from recurrent infections. Clinical trials involving women with a history of recurrent UTIs have shown that daily doses of a 500mg cranberry supplement, called Pacran by Naturex, led to a 58% reduction in UTI recurrence and delayed the onset of the first UTI compared to a placebo.

Men can also benefit from cranberries, as over 50% of 50-year-olds and 80% of 70-year-olds develop an enlarged prostate, also known as benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH). With BPH comes lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS) that can cause an overactive or underactive bladder. Cranberry supplements have been found to improve LUTS in men. In a double-blind, randomized trial involving 121 men with moderate bladder symptoms, those who took a daily dose of 500mg of the Flowens supplement by Naturex experienced a 38% improvement in their symptoms compared to the placebo group.

While antibiotics are effective in treating an active UTI, they should not be used as a preventive measure. Waiting to treat an infection can also negatively impact daily activities and quality of life. The natural benefits of cranberries and cranberry-based products are safe and effective for preventing UTIs and alleviating symptoms associated with an infection.

The post Say Goodbye to UTIs and Prostate Problems: The Amazing Benefits of Cranberries Revealed! appeared first on Alternative Complementary Medicine.

• You are most probably poisoned by mercury, you probably have or had mercury fillings in your mouth of receive any kind of shots as a kid or adult (yes they contain mercury)
• if you eat fish before, you most probably have mercury poisoning
• mercury stays in the body, it attacks your nervous system, bones, joints, soft tissue etc
• chelating is super easy these days, and cheap, learn how to do it for cheap like I do
• you will most likely quickly feel better and have permanent results
• mercury chelation with protocol I am doing is quick, easy and effective
• you will have more energy
• you will feel healthier
• your brain fog will be gone
• you will be less anxious
• you will experience more joy in your life and being less depressed
• you will sweat easier and do any kind of workout much easier
• you will become a more polite and less angry person
• your sleep will improve

I am telling you, chelation is probably the most effective solution for your health problems, besides your diet. I strongly recommend vegan diet with at least 50 % raw smoothies and raw food…

The post Top 14 Reasons To Start Mercury Chelation appeared first on Alternative Complementary Medicine.

If your loved one has the same problem, you should try this. Doctor Newport claims that coconut oil helps also patients with :

• dementia
• ALS
• epilepsy
• autism
• schizophrenia
• Parkinson disease
• etc

But you need to buy pure coconut oil, non hydrogenated one. I recommend pure 100% raw coconut oil that has not been heated in any way.

Here is the video:

The post This woman cured her husband of Alzeheimer disease with this simple natural ingredient appeared first on Alternative Complementary Medicine.

Few months back I came across Sun Warrior Warrior Blend vegan protein powder. I bought it on Amazon, because I could not find any cheaper anywhere else. It is raw protein powder and vegan at the same time. What that means  is that it is really healthy for your body. I have been reading comments on Amazon and people really love it. Many claim that they had the same problem as I did, they could not digest regular milk proteins. They had nausea, stomach pain etc. Same symptoms I had. But when they tried Sunwarrior raw protein powder, they loved it.

I get no bloating, I feel very good after taking this powder. Warrior Blend Vanilla taste very bad I must say. But you can mix it with fruit in smoothie and you will not feel any bad taste. It taste like pea, because it is made from pea protein, hemp protein etc. This particular version with Vanilla flavour taste the worse from all other Sunwarrior products. You have to mix it with fruit or something.

I am not sure how much muscle I have build, but it is way better than whey protein. It has zero ill effects on my body. I bought 3 different types, vanilla, chocolate and rice vanilla version.

I just love it and I recommend it fully.

It contains no animal products, dairy, egg, gluten, soy, added sugar, wheat, or yeast, free of solvents, GMOs, radiation, artificial flavors, artificial preservatives, or artificial colors

The post Sunwarrior Warrior Blend Vanilla Review appeared first on Alternative Complementary Medicine.

I tried few years back, I would say 6 years back and I failed again because of my teeth.

But enogh about me, lets talk about Vitamix. I bought it through German ebay. The price is the cheapest I could find around. And every real smoothie nut needs vitamix. That is like the raw food must have. I am using currently some cheap ass blender. I need to start making me some icecreams, maybe some raw food cake and of course fruit smoothies.

Vitamix has the strongest motor and blade, so it completely grinds all the food. I see chunks in my smoothie, not really chunks but the smoothie is not smooth. I am looking forward getting it. I never dished out so much money for some home appliance. Never. Maybe the next step is a juicer or something.

Vitamix must be multimillionare company. I mean everybody is buying this machine. I will post some videos soon. I am looking forward to it.

Bye

The post Jesus Christ I just bought myself a Vitamix 5200 for 575 Euros appeared first on Alternative Complementary Medicine.

There are some really lovely people, promoting raw food outthere on youtube. I would say the liferegenerator is the best one of them. Also the guys who organized raw food fest in Woodstock every year is an amazing guy.

But then comes the ugly and bad people. Ugly is of course Durianrider, I just get sick watching his videos, his language, gestures are so offensive, it is just amazing.

Durianrider is the most offensive raw foodist I think. His speaking, everything about him is offensive. I like him being vegan and stuff, but after seeing some of his videos, I just want to slap the shit out of him. He criticizes every person, making fun of people and stuff. But he is not the bad guy, just offensive and unwatchable. So if you have a good stomach, watch his videos, because he is not a bad guy or evil. But he blindly promotes that raw food diet and claiming it having no sideefect on people who have actual side effects. That is what I hate about him. I could never be a friend with a guy like that. Just makes me puke.

Then there are the bad people. I would say Matt Monarch, Wolfe are the biggest scammers I would say. They even sell deer antler extracts, colostrum and other disgusting shit just to make money. And Matt Monarch wife seems to me just a wacko. So be careful here. Also there is a strong evidence that he is faking youtube views. I am in internet marketing and I believe that 100%. His videos jumped from average few thousand to 500000, only few of them. In very short period of time.

I know it is hard to scam youtube views, but it is possible. I dont want to waste my time speaking about David Wolfe, you can read more about him on internet, just a bad guy.

The post The good, bad and the ugly of raw food appeared first on Alternative Complementary Medicine.

I mean he is not an authority I think and he will only loose subscribers doing so. I think that is a bad marketing approach. I know they guy needs money, but he is doing seminars all over the world anyways. So that is lame, I am not even visiting his youtube page anymore.

Lame

The post Many health “teachers” are charging now for youtube posts appeared first on Alternative Complementary Medicine.

Check this video out and decide.

The post 71 years old granny looks 20 years younger – high vegan raw foods diet (81 years old in 2020) appeared first on Alternative Complementary Medicine.

Second time I had same problems but I was not 100 % raw, I was like 90%. Third time happened this month and after 5 days of raw, my enamel was just melting away and exposing dentin. I am telling you all, I am cursed. I want to go raw, but I think I would need to make caps on all teeth.

But this article is kind of promising. The author who is raw for like 20 years and looks amazing, is telling us to use soft brush and shower floss. No toothpaste. Only shower floss attachment and soft toothbrush.

Here is the article. Happy reading!

Don’s Dental Issues Blog

This is the “opinion” section of my website, therefore you will find plenty of opinions here. I like to take the high road, but not when doing so puts people’s health at risk in some respect. I hope you’ll take that into consideration as you read through these posts.

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Jameth Sheridan on the high fruit diet

I’m not buying Jameth Sheridan’s explanation that fruit sugar feeds mouth bacteria better than the sugar in candy (“because fruit sugar is live, it’s vital, it has life force…”) His answer to dental decay of “don’t eat that much fruit” is not a credible answer to me. He’s right when he says that fruit is low in minerals, implying that we should eat green leafies (although he doesn’t state this, favoring his superfood products I guess). And to say that fruit eaters get transparent teeth is alarmist. I know people who eat a lot of fruit and they don’t get transparent teeth. They eat a balanced diet of fruit and green leafies, they DO take a multi or green powder, and they do practice good dental hygiene. And think about this: if you clench while sleeping, loosening teeth and thus creating pockets, but eat a low sugar / higher fat+complex carb diet, you’ll have less dental decay in those pockets than if you were to eat a normal (“high”) amount of fruit. So just as we shouldn’t blame diabetes on fruit sugar, we shouldn’t necessarily blame dental carries on fruit sugar. And his statement, “I’ve never met a long term fruitarian who was healthy or who didn’t cheat” carries no weight with me. What if those long term high fruit eaters he met who were unhealthy weren’t adhering to ALL the basics of health, or who weren’t making/getting enough D and B12, or who felt that they needn’t floss/brush because in nature they wouldn’t, or who weren’t getting a proper “sugar:minerals ratio” (lots of fruit so lots of sugar but the green leafies weren’t grown on the most nutrient dense soils; this is why I advocate supplementing with a green powder and/or a multi).

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The advantages of dry-brushing

I favor using only a dry brush (no toothpaste). Blot the brush on a paper towel, tap the slobber out on the basin or “sip” the fluids out of the bristles periodically (my preferred technique). To “blot” the groove between the teeth and gums, direct the soft bristles at a 45 degree angle beneath the gum tissue and wiggle the handle of the brush back and forth about ten seconds in each area. It’s the mechanical action of the bristles that effectively loosens the sticky bacterial colonies in plaque, not so much the chemicals on the brush. Liquid, toothpaste, etc. mainly clogs the spaces between the bristles of the brush that, if left dry, allow plaque to be lifted out of the gingival sulcus (that groove between the gums and the tooth) by capillary action.

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> Why do many people have the experience [dental problems] mentioned here:

> www.curetoothdecay.com/Tooth_Decay/tooth_cavity_vegan.htm

When people who eat a vegan diet develop dental problems, it’s for a reason, and that reason is not because they stopped eating animal products. And I hope we’re not going to entertain the notion that some humans have the DNA to be able to eat a plant-based diet and be perfectly healthy, and other humans don’t have the DNA for it and require animal food to be optimally healthy, because this is simply not true. Every animal on this planet has a “species specific diet”; the diet to which that animal is designed to eat (and to eat the foods of their designed diet as those foods appear in nature and not processed, which includes cooking). Humans are no different. If you get a roomful of experts on the giraffe, for example, they may have different opinions on whether giraffes should be kept in zoos or not, but they will all agree on what a giraffe is designed to eat. All of them. And it’s usually difficult to get a roomful of experts to agree on anything. But not on the diet of hippos, ants, hummingbirds, and of all the animals on this planet, expect for one… humans. This is because of misinformed/miseducated people due to the tons of mis- and dis-information that abound, and this is because of either the profit motive or personal preference, i.e. believing what we’d rather believe, as opposed to believing in the truth.

I’ve been eating a vegan diet for over 30 years, and an all-raw (all uncooked) fruit and leafy greens diet for over 18 years, and so far so good. I phrase it this way because we really won’t know if our chosen way of eating worked for us until we see if we did or didn’t get a diagnosis of something serious, which won’t be for another 25 years or so in my case. And since I won’t have a time machine to be able to go back to age 20 and try a different approach if I do get cancer or Alzheimers when I’m older, it’s important for me to make correct choices now… which is why I’ve spent 35 years researching the issue of optimal health. So we’re going to be stuck with the ramifications of whatever diet we decide to eat. I hope the diet you decide to eat is decided by you and you alone; don’t embrace what seems to sound good to you or what “resonates” with you. Base your decisions on hard-science, empirical evidence, sound logic, and common sense.

But back to teeth. As far as dental problems being caused by lack of Essential Fatty Acids (EFAs) or proteins, a plant-based diet of fruits (both sweet and non-sweet) and leafy greens do have all the EFAs and protein one would need to be healthy if those substances are not damaged by cooking, and if one is eating enough of these foods (meaning you must be active enough to warrant enough calories worth of food to get enough EFAs and protein), and if you are eating a variety of foods (a diet of just oranges and romaine lettuce will result in dental problems). It’s amazing how the fact that cooking damages EFAs and protein is not known by those who weigh in on the issue of diet. Even traditionally educated nutritionists aren’t taught what happens to the various components of food when they are subject to heat.

Re: dental problems. If you could ask dentists what percentage of their patients with dental problems are vegans, you’d get a very low number. But, as I said, there are vegans (and raw foodists) with dental issues. One reason is the increase of grain products and other “acid forming” foods when going vegan. Excess acidity in the bloodstream causes the body to use stored alkaline minerals, calcium especially, to neutralize the acid condition. This will, over time, demineralize bone, and that includes teeth.

Those raw foodists who developed major dental problems in my experience were found to be eating a lot of citrus fruits, little to no leafy greens (excellent source of minerals assuming enough minerals in the soil), and waaaaay too many nuts (metabolizes acidically).

I wonder if the most damaging practices to teeth are discussed in Ramiel Nagel’s book, such as:

1. Fluoridation (actually promotes tooth decay).

2. Using toothpastes that contain glycerin (which coat the teeth and prevent remineralization of the enamel) which is basically all toothpastes.

3. Brushing with anything but a “soft” toothbrush.

4. Clenching/grinding teeth while sleeping which can loosen them allowing pockets to form where bacteria can develop and it’s difficult for the body to effectively deal with bacteria in these pockets.

5. Improper flossing (irritates gums causing them to recede exposing non-enameled parts of the teeth which are more easily damaged by acids).

6. Products (that can be termed “vegan”) that demineralize teeth such as soda, and acid-forming foods such as soy and grain products via the mechanism mentioned above.

7. Dried fruits (sticky sugars linger on teeth feeding bacteria whose “poop” is acidic and damages enamel).

8. Too much nut and seed consumption (prevalent among many raw food vegans). The body controls mouth pH, and will raise mouth pH after a meal of nuts (probably to deal with the particles of nuts that remain in the mouth) and this will have a deliriousness effect on tooth enamel over time.

9. Consuming hot and cold things. Divergence from normal mouth temperature by the amounts experienced when consuming ice cream or tea for example contracts and expands the enamel and over time causes “cracks” to form which weakens teeth but more importantly allows bacteria to enter those crevices where brushing can’t get to them. This is especially pronounced in the areas of dissimilar materials such as where natural tooth meets metal filling (the thermal expansion properties of enamel and metal are different and increase the “cracking factor”).

10. When moving away from unhealthy processed food that is fortified with certain nutrients, it is important to make sure that you still get those nutrients now that they are not being provided to you via those fortified products. Some of the more important of these nutrients are vitamins D and B12. Many processed foods marketed to vegans are not fortified with any nutrients. And if the raw fruits and vegetables that raw food vegans eat are lacking in any essential nutrients because they come from an agricultural-based system, someone could bump up against a nutrient deficiency, which, in the case of vitamin D, can impact bone health and thus dental health.

So as you can see, there are other factors to the issue that need to be considered, including genetics (some people have stronger or weaker enamel; those with weaker enamel may want to rinse their mouths with something that kills bacteria before going to sleep, like a diluted clove oil).

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Kevin Gianni on a high fruit diet and dental problems

> “The other thing you need to be careful about is that

> eating a high fruit diet can effect your teeth.

> I know, you’ve heard people say this isn’t so. I have too.

> But I can’t deny the EVIDENCE that I’ve seen and heard

> from people who’ve tried it and had their teeth

> literally start to fall out.” – Kevin Gianni

I haven’t found anyone who tried eating a high fruit diet and their teeth fell out. I think I’m way past the point of “trying it” and I’ve still got my teeth… teeth that, by the way, were ravaged by all the candy and sugar laden crap I ate as a child and teen (13 cavities). Now, no cavities. Of course this doesn’t mean that the adoption of a high fruit don’t shouldn’t bother anyone’s teeth; I’m not saying there haven’t been people who switched to a high fruit diet and had problems with their teeth, but just like you can’t blame diabetes on carbs even though if you stop eating sugar, blood sugar will be more stable (but you’ll be getting your calories from a high fat diet so you’ll degrade your health in other ways), you can’t blame tooth problems on the sugar from fruit. (Although Kevin phrases it “Sugars – from fruit or not” as if all sugars are created equal). If you’re not getting enough minerals because you’re either not eating enough greens or the foods you *are* eating are minerally deficient, and/or if you weren’t getting enough minerals before you adopted a high fruit diet and thus have compromised teeth, and/or are producing a lot of acid because of emotions, and/or if you have “weak” enamel genetics… and are not compensating by supplementing, flossing, dry brushing, and rinsing with a bacteria killer, than, yes, one could end up with some dental problems when adopting a high fruit diet. And did Kevin mention rinsing before bed? I think it’s a big help.

Bottom line: there are so many reasons someone could be having dental problems when eating a lot more sweet fruit, to deal with the problem by making people question the validity of a high fruit diet is not the answer to the problem. My take: 1. be as sure as you can that you are consuming enough minerals, like you would have from food eaten from the wild, which may mean you take a multi that has highly bioavailable minerals. 2. brush and floss and rinse before bed. 3. stay away from dried fruit and go easy on the dates. 4. And maybe do like some primates do and eat a little green leafies after a sweet fruit meal; maybe the reason the instinctively do this is to bath the teeth in “mineralized juice” to neutralize any acid production or maybe it washes the teeth of any lingering sugars. Who knows.

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Eco-Dent Tooth Powder

Ingredients:

Sodium Bicarbonate (baking soda), Tartaric Acid, Sodium Methyl, Cocoyl Taurate, Calcium Peroxide, Calcium Carbonate, Magnesium Carbonate, Sea Salt, Hydrated Silica, Peppermint oil, Myrrh.

If you are not used to a toothpowder, this product may seem a little strange. The powder is hard to spread onto the brush until you take the top off, pour a small amount on your hand and use a wet toothbrush to pick it up.

However, once you get used to it, you will quickly see that this is one of the best commercial brands out there. It has no fluoride, no glycerin, no sodium lauryl sulfate, and no dyes or sweeteners. It comes in two versions, one with Calcium Peroxide which is a natural tooth whitener and one without. The bicarbonate of soda, salt and peroxide all provide strong anti-bacterial agents. However, Eco-dent actively helps in the remineralization of your teeth. First the powder ensures your teeth are clean and free from any sticky glycerin coating. Next, as you add water to the toothpaste, CO2 is created which combines with your saliva to product carbonic acid. Unlike the strong acids from foods which eat away at the enamel, the carbonic acid dissolves the minerals in your saliva (which come from the foods you eat) to remineralize the teeth and strengthen the latticework of your enamel. When too many mineral ions are dissolved from our enamel by the acids from our food and bacteria, the enamel’s fine latticework structure breaks down irreversibly, and a cavity results.

This toothpowder also has some other great benefits. You only need a very small amount, and the container will last for a long, long time. Once you get the hang of applying the powder by using a small amount on the palm and using the wet toothbrush to pick up the powder, it’s easy to use.

Pro’s – Remineralizes teeth naturally and contains no harmful ingredients, dyes or sweeteners. Lasts a long time. Very good value for money. Perfect for travel.

Con’s – Some prefer toothpaste. Hard to apply if you try and squeeze powder from the container lid. If you aren’t benefiting from this product, and dry-brushing would be just as effective, if not better, then you are wasting your money and bothering with something you needn’t bother with.

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Why the dental problems?

In my years of counseling raw foodists I have come across some people who have problems with their teeth after they’ve adopted a high (normal) fruit diet. Some mistakenly take this to mean that humans are not designed for a high fruit diet, but this is incorrect.

As with most health related issues, dental problems are not so cut-and-dried. Why do some people who adopt an all raw vegan diet have dental problems, and some don’t? Here’s where individuality comes into play. There are a number of contributing factors.

Firstly, yes, fruit tends to be lower in minerals than green leafy vegetables, so this would suggest that we should also consume some green leafy vegetables (I have some almost every day), but this doesn’t mean that the majority of our diet should be green leafy vegetables, because we wouldn’t be able to get enough calories.

Here are some contributing factors to dental problems… keep in mind some of these will apply to some people and some won’t.

Fruit sugar does feed bacteria in the mouth, and when these bacteria are well-fed, they multiply. So you’re likely going to have more of these guys when eating a high (normal) fruit diet than when eating a low fruit diet (and grains and fat for fuel). It is NOT the sugar that damages teeth (you can take a tooth and place it in a glass of sugar water and nothing will happen to it, but try a glass of soda – which contains phosphoric acid – and that tooth will go bye-bye). Bacteria are living organisms, and like all living organisms, they poop, and their poop is acidic, and THIS is what damages teeth.

If you have good “dental genetics”, and you weren’t given a lot of antibiotics when your adult teeth were forming (they weaken teeth for life), and you are getting and utilizing all the minerals our body needs to maintain strong teeth, then you should have healthy teeth even on a high fruit diet. But if your dental genetics are not as perfect as they could be, and/or you received a lot of antibiotics as a child (tetracycline specifically), and/or you are not getting all the minerals your body needs, you are more prone to dental problems when adopting a high fruit diet.

Even though our ancestors didn’t need to brush their teeth to avoid cavities, I personally need to do good dental hygiene to keep from getting cavities on this diet. And others need to do this too. I have researched the dental issue for a long time, and here’s what I do:

I “dry brush”. Dentists in the know will tell you that 99.99% of all toothpastes contain glycerin which coat the teeth. This was thought to protect the teeth from the ravages of the acidic bacteria poop, but it doesn’t. What it DOES do is keep your saliva from remineralizing the teeth, which helps to prevent cavities. You could put other things on your toothbrush, like Peelu Tooth Powder (www.vitacost.com/Peelu-Dental-Fibers), but you’ll tend to do a more thorough job of brushing if you have nothing on your brush. Then use only a soft brush (not “medium” and certainly not “hard”). This is the BEST brush (http://tinyurl.com/23no8e8) in the world (yes, you must buy in quantity, but they make great gifts). If you feel you must have something on your brush, try Peelu Tooth Fibers (vitacost.com/Peelu-Dental-Fibers) or

EcoDent Powder (www.vitacost.com/Eco-dent-Daily-Care-Toothpowder).

I floss before bedtime. If I’ve eaten something like stringy mango, which can get stuck in between teeth, I floss after this type of meal. I do not recommend trying to get the floss under the gums the way dentists show you, that is the job of the tooth brush bristles when you brush at a 45 degree angle to the gum-line. I floss just to remove food that is trapped in between teeth, AND to disturb any bacterial colonies. I also use a showerfloss; it’s like a water pic that you use in the shower. It’s great because you don’t have to worry about making a mess… because you’re in the shower!

I also rinse my mouth just before going to sleep with diluted clove oil (one teaspoon to 8 ounces of water, www.nowfoods.com/Products/PersonalCare/Products/M004118.htm). This disturbs mouth bacteria. I know there are some Natural Hygienists who bristle at the thought of doing this, but I believe in dealing with reality and not doing things based on “we shouldn’t have to…”

Some health advocates will say that to combat dental problems “don’t eat so much fruit”. Okay, but then where will you get your fuel from… fat and/or complex carbs in grain and dairy products? That can’t be the answer.

For completeness’s sake, I should mention one other contributing factor to cavities. If you clench or grind your teeth while sleeping, this can loosen teeth creating pockets between tooth and gum where bacteria can live and go to town. You may clench or grind and not even know it. But if you wake up with a sore jaw, it’s probably because of this. If you do this (and a competent dentist should be able to tell you if you do), wear a dental guard (doctorsnightguard.com) while sleeping so the teeth aren’t loosened or otherwise damaged, and follow the other oral hygiene tips mentioned above, especially rinsing with clove oil if you already have loosen teeth (and they aren’t so loose that you can tell by wiggling them; they’re just loose enough where bacteria can get into the pocket).

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The criteria I use when choosing a dentist are:

* The dentist should do amalgam fillings removal and be proud of it, even mentioning it in any written lists of procedures (like on their website). If they say they “can” do it, that’s not good enough for me.

* Do they do amalgam fillings? You can ask, “do you ever use mercury amalgam fillings?” If ‘yes’ I’d not go there.

* I ask how new is the equipment they use that protects the patient when mercury fillings are removed. There have been many advancements in this area, and dentists who really care about their patients will upgrade to the best equipment, and this says a lot about the dentist. This question is best asked of the dentist; office managers usually won’t know the answer.

* Ask what protocols they recommend before and after mercury filling removals. If they don’t recommend anything specific, run. A good dentist knows the value of consuming chlorella before and after mercury removal, and may even mention cilantro (these having to do with heavy metal removal; some mercury may get into your system even with the best protective equipment). You can buy Sun Chlorella in the supplement section of Whole Foods and many health food stores, and fresh cilantro can be bought at Whole Foods.

* A good way to tell if the dentist is keeping up with the times, AND providing the safest equipment is to see what kind of x-ray machine s(he) has. Digital x-rays are safer than the old fashioned kind. You can tell if they’re digital by asking, “When the x-rays are taken, can they be seen immediately on a computer monitor?” If ‘no’, I’d go elsewhere.

* If the dentist is advertised as a cosmetic dentist, or specializes in cosmetic dentistry, I’d steer clear, even if the ad also says they do restorative dentistry. What can happen is that the dentist ends up doing mostly cosmetic dentistry and gets out of touch with restorative dentistry, both from a new technologies perspective and from a skills perspective.

* Since you’re going to get those mercury fillings replaced with something else, ask if the dentist does Clifford testing (biocompatibility testing) http://ccrlab.com There are different formulations of composite fillings, and some may have materials in them that react badly with your body. Some people pooh-pooh this test, and I can’t tell for 100% sure one way or the other, but I think that if it DOES have merit, why not use it. It requires you to go to a lab that draws blood, and they draw some and put in the mailer that the dentist provided you. While this probably shouldn’t be a “deal breaker” when choosing a dentist, it’s something to consider.

“CEREC is an acronym for Chairside Economical Restoration of Esthetic Ceramics. The system is manufactured in Bensheim, Germany. The cavity preparation is first photographed and stored as a three dimensional digital model, and proprietary software is then used to approximate the restoration shape using biogeneric comparisons to surrounding teeth. The practitioner then refines that model using 3D CAD software. When the model is complete, a milling machine carves the actual restoration out of a ceramic block using diamond head cutters under computer control. When complete, the restoration is bonded to the tooth using a resin.”

This is neat in that you don’t have to make a 2nd trip. But it begs a question about what material is used. Normally when the impression is taken, it’s sent to a lab to have the restoration made. The results from the Clifford test are looked at by the dentist and he/she determines the best material to use (there are many different formulations of “composite”). The dentist relays this to the lab making the restoration. I have to wonder if a dentist that uses a CEREC milling machine on premise has all the different kinds of materials. It would be interesting to ask him if he does a biocompatibility blood test. If he says ‘yes’, I’d ask how many different materials does he have for his CEREC milling machine. If he has a wide enough range to accommodate almost everyone, he should have no problem answering your question. But if he has only one or two types, and he sees where you’re going with your line of questioning, he may start throwing BS at you in the form of, “well compatibility testing is not absolute…we’ve never had a problem with any of the materials we use…” etc.

My choices (based on my Clifford test) included gold or a composite called “Empire”; other more common composite choices I tested ‘bad’ for. Gold is the “king of fillings” in that it lasts longer than any composite. It’s downside is that it expands and contracts at a different rate than enamel, so hot and cold foods and drinks can, over time, cause weakening of the tooth due to crazing (micro cracking). And you can’t use it where it can be seen when you smile. But since I don’t do hot and cold things things (except for banana ice cream), and it was on a back tooth, I opted for the gold.

Does the CEREC machine do “the king of fillings”? I’m guessing no. This would be an interesting discussion to have with a dentist who uses the CEREC method of making restorations. I’m not saying I wouldn’t do the CEREC method just because I couldn’t get gold, but it would be interesting to hear his explanation of why composites are just as good as gold (if he indeed does say this). And composite is less expensive than gold.

Since the last thing you want is tiny gaps between restoration and tooth, and since a restoration made with the CERED machine would, in theory, be a more exact fit than the older “impression” method, I’d look into a dentist who does the CEREC method. But it still comes down to how conservative he is; how much would he lean towards or away from doing a root canal. When a friend of mine worked at a gas station as an auto mechanic, the owner would frequently sell people on repairs that weren’t really necessary, and he did it because he could get away with it. When my friend got his own shop, he didn’t do that, but he suffered for it financially, and eventually lost the shop. He said that for many shops, doing unnecessary repairs was necessary if they wanted to stay in business. Who knows how much this applies to a dentist’s business. Most people are not going to argue with a dentist who says “you need a root canal”. Hmm, but maybe if you say, “Well, since I can’t afford that, you’ll have to pull the tooth” and you look sullen at the thought of losing a tooth, and the dentist, at heart, is someone who really wants to save a tooth if at all possible, maybe that might get him to “reconsider” the issue. You have nothing to lose by saying it; you don’t have to go through with the extraction… I’d just be curious how a dentist would react to the thought of having to pull a tooth that could be saved by something other than a root canal.

The post Raw Food Dental Problems appeared first on Alternative Complementary Medicine.

When you don’t feel well, stop eating and go to juices

SCHULZE: The first thing an animal does when it is sick is to stop eating. They fast themselves. Likewise, the first thing we need to do when we don’t feel well is: stop food. There are a lot of reasons for that. Food takes a tremendous amount of energy to digest–and that’s blood and energy. Our digestive system, basically the muscles and the tissues, fill with blood. When you stop eating, your digestive system rests, and all that blood and energy can be put somewhere else to heal you.

People have said to me, “What do I do for this particular disease?” Juice fasting. “What do I do for degeneration?” Juice fasting. “What do I do for heart disease?” Juice fasting.

Juice fasting is for the incurables. Juice fasting is the answer because it allows your body to rest – and it lets your body choose what it wants to heal.

If you just keep cramming food down your mouth, you’ll just get more tired. Your body has to digest large amounts of food, and it’s the opposite of what you should do when you’re not well.
“One of my first patients had lost a tremendous amount of blood from surgery–and doctors wanted to do a transfusion. In 24 hours on juices, I brought her blood levels back up.”

BISER: What does juice fasting do?

SCHULZE: Food has nutrition in it, but it takes a lot to break those nutrients down.

Juices are like a blood transfusion

A glass of fruit and vegetable juice takes very little digestion, if any. It goes right into your body. We look at juices in the same way a doctor would look at an I.V It’s something that can go right into your bloodstream.

One of my first learning experiences was a woman patient who was undergoing a surgery, a female surgery. The doctors nicked an artery, and she had tremendous hemorrhaging and bleeding. By the time they got her patched up, she was in intensive care, and had lost a tremendous amount of blood.

The doctors wanted to do a transfusion. She was scared to do a transfusion and the doctor said, “You’re very anemic and your hemoglobin count is at the lowest end for a woman.”

She said, “Is there anything you can do?”

And I said, “Sure,” and I got the juicer out and juiced some juices. I made some carrot juice and some beet juice. I took it to the hospital and said, “Just let the doctors give you 24 hours.”

They did, and, in 24 hours on juices, they said that her hemoglobin count was over the top end of the scale for a man, not even a woman, and men’s hemoglobin counts are higher.

This was my first realization of the power of what juices can do to build the blood up.

BISER: Wait a minute, you gave her juices. How did she get juices when she went into the hospital for 24 hours?

SCHULZE: Oh, I went to the hospital too. I juiced the juices, put them in quart canning jars. Fresh beet juice, fresh beet greens, fresh carrot juice. I took it right to her hospital room and she drank it.

That’s all she had for 24 hours and not only did her blood hemoglobin go up, but it went over the top of the scale for a man. The doctors said they were shocked, they had never seen anything like that.

Man cures his colon cancer by juice fasting. The cancer came out in the toilet.

SCHULZE: I had a man who had a colon cancer and he basically refused to do anything, but he said he would stop eating and go on juices. This was early on in my practice, too. These were learning experiences.

He started on a multitude of fruit and vegetable juices and, I remember it was about a month later into his long juice fast, he pooped his cancer right out. It was 18″ long.

It looked like a rope with figs attached to it. I had seen things like that before in pictures and books – but that was the first time I ever saw one come out.

BISER: A rope?

SCHULZE: Yeah, it was like a rope with sacs on it, they were about the size of figs. And, he actually eliminated his cancer just through juice fasting. He wasn’t using any herbs or doing anything else, something I wouldn’t recommend.

Juice fasting, through my experience and his, is more powerful than just water fasting. Juices not only fill you with nutrition – but they empty you out.

If you have any doubt about that, go home and drink a quart of prune juice and you tell me what happens.

Juices are flushing and cleansing to organs of the body.

Juices are enzyme therapy

SCHULZE: Juices contain gigantic amounts of enzymes. And a lot of people nowadays are taking enzymes because of the benefits, but you don’t have to, they’re in the juices.

Enzymes are heat sensitive, meaning that when you cook food, you destroy all the enzymes. Now, when you eat that food or juice, it’s okay. Your body will produce enzymes in order for you to digest that food. But when your body does that – it can’t do something else. It only has a limited amount of energy.

So, one of the things that juices do, because they are loaded with enzymes, is they give your body a vacation.

Most of us live enzyme-free diets. If all we eat is cooked food, there are no enzymes in it. By supplying your body with high doses of enzymes, it gives many of your organs like your pancreas, your liver, your digestive system a holiday, because they don’t have to try to manufacture chemicals that are coming in through your juices.

BISER: So it’s an enzyme holiday!

Thinning the blood is one the most important things you can do when you are sick, and juices do that

SCHULZE: Yes, an enzyme holiday. And it also thins your blood. This is a major key.

Most of us who are ill are trying to do something to get blood to the area that is sick.

But our body is trying to pump around mud – and it can’t get there. Thinning our blood is one the greatest keys to getting healthy. It increases our circulation because the blood becomes more like water than molasses. The bottom line is, juice fasting thins your blood. That allows your circulation to get deeper in your body into the vital areas, into the capillaries that were filled with fat and all clogged-up.

Juice-fasting allows your body to balance its hormones and replace chemicals it is deficient in.

SCHULZE: Many people are sick because they don’t produce enough insulin in their body. Or, they don’t produce enough thyrox in their thyroid. Or, they don’t produce enough interferon or immunoglobulin for the immune system to be strong. They don’t produce enough estrogen or progesterone or testosterone.

Those chemicals are all built from nutrition. One of the things that juice fasting does is, it supplies your body with a tremendous amount of nutrition. So it balances your metabolism, balances your hormones, balances your endocrine system, your thyroid, your pancreas, and your reproductive organs.

And it does one other important thing: It allows you to get more work done. Juice fasting clears the mind.

BISER: How can you get more work done when you’re hungry? Because you’re not eating solid foods?

SCHULZE: Let me tell you, it’s just the opposite of what you think. If you want a gigantic change, stop eating for a couple days. It will feel like the fog is cleared.

You will be amazed at your sense of smell, your sense of taste, your eyesight, your perception, your thoughts.

All through history, from the Greek and Roman writings, to the Egyptians, from Jesus to Shakespeare, people talked about fasting for better mental clarity.

One thing I can guarantee you is that if you have a confusing problem, or a stressful issue that you don’t know the answer to, stop eating. It enhances mental clarity.

We are drunk on food. Overeating makes you dull. Your blood, instead of going to your brain, is going to your digestive tract.

You read it in the Bible, Jesus going to the woods for his fasting. Everybody, throughout history, would go out of the city and go onto juices and water, and fast. Fasting clears the mind, and so it is a physical and emotional cleanse, and maybe even a spiritual cleanse when you stop your food from coming in.

No-one realizes how powerful juice-fasting is— until they do it. Then they will never live without it. Everybody should do this periodically. I guarantee everybody who is reading this, if they just do a fast, for a couple of days, they will be amazed.”

BISER: When you worked in Hollywood, you had all those people in the movie industry, did you give them the same advice?

SCHULZE: Yes, in fact many people came to me and they were worried about the first week, or a difficult part of the movie that they were having a problem with, or that they were worried about, “Can I do this?”, or, “Is it going to go okay?”, and I would suggest the five-day program.
The five day program is 2 days of light eating of fruits and salads only, with 2 days of juice fasting in the middle, and one day of fruits and salads at the end.

They would say to me, “Oh, God, I can’t do that, that would even be more stress.”
And, I would say, “Yes you can. It will be less stress when your body is using all its blood and energy to help you do what you need to do, and figure it out, and not be loaded down with food.”

And those that would do it came back to me and said, “Oh my God, thank you.”
I had one woman who hadn’t worked in a couple of years, a quite famous actress.
She had to go out for four interviews during the week and these were the most interviews she had been to, in a long time. She said, “What should I do?” and I said “Fast.” She said, “That sounds horrible. I need all my strength and energy.” I said “Believe me, fast.”

She fasted and got all four parts that she went out for. I’ve always seen it happen with all my clients.
I remember as a kid, I used to eat a big meal, thinking it was going to make me feel stronger. I felt more tired. So, I’d eat more and I felt more tired. And I’d eat more, then I felt more tired.
I’ve done many fasts – short fasts. I’ve done two thirty day fasts and one sixty-day juice fast. We can go months without food – – as long as we’re getting our nutrients.

BISER: But did your body get run down without it?

SCHULZE: Oh no, in fact, in the last couple days of my thirty-day juice fast, I kick-boxed 17 rounds and I was better than ever before. No one could come near me and touch me. I had better vision, I had better reflexes, I had better timing. And I had endless amounts of strength. This is something we have to get away from – the idea that fasting weakens you. It’s not true.
When you fast, there are some things you need to be aware of.

Sometimes when you fast, you have a little less body heat. So take a sweater with you when you go out. Every once in awhile, you may feel a little colder and it’s because it is calories from heat units in food that warms up our body.
So, since you are reducing your food and you’re on juices only, dress a little warmer and have a little blanket in the car or a sweater with you. That’s one thing I tell people.

The other thing is, you have energy lows. And what that is, when you’re fasting, is all of sudden, you might feel, especially if you’re doing a longer fast, like a week or more, you might feel like, oh my gosh, I have no energy at all.

Don’t pay any attention to that–because it will be gone in ten minutes. This is very common as your body is used to a solid fuel and now it’s on a liquid fuel. And just like a machine, if you change its fuel, it adjusts a little bit. We have to make adjustments and once we make those adjustments, it’s fine. So don’t pay any attention to that.

A couple other things I’ll throw in here. One thing I always tell people is, you get hunger pains when you’re fasting.
Most of the time they’re not real. All of a sudden, you have a dream or a vision of a baked potato covered with sour cream and chives. If that’s real, you’ll still have the urge in three or four hours. So, one of the ways to get by that, is just to ignore it and it will go away.

Most people think a fast means deprivation. I see it differently. A fast is a flush – a flush with liquids. Okay?
You are only going without solid food – but you are getting liquid food that does you more good.
A fast is a flush and people need to consume a gallon a day of liquids: juices, water, herb tea. Most people make a mistake by not consuming enough – and if you’re hungry drink more.

BISER: What juice do you use when you want to detoxify heavily?

SCHULZE: Wheat grass is great. It can detoxify when some people don’t get a detoxification any more from anything. Or, when they’ve used a few herbs and they think they are clean.

I remember my own story. I thought I was very clean. It was after I spent six months at Dr. Jensen’s eating only raw food and juice fasting and years after I had healed my heart. I started drinking wheat grass, an ounce a day, then two ounces a day, then three ounces a day, and then four ounces a day, and I got up to eight ounces one morning and I remember feeling horrible – and I started vomiting. It was just too strong of a dose, but at that point, wheat grass started creating all sorts of cleansing in my body – of old things I remembered I had. It finally cleaned them out and brought them to the surface.

BISER: What do you mean “old things’?

SCHULZE: Well, when I started cleaning out my bowel years earlier, my hemorrhoids went away and I hadn’t noticed any hemorrhoids for years. Then – in the middle of this wheat grass purge, the hemorrhoids flared up again – and it wasn’t because I was having diarrhea or straining or anything. I think it was because there were small capillaries there that were still blocked, and that wheat grass was cleaning them out. I started noticing things with my bronchials and my sinuses, and all sorts of problems that I had cleared away. But now they were kind of coming back again.

When you do a really good final cleansing and healing, a lot of your oldest problems come back, but just for a few days – as you clear them out. So I noticed some tremendous differences in my skin, and to this day I still drink wheat grass. People always come up to me and say, “Your skin looks so great.” I get this comment all the time, so I know that it’s really done some good work inside me.

How to make wheatgrass juice to detoxify yourself.

BISER: What does a reader have to know to get going on this? It sounds powerful.
SCHULZE: They might have to grow their own wheatgrass, and actually purchase a wheatgrass juicer, or something they can juice with. If they don’t have a wheatgrass juicer, just soak the wheatgrass in water and blend it up in your blender and drink it, grass and all. Anybody can grow wheat. You grow wheat and it just grows into the grass. You can grow it yourself. It’s very easy to grow. You just buy wheat, and you take organic wheat kernels, and you soak them for a few days until they actually sprout. You can soak them for about 24 hours and then put them into a damp cotton cloth for another two or three days, until the wheat sprouts, and then you can just make them like other sprouts. Rinse them in water two or three times a day until they have tails on them about an inch long, and then you can go ahead and plant them right in the soil.
Some people plant them right away and then just keep the soil damp the first couple of days, and you grow your own wheatgrass. Now you have what looks like your front lawn in a tray in your house.

What do you do with it? Well, you can run it through your juicer. A lot of people think you have to have a wheatgrass juicer. A wheatgrass juicer just gets more juice out of the wheatgrass. There are hand-operated ones and there are electric ones. The hand-operated wheatgrass juicers are about $70-80, and the electric ones are usually $300, but you could run the wheatgrass right through your Champion juicer.

You can just cut it up and even soak it with water and put it in a blender. I’ve had many patients in areas just take the wheatgrass, cut it up and put it in a blender, fill that blender with water and blend it up and you’ll get greenish water.

Or, you can run it through your juicer with other things like carrots, and it gets caught up in your juicer.

So wheatgrass is something that everybody should consider as a medicinal cleansing and building juice, very bitter tasting. Start out with a little bit. I suggest people start out with an ounce a day and don’t take it on its own. I like an ounce of wheatgrass with 16 ounces of fresh carrot juice. It just gives the carrot juice a little greenish tint and it’s very palatable.

There is also what I consider the wheatgrass *censored*tail, which is a base of apple juice with, say, about 12 ounces of apple juice, a couple of ounces of lemon juice, a thumb-size piece of ginger and an ounce of wheatgrass.

One thing that is very interesting, is that lemon and lime tend to cover up the taste of wheatgrass, which is good because a lot of people find it very strong to eat or drink, and lemon especially seems to cover up the taste.

The watermelon flush for the kidneys. If you need it, you will be urinating fire

BISER: What do you do with juices for the kidneys?

SCHULZE: I use two different things, one a vegetable, parsley, and the other, a fruit, watermelon.

I tell my patients to sit down for dinner and instead of dinner, crack open and eat a whole watermelon.

BISER: Is this one of those wellness things or does it really cure?

SCHULZE: Oh, my gosh. I was down at Dr. Jensen’s and they had some organic watermelon and I said “Okay, I’m just going to have watermelon tonight.” I cracked open one, about the size of a basketball, and I ate that really quick, and I thought I want another one, so I ate one of those red-meated ones, and I basically went to bed.

The next morning, I woke up, and when I urinated it was like urinating fire. It burnt my prostate, my penis— it was so painful I was moaning in the bathroom.

Watermelon juice, watermelon itself, and watermelon seeds are all diuretic and disinfecting. When you’re juicing the watermelon, a lot of people just juice the meat, but you want to juice the rind too.

The rind has minerals. You run it through the Champion juicer. You run the watermelon and the rind right through there, and it is delicious. You can taste the salt, the sodium, in the rind, and the minerals in the rind – very cleansing to the kidneys.

BISER: Why do people eat watermelon and not get any kidney cleansing or kidney cures?

SCHULZE:I think because they don’t juice the rind, and I think that a lot of the watermelons today are seedless. And I would suggest that people do not buy seedless. Juice the watermelon, seeds and all.

Make parsley juice – not parsley tea. It’s a whole lot more healing.

BISER: I thought parsley was just one of these feel-good, wellness herbs. Not for heavy curing.

SCHULZE: No, it’s an intense one. The problem is that people only make tea out of it. When you just pour boiling water over dried parsley you’re going to get a little bit of the essential oils.

Now, if you use fresh parsley and grind it in a Champion juicer, it’s a lot more intense.

It’s like the herb plantain. Dr. Christopher talks about plantain for blood poisoning. You can make a little plantain tea, or mash up a plantain leaf. Or, you can take plantain and run it right through the juicer. If you’ve got blood poisoning, who the heck wants to worry about making plantain teas with a little boiling water over it?

Get it through the juicer and get yourself two or three ounces of plantain juice. I’ve done that.

Juice radishes to cleanse the liver

SCHULZE: If you want to add a juice in to stimulate the liver more, all the radishes work real well.

Some people talk about black radishes or other kinds, but you can use the red radishes and even use wild radishes you have growing wild in the United States. Remember, where you have mustard growing, you also have wild radish growing.

You can even pick the pods off, or use the radish leaves or sprouts, but radishes of all types stimulate the liver and clean it out. As far as bad digestion, I’ve seen a lot of people helped in their digestion with celery and cabbage juices.

BISER: You mean cabbage juice doesn’t cause gas?

SCHULZE: No. Cabbage is a great cleanser and healer to the digestive tract. I’ve seen a lot of people with ulcers and digestive problems have great results drinking cabbage and celery juice.

Cabbage juice is excellent and I’ve had patients drink about 8 ounces of cabbage juice a day in one-ounce doses. It can be mixed with other juices too. The celery juice works really nice to cool the system, especially with ulcerative conditions.

It’s important with vegetables, but especially fruit, if you’re not getting organic, you need to wash it. Use a little bit of soap and water, good natural soap and even a scrub brush, because most of the sprays and things are put right on the fruit themselves.

Leukemia: A man regenerates his bone marrow with months of juice-fasting

SCHULZE:I had a man with leukemia. He had fairly severe leukemia. He had undergone a couple of different treatments and a couple of shots of chemotherapy. He felt so horrible, he said that death would be better than his experience on the chemotherapy.

He quit chemotherapy and came to me right away. He wanted to do something quite radical and I turned him onto juice fasting. He really got into it.

The first month he didn’t get any better. In fact, some of his blood counts were even worse. Then, he ate a few raw foods, took a break for about a week. Then he went back onto a juice fast and the second month he was stabilizing and some of his blood counts were coming up. Then he went back on some raw foods and health building.

Then we went into the third month of juice fasting – and that’s when we really saw the big changes.

His blood chemistry changed dramatically. He didn’t start really showing cancer changing greatly until the end of the second month and into the third month, but, by the fourth to fifth month, he was clean.

BISER: Why do you think in the first month his blood counts got worse in spite of . .

SCHULZE: Well, I think because he was so sick. He had spent 40 years – he was about 55 years old – but he spent about 40 of those years basically trying to kill himself…

BISER: What do you mean, trying to kill himself?

SCHULZE: Well, you know with his food program, no exercise, high cholesterol, family history…

BISER: You mean the numbers had a downward trend and you couldn’t stop them, right?

SCHULZE: Yes, and a lot of people expect that, the minute they take three herb capsules and stop eating for a day, their disease is going to start to go away.

BISER: What juices did you use to build his blood?

SCHULZE: When people are thinking about building that blood, I like beets and beet greens. So go to your organic market, but make sure you get your greens.

In some studies, I’ve seen the beets and beet greens analyzed. They have three times the iron in the beet greens than in a beet root, and sometimes, I’ve seen it the other way around. But greens are loaded with different minerals than the beets have. Together, they are a perfect food.

The beet and the beet greens, added to the carrot juice, is the one that I use with patients that have had either a lot of blood loss due to surgical trauma, or from cancer, where the body won’t build blood any more.

When you start getting that beet and beet greens in, along with the carrot juice, you see a big change. Now if you want to build the blood, the extra juices to remember, the fruit ones, are the dark blue, red and purple – that would be raspberries, blackberries and blueberries or prunes, plums and cherries – these are all the super blood builders.

They are loaded with iron, and you start getting a blue purple juice, and you start drinking that, and now you have the fruit blood builders.

Getting children to drink healthy juices

BISER: How do you get kids to get on juices for their health?

Juices help thin people to gain weight

BISER: Wouldn’t a juice fast be bad for people who are underweight?

SCHULZE: No – it’s how I brought people’s weight back, even when they had AIDS.

I had a man come to see me that had a complete turnaround and he had a T-cell count which would fluctuate between five and twenty-five, depending on when they took it. That’s about as low as it gets. He had loads of opportunistic AIDS infections. We started him on juice fasting right away.

This is one I want to talk about – because he was quite thin and a lot of people think “I can’t juice fast or I’ll lose weight.” I’ve had people gain weight on juice fasting and this man was one of them.

He started juice fasting and started gaining weight and people asked, “How is that?” It’s very simple. A lot of food that people eat, they can’t assimilate. When you are sick, your digestion, your assimilation, and elimination don’t work very well. But, you start putting juices in your body, and you’ll see the weight come back. This is why I call juices “the natural healers IV.”–it’s like a hospital I.V. naturally. Within a couple of weeks, from juices and the other programs I used, the man’s T-cell count was over a thousand.

BISER: How much weighs did he gain?

SCHULZE:I think he gained about 15 pounds in the first couple of months, and he was mainly on a liquid diet.

BISER: You would think he’d lose twenty-five pounds.

SCHULZE: Absolutely. But now he was getting the nutrition that he couldn’t get, so I think the main thing I’ve really come to see is that juice fasting builds blood, and I believe personally that it turns on the bone marrow.

Fresh citrus juices with their rind are great liver cleansers

SCHULZE: The bitter oils in citrus are big-time liver cleansers. They disinfect and create more bile flow. And you have to get in the rind, which contains pectin. Run that rind through your juicer or your Vita-Mix.
I look at citrus more as kidney and liver cleansing. It’s also very effective for cleaning the blood and joints, like with arthritis.

Removing parasites with fruits

SCHULZE: I remember my first bowel cleanse because I didn’t know about herbs yet. I drank two quarts of apples, freshly squeezed apple juice, and a quart of fresh-made prune juice.

Not only did I have parasites, but I had casing from my colon. I also had all sorts of dark flecks of things of old come out of my bowel. That was my first bowel cleanse.

BlSER: Just from fruit?

SCHULZE: Just from fruit.

BISER: But you took more of it. Most people don’t take enough to cause parasites or anything else to come out.

SCHULZE: No, they don’t. Take two quarts of apple and a quart of prune as your juice for the day on a juice fast and you will notice a dramatic bowel cleanse.

You can also make fig water by just taking figs and putting them in a blender with water. The problem is that a lot of people eat dried prunes and dried figs. They are constipating.

On a juice fast, you should only have the juices that come out of the juicer. You should have no pulp at all. The pulp that’s in most fruit is fiber that’s not digestible. All it does in a juice fast is it might cause your digestive tract to work a little bit more.

BISER: Okay, so a juicer would be slightly preferable.

SCHULZE: Yes, it would. If you’re doing your fast to really shut down your digestive tract and to really put all your body’s energy into healing something, yes— avoid the pulp.

However, if you are using a juice fast to clean your bowel out, you’re better off with the pulp, because it activates the digestive system, and, of course, this will give you bowel movements

The number one mistake people make on a juice fast

BISER: Why do so many people fail to get results on juice-fasting?

SCHULZE: It’s because they don’t cleanse their colon before they do it. Every day, have that bowel flushed out, and a person might want to use herbs for a couple of days and then do it with enemas; see the difference; see what happens and experiment that way.

High enemas are also something to do during a juice fast, to get all the pulp and solid bits out of our system and they work very nice too. But, the main thing is, during a fast you need to have your bowels work every day. They don’t have to work necessarily three times a day.

With some people they’re bowels will work seven times a day, depending on the person, but those who have a tendency towards slower, sluggish, sleepy bowels, they can go on a fast for a week and not have a bowel movement at all, so they don’t want to do that.

Use powdered superfoods during a fast

SCHULZE: Fasting can be even more powerful when people maximize their nutrition. Super nutrition can cause the body to detoxify more by flushing your body with vitamins and minerals, and it can also build your blood faster.

So, I always suggest people add superfoods to their juice fast. Some of the best ones are spirulina and chlorella.

If someone can’t get fresh wheatgrass, you can use wheatgrass powder, barley grass powder and alfalfa grass powder or alfalfa herb. They’re detoxifying, and they have vitamins and minerals. I usually, once a day during a fast, tell people to add some of these particular foods to their fruit smoothie.

Seaweeds are also good. You can get seaweed powders in the health food stores like Dulse or Kelp. I have many patients that have fasted using the nutritional yeast too. I’ve really seen the results when people have done a juice fast on just juices and juice fast using superfood powders.

BISER: You mean they feel a lot better.

SCHULZE: Well, they have a lot more energy when they do it on superfoods – and it can also cause the body to purge and eliminate more. It builds the blood faster.

Heart patients need juice-fasting

BISER: Some people say a heart patient should never do a fast. It would be a strain on the system.

SCHULZE: That’s the first thing a heart patient should Do – a juice-fast. The first thing is to stop eating because 99 percent of the time the heart patient’s blood cells are like mud and their coronary arteries are congested.

When the circulation is that bad, even becoming a vegetarian won’t unclog the blood. You have to do a juice fast to thin the blood back to a healthy state.

BISER: What does it feel like when the blood is thick?

SCHULZE: When you feel very sluggish, you feel – full, bloated, not only in your digestion, but you run two blocks and you’re sweating and you just feel full of fat.

You feel it. You feel like blood doesn’t even want to pump around your body. You are breathing heavy. Then you stop eating – and it’s just the greatest cure for anything, just stop eating. Stop eating food and get the juicer going.

How I helped my heart disease with long fasts

BISER: I know from your beginnings that you weren’t always such a believer in juice fasts?

SCHULZE: Oh no. I took lots of vitamins and mineral pills. I didn’t realize that when you thin your blood, you improve your circulation to every capillary in your body.

So, I did my first fast and didn’t expect much. But when I finished, I felt so much better, I said, “Wow, this is something that is much more powerful than anyone ever told me.”

I remember I did a fast for about a week. Then one for about ten days. Then I thought, okay, “I’m going to do a thirty-day fast and see what happens.”

That was probably the biggest change that I had in my health, and this was early on, when I was living in New York, and I did that thirty-day fast. I think that after the first couple of days, I never felt a heart palpitation from that point on. I never felt my heart dysfunctioning. It was like the missing link in my health program that I hadn’t seen.

Then, about a year later, I did a two-month fast. That one was really life transforming to me. I have barely had a down day since then.

What I suggest to most of my patients is, two or three days fast in the middle of five days of raw foods, once a season. That’s what my five-day program is.
“But to anybody who came to me dying – when you’re dealing with someone who has a life-threatening situation, stop all food. ”
SCHULZE: Many of my patients walked in the door and they had done just about every program under the sun, and sometimes even all at once or almost at once, but they hadn’t really fast.

Many people are afraid to fast. They are afraid of the one treatment that can cure them. We have this old American idea, that we need to have that bacon and eggs breakfast to get us going, and, of course, that’s one of the things that gets us dead. I always called that the heart attack plate.

BISER:I thought before I met you that juices were mainly a feel-good, wellness kind of thing, but not powerful enough for serious diseases.

SCHULZE: Many people feel that way. I myself thought that way – until I started investigating the classic old healers.

BISER: So, this is the therapy that people never do?

SCHULZE: That’s right. Everybody in America, we have this conveyor belt that’s going from the health food store or the herb shop into our mouth, and we think, “Well, it’s chromium and kola nut.”

Or it’s goldenseal. Or it’s garlic. Or it’s cayenne. Or it’s a colonic. We’re all looking for something more, but very few people actually stop eating. The old herbalists didn’t have the juicers. Juicers weren’t a common household item back then. But nowadays – everybody should have a juicer.

Food is the foundation of healing

But doctors are unbelievable. According to them, drugs are the foundation of healing. And according to the health food people, vitamin tablets are. They’re all wrong.

Food is.

by Sam Bisers for Sam Biser’s Newsletter “Herbal Therapy for Serious Illness” featuring medical Herbalist Dr. Richard Schulze.

The post Dr.Schulze Interview – Juice Fasting appeared first on Alternative Complementary Medicine.

Happy new year to everybody. I was tempted. That is bad. I got some candy from Belgium, that looked so good and I ate it. I also wanted to know what reaction would I get if I ate something not raw. I ate few of them and threw other away. It didn’t taste good. I can really feel the difference between dead and living food.

I think I have enough candies for a while. I also got a diarrhea right away and I feel like my sinuses are getting full again. That is a bad sign.

I did not loose any weight, only one kilo maybe. That is a good sign.

Today I ate few bananas and these candies. I will eat only living food, but sometimes I will eat some cooked rice, that I like so much, maybe. It is good to take this process slowly. But I feel stupid when I am paying in the shop and all I have are fruits and veggies.

5. Jan 2006

I lost around 4 kilos and I have been on the diet for over 2 weeks. I still have some fat on my body. My food has run out and I have to go to the shop. I will try to buy a dehydrator or I will dehydrate my food with room temperature. I miss bread and cheese. I can not get any raw cheese here in my country. Just sour milk with the farmers around me. I will probably go to buy some raw milk from the farmers in my city.

I hope they are clean and I will not get any parasites :))). What else. Nothing new. I feel a little better. My chest pain is not severe only minor.

I just mixed some tomato into puree and use as a dip with salt. Then I dip sliced vegetable in it. It is wonderful.

Keep you posted people. I will probably start taking pictures of me and I will post them here.

6. Jan 2006

Wow this is amazing. I was shopping in town and I was happy all the time, no depression, nothing, no sad thing. Also I was full of energy. I was so afraid I was going to loose weight when eating raw and I just have contra wish – TOO LOOSE WEIGHT. I have few extra kilos around my stomach, I want to be slim.

I think that I trained my body to use food resources very smart. And I think my body building years and tae kwon do training helped, so I build some muscles. I am so satisfied with the diet. I am not hungry, do not miss cooked food. Here is the secret. If I wanted pizza or something I would go and get one, but I know it doesn’t taste alive!!!!!

So I do not have any craving for cooked food. Also recipes from internet and knowing that a lot of people are 100 % raw helps very much.

I feel good and before 3 weeks when I started I couldn’t get out of the bed, I was so tired. Also my pain in chest was really alarming and my high pulse (120 bpm when I was walking).

I just get a haircut and I like myself. If I would just loose some weight so my muscles would show :)))

Also in the shop they got organic kiwi, oranges but they were expensive. Also the carrots were organic. But it is more expensive then usual food.

So that is it. I will take some pics of me naked (joke) so I will see how my body is transforming.

See you later alligator :)))))))))))))

Maybe I will go train martial arts again, but I am so out of that scene, because nobody attacks me never, thanks god. Once I fought with 3 large fat village people and it was rough.

10. Jan 2006

Hey another day on raw food. I cheated only once and that was on New years eve with some candies.
I took some pictures of myself and I will post them here.

I had minor problem with teeth, they were chipping off at the top of the tooth. Many people on raw diet had the same problems. Few also lost all of their teeth. It depends on the person but I never had any problems with chipping off the enamel of the tooth. Somebody suggested me to not eat and citruses and to wash my mouth after every meal. I am also brushing teeth after each meal to prevent any acids to melt my enamel.

I think it is fine for now but obviously body is not getting the right minerals so it must take them from teeth. I will probably start to eat raw milk products like goat cheese to preserve my teeth.

26. Jan 2006

Wow, it is great. I failed again J. Yesterday I wanted to eat pizza so I bought one. It was really good veggie pizza. I thought I would have bad reactions but the only thing happened was that today I am more tired and that my sweat smells more. I think that we should not torture our body with raw food if it crave cooked food sometimes. I think I made that mistake 10 years ago when I was 100 % raw for 6 months. Today it is 1 month till I started eating raw again. I cheated 3 times. First with some sweets, then also with sweets and yesterday with pizza.

And also many celebrities are not 100 % raw like Woody Harelson and Carol Alt. So I think we should sometimes listen to our bodies.

I will still eat raw but I will probably sometimes eat something cooked. I think the transformation should be slow.

Also I loose a lot of weight, around 8 kilos in 1 month. I will took some pictures of me again.

I just bought some bio veggies and fruit but are more expensive. I saw bio bananas for the first time. I didn’t know that they use pesticides with banana trees.

The post Raw Food Diary January 2006 appeared first on Alternative Complementary Medicine.

Wow it is one day before Christmas and I am writing this diary. Internet is wonderful thing. I am 30 yo male, smart, beautiful and sick. The last part is the reason I went on a raw diet again. Again?

Yes that is right. I was already on the diet few years ago for 6 month and I quit because of my mother telling me how skinny I was like a skeleton and brainwashing me with these ideas all the time. I was really skinny because of the diet. I weighed only 55 kilos. I lost 20 kilos or something like that.

So now I am trying it again. I have strong heart pain or chest pains and I feel tired all the time. I just came from America, where I eat al the junk food all the time. I really feel sick. I am vegetarian also for already 11 years.

So now I am thinking what is going on. I started the diet 4 days ago and I feel quite good today. Yesterday I had few pains in chest but today I feel good.

These 4 days I ate salad with olive oil, bio apple cider, natural salt, also I ate bananas, oranges, kiwi, nuts, like sesame and almonds and I do not miss the cooked food. Also I didn’t loose any weight yet so this is a miracle. Few years ago when I ate raw I could loose few kilos per day but now I even gained one. I am checking my scale everyday and the kilos are still there. I think my body changed. I hope I will keep the healthy weight.

Also my chest pain are almost gone. My nose is cleared, I used to blow my nose all the time, just blowing and nothing came out, so I never used and paper for that.

SO for now everything is going smoothly. This is my 5th day on 100 % raw and I like it. It is 3 30 am in the morning and I think I have some bananas in the fridge so see you later alligator………….

Weight 90 kilos (still all the weight is here :))
Pulse 80 bpm (my heart is pumping like crazy)

25. December 2005

Hi again. I went to buy new stuff in the shop. I feel I already feel better and I do not loose weight, maybe half of kilo I am not sure. But few years ago I was loosing weight daily when i was on raw diet. Not it is not happening, maybe because I am mostly sitting behind computer.

I ate salad today, carrot and Chinese cabbage plus olive oil, apple cider and salt. Then I ate one mango, few oranges, grapefruit and nothing else. O yeas I ate kaki, I do not know what is the correct word in English.

So everything is going great for now.

Keep you posted, happy Christmas everybody.

27. December 2005

So another day on raw. I do not miss cooked food. I ate today carrot salad with olive oil and vinegar and natural sea salt. Then I ate one avocado, few bananas, oranges etc. I think I can feel pesticides in oranges. We do not have natiral grown fruit here. That is so sad so I can not eat ecological.

But I feel better, I still feel weak in chest with small pain, I hope that is getting better.

29. December 2005

Hi again. I am awake all night working on my computer. Still have chest pain, but slight, I have not loose any weight today. It is amazing. I feel I can easily live on raw food and not to become a skeleton. Maybe the reason is my regular liver flushes and cleanse, so the food can be absorbed more easily. I hope I will reach my goals.

I eat a lot of sesam seeds mixed finely with natural sea salt. It is like gomasio, but gomasio are heated sesam seed and salt.

Today I ate few kiwis, bananas, drink water, didnt eat any salad. I am like sick of salads. I have to get some new recipes, to make smoothies. I have to buy a blender. the one I am making seeds is too small.

The post Raw Food Diary December 2005 appeared first on Alternative Complementary Medicine.

Lasagne

This recipe is best made one day in advance.

This works well with a pan that measures 9.5″ X 13″ X 2″-(3 quarts) {metric
measure: 240 X 345 X 50mm (3 litres)} which will serve 8-10 but pan
size is not important- use any size pan you have, this is just a
guideline.

Ingredients: (per 8-10 servings)
5-6 zucchini
3-4 Cups coarsely chopped Mushrooms (or, thinly slice portobellas or
baby bellas)
6 Cups Spinach, packed, then roughly chopped

“Cheese”
4 Cups Sunflower pate (see recipe below) -made with less garlic, onion and lemon so it is bland. Use water in place of 1/2 of the lemon juice.

Marinara Sauce (see recipe below)

cheesecloth (all cotton for culinary use)

Preparation:
Thinly slice the zucchini the long way. This can be done by hand or with
a mandolin.
Marinate for 1-2 hours in a mixture of olive oil, water and lemon juice.
You will need enough slices to completely cover the bottom of the pan

two times. (you can marinate longer if you want)

Place a double layer of cheesecloth in the pan, with at least 6 inches
of cheesecloth hanging out on all sides.

Assemble the lasagne

Pat dry the marinated zucchini slices. Fit closely together enough
slices to completely cover the bottom of the pan-Don’t forget to lay the
cheesecloth down first, it is important.

Pour over a small amount of the marinara sauce and spread over the
zucchinis (see recipe for Marinara below)

Spread out a layer of mushrooms, (use 1/2 the mushrooms)

Spread a thin layer of pate over the mushrooms (use 1/2 the pate) (it’s
ok to leave it in evenly spaced blobs it is difficult to spread)

Evenly place half of the chopped spinach over the pate and press firmly
into place

Repeat the steps:

Zucchini slices
1/2 of the remaining marinara sauce
the remaining mushrooms
the remaining pate
the remaining spinach-press in to the pate
The remaining marinara- you can also add some chopped tomato and

slivered basil to the top

Cover tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate.

Serving the lasagne:

The vegetables and pate will have given off a great deal of liquid
overnight in the refrigerator. Using the ends of the cheesecloth,
carefully lift out the lasagne (it may take 2 people). Drain the lasagne
for a few moments (hold it up and allow to drip or run your hand over

the bottom)-then either place it in a new pan or have someone quickly
pour off the liquid and dry the pan and put the lasagne back in. Slice
and Serve.

Marinara Sauce

(This is a rough description, you add ingredients to your taste)
To serve 8-16 (Makes a full blender container of sauce)

2-3 cups Sun Dried tomatoes, soaked in water for 2 hours (not oil packed, buy dried sun dried tomatoes)
8-10 fresh Tomatoes
Parsley
onion
garlic

fresh basil
oregano
sea salt
olive oil

If making this marinara sauce to use on zucchini ‘pasta’ that has been tossed in pesto sauce, this will make more than enough for 8 people as an entrée, and 16 people as a side dish.

For lasagna, a blender full of marinara should be just enough for one large lasagna, but have enough ingredients on hand to make a bit more sauce if you need to.

Cut up and blend the tomatoes in a blender. You should have approximately 3 cups of pureed tomato. Drain the sun dried tomatoes (save the liquid to thin the sauce later if you need to) and add enough of them to the tomato puree until the mixture is quite thick. Add the following to your liking: garlic, onion, a little olive oil, parsley, fresh basil, sea salt, oregano. (Add any other ingredients that you like in a tomato or marinara sauce, cut up olives would be nice.)

Faux Salmon (or Mock Tuna)

This attractive dish resembles salmon casserole. But we know it’s not!

Adding more kelp, dulse or any other sea veggies that you have on hand
will increase the seafood flavor. For fun, press into a mold and unmold
onto a platter, surrounded with kale and parsley, topped with almonds or
olives. This dish is elegant served with warmed Mushroom Gravy.
For a luncheon or brunch this recipe is lovely served in a scooped out
tomato.

2 cups almonds, soaked 8-10 hours
2 whole carrots
1/2 cup coarsely chopped red onion
1 1/2 cups finely minced celery
1/2 cup minced parsley
1/4 cup minced shallot or scallion

1/4 cup lemon juice
2 teaspoons kelp powder
1 teaspoon dulse powder or granules
1 tablespoon liquid amino’s , 2 teaspoons nama shoyu or 1 teaspoon sea
salt

Soak almonds 8-12 hours, drain, rinse and drain again. Put the almonds,

carrots and onions through the heavy-duty juicer, using the blank
screen. Place mixture in a large bowl, add celery, parsley, shallots,
lemon juice, kelp, dulse, liquid amino’s or sea salt and stir thoroughly.
Shape into a mold or place in a pie crust. Or shape free hand like a
fish. Keeps several days, covered, in the refrigerator. Serves 4-6.

Julienne of Carrot , Zucchini and Red Pepper

Although you can julienne by hand, using a mandoline will result in a
more attractive looking dish.

2 carrots, julienne
1 zucchini, julienne
1 red pepper, julienne

Cranberry Sauce

(This recipe is not in The Raw Gourmet book)

Double or triple this recipe for a crowd
1 12 ounce package fresh cranberries, washed well
1 or 2 oranges, peeled
optional : 1 teaspoon orange zest (finely grated orange peel, just the orange part, grate prior to cutting oranges

Dates: to taste, start with four.

In a blender place cranberries and cut up oranges, blend until chunky. Then add four dates, blend. Taste, continue to add dates and blend until sweet enough for your taste. Can be made 2-3 days in advance.

Orange Tahini Dressing

A delightful light dressing that only takes a few minutes to make. Its
simplicity invites variation. Try adding 1 teaspoon chopped ginger and 1-2

teaspoons tamari. Or, add 2 teaspoons poppy seeds and 1/4 teaspoon
Chinese 5 spice powder.

2 tablespoons tahini
1/2 cup fresh orange juice
pinch sea salt
1 teaspoon grated ginger

1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon dulse flakes
1/8 teaspoon curry powder

In bowl, add orange juice gradually to tahini, stirring after each
addition. Add salt. Dressing tastes fine as is, or add spices to taste.
Yields approximately 1/2 cup.

Pressed Red Cabbage Caraway Slaw

This is a highly flavored and impressive dish. If you enjoy this, try
the same method with Asian sauce and experiment with different
vegetables. This dish will keep for 4-5 days in the refrigerator.

6 cups thinly sliced red cabbage (about 1/2 large cabbage)
1 large onion, sliced very thin
1 teaspoon sea salt

1 tablespoon caraway seeds
2 teaspoons Liquid amino’s, or nama shoyu or additional sea salt

Place vegetables in bowl. Sprinkle the sea salt, caraway seeds and
Liquid amino’s evenly over vegetables. With your hands, knead and toss
the salad, crushing the vegetables in your hands for 5-6 minutes. Serves
4-6

Sunflower Pate

3 cups sunflower seeds, soaked 8-12 hours. Sprouted for 2-4 hours
1 cup fresh squeezed lemon juice
1/2 cup chopped scallions
1/4-1/2 cup raw tahini
1/4 cup liquid amino’s, or 2 tablespoons nama shoyu, or pinch of sea

salt with add’l water, or none at all
2-4 slices red onion, cut in chunks
4-6 tablespoons coarsely chopped parsley
2-3 medium cloves garlic, coarsley chopped
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper (or more to taste)

Soak sunflower seeds 8-12 hours, drain, allow to sprout for 3-4 hours (leave

out on counter) then thoroughly rinse and drain removing as many of the
thin inner husks that float to the top as possible. In a food processor,
process the sunflower seeds, lemon juice, scallions, tahini, liquid
amino’s, onion, parsley, garlic and cayenne until the mixture is a
smooth paste.

When thoroughly blended taste and adjust the seasoning. The pate will

develop a stronger garlic taste in a few hours. Yields a large mixing
bowl of pate. (approximately 8 cups)

Parsnip-Avocado Soup
(from The Little Book of Raw Soups by Nomi Shannon, Free with purchase from the author of The Raw Gourmet book)

1 large parsnip, grated (unless using a K-tec or Vitamix then you can

just cut it up)
1/2 water or celery juice
1 large stalk peeled celery, cut up
1/4 avocado
2 teaspoons flaxseed oil
squeeze of lemon juice (optional)

1/2 teaspoon sea salt (optional)

In a blender blend parsnip and liquid until smooth. Add remaining
ingredients, blend until smooth.

Carrot Cake
(This recipe calls for both a juicer with blank screen and a food processor)

Carrot Cake and Frosting

This yummy recipe yields 8 cups, or 10-16 servings, one small piece goes a long way! Can be made one or two days in advance and kept refrigerated. The malleable consistency of this carrot cake will allow you to make it into any shape. Make a traditional looking 2 layer round cake with frosting between layers, or get creative and shape it into the form or a Christmas tree or star, on a large platter.

Frosting

2 cups unsoaked cashews
8-13 medjool dates pitted (not soaked)
vanilla

In blender blend cashews with enough water to allow blender to run. When smooth, add in dates until sweet enough. Add in vanilla.

Carrot Cake

1/2 cup raisins, soaked 20 minutes, reserve liquid
1/2 cup dried apricots, soaked 20 minutes
2 cups pecans or walnuts

2 tablespoons pine nuts
1 1/2 cups coconut (dried, unsweetened, shredded)
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon Chinese 5 spice powder
1/2 teaspoon garam masala or cinnamon
optional pinch of clove

optional pinch of nutmeg
6 cups carrot pulp-
1 1/2 cups date pieces or chopped dates-pit and roughly chop dates

Food processor: combine pecans and pine nuts. Process until uniformly fine. Add coconut, pulse until mixed in. Add spices, pulse until mixed, set aside.

Juicer: (use blank) alternate putting carrot pulp, raisins, apricots and dates through. Knead until mixture is evenly combined. Add in nut mixture a little at a time, kneading it in.

Line 2 round cake pans with saran wrap (you may have to oil the pans first).

Put mixture in pans, pack in. Refrigerate until ready to frost.

HAVE ATTRACTIVE PLATE AVAILABLE

Mango-Lime Parfait

A soft, cool and smooth dessert. For a strong citrus flavor, add one
whole peeled lemon or lime to the blender, along with the lemon or lime
juice called for in the recipe. This will result in a tart citrus-y
dessert, much like lemon or lime pie. Before adding the dates, taste the
mango mixture, you may not want to add too many if the mangoes are

already sweet.

Almond maple crust mixture (set aside in a bowl) – recipe below
4 cups coarsely chopped mango (about 5 mangoes)
1 cup lime juice (or lemon juice)
1 teaspoon of lime (or lemon) zest
4-8 dates, pitted and chopped

In a blender, place mango pieces and blend until smooth. Add lime juice,
zest and dates and process until smooth. Be patient. Mango is a very
fibrous fruit and you want to achieve smooth, pudding-like results.

In a parfait or wine glass, layer the crust mixture and the mango lime
mixture. Start with some crust mixture in the bottom of the glass, then
mango mixture, a bit of crust mixture and so on, ending with crust
mixture on top. Yield: 4 glasses of parfait.

Variation: substitute papaya or persimmon

Variation: Add another layer, made up of thinly sliced Kiwi fruit or
strawberries.

Basic Almond Maple Crust

This is a delicate crust that is good for soft fillings or frozen pies
because it doesn’t overwhelm the subtle taste or texture of the filling.

Because the fillings are very rich, this crust is designed to fit a
round 1 layer cake pan, or a shallow pie tin.

1-2 cups almonds, soaked 8-12 hours
3-4 teaspoons maple syrup

Soak almonds 8-12 hours, drain, rinse then drain again. Put nuts briefly
(30 minutes) in the sun or dehydrator (30-60 minutes) to dry off, or
dry them off with a towel. In food processor, process almonds until

uniformly very fine. Gradually add the maple syrup, only enough until
the almond meal holds together. Sprinkle and then gently press the crust
into the bottom and sides of pie plate. Don’t worry about getting the
crust all the way up the sides.

Note: This is a very thin crust. If you want a thicker crust, increase
the amounts in the recipe.

The above recipes are from: The Raw Gourmet: Simple recipes for living well by Nomi Shannon (Alive Books ©1999). All rights reserved.

The post Living Food Recipes appeared first on Alternative Complementary Medicine.

“Raw food vegetarians believe in eating only plant-derived foods that have not been cooked, processed, or otherwise altered from their natural state,” Fontana’s team wrote in this week’s issue of the Archives of Internal medicine.

Low BMI and body fat content
“Because of their low calorie and low protein intake, raw food vegetarians have a low body mass index (BMI) and a low total body fat content. It is well documented that a low BMI and weight loss are strongly associated with low bone mass and increased fracture risk, while obesity protects against osteoporosis.”

Fontana’s team studied 18 strict raw food vegans aged 33 to 85. All ate a diet that included unprepared foods such vegetables, fruits, nuts, and sprouted grains. They had been on this diet for an average of 3.6 years.

The team compared them to 18 more average Americans. The raw food group had an average body mass index of 20.5, while the average group were slightly overweight with a BMI of 25.

BMI is an internationally accepted measurement of height to weight, and a BMI of 18.5 to 24 is considered the healthy range.

Higher levels of vitamin D
Fontana expected the vegans to have low vitamin D levels because they avoid all animal products including dairy. But in fact their vitamin D levels were “markedly higher” than average.

Vitamin D is made by the skin when the body is exposed to sunlight and is key to keeping strong bones. It is added to milk and other foods because it is so important.

“These people are clever enough to expose themselves to sunlight to increase their concentrations of vitamin D,” Fontana said.

And the vegans had low levels of C-reactive protein, an inflammatory molecule that is becoming linked with the risk of heart disease, diabetes and other chronic disease.

Furthermore, they had lower levels of IGF-1, a growth factor linked to risk of breast and prostate cancer.

Fontana does not advocate a raw food diet. But he said that to lower the risk of cancer and heart disease people should eat more fruits, vegetables and whole grains.

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Within weeks of replacing her usual meal choices with uncooked and unprocessed organic vegetables, fruits and nuts, she says her headaches disappeared, her mood improved and her sinuses cleared up. She stopped drinking Scotch-and-coffee and has stuck to the raw foods diet ever since. “In more than eight and a half years, I have not gotten sick, and I have not put any over-the-counter medicines into my body,” says Alt, now 44. “ I am actually in better shape now than I was at 34.”

Alt touts the benefits of the raw-foods diet in her book, “Eating in the Raw: A Beginner’s Guide to Getting Slimmer, Feeling Healthier, and Looking Younger the Raw-Food Way,” published by Clarkson Potter earlier this year. But the former cover girl is just the latest in a long line of celebrities to embrace the raw-food regimen.

Once associated with hippies and health fanatics, the movement has slowly meandered into the mainstream, thanks in part to growing concerns about obesity, the endorsements of telegenic actors like Woody Harrelson, who published a 400-page book called “Living Cuisine” a little over a year ago and celebrity chefs who have begun incorporating raw foods into their regular menus. Well-known chefs Charlie Trotter, whose eponymous upscale restaurant in Chicago offers raw-food options, and Roxanne Klein have even coauthored a gourmet recipe book called “Raw.”

“The raw-foods movement became big because they got some great chefs making great foods,” says Dr. Joel Fuhrman, a family physician in New Jersey and author of “Eat to Live: The Revolutionary Formula for Fast and Sustained Weight Loss.” Still, Fuhrman, who advocates a vegetable-based diet, thinks an all-raw diet is too restrictive. “I teach people the value of having lots of raw food, but not that you should be 100 percent raw,” he says. “Cooked food is not poisonous. It’s the diet most Americans eat now, with all those processed foods, that’s poisonous.”

He points out that while more nutrients are usually available in foods that aren’t heated or highly processed, there are some nutrients that are actually better absorbed in food that’s been cooked. The best sources of the antioxidant lycopene, which has been shown to reduce the risk of prostate and lung cancer in studies, are cooked tomato products like spaghetti sauce and tomato paste. Similarly, the body’s ability to absorb beta carotene, another antioxidant that can protect against cancer and is found in carrots (among other sources), increases when the vegetable is cooked.

Doctors and dieticians also worry that limiting food choices can lead to nutritional deficiencies over the long run. A study published in the current issue of the journal Archives of Internal Medicine found that vegetarians who eat only raw plant-derived foods have abnormally low bone mass, which is usually an early indicator of bone-thinning diseases like osteoporosis. Doctors warn pregnant women, children and anyone with immune deficiencies in particular against following a raw-foods-only diet.

Raw-food proponents contend that the process of cooking (at least anything above 118 degrees) destroys, or degrades, the digestive enzymes found in many foods. But nutritionists say our bodies have natural digestive enzymes already. “The whole issue about heat sensitivity and destroying vitamins when you cook foods is more of a myth than people realize,” says Dr. Christine Gerbstadt, a doctor and registered dietician in Pennsylvania and spokesperson for the American Dietetic Association.

She prefers the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s 2005 dietary guidelines instead. Fill half your plate with raw fruits and vegetables, she says, but split the other half between grains and a protein source like lean chicken or fish. “I have to go with the science that went into establishing those guidelines,” says Gerbstadt. “There are so many health benefits from [following] them, and so much research behind them.”

Even raw-foodists admit that sticking to an exclusive raw-food diet can be difficult. Alt’s book suggests that readers just try to make sure that 70 percent to 75 percent of their daily diet is composed of raw food. David Wolfe, the author of “Eating For Beauty” and “The Sunfood Diet Success System,” stopped eating anything cooked or processed 11 years ago. But he says it can sometimes be a challenge to find food that qualifies. He recalls one memorable late-night trip to Denny’s with friends. “I looked at the menu and there was nothing for me to eat but a plate of parsley,” he says, laughing. “But it turns out, parsley is really nutritious.”

Still, Wolfe–whose diet now consists largely of fruit smoothies, fresh vegetable juices and the occasional handful of pumpkin seeds–says the benefits of adhering to the diet far outweigh any inconveniences. (He recommends bringing an avocado along in your bag when you’re going to a restaurant that may not have many raw-food options.) “Clear skin … clear thinking, improved digestion,” he says, ticking off the changes he noticed after making the switch. “People after lunch these days, they are still out to lunch. Their heads are not clear, and they have no energy because their bodies are working so hard to digest their food. I never experience that anymore. I’m supercharged with energy.”

Wolfe prefers to call his eating plan “sensual nutrition,” rather than restrictive. “There’s such an erotic and beauty side to these foods,” he says. “They’re alive, and the colors are bright and vibrant.”

The aesthetic appeal of raw foods is not lost on chefs. The recipe book by Trotter and Klein includes sensuous descriptions of “the erotic gooeyness” of honeycomb and “the elegant crispiness” of thyme spouts. Trotter, who has described eating raw food as “a very vital, extraordinary way to approach food,” has also offered special raw-food tasting menus at his restaurant. And award-winning New York chef Matthew Kenney has garnered rave reviews for dishes like tomato and zucchini “lasagna” and tomato tartare at his raw-food-only restaurant, Pure Food & Wine, which opened last year.

Ultimately, though, most adherents are attracted to raw foods for the health benefits, not the taste. And even raw-food purists like Wolfe say most people can experience the benefits of raw foods while enjoying some cooked cuisine. “Even a diet that is 70 to 80 percent raw will give people so many health benefits,” he says, “that they may not need to go further.”

© 2005 Newsweek, Inc.

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