Why would you consider getting a colonic as a part of your detoxify program

38. Why would you consider getting a colonic as a part of your detoxify program?

Approximately two million people in this country have colon problems such as colitis, ileitis, and diverticulitis.  A colonic, or colon hydrotherapy, is a cleansing of the colon using a warm water flush that lasts about 45 minutes per session along with 15 gallons of water. The primary purpose of the colonic is the rid the body of waster through a series of muscular contractions known as “peristalsis.”  This colonic cleansing removes toxic waste that has been left in the colon, which would have been reabsorbed into the bloodstream resulting in illness or disease.

I would consider cleansing of the bowels essential to improved health. Over the years most of us have developed toxics in our body due to improper eating habits, environmental pollution, medications, recreational practices and anything else associated with our lifestyle. What is lining our colon due to this is impacted dried mucus, which forms a wall similar to plastic lining on the inside of the bowels.  Our bloodstream picks up any and all toxic particles, which will eventually seep into our blood through this colon if left unattended.

The toxic colon is the primary cause of disease and death, degeneration, aging and premature death of individuals who died only because of a toxic colon that inhibited digestion and normal bowel movements. Many didn’t even realize that there were such a thing or they had the option to cleanse it.  But due to our lifestyles, we have about 10 to 25 pounds of dried fecal matter in the intestine. This fecal matter causes body imbalances and eventual death.

For Excellent Food Therapy

37. You can get plenty of calcium from green leafy vegetables; cow’s milk isn’t the best for your body..

For excellent food therapy, calcium derived from dairy products, leafy greens, some nuts, and any UK Centre for Living Foods, said, “The chemical composition of chlorophyll and blood is very similar which further facilitates this uptake.”

calcium-fortified products are much better than through supplements.  If the body assimilates more than the needed intake of calcium, it will flush out what it doesn’t need.  Calcium is important for building bones but organic calcium does the job better than the inorganic calcium does in the form of supplements.  A juice made from fresh green leafy vegetables and fruits maximize this intake of calcium. The chlorophyll that is found in green plants and vegetables contains magnesium, which is very important in the “uptake” of calcium. Elaine Bruce, experienced naturopath, homeopathic and director of the

All vitamins and minerals work together as a unit. A synergistic combination of two or more vitamins is used together to form a stronger unison. But this type of unisons can work against each other. When we take antibiotics for infections and illnesses, we reduce greatly the Vitamin C absorption within the body, which protects against infection itself.  The National Institutes of Health recommend the dosage of calcium per day as 1,000 to 1,500 mg.  If calcium carbonate is taken instead of calcium, it contains only 40% calcium; a 1,500 mg tablet of it provides only 600 mg of calcium.

Cow’s milk is not as good for the body as we have been led to believe. Its protein content is extremely high and creates acidic residue. By continuing large amounts of milk, or acidic food consumption, a loss of alkaline minerals will develop from the bones. By losing these minerals, bones will become weak and prone to fractures.

Eating foods that are hard to digest

36. Eating foods that are hard to digest

Even if we are not sick and look healthy, we may not be getting enough adequate nutrition.  We can improve our state of health by simply knowing what nutrition we need. Nutrition is about what the food is all about, the amount we need, its function, and the basic materials we need for our body in order for it to continue on with its daily activities.  By knowing how to take care of our body through nutrition, we can maintain its high performance levels instead of being unable to because of the low levels.

When we eat meals, it is important to understand that we should not mix raw food with cooked food, as this will produce acid in the stomach. This acid does not mix well with the raw food and will create indigestion. Another thing to think about is when eating raw fruits and vegetables, we should try to stay with organic foods due to the amount of pesticides that are usually on the non-organic foods.

Foods in different categories that are mixed together can cause an imbalance in the body. For example: when we eat a meal high in both fats and simple carbohydrates, we become tired and exhausted while we develop muddled thinking. The reason is our tissue is not receiving enough oxygen.  Carbohydrates are simple and complex: simple carbohydrates should be totally eliminated while complex ones are very beneficial for us. Fresh fruits and vegetables produce elimination while vitamin D milk and cheese counter it. When we send mixed messages to our body because of our lack of knowledge about its nutrition, it causes disorder and disease.

When we go for periods of time in-between meals, the body becomes very active and more alert when food is not consumed.  It is believed that three hours or more is adequate between meals before another meal should be eaten. 

Great foods that pass through body quickly and easily

35. Great foods that pass through body quickly and easily

There are certain types of foods that are eliminated by the body quicker than others. These are unprocessed foods containing adequate fiber in foods such as fresh fruits, fresh vegetables, and whole grains. If these types of food would be consumed more, bodily conditions of diseases, constipation and other bowel complications would be avoided. 

When foods types like beans, peas, green vegetables, fresh fruits of all types, whole grain breads, and cereals are eaten, an easily managed mass of residue is easily passed through the intestines. The time frame of 72 hours or less is normal for the remains of the consumed foods to pass through the bowels with elimination of four to six hours for extremely healthy people. This short time span is easier on the gastrointestinal tract than the consumption of white flour and sugar foods that are low fiber residue.

The body becomes more active and alert when the body does not consume food for a period of time.  It is believed that three hours or more is adequate between meals before another meal should be eaten.  Of course, this varies on the type of meal that is eaten, what types of food, and how much is eaten.

It is also a natural tendency of the human body to rest while it is digesting food: ten minutes before consuming a meal and half-an-hour after consuming the meal is thought to be the most beneficial.  The largest meal of the day should be eaten around noon as the body’s physiological capacities are at their peak during this time.  This would be a problem in today’s world as after the meal, lying down for about half-an-hour may present a problem.  So, many individuals eat their largest meal after work or at the end of the day when they can relax at leisure.

Why this is not a fad diet

34.              Final note:  why this is not a fad diet?  Humans have been eating fresh fruit, vegetables, and nuts 10-50,000 yrs or more b4 we discovered fire, tools and implement to kill animals.

Eating raw fruits and vegetables isn’t the new fad diet, or the new South Beach Diet.  Believe it or not, humans have been eating this way long before they were eating processed junky foods.  We didn’t have access to most types of foods.  We were scavengers, picking fruits and eating vegetables were a delicacy.  Nuts were also eaten for protein.  It was either that or starve.  Humans ate these fruits as is, no additives, no cooking.  One and a half million years ago we learned how to cook.  So for a half million years we ate the food raw, as it was intended.  We are the only animals on the planet that cook their food.  Eating meat doubled the caloric intake of man, which made it easier to hunt and have enough energy to do what needs to be done. 

Today, we have access to every type of food we want at our fingertips.  We can order Oolong tea (which must be handpicked on cliffs in china) from the internet.  You would think that since we have come this far, we would be super human, so healthy we would be living 500 years.  No so unfortunately.  In fact, in some ways we actually have worse health now.  Some of us are developing cancers at an early age.  Some of us are dying of heart disease or obesity.  We are not eating correctly.  We are stuffing our face with hydrogenated oils, fake products, high sodium and sugary foods.  It is simply disgusting.  We are gaining weight at an alarming rate and looking horribly.  It shows in the skin, sags of fat, sluggish attitude, depressed look, lack of sexual drive, etc.  I wonder how long we would live if we adapted the diet of the Japanese. 

What people need to realize is that eating fat free or sugar free foods isn’t going to help.  It isn’t going to help if you stuff your face with snack wells instead of Oreo’s.  What will help is to completely change what you eat.  Remember, you are what you eat, so eat the right things and it will show in your body, mind and spirit.

Can You Feed Your Children Raw Food

31.    Can you feed your children raw food?

Every mother wants the best for her child.  You want your child to look healthy, grow proportionately, feel energized and have a great immune system.  So, why do most parents in America feed their children junk food by the time they start eating table food?  Why do most restaurants serve French fries or macaroni and cheese for side orders and not steamed broccoli?  It is really a sad situation to watch young children who are obese.  Even schools offer peanut butter and jelly or ice cream for lunch. 

To ensure that your child is eating correctly you must feed them plenty of fruits and vegetables.  But the trick is to make it delicious and fun.  For instance, for breakfast, arrange a platter of fruit, oranges, grapefruit, bananas, strawberries, blueberries, they will love it!  Make faces out of the fruit.  Have them drink only water and no sugar 100% fruit juice that you juice yourself.  Get them used to eating vegetables that are uncooked.  Whenever they get hungry, offer small baby carrots, or celery, they will grow to love the taste just the way it is.  You can introduce a new vegetable each week and learn how to hide it into your food.  For instance, chop up Portobello mushrooms in a chopper and add it to your pasta sauce and watch them gobble it up, barely noticing the mushrooms.  Make blanched broccoli (plain) and eat that for dinner.  If they see you eating healthy, they will learn early on to eat that way.  Do not let them eat packaged foods, such as macaroni and cheese, or fried chicken fingers, or anything fried for that matter.  Make sure that they eat vegetables at every meal and be careful when you go out to eat. 

Offer natural desserts that you have made at home, such as homemade sorbet, or fruit smoothie, or peach cobbler pie (all natural).  Stay away from cakes, cookies, etc that have preservatives and other unnatural flavorings.  Make it yourself and offer it occasionally.  You will find that they watch you and what you eat and if you incorporate a much healthier menu, so will they. 

The best part of raising your children to learn to love fruits and vegetables is that you will notice that they will turn down junk food when you are not around.  At that point you will know that you have done your part in raising healthy adults.

Detoxification

Detoxification

When you think about it, we’re surrounded by many forms of toxins.  From the bottle of “improved and stronger” multipurpose cleaning we bought to clean our home with, to the higher levels of toxins in our water supply, poisons envelop our world.  Not only do we clean with them, we ingest, breathe in, and absorb the toxins contained in our food supply and environment.  It’s no wonder that our health suffers as a result.  Diseases like cancer, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, respiratory problems, and skin disorders abound, all of which can be related to toxicity. 

The burden that toxins carry can also become our burden as well.  A toxic body is sluggish, lethargic, and listless. We’ve all found ourselves wishing at one time or another, if not daily, for increased energy levels, the ability to think clearly and make sound decisions, and a way to stop suffering from headaches, aches, pains, and digestive and breathing difficulties. 

The process of detoxification can help clear those toxins from our body’s cells, and put us on the path of healing from the inside out.  Detoxification involves a whole host of lifestyle and dietary changes. It includes avoiding both environmental and food toxins, eliminating refined foods and sugars, caffeine, tobacco, alcohol and drugs, and introducing purified drinking water, increasing fiber intake and increasing daily exercise.  By taking these steps, our body can begin the process of purging the poisons from our systems, which will in turn increase energy and mental capacities, relieve lethargy, pain and stress, and improve digestive and respiratory functionality.  Once those things begin to happen, our body is more able to do the job it was designed to do.  Increased energy, a more positive outlook, more stable blood glucose and blood pressure can all be a direct result from purging the poisons from the body.  

Detoxification Hurdle to Pleasurable State

Detoxification Hurdle to Pleasurable State

The process of detoxifying our bodies results in the purging of harmful environmental and chemical poisons from our body. The buildup of these toxins can overwhelm the body’s capacity to detoxify and may lead to such problems as hormonal imbalances, nutritional deficiencies, inefficient metabolism, and digestive and respiratory disorders.  Those who utilize the detoxification process often find it can result in improved energy levels, mental capacity, skin tone and clarity, digestion, metabolism, and breathing while decreasing joint pain, body aches and headaches, constipation, anxiety, irritability, and aiding in weight loss.

Though the end results of detoxification are very beneficial, the actual process of detoxifying can be difficult.  Headaches, nausea, and diarrhea can result as the toxins exit the body.  It’s important to keep in mind that, even though you’re doing a good thing for your body by detoxifying it, you may even develop a cold or flu-like symptoms as your body works to purge the germs and poisons from the cells.  Skin breakouts, anxiety, irritability and lethargy can also occur. 

The healthier a person is when beginning the detoxification program, the lesser and fewer these symptoms will be.  If the body has a great deal to purge, the process will be harder on the body.  If the process is a huge change from the previous lifestyle, these side effects might be more pronounced. 

Don’t interrupt the detoxification process by taking any type of drug to relieve these symptoms. They are a natural side effect of the process. Try instead to get some rest and focus on the end result. Try treating yourself extra special during this time.  Sit down and enjoy a good book, meditate, or even write in your journal about your detoxification experiences, so that during your next one, you can reflect back and remind yourself that what you went through was a natural occurrence, and also how wonderful you felt when the detoxification process was complete. 

Are Children Getting The Nutrition They Need

32.    How can you be sure your children are getting the nutrition they need?

Most parents would worry that if they keep their children from eating those fatty foods that they love, and only offer vegetables, that the children will starve, or have nutritional deficiencies.  These parents feel that the kids will just not eat the food.  If you think about it this way, how much nutrients are they receiving from the fatty, processed foods now?  If their diet consists of French fries, mashed potatoes, apple sauce, chocolate pudding, and maybe chicken fingers, how could it be worse if you only offer fruits and vegetables?  Sure, maybe they will demand to have the foods they like, and not eat.  They will eventually get hungry and if you keep offering fruits and vegetables and do not give in, you will see that they will begin to enjoy it, especially if they see everyone else in the family eating healthier.

Incorporate bean soups, such as yummy lentil soup and if that doesn’t work make your lentil soup into a “lentil burger”.  You may have to gradually change their eating styles.  Try making fresh bean and/or vegetable soups with some cheese sprinkled on it.  Make sure it is tasty, and not too spicy.  Make homemade pancakes with wheat and only sweeten it with pure raw honey.  Make fruit shakes and throw in a carrot or romaine lettuce. Make tasty salads with homemade dressings….and also make faces out of the tomatoes and cucumbers and carrots.  Make tasty salmon and have them try it. 

There are so many possibilities and recipes that you can try.  Do not give up on your child because they have shown a dislike for a vegetable or fruit.  Just eat it around them and watch them ask you for a piece.  Keep offering it to them at dinnertime and ask them to eat a couple of bites. 

If children eat plenty of fruits and green leafy vegetables, they are also getting their calcium requirements.  But you could also include some almond milk or rice milk if you want.

The focus is to keep introducing them to new foods so that they develop a taste for natural foods that we as humans were meant to eat.

New Raw Food Recipes

New Raw Food Recipes

Since you’ve been eating raw foods and changing your lifestyle, you’re feeling better, finding you have more energy, and are purging the toxins from your system. You’re also rediscovering the wonderful flavors that raw foods possess, as well as learning about the benefits the raw enzymes have on your health. And summer provides the perfect opportunity to expand your taste buds and try all sorts of wonderful new produce options you’d never dared explore before.

Don’t let your new-found inspiration and energy get lost once you set foot in the kitchen because you’ve run out of new and exciting raw food meal options.  Try some of these fresh ideas to and some zing back to your mealtime and continue down the raw food path to improved health, energy and happiness.

Sunflower Seed Sour Cream

1 cup sunflower seeds

1 cup water

4 tbsp. lemon juice

1 garlic clove, pressed

¾ tsp onion powder

¾ tsp salt

Blend all ingredients together in a food processor or blender until smooth.  If consistency is too thick, you can simply add a bit more water. (Adding a bit more lemon juice will give it an added zing.) Garlic and onion powder can be increased for your taste preferences.

Portobello Sandwich

1 Portobello mushroom, sliced about ½ inch thick

1 cup vegetable broth

Dijon mustard

2 slices sprouted multi-grain bread

1 Holland Tomato, sliced

¼ avocado, sliced

¼ cup baby lettuce

Cook the sliced mushrooms in the vegetable broth until they are semi soft and cooked through.  Place the desired amount of mustard on 1 slice of bread.  Layer the tomato slices, mushrooms, avocado, and lettuce.  Top with the mushrooms and the other slice of bread.  Cut in half and enjoy!  See some raw foods are barely cooked.

Raw Curry Cantaloupe Soup

1 cantaloupe

½ teaspoon cinnamon

½ teaspoon nutmeg

½ teaspoon garam masala

½ teaspoon curry powder

Combine and blend all ingredients until smooth.  Serve well chilled.

So hit your local farmer’s markets, visit those roadside produce stands, or maybe even enjoy the fruits of your own hard labors and raid the garden and spice up the summer with some cool new twists on some of your favorite produce. 

Eating “Raw” Triggers Detoxification

Cleaning is an every day part of our lives.  If we’re not cleaning the house, we’re doing laundry, cleaning the car, cleaning out the garage or attic, or clearing our desk of the never-ending piles of bills, junk mail, and coupons we accumulate.  

For the computer-savvy, cleaning is even an every day process in order to maintain an optimally-running, reliable and safe system. We even clean the outside of our bodies in some form or fashion on a daily basis, from showering to teeth brushing. So, if cleaning is such a healthy part of our every day lives, logic would dictate we should do the same for the inside of our body as well.

Detoxification and tissue cleansing is the process of purging environmental and chemical toxins from your body.  Such toxins can disrupt every system in your body.  

If our body is polluted with such toxins, its own detoxification system – namely the liver, lungs, skin, kidneys and lymphatic system – cannot work properly, and these unruly poisons set up shop in every cell of our body, and soon begin to wreak havoc with our physical, mental and emotional well-being.  

These contaminants can create such problems as lethargy, foggy thinking, unhealthy skin, decreased vision, mood swings, and digestive disorders. 


However, by adopting a lifestyle including eating healthy raw foods, our body can conduct its own ‘spring cleaning.’ And contrary to what most might think, raw foods are actually more easily digestible than cooked foods are. 

It also enables the digestive system to ‘clean house’ and begin the process of purging the dangerous environmental and chemical toxins from the cells of the body, thereby restoring the systems to their optimal states.  

In addition, since raw foods are so nutrient-dense, they also simultaneously provide the body with much-needed and missed nutrients, vitamins and minerals it needs in order to continually perform on an ongoing basis.  

Raw Food Diet Isn't Really a DIET

Our busy lives can sometimes make it difficult to stick to our dieting plans when we’re trying to lose weight.  We’re either keeping track of our fat intake, our sugar intake, our carbohydrate intake, or our caloric intake.  With all that counting, it’s no wonder most of us become discouraged and ‘fall off the dieting wagon.’  Add to that the surplus of convenient diet foods that are out there that are chock-full of preservatives and additives that we choose when we’re tired from a busy day and don’t have the energy or time to prepare a nutritious meal, and we’re headed down a wrong-way street trying to navigate our way through our weight-loss journey.

Enter the raw foods lifestyle. Not only are raw foods full of the nutrients, vitamins and minerals our bodies need to perform optimally, they provide enzymes for proper digestion, and will also result in the purging of toxins and the cleansing of your body systems.  The best part?  You can eat as many fruits and vegetables as you like….and you will lose weight.

In addition, the natural high fiber content of most raw foods will help you feel fuller, thereby reducing your food intake. They’ll assist in turning up the thermostat in your body, helping to melt away that excess weight and nourishing your body’s cells to continue with the fat-burning process.  Most raw foods are naturally low in calories, and obviously much lower in calories, fats, sugars, and carbohydrates than the dieting convenience foods we’d been reaching for in the past.  The added bonus of increased energy, regulated blood sugar and blood pressure levels, sharper vision and improved mental functionality, and you’ll wonder why you didn’t become a ‘raw foodie’ earlier in the weight loss and dieting game.  And, once you reach your weight loss goals, you’ll realize how healthy you’ve become in the process, and the raw food lifestyle will then be your way of life.  

Food Dehydrators

25 – Food Dehydrators

Making dried fruit and fruit leathers isn’t hard and it doesn’t have to be expensive either. While some food processors and juicers can get really pricey, a dehydrator isn’t going to cost that much and it’s a lifesaver to have fruit leathers, dried fruit or fruit jerky on hand when you can’t get out to the store for fresh food.

When buying a dehydrator, some things to consider are the materials and construction used to manufacture the product, the size, heating elements, fans and guarantees. Make sure you have room for the dehydrator in the space you have planned for it.  Choose one that’s multi-purpose, with multiple trays and special trays for fruits and herbs. A side-mounted or horizontal fan is best when choosing a food dehydrator.

Here are some food dehydrators to consider. But do a little research to find just the right one for you!

Nesco American Harvest – A very inexpensive food dehydrator with five trays that don’t have to be rotated. Price is $40-$55.

Excalibur Dehydrator – Has over 12 square feet of drying space. Comes with 9 free sheets and has a horizontal fan for maximum drying efficiency. Fast drying times, no tray rotation needed and fast cleanup. Price approximately $200-$220.

L’Equip Dehydrators – Comes with special mesh for drying sheets, plus special sheets for making fruit leathers and fruit roll-ups. Has a compact design and good, uniform drying. Price is around $150.

TSM Commerical Dehydrator

TSM Commerical Dehydrator – When you’re really serious about drying foods! Comes with 12 racks, 1600 watts of power, dual 6” fans for strong air flow. Can dry 15-18 pounds of jerky. Priced at $650 and up.

And don’t forget a food slicer for all that fruit drying! The Chef's Choice 645 food slicer has a powerful 130 watt geared condenser motor for smooth, quiet, fast operation. A large 7" nonstick stainless steel slicer blade cuts fruit & vegetables. Micrometer control dial selects slices from deli-thin to 9/16" thick.

Dehydrate Fruits

24 – Dehydrate fruits

One of the problems facing anyone trying to eat healthier, especially for someone trying to move towards eating more raw foods is the convenience factor. Raw and natural foods are so much healthier for you, but it’s not as if there are drive-through raw foods restaurants on every street corner in the country.

And of course, there’s no such thing as a raw foods snack machine, is there? So if you get hungry during the day, you’re going to have a challenge of finding something appropriate to eat if you haven’t  packed any raw fruits and vegetables. And when you’re rushing around in the morning, sometimes it’s next to impossible to find the time to put together a selection of healthy snacks to take with you.

One thing to try so that you have healthy snacks available quickly is to dehydrate your fruits or make fruit leathers. Those fruit roll-ups you see in the grocery store are derived from a pretty good idea – fruit leathers. But it’s better to make your own – commercial fruit leathers are going to be loaded with preservatives and sugars – just the things you want to avoid.

When you’re switching to a raw foods diet, that doesn’t always have to mean fresh off the farm. It means not cooking foods with processes that strip all the essential vitamins, amino acids and enzymes from them. Drying fruit is a great way to add variety to your diet and make yourself tasty snacks of dried fruit or fruit leathers. It’s not hard to do. There are recipes and inexpensive food dehydrators on the Web. These are also great snacks to pack for your kids’ lunches!

You get all the benefit of the raw fruit, just packaged and preserved in a healthy, nutritious way!

For more info about how to Dehydrate Fruits  see this video...

Types of Juicers

23 – Types of Juicers

If you’re eating more raw foods and making that important lifestyle change, at some point you’ll need to consider investing in a juicer. A blender is NOT the same thing. To get all the benefits of juicing fruits and vegetables, you need to be able to process every part of the food – seeds, stems, peels and pulp. That’s where all the vitamins are. A blender just can’t do that effectively.  A juicer will extract all the nutrients from fruit or vegetable that not even your stomach can adequately do.

Juicers routinely used to cost $300-$400 and more. The best ones still do, but if you’re just getting into juicing, there are less expensive styles on the market as well. Here are a few you can research to find the best one for you. Natural food stores and cooking catalogues like Williams-Sonoma also carry juicers.

Here are some reasonably priced juicers to consider.

Omega 1000 – Makes good, virtually pulp-free juice. It’s a high-yield juicer but not good for juicing leafy greens. This juicer will not process wheatgrass. Price $150-$200

Commercial Champion – Better juice quality, pulpy with good nutritional value. Also a multi-purpose machine that grates and churns and can make nut butters. A good heavy-duty juicer, high volume, good for families. Does not process wheatgrass. Price $230-$300.

Solo Star – Create a pulpy juice, but very high nutrient value because the motor is a lower RPM. This is a multi-purpose machine that can grate, churn, make nut butters and extrude pasta. It can process wheatgrass. Price $190 - $300.

Green Power – A premium juicer, although a more complicated machine with more parts that need to be cleaned. Creates the least pulp with more nutrients. It is a Twin Screw Press type of juicer that is superior to masticating or centrifugal juicers. It will process wheatgrass. Also a multi-purpose machine. Pricey, but may be well worth it. Price $450 - $650

Benefits of Juice

22 – Benefits of juice

Eating raw foods is a way to give your body some of the nutrition it desperately needs. Many of us are at least slightly overweight, and even the morbidly obese are starving for essential proteins and amino acids. All the processed, cooked foods we eat give us only a small percentage of what we need. Consequently, we eat and eat and yet we’re still not nourished. Psychologists try to tell us we’re eating to make up for an emptiness in our souls. Wrong! Our bodies our empty and trying to tell us so.

Eating raw foods is good for us on so many levels. It’s satisfying to eat them. They take more time to chew and swallow, so we don’t eat as fast. And we’re getting so much more in the way of nutrition by consuming fruits, vegetables, nuts and sprouts.

It can take time to prepare raw foods, however. Which is why a juicer is an important addition to your kitchen once your start to be serious about raw foods. A good juicer can process an entire apple – seeds, stems, peel, pulp and all – and turn all that into a healthy, nutritious juice.

Buying apple juice is NOT the same thing!!! Don’t even look at apple juices or even ciders in the grocery store. Put that $2 or $3 aside and save up for a juicer. Buy bags of apples, orange, bananas, carrots and make your own juices to get everything from the fruit that you’d get by eating it raw. Now you’re getting juice that’s as fresh as the fruit or vegetable you made it from. No preservatives, no processing that strips most of the energy from the fruit. And think of all the delicious combinations you can make with the many tropical fruits that are available now in most grocery stores. You can customize your fruits and add non-typical ingredients like pumpkin to an orange juice. Now that’s a powerhouse of a juice!

Juice Vs. Blend

21 – Juice vs. blend

We saw an interesting article about starvation in which the comment was made that there are really two types of starvation. One, of course, is caused by too little or no food at all. But there is another type of starvation caused by serious malnutrition, and even though the U.S. is the fattest nation on the planet, our bodies are starved for important nutrients and enzymes. It’s partly why we’re so fat, because we keep eating and eating, but we’re eating highly processed, cooked foods that have the essential components burned out of them. Cooking removes up to 80% of food’s important amino acids, fibers and vitamins.

It’s one reason why switching to a raw foods diet makes such compelling sense. When you start eating raw foods, you’re suddenly getting all the nutrition from food that nature intended you to get. It’s the way our bodies were meant to eat, in balance with the planet.

We suddenly become the vibrant, healthy animals we’re supposed to be.

But we still live in the modern world, with all its pressures and time constraints. It’s one reason why getting your whole foods from juicing is a good idea. You can still get all the fiber you need without taking the time to cut, peel or slice the food. Raw foods do take a little more time to chew and swallow and that’s a good thing. But if you don’t have the time for that, then you should consider using juices for at least a portion of your raw foods intake.

You do need to invest in a good juicer though, and that’s different from a blender. A blender can’t process the fruit peels that contain most a fruit or vegetables vitamins and enzymes. A juicer is a more high-powered appliance that will process everything – seeds and stems, peels and pulp. It’s designed to do it quickly and efficiently. They can be expensive, but there are many more options today than there used to be as this concept has gained in popularity.

Tools For Preparation

20 – Tools for preparation

You don’t need to make a huge investment in eating raw and living foods. In fact, you’ll probably be saving money by cutting back on highly processed convenience foods. All that high-fat, high-sodium microwaveable foods are pricey, too!

If you’re new to this, eating raw foods isn’t just about putting something different in you mouth. It’s an experience that goes beyond the act of eating. When you’re shopping for your food, make it an aesthetic experience as well. Fill your cart up with all the colors of these delicious live foods.

Invest in a good juicer. There are cooks’ catalogues that carry them. Shop online. Maybe you can find a good used juicer on an auction site. A juicer is NOT really a blender. It’s much more powerful because it needs to liquefy foods that can be highly fibrous.

You want some good knives too, for cutting up your fruits and vegetables. Invest in a few good ones. Turn the work of chopping up your food into something artistic.

If you don’t have a steamer, invest in one of those too, so you can lightly steam your vegetables if you want. Buy specific types of steamers. We’ve seen an asparagus steamer that’s especially designed to steam the woody bottoms more than the tender tips.

Get a few chopping tools that are also garnishing tools. It’s just as easy to cut up carrots with a ridged cutting knife to make them more attractive. There are special slicers that get your fruits and veggies really thin and therefore more fun to eat.

And do invest in a new cutting board. You don’t want to use the same cutting board for all your fresh new foods that you’ve used through the years to cut up chicken or other foods. No matter how much you scrub, your cutting board can absorb bacteria. Start fresh in all things – not just your food!

Why Organic

18 – Why organic?

Food that is grown or raised without chemical pesticides or chemical fertilizers is called “organic.” We’ve become so accustomed to getting by with foods that have been grown with fertilizers and that contain harmful toxins, that we’ve forgotten what it’s like to feel truly “well.” We don’t know how good we can really feel.

Why else would you choose to eat organic food? We pay a lot in terms of flavor and nutrition to eat perfect-looking food. Yes, organic food might have an occasional bruise on its flesh – but so does food that’s been sprayed with harmful chemicals. Organic food, though, are generally fresher and more flavorful. Many times, they’re grown locally, so they haven’t been stored or refrigerated. Consider the difference in flavor between a vine-ripened tomato and a regular tomato. There’s just no comparison.

The body has to process everything you put into it and eliminate what it cannot digest. If your food contains toxins in the form of chemical pesticides and fertilizers, your body has to figure out a way to get rid of the toxins. When the body cannot get rid of toxins fast enough, it stores them until it has time to eliminate them. This can lead to many health problems. Many of the pesticides used in farming have been found to be carcinogenic. Reducing your exposure to these toxins can improve your health. True, some people eliminate toxins well. Still, the body needs to expend energy to eliminate toxins when it could be doing other things such as healing damaged cells, fighting off viruses and bacteria, or patrolling the body for cancer cells. Even people who can tolerate or eliminate toxins could feel substantially better without putting these poisons into their bodies. And if your system is sensitive to toxins, you’ll be much better off eliminating them from your diet as much as possible. Fortunately, it’s easier to do this because there’s a greater selection and variety of organic produce in our grocery stores. 

Organic Products and Raw Food Diet

17 – Organic Products and Raw Food Diet

Fortunately for those of us newly interested in eating organic and raw foods, there are lots of products out there. Natural and organic foods used to be found only in natural food stores, and those could be few and far between. While not as ubiquitous as McDonald’s, there ARE many more stand-alone stores. And the grocery chains are catching on too, with more organic selections than ever before. If you don’t see them in your grocery store, just ask. You’re probably not the only person in your neighborhood who’d like to see more of these options.

Many grocery stores now feature sprouts and other living foods in the produce aisle. Of course, if they don’t, there’s nothing easier to grow for yourself than sprouts!

There are also tons of sites on the Web where you can order raw and living foods. Just do a search on raw foods and you’ll come up with a lot of different places to order the foods you’d like to buy. Many of these sites are also full of useful information, to help you learn about eating raw foods, and help educate you on the specific food values.

What else? Experiment with what you like. Take the time to learn a little about what the different nutrients in foods do for you. A few examples:

Cabbage – High in Vitamin C; important for healthy cell function

Shitake mushrooms – contain essential fatty acids and antioxidants to support a healthy immune system

Kale – Rich in fiber and helps reduce calorie intake with less hunger. We like that!

Barley – Loaded with niacin, fiber and iron and is important for healthy blood sugar.

Pumpkin – So rich in fiber and vitamins; helps reduce appetite by filling the stomach with indigestible fibers