Archive for the ‘Raw Food’ Category

Could the Obese and diabetic population be suffering from Malnutrition

Wednesday, September 8th, 2010

Malnutrition and obesity go together? how can this be if you are suffering from malnutrition then you would be skinny.

Well this is a misconception that if you are not getting enough nutrition that you would look like the staving people you see on the TV in some remote third world country.

These people are definitely suffering from malnutrition but that is because they are staving. But you can be eating plenty of food and still be suffering malnutrition.

The word nutrition is the key, nutrition is the nutrients that are found in FOOD.

Not all food is created equal. The whole food that is fresh fruits and vegetables nuts seeds and whole grains, legumes etc. are very nutrient rich.

Man-made food on the other hand is nutrient poor, in fact it also toxic.

Our forebears did very well on a whole food diet rich in the nutrients needed to build healthy strong people that worked hard on the land or in industry.

But about 100 years ago the food industry started to add chemicals, preservatives and additives to give  shelf life to food and this revolutionized the industry. In recent years we now have machines to cook our food in record time.

Unfortunately the food is also over processed and the nutrient value is almost lost completely. Now the food that you find in the supermarket is not real food at all it is a chemical substitute.

I remember when I was a kid there was a television cartoon called the Jetsons and they had food dispensers in there houses that produced the food which was all man made.

We now live in this reality. Maybe it isn’t quite the same as on the Jetsons but the concept is essentially the same, we buy a packet at the shop and put it into the microwave and in 2 minutes we sit down and eat a meal.

We live in such a fast track world now where both parents are often working and it is hard to put a good meal on the table after working all day. So this type of food is very appealing to the over busy mum. What could she be doing to the health of her family.

This food has no nutrition and people eat like this 5-7 days a week  and then you add some takeaway’s, they are nutrient starved just like the person in the third world country.

But hang on a minute we don’t look like them so we can’t be starved. The food that I just described is nutrient poor but is full of fat, sodium and sugar.

When our bodies are deprived of the nutrition it requires it will store everything it can get as fat for future use to be converted into energy.

This store is put away for a rainy day in the adipose tissue (fat cells).

If an obese person stops eating processed foods and starts to eat a nutrient rich (Whole food) diet then the body starts to release the stores for use. Weight loss is the result. It is now getting nutrition and no longer need to store fats.

Have you ever noticed when you go on a diet to loose weight and you cut down on your portions and eat less, you go well for the first couple of weeks and loose a couple of kg or pounds then the body plateau’s and you stop or even start to gain more weight. Why is this?

You are starving the body more and it is going into storing mode. Not only is the food nutrient poor it doesn’t satisfy your hunger so you are constantly hungry, it is toxic with all the chemicals and additives the the body doesn’t know how to deal with and they are also deposited in the adipose tissue.

I know this is a doom and gloom story but this is how it is.

Solution to the problem.

Eat a nutrient rich diet of whole foods fresh fruits and vegetables, nuts, seeds, whole grains and legumes. These foods should be in there natural state and wherever possible RAW.

I say to people wanting to make change in there life need to shift there thinking on what they put in there mouth and life will change for the better. There is no magic pill to cure obesity or diabetes it is the way we eat and nothing more.

We are what we eat!!!!!!

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Synthetic Verses Natural Vitamins

Monday, April 26th, 2010

Vitamin C,  we need this nutrient to prevent scurvy, it is abundant in most fruits and vegetables especially citrus fruits, kiwifruit and blackcurrants.

Vitamin C supports the immune system, fights cancer and many other numerous health conditions.

But Vitamin C is not Ascorbic acid.

Not all vitamins are created equal.

Most supplements on the market contain ascorbic acid and they call it vitamin C.

Vitamin C was discovered in the 1930s by Dr Albert Szebt-Gyorgyi, his understanding of the chemical structure of the vitamin C made it possible to reproduce in a laboratory.

Unfortunately only nature can produce vitamin C that our bodies will utilize to the maximum, the synthetic variety doesn’t work the same.

Ascorbic acid is harsh on the gut, is not readily bio-available to the body like a natural vitamin C that comes in a fruit or vegetable. The body will absorb and utilize all of the natural vitamin C

The recommended daily allowance of a synthetic vitamin C is 3000 mg (3 gm) for average person, to be taken 1000 mg  3 times a day, this is because the body can only absorb so much at a time and it dumps the rest.

Some say that you can go up to 9000 mg or until you get diarrhea.

This is a warning sign that has flashing lights so take notice.

Getting diarrhea well this is interesting, the body is trying to tell you something?

Observed under a microscope natural vitamin C  varies greatly from ascorbic acid. The particles are just as different as chalk and cheese.

Our bodies only absorb small amounts of synthetic nutrients and dump the rest. (waste of money in my opinion) Have you ever noticed the yellow/orange colour of your urine after taking a vitamin pill.

Well yes that is the body rejecting the unused vitamins. They just go straight through the system, and down the toilet.

Using synthetic vitamins can show results initially but they then stop working, and the condition worsens. Why  is this?

The best source of vitamin C is to eat lots of fresh raw fruits and vegetables daily.

There are also now natural vitamin c capsules available by Lifestream and Premier Research Laboratories.

Vitamin D is getting a lot of press lately, deficiency in vitamin D is on the rise. It is responsible for aiding the absorption of calcium, a vital nutrient for bones.

Vitamin D a fat-soluble vitamin is found in very few foods, egg yokes, cod liver oil, cold water fish like salmon, mackerel,herring and sardine. Vegetables although are a low source of vitamin D; the best sources are dark green leafy vegetables.

We get Vitamin D  from  sunlight exposure. But this isn’t the end of the story vitamin D obtained from food source and sunlight is biologically inert and must undergo two hydroxylations in the body for activation.

The liver and kidneys are involved, should these be compromised in any way Vitamin D synthesis doesn’t occur. Get the full story in my monthly newsletter.

Using sunscreen blocks vitamin D  synthesis. I recommend that you don’t apply the sunscreen until you have been in the sun for at least 10 to 15 minutes in this way you will have absorbed some vitamin D.

Also it is not enough to just expose you face, expose the arms and legs as well to get more of a surface cover to get the levels up.

Now should you need to supplement with Vitamin D I suggest that you use a natural sourced product. Not a synthetic form, Cod liver oil, chlorella are good sources of natural form of vitamin D.

Should you need vitamin D to fight chronic disease then I suggest Premier Research Laboratries D3 serum. This is a practitioner product and you will need get it through my clinic.

If you are interested in learning more about Vitamin D and get the full story sign up for my free newsletter, you can unsubscribe at any time.

Through the winter months I suggest that you make green smoothies with spinach and kale or silverbeet.

They are easy to make you only need a blender, they are delicious an even the kids will love them. They are high in minerals and electrolytes not to mention energy.

Basic Green Smoothie (for one)

1 apple

1 kiwifruit

1 banana

200 ml of water

1 ½ cups of fresh well washed spinach (or any other dark leafy green vegetable)

2 pitted dates (optional)

Peel and chop kiwifruit and apple, place with the rest of the ingredients into a blender and blend until smooth. Enjoy.

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Posted in General Health, Raw Food, Recipes | 13 Comments »

Will my teeth make it until I’m 100 years?

Monday, April 19th, 2010

I went to see my Dentist today, and $200 lighter but I feel great.

Since becoming a raw food eater I have had to be more aware of taking real good care of my teeth.

Firstly I intend to eat raw food for the rest of my life which I estimate will be around 46 years.  (that will make me 100) I need to be able to chew all these years, you can’t chew raw vegetables without any teeth.

Secondly I eat a lot of fruit and the natural sugars and acids can play havoc with your teeth.

When I was younger I was quite slack about dental hygiene, I always cleaned my teeth every day but I didn’t bother to floss and I have had quite a few cavities.

In recent years I have become very precious about my teeth as I like to smile a lot  and if my teeth didn’t look good I could not do this.

I have become more ritualistic about cleaning them more often and using the best cleaning method available.

I’m in the Baby Boomer generation and in New Zealand the dental nurses at the schools had a great time drilling out the centre of every tooth in my head with any tiny little caries they could find. In some of my teeth there is more filling than tooth.

Subsequently I have a mouthful of mercury amalgam fillings. I am not alone in this everyone of similar age and went through the school system in NZ will have the same problem, no wonder we  have a large number of people suffering from conditions generated from heavy metal toxic overload.

I am up for approximately 2,500 to 3,000 dollars to remove and replace these fillings. But I believe it will be worth every cent for my health is everything.

They are still doing it to our children today, the government are very aware of the toxic elements leaching into our bodies but won’t ban it, it just gets put in to the too hard basket.

Any way I am getting a bit off tract here, that is a complete story on its own. Back to the cleaning systems available, many toothpastes contain toxic substances like fluoride and sodium lauryl sulphate.

Sodium Lauryl Sulphate (SLS) is an irritant and a highly dangerous chemical that has many links to cancer, it cannot be metabolised by the liver and it will therefore stays in the body longer. It is also linked to ulcers and canker sores.

It is a degreaser and is particularly  good and  highly effective surfactant, used in any task requiring the removal of oily stains and residues. SLS is found in higher concentrations with industrial products including engine degreasers, floor cleaners, and car wash soaps.

So why is it in our personal care products like soap, shampoo and toothpaste?

I don’t want to put a degreaser into my body, anything that comes in contact with the mucus membranes of the mouth will enter my body quick smart.

In fact I will not use any product on the surface of my body that contains any of the SLS’es and there are 150 different names and types of SLS they are all unwanted in our bodies.

I don’t want fluoride in my body either as it is a toxic substance that also can’t be metabolized and remains in the system.

The government in NZ saw fit to add fluoride to our water supplies in some cities, I can’t get my head around that. Thankfully I live in Napier where it wasn’t added, but 16 km away in Hastings as well as our capital city of Wellington it is.

There is no real evidence that fluoride stops cavities in teeth.

For this reason I have been developing my own tooth cleaning system, I would like to share this with others so I will be launching my new “Tooth Scrub” very soon.

It is designed clean the teeth, prevent tarter build up as well as support healthy gums.

It is Chemical Free and is made from completely natural substances, has no added free flowing agents or fillers. No Toxic Substances.

I am in the trial process at the moment, if you live in NZ and are interested in trying my new product get in touch; raelle@natures-spectrum.com and I will send you a sample.

My Dentist is great by the way, it didn’t hurt a bit, amalgam removal is one of her specialized services. She is very conscious of the toxic concerns when removing amalgams and uses dams.

Should you wish to know more about her, email me for her details.

I would be interested to know of others opinions on the amalgam fillings. If you have an opinion leave a comment.

Have a great day and smile lots.

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Posted in General Health, Raw Food | 6 Comments »

Is It a Fruit Or Vegetable?

Thursday, April 15th, 2010

Combining fruits and vegetables is it a No No or Ok?

Well this is a good question and I get it all the time, people say but aren’t you not supposed to combine fruit with vegetables. You read in the books that it is not good to combine these two.

The next question comes to mind is, what is a vegetable and what is a fruit? Could we be confusing fruits with vegetables.

When I thought about this for a while, I came up with a fruit grows on a tree or a vine.

Vegetables grow in the ground and are tubers like a carrot or parsnip.

But then you have the green leafy vegetable like cabbage and spinach as well as flower type like broccoli and artichokes etc.

So what is a fruit?  Are tomatoes a fruit, I say yes.
Capsicums and chillies are they fruits, I also say yes.
What about cucumbers, zucchini and pumpkin they all grow on a vine are they fruits? Well maybe they are fruits not vegetables.

Broccoli and cauliflower are flowers and so are artichokes, they are a category all of there own, are they fruits or vegetables?
I think they may come under fruits. What do you think?

Spinach, Kale, lettuce are all green leaf vegetables and are another category, I think of these as foliage.

Then there is the root vegetables that are the tubers or rhizomes, like potatoes, kumura, swede, beetroot etc. These are definitely vegetables.

I put into my  smoothies both raw fruits and vegetables, I don’t have trouble digesting them.

The foliage works very well with the fruit, even monkeys will wrap a piece of fruit in a leaf and eat it. If they do it by instinct then it must be Ok. Our digestive systems are the closet to primates.

Green smoothies contain fruits and green foliage and they are digested very easily to create an abundance of energy.

Apple carrot and ginger make a very nice juice and here we have 2 root vegetables and one fruit.

Avocado goes very well with broccoli and cauliflower as well as green leafy salad.

I think that putting fresh raw fruits and vegetables together is fine.

If you are having trouble digesting any combination then you should look at the gut integrity to determine whether this could be compromised, or that some intolerance’s may have been developed due to this compromise. Eating these foods raw will help to correct any gut issues.

Is it important as to whether it is fruit or a vegetable, I think not really, if it works together for flavor and digestion what is the problem.

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How Dumb am I ?

Monday, April 5th, 2010

On Good Friday I met up with my brother at the bottom of the Puketapu hill in Taradale for a training ride. Both of us are keen amateur riders and we are in training for a ride in May  from Rotorua to Whakatane which is 90 km with a lot of hills.

I am also riding in the Hawkes Bay ” Girls on Bikes” 65 km Ride on the 11 April. Getting out and doing lots of hill work is our main goal.

The ride we did was 38 km with approximately 20 of them being hills. My brother is carrying some extra kilos and is a bit slower on the hills than I am and I usually leave him far behind.  I had a raw soaked muesli for breakfast and it was only about 20 minutes before I started the ride.

What a big mistake that was, I was only a couple of metres a head of him on the first hill and was struggling, this is when I realized that I should have had a green smoothie instead of the muesli.

About 20 minutes later I was heading up the big big hill on Puketitiri Rd and I had finally digested the oats, I got the energy I needed to get up this hill.

This isn’t rocket science but it took me this experience to learn that you don’t eat too soon before exercise and food choice is paramount. Raw oats are great for giving sustained energy but the digestive system needs time to process them for that energy release, where a green smoothie will hit the blood stream in five minutes.

Now if I had a cooked breakfast then I would’ve been in bigger trouble as 84% of nutrition would be lost during the cooking or processing of the food. Raw food is definitely better.

I usually go for my ride very early in the morning and don’t eat before I exercise, so this occasion was different. We headed out at 9 am and I needed to eat before we left.

Although I had a raw breakfast it just wasn’t the best choice before a ride.

As I was climbing up the second even bigger hill on that road I was thinking about how I was going to tell everyone on my blog “how dumb am I” by my choice of breakfast.

I also was thinking about the high I get at the top and feel the adrenaline rush going down the other side. This motivates me to keep going even though you feel that it is never going to end.

I definitely get a natural high from the exertion required to cycle up steep hills. I’m sure that my success at achieving my fitness goals is due to the living foods that I eat and the anti-oxidants that I take.

I’m not a fan of synthetic supplements and I don’t take too many as a rule but the ones I take are always natural and only when I am unable to get what I need in my diet.

On that day I had taken 5 capsules of Lifestream Recovery, in my water bottles I had Concentrated mineral drops and Elite electrolytes. I don’t like sports drinks that contain enormous amounts for sugar and no magnesium for muscle recovery. Just pure electrolytes and minerals are the best way to go.

I don’t normally promote products on my blog but I just have to sing the praise of the Lifestream Recovery. It contains Spirulina, Astaxanthin and Blackcurrant. It is a completely natural product and is fantastic for muscle recovery as well as giving you sustained energy.

With this product you can train day after day and not suffer muscle fatigue.

This was a hard ride and took me 1 hour 50 minutes on Friday which is 5 minutes better than the last time. My brother was ten minutes behind me. Once I got my energy levels back I left him far behind.

I am encouraging my brother to get into more green smoothies to help him loose the extra few kilos, when he gets this off I had better look out he will be powering past me.

Basic Green Smoothie (for one)

1 apple

1 kiwifruit

1 banana

200 ml of water

1 ½ cups of fresh well washed spinach (or any other dark leafy green vegetable)

2 pitted dates (optional)

Peel and chop kiwifruit, banana and apple, place with the rest of the ingredients into a blender and blend until smooth. Enjoy.

Canadian Oats

¾ cup whole oats (rolled oats have been heat treated)

chopped raw nuts of your choice

raisins and or dried apricots chopped.

sunflower seeds.

½ cup liquid (water, orange or any fresh fruit juice)

The night before take a 3/4 cup of oats and place in a container.  Add chopped nuts of your choice, raisins and or dried apricots, and sunflower seeds.  Mix together, then add liquid, about half a cup should be enough so that it is moist and the liquid is visible place a lunch plate on top.  Then put it in the fridge overnight, eat with yoghurt and fresh fruit or on its own. Single serve.

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Juicing or Smoothie Which is Better?

Sunday, March 28th, 2010

Juicing raw fresh fruits and vegetables is a great way to up the nutrition in your diet. But what is best, juicing or smoothies?

There are two types of juicing machines, centrifugal and the extractor. The centrifugal juicing machine spins at high speed forcing the pulp and the juice to separate. There is heat produced by the high speed in this method that can cause slight degradation of the nutrients. The higher speed the machine can reach equates to the faster the juice is produced. The theory  is that the less time required the less heat produced.

These machines produce instant juice and easy to clean.

The extractor machine uses a slower grinding method which doesn’t produce any heat so the nutrient value is retained. This method is much, much slower and the food must be cut up quite small to go into the shoot, as well as manually pushed into the machine.

These machines are quite substantially more expensive, slower and require a more extensive clean up job.

Both methods can produce good raw nutrient rich juice, which is great way to get a natural daily vitamin and mineral dose.

A smoothie is produced in a Blender. You just cut up the raw fruits or vegetables and put in the blender, add water and blend until smooth. Depending on the power of the blending machine, the time taken to make this will vary. Heat can also be produced it the blending process is to long.

Blending hard root type vegetables like carrots and beetroot will require a powerful blender like the Vita Mix which rotates at up to  37,000 RPM or a machine of similar power. These machines can be rather costly in New Zealand. But well worth the cost.

The difference between the juicing method and the smoothie method is the fibre.

Juicing  separates juice from fibre, and the fibre is thrown away, we consume the nutrient rich juice.

Smoothie retains the fibre, the whole raw fruit or vegetable are used.

Fibre is a very important part of the vegetable and fruit; it keeps it together. It is a very important part of our diet as well; fibre is what gathers up and sweeps out the waste and toxic substances in the bowel that is not absorbed by the body during the digestion process.

Fibre helps the body to balance the blood sugars and keep the body’s insulin levels stable. It stops the blood sugar spiking and is very helpful in hypoglycemia and diabetes.

Many people with health issues  like hypoglycemia and diabetes are advised not to eat fruits as they are high in sugar, but in fact a green fruit smoothie is actually going to be much better for them than the cookie or any other snack food.

Removing the fibre from your food can lead to the malfunction of the bowel. Natural plant fibre is often both water and fat soluble, and the best fibre for the bowel.

Nutrients can be either water or fat soluble so the fibre plays a role in the absorption of some nutrients as well.

Back to the question of whether it is better to be Juicing or making Smoothies. I think that the smoothie has more merit due to the retention of the fibre. However, both are great sources of nutrition.

I suggest that if you are juicing that you add some of the pulp fibre back into the juice before you drink it. Or you can add psyllium hulls as a substitute fibre.

Basic Green Smoothie (for one)

1 apple

1 kiwifruit

200 ml of water

1 ½ cups of fresh well washed spinach ( or any other dark leafy green vegetable)

2 pitted dates (optional)

Peel and chop kiwifruit and apple, place with the rest of the ingredients into a blender and blend until smooth. Enjoy.

Berry Fruity Smoothie

2 persimmons peeled and chopped

1 cup fresh orange juice or water

1/2 cup of fresh or frozen blueberries or cranberries

1 heaped tbsp Yoghurt (Optional)

Instructions:

Place all ingredients into the Blender and Blend until smooth and serve.

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Posted in Healthy Eating, Raw Food, Recipes | 3 Comments »

I live in a Wonderful World

Monday, March 15th, 2010

I live in a wonderful world what about you? Is your world wonderful like mine?

So why is my world so wonderful because
I have just been sent 3 beautiful new babies to join our family in the last 4 weeks. Baby Michael Grace to my niece in Auckland and then baby Danika to my nephew in Napier and then baby Finn to my other niece in Vancouver.

We are so lucky and privileged that these 3 new souls have chosen to join our family.
New life is so beautiful and innocent and they have a whole life to create for themselves and enjoy.

Enough about the babies, what about where I live we have the most fabulous weather here and today was yet another day in paradise, it is March and we are having beautiful sunshiny days.

I have been out on my bike for the last 4 days riding around in the sun in one of the most picturesque areas of New Zealand.

I have many opportunities to live, grow and experience the pleasures of this Gods own land.

I own my own home which has a sizable piece of turf to grow my own fresh fruits and vegetables which I enjoy immensely and I have an abundance of cucumbers at the moment.

I belong to a close loving family with a sister in Vancouver and a brother only 10 minutes away, our son is local and our daughters and grandchildren are only 4 hours away. In fact there are many special family members that I give and receive love on a daily basis.

Not to mention the freedom to pursue my every pleasure. What else could I ask for?

I thank the universe for all of this and more everyday of my life.
I am so happy, and I created all of this for myself. I chose to come to this life and be me and to be part of this family, what a great choice it was life is great.

I am so grateful to have decided to go raw and change my life, It was the catalyst that would lead me on my current journey of enlightenment.

I’m 53 years old, in great health and having a ball.

I have had some not the greatest experiences in this life but they have been very good learning and growth pathways so I have no complaints.

Today we discovered that someone stole our elephant from the front porch, I will miss him as we have had him for a long time.

I find myself asking why did I create this?

Some one obviously needed him more than we did right now, so I hope that he will find his way to another home that loves him as much as we did.

He was only a possession and they come and go. I am lucky to have possessions at all others don’t.

The other day my neighbour pasted a slip of paper on my office window that she found in a magazine, it so relates to what I preach. It reads like this!

What you think you create
What you create you become
What you become you express
What you express you experience
What you experience you are
What you are is what you think

This is my world.
I hope you live in a wonderful world like I do.

Art Deco in Napier 2010

Fun fun fun Art Deco weekend

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Is Broccoli a Super Food

Thursday, March 11th, 2010

Broccoli is over 2,000 years old, it has been around since the Roman Empire, and is native to the Mediterranean region. Broccoli a relative of the cabbage family, it is believed was engineered from cabbage by the ancient Etruscans, who were considered to be horticultural geniuses.

When broccoli was first introduced into England, it was referred to as “Italian asparagus.” Although commercial cultivation of broccoli dates back to the 1500s, it did not become a popular foodstuff in the United States until the early 1920s.

Broccoli is one of the most nutrient rich foods but it is low in calories.

An excellent nutrient source of;

Vitamin A equiv.31 μg (3%)

- beta-carotene361 μg (3%)

- Lutein and zeaxanthin 1121 μg

Thiamine (Vit. B1) 0.071 mg (5%)

Riboflavin (Vit. B2) 0.117 mg (8%)

Niacin (Vit. B3) 0.639 mg (4%)

Pantothenic acid (B5) 0.573 mg (11%)

Vitamin B6 0.175 mg (13%)

Folate (Vit. B9) 63 μg (16%)

Vitamin C 89.2 mg (149%)

Calcium 47 mg (5%)

Iron 0.73 mg (6%)

Magnesium 21 mg (6%)

Phosphorus 66 mg (9%)

Potassium 316 mg (7%)

Zinc 0.41 mg (4%)

and much much more. These vitamins and minerals aren’t just found in trace amounts either.  Broccoli actually contains more Vitamin C than many citrus fruits and higher protein than a sirloin steak on a gram for gram basis. The calcium is much higher than an entire glass of milk. It’s an even richer source of fibre than whole wheat bread.

Broccoli also contains glucosinolates and phyto-chemicals like diindolylmethane  and isothiocyanates that are considered to have anti viral, antibacterial and anticancer effects.

Broccoli has demonstrated it’s remarkable anticancer effects, especially in breast cancer. Glucosinolates, and sulforaphane, boosts the production of an enzyme known to neutralize carcinogens before they trigger tumor growth especially in breast and prostate cancer cells.

Studies have also shown broccoli to increase the ability of the liver to detoxify toxic compounds and decreases the growth of human papillomavirus (a virus linked to cervical cancer).

Studies conducted at the prestigious John Hopkins University showed that broccoli compounds trigger the body to produce a substance (sulforaphane) that, in turn, manufactures enzymes that are powerful cancer fighters.

These cancer fighting compounds are released during the chewing process and are in the highest concentration when the broccoli is raw.

Cooking broccoli will reduce the benefits by up to 80%.

Broccoli is known to be very beneficial in the prevention of heart disease. It is a low-glycemic  index food which helps to normalize blood sugar.

One of the keys to weight loss is controlling the body’s response to insulin. Broccoli also boosts the enzymes which help to detoxify the body. Detoxification leads to weight loss which helps with certain diseases prevention.

But wait it gets even better that that!

Broccoli sprouts are even better than just eating broccoli alone. Sprouts are exceptionally high in nutrients and proteins, this is due to the changes that happen at germination, amazing things happen to seeds when they start to germinate. At a mere 3 days old, they contain at least 20 times as much of disease-fighting anti cancer sulforaphane glucosinolate (SGS) as the mature plant; SGS has been shown to kill tumors.

Just 28 gm or 1 ounce of sprouts has as much SGS as 600 gm or 1 1/4 pounds of broccoli. That’ll save you lots of chewing.

A Japanese pilot study found people who ate about a half cup a day of sprouts lowered their total cholesterol by an average of 15 points, and women in the study raised their good cholesterol by 8 points–in just 1 week.

Broccoli can save your sight, exposure to UV sunlight over time may lead to an eye condition called macular degeneration, which is the number one cause of blindness in the elderly. Researchers at Johns Hopkins determined that broccoli sprouts can protect retinal cells from ultraviolet light damage.

Conclusion:

It has proved to be very high in nutrients and has disease fighting value of amazing proportion. It can stop the growth of tumors and prevents cancer and heart disease. Broccoli is great for detoxification and weight loss. You don’t have to buy it at the health shop either in plastic container you can get it at your local organic grower. Or it can be grown in your garden or in a sprouting jar on your bench.

So is broccoli a super food, I say yes yes yes!

Get the full story about broccoli and other super foods you can grow in your  garden with lots of yummy raw recipes in my new e-book, coming soon  Sign up now for my newsletter and you will be the first to know when it is out.

Eating broccoli raw is the best way to get all the nutrients check out and try this recipe.

Broccoli Delight

1 small head of broccoli finely chopped

1 small head of cauliflower finely chopped

1 avocado Cubed

100 gm Goats feta cubed (Optional)

1/4 cup sunflower seeds

1/4 cup pumpkin seeds

2 green tomatoes finely chopped

Combine all ingredients and serve. This is really nice wrapped

in a lettuce leaf with some humus as a burrito.

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Posted in Raw Food, Recipes, Super Foods | 16 Comments »

What is best 100% or 80% Raw Diet?

Tuesday, March 2nd, 2010

This is an interesting question I have been raw for almost 2 years now, but I have only been 100% raw for short periods. I do like to eat some cooked food on the odd occasion and I’m not a vegan although I don’t eat meat. I like to eat eggs, some cheeses, fish and shellfish now and then. Most of the time I am 90 – 95% raw as at times I just eat 100% because that is what I desire to eat.

Many of the purist’s will be saying that 100% is the only way to go. But I say that eating raw is a great way to get your optimum nutrition but 100% doesn’t work for everyone.

I attended a Seminar last weekend on Quantum Reflex Analysis, which had several other raw foodist attending other than myself. One brought all of her food with her and the others including myself brought some food a made the most of what we could. I decided the week before the seminar that I was going to go 100% raw for several weeks and wasn’t thinking about going away at the time. I was staying with my elderly auntie and also was invited to dinner at my nieces to see my brand new grandniece.

But I’m pleased to let you know that I survived the trip with out eating anything but raw food. I consider this a good effort as I am just the same as everyone else I am human. It was a bit difficult to manage especially when my sister made a very large carrot cake of which she is famous for. But I found that I just wasn’t interested in eating it.

I would probably never go 100% raw on a permanent basis as I feel that you are setting yourself up for failure. And it is not about whether you succeed or fail it is about health and well being. Eating raw is about getting the nutrition that the body needs to heal itself of disease.

If you are trying to heal from cancer, arthritis, cardiovascular, diabetes or any other therapeutic diagnostic label of dis-ease, then yes 100% raw for a period of time is definitely going to be a good option. But setting unrealistic limitations on yourself can be very damaging in its self. I recommend flexibility. When you keep yourself flexible and don’t put unrealistic limitations on your self then you will not fail, and success will be your friend.

Fabulous results can be achieved on a 80- 90% Raw Diet.

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Ways to save money on raw food diet

Tuesday, May 26th, 2009

Since you have decided to incorporate a natural diet into your lifestyle, in the way of raw food you would be interested in understanding how you can be saving money.

If you follow the principles of the manual and eat say between 70 – 80% raw and only 20 – 30% cooked food you will be helping with energy saving. It only takes a couple of minutes to blend a salad or make a smoothie the power required is much less than what you need to cook a meal. If you are preparing a salad especially if you hand chop and are not using a food processor  then you have saved a 100% power.

Blenders are self cleaning, you just need to half fill with hot water a squirt of dish detergent and pulse for a few seconds  then rinse. Saving on hot water. You are certainly reducing a portion of your carbon footprint, and saving on your power bill.

This is of importance at this time of the year as the energy costs are not only astronomical but have increased due to a need to keep our houses warm. Therefore you can have the heater on longer.

You can also save money on your food bill costs because it is cheaper to eat fresh food than it is to eat processed foods. Processed food will always be more expensive than preparing it yourself from the raw ingredients.

If you eat what is in season then you will further save money,  and buying local produce is cheaper. It is nice to have exotic fruits and vegetables but out of season they are expensive, so I look at what is in season and work with that. Further reduction of carbon footprint. It is nice to support the local growers.

If you are careful with your shopping you will not have any waste and if your vegetables and  fruits are looking a little bit tired it is time to blend them before they loose there nutritional value so you don’t waste anything.  More money saved.

If you are only preparing for one person then halve the recipes and or make enough for a few days so it is always fresh.

The biggest saving is time and in the busy life of most of us time is very precious. Raw food is so much quicker to make than cooked food, less time in the kitchen and more time at work or play.

I have always hated cooking and I spend very little time in the kitchen but the time I am there now is very enjoyable, Raw food has given me inspiration in food preparation.

Before I just ate because I had to.

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