So here I am on a lazy Day-After-Christmas morning getting ready for 2010, pondering “hmmm…what should I make my news resolution?”.

Bam!  The idea came to me – maybe I should expand my knowledge in eating like a true raw foodist.  Yup, thats it.  Thats what I am going to do!

So I do a quick search on my trusted friend, Google…and much to my chagrin a wonderful site came up: a company called Living Light Cuisine!

I was quite surprised to find that they had Certified Raw Food chef’s around the WORLD that can teach you exactly what to do, how to do it and get you up and running.
Still looking for one that is in San Diego – but hey, I’m sure there will be!

Oh – and one little extra – I just found this site all about Starting a Raw Food Diet! TheBestofRawfood.com.  check it out.  Some cool info on there…more to come!

Thought I would share

The American Dietetic Association recommends 25 grams of fiber daily for women and 38 grams for men.  Most of us are only getting 15 grams of fiber a day.  The World Health Organization extimates cardiovascular disease causes approximately 17.5 million deaths per year world-wide.  A vegetarian or living food lifestyle will greatly lower your incidence of heart disease than it will for meat eaters.  Saturated animal fats raise cholesterol levels and clog arteries.  Eating a well balanced vegetarian diet will give your body the heart-healthy nutrients it needs.  Foods like fruit, veggies, and whole grains are easy and fun to prepare and eat. 

These six food compounds can significantly reduce the risk of heart disease: Soluble fiber, Potassium, Carotenoids, Omega-3 fatty acids, B vitamins and Flavonoids. 

Soluble fiber combines with water in your GI tract to absorb cholesterol and stop it from being distributed through your body.  It will also push it out of you.  We all know how great fiber is for elimination, right?  Sometimes called roughage, fiber is the indigestable portion of plant food.  Wikipedia says, “Soluble fiber, like all fiber, cannot be digested.  But is does change as it passes through the digestive tract, being transformed (fermented) by bacteria there.  Soluble fiber also absorbs water to become a gelatinous substance that passes through the body”.   What foods are fiber filled?  Whole grains like oats, barley, and pinto beans, potatoes, brussel sprouts and fruits like apples, plums and oranges are good sources of soluble fiber, whereas 100% bran cereal has more insoluble fiber.  Insoluble fiber will pass through the body unchanged.

Potassium is associated with lowering blood pressure levels.  It counters the effect of excess sodium and aids in transmitting nerve impulses and promotes normal muscle function.  Both effective for optimal heart and blood vessel health.  Foods like potatoes, bananas, dark leafy greens, pumpkin seed, avocado and almonds are high in potassium.  Potassium deficiency can lead to high blood pressure problems, hypertension, strokes, and heart irregularities.  Meat, poultry and fish are high in potassium, but it’s not healthy to eat an entirely carnivorous diet.  These foods will cause a rise in acid levels and deplete potassium levels.  Instead of supplements, try a slice of cantaloupe, a banana or strawberries. 

Omega-3 fatty acids are essential fatty acids that play a key role in heart health.  These are a class of polyunsaturated fats.  They cannot be manufactured by the body so must be obtained from food.  They contain molecules that will ward off blood clots that can trigger stroke and heart attacks.  Omega-3 fatty acids reduce inflammation and prevent risk factors associated with chronic diseases such as heart disease, cancer and arthritis.  You can find Omega-3 fatty acids in flaxseed, flaxseed oil, walnuts, soy, and baby dark leafy greens like watercress and arugula.

Low blood levels of B vitamins and folic acid have been found to increase the risk of atherosclerosis, which can lead to heart attacks and stroke.  Atherosclerosis is a condition in which fatty material collects along the walls of the arteries.  Some sources of B vitamins are fortified breakfast cereals, sunflower seeds, potatoes, broccoli and asparagus.

Flavonoids have antioxidative and anti-inflammatory properties that protect you against heart disease.  They keep the lining of the arteries flexible which will promote healthy blood flow and reduce clotting.  Catechin is a flavonoid compound found in tea and cocoa and it can reduce heart disease.  It’s found in dark chocolate, green tea, red wine, extra virgin olive oil and apples.  Soy flavonoids (isoflavones) can also reduce blood cholesterol and can help to prevent osteoporis. 

Carotenoids have fat solubility and antioxidant properties.  These plant chemicals are a big factor in fighting heart disease. and give fruits and veggies their yellow, red and orange colors, not to mention the green in plants.  There is evidence they interact with bad LDL cholesterol and prevent if from oxidizing and sticking to the artery walls.  Food sources of carotenoids are carrots, spinach, kale, collard greens, red peppers and tomatoes.  However, to maximize the availability of these carotenoids in your food, they should be eaten raw or lightly steamed.

And please….don’t forget your emotional heart.  Feeling emotionally healthy is just as important.  Get in touch with your physical and emotional body.  Yoga, meditation, chi gong…all great ways to start “feeling”.  Releasing all the “baggage” will detox your blood as well as your muscles. 

Breathe, breathe and breathe again.  Keep going……

I’m all about giving you new reasons to eat healthy.  New ways to make your trip to the grocery store more interesting.  New things to think about.  Well this next post may sound weird, but I believe it.  And if I believe it, it must be true, right.

We’ve all heard the saying, “You are what you eat”, right?  Well here’s a list of new reasons to eat your way to health.  Again, it’s not all about what you put in your mouth, as much as what you are NOT putting in your mouth anymore.  The body knows how to heal itself.  But with our unhealthy eating and living habits, the body spends too much energy trying to process and digest.  How about we make it a little easier on ourselves?  

There was once something called “The Doctrine of Signatures”.  This philosophy has been an idea of herbalists and alchemists for centuries.  It is the idea that God has marked everything He created with a sign that was an indication of the purpose if was created for.  A similar belief was held by Native Americans and Oriental cultures. This doctrine did not become a part of the medical thinking until the middle of the seventeenth century.  Colors and shapes of plants remind us of the body part where they would do the most good.  Every whole food has a pattern that resembles a body organ or function.  I’ve listed below a short list of some whole foods and their function.

Grapes:  This fruit hands in a cluster shaped like the heart.  Grapes look like a blood cell and research shows that grapes also are a heart and blood vitalizing food.

Carrots:  A sliced carrot looks like the human eye.  Science shows that carrots greatly enhance blood flow to the eyes.

Tomato:  A tomato has four chambers and is red.  The heart has the same features.  All research shows tomatoes are heart and blood food.

Kidney beans:  These beans actually look like our kidneys.  They help to heal and maintain kidney function

Walnuts:  These nuts look like a little brain.  Left and right hemisphere and upper and lower cerebellums.  We know that walnuts help develop over three dozen neuron-transmitters for brain function.

Celery, Rhubarb and Bok Choy:  These look like bones.  Bones are 23% sodium and these are also 23% sodium.  We now know that if you don’t have enough sodium in your diet, the body will pull sodium from your bones, and make them weak.  Eating these foods will replenish the skeletal needs of your body.

Eggplant, Avocado and Pears:  Are you getting the picture? Have you guessed what these target?  Female health!  Research shows that if a woman eats one avocado a week, it will balance hormones, shed unwanted birth weight and prevent cervical cancers.  These look just like the womb and cervix of the female.  It takes nine months to grow an avocado from blossom to ripened fruit.  Interesting, huh?  There are over 14,000 photolytic chemical constituents of nutrition in each of these and modern science has studied about 141 of them.

Figs:  These are full of seeds and grow in groups of two.  They increase the motility of male sperm and will increase the numbers of sperm. 

Sweet Potatoes:  These look like the pancreas.  They actually balance the glycemic index of diabetics.

Olives:  Olives assist the health and function of the ovaries.  Enough said?  Ok, here are some more…

Grapefruits, Oranges and other citrus:  They look just like the mammary glands of females and assist the health of the breasts and the movement of lymph in and out of the breasts.

Onions:  They look like body cells.  Research shows that onions help clear waste materials from all the body cells.  They will also produce tears which wash the eyes.

Whew!  That was a lot of information.  Take it one at a time.  Take the list with you to the grocery store.  Eating these veggies in their raw state is even healthier for you.  Keep the enzymes in your food!  Allow your body to heal by eating raw.  Raw food is easier to digest.  Less work, more healing.

Take care of yourself. 

The statements in this blog are for nutritional purposes only.  Please talk to your primary doctor if you have concerns before making any major changes in your  dietary lifestyle.

Wikipedia defines Lyme disease as…..”the most common tick-borne disease in the Northern Hemisphere.  Borrelia (a species of bacteria) is transmitted to humans by the bite of infected ticks…….Early symptoms may include fever, headache, depression, fatigue, and a characteristic circular skin rash…..Left untreated, later symptoms may involve the joints, heart, and central nervous system.  In most cases, the infection and its symptoms are eliminated by antibiotics, especially if the illness is treated early.  Late, delayed, or inadequate treatment can lead to the more serious symptoms, which can be disabling and difficult to treat.”

I met someone recently who was ill for quite some time and he kept insisting the doctors do a Lyme test. They said no, that there are no ticks in Vermont carrying Lyme disease.  He finally convinced someone to do the test and that was indeed what he had.  We all must be proactive about our health.  I say this all the time.  Do your research and seek out a second opinion.  Early detection is very important.

Symptoms of a tick bite can appear within one to two weeks or shorter or much longer, such as months to years.  This is the season for ticks, May through September.  You may see a red rash in the shape of a circle from the bite.  Unfortunately, tick bites are not painful, and you may not know you were even bit until you see the common bullseye rash pattern.  In some cases, you may not develop a rash; however, you may still have contracted Lyme disease.  Some other symptoms of Lyme disease are muscle pain, joint pain, heart palpitations and dizziness.  Some untreated patients will see some muscle tone loss in the face, severe headaches, neck stiffness and a sensitivity to light.

Young ticks will latch on and feed for a day without being noticed.  Lyme disease can be transmitted to the fetus through the placenta if the mother is infected, causing the most harm during the first three months of pregnancy.  In this case, a pregnant woman would not be given the usual treatment of antibiotics for Lyme disease, but a less effective antibiotic that is harmless to the fetus.

Animals may also contract Lyme disease.  Cats may show lameness, fever, loss of appetite or unusual breathing.  Dogs may be lethargic, poor appetite, fever, lameness, joint pain or kidney damage.  Dogs can transmit Lyme disease to their unborn puppies.  However, some animals display no symptoms at all.  I was at my friend’s house and we safely removed a tick from her dog with the help of the local vet on the phone.  I placed some oil over the tick and gently pulled it out.  You may want to keep the tick and ask your vet if it needs to be tested.  Even though my cat is an indoor cat, he got fleas last summer. Fleas must’ve been carried in on someone’s shoes.  I now treat him for a couple months during the summer.  If you live in a wooded or grassy area, check your animals when they come in the house.  Ticks are easy to feel on animals.  Embedded ticks grow to be the size of a small pimple.  My daughter works at a veterinary office and she told me she is seeing more cases of Lyme disease than she has seen before.  Protect your animals with the vaccine and flea and tick repellant.

The prompt removal of a tick, within 36 hours, will reduce the risk of contracting Lyme disease.  July and August are especially heavy times for tick bites.  The coastal areas of Maine and New Hampshire tend to have higher populations of ticks.  And with high deer populations in some states, ticks have animal hosts to feed on and then pass the bacterial disease from animal to humans. 

Doctors can diagnose the disease early if the initial symptom of the rash near the bite site appears.  Only when these symptoms do not appear, does the disease go undetected and will then prey on nerves and joints.  Take common sense precautions when out in the woods.  Wear light colored clothing tucked into socks and tick repellent.  After exposure, check the body thoroughly for ticks.  Deer ticks are not much larger than the head of a pin.  With proper precautions, Lyme disease can be prevented in animals and humans. 

I just read a story from someone at Hippocrates Health Institute who contracted Lyme disease and her symptoms where muscle pains, fever and insomnia.  Misdiagnosed by her primary doctor and many others, she found a Lyme disease specialist who diagnosed her problem.  However, that did not help with five years of pain, exhaustion, anxiousness and metal confusion.  She was given oral antibiotics, intravenous antibiotics and vitamins for treatment.  She was weak and struggling just to hold a job.  A second deer tick bite gave her another dose of Lyme disease.  After many more months of multiple problems, she began a raw food lifestyle.  This meant eventually going off her medication, but it has not been an easy road for her.

Stay healthy and safe this summer.

These statements are meant for informational purposes only and should not take the place of your primary care doctor.  Should you notice any of these symptoms, please consult your doctor or vet.