Growing Sprouts Video

Growing sprouts is one of my favorite subjects. One of the reasons is because many people think it's very hard. It is NOT! To prove it, I posted a little article on how to grow them in my December 2009 entry. Now, finally I created this video to show the steps. I am using the green pea sprouting seeds as an example but the technique applies to most of them. As soon as they become live (germinated) or open up (which happens after about 8 hrs of being in the water) they are ready for you. You can eat them then or you can keep them on a counter in a wet environment and wait until they grow little tails. Keeping them the fridge will slow the growing process. Rinse them up once a day and cover with the wet paper towel as shown on the video or with a cover with some ventilation. The picture on the right is of the 3 day old green pea sprouts and this is when I prefer putting them in my meals and in the recipe below.

Growing Sprouts Video

Here is one of my favorite recipes, taken from www.vegan-food.net

Sprouted Pea Patties (Raw)

Ingredients

• 2 cups sprouted peas
• 1 large carrot, chopped
• 1/2 cup tahini
• 1 cup pignoli (pine) nuts
• 1/2 cup parsley
• 1/2 red onion
• Braggs to taste

METHOD

Process peas and carrot until finely minced using s blade. Set aside. Process remaining ingredients. Combine all, add braggs and form into patties. This is what you get on the picture:

HAPPY SPROUTING !!!

Sushi...

This Blog is promoting raw eating, 

but there is not a chance you'll ever see here promoting 

raw meat or fish!

I saw my friend’s facebook’s note that she had sushi that night and it reminded me what I heard about raw sushi from one lady at the Dr. Clement’s talk. We started chatting and she told me about the Hippocrates Institute program and how Dr. Maria Clement takes a complex blood test and can basically tell you your “bio” from it. For instance, she told this lady that she had an injury 5 years ago, just from her blood test! She also told her the horrible things that can happen to you if you eat raw fish or raw meat. I am sorry my sushi lovers (I am a sushi lover myself and digging into a dangerous area) but this blog is meant to bring healthy eating awareness to you and to all my friends and family so whatever I find out – I’ll post it here.

My huge mistake was to start writing this article during my dinner. It was one of the rare opportunities when I was home absolutely alone.. Well,  things that started popping up were not so appetizing so I’ll finish my dinner first…

*****
It's been a week and I still feel disgusted from the photos I've found online. I am going to take a different approach in this article and not write up on everything I find. Instead, I'm going to ask you to goggle "sushi and tapeworms" and you'll understand what I mean. I am not going to even post any pictures here because I don't want you to hate me!  I guess you have nothing to worry about if you go to reputable places. Sushi is a national meal of Japan so they know how to cook it right. However, the internet is full of the articles and images on how raw fish can be contaminated by parasites and bacteria.  The ABC News atrticle says: "The parasite sucks the vitamin B12, and the person with the parasite does not have enough," said Cabello. "This is a worm that can reach 25 feet and it might take months, a year to grow."  So, it can live in a human body and create all sorts of inconveniences from simple headache to stomachache, planting eggs in your body or brain, or filling nauseous, or simply a trip to an ER and the surgery.
We don't have any statistics on how many people fall ill from the tapeworm in the U.S. but there is at least 2000 people in Japan a year that sick medical attention.
With that said, I think we need to be aware of the issue and eat only in reputable places.  I'm pretty sure that major grocery stores cut out any of contaminated areas of meats and present us with healthy meals as they don't want to get into troubles with their customers. This reminds me to wash my fruits and veggies extra well too especially if bought from not my usual vendors... Who knows what was sitting on it a few days ago??

Becoming Raw, Tip 1

70 x 30 Rule

You can probably find a lot of raw tips online, but I'd like to give you the simple formula that I talked about earlier, not once, in my previous articles. I just want to emphasize it!

People tend to think that you have to have a rigid diet and not enjoy your life at all if you want to become raw. NO! You can start by 70x30 rule and be on it for 3 weeks and see if you like it. I invented it for myself to create some kind of a system in my daily routine.

I will keep saying it inover and over again until everyone realizes how IMPORTANT this information is, that almost 70% of our human bodies consist of liquids! REMEMBER IT and repeat it every day, every night, and every time you sit down to have your meal.

Once you realize it, it will be just obvious for you, that in order for your body to function well and strive on earth, you have to feed it with 70% of liquids! This is not just tap water,  it's liquids full of vitamins and minerals needed for our biological survival, our chemical body works. Where in the nature you can find those liquids?  The only adequate meal for you made by nature many centuries ago is the one that consists of 70% of veggies on your plate - this is your nutritional liquid.  Then you can eat everything you want as this is your raw beginning, but I would try to refrain from highly processed foods and sugars.  I know it maybe too much to ask in the beginning, but if you can have 70% of veriety of veggies on your plate + 30% of things you can't give up yet, it's a win for you.  70% of liquids for your body on daily basis is as obvious as an oil for your car. You don't put diesel where oil should go so why put a dry, highly processed stuff where variety of veggies, fruits, nuts, and seeds should go?

I'm sure by the end of a 2nd week, your taste buds will become more sensitive and you'll start appreciating the veggies much more and their taste will suddenly become more meaty. Yes, meaty if you can believe it. This is what I've experienced after a few weeks on this 70x30 diet.  I realized that I started to enjoy smaller meals too.

Eating veggies may take some planning as some people are just not used to it. Just push yourself over your boundaries, cut them up to small pieces and through them in a zippy log and bring them to your office.  I used to have variety of cookies under my desk at some point in my life. Now you can find zip logs of carrots, dry mangos, or plain almond nuts in my purse and I eat them when on the go since I have no other choices in my purse. This is what you should do. To your healthy living!

Supplements from Dr Clement

Dr. Brian Clement's talk in Sarasota

Well, this is what gets me excited and encouraged to keep on my healthy pass.  Invigorated again by another talk in town I've learned some interesting facts that are actually eye opening!  Dr. Brian Clement, director of the Hippocrates Institute, talked about food supplements and their nutritional reality. 

Some facts:

A vitamin term was discovered only in 1912!  In 1906, English biochemist Sir Frederick Gowland Hopkins also discovered that certain food factors were important to health. In 1912, Polish scientist Cashmir Funk named the special nutritional parts of food as a "vitamine" after "vita" meaning life and "amine" from compounds found in the thiamine he isolated from rice husks. Vitamine was later shortened to vitamin. Together, Hopkins and Funk formulated the vitamin hypothesis of deficiency disease - that a lack of vitamins could make you sick.

Vitamin C was the first vitamin to be artificially synthesized in 1935 by a Swiss Technocal Insitute and quickly put to market. It was much much much much cheaper to create it than the vitamin C from the natural souse.  From then on, all the vitamins started to be synthesized one by one and by the 50s, there was a boost of supplement marketing compains in the U.S.. This is when the multivitamins supplement was intriduced to the market. Nowadays, it's hard to meet a family who doesn't take any supplements with their diet. Dr. Clement suggest to watch what you take in your body, better yet switch from supplements to vegan diet instead, he believes our biological structure strives only if no animal products/proccesed products are used. Our bodies were designed to get nutrition from real food not synthetic processed 'food'.

Health Food Stores came to market in the 40s - 50s and to this day at least 80% of them contain synthetic vitamins. Dr. Clement suggest such vitamins are not nutritional.

A few more random facts:

• 92% of American soil doesn't have any nutrients
• a farm's soil have to be at least 10 % organic to qualify for "organic"
• chemical supplements light up in your body thru microscope
• synthetic nutrients don't absorb
• don't get a B12 shot from your local alternative doctor. It doesn't give you any good supplement as it's synthetic but big amount of it can create an addiction 
• 93% of people treated from cancer will die from cancer proving that chemo and radiation are not affective and ills the human body

You can learn more from Dr. Clement and his wonderful Hippocrates institute here: http://www.hippocratesinst.org The program lasts for 3 weeks and it's kind of expensive, but anyone who went there - highly recommends it. There are even many cases of cancer patients that were healed after 3 weeks by applying customized natural nutritions and having a strict raw/vegan diet.  Dr.Clement's wife is a co-owner of the institute and she takes the blood test and other tests and prescribes the course for you..

To Your Health!

Remineralization

Great Lecture in the Sarasota Area:

The Importance of Remineralization

If you are interested to learn about the importance of remineralization (alkalizing your body) you should join me at the following event. Even my husband is coming to learn more about what I've been into for the last several months!

Brian Clement, Director of the Hippocrates Health Institute, will be speaking in Sarasota Thursday, January 7th (I am dreaming about going to this Institute in West Palm Beach, FL but the healing course takes 2 weeks and it's expensive... maybe one day..)

Who: Brian Clement
What: The Importance of Remineralization
When: Thursday, January 7th, 2010 from 7-9 p.m.
Where: Trinity Church, 3101 Wilkinson Rd, Sarasota, FL 34231
Cost: $5.00 to help cover the cost of the hall.

Here is an excerpt from the link below. Click it if you'd like to read the whole article.

Alkalyze your Body through Remineralization
http://www.naturalinteractive.com/morelessPHhealthprotocol_v2.0.pdf

General Principles
The elements of this protocol can be used to dramatically improve any health situation. Before you
begin it is helpful to keep some things in mind.

Be Patient
Your current health situation more than likely took years to develop. It is unreasonable to think that
you can correct it overnight. More than likely a lack of patience has made your health problem worse
causing you to bounce from things that promised a “quick fix” to your problem but in the end only
made things worse.

Exercise Moderation
Imagine your body as a house and if you are sick, it is more than likely that your house needs
cleaning. In the process of cleaning your house, you have the option to go fast and kick up a lot of
dust or be more methodical and to kick up less dust. The faster you go the more discomfort you are
likely to experience. The worst case scenario is the discomfort becomes so great that you have
abandon the approach all together and go grasping at something that may not be good for you to
alleviate the discomfort. It makes much more sense to take things slowly and do things more
consistently over time.

Clean up Your Digestive Tract
First things first, is to give yourself an enema or to go and see a professional colon hydrotherapist.
This is to help clean out your digestive system. If you are not healthy more than likely your digestive
system is not functioning properly. If your digestive system is not working, then it is very difficult for
your body to extract nutrients from the food that you eat. Skipping this first step can minimize the
impact of positive change in your diet.

Rebuild the Positive Bacteria in your Digestive Tract
Purchase a Probiotic supplement (one with a high billion count 8+ and with both Bifidus Bacterium
and Acidophilus) from your local Organic Food Market (Mother’s, Whole Foods). First thing in the
morning, drink a glass of water to water down your stomach acids. Then take the probiotics along
with a glass of skim milk.

Drink Enough Purified Water (Chlorine and Chemical free)
When you are thirsty, you should drink water rather than coffee, soda, or even juice. You can tell if
you are drinking enough clean water if the color of your urine is a very pale. If your urine is dark
then you should increase the amount of water that you are drinking. When you drink water it is best
to sip smaller amounts throughout the day rather than gulping large amounts at once.

Avoid the Bad Stuff Acid Forming Foods and Activities
• Avoid refined sugars (white sugar, high fructose corn syrup etc.)
• Avoid refined starches (white bread, pasta, white rice etc.)
• Avoid chemicals such as preservatives, artificial sweeteners (Splenda or sucralose, Equal or
apartame, etc.)
• Avoid eating fruit and dairy or fruit and meat at the same time (make sure to wait 1 hour
after consuming fruit before eating meat or dairy and 3 hours after consuming meat or dairy
before eating fruit)
• Avoid consuming homogenized milk or products made from homogenized milk (skim milk
products are ok)
• Avoid eating protein or grains 4-6 hours before you go to sleep

Eat Nutrient Rich Whole Foods
80% of your diet should be fresh, locally grown, organic fruits and vegetables with an emphasis on
leafy green vegetables (broccolli, kale, cabbage,romaine, green leaf, or red leaf lettuce etc.)
20% of your diet can be whole grains, nuts, and high quality sources of animal protein
(unhomogenized or skim milk, free-range, grass-fed meats, eggs, wild caught cold water fish such as
Alaskan salmon or sardines)

You can find the rest of the article here : http://bit.ly/598ld3

Food Preservatives

Harmful Effects of Food Preservatives

Preservatives are added to foods to prevent decomposition from chemical changes and microbial growth. They keep food from spoiling during shipment and prolong shelf life.

Common food preservatives act as either antioxidants or antimicrobials. Antioxidants prevent the oxidation of constituents in food, keeping it from becoming rancid or from developing black spots when exposed to oxygen (like an apple does when you cut it open). Antimicrobial preservatives kill or prevent the growth of bacteria and fungi.

Some preservatives used in food can be considered to fit into the same classification as poisonous drugs. They are harmful to the body and can cause a number of health problems, especially if consumed in large amounts. Some common food preservatives used in the United States have been banned in some other countries because of the harm they can cause.

This Excerpt is taken from

 http://www.brighthub.com/health/alternative-medicine/articles/42704.aspx#ixzz0aqzTblXI

and gives us info on
Common food preservatives, 
their harmful effects, and foods commonly used:

Benzoates can trigger allergies and may cause brain damage. Foods include pickles, flour, margarine, fruit purees, fruit juices, and beer.
Bromates can destroy nutrients and cause diarrhea. White flour and bread are common foods that contain this preservative.
BHA and BHT (butylated hydroxyanisole and butylated hydroxytoluene) are the two most widely used synthetic antioxidants in foods. These preservatives have caused cancers in rats; however, some studies show they may actually protect against the development of cancers. BHA can be found in meats, baked goods, cereals, snack foods, and beer. BHT is often found in pre-packaged food.
Glutamates may cause headaches, palpitations, dizziness, and cancer. Almost all convenience foods contain this harmful preservative.
Mono- and Di-glycerides may cause birth defects and cancer. You can find these preservatives in many foods, such as cookies, cakes, pies, bread, peanut butter, dry roasted nuts, vegetables packaged with sauce, shortening, and margarine.
Nitrates and Nitrites are known carcinogens. These harmful preservatives are used to preserve meat.
Propyl gallate may cause birth defects and damage the liver. This preservative is mostly found in meat products, vegetables packaged with sauce, pickles, vegetable shortening and oils, and even in chewing gum.
Sulfites are also common food preservatives and may cause headaches, joint pain, heart palpitations, allergies, and cancer. Foods include fruit, dried fruit, jarred olives and peppers, corn syrup, cornstarch, wine vinegar, and wine.
To avoid harmful effects of preservatives, read all food labels closely.

EIRO Juice

EIRO 5 Berry SuperAntioxidant Juice 

EIRO IS A GREAT-TASTING, HIGHLY EFFECTIVE SUPERANTIOXIDANT NUTRICEUTICAL MADE WITH A PROPRIETARY BLEND OF FIVE WHOLE SUPERFRUIT PUREES, INCLUDING A FIRST-TO-MARKET SUPERFRUIT.

Sunlight, smoke, air pollution and alcohol all cause oxidative stress that can lead to weaker immune function, premature aging and even damage DNA. Antioxidants and polyphenols combat these effects by neutralizing free radicals and preventing oxidative stress.  Each superfruit in EIRO was selected for its high content of key antioxidants and polyphenols. Each superfruit is present in meaningful amounts, ensuring key nutrients are delivered to the body.

EIRO is formulated with whole fruit purees:

- Caja

- Acerola

- Camu Camu

- Pomegrenate

- Açaí

It doesn’t contain any extracts, freeze-dried ingredients or added sugars. While some extracts provide important benefits in targeted situations, researchers believe that when it comes to nutrition, the best approach is to use a whole food strategy wherever and whenever possible.

EIRO contains some of the highest levels of antioxidants, properly formulated using whole fruit purees, resulting in the most effective superantioxidant nutriceutical available.

For more information, contact:

Marina Sommers, EIRO Independent Associate, Winners’ Circle Member

941-726-7400   www.MarinaSommers.com

EIRO Associate ID: 818859